Kids' Camp

So the kids' camp is over and now I'm at home alone, watching Totoro (a popular kids' cartoon... Totoro looks like a cross between an owl and a bunny and makes bear noises, and the cat turns into a bus...) The kids' camp was from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday afternoon. We played games, learned about animals and what they can do, learned a bible verse in English and Japanese, as well as Awesome God, had a campfire, did crafts, had a waterfight, and just generally had a good time. Oh and I can't forget...we also did Silly Songs with AJ. It was hilarious to watch a couple certain people do the actions....
At first it was really weird to start playing the role of camp counsellor and friend because I am these kids' teacher, but I eventually learned how to play with these kids and still keep their respect as a teacher, I think. They're all good kids. I like them. It was also a trick getting 6 little boys excited about doing a cheer about our small group mascot, the snake.
I stayed in a tent with 5 little girls ages 6-9 and it was a lot of fun. I had to solve a lot of problems like missing toothbrushes, pajamas and sleeping bag bags (which almost always ended up being in the kid's bag...). The littlest one, the first morning, woke up and blew her nose for like 10 minutes straight, using almost 2 packages of kleenex; her older sister said that she just wanted to go to the hospital.
It's kinda funny because it was the kids' English camp, but it was like a Japanese camp for me. It was the last thing I heard at night, and I got blasted with it first thing in the morning (5:30am). It became so that even when the 7 Canadians started talking to me, I would respond to them in Japanese. They would just look at me like I started growing a third head until I realized they weren't understanding a single thing I was saying. Not that I have a second head...But my Japanese surprised me that way.
After the camp was over yesterday, I went rowboating on the lake with Kaila and Alex from Calgary...quite the adventure. When our hour was up, we rowed back to shore where the little old man pulled us back in. We wished we had stayed out just a little bit longer because he had brought a megaphone down to the shore with him (in the front basket of his bicycle) in case we didn't come back in time. Maybe the funniest thing about that whole hour was how that little man rode his bicycle the 30ft from the boat shack to the water, and how he dismounted and walked when he came to a little hill. After discovering melon spoons at a sushi bar, a few of us went and did kareoke. (We are much better at Boni Jovi than Celine Dion...)
It's been really good having these 7 Canadians here; I realize now I had started getting dull. It's good to be getting back to the side of myself that's not so serious and mature all the time. I like laughing and sharing life with them. I'm getting fond of these people and will be sad to see them go.