Our Toxic Camp

What I'm about to blog cannot possibly describe to you what i'm about to say. It won't encapture the way i feel or what's even going through my head but i'll give it my best shot!

Yesterday, Tuesday, our second week of camp got cancelled. When Major Colleen Riley spoke to us about this, I broke into tears.

Last week was such a bad week for me. It was stressful and hard and very draining. This week has been the complete opposite. Amy and i had the best girls we could've asked for. They were a blessing from God and i guess when you pray about things God answers you and this week was an answer to prayer for me at least anyway!

We had 4 beautiful girls to look after. Their looks were beautiful but what stood out to me was their hearts and their personalities. They made me laugh and brought back joy into my week that had disappeared last week.

I broke into tears yesterday because not only did they have to sacrifice being at teen camp and sleeping out there, not only did they have to sacrifice going on the yuba hike (which i'll admit is a rewarding challenge for them!) but they now also had to sacrifice the whole of camp. Something which they all had been looking forward to for so long!

And also, i was sad to see them go for my own selfish reasons that they made me laugh, they taught me how to dance, their passsion for God inspired me and i just felt robbed it being cut so short.

But the reason camp was cancelled this week is because of forest fires that have been happening around this area. The quality of air is so bad that it has been declared unsafe for people to be breathing. In fact, it was first declared as being hazardous but now has been declared toxic. Hence everyone having to leave. I understand the safety issues but just as i was beginning to enjoy myself, the smoke ruins everything.

I'm sure God has his hand upon this situation and i know for a fact that he is in control but i couldn't help feeling sad to see everyone's vacation time cut short. I guess i just leave it in his hands and pray that he will use the time we spent with everyone to impact those kids lives.

We're praying that the same kids will come back next but as it stands, camp is full up and so they'll only be able to come back if there's an opening for them. Please pray that this happens!

So now for us staff, what do we do? Well we now have a 4 day break before we start our 3rd week of camp on Monday. So for everyone who lives close by, it's great, they can go home but for us internationals, we're kinda stuck here.

There were lots of different options we could've taken ie. hostelling it in Sacramento or going to Blake's house who also lives in Sacramento or then we got offered to go ona a trip to San Francisco but we've all just decided to stay in the old Nurses cabin here at camp - which means we're kinda house-bound coz we can't be outside. It's not a bad thing though coz the nurses cabin is like a real house, carpet, made up beds, shower, laundry, TEEVEE, kitchen, coffee table etc. But i'm sure we'll be able to go into town at some point and they're trying to set up the projector so we can watch movies and we've also got the internet so i might be on here quite a bit this week!

Thanks for your prayers, I'm still missing you all but the longer i stay the closer i become with people - it's amazing!

Alisha xoxo

Week 2 Thusfar

So i gotta be real quick with this blog coz i'm actually on a break and only have about 10 minutes here.

This week is just so amazing and so different to last week. I don't know if it's because we have less kids (ONLY 4 GIRLS!!!) or if it's because we're camping with the discovery people.

That's right, this week, as i've already mentioned, teen camp has been postponed for a week. I guess i'm not too keen on going back out there and as our accommodation is luxurious (and by that i mean it just has electricity and 4 walls) and we're eating all our meals in an old dining room.

But also this week, we have a schedule and we know what's happening, when and where.

Also, as i said, Amy and I only have 4 girls to look after. It's giving both of us so much more time to breathe. We also manage to co-ordinate things better ie. shower times and walks to the cabin. The girls we have this week are absolutely fantastic, they're a real crack up. Two of them are twins and man, do they have soul?! They're trying to teach me how to be an african american and trying to teach me to dance. They often have a cackle between themselves about how 'white' i am, ha! All of them are great!

Being at the same campsite as discovery means that we are housed at 'upper girls'. That's right, Amy and i have been moved again - in a way, i kinda feel like I'm living with a divorced parent, always moving my stuff to another house hehe.....but i'm sure one of these days we'll settle in somewhere!

Anyway, time is really up. Pray for this camp and other camps around us as there are quite a few bushfires happening here and the smoke is so bad that the kids have been taken indoors for activities. It's so bad that we can hardly see across the lake, the smoke here is really getting thick. However, the camp has a really good fire drill in case of fire, so i don't really feel unsafe.

Alisha xoxo

First Week Bits and Pieces

So today, sunday, is the last day of my break :o(

I'm kinda bored so i'll just write a few things that i missed in my last note.

Have i mentioned that i am covered from top to toe with mosquito bites??? I just can't stop itching! I should probly take a photo of it.

Also, I'm sorry that all my photos are a little lame haha...

Last week at teen camp we hauled all our kids off to the dining room so they could watch a movie. There were a few staff there to look after them and so we had the opportunity to attend a counsellor devotional time. It was much needed.

I was amazed at how relieved it made me feel, like a burden lifted from my shoulders. To be around people that were experiencing the same kind of exhaustion. To be back with familiar MATURE people that we at teen camp don't often get to see because we're so isolated and most importantly to be able to worship God with like-minded people. It was a great time of fellowship and a time of encouragement to each other. The safety and comfort that i feel with this group of people is so amazing. I shared twice because there was no fear of rejection or humiliation, everyone in the group just wanted to share and share and share and Major Colleen Riley agreed that it was good but that it needn't stop after our time together. So we're really into encouragement which is very helpful etc.

As I've already said, Teen Camp this past week was stressful and probably an unsafe environment for the teens. As a result we won't be holding Teen Camp this next week but instead we will be combining our teens with the discovery kids for a combined camp while things get sorted out and fixed up and reassessed etc. It's a time where all i can think is, 'what the heck am i doing here?'

So please pray for this next week that we will unite as a team and that we'll learn from our mistakes and that we'll also pick up and learn new skills from the discovery counsellors.

Enjoy your week!
Alisha xoxo

PS: Last night a bear ripped open one of our kitchen tents in an effort to eat some apples and onions that were left in there. It even turned over one of the tables in the tent - it must've been hungry. As a result, I was a little tense about sleeping out there! However, here i am!

Week 1

OH MY GOODNESS.....week 1 of my first camp has just finished and i am sitting here on my MUCH DESERVED break and actually waiting to see if i can get into town somehow.

I am craving instant coffee, apparently instant coffee went out in the USA ages ago or so i'm told. But i truly love it and i can never get enough so i'm hoping i can get into town to buy some!

I'm hecka tired but have nothing to do and the heat outside is killing me, so there ain't no way i'm gonna walk over to teen camp to lay down.

Where to begin with my first week at camp - where, where, where....

This week has just been so full on, tiring and so stressful.

We had 22 kids at camp this last week, 4 counsellors and 3 program staff and my goodness it was so hard!!! We're all so emotionally, physically and spriritually drained. I have spent most of today in and out of tears because this past week has just been tooooo much!

Even though i feel unable to do another teen camp and extremely unqualified, i know that God has prepared me the whole way for this, every lesson i learnt at home during the past year is paying off here and i know how to deal with certain situations.

There are waaaaaaaaay too many teens for us to handle and there have been a lot of dramas happening at teen camp this week that we are all feeling the pressures of being at camp. We all just need to get away. Amy and I are hopefully heading into town tonight for dinner and a movie with sarah and claire! I hope it's relaxing.

So first day was Monday. Teens arrived. No stress, no dramas.

Tuesday we spent the majority of the day swimming/canoeing/kyaking, that was also ok except that we had a fire drill during the middle of it all - opportune time i swear?! We had to drag the teens outta the water, get all the boats docked before we could head over. If ya ask me, they all shoulda just stayed in the water with a counsellor and anyone not swimming should've just come over to the meeting point. But alas, we all went over. Ahhhh the joys of counselling during a fire drill. That night we ate genuine yankee smores. That was interesting but can i just say, chocolate over here is edible but pretty gross!

Wednesday we had the teens jump on the zipline (flying fox) and in the afternoon the girls had to make up their counsellors (yea that's me, gah!) to compete for best made up counsellor. This happened while the boys went off to do archery. I would like to have seen it pan out a little better because it didn't end the way i thought it should've. Instead it ended by having the boys come back to also declare best dressed counsellor. It was just loopy!

Thursday was our hike. I'm really gonna learn to dread thursdays. Whilst i didn't complete the whole hike this time, i still hate hiking and i think i will for the rest of my life! I did half the hike with the slower campers who couldn't do the whole thing so it was less painful but still....it was ick! We do stop for a swim at the bottom of the Yuba River and it IS refreshing but still....ick! I just keep in mind that 'this too shall pass'.

Sometime during the week, a bear got into our trash across the road. We even saw his paw marks - they were big! He took his TRASH (not rubbish) down into the creek at the bottom of teen camp! Crazy animal?!

Friday is where it all went haywire and i think we all lost control of camp - all the dramas happened - well i felt they did anyway. Friday is what left all of us feeling emotionally drained. We had a pizza/pool party (where i was granted a small break) and then our teens h eaded to the field to run the carnival with the younger discovery kids. They did a great job but it was hot and people were getting burnt all over the shop!

So now is Saturday and i haven't had a c hance to come online all week. It feels good to be in touch with y'all again but it definitely makes me teary coz i know i have to endure another coupla months here away from all that is familiar and comfortable. Away from all the things in my life that give me sunshine and laughter....awwww...

I should go and let others use this - as always. But please pray for us here, particularly at teen camp as we've all had quite a rough week and we all have a steep learning curve ahead of us.

I'm off, i've just discovered that in this ridiculous heat - IT'S RAINING!

CiaoAlisha xoxo

Break Days & Week 1

Yesterday and today have been heaven-sent days!

I am currently on my 2 day break which we get every week and believe me, after this week, i am in dire need of this break!

However, i realise that i haven't had much time to blog here this week and am pretty sure that next week is going to be worse as i will have 7 girls to keep my eye on.

I'm also hoping that this week, as we start camp, that it won't be as hectic as this past week has been. I will only be able to tell you that next weekend when they've all gone home! Pray it's not as hectic - PLEASE!

So what have i done since the hike? I don't know that i HAVE done an awful lot. We hiked on tuesday and the rest of this week we have just been doing sectionals (cleaning up the campsite and getting it all prepared for the campers). We also had our child protection talk and our nurse talk. I dunno but i may have to have a TB shot - i'm really hoping not! We also have to hand in all our meds so the nurse can regulate it, this i am NOT looking forward to but all the teens have to do it and we can't be anything extra special.

Every night we finish the day with a devotional time and most of the time that's in the form of a campfire. It's pretty cool. It gets pretty deep and alot of staff here have shared their testimonies with us. It's really good to hear their stories and hear where they've come from and where they are on their journey. That's also something that's strongly emphasised and encouraged here, to be real in your faith and in sharing your story.

I am just so broken every time i hear someone's story though - some of the things people go through (and this is staff, not campers!) are simply horrific. They're such great people, people with so much potential that have just had stuff ripped from them, basic rights taken away and yet most of them have just this hugest faith - it's really challenging!

Wednesday we watched a movie but i'm not gonna tell you what it is, other than it is a gnarly movie, i just simply loved it! It was also good feeling like i was back in civilisation, ha! eating popcorn and veging out in front of a big screen.

Then on Friday night we were taken into Grass Valley for dinner, which was good too! One shop i went into, they found out i was Australian and wanted me to say their names - they were so wowed that i was an aussie.....tehehe.....kind of strange....

Thursday night i had the the opportunity to call Dina and say hi to her. I wish i could call every one of you but calls are so expensive and my time is limited, not to mention the time difference! It's just awkward and I'm so sorry about that! But also, it's difficult to hear your voices because it really makes it hard to hold back the tears because there are definitely some days where i just wish i could go home!

Yesterday, Saturday, was our first break day and it was a chance to catch up on washing, which was so important for me as i hadn't done washing since i arrived, so i was quickly running out of socks and underwear especially!

As i've said already, the people here are really wonderful, very encouraging and warm and welcoming and as i've said, their stories leave me speechless. It's also very bizarre how some things work here. As most of us don't know each other, we're constantly trying to get to know one another better everyday but it's awkward coz your circle of friends just changes everyday.
I am now fairly close with a couple of the girls, maryellen and amy. I am pretty close with amy because we both work at teen camp. We also help eachother spiritually, so i am blessed to know her so well! Maryellen is wonderful and i love her to death but we are at different camps so i don't get to see her all that often. There's also other girls who i have such a deep respect for and know they will become lifetime friends, Molly is great as is Nicole - she is so cheery and laughs alot, they're both great value, love 'em!!

At this place there are all these different things. There is teen camp which i'm at, discovery camp which is the primary school kids, there are 49ers who are too young to be counsellors and so they help out where they can.

One of the 49ers, Blake, calls me Aussie. He doesn't use my name EVER but when he wants my attention, he just calls me aussie! It's catching too! Mandolin, another counsellor, she now refers to me as aussie! It's awkward!

In the middle of camp, during july, we get a 5 day break, so i 'm not sure where i'll end up for that. There is also a 10 day music camp happening sometime and we all get to help out with that, so that'll be fun.

Teen camp will also run a 'fatherless' camp which is a camp for boys, however, us girl counsellors won't be apart of that, which is just as well as it falls over music camp and i am uber pumped about that!

There's still so much i haven't mentioned but this has been quite long enough and amy would like to use the computer, so please write me an email when you can!

Miss you guys
Alisha xoxo

PS: I am trying to upload photos but everytime i'm here i always forget to bring my uploading cord - sorry! Will do it when i can!

Five Mile Hike

It feels like i haven't used to internet for soooo long when really it's only been a day or so - gahh so addicted!!!

So what have I been doing?

Well it seems that the longer i stay here to hotter it gets, i hope it doesn't get unbearable - heat and me are not friends, it opens up the pores in my skin to seep out water, otherwise known as sweat, and i don't like it at all!!!! It also makes me go all red and puffy haahha.....crazy summer - all you who are envying me, just think of these things!

So yesterday our team took the 5 mile hike. Ok so now i know why my mum was laughing at me when i was telling her about it. It was hectic. I don't think i've EVER done such a huge hike in my whole life. The only other hike i ever did was with my dad when i was in year 6 and that was flat and my dad carried everything!

Yesterday was nuts....i have never sweated or hurt so bad in my whole life....hiking up hills is just not natural....or maybe it is, i dunno....but whatever, my body didn't like it, it was screaming! haha....there were numerious times when i wanted to collapse and never get up, just sit there, hoping a helicoptor would pluck me outta the woods! There were still other times when i swear there would have been bushwalks in Australia that had a guideline saying, 'you are not fit enough to do this!'. I'm sure there are signs like that!

Anyway we walked and walked for hours on end and then at the end of it, we came to a lake (that actually had rapids further down) I didn't take my swimmers but paddled in it, it's actually really beautiful, shame we have to walk our little legs to get to it gahhh....

We were all pretty stuffed when we got back and had a late lunch. It was after lunch that we learnt of some devostating news for two of our team members. It put our afternoon into a bit of a spin and pretty much shocked all of us. We all came together to pray for them them and then i went about my afternoon.

News like that really reminded me of how far i am from home and i had to put myself into his shoes and think how i'd feel if i received news like that - almost made me wanna go home, i'd be beside myself!

Please, please, please take care of yourselves and i know i'm so far away but if you need to talk to someone, please, please, please TALK TO SOMEONE!

Anyway, if i can ask you to pray for Jeff and Blake and remember them in your prayers. They're totally top guys and it'd be devastating news to anyone let alone two fantastic guys! I know some of you have been asking if there's any specifics i can pray for, that is one inparticular!
So in the evening, was a skit night (which we didn't know about coz we were hiking!) so teen camp put a random skit together called shaboo or something like that where we just intro'ed ourselves, it's embarressing when ya got nothing and make a fool outta yourself, it also doesn't help your cause of finding your place!

I think thusfar i have just come across as quiet and lame haha....never mind i guess, i'm here for the longhaul!

Should go and let others use this machine!

Talk to y'all soon!
Alisha xoxo

Thoughts of Home

Today i wanted to go home. It's the first time i've been here that i've felt partial to that fact. Jeff, i know you're reading this, don't stress, it's all good, i aint goin' nowhere i'm just expressing myself to my friends and family through a blog - this is my .... space, i guess..... i can say anything here (within reason!)

So back to my country...

Today was hectic, orientation started for real today! The weather has been nice up until this point but today was hot and it's only gonna get hotter! But suckers, i'm missing out on winter - sucks to be you, ha!

So what'd we do?

We cleaned up camp REAL GOOD! Still alot to do, i think but we did some stuff today.
So don't ask me what the boys did (i'm sure they worked hard) but us girls set up the chairs (in the wrong place, ha!) and cleaned out the fridge and coffee pot.....dude, that sounds lame i know, but they were seriously dirty, we still have the freezer to clean out! But it's so worth it coz it likes like gold when we're finished! Dina, they have an ice machine like your fridge but it doesn't work....stress not, they have a smaller, better ice machine, ha! Fancy that?! Every anaemic's dream baaaahahahaha....

Our team (teen camp) consists of Jeff (the director of teen camp), Dirk, Lizz (an aussie), Amy, Jeff, Blake and me....it's a cosy little staff! We're all lovin' it.

After a FILLING lunch, we played some games on the field which were really fun, alotta laughs and i made a fool outta myself with the theatre sport where you have to just keep asking q's. I can't play that game whatsoever!

Then we headed back to teen camp to do 'sectionals' which is what we did earlier, however, we just sat around sharing testimony's/our stories. It was really good to learn about where each of us comes from in our walk with God, but it was also good to see where we are up to and what we are each learning - it's gonna be great doing life with these people!

I dunno what it was that made me wanna come home today but something i've realised today is that it's so easy to ignore missing home because we're always so busy here. I think it's why i almost lose it in devotions because i have time just to sit and think. In my own quiet with God, it's not so bad because i just hand everything over to God and share all my frustrations and feelings and thoughtswith him and he gives me my strength but just at devotions i seem to crack, i have no idea why! Looking into the stars and the night sky makes me a little homesick too (although i prefer not using that word, but rather pining for familiar things and familiar people.
They talk alot about getting out of our comfort zones here but i think it's something i'm already doing and it's hard work! They talked about this morning that feeling you have when you step out of your comfort zone and it's not a bad feeling but you definitely know something's up, something's happening. It's not a comfortable feeling and i find that to be great but still very hard.

Please don't get me wrong, i really do love it here it's just that home seemed so much more comfortable, possibly why i don't wanna go there! I quite like being here, out my comfort zone....i guess it's what Kylie would call fun pain, eh??? hehehe.....

Anyway, thanks to those of you who have emailed me, it really does make my day! I have to run now back to teen camp to share my testimony, i really don't want to.....

Miss you guys!Alisha xoxo

PS: I'm sure there's stuff i haven't mentioned yet again!

Orientation

ORIENTATION STARTED - WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!! And i dunno when the next time i'll get to blog is so i'm gonna say this is my last one for awhile, how amazing that i get to be on here so often, i'm sure that will soon come to an end!!!

I have made the greatest friends already (unforutnately they work in the Discovery camp, primary school kids but we all get to reunite on weekends!) and the coolest part is that we are all foreigners - we all have something in common. Maryellen and Joleen from Canada, Andy from England, Dalen from South Africa and random yankees, Amanda, Amy and Jason. Dalen pays me out for the sheep in australia, but he's got the wrong country man?! So i pay out his South African accent, even though i truly dig it!

Well, i'll try make this short...

Today was the start of orientation as i said and it has just been so cool! We ate brunch but the yankees believe that if you eat brunch, you don't get another meal til dinner time (what they call supper) so we foreigners basically starved! ha!

Our first intro was the american anthem sung by a black guy - hilarious and then we ate dinner - steak eeek....hahaha but i ate it! I'm just too polite, eh?!

After dinner, we headed out to the field and seriously, i just wanted to video the whole thing so y'all could see it but my battery died and i had to participate anywya, that's the thing that's kinda sucking about being a tourist and a counsellor AT THE SAME TIME!

We played games and we played dog and bone. 'Cept we were all so far apart so we actually had to run, not just skip and jump hahaha....i stacked it on the way back and now my knee hurts :o( but geez, it was hectically fun!

We have just come back from devotions and it was good, the prayer time we had was rockin' and God really seeped into my heart oh man, i have never felt God's spirit upon me so intensely while praying before but when this one guy prayed, i think it was neil, i just broke into tears and God really touched my heart. God poured his spirit into me so tangibly tonight and could've stayed there to pray forever! This is totally gonna be the summer of my life - i know it!

So as you can see i'm already starting to have a ball and i'm really looking forward to what this week has to offer me, it's gonna be great and then to meet the teens, will be mind-blowing!
I'm off to the teen camp area now (a bit of a hike for a excercise-hating person) for a bonfire and chat with the other teen staff, who are such great people. The workers are few (7 of us) but the harvest is great!

We'll be up ready for flag-raising at 8:15am tomorrow - it'll be interesting to see how much i can learn of the yankee anthem - it grows on me!

Alisha xoxo

PS: I have decorated my cabin with an aussie flag and aussie sign out the front, still wanna do more though.

PPS: How amazed are you that i am still ALWAYS on facebook!!! Where there is a will, there is a way!

Camp Vs Town

I'm getting to the stage where writing in my journal by hand is tedious, i still do it though it's just getting really boring and keeping up is hard, i'm like a day behind gahhhh....

So yesterday was our first offical day off (even though we haven't even begun camp yet?!) breakfast was cancelled but just being out in nature was so cool! Like i just can't stop raving about it, ha!

So Will took us 'into town' to Grass Valley, which is near Nevada City and we walked around there - it was such a good day!

We went into lots of different shops including a candy store, that was interesting....Mel, i found your peanut butter m&m's, and huney, they're yuck, they're really gross - i'll just stick to ordinary m&m's, nothing beats originals, but fear not, i won't come back to the country without 'em!

Then we went into a shop that had all these cool little things in there, upstairs was a toy store, it was so cool!!!

Along the way, we've met new people, so there's kinda a new little group of counsellors now, however the majority of them are Discovery Counsellors so I'm still kina alone although, Amy arrived today. So we can get to know her today but the other discovery campers are tops and i love hanging out with them.

Some new people that i love are Saharra although i think i already mentioned her! Then there's Dalen from South Africa, he's so much fun, alot of laughs!!! Joleen, Jason, Amanda, Andy, Aldin, etc etc etc......

We stopped for pizza in the afternoon and that was fun.

On the way home, we had to take three trips back to camp coz our first lift wasn't available to take back. So i was in the last lift with Will and we made a stop back at his house - THAT WAS COOL!!!!

I had my first american family experience, his whole family gathered on the verandah out the back and seriously, they walk out into a full backyard of ponderosa's!!!!! Man, it's just amazing that they wake up to that everyday! And i imagined it covered in snow - wow, that 'd be soo cool! Will's family is crazy but alot of fun and full of laughs. His aunty was so amazed that i came from Australia, seriously - what is with that?! People love my country - although not as much as i thought they would!

We arrived back at camp pretty late and we missed dinner - nawww.....

When it was time to go to Teen camp, i forgot how dark and cold it'd be. So neither did i have a torch or a jumper but i guess i worked up a bit of a sweat walking back so it wasn't too bad, although i was terrified i'd get attacked by a bear, that was the only thing i was packing it about....

That's the other cool thing about this camp is that the wildlife is cool. I've seen deers and squirrels and cleaned up after a bear, which i already mentioned, after he'd lifted the lid of the garbage bin and pulled everything out! Lizz was also telling me about skunks last night. I'm really hoping i don't come across a bear or a skunk, however, it'd be cool to see it, considering i've never seen 'em before! They've also been telling me about snakes and spiders but even though rattlesnakes sound weird and scary, we have snakes and spiders, they don't really phase me!
Today is Sunday and i'm currently just hanging around. Lizz was telling me all about teen camp last night before we went to sleep and it was so exciting to hear and for once i had so many questions. i had to switch off and say i was going to sleep so i didn't keep her up, coz we talked for so long about camp, it was really helpful though! I loved it!

Oh and apparently we get a 5 day break where we become tourists and visit places, if we're lucky!

They also have a 10 day music camp and staff from camp here have the chance to help out - so i'm kinda excited about that too, i didn't bring my cornet though - hmmmm.......

Well, i really wish you all weren't sleeping everytime i'm online but it can't be helped i guess....ohhhhhhhhhhhh and Dina and Matt, i have to refrain from laughing everytime people here say 'i guessssss', coz i've found that Americans say it alot and it just sounds so amusing! Dina, you'd want to cut off your ears hahaha.....oh man i miss you and matt a tonne!
Anyway ciao for now.....bless facebook!

Alisha xoxo

PS: Sorry if this blog has sounded a bit all over the place, i kinda tried to blog and chat at the same time, coz everyone here is crowded around the computers and just chatting!

Boomtown, Truckies and Donner Pass

You guys are sleeping, that is so bizarre and I've experienced God's PERFECT creation once again, sitting on the lake and just soaking it all up!Ya know, i felt weird about writing all that stuff last night, i actually stressed about what i'd written going to sleep - blah whatever...

What i wanna clarify is that these people here are so much fun and as much as it didn't sound (which i feel guilty for), they are the most welcoming and friendly people ever and even though, yes, Megan is crazy, i love her! She has an amazing voice as we found out last night sitting around the bonfire after i blogged here! So many great guitarists here too - Dirk, Lizz and Sahara - all VERY talented people! I am blessed to be surrounded by each person here!

Oh yea, what i didn't mention yesterday was that just outside of Reno was a place called Boomtown. That's where that massive sports store was - it was hectic!We also passed, along the way this place called Donner Pass - the most spectacular views i have ever seen. Like i said, snowcapped mountaintops and down beneath was crystal clear waters, sun reflecting off it and everything WOW!!!Then we stopped FOR GAS!!! ha! Gas! At this place called Truckies, cute lil stop over and i was tempted to buy a postcard coz they had all this Lake Tahoe stuff there! We didn't go to Lake Tahoe but i bet it's just as beautiful!

OH OH OH and teen camp?? We are definitely ROUGHING it! I went for a walk up there yesterday and checked it out again....our dining room is in two big screen tents, we do all our own cooking outdoors and there's a giant campfire. The showers have one drain so i'm guessing you just watch everyone elses body grime float past you hahaha....we also have a garden which Dirk and Jeff planted and the basketball court (for teen camp) is just one leveled dirt track thing, they're gonna put up a hoop! The cabins have three walls and lucky for teens, we have a fly screen as our other wall, but it'll be just like sleeping under the stars!!! It's all a little hard to explain but i'll put pictures up when i'm more settled!

Last night i slept soooooooo well in my new Walmart sleeping bag - oh wow, it's a walmart sleeping bag. Ok, let me just say that Walmart is so huge, we spent 40 minutes in there and we didn't even see a hint of that place!

Well anyway, i don't think there was much else to say but Erin, you're right, once we get started next week with the teens, i'm sure everything will be even better than it already is now! However, i'm actually REALLY looking forward to the start of our orientation, people here are telling me it's quite a bit of fun!

Casey, i can imagine you not understanding something but i am exactly the same, this morning was my third english lesson and as i type this here, i still don't understand what the kitchen dude was saying to me as i sat down to type this....i think i just said ummm, yea i dunno...hahaha... You're funny Casey?! Oh by the way, I MISS SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH!!!!! Why didn't i bring it, i fully want 'em to watch it!

Alisha xoxo

PS: Can someone please email me Nanna's email address or pass this website on to her? Ta!
PPS: Oh and in case i didn't already say this, for those younger readers, myspace here is blocked - sorry!!!

Reno, Walmart and the Wildlife

Oh my goodness, where do i begin...like, seriously?!

I'm gonna start from half way through my day today...if ya don't mind?!

Today was my second english lesson, again at maccas. The guy at the counter asked me, 'Eat in or to go'. Say that really fast, with a yankee accent! I didn't understand it but when i finally did i was like, go where??????? We'd normally say, 'have here or take away?'.....seriously, this accent is screwing my mind!!! It's so weird that it's starting to rub off on me, sometimes (after not even being here for a full week) i catch myself saying something with a ridiculously bizarre accent! I quickly pull myself back into line, trust me!

Anyway....I AM HERE!!!!!!!!!!! CAMP DEL ORO!!!!!!!This place seriously, quite literally blows my mind. It's breath-taking, leaves you speechless (which is perhaps why i am finding it so hard to get into conversations, more about that later)....this place is like a sanctuary like no place you've ever seen before!!!! We do NOT have ANYTHING like this in Australia - i am 100% certainly convinced!

One thing i have been struggling with alot here is how unlike myself i have been here, thanks for that Dad! I am so quiet and reserved, i'm just so scared of everyone, american's are so loud and out there....hey rachel, you know how you had that problem last november....welll i am experiencing the same thing with one of the girls here, she's like the american version of me and i just feel so ..... cramped. But i know that as time goes on, we'll all get to know each other really well and i will hobble out of my shell, it's just so ridiculously hard right now, it's confusing, like i don't even understand why i am so shy and quiet. I am the crappest at finding things to say - weird and unbelievable right? I KNOW!

There are Ponderosa Trees EVERYWHERE, they squeeze up against eachother so that they can't possibly fit anymore in - it's nuts!!! They're huge! Jeff, the Teen Camp director says they are some 200 feet high - i think. It's crazy which is just like the weather here too!!! The days are warm, even hot but the mornings and evenings are freezing - but i love it!!!! What else i loved was that Jeff stated the most true fact that i hadn't even realised...there's no humidity here - none whatsoever!!!! So you can get really hot in the sun and then take a step back into the shadows and cool off instantly, it's like a dry swim - how crazy is that - BUT IT'S TRUE!!!!!

Nevada City is truly old style!!! Think white picket fences and verandahs with the wooden encased screen door and that's what lines the streets of this old Goldrush town, the biggest town in the goldrush!!! It's so antique - it reminds me a little of Ballerat but is just so much more incredible and like something out of a movie.

So anyway, my camp doesn't start til Sunday and i got here on Thursday, today is Friday. Program Staff are here at the moment are running the joint so us counsellors are pretty much just finding odd stuff to do.To be honest, i don't think i really fit in yesterday and shed a few tears going to sleep (no matt i didn't cry myself to sleep, ya phil oliveti!!!) over it but that's coz there were no other counsellors here and besides, it's ok to feel like that on the first day, right???One counsellor Will was great - he reminds me alot of Dale. He chats to me quite a bit and has a good laugh with me, he's tops! I kinda wish the other counsellors chatted to me that much but it's totally not their fault, they're probly as awkward around me as i feel around them - but on a whole they're all totally great people. Megan's totally crazy and reminds me alot of me in my natural habit - she's totally nuts, her laugh is infectious too, it makes me wanna laugh! She's pretty sweet too, got some funny stories and ideas but i guess that's what makes her, eh?! Kelly and Lizz are Aussies and they're good to talk to especially when ya need a bit of home invasion! Sahara, man, she's the coolest chick - so little, yet soooooooo much attitude. In fact i love her so much coz she reminds me alot of what anna domrow woulda been like at her age of 18. Bless. Then there are Jordan (aaron, you'd probly LOVE him!) and some of the other guys.....oh and Claire maaaaan, she cracks me!!!!

But anyway, i probly should just tell you what happened today instead of wasting my curfew time....Ummm....today i went to Reno, crossing the state border of California. It was so cool, the terrain will not be done justice if i type it here!Today i also went to WALMART - OH MY GOSH I WENT TO WALMART - DUDE, I WENT TO WALMART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i bought a sleeping bag, it's rad!!!!

We picked up Mary Ellen who is so cool, she's like my new buddy coz she's a counsellor like me!!!We also went to this Sports store, seriously it's bigger than bunnings! It had a shooting range, an aquarium, an elaborate stuffed animal display and .... it was just massive ok and then when you walk outta the store, there in front of you, is mountains and phoawwww....

Indescribable - God is the artist of all artists!

On the way to and from Reno, there was SNOW on the mountaintops!!!!! Can you believe that? Everything else is melted and yet there is SNOW ON THE MOUNTAINTOPS!!!! I swear my mum woulda loved this place!!!!

Anyway, i really do have to go but i just have to say that every day just gets better, i'm serious! And God touches me in a new way everyday! I am IN LOVE, it's the most romantic trip with him i have ever been on in my whole life! I wouldn't wanna do it with anyone else?!

Sorry it's been so brief and so unindepth but you get the idea!!!

Talk to you all soon, i miss you guys all so much!!!!!

Alisha xoxo

PS: I have no reception here so my phone doesn't work! Thank God for internet!!!!!!!!

Helpful Tip

I just have a couple of things i left out of my other blog.

The first one is tipping.

Flip, I dunno if i'm ever gonna get used to this. I've kinda been avoiding eating at restaurants and cafes etc or doing anything that requires tipping! Coz people tell me that sometimes they include it in the bill and sometimes they don't. So anyway, i get to the end of my meal at Dinah's, the Little Miss Sunshine Cafe, and i go to the lady, 'do ya want me to tip you or did you include it in the bill'. It's a pretty embarressing to have to ask but what could i do, it woulda been ruder if i didn't tip them when i should've!!!

She was heaps nice about it! She had a few giggles and gave me a lesson in tipping, she was so super friendly and Dina, you woulda loved her, she was one of those 'babe' calling chicks. She used the words honey and babe and sweety, just a very nice lady but it was a lesson i don't think i still understand, but whatever!

It's just that tipping seems so stupid coz pretty much it's like $1.50 per every $10 that you spend and it just doesn't seem worth it, but i guess, it all adds up....or something?! .... in the end...

So the other thing was my first english lesson - geez louise.

I always think it's so stupid when people talk about how aussies and yankees can't understand each other. I mean, how hard is it to listen to what people are saying. It's very hard apparently coz today a guy at maccas had to repeat himself not even twice but three times because i couldn't understand the word 'Soda'. He goes, 'what soda would you like with that'.....flop, couldn't he have just said, 'what drink would you like with that?' Now, i know what that word soda means and is but didn't expect it in that context bahaha....i am officially so stupid!!! It was all good though, we both laughed about it! This bleepin' accent is seriously doing my head in though, everywhere you go, people speak weird - at times it can be painful but other times i just soak it all up - i seriously love it!!! Can't get enough of it, hopefully i'll some sort of twangatang!

Ahh that's all i've got!

Alisha xoxo

Here I am, Lord!

Wow, so here I am. In the USA. i haven't quite arrived at the destination i know God's called me to but i will get there eventually.

My flight was hectic but i mean that in such a good way. I was blessed to sit in a three seater both to Fiji AND the US with only one other person so there was room to spread out and be comfortable. They were both Indian men, one who looked like he was scared of me and the other one way too talkative who i found out used to live in Liverpool for three years but now resides in the US where he was returning home to. Trust me, if you ever travel, make sure you reserve seats with one in between, i think it's rare for another person to book that 'middle' seat - sweeeeeeet!!!!

Rachel Unicomb was saying how calm i seem to be about this all, actually even my dad commented that he'd be beside himself but Rachel's right. I'm so breezy. Everything's just happening and i seem to be not losing my head in amonst it all. I feel so calm that it's like i haven't left the country at all, just gone to another state. Which is true somewhat i guess....

Dina and Emily, you guys are so great and i am SO blessed to have both of you in my life, thank you (beyond words) for seeing me off. Sure enough i didn't cry at customs but when i got on the plane and started getting msgs from people and thought about what i'm leaving i was a blubbering mess, i guess it had to happen. The poor Indian man who seemed scared of me must've been thinking i was gonna be the sniffly woman the whole way to Fiji, luckily for him, i stopped! The emotions had to happen, it was then that i decided NOT to look at the scrapbook Dina made me - bless, i've looked at it now and it is so special to me.

I got to Fiji and all i could think of were matt and hannah....was it that big map you were talking about hannah? Far too much currency is in my wallet, yankee, fijian and aussie....anyway, i'm having a great time. Actually I'm about to head off and have some much needed dinner, real food (yuck, the plane food was slop!) at a place over the road called 'Dinah's'. I'm also about to relearn how to tip people, my first experience of that was on the shuttle this morning where i tipped the man and extra buck for taking out my VERY HEAVY suitcase. Dinah's is the place they apparently filmed 'Little Miss Sunshine' (now you're gonna HAVE to watch it matt!) so i'm kinda excited even though i'm gonna take my journal and write and eat at the same time, but hey, that's what you do over here - and it should also take the sting off eating alone. I'm keen to start reading my single book i picked up from Koorong as well.

I'm LOVING this free internet business on my travels. The airport had it and so does this hotel - i'm making the most of it before i get to camp and become deprived hahaha....

The sleep thing's weird though, i don't feel particularly tired. However, i nearly slept through breakfast this morning coz i couldn't keep my eyes open after taking THREE sleeping tablets, it was the bomb, i took two after the first one did NOTHING to me - you were right Mel!!!! But after the second two i was peacefully dozing. The training this afternoon was hectic though, my head was full spinning and my eyes just needed to close.

Tonight i'm staying in a room with two other girls who already know each other. They seem a litle bit snobby and not particularly interseted in me so i'm just trying to stay out of the room as much as i can. I'm also gonna go over to dinah's a bit later than everyone as well so i don't look like as much of a dork eating alone. Damn i'm REALLY wishing i'd come over with Erin now!!! Baby, where are you when i DESPERATELY need you!!!! hhahaha....

It's weird staying in a room with people you don't know who don't particularly seem intersted in having you around. it's even weirder when all you wanna do is lay down and sleep but it being too weird coz i'm a stranger to 'em. meh....i'm looking forward to tomorrow coz i get my own single room WOOP WOOP!!!

Then on thursday i fly off to Sacramento where the REAL fun begins!!!

Talk to you all again then....

Ciao and i love you all!!!
Alisha