friends forever...

together at last...together forever....

ah, yes...the day finally came where i stepped foot into a wonderful new relationship. you might remember me talking about her. her name is rosie, and she is a furry chilean rose turantula. as she walked onto my hand this afternoon, i just knew it was going to be an instant bond. a bond that will never be broken. bosom buddies, kindred hearts, best friends...whatever you want to call it. that's rosie and me.

ok, ok. so maybe it didn't go quite like that. and it probably never will. i was scheduled to help teach the animal class today for the first time. i kinda laughed, because...well, i'd never even touched the thing before. so, jiffy handled rosie with the kids...while i watched. my chance to hold her came later behind closed doors. right before i held her, i felt sick to my stomach. but i just had to do it, there was no way i wanted to back down. once her first leg climbed onto my hand...(i can't believe i'm saying this)....but it really wasn't all that bad. i mean, not that i ever, ever want to have one of my own or would ever enjoy crossing paths with one unexpectedly....but for someone who has always screamed for someone to kill a spider for me, it wasn't as frightening as i was certain it would be. and i don't expect to have nightmares tonight of taratulas climbing all over me. i can even imagine doing that class all by myself one day. i was so glad to have done it.

the island experience

so my first island adventure began when i stepped board the ferry boat. i was so excited...it was new...i would be experiencing a lifestyle i'd never seen before. within 20 minutes of being on the boat, i realized it wasn't such a joyous occasion that i had day-dreamed about. let's just call it the barf boat. no kidding! now....i've never gotten sea sick before this. then again, i was told the water that particular day was unusually rough. i found myself on the back of the barf boat, looking out at the horizon, tring to get the repulsive feeling out of my stomach and head. pretty soon, there was a whole row of people along the back of the boat...all huntched over the railing. i will say though, that it was the coolest throw-up experience that i have ever had! i'd rather puke off the back of the boat into the ocean anyday over having my head in a toilet. so anyway...it was rather comical.

the island was absolutely beautiful! i kept feeling like i was on vacation...then i remembered that this is my reality, this is my job! the camp sits on the north eastern side of catalina, with nothing else around. it's about 6 miles to the nearest town...and it's on the opposite side from avalon, which is the touristy town. i didn't have to teach any classes while i was there...so i pretty much shadowed a few of the sea classes.

i ended up breaking a fear that i never even know that i had! it showed itself during my first attempt at snorkeling. it sounded so great! i mean, how could it not...checking out the life under the sea! well....once i had the wet suit on (the water was ridiculously cold, by the way), had my flippers and mask, i thought i was all set to go! the struggle came when i actually had to put my face in the water and breathe through the tube. i felt like no matter what i did, i just couldn't get any air. it was awful. it was suffocating. but here i was...on staff, amidst all these campers...doing it for the first time...and realizing that it made me panic a bit! i kept trying...but it was the same feeling every time. i flippered my way up to the guy who was teaching...and told him i was really struggling. he was more than kind and had me swim out with some girls that were shivering uncontrollably. i was a bit bummed because i felt like a quitter. but i knew i'd have a second chance. that second chance came the next day. i was told i didn't have to go...but i needed to. i wanted to. i didn't want to be afraid of snorkeling. after all, "breaking your fears" is plastered all over the MSA staff shirts i wear...so i was determined to do this. i am so thrilled to say that the next time was 100 times better! wow!! after spending a few minutes practicing the breathing, it was like i didn't even want to lift my head from the water! the fish...the kelp...things swaying with the waves, all an amazing indication of our Creator. i was captivated by it! i was so excited. now...it's not to say that i'm some superstar snorkeler, but i sure want to do it again! i don't think i'll look at an ocean the same again...there's so much going on under the surface that we just don't see.

other than that, i kayaked, hiked, slept in an a-frame(basically it's in the shape of a tent, but it's made out of wood with a door...small, but it does it's job). i saw a whale and hundreds of dolphins...it was brilliant!

i made a new friend, too...her name is lorena, and she's from venezuela. (i love friends from other countries!) it's kinda random how she ended up coming to the island...but she knows someone who knows someone....and she just came out to practice english. so we had fun trying to communicate and understand each other. she made my time on the island even more fun.

and, i'll have ya'l know...i held my lunch down on the boat ride back :)

my (distant) brush with a celebrity...

ok, ok, so i suppose it was bound to happen. seeing that i'm in california...the breeding ground for rich and famous people. so i went to the house of blues last night in hollywood. mat kearney was playing, and oh man, i think mat k. is fantastic! so after the first opener, a woman went up on stage and was talking away blah, blah, blah...and then she said, "we have among us tonight, keifer sutherland and a big bunny...." huh?, i thought. i didn't know if she was being silly or what. but then again, i did see a big fat bunny costume walking around. so i started searching the crowd for jack bauer...uh, i mean kiefer. i couldn't see him anywhere. well, at least i figured that i was possibly in the same room as him. even that was pretty neat! i heard some whisperings behind me....and it seemed like kiefer was the buzz word. so i asked the lady behind me....and sure enough. she pointed him out to me...and he was sitting at a table so close to me! there he was! turns out he has his own record label now, and the second band that was opening is on his new label. so from then on, it was hard not to just glance over at him and think about how that's the same guy the united states sees on tv and loves, that's the same guy who fights terrorists in a single day :). it was just weird to see him hanging out....sitting having a drink at a table with some friends....and clap and cheer when the band finished. i definitely recognized a jack bauer haller even over the rest of the crowd. i would've inserted a photo here of the one and only jack bauer had i not had to check my camera at the house of blues valet...silly rules. and i had to pay 5 bucks to check it! silliness.

besides that....let's see....
i'm continuing to check out churches. and having fun doing it. there's just so many here, it's crazy! i went to saddleback this past weekend. the place is amazingly huge. it's almost like it's an entire community within itself.
yesterday, jiffy and i drove into san pedro....which is right on the ocean. it's not as glamorous as you may have just pictured in your mind though. when we were driving into the area, i kinda felt like i was driving through gary, indiana. not pretty. it's an industrial area...with all these big rig looking things. a bunch of huge metal structures. just not at all a nice beach town. when we got around to where we were staying though, it was a bit better. it's a boy scout facility, and mountain and sea adventures has an office in their building. so guess what...jiffy and i got to sleep on couches in the little office room...and this morning we had to shower outside in our swimming suits. ya know those kinds of showers that you might find at a swimming pool. the ones that you have to get wet in before they let you jump into the pool. yeah, those were like the ones i had to use. kinda strange. especially because there was a big important meeting this morning happening at this location...and there we were showering. kinda awkward. but hey....it was a great view of the ocean!
so today we had a group of high school seniors arrive from las vegas. we did a bunch of marine biology stuff with them. it was so neat!! we went to an aquarium that was just spectacular! then we went tide pooling. i got to hold a little octapus...and something called a brittle star. amazing stuff. God just blows me away with his creation and creativity. really...it's amazing. i am in wonder of God because of it....the colors of these creatures are so brilliant...the way they were delicately made with such a purpose and part of how they work with the environment they are in. it's awesome! and tidepooling is just fun!! life abounds in those little nooks and crannies of the ocean. absolutely awesome!!

there's some photos for you to see....(for some reason they decided to put themselves up at the top by the talk about jack bauer...so maybe i haven't figured out this technology thing yet.) two are from the aquarium. the other is fran (the husband to the big wig director of the whole organization) showing some of the students some creatures he found.

alright...well...that's about it for now. we're headed to the island tomorrow. it's such a different lifestyle there, so i'm excited to experience it.

the team...

hey, hey....if all went well with my limited technological abilities, ya'll should be seeing a photo posted here! :) this is the MSA (mountain and sea adventures) clan. two of these guys came over from catalina island just for the week to help us out because we have a lot of kids. so....it's hana, ryan, jiffy, maverick, faith, rocky, and me. speaking of catalina island, i found out that i will be taking a little trip over there next week!! we have no campers next week....so all of us are going to san pedro on monday. my california geography is definitely not up to par, so i have no clue where that's at. but i do know it's not terribly far from LA, and it's on the coast. then....on wednesday, jiffy, maverick and i will be heading to the island for a few days. i'm very excited to see this place that i have heard so many people talk about. i'll make sure to post some pictures :) so check back.

much love... b.

more mice...

well, it's a new week. a new groups of kids. 120 of them, in fact. they're only here for three days of camp, but i can already tell that it's going to be a choatic couple days. it started off rough...classes this afternoon weren't as smooth as i'd like...but some of that is to be expected.
i taught pond lab twice this afternoon. as i was setting up for it, i just stopped and thought about how awesome it is that this is my job....that it's my job to work outside....it's my job to be in the mountains. whoa...it's great! the two groups of kids i had were mostly uninterested, didn't want to listen, had chaperones that just contributed to the distractions (which was really frustrating)...but we got through it. i could see a couple of them were into it and were fascinated by all the organisms they get to dig out of the pond and check out under the microscope, and that's what i like to see. i have to do the same thing over and over as i teach this class, but i can tell that i won't get tired of seeing them get excited about it.
then tonight, i taught owl archeology. quite interesting. as the kids were disecting owl pellets and finding bones of mice and birds and moles and who knows what else....all of the sudden the kids started screaming. i heard someone say....it's a real mouse!! having seen many other mice in that room before, i wasn't surprised. one of the dad's immediately began to try to catch it. the kids totally got into it. i looked as one of the teachers from the school groups jumped up on a counter and was squirming and laughing. everyone was giggling and trying to get a peek at the mouse, but it was hiding behind a stack of chairs. it took awhile...but finally it was caught! it was a tiny little thing. kind of cute actually. kind of. the dad was holding it up by the tail and kids were flashing pictures left and right. it was so funny. then he let it outside...which means it'll probably just find it's way right back in. but oh well. the teacher who had planted herself on higher ground came up to me and was apologizing that it had interrupted the class...but she said that this was already one of the highlights of their time here. it was just fun to watch them all get into it. it definitely added some excitement. :) i wonder if i'll ever stop having mouse stories. maybe one day i'll just get so comfortable with them around. i don't know, we'll see about that one. actually yesterday in our cabin there was a lizard. that's a new one!
alright...well...i'm off to bed.
later,
brooke.

highlights

like everyone's week, i'm sure, this past week has had delightful times and yucky times. we had a full camp....with over 100 people from two different schools. i got sick mid week and felt terrible. i remembered how awful it is to be sick in a new place that doesn't quite feel like home yet. it made me miss my parent's house. my parent's couch. and knowing that someone familiar would be around soon wondering how i was doing. but i guess i am 26 now, so i should get used to not being at my parent's house when i'm sick! i'm feeling much better today...i'd say practically 100%.
i shadowed some more classes this week....ones that i think i'm really going to like teaching. bird lab and orienteering were great. we had the kids fishing one day...and one boy fell in the pond! while teaching pond and creek lab to one group, the kids found a trout that was stuck in the creek and couldn't get back to his buddies in the pond because it was uphill filled with rocks and logs. so a couple of the kids couragously, after many attempts, grabbed ahold of the fish and walked him back up to the pond. it was neat to see the kids cheering it on...and hooting and hollering when he was back in the pond. they ended up naming him loghead julio. it was great and funny. after each class, the kids have to write conclusions....that includes what they did, what they learned, what inspired them, etc....and nearly all of them talked about rescuing the fish! it made me smile.
i tried out a new church today that was about an hour away from camp. it was fantastic, and i'm certain that i will go back! there's a girl i met at camp this week who wants to try it out with me next weekend. it's quite similar to river valley...so i felt at home. when i walked up to the door, there was a woman there greeting. i put my hand out to shake hers as i said "good morning", and she said, "how about a hug instead." she was so cute.
after church, i decided to go exploring a bit. hey, it was a beautiful california day, i had a full tank of gas, a road map, and a free afternoon....so i headed towards the ocean! i ended up driving through LA and caught highway 1 for a bit up to malibu (alex and lori schwindt warned me that highway 1 was absolutely amazing...and i agree!!) it was a perfect beach day...there were a gazillion surfers out there...and i loved the smell of the ocean. i went through the streets of malibu looking for a place to grab lunch, but quickly realized that i was out of my league. the place smelled of money...everyone looked like wanna be famous people...and i'm certain that i drove past some movie stars homes. they were like castles on the side of the cliff. crazy.
so now i'm sitting at barnes and noble in redlands before i head back up the mountain for the week. we don't have students coming until wednesday, but have other "stuff" to do...i'm not quite sure what that is yet.
just for a critter update....we're still catching mice! just last night, i walked into the living room and saw a not-quite-dead-yet mouse still squirming around. i let out an "eewwww" and then i was fine. i have not had the wonderful opportunity yet to handle rosie. :) maybe this week. i did find out that we actually have two turantulas. fabulous. more to enjoy, hey? i guess they thought the second one, sophie, was dead....but low and behold....she's still moving! and apparently doing fine now.
alright...well...i'm off to get some groceries. :)

jumping in

today was my first day of teaching classes all on my own. i felt that i was quite under prepared because there was hardly any training involved....so that caused some frustration and nervousness to settle in. after breakfast this morning, i was talking to God and saying, "what in the world am i doing here?! i don't know if i can do this job!" but...i'm so happy to say now that they went really well! it was fun, and the day is closing in a much better way than it started. the classes that i taught were pond lab and creek comparison and coniferous forest field study. the pond one was filled with the kids learning about organisms and metamorphosis of the dragonfly...and digging through algae in the pond and checking out under the microscope all the awesome things that they found. it was so fun to see them get excited about it...to get their hands dirty and work as a team. the coniferous forest one will probably be one of my favorites. we talked about six different kinds of trees and i took the kids around camp locating the different ones. did ya'll know that the coulter pines are nicknamed the "widow maker" because they have the heaviest pine cones out of any in the world...and they can get up to nine pounds a piece! whoa! they're quite amazing. i found out before i did the coniferous class that one of the chaperones had actually studied forestry in college. great, i thought. here i am teaching the class for the first time and i've got a pro on my hands. it went fantastic though. she was so kind...and added a few things here and there, but it was all good.
then tonight i did a quick activity called wilderness attitude. it was basically talking about what to do in survival situations...and the kids did skits to demonstrate. it was super.
it's amazing how tired you can get after working with kids all day. they're great, but man, i sure appreciate my bed at the end of the day.
oh...and for those of you that have asked...my camp name is creek :)

goodnight to you all...

little critters

i had an action packed weekend of hunting down/being scared by creatures great and small. ok, so maybe not really great big ones...but it seemed like it at the time. friday night, my roommate and i were watching a movie, when we were interrupted by mice running around in the kitchen. (oh, let me add in here that the night before there were some traps set out and we caught six by the following morning!) so...being distracted by these mice that were invading our space, we set up a trap, which involved a trash can, a candle, some dental floss, some peanut butter, and a paper bag. we sat and waited in silence hoping that they would take the bait. well, they never did. but they were crawling around the fire place...on the counters...trying to get in the cabinets...and they came within two feet of us and just stared at us as if to say, "nana, na, na, na, na....you can't get me!" finally we gave up. then yesterday, we were just chillin'....i went to sit down in the living room and suddenly saw something flying at me. i let out a scream! jiffy was in the kitchen thinking that i saw a mouse. she poked her head in the living room just as the creature was flying right towards her. then she screamed. pretty soon we were both screaming and laughing all at once as i grabbed a blanket, laid flat on the couch, and screamed. it was so funny! we soon realized it was a bat. jiffy yelled for me to make a run for it...and we darted for the door. we ran up to maverick's cabin..laughing the whole way. he came to rescue us with a broom and bag in tow, wondering how in the world to catch a bat. it was pretty simple, as it very nicely let itself out of our front door. then....(this is the last critter story for now....oh the joys of living in a cabin!) jiffy and i were just about to go to bed last night when we heard a loud banging type noise outside. we concluded that it was coming from out front porch. it was our trash can. for all we knew it could be a bear. so we ran to the front door and put our ear to the door to see what we could hear. something was definitely rummaging through it! jiffy called maverick right away...laughing that once again we needed some help. we were curious, so before he got down to our place....we decided to crack the door just a peek to see what it was. well, it ended up being a big fat raccoon. not as exciting as a bear...but maybe it's better that way.
so anyway...those are my critter stories. the bat incident was by far the funniest...it still makes me laugh.

i suppose i should've done this first...but allow me to introduce ya'll to the people that i'll be spending most of my time with for the next few months.
meet tiffany: her camp name is jiffy. she's my roommate. she just graduated from san diego christian college, has lived in san diego her whole life, and is absolutely into soccer. she wants to eventually be a p.e. teacher, which i can totally tell that she is going to be great at!
meet faith: her camp name is hope. she's the director, at least for the next three months. she's from california, near san diego. she's 28 and has been involved with ministry in one way or another since finishing college.
meet hanna: camp name, sunshine. also from california...real close to where we're living now. she's with us for just the next three months as an instructor. i don't know her as well yet, but am sure that will come with time.
meet mike: camp name, maverick. he's the one and only guy on our team. he's from kansas, but loves california. he's great teaching the kids...and actually likes holding the turantula.
meet josh and kristin: camp names, hawk and grits. they are a married couple who actually work out at the island. they're here for one more week helping things get under way, as the rest of us are quite new and don't really know what we're doing.

well...that's all for now. i've got to get back up to the mountain. i drove into san diego today to hang out with my cousin and his wife, and their absolutely adorable son. (that seems so strange to say that i just drove into san diego for the day. weird. and fun.) i saw the ocean...and loved it!

until next time....
and yes, photos will be coming :)

hmmmm...

...alright. where do i start? it seems that so much has been jam packed into the last few days. my dad and i arrived on tuesday safe and sound. my first impression of the camp was "wow!" it's greater than any camp i've ever been to...probably because it sits right in the middle of some amazing mountains. it's so strange...it's almost like i don't feel like i'm in southern california. maybe because i'm so far removed from what is normally associated with southern california. for crying out loud, my cell phone doesn't even work where i'm at! i never really thought i was a big fan of cell phones anyway...until i realize that i'm two thousand miles away from home and don't have use of my phone! well...thank the Lord that there is a tiny little place at camp where i can connect to wireless.
ok...so, my cabin is awesome! great big living room with a big stone fireplace. a room with a bed by a window that gives me a peek at the mountains each morning. a bathroom that far exceeds any expectation for a camp bathroom. and the kitchen...well, the kitchen has a little to be desired. but we'll have to share with the guys cabin, because they lucked out with an awesome kitchen.
i'm living with three other girls. tiffany and i (actually, she goes my jiffy. we all have camp names) share a room....and faith and hanna are next door. i think it'll be a good team. we're still in the "getting to know you" stage...and unfortunately, it hasn't been an instant connection like i had with tristan back in our freshman year at judson...but it'll all work out!
the job started yesterday...and i've got so much to learn! it's a litte overwhelming. i've shadowed several classes....things like shelter building, trout pond lab, animal camo, owl archeology. then today we spent several hours doing the climbing wall and the zip line. the days are full...but i love that i no longer have to dress up for work! i mean, really...it's great.
one thing that's not so great....i found out that there's one class where i'm going to have to handle a gigantic turantula and a 5 foot long snake. ok, so the snake isn't so bad. i actually held him yesterday. it was kinda neat. but the turantula...oh man. i didn't know that was in the job description. i was filled with this terrible dread when i found this out. now, i'm not afraid of an awful lot...but spiders. oh my goodness...i hate them with a passion! they are so ugly...creepy...and crawly...and i just shudder when i think of one sitting on my hand. and this is one of those hairy ones with the big huge belly.....and too many legs. her name is rosie. who in the world would name a turantula such a pleasant name like rosie. she should have a hideous name. ewwww. ok, so it's kinda ironic though because one of the themes of mountain and sea adventures is breaking your fears. hmmmm. so i realize that i've got to break down this fear of mine....especially if i'm going to be encouraging students to do the same. so i'm aware of this...but, oh....i can't believe it. i can't believe i'm going to have to hold it. one day...i'll be posting a photo of me with rosie...and i'll rejoice in the fact that i faced this fear. yuck.
i drove my dad to the airport this morning. i had to say my last goodbye. now it's for real. i'm here. i'm gone from there. and it was kind of an alone feeling. so it's going to take a bit to transition. as much as i think i'm going to like it, it's still a transtion. still a change. still an adventure. and it's an awesome opportunity to just cling to the Lord.