A reflection from Regina Miller

This past week has been so full of new and interesting experiences for me. I have never been to a summer camp or even just camping in general so I had no idea what to expect going into this trip. I was not scared, but I was definitely a little uneasy about how everything was going to work out. I quickly learned that I had little reason to be uneasy. As soon as the kids got to the camp everyone jumped into action. It was interesting to watch as the kids separated into their individual groups and the staff worked to get them all to mingle. I not knowing what to do just followed the example of my other staff members hoping that I would not make any mistakes right off the bat. It astonished me how many of the girls in my group were surprised when they learned they would be sleeping outside the first two nights of camp. I mean what exactly did they expect? 

As the week continued and I got to know the kids a little bit better I learned that though there are many cultural differences, 11-14 year olds have the same attitudes universally. They like to push and poke at you until you want to scream, but they can also do and say the nicest things that make you so proud of them. Some of my favorite moments were answering questions about America while watching my girls struggle to make s'mores around the fire and watching their faces light up when they were pushed outside their comfort zones and managed to survive. Though they may not know it, the kids at the camp taught me a few things. They showed me that I have an unlimited number of buttons to push, that my patience level is longer than I imagined,  and that despite being from different cultures we are all so much a like. 

It is really easy to let yourself back away from cultures that are different from your own, but when you open yourself up you can gain so much. I am so glad that I came on this trip. I am exhausted but I will be taking home so many great memories. I will miss everyone that I have met here in Ireland, but I am ready to be back with my family. It has been a crazy week, but it has been so much fun.