Route J-1

By Erik, J-1 Camp Counselor from Iceland
A version of this story was originally published on Camp America.

Nick and Erik behind the “Pleebs”.

Hi everyone, my name is Erik and I’m from Iceland. I went to Camp Letts in Maryland during the summer of 2012, and I will never forget it.

I have a lot of good memories from camp! Being a camp counselor is more than just clocking in and out. You actually become a very important part of the children’s lives. Believe me when I say it, they will remember you for a very long time. The reason I know this is the fact that I had a very special moment at camp. I had a 12 year old kid in my cabin that was extremely shy and really didn’t want to be there…at all! He didn’t want to be a part of the activities, so I felt a bit sorry for the little guy.

I tried everything I could to get him to participate in activities. After a couple of days, he went from being a shy kid to the center of attention. It was a great week for both me and him.

From Left to Right: Ana, Erik, Natalie and Pascual in the dining hall.

At camp, there were days when campers could buy stuff from the store with money their parents deposited in their name. They sold snacks, towels, necklaces, drinks, and other handy stuff. What I didn’t know was that my life was about to change. That shy kid that I met a week earlier who didn’t want anything to do with camp grabbed me to say goodbye. His mother was standing in the cabin with us when he opened his mouth to say, “Thank you so much for making my week so great. I had so much fun with you and I will really miss being here. I am going to ask my mom if I can come again and I don’t want any other counselor when I come back.” Then he took out the necklace that he kept under his shirt and reached into his pocket and said, “I went to the store today and I had some money left, so I got myself a necklace and I got one for you as well.” I was lost for words. The kid left with his mother and did not come to the camp again that summer. But I can tell you this. I was not expecting that from a kid. This showed me that I was doing something right.

Waterfront staff at the Camp Letts dock.

This experience is honestly not just about the kids. You will also have co-counselors. At our camp we had about 80 counselors from 20 countries and it’s really remarkable that everyone got along. I have plenty of good friends from camp from all over the world including Australia, Hungary, England, Scotland, Ireland, America, and South Africa.

After camp it can be a little bit tricky to get to see the people you worked with every day for 12-14 weeks at camp. But somehow, even after 3-4 years, it will always be natural to meet these guys. I was not much of a traveler before camp, but it really made me realize that it’s not that expensive to travel when you know people all around the world. It really connects you with people on a whole other level. After camp, I traveled to meet a few of my friends. I attended a wedding in Australia, visited Africa with a dear friend of mine, and have been to Scotland and England I don’t know how many times.

Do yourself a favor, grab the chance you have and go to camp! You won’t regret it. What you might do is regret that you didn’t go.

Categories: Program Spotlight