Written by Miriel (Camper)
Ah, arrival day! Long-awaited and much anticipated! This is my fifth and final year as a camper at NBTSC, and the lead-up to this day is always a mess of nerves and excitement.
This year, as a worktrader in the camp kitchen, I had the opportunity to come to camp early and help out during staff orientation. So, come arrival day, I had already slept two nights at Camp Myrtlewood, had a chance to walk around and reacquaint myself with the site, and enjoy a certain level of quiet that doesn’t often surface while at camp.
Today I slept in ‘til 9 and woke, all alone in my big cabin, to the sound of the breakfast bell. I talked skate culture over my eggs and potatoes with Yared, Grace’s 11 year-old son and resident Camp Kid, who had some strong opinions on posers. Just after breakfast, a crew of staffers took off to Eugene to begin the process of collecting campers, and back at camp there were plenty of last-minute preparations, many of which had our Junior Staff running around nonstop. There were beds to be moved, signs to be made, and trashcans to be haphazardly fashioned out of old cardboard boxes. I helped out where I could, and took some time to enjoy the last hours of serenity before campers arrived.
As I wandered around, I could see all the little things that make camp what it is coming together. Blake set up a slackline outside the lodge, Mama Bear readied the Bear Cave, and Sierra put up the line of clothespins we use to send messages amongst each other. Eventually I ended up in the kitchen, chopping lettuce for our dinner and potatoes for our breakfast.
And then, finally, the first few campers began to arrive! A slow but steady trickle at first as families and groups arrived in cars, and then the bus arrived – two buses, actually – jam-packed with the people I’d be spending the next two weeks with. Though I’m culminating this year, seeing so many new faces made me feel like a brand new camper again. Suddenly the emptiness and quiet that I had gotten used to over the previous couple days vanished and was replaced by all the excitement and awkwardness of those very first moments of camp. People reunited with old friends and introduced themselves to new ones, and everyone scrambled to find their cabin and claim a bed. Dusk was falling when we finally split into our advisee groups to eat dinner. The rest of the evening was taken up by opening ceremony and confusing games involving invisible balls. I got to catch up with some long-time friends in the evening before heading to bed early so I could get up to help with breakfast the next morning and enjoy the first full day of NBTSC 2019!
