Camp Notes No. 9

Camp Merrie-Woode, North Carolina

When I’m choosing camps for this project, I spend a lot of time on their websites, their videos, their Instagram accounts — and I still can never truly get a grasp of what the camp actually looks like. I believe this is intentional. They don’t want to reveal all the magic before campers arrive. As I might have mentioned before, I put each camp through a bit of a vetting process, and aesthetics is key. By aesthetics, I mean the landscape: unique properties, beautiful cabins, and that traditional element that makes a camp look somewhat untouched since opening day. So it’s a really wonderful surprise when I pull up to a camp and it takes my breath away.

Merrie-Woode did just that.

The first thing I saw while driving in, peeking through the trees — a row of picturesque cabins dotting the waterfront.

The campers at Merrie-Woode are incredibly kind, friendly and curious. Never once on this journey — until now — have I had campers fighting over whose table I get to sit at, and I have to admit it was a nice feeling.

Some truth telling…

I’m doing this project because I truly love it. The scenes and moments I’m able to capture and witness fill me with life. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t lonely. Each camp I arrive at is its own ecosystem, where everyone knows each other and trust has been earned — so naturally, I’m a bit of a stranger. It’s a process I’ve had to learn to adapt to: going about my day silently, like a ghost. It hasn’t exactly gotten easier, but when campers shout my name from across camp, it makes all of this worth it.

When I ask campers about what they think of having no technology while at camp, many of them respond the same. They don’t notice! There are so many things for them to do at camp, they hardly have time to think about the lack of phone in their daily life. Even when they are bored, it’s the good kind, and they recognise that.

Every camp has its own language, especially when it comes to awards and the activities girls are working towards. They abbreviate everything, and sometimes you’ll overhear something like:

*”All I have left to get my starmate is solos tandems and river class.”*

??

Translation: she’s working towards an award that takes seven summers to complete, where girls have to master all the waterfront activities — “solo tandem” is a kayaking element of it. The girls get so familiar with these words that when someone unfamiliar walks in, it’s baffling to them. That’s camp!

Things I noticed this week:

- Eating all meals in 15 minutes flat. How in the world do campers eat so fast? This is consistent across all camps.

- Turns out if you stuff chocolate in the marshmallow while roasting, it takes you to peak s’mores. Thank you to the camper who made me one!

- Trunk rugs! You put a rug on top of your trunk to dust off your feet before getting into bed. Brilliant.

- The Gen Z lingo: LOW KEY BRO (on repeat, all day long!). I tried to convince campers this week to replace the bro with sis — there are no boys at this camp, who are you calling bro!? I don’t think it worked. ;)

xx,
Amanda