|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Monday, July 23, 2001 Satori campers are not morning people. This was abundantly clear this morning as counselors had to make the rounds a little before 7:30AM to rouse campers from their dreams in time for breakfast. More than a few tired eyes could be seen when surveying the breakfast buffet. (It remains a perplexing question for the counselors as to why there were so many sleepy campers when they all clearly went to bed on time.) Regardless, campers were able to enjoy a repast consisting of cereal, juice, pastries, fresh fruit and other delights before trudging off to their first class. Not sure what to expect, campers ventured off to find their first class (those in Hypnosis, with pillows in hand). Others went to Acting, Photography, Chess or Programming class. A few intrepid souls even took "The Satori Harold", the class that produces Satori's official student newspaper (since 1995). They successfully churned out the first of five issues coming out this week and those issues should be delivered to campers sometime this afternoon. Pandemonium reigned supreme as campers tried to find their second classes for the day. Due to a bureaucratic snafu several classes were assigned to two separate rooms simultaneously, with one room listed on one set of schedules and another room listed on the other schedule. The confusion was quickly resolved through the quick action of our Counselors-in-Training (recent former campers who've returned to assist the camp). Before long, everyone had found their way to the appropriate classrooms. Ever want to learn to dance or find out how to become a humor writer? Do you feel the need to dacen? Interested in why, if things are really made mostly of empty space, things don't just fall through each other? Maybe you're more curious about teen issues like suicide, AIDS and teen pregnancy. Perhaps you're the artistic sort and would rather make BIG sculptures. These are the kinds of classes that campers will be taking in the Midday session throughout our week at camp. Each of our classes at Satori Camp are being taught by experts in their respective fields; some are teachers in the Spokane area, some are graduate students and others are university professors. Over the past 18 years, we've managed to provide some amazing and interesting classes for our campers. Some -- like Doug Clark's humor writing class, the Mixed Media Sculpture class or the Hypnosis class -- have been offered for many years, while others -- like Physics, Philosophy or Harry Potter -- are being offered for the first time this year. Since so many campers return for multiple years, we feel it's really important to continue to add new courses each year. Stay tuned to the Satori Camp website to see what we're going to offer next year... Today's selection: sandwiches, tater-tots, turkey tetrazini, fresh fruit, milk and juice. The most common topic of conversation at lunch today involved campers comparing notes on the various classes they'd taken that morning, as well as wondering aloud what their classes would be like in the afternoon. Since several classes had to be cancelled for reasons of instructor availability or poor enrolment, many campers had to take their second or third choices in the afternoon session. Fortunately, the instructor that usually teaches Karate during recreation time informed us at the last minute that he'd be willing to teach a class in the afternoon session. As such, campers were informed at the beginning of their class this afternoon that they were welcome to switch out of their current class and go into the Karate class if they were interested. Several campers took advantage of that opportunity, and then classes begun. Some campers were introduced to the basics of genetics (including lab equipment) while others analysed themes in Harry Potter, learned about the paranormal or explored the basics of the philosophical method. One of those true Satori traditions, campers rushed to the PHASE (the Physical Education Building) after their last class, camp t-shirts in hand for the annual group picture. As with almost every other year, campers were in a hurry-up-and-wait mode as the photographer set up his equipment and we waited for the few tardy counselors and campers. Finally, everyone arrived so we all prepared to shuffle outside onto the EWU climbing rock. Just was we were about to pick our favorite spots, though, the photographer informed us that conditions weren't quite right: the sun was too bright and the stars weren't in alignment so we had to wait for a cloud to get in the way. This was, of course, not your standard puffy cloud, but instead a complex cloud with many holes in it. As such, a single picture would be taken of us before the sun would re-emerge, forcing us to wait on the hot rocks, under the hot sun, for the perfect lighting conditions to come back. Finally, after a half-dozen shots were taken of us, we headed off to our chosen recreation activity. A: "What should we do during recreation time?" Such was the typical dialogue between campers at the beginning of recreation time today. With most of the PHASE facilities open to us, campers can have quite a difficult time deciding what to do. Somehow, though, they always seem to find a favorite activity. For some, it's diving or water polo, and for others it's tennis or squash. Although this year isn't as hot as past years, the pool still remains one of the most popular activities among campers, with almost half of them lounging around or playing in the pool. Those that returned briefly to Morrison Hall before dinner found that
copies of the "Satori Harold" had been delivered to each room. As with the previous night, dinner was held in the Pence Union Building, or PUB. Although Tawanka is, as stated before, legendary for its notorious food, the dinner was again "not that bad". To say anymore would break a rule: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." It's truly obvious at dinner that we're now becoming a more tightly knit group. Similar to a scene that played itself out several times during dinner, it was noticed by a group of veteran campers that there was an individual sitting alone, eating their food. Usually, our veteran campers would seize some initiative and invite the lone first-time camper to join them, but the table the veterans were sitting at was completely full. It was a scene that makes a counselor burst with pride: about a dozen of those veteran campers uprooted themselves halfway through the meal to move to the other table, quickly engaging the new camper in conversation. After dinner, campers returned to Morrison for some free time and to get ready for our evening activity: Capture The Flag. Evening
Activity: Capture The Flag Campers divided up into red and yellow teams and trooped down to the tree-filled lawn in front of Showalter Hall for our usual Monday evening game of Capture the Flag. Red and yellow flagged players toed the boundary line between sides swatting biting insects and daring opponents to cross the threshold between safety and capture. A number of campers made daring rushes into opposing territory, only to be thwarted by the valiant efforts of defenders. Eventually, however, one team's strategy would prevail, and the flag would find a new home on the other side of the field. All three rounds were hard-fought, and good effort was put in by both sides. As dusk settled over the Eastern campus, the game ended with good spirits (and, thankfully, no more than a few minor bumps and bruises) on the part of all players. En masse, everyone returned to Morrison Hall to swap war stories from the evening's battle, and to talk with friends both new and old during the free time before lights-out. After the rousing game of capture the flag, the students retired back to the dorms to rest and relax. On the boy's floor, a few campers who brought instruments held an impromptu concert in the lounge. Most of Satori was in attendance, and both the performers and the audience were having great fun. The audience was singing along with songs, making requests, and snapping photos. Quickly, it was 10 PM and the quiet rules went into effect, ending the concert. Students retreated to their respective rooms to rest for the next busy day of camp activities. |
