I'm back! I'm exhausted! I've done
something to my lower left torso, because I spent much of the last two days chasing my new friend around trying to poke or kick her in the kidneys without having the same done to me
It was an amazing experience. The whole thing was voice off, but a fair few people (mostly the level 1 students) were whispering as they signed trying to ensure they were understood. A few people wore earplugs to cut these extraneous noises out, I shoved in my noise-cancelling earphones which do a fairly decent job to try and get a similar effect.
The camp is set on pair of beautiful lakes and forests. There is a playground, docks, trails, a gym and more. On two days a friend of the BRCD brought her powerboat over to tow us on the lake in a three person tube! There was even a zipline over the lake to let people go sliding along and then whenever they wanted, drop into the water.
I had more adventures than I can recount at once here, but yesterday was the best day. My new friend and I had sat under a tree in the early afternoon chatting, and when official free time started we literally ran back to the dorms to change for a swim (lifeguards were only on duty during the free time in the late afternoon).
We swam around for a while and then the zipline was opened and supervised so we walked up the hill to go on. I went first, taking a deep breath before stepping out from the platform over 30 feet above the lake. I slid most of the way down before letting go and dropping into the water. My friend came next. She always wears her glasses because of her vision, and so had them on. Naturally, falling about seven feet into the water meant they didn't stay on!
I had goggles and enlisted some help but with people coming down the line and splashing every few minutes, the mud was being churned up into thick clouds and you couldn't see a thing underwater. One of the lifeguards said we'd just have to wait until later when people stopped jumping in to look.
Not that long afterwards, the zipline trolley came off the wire and jammed while being winched back to the platform for the next user. The lifeguards and volunteers had an idea to try and fix it, but it was stuck about 15 feet above the surface of the lake, so one volunteer slung a rope over the wire, slipped her foot into the loop of the rope and tried to shimmy towards it. While she's doing this I alternated between diving for lost glasses and paddling a kayak to hand her a towel to ease the strain on her hands and feet on the rope. Her technique didn't work and after about half an hour this poor girl had barely moved an inch. The boat returned and by standing on its towing tower she was able to reach the trolley and reseat it so I was able to winch it back into place.
By this point it had been almost two hours since the glasses had been lost, so I grabbed a float from the lifeguards so I could catch my breath between dives without touching the bottom and churning up more mud. Eventually the other lifeguard came and offered to help. She dived once and found nothing. She dived again and found the glasses. I'd been out there all that time and she finds the damn things within five minutes!
Ugh. I am completely exhausted by this point and drag myself back to the beach, and up the hill towards the main building. My friend has just emerged from the cafeteria and, when I hold up her specs, comes flying at me and lifts me into the air in a giant hug. I'm too tired to enjoy being a hero, I just want to eat dinner before they stop serving it, and go have a shower.
Every day we had four and a half hours of classes. Everyone was divided into groups based on experience level. Because I'd finished the program at George Brown College I was in level 3, and moved up to 3C because we'd already finished 3A. People were always curious about other people's levels and level 3 was met with reverent awe.
A few people asked me if I was Deaf! I am quite expressive when I sign but I think it was more down to the fact that unlike many other campers I scrupulously adhered to the voice off rule. One night we went for a fun night in a local bar and when I was talking to one of the volunteers ,nearby students commented: "WOW, you have a voice? What? Just never heard you use it all week!"
We also put on skits and the teachers put some on for us. Some of these were hilarious, including that one where someone stands behind someone else and acts as their arms, making a huge mess of simple tasks like brushing your teeth or eating. There were other more summer camp-style activities like scavenger hunts too.
That's all I can really write for now. I'm too tired! What a week!
Link:
The Bob Rumball - ASL Adult Summer Immersion Camp
