Moorea, French Polynesia 23 July 2011, 10:30 a.m. Tahiti Time 17S49 149W51
Greetings all, from Silver Lining Academy Summer Camp.
We’ve had a busy summer with 4 campers onboard for the past month or more. Frank’s niece and nephew (Mauna 12 and Tevai 8) definitely livened things up around here. We mostly gave up on actual school, although French was the primary language, so half the campers were getting intensive language training. Camp activities primarily included various water sports, most in some competitive form. There was leaping, snorkeling, diving, halyard swinging, kayak logrolling, paddling, bubble blowing, sea shell herding (in 15m of water), sandcastle building (including an underwater sandcastle category). Each camper attempted to outdo the others in any category that could be imagined. Prizes were won by all (the twice-weekly grand prize was a 1 kilo jar of Nutella to be shared with other campers). The resulting aquatic extravaganza has left this counselor breathless. Evening activities were always tumultuous (even art sessions), every instrument onboard was aired and tested – clarinet, recorder, keyboard, electric guitar, guitar, kamaka, ukulele, voice, spoons and table (the last two in the rhythm section) – all instruments proved functional. I can’t say that any of this season’s campers will be recommended for reciprocal music academy summer camps, but not for lack of enthusiasm.
There was a two-week Tahiti session, a two-week Moorea session, and a two-week Huahine session. There were no serious injuries, but the nurses office was kept busy with preventative ear care, and there’s a significant dent in the hydrogen peroxide supply. The last half of the last Huahine session was so hectic, that we took on an additional counselor (Frank’s mom flew in to rescue us – the medicinal supply of Rum for the counselors was frighteningly low). We are currently shut down for cleaning, restocking, and repair, but we may squeeze in another Moorea session, and definitely another Tahiti session (the last will be at our mother campus up on the hillside of Temaruata in August – we may contract out to fill counselor positions for that last session if anyone is interested).
The silence from me is due to the cacophony; I could not hear myself think. When camp closed, and Mijo flew out with Mauna and Tevai – Frank commented that a 2001 Space Odyssey silence had descended on this ship.
We all look back to the neat things we made at camp, this summer, campers and counselors alike have built a huge collection of good memories.
xoxomo