In which I volunteer at Camp Boggy Creek

Hello again!  It has been a while since i've last posted on here, things have been incredibly busy, but I wanted to share with you a little about my experience volunteering again with 

Camp Boggy Creek.  

In case you didn't know, Camp Boggy Creek is an amazing camp located in Eustis, Florida, that is free for children with serious illnesses to attend.  They host both camps throughout the Summer weeks, as well as " Family Day Weekends", which are 3 day weekend events where the whole family can come and participate in activities.  For the Summer Camp weeks, the weeks are split into specific groups, so that they can provide and meet all the medical needs for those children.  

The session I have volunteered with for the past two years has been the Blended Camp, where children with Asthma, Spina Bifida, Kidney, Transplant and Craniofacial attended.  The camp is split into age groups, which are divided by 4 colors (Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow) and then divided into 4 cabins per color (2 for boys, 2 for girls.)  The detail and care put into these sessions are truly incredible, allowing children the place and opportunity to behave as children, and not worry about their illness or what others might think of it.  

For the past two years, I have been in the Blue group.  Each cabin has its own theme, something that the counselors and the camp play up and support site wide.  

This year, my cabin were called

 The Fireflies~

Chalk art I drew to welcome the girls to the cabin on arrival day.

The Blue Cabin  this year (and last, so maybe its consistent) were the youngest group, so our age group ranged between 7 and 9 years old.  It was fantastic.  The thing with young groups (and to be honest, this camp in general)  is that they just get so into the spirit and will buy what you sell them, so we were all about The Fireflies, and the idea that you shine solo, but as a group and a team, you shine the brightest.  We really emphasized team work.

A shot of the camper side before arrival.

 Some of the basic activities that we did throughout the week included Archery, Horseback Riding, Cooking, Arts and Crafts, Woodburning, Nature Barn, Boating and Fishing, Swimming, Theater, and more.  The kids all rotated through these activities as the week went, and got to select them for special projects and time frames.  Then there were camp activities with things like Aquatic Activity (some might call it a water fight, but they would be wrong, as there is no fighting at camp), a Banquet, a Dance, and what is called the Silly Olympics (or Silly Os.) 

 The Silly Olympics are a high light for the kids as its a time where they can paint on their counselors, or put pudding in their hair, or maybe even sling cold oatmeal at them.  They also get to roll through spaghetti on a slip'n'slide sort of set up.  Its all very messy, but very fun, and afterwards the fire department comes out and creates a river of water basically for the kids to run through on their way to the cabins. 

Little Acts of Kindness jars that we had in the girls room
for them to leave messages for each other.

This year, we also had a spectacular firework display take place, where the whole thing was basically like a grand finale.  The kids loved it, to be sure.

Due to the nature of the camp, I can't post photos of the children, obviously, but I had an incredible time there and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to volunteer at an incredible facility.  Everything there is donated, from the pool (Sea World) to the gym (Orlando Magic) to the Theater (Universal Studios), and so much more.  So much care and attention has been put into this camp, so if you know anyone who would benefit from going here, either as a camper or a staff volunteer, please recommend it!  They are always welcoming volunteers, especially male volunteers! 

Something that really meant a lot to me was that every single child I had as a camper last year came up, found me, and gave me a big hug.  I had wondered if they would remember me or not, so it meant a lot to me that they saw me and greeted me so enthusiastically.

The kids are hysterical, and I know, as cliche as it sounds, that you go there expecting to have an impact on them (even if its just making their life easier/more fun) and instead you walk away just as changed yourself for having attended.   No matter what group you end up volunteering with, I promise you you're going to learn just as much from them as they will from you.

“You’ll need coffee shops and sunsets and road trips. Airplanes and passports and new songs and old songs, but people more than anything else. You will need other people and you will need to be that other person to someone else, a living breathing screaming invitation to believe better things.”
Jamie Tworkowski 

Just some things we noted about staying overnight at the Jeju Sauna:

• While i'd recommend leaving electronics at home as its the perfect place to just unplug, I also understand some people have to have their cell phone, computer, or DS with them depending on who you are, so do know that there are plugs around.  I'd suggest bringing an extension though, if you have multiple things to charge, as the availability of the plugs is kind of first come first serve. 
• That being said, there is free wifi should you bring your phone or laptop.
• Hair dryers, shampoo, and conditioner are provided, as are basic things like a razor, tooth brush, lotion, hair spray and 'towels.'  Tampons and bathing suits available for purchase.
• If you plan on sleeping there, bring ear plugs and a sleep mask.  The sleeping room fills up quickly so you may end up looking for a place to sleep within the common room or one of the saunas, and don't think the "Sleep Room" will provide you total peace and quiet.  Some people don't seem to care if their children run in and out between 2 and 3 am while shouting and playing.
• Mats are provided for sleeping, technically speaking only one per person, but i'd recommend bringing your own yoga pad or something for extra cushion.
• Bring a pillow as well, because the ones you use in the sauna are not going to be agreeable for overnight slumber.
• Budget for a massage if you're wanting one.  They're not outrageously priced, but they will catch you off guard if you're not prepared and are watching your money like moi. (Prices are on their website.)
• The fitness room is huge, with bicycles, treadmills, and elliptical provided.  There is a mirror wall along one side, and plenty of room to do Yoga or Pilates.  Bring your own mat and running shoes though.
• While I can't speak for other service providers, Sprint does not get a lot of bars in there, and my phone just seemed to eat up battery trying harder to GET a signal than actually having one.
• There is no special menu for breakfast.  What they serve is what they serve. 
• Lockers are provided, but don't think full body lockers.  These are your basic, gym locker room style lockers, if not just a smidgen smaller in the width department.

Basically, treat it as if you're going to go for a slumber party old school style, just short of rolling up your sleeping bag and onesie.  We brought along a little tote with stuff like clothes, sketchbook/books, hair brushes, etc, but small enough to fit into a locker.  I think my tote was one of those vinyl bags from The Fresh Market if that gives you any idea of size.

In which we partake in a Girls Night Out

May or may not have hit up the children's section first thing at the High.

So, for the past several days I have been staying with my friend and her boyfriend in Atlanta in between business trips.  She has been coming home really really stressed for the past several months from both personal and professional issues, so yesterday, we took advantage of her half day at work...

So done.

In the morning we went to the High Museum of Art, which was pretty cool to go through.  There was a lot of statues, some Monet pieces, a Norman Rockwell painting, and of course, the main exhibit, Vermeer's painting The Girl With the Pearl Earring (along with several other Dutch painters.)

Chrissy and I at the High.

We kind of side eyed some of the modern art exhibits while enjoying others, but I won't even get into the headache that is so often Modern Art.  Some of it was pretty cool though, and thought provoking, which was nice.  

Don't even get me started on some of this Modern Art.

After the High, we went to Mellow Mushroom to get some pizza.  Did you know that all of their crusts are Vegan unless you order it gluten free?  They also offer Vegan cheese options, so you can have a party there, basically.  I was super happy to get myself some pizza because i'd been smelling it off and on for the past two weeks and after a while, you just kind of want some pizza yourself.

And then! As if the day couldn't get any better, Chrissy and I packed over night bags and headed off to the Jeju Sauna and Well-being Center!

Now, Chrissy and I had come here before on a previous visit, however it was sadly only for a few hours.  After that first trip, we both knew we'd have to make at least, AT LEAST, a day out of this place.

The sauna is open 24/7, all holidays, and for our age range is $25 per 24 hours.  It houses 7 different saunas, multiple spa options including full body scrubs, acupressure, and foot massages; there is a wet spa section (nude area), an Olympic sized salt water swimming pool, a fitness center, and if all that wasn't enough, you also have a nail and hair salon on site.  Add to that a banging Korean style restaurant (with your classic american go-to food options for the less adventurous) and a specially designated sleeping area, and its just one of the best ways to unwind that I can possibly think of.

The view of the main room from the stairs outside the Fitness area.

Certain parts of the spa are sectioned by the sexes, with the wet spa and herb-bath areas located within the locker room areas.  The wet spa is an enforced nude only area, so if you're wanting to enter this area, be prepared to bare all to god-all. One good thing about this, no one seems to care; theres no awkward staring or leering (not that you'd expect it) and the awkardness of nudity lasts for maybe five seconds before you find yourself eyeing that hot tub and no longer caring.   In this area, there are showers (shampoo and conditioner provided in the lovely Honey Almond scent), hot tubs of varying degrees, and some basking lights, which was kind of funny to me.  Towels are provided, but they're kind of tiny, and by kind of I mean they're totally tiny.  They're more like face towels, or maybe hair wraps.  The term 'towel' might actually be pretty generous.

On to the saunas, which were my personal favorites (aside from the eating area.)

Inside each sauna, mats are laid out, with the option of pillows, blankets and sleeping mats available in the common area just prior to entering.  Each room has also been carefully designed, which makes the overall experience pretty wonderful.  

First there is the Jade Room, where we tend to start off at as it is set at the lowest heat setting.  As it says on the sign outside the door, the Jade Room is made from imported Korean jade stone, which, combined with the dry heat and the bags of Chinese herbs hanging around, is said to not only increase metabolism, but also improve circulation as well as help with arthritis.   Along the ceiling, green and red stones ( I say stones because i'm not sure that they're both jade) are arranged to form flowing lines, with the red culminating in the center in the shape of a giant diamond.

After that is the Charcoal Room, which just may be my favorite.  Its a noticeable bit hotter than the Jade Room, but nothing overwhelming.  All around you, the ceiling and walls have been covered in blackened logs of charcoal, which lends a nice scent to the room when combined with the bags of Chinese herbs.  According to the pamphlet (available at the front counter) the charcoal helps absorb toxins, increasing circulation and stimulating the sweat glands to release the build up of toxins within your body.  Now, I don't know about all that, but I sure like to think so, and if nothing else, laying in the room is very relaxing.  

Next room down is the Baked Clay Sauna, which is a degree both hotter and larger.  I look a look at thermostat in there and was amused to see that it was marked at 137 degrees, plus heated tiles. (And yes, I took a picture, because my god.)

The Clay room has an interesting design in the sense that it reminds me of gazing at a lizard, or perhaps the desert floor, except not with the dry cracks of a parched landscape and more with the grace of a potter's hand, where the clay has been overlapped in such a way that the build up of texture carries your eye around the ceiling and into the center.  This room is advertised as a bit of a miracle worker, with the Korean "red baked clay" dilating peripheral blood vessels, bringing relief to tight muscles, increasing circulation, eliminating waste products, and delivering rich blood oxygen to depleted muscles, thus by flushing out impurities and releasing dead skin cells for better looking and more refreshed skin.  I'm not personally sure how much oxygen rich blood got itself coursing while in there, but I can certainly say that after a heavy work out, once properly hydrated this room would feel absolutely amazing to lay in.  Even without the heavy lifting, I could feel my muscles unwinding as I lay there.

Theres an Ice Room, decorated with rocks to resemble snow, complete with penguins.  I personally don't linger for too long in this area, but its a nice little break from all the heat and with the shift in temperatures, causes your skin pores to contract, giving you the look of smaller pores.

Those four are lined up against the far wall, while out in the middle of the common area, these next three exist within individual huts.

The first one, and closest to the wall grouping, is the Gold and Silver Sauna, which is lined and covered in, you guessed it, Gold and Silver.  Its said to have positive effects of nerve stability, poison counteraction, and neurosis.   In here, they've taken the design and formed something of a sun burst on the ceiling, exploding down the curve and onto the walls.  The bits of red stone mixed in always reminded me of arrows.

Me inside the Gold and Silver Room.

Next is the Rock Salt Room, which is the biggest of the three, with a very organic flow to the inside once you enter the little door up front.  The salt is everywhere, from the walls to the ceilings, and you can smell it when you enter.  This room is large enough to warrant little port holes, which are a nice addition, and break up the organic movement of the room.  "Surrounded by pure crystal rock salt, you will relieve stress and tension.  The Rock Salt Room strengthens your cardiovascular system' as well as increases blood circulation, flushing out impurities, and releasing dead skin cells. 

The last room is The Jewel Room, which certainly lives up to its name.  Surrounded by semi-precious stones, crystals, and amethyst, its hard not to feel relaxed and renewed while laying in there.  The stones have been shaped into scenes from nature, with trees growing up the side and a giant amethyst star bursting across the ceiling above you.  These stones are said to have great healing and calming powers, and with the lights sparkling off all the tiny little rivets, i'd be inclined to believe them.

I cannot attest to the body scrubs or massages, as I had not budgeted for those and therefore did not get one ( although you can bet your butt I will be getting one next time), however, let me tell you about the glory that is the Korean Restaurant on the premises there. 

Open entering, you are given this little wrist bracelet (although I wore mine around my ankle) that has your locker number and key on it for storing.  The bracelet also comes with a round little electronic on it, which will more or less function as your credit card while in the spa, to be paid in full upon exit, so think of it as opening a tab at a bar.  So, at the dining area, they have about 20 different Korean dishes available for your eating pleasure, all with pictures and descriptions beneath them.  They're also very filling, and generally large (especially the Korean rice cake one!) so sometimes its worth ordering just one first, and sharing, and then seeing if you're still hungry afterwards.  They also have a small variety of typical American style dishes, which includes cheese sticks, chicken fingers, and salads.

Chrissy and Jenni both agreed that these were more or less the  greatest.

  I encourage you to be adventurous though; the food there is seriously amazing, cooked on the spot, and so so good.  There's also a selection of desserts, including Patbingsu, which I tried for the first time yesterday, sans ice cream.  Again, its huge, but was very good, if not a bit of a treasure hunt, which was kind of exciting.

Patbingsu! Don't be fooled though, there are more layers underneath.

So yeah, the night was amazing.  We met up with a friend, and just relaxxxxxeeeddd.  Time seems to fly while you're in there, and we all slept in the sleeping room (albeit to varying degrees of 'sleep') and enjoyed our time all morning until past noon.  We went swimming, we ate good food and just enjoyed ourselves, with no stress about outside expectations or time crunches.  Even if the saunas didn't do all the amazing things they're said to do, even if there were no massage or body scrub options, just having an area to go and unwind like that as got to be healthy for you, and something I highly recommend for any and everyone.

I'm going to make another post about over night recommendations (things we learned after we got there) but for the time being, this is it.  I had an amazing time just relaxing, being lazy and splashing around with these ladies, and I'm pretty sure Jeju's gonna be some place we've got to hit up every time in in Atlanta from now on.

Yay for wonderful people!

"To the artist, there is never anything ugly in nature."

Just wanted to put some thoughts out there about camp...

Although the first day had random moments, it was fun to roll through with the kids and get to know them and their interests.  As time has gone, the kids are coming in much more excited and ready to create, ready to think differently and to get their hands dirty.

Its fantastic to see!  At first, it was funny to watch as they gauged you and tried to determine what type of person you were, reading the atmosphere as the camp went and seeing what the deal was.  I watched them watch each other as they talked, silently remembering each others names and debating if they wanted to compliment each other, and now they're just tossing out compliments left and right, engaging each other with stories of their mornings during the Amazing Things activity, and talking about their outfits.

When I was working on the space captain, it really made me happy to hear the kids all coming up with ideas, excited about camp and enjoying their time.  Yesterday, one of the girls kept saying that camp was fun, over and over, and haggling with her parents about how much longer they could stay after they came to pick them up.  A couple of the kids were talking about it again today, saying how camp was great and how awesome it would be if they stayed there all day instead of just half the day.

I can't fully express how happy it makes me to see them enjoying their time, and just turning on their imagination and crafting ideas out of nowhere. I remember going to extra art sessions after school in Elementary school and loving it; painting Morning Glories and experiencing new materials like charcoal and chalk pastels.  So now, to be on the other end, helping cultivate that passion and talent in others makes me really happy~

I know these words are all over the place, I haven't thought much about how to properly phrase it, but I think the sentiment is there.

Forest floors and paper mache!

Boom!

So this morning's group was focused on making our own forest floor~  We talked about the different things you see when walking through the woods, all the different leaves and sticks, bugs and worms and critters.  They then proceeded to make their own, focusing on a birds eye approach and what its about.

Hard at work!

While those dried, we spent a little bit outside, playing games of Simon Says which someone turned into Following the Leader.  We also threw some glitter on the Forest Floor projects, as the girls were all talking about Fairies and which ones existed (they all agreed that the Tooth Fairy was real) and which ones didn't.  We talked about where Fairies might live, what they would look like, and what their houses would be like. It was fun to see them all be so creative with the concepts they were coming up with.

During snack time, the girls all ran around outside with Ice Pops and stayed in the shade (it got into the 90s today.)  We came back in and proceeded to draw on construction paper, which we then folded and turned into fans. Some of the girls made cases for their fans, designing those as well. 

Looking at some flowers we found outside.

The second group worked on paper mache, which was both fun and super messy.  We took some lemonade and milk jugs, cut doors out, and got to layering!  It was interesting to do, as I haven't done anything like this since high school, so I was right there with the kids while watching Mrs. Nathan, even asking them a few questions and letting them show me how to do it. 

Digging in!

During the "Amazing Thing" drawing time in the beginning, I started doodling my space pirate idea, which got the kids asking what I was drawing.  I told them the general idea, and was saying that I was still working out the details. What I had so far: Space pirate, who captains a ship and sails them into nebulas, collecting the star dust and the adventures it took her on.  Then I started asking them for suggestions, asking about what the ship would look like; would it look like a traditional pirate ship, or would it look like a space ship? Maybe a blend of both?  How would she collect the nebula star dust? 

With their help, we figured that the ship would LOOK like a tall ship, but be made out of metal/futuristic material, with the jets on the sides, and the sails would collect the dust from the nebulas.  The Captain herself would have some sort of rocket boosters in her boots, which she uses to fly out and ahead to collect stuff personally. Her necklace would be a gem that'd project a sort of helmet/air bubble for her, and her sword would glow.

Some of them were asking about what other stories I was working on and I told them about the Russian Fairy Tale i'm working on, explaining to them about Baba Yaga and her tree house.  This was all while we were steady working on our paper mache mugs, talking in between about what kind of house they would be, and what looked like what.  Mine turned out to look like a duck, which, once i'm done putting layers on it, i'll either paint like a duck or a swan.  I'm not sure which one yet.  Once they're done, i'll be sure to take a picture and post it up here~