Summer Camp Bingo! Checklist of Everything You Can Do at Camp

This podcast is a long one! In this episode, we talk about summer camp bingo, or a shortlist to prove that you’ve done everything at summer camp!
A heads up, CC USA has opened their applications for 2021. Same for other agencies too by the way, so get on that if you’re interested!
Welcome to summer camp bingo! This is a shortlist of things to prove that you’ve been to summer camp. See how many you can tick off!
– The Blob: Infamous for being a part of summer camp. This blob of air lies on the lake where campers, as well as staff, can take turns to launch people into the air.
– Getting hooked up: Well, I didn’t realise this was so far high up the list but here we are! There are so many people and so many occasions I can say where people hooked up at my summer camp. It seems to be a rite of passage for pretty much anyone who goes to camp.
– Ziplined: Now this is one that I haven’t personally done. I don’t believe… as far as I can think, did zipline at camp. But most camps have them, and they are a great laugh. Fly down the zip and see the sights and sounds of camp around you. Grab a go pro and enjoy being in summer camp!
– Drove on other side of the road: This is such a blast also. The feeling of driving on the other side of the road is quite enthralling. I drove on the other side of the road while in my specialty, on those great American roads. Out the window, the great American countryside and Grand Theft Auto-esque feel that America has.
– Gone Walmart: Walmart is an experience in enough itself. It’s such an amazing place to go and visit particularly when you are an international foreigner to the country. You get to see the bargains to be had, the strange people you can find down the aisles while getting lost in its labyrinth of a megastore.
– Colour War: 94% of camps have these –  a stat I totally just made up. In fact, summer camp is all about colour war. Its the event that all the kids look forward to each session. They love getting in competitive mode, fighting for that luxury of being on the winning colour war side. The games, the thrills, spoils… Its all to play for in colour war!
– Found a favourite camper: It can take a while to find your favourite camper, but its well worth it. You will have a spark with a few kids and connect well with them.
– Found your worst camper: In the same breath, its easy to find campers that get on your tits. They can rub you up the wrong way, be rude or frankly ungrateful for being at summer camp. I think only when you find both your favourite and worst campers, can you grow as a person yourself and learn to deal with the two sides of that camper-sized coin.
– Gave a meal a miss because the food was bad: Walmart ties in with this one well, because if you have smarts, you should have a go-to stash of food for the ‘Jacket Potato Day’.
– Played gaga: The sport that seems to be THE sport that defines summer camps. Played in an enclosed arena, Gaga is similar to dodgeball. It’s intense and tightly enclosed, meaning wall bounces are the best ways to knock out countless opponents.
– Played ultimate frisbee: Another sport that America seems to be obsessed with. Frisbee in the UK is one of those things only thrown around when at a beach. But in America, they seem to care about frisbee like its a proper sport. The throws Americans can do are not only long but pitch-perfect accuracy. It’s insane to play a full-sized game when you have all the staff and campers about.
– Sick new tan: Going to America to some extent guarantees you will come back looking fresher than ever. The weather out in The States is better than the UK (which isn’t hard!). So expect to catch some rays by the pool and come back with a sick new tan.
– Tie-dye shirt: How I forgot this on the recent T-shirts episode of There’s No Place Like Summer Camp is beyond me. Tie-dye is a staple of summer camps and was in fact one that I sorely missed the first summer I worked at my camp. I made sure on that second summer to pay the tie-dye a visit and come back with a shirt that I’d never wear (it was way to colourful).
– Smores, campfire: If you go to camp and don’t have a campfire, is it really a camp?!
– Made something: Every camp has different activities of course so this will change from camp to camp. At mine, I made my own mug
– got some new clothes or cheap stuff online: In my case, I spent my hard-earned camp salary on getting an iPad. I know, iPads aren’t exactly ‘cheap’ in a sense. But going to America, you shouldn’t expect to come back with savings from working abroad. Have a blast, pick up some cool tech + things that would be a bomb in the UK. Go check out my cheap things to buy in America podcast if you want to know more…
– Get dragged into basketball: What is with Americans and their obsession of weird + niche sports? Basketball I would say is rarely played in the UK. The only hoops you’ll see around the country are those attached to some children’s playground. But while at camp, you can be sure that some American will drag you into the game to make up the numbers!
– Scavenger hunt: this is a great way to spend time with your kids and perhaps only applies to the counsellors. Killing time is an artform and what better way than to hide things around the cabin and reward them when they are found?
– Struggled to get kids to clean up: On the flipside of being a counsellor, or specialist for that matter, is the time you need help cleaning. For me, working in a camping specialty, it was like pulling teeth out to have the kids clean up a campsite. And the counsellors would frequently describe their ordeals to have campers clean themselves in the mornings!
– Custom camp chants: Spending time at camp means only one more thing – camp chants! These will stick into your skull like they were tattooed onto your brain. You’ll come up with some cool and cooky chants with your campers, especially if you are a counsellor.
– Had your head checked for nits: A strange one, sure but this was a right throwback when this happened to me at camp. Of course, summer camps check for nits on the kids, but adults and volunteers too! when my head was checked, I seemed to have a flashback to when I was 7 years old at school.
– Seen some sights while travelling: this could be anything from seeing things during intersession to travelling america with buds to exploring new york on your last day prior to your flight.
Now there’s gonna be loads I missed from this list – it could be another episode! If you think there are glaring missing things message us and I’ll use it in part two of this episode.