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Camp America - 3 Week Update

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Oh my goodness! I cannot believe I have nearly been here for 3 weeks. The time has absolutely flown by and I can’t believe that I didn’t know the other Counselors or any of the campers a few weeks ago - it already feels like we’ve been friends for years. So much has happened in the past 3 weeks so I don’t really know what to do this blog post about. I think it would be nice to highlight a few of my favourite moments or events that have happened that in another 5 weeks time I may have forgotten. Firstly, I would like to announce that me, the girl who used to scream and cry if there was a spider in a mile radius of me, has now acquired the ability to grab spiders by their legs to remove them from tents. I am also now highly skilled in using a broom to guide beetles and moths away from my petrified campers. If you’d met me a few years ago, you would not think we were the same person. Mini Camp came and went in a blink of an eye but being able to put all our staff training in
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Arriving at Camp & First Impressions

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               I arrived at camp at about 9pm (2am UK time) on Sunday evening after leaving for the airport at 8am UK time, and the journey actually went surprisingly quickly, despite the lady sat next to me on the plane continuously hitting me in the face with her jumper sleeve and hogging the arm rest. Whatever happened to plane etiquette, huh? I then spent the very silent 4 hour car ride from Washington airport to camp editing a YouTube video about what to pack for camp, which I don’t have good enough WiFi at camp to upload, typical! We stopped off on the ride for an Arby’s and the lady there told me nothing on their menu was vegetarian, that’s America for you! The first views of the mountains in Washington, Virginia and then eventually West Virginia were gorgeous, but don’t compare to the views at camp.                 When we arrived at camp, we met our Camp Director, who had already memorised everyone’s names, and then crossed the river on the hand-poled barge at twigh
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Leaving My Job At The Spa

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Some of you may remember my first ever blog post, Chippy Life Lessons , which was nearly a year ago now! (Can you believe how quickly that time has flown?!) It was all about what I learned whilst working at a Fish & Chip Shop for 6 years. Well, that was just after I left that job, and I have been working at a different job since the end of August and once again, it is my time to leave. I won't be leaving forever, I will be coming back as part time, so I guess I have to be careful what I say in this blog, but oh boy have I learnt a lot of things in my 10 months there. Our Staff Christmas Party 2017 I have been working as a Spa Receptionist at a spa that is connected to a hotel for the past 10 months. My Reception team also double as the Beauty Reservations team, at a desk round the corner from the main desk. Our team is made up of 7 girls, all a similar age to me, but within the spa, we also work with a team of managers, beauty therapists, personal trainers and life gua
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How I'm Preparing For Camp - 16 days to go!

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It's now only 16 days until I fly out to camp and it's suddenly dawning on me that I haven't really got myself organised yet. I mean, I've cancelled my gym membership, I've handed in my notice at work and I'm trying to start thinking about what I need to pack, but I have no idea how many pair of shorts I will need to pack for 8 weeks! I feel a little (very) unprepared, but am trying to hold it together. I keep seeing lots of Camp America Storytellers flying out, or arriving at camp and it's making my small attempt at preparation seem pathetic, which it is, but that's going to change from now. So in short, my preparation for camp is well... um, I'm working on it. When I started applying to Camp America, I thought it would be super easy, and it was to a certain extent. The Camp America website has its own checklist to get you through the process: Profile, Payments, Placement, Visa, Insurance, Flights etc, so it seems simple, but there are a few hid
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First-Timers Guide to New York

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For those of you who aren't following me on Instagram, (and why aren't you?!), I went on holiday with my family to New York last week for the first time and I completely and utterly have fallen in love with the gorgeous city. I really didn't know what to expect or what it would be like as I'd only been to America twice before on skiing trips to Boston with school and we didn't experience America outside the ski resort and the hotel. There were some things that I kept going, 'Oh that's the same as London' and there were some things where I was thinking 'This would never happen in London!' but what I wish I had before I went is a few tips and tricks to look out for if it's your first time in the Big Apple, so if you're heading out there for Camp this year, hopefully this list will give you a little bit of help with what it's like and what to expect, and how to have the best days off in New York! I agree, Buzzfeed! 1. Toilet Do
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Announcement - Camp America Storyteller 2018

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For those of you who don't know, I'm doing Camp America this year! In America, sending kids to camp for the summer is tradition, like in Lindsay Lohan's best work, 'Parent Trap'. Some camps are day camps, where the parents drop them off and then pick them up at the end of the day, whereas others are overnight camp, where the kids have tents or log cabins to sleep in with their fellow campers. During the days they do activities, like dance, canoeing, archery and arts and craft, and then by night camp fire songs and smores, and obviously, lots of fun and laughter in-between. Most camps will have a lake, so water sports like swimming and kayaking are common, especially in the summer months when it's warm and sunny outside! Camp America itself is a cultural exchange programme which enables English young adults to work on a camp in America for the summer, meeting like-minded people and learning about the American culture, all whilst having the 'be
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The 'Perfect Vegan'

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Being vegan is very easy, but at times it can become challenging. When I think of veganism, I would only think of it as a diet, but the official definition of veganism is: "a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose." Controversially, I believe that your diet is the easiest aspect of veganism. The biggest challenge is all the other sides to being a vegan, things you might not even realise are things. Different vegans have different opinions of how many aspects of your life veganism should affect, some believing it should only go as far as your diet, while others weave it through everything they do. From my point of view, as a 20 year old vegan living in England, I thought I’d share the hidden aspects of veganism I've had to contend with and how it affects my daily life as a vegan. How vegan am I? If I don't abide by every single
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