And I Can Breathe Again

A view of the patio outside the main camp complex. Its smaller than youd think.
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Hey Everybody.  It's been a while, but it's good to be back.  I know this is my 3rd post from the same place in Spain, but I've been here a while. Here's the brief rundown of what's going on:

I'm still at the camp in Toral.  This is my 5th camp, and it's music.  Oh, and this doesn't mean that i've been through 4 week long camps with a break in between each one.  This means I've been to 4 camps, 8 or 10 days long, with only 2 breaks between 5 camps.  Want to talk about a grueling experience?  Try doing it in Spanish.

It's my 5th camp without a break, and I'm starting to act a little weird...

The park across the street where we play most of our games. Its not in the greatest shape, but it works.
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Toral is a much different sort of summer camp than you might have in the states.  There is no lake, or river; no cabins, canoes, ropes courses, go carts, paint balls or whatever.  There is just one walled complex with a new, 4 story building, and a 100 year old mission house, and another, old hacienda about 5 minutes down the street.  And also, we're in the middle of a dusty pueblo full of way more cows and sheep than people.  I know--not what you expected.  But it's fun here.

The same park.
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The first two camps, as I think I might've mentioned, were a fairly accurate approximation of purgatory.  Lots of good people with me, all experiencing the same pain.  My rooms of kids (I had 6 instead of 5 both times) were especially pernicious, and at times the stress of speaking in Spanish all day and constantly yelling things like "stop licking that electrical socket" and "why are you wearing my underware?!" that I had trouble sleeping.  I averaged something like 4.5 hours of sleep a night.  I enjoyed the other staff, but not the kids so much.  I promise you my children will be better behaved.

Susana, David, and Jackson from left to right (and some kid whose name I forget). These are 3 of my favorite counselors.
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The next two camps were a lot better.  They were 13-15 year olds and 16-18 year olds, respectively.  We went on excursions to the mountains, canoing, and to the beach a couple days each camp, did some crafts, and it was generally pretty fun.  Especially the last camp--instead of spending all my time stoping them from killing themselves, I was actually having meaningful conversations.

And now we're at the music camps.  The first is contemporary, and the second is classical.  There are no camp counselors, fewer rules, and much older campers.  Oh, and instead of anywhere between 100 (second camp) or 70 (4th camp), we're at 120 people.  It's a little crazy, and I feel like I don't know anybody  but they all know each other.  I thought I was going to be cleaning or something, but instead they're making me sing because I know English and they have a few song in our language.  Also they're always short on men.  It's a ton of work, especially because I've never been in a choir, but it's not so bad.  Oh, and Michelle Gilluly, and old and good friend from home, is here, which is fun for me.  Give me someone to talk to.

One night we did a street fair outside. This is sort of a creepy/cool picture of it.
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How's my Spanish?  Well a whole lot better than it was 5 weeks ago when we started.  I wouldn't call myself fluent, but I'm having a lot easier time communicating with people.  In the 4th camp I even did a complete gospel presentation in Spanish (it wasn't exactly flawless, but whatever).  I've been carrying around a little notebook will me all the time and using it to write down all the new words I'm learning.  It really helps.  Makes up for forgetting a Spanish/English dictionary.  My English and espeically my spelling are suffering, but hey--it's worth it.

My station was giving the kids mystery food. They were adorable.
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2 more things.  First, the internet.  I'm able to use the net a lot more now because we figured out a little trick.  The local library has a WiFi network.  I figured out that it's always on, and used my powers of logic to deduce that if I sit outside on a street corner with a laptop, I can use the net whenever.  So now, at 11:17 PM on a Sunday night, I am sitting on the sidewalk typing on a laptop.  There's a picture in case you don't believe me.  I get a lot of funny looks, but hey: you do what you gotta do.  This means, though, that I might actually respond quickly if you write me.  Whoo!  Thanks to all who've been writing me.  Special shout out to Sara Jenson for sending me a package.  You rock!

I especially liked her.
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Second:  I don't know who has been praying for me, but I can really tell that someone is.  I consistently feel better than I logically should, feel rested despite little sleep, and learn Spanish faster than I ought to.  So thanks to all you who pray for me regularly.  You're awesome.

That's it.  Thanks for making it to the bottom of the page, and enjoy the new pictures.  Much love to all,

-Justin