Belgium Camp.

So school went on pretty much the same. Nothing too exciting. Then we had a school camp off in Belgium. It was only a 3 day camp, but all of it was packed full of things the entire day. Most schools have this sort of event; their purpose is for the students to get to know each other better and become comfortable with them. I talked a lot to some of my teachers, as well as got a lot closer to some students. It was very interesting to see the student/teacher relationship. The students mostly led the way on most of the events, while teachers also did each and every one along with. That was a difference I noticed, because most at home the teachers would just take complete leadership and leave little to the students, or just instruct and not participate at all. I appreciated the way this school worked in those means. Every student also had their own responsibilities and were expected to achieve them without any guidance or checking up. So far, I really enjoyed the way everything was being run and operating.

First off, we just took the bus 3 hours into Belgium to a drop off point. We then set off on a 7 hour hike across the fields, through villages, past tons of animals and corn, to finally arrive at the camp location. It was all so so beautiful, things that you would see on tourist post cards. While it was long and after a while painful, I really did enjoy it. One of my favorite moments would have to be when we passed a farm and saw two little Belgium boys, one around 2 and the other maybe 4. They were just watching with wide interested eyes, asking us questions, all in French. I promise you that a french accent is 100% cuter when there is a child speaking it to you. Then we left as they followed and yelled "au revoir!" It was so precious, almost worth walking for so long, just for that. Once we all arrived everyone was dead tired, ready to sleep for years. The location had a beautiful river running alongside it with a little beach, and a high pretty bridge across. The building seemed to be an older fashion, it sort of reminded me of a castle, although others disagreed. Maybe it's just my worldly ignorance. There were tables, a field, a BBQ, and playground areas, all in a surrounded by a circle of forests and mountains. Being from Bakersfield, I can tell you that the stars are not the best sight, if they even come out for you. The sky I saw from the window in our room and by the bonfire was magical. Endless, more than I have ever seen before. There was only one person I wanted with me at that moment. Only some of you will know who ;)

The next day we went to a site where we would do a bunch of activities in our groups. The first was a zipline from the edge of the mountain down to the base. First we had to climb all the way up the mountain and wait on the edge. The sight was so so pretty, especially when you jump off and practically fly down to it all. It was one of my favorite zipline experiences. After that we went mountain biking. I was getting used to the Dutch bikes, these were completely different, and sort of scary. We were only our for an hour, but it felt like so much longer. We went through the village for a bit, then started in the forests. I made a very failed attempt at going over the large bike jumps, but it was still fun. Then we were going down mountain sides at speeds I never thought I could go on a bike. I thought I was going to die half the time. Only wiped out once, and not that badly. It was fun, but scary at the same time. From the combination of the hike and biking, my legs were jelly. So I was almost jumping with joy when I heard that the next activity was kayaking. I love kayaking, and my legs could rest. I did a double with my friend Sam, we started last, but in the end finished as one of the first. The river was very shallow and we got caught so many times, but it was all good still. Some of the guys could catch other and flip or dunk them, it was quite funny. We stayed safe though! It was so nice to just float and look at the beautiful country side. At one point we were only a few inches from a cow taking a drink. By the time that was over everyone was tired at every part on their body. So we all went back, took a shower and rested for a bit. In Holland, at camps it is tradition to have a BBQ on the last night. Sooooo, we had one too. They ordered me my own veggie plate, and I made everyone try a piece, not their favorite. I talked to my mum for a bit, then went to sleep early. I don't know how the Dutch go on with such busy days with such little sleep.

The next day we went back to the same area. First we scaled down the side of a mountain. I loved that. You just had to let yourself go over the edge and walk down horizontally. It was so fun, the view again, was amazing. Next we went on a climb across the edge of the cliffs. We had to go up, down, over rocks, with lizards and all that. Half the time I thought I'd fall to my death again, but then I relaxed and pretty much ran across the side ha. Then we went in a cave. Not a big nice cave where a bear could live. No, it was hardly big enough for us to squeeze through, huge spiders everywhere, and it was wet. You would have to slide in between rock fixtures, go up into the dark, somehow manage to fit your helmet through the crevices. It was probably the worst place for anyone with claustrophobia to be. At the end they told a 'scary story' which of course I couldn't understand. The climb back up was so much worse, climbing up what we slid down. At the end we lost the group, so we have to make a choice at a fork in the cave. Luckily I was right and I saw light and started freaking out. It was a looonngg time in the dark. After that we did a sort of ropes course in the trees. First it was just some thick wires you would walk across, then it became random. One was a bunch of hanging ladders, a mini zipline, tree trunks, stepping pieces, long boards. That was one of my favorites too, especially to see my teacher doing it all as well. We were finally done with everything and ready to go home. I tried to sleep, but I suffered horrible from homesickness. But it went away, thankfully.  Then I was back home, sore, tired and hungry. Those are the moments I thank God that Nel is such a fantastic cook.