Back from Moresby Adventure Camp

...with a bunch of mentally ill and brain-injured people. Oh yeh - there were clients there as well!

It was quite the adventure. Here's a few fun things that happened.

a) First off the food that we were supposed to bring was a little anal health wise. I mean, the clients couldn't afford this health food even if they liked it. One client called drunk and left a message on the answering machine at work: "It has come to my attention that there are no hot dogs being brought. I think it would be egregious not to bring hot dogs to the camp." Classic! Especially using the word egregious! So - we did end up bringing some hot dogs, marshmallows & chocolate chips for smores and some potato chips. Wise move!

b) I couldn't talk the boss into letting us bring pop - cause there was a diabetic going. So guess who was the only person who snuck pop into the camp? That's right. The diabetic!

c) Real personality problems between 2 of the clients. They both know everything about everything - of course, one has a sense of humour about it and the other is deadly serious. I saw them cursing each other a few times.

d) One of the clients wanted to go home on day 3. This after another client picked up his bag (probably 20 pounds - at least) and started walking home. We were in the middle of nowhere. I got in the jeep and looked around for him. No luck. Getting back to camp the other guy wanted to go home, so I said I'd drive him to the ferry and we'd search for the other guy on our way. 6 1/2 km outside camp we came upon our missing camper. He hopped in the jeep and we drove to the ferry. 6 1/2 km man came back with me and the other guy went home. Not bad. We only lost 1 guy...and for 4 nights that's pretty good.

e) There was a bear hanging around our campsite. Coming back from a hike, a client and myself came upon the bear exploring the front of the cabin. I said let's make noise and head to the longhouse. The bear stared at us, but wandered off.

f) 2 of the clients were eating hot dogs over the fire - I thought I'd grab one myself, but noticed the dogs looked somewhat green. They didn't seem to mind this. I passed on the hot dog.

g) We ate well, since one of the clients was a great cook and loved to share his expertise.

h) On the day before we were to go home, 6 1/2 km man decided he wanted to go swimming. I thought the water would be a little cold, but said I'd go down with him and keep an eye on him. I was shooting the shit when all of a sudden he jumped in! I thought "fuck you dude, I'm going in too." So, I went back to the longhouse and put on my shorts and went back down. I hesitated then yelled "MOTHERFUCKER!!!!" and ran off the dock into the incredibly cold water. I came right out, but it was invigorating and we ended up getting most of the campers to jump in as well. A great bonding experience.

i) On our 2nd last day, 6 1/2 km man got angry with another counsellor and wanted to go home. I said I'd stay back and talk to him. He ended up sticking it out, so we drove to town and I grabbed a couple of pops! Ah, sweet coca-cola!!!!

Overall: It was a fun experience. I missed the lack of showers and plumbing (and pop!), but for 4 nights it was alright. Everybody seemed to have a good time, and I do get 2 days to take off down the line. Here's the Moresby Adventure Camp link.

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