Today we welcome Ziggy, one of our international camp staff, to share a bit of her story about moving to America for the summer. We are so thankful for our international staff that served at camp last summer!

Now, I’ve never been one afraid of a change or opportunity. Spending three months in this crazy bubble of summer camp at Camp Sycamore Hills was one of the best experiences of my life – even if the girls didn’t seem to appreciate my very funny jokes in the mornings or my constant enthusiasm for high fives.

I learned so many new things in Girl Scouts that have opened up my eyes. Before coming to the United States, I didn’t even know what a campfire was – let alone how to emcee a campfire event – but by the end, I was comfortably screaming camp songs at the top of my lungs with my best friends.

At camp, I discovered that fireflies are real, and the whole camp spent time helping me catch some. I learned that anything slightly crazy or out of the ordinary will brighten campers’ days, such as trash can jousting or even wearing wacky outfits. I have never been more proud to say that I am a camp counselor. (I also discovered grilled cheese and ketchup is very tasty, but that’s a different story completely.)

Camp Sycamore Hills is my home away from home.

Camp taught me a lot about others, but it taught me even more about myself. I learned how to entertain over 100 kids at once, how to put a smile on everyone’s face and that sometimes, things don’t go as planned. Even the most difficult days at camp are the best memories I could have. Now I have a song to scream every time I see a bear, a river or even a little red wagon!

I will always miss the smiling faces of counselors and the amazing water fights and paint parties with my groups. The girls never failed to put a smile on my face.

Camp Sycamore Hills will always remain my home away from home. This is not goodbye, but good night.

Ziggy


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