She's an "Outdoors" girl.

I can honestly say that this weekend was the most exhausting weekend I have ever had in my life! I am so tired, but it is so nice to be writing from the coziness of my "own" bed!! This weekend got off to a bit of a rough start, as it was pouring rain friday evening. All the cadets met at the school, and then took an hour bus ride to camp. We got to the camp, and it was absolute chaos. We got off the bus, in the pitch black with freezing rain onto a sheet of ice. The parking lot is about a 3 minute walk away from the camp, but from where we were standing, there were no lights or buildings. The bus couldn't get out of the parking lot because it was so slippery, and the personnel were very indecisive. They would tell us to line up over here, single file, then change their minds and tell us to stand in groups over there. It was not the most enjoyable half hour of my life, i felt almost disoriented because I was so far out of comfort zone, and I didn't understand what was going on. The night got much better after that though. We finally made it into the camp, and went inside to the main chalet. The weekends activities were then explained to us.
Throughout the weekend, we participated in the "40 hour cup challenge." On friday night, we were split up into six teams, I was with Emilie and 4 other people. We named our team "The Awesome Possum" (not possumS, but Possum)!! After that, I went with Emilie, Julie and their other friends, where we made a video for the competition. We pretended to kidnap one of the girls and lock her in the washroom. It was pretty funny, and I enjoyed making it. All the girls slept in one chalet, divided into rooms of four. I was with Julie, Emilie and another girl Marie. Friday night was probably the worst sleep I've ever had. The Mattresses were covered in sheets that made a wretched noise every time you moved, and all night all I heard was squeaking all night.

The next morning started at 6:45 with a friendly wake-up call. After getting ready, I thought we were headed straight for breakfast, but no. We got whipped, Cadet Style. We had to go outside and do push-ups, running on the spot, and squats with a person on your back. To say they made us work for breakfast is an understatement. The rest of the day was almost as hard. The morning, we played low organized games outside. It was fun, and the AWESOME POSSUM had a lot of team spirit, but it was emotionally difficult for me. I do not like being a follower. I like to have a plan and be a leader. I cannot tell you how frustrated I was not to have a clue what was going on and just have to follow the person in front of me. This was a problem all weekend : We would be given orders to follow, and I would just stick with someone who knew what they were doing. That's not what makes me happy.
The afternoon we played soccer and handball. Considering the snow is up to your hips, it was exhausting, but it was funny, and I know how to play soccer, so I enjoyed not being totally clueless for a little while! After that, we played a game called "Stratego." Everyone was split into two teams, and each person given a ranking (captain, srgt. etc.) It was similar to capture the flag, except it was played over the entire camp, and a lot more complicated. I stuck with two girls quite a bit younger than me.
Over my time here I have noticed how much more welcoming younger kids are to "outsiders." It is kind of sad that teenagers can't all be like that too. After dinner, we played a game similar to "manhunt" in the dark outside. It was really fun, and It was such a beautiful night. I must admit, the stars were so bright and lovely, I had a cliche "I wonder who is looking at the same stars as me at home?" moment.

Today was also very beautiful outside. It was such a nice camp, right on a lake by the mountains, I didn't;t mind being outside at all. We played boot hockey today, and it was the most fun I had all weekend. I laughed so hard, and you won't believe this, but I scored 2 goals!! You all should be afraid for when I come back home. I am just going to PWN everything!! (just kidding, I don't pwn that hard. I spent the majority of the game on my butt!) After that, we went "tobogganing", i use quotation because they don't use toboggans, they use tubes. They go way faster, and it was also a lot of fun! We then had lunch, packed up and left for home! ( for the record, the POSSUM finished 5th out of 6 teams. What we lacked in skill, we made up in awesomeness!!)

The weekend was fun, but It was really hard. It was emotionally exhausting, and physically exhausting. The littlest things made me want to cry, and I felt very homesick. I always get homesick at camp. Knowing my home was thousands of miles away was not reassuring, and I thought of my family a lot. Being around so many 14 year old boys made me miss my little brother, and it made me realize how little I know him. One of the highlights of my weekend was probably a conversation I had with Marie. She is so patient, and It was so nice to have a conversation more than "Salut. Ca Va.?" I realize how lame this sounds, but you know how before I said I just wanted a genuine hug? When we left today, she gave me a hug, and I could feel the love. Small things like hugs and smiles have so much power. In winnipeg, I am always on the giving end, i smile and hug everyone, but being on the receiving end, they have a whole new meaning.

Speaking of conversations with friends.... this thursday, all the exchange girls from winnipeg and their parters are going out for the day!! I am so so so excited. I bonded with the girls on the way here, and I am looking forward to being with people I can consider my own friends, and really talk to them. I know they will have so many stories I am excited to hear, and they will be able to relate perfectly to how I feel!

This week is spring break, and I am looking forward to getting some good runs in. It is warming up quickly, but it is still too icy to run outside, so I'm doing 7 miles on a treadmill tomorrow=(. I am also going to see if I can get signed up to volunteer somewhere. I am taking so much here, it would make me feel really good to be able to give back. I am going to hunt around and see if there is an animal shelter or library somewhere I can volunteer at every once In a while well I am here.

This weekend was so hard. But I did it. I know I can honestly do anything, and I am learning so much from all these new experiences. The language was not as easy as I hoped it would be this weekend, but It is getting better. That's all I ask!

Taking on the world,
Carly