Session 6 Day 5: Curtain Call at Camp
- Dave
- Aug 8
- 3 min read
We have had beautiful weather for our last full day at camp. After breakfast, the youth campers dove right into our free choice activities. We described these yesterday. Just remember to look through the activity photos for your pictures.
For archery and climbing, the campers have the option of taking a test and getting an extra sticker if they pass certain levels. The climbing test consists of knowing the name of certain critical equipment, learning some knots, and climbing to the top of the tower without falling or taking a rest. The level two and three walls have overhangs, so they really are quite a challenge. The archers have to know the parts of a bow and arrow, be able to string and unstring a bow, and get a certain score with 5 arrows.
Meanwhile, the Gray team (teens) were playing a spirited game of Ultimate Frisbee for the first activity period and honing their navigational skills with a session of Orienteering for the second period. They are given a map and directions and have to find clues to a puzzle hidden around camp. That should give you some piece of mind if you ever get lost in the jungle with your teen.
In the afternoon, the teen campers learned the basics of fire science and learned some more practical skills to build a fire. They then made some bread by wrapping dough on a stick and baking it over the fire. It turned out quite well.
While the teens were making their bread, the youth campers were playing a wide game. Today's game was Stratego, a modified version of the popular board game. If you are not familiar with the game, in the modified version, players hide a flag in their base. They are then given cards with soldiers of various ranks. The campers spread out across the campground and can challenge each other when they meet. The one with the highest rank continues on and the losing player has to go back to get a new card. The game ends when one team captures the flag and returns it to the central base.
Tonight, we’ll gather for our traditional closing campfire—a meaningful way to end the week. Campers will take the stage to perform skits, songs, or dances they’ve created, followed by some of our favorite camp songs. Therefore the final period was spent preparing for the show. Working in teams, they came up with creative ideas, wrote scripts, and practiced their routines. Of course, we haven't seen the results yet, but are usually some pretty good shows. The team with the best show gets the coveted Oscar sticker, and the competition can be quite fierce.
We’ll also hold a short ceremony to celebrate the week’s achievements—new friendships, skills learned, and memories made. Returning campers will be recognized for their continued journey with us. And yes, there will be s’mores! The weather forecast looks very good for tonight, so it should be a lot of fun.
Tomorrow, we will return your children to you at the Taipei Gymnasium, where you dropped them off on Monday. We aim to be there at 3:00 pm, but we may be a few minutes early or late depending on the weather and traffic. Important note: If you are driving to pick up your campers, please park in one of the nearby parking garages rather than stopping on the yellow line so that our buses can get in to unload the campers. Also, you will need to check in with the counselor who is assigned to the particular bus your camper is on before taking your child. Please let us get all the children off the bus and get their luggage moved to a clear spot away from the buses and out of the way of foot and bicycle traffic before distracting your child. It makes it very hard to keep track of all the campers if the bus groups get either spread out or mixed together. Thank you in advance for your help with this.
That is all for tonight. Please check out the photos for today. Tomorrow, we will post a link to the whole week's photos, including a slideshow and video of the week's highlights. We suggest watching the video and slideshow with your children so that they can share their experiences with you. Don't forget to download the pictures you wish to save.
