Monday, May 12, 2008

Day 2

this is my first whole day at camp qwanoes in crofton on vancouver island. the morning started at 8:30 with shower and breakfast and then i was scheduled for work around the camp. me and a few other new summer staff, two from canada and one from new zealand, worked all day cleaning some cabins and a rudimentary camper bathroom block and painting. i got to chop wood at the end of it all too- man-work you know- and the kind that leaves you sweating through a red flannel shirt and smelling like woodchips when you walk out from the thick and perfect pacific northwest forest. i could live here forever. the people are cool and either everyone's brand new and learning the ropes or they've been here so many years that they automatically make everything make sense. most everyone is canadian, australian, new zealand, or brazilian and is somewhere between 18 and 25 years old. even though its been one day, i sense a solid community.

tonight, after work and dinner, about 16 people, mostly canadian guys, went out to play floor hockey at a gym in the town. i was the only american, still, and had never really played before but it was good. and intense. my team won and i had two goals which was really fulfilling and surprising. and intense.

each staff member is a part of a grand schedule that includes either a work day, some sort of training, or a complete day-off. i had to work today and have the day off tomorrow, so i'm thinking about hiking up this maple mountain that's next to camp. there's a small town about 15 minutes away that has a wal-mart and i've already been there once with people from camp so there's other areas to explore. adventure, exploration, and communing are three of the big goals for the next month since all of us just work and chill together and prepare for our staff jobs for the summer camps that start in june and continue, nonstop, until the end of august. i'll be taking some more pics too soon, but i'm going to the campfire or bed or somewhere now, but i wrote something a couple weeks ago and its been on my mind all day- a thought that's finally being realized in a way that's many more times relevant than the moment i was inspired to write it out..

[to be free]

"bring to the shore the power of the ocean to forgive this mind of a selfish life
stand below the shadow of a mountain to be made small apart from my spiraling stride
bind these eyes with the silky stillness that only the stars of midnight give
shine through the wild with the deepest silence that man himself barely lets live

show me the beauty that's been rapped in a lie
let unravel her mystery, breathing warmth from the sky
lift up my vision higher than your blind society
give me the life, to be free, that few longer believe"

1 comment:

Master Dayton said...

Hey, great bit of poetry. Thanks for following my blog, and yours looks extremely interesting. I'm all about the traveling, the stories, the adventure of learning to live life and not just exist. I'm going to start with the early posts and catch up. Good luck with everything, and keep at it!