Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

Thursday at camp was International Day, and we were able to celebrate our fantastic staff members from New Zealand and Australia! We started the day with an Aussie breakfast that included marmite and vegemite for those crazy – I mean brave! – enough to try it. The Dining Hall was decked out in red and blue for New Zealand and green and yellow for Australia (those are considered the country’s colors – who knew?). Lunch was brats and buns and dinner was chicken parm followed by sponge cake, and we simply had to show our incredible kitchen staff gratitude with a resounding chant of “Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi!” 

Our Program Leaders sure helped us get into the swing of things as they themed our afternoon activities to the day as well. Campers were able to choose from touch rugby, painting tiles with Australian animals and colors, and decorating their bodies with fern stamps native to New Zealand while they learned about that very same flora. Not even a super-long afternoon rainstorm that led to an extended rest hour could dampen our spirits, as we were able to snack on Fairy Bread – an Australian favorite snack. 

To finish our International Day, we had our Evening Program in the lodge and learned an Australian Bush Dance, watched a skit about Steve Irwin acted out by our incredible Riverside campers, and learned a childhood song that every Kiwi knows (if you’ve ever had a bad hair day that just won’t be tamed, you’d be able to relate). 

We are coming up on the end of our first full week of camp for the summer, and if the next eight weeks are anything like the first, we are in for a summer of fun, friends, celebrations, and joy! We can’t wait to see what the summer has in store, and can’t wait to bring you all along for the ride with us. And on that note, Aussie Aussie…you know the rest of it.