Callus is back to write this blog once again!
This morning’s exercise went fantastically! The best thing about having the calisthenics in the mornings is the energy we always retrieve from exercising! For some reasons, some campers start laughing as we exercise so our mood is lifted up instantly! After exercising, we went to Leadership Hall to gobble a healthy breakfast!
After breakfast we had a Camp Council meeting. We discussed about few important topics, especially upcoming events and projects such as the Camp Project, ASL Night, Banquet, and the you-decide Evening Program. We brainstormed about what we should make for our camp project. After creating an official list of the ideas, the campers voted and decided on what we will make for YLC! After wrapping up on the Camp Project, we shifted to the topic of the Banquet. We discussed what food we will have and what to do for the Banquet program. The discussion went so smoothly that we finished the topic in just a few minutes. The Gizmos (the staff) allowed us to decide what we will do for our last Evening Program. Many of us had various wonderful ideas, but we could not decide on one idea, so we stopped talking about it as the time had run out. Last, but not at least, we talked about what we would do for ASL Night tomorrow!
“Juan Dillard and I are ready for the Banquet! You all will never forget the Banquet because it is going to be the greatest night!!” – Subrina Morales, Camper
We had a typical afternoon with OLS class, media hour, and another delicious dinner! After dinner, Joshua Beckman called us into Leadership Hall for a brief meeting. Joshua announced that something horrendous had happened—someone had the guts to steal a whole package of candies from the canteen. Confusion overwhelmed us as Joshua jumped to conclusions and decided to accuse us of stealing the candy even though they did not have any evidence that a camper committed the crime. Suddenly Cesar Ayala entered the building with a wrecked looking face. He approached Joshua and cried, “Blair's dead!”
That was the beginning of the Evening Program, MYSTERY NIGHT! We were to divide into our teams and solve two cases, which are the theft of the candies and the murder of Blair Rasmus. All of us had to find out who were the suspects and interview them to discover who were the thief and murderer. Also we had to figure out how the thief broke into the canteen, when the murderer killed Blair, and what weapon the murderer used to kill Blair. All of us really enjoyed the activity as we attempted to solve the crimes. All four teams had to produce a final report and give the report to Detective Adam Jarashow. Most of us tried our best to guess, but Evermore did an excellent job by being the only team that accused two correct suspects. But everyone did wonderful, and congrats to all teams for trying their best and making it through the night!
For our fireside tonight we had two awesome speakers, two proud Kendall Green Alumni: Joshua Weinstock and Jonathan Kessel!
Fireside started with Joshua Weinstock, who shared his childhood experience. Joshua began to like writing and reading in high school. He attained the position as a graduation speaker by admitting his essay to a panel of judges who will pick two top essay writers and assign them to become the graduation speakers. In the end Joshua got the opportunity to give his speech at his graduation, Model Secondary School for the Deaf. Joshua also explained his experience as a camper in YLC in 2003. He enjoyed YLC so much that he came back as a staff and we are grateful that we have him as our staff!
The second speaker, Jonathan Kessel began his story with a question. He asked us if we thought that he comes from a deaf family and the most of us answered ‘yes’. Jonathan chuckled at our assumption and revealed the shocking fact—he is the ONLY deaf person in his entire family! It was so hard to believe because his essence seemed to belong to someone who had a strong deaf family. Jonathan explained that he had lived in District of Columbia for his whole life. Jonathan shared his experience about his first year working at YLC as a counselor. He wrapped up his speech by announcing his plans for next year. He is joining a group of few friends to go through the Appalachian Trail, which begins in Georgia and ends in Maine. It will be a six month journey for Jonathan and his friends. His presence was clearly of a person who loves outdoors. We bid him good luck!
“I can’t imagine how YLC will end, this entire month is truly amazing and indescribable. I will cry and be devastated on the last day.” – Dan Mabashov, Camper
The campers listen as Yolynn Valdez expresses her thoughts during group process.
R.I.P. Blair Rasmus!
Dana Hill and Martha Wolcott pondering about the mystery they have to solve.
Mike Hesser explaining who he thinks the murderer was.
The Callus team questioning a suspect while Jay Werner takes notes.
Valerie Farr, you look confused, have you figured it out yet??
Suspect Lauren Sanchez smiles for the camera!
Nha Kim going over her team's notes from their interviews with the suspects.
Bethany Weiner and Jennifer Wrenn watch as their teammate explains who he thinks committed the crime.
Joshua Weinstock at fireside explaining about his childhood.
Jonathan Kessel describing his first YLC staff experience in 2006!
The campfire weakened and is left with red hot burning logs. Callus dumped water on it and the red hot flames sent out a huge trail of smoke up in the air. We all skipped to Leadership Hall for the typical announcements and gathered together as we screamed, “YLC ’09 GOOD NIGHT!”
