Staff training

Hey everyone!!

So i'm about to start staff training week at camp. During staff training, to help us understand what campers go through at camp, we don't have access to phone or internet for 1 week. Now during camp itself I'll be trying to update this weekly or more, but there will be nothing for the next week. I'll probably write a blog out on paper, then put it up online and backdate it once I have internet access at the end of the week.

Michael

The first blog... Meet and Greet

Mike and Jess (who is awesome) at the radisson in LA

Hey Everyone!!!

My name's Michael, and I'll be your camp blogger this summer. Please keep your hands and feet inside the blog at all times. We'll be cruising today at an altitude of eleventy-seven thousand feet, and our expected arrival time is the end of summer. Please sit back and enjoy the ride.

Ok so my 2009 camp season could not have started any better! I flew from Brisbane to Sydney, then Sydney to LA. Amazingly, my sister Mel and I (she's also coming to camp) were upgraded to premium economy for the flight!! SCORE!!! So we got bigger seats, stacks of legroom, and really nice food. We cleared customs, and found Jess (who is amazing) from CCUSA waiting at the exit for us with a big CCUSA sign so we could find her. Once we had everyone, we headed outside and departed via shuttle bus (remembering to tip the driver) for the meet and greet site, The Radisson Westside Hotel. The hotel is fully sick!! Probably one of the nicest I've ever stayed in! And of course totally free for first-timers! CCUSA had a little office in the lobby where the CCUSA crew (Mike from San Fransisco, Jess the amazing kiwi, and Nat from Melbourne.) are ready to answer any questions, give you your room keys, or direct you to any of the local activities/shops/fun stuff/cinemas/awesome places to get food (i.e. Dinah's.) The rooms were really nice too... you have 1 or 2 other CCUSA people in your room with you, and it's great to hear where they're from, what camp they're going to, and generally have someone to talk to. Last night we all met up at 6:30 and went across the road to Dinah's for dinner. (They don't mind when we walk in with 30ish people... :) ) A very large burger and unlimited soft drink refills later, we wandered back to the hotel, and hung out in the lobby for a while, chatting to all the other counselors. Fun times were had :) There were about 15 people going to one camp in Dallas TX, which was kind of funny, because the most common opening question when you meet another CCUSA person you don't know is "So, what camp are you going to?" After chilling out and meeting everybody... a few of us spontaneously decided to go and jump in the spa until it closed at 11pm. This was pretty relaxing, and i definitely recommend it!!!

Well my time here in LA is almost up... I'm flying out tonight close to midnight. Not sure how I'll fill the day. Several people with late flights have gone on a Hollywood stars tour today for a few hours. I'm thinking I'll go and catch a film at IMAX and have a huge burger at Johnny Rocket's... another cool burger joint.

-Michael