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Brenna
McBroom and I packed the car on Friday morning for a 5-hour drive to
Lexington, Virginia, to pick up our friend Joe Crosbie before heading
up to the 2006 East Coast Not Back to School Camp. Brenna and I had
carpooled up to camp last year. It was in West Virginia then, a
relatively short drive compared to this 16-hour drive to Plymouth,
Vermont. This was Brenna’s third year of Not Back to School
Camp, Joe’s fourth, and my second.
Joe’s house was in a rural part of the town, and we had a
hard time finding it. Once we got there, we both got huge bear hugs
from Joe—a very kind welcoming. We ate a delicious meal that
night: garlic bread and tofu lasagna. I don’t really like
lasagna, but that was the best I have ever had. His mom even gave me
the recipe. We left early that next morning for an eight-hour drive to
Oneonta, New York, where we stayed with some of Joe’s family
friends.
This time, we were welcomed with genuine New York style pizza for
dinner! Again, another great meal before camp. Getting to sleep that
night wasn’t hard. We didn’t have to leave until
1:00 the next day, so Joe and Brenna took a walk around the
neighborhood while I slept until 11:00. I needed the sleep. We gave our
hosts our gratitude, and we were off on our last leg of the trip.
After a short three hours of driving through the gorgeous state of
Vermont, we reached Farm and Wilderness, where camp would be held this
year. When I arrived at the top of the hill, I was attacked by hugs
from L&L conference goers and old campers I had met at my first
session of camp, last year. I felt so at home. I saw a lot of old faces
that I had met last year, all of them brighter than before. The moment
the magic began was when Cella Langer, whom I had exchanged letters
with throughout the year, gave me a huge hug from behind. I knew who it
was right away and gave her a big hug right back.
At the opening circle Grace Llewellyn, founder of the NBTSC, welcomed
all 105 of us. Some new, some old. We played a few games to break the
ice, and then we separated into nine or ten groups of about 13. Every
morning after breakfast, we’d meet with our advisee group for
about an hour. We would play games, talk about our lives, and just be
together. If you needed to get something off your chest, this was a
great place to do it.
My advisor (and everyone’s Mama Bear for the week) was
Caralea Arnold, a very cool advisor from last year. We called ourselves
the Green Field Bandits, and our battle cry was MISCHA, MISCHA, MISCHA!
Mischa was one of our family members. He had a really interesting name,
and we all agreed it would be a great Bandit call. Later in the week at
an evening meeting, The Green Field Bandits kidnapped Grace: the ransom
was to switch an article of clothing with someone in 30 seconds and to
do the chicken dance. It was so much fun!
The only things that are mandatory at NBTSC are morning and evening
meetings, check-in, and advisee groups. All for good reasons. The
meetings are to find out what has happened in the last 24 hours, what is
planned for that day, and whether we have visitors or changes in the
schedule. Check-in is simply to make sure everyone is accounted for and
isn’t hurt or lost. Advisee groups are a wonderful place to
talk about your problems, laugh with your friends, or just play games.
Other than that campers are on their own to enjoy the day as they
please.
Anyone can host a workshop at camp. It’s an hour to teach
what you love, and campers can come and leave them as they please.
There were workshops ranging from car maintenance to sign language to
calligraphy to Men and Women’s groups to origami to politics
to Ultimate Frisbee to dance. I attended at least one a day. Sometimes
three.
My favorite workshop was definitely the dancing workshop lead by Evan
Wright. Everyone called it the Evan dance because it’s no
particular dance at all. There are only two steps, right foot, left
foot. It has bits and pieces of all different kinds of dance
incorporated in it, though. The Evan dance was a whole lot of fun and
inspired me to learn different types of dance when I got home. A girl
named Autumn Starr, whom I met for the first time there, taught me some
moves, gave me a lot of confidence, and helped me get comfortable
dancing. I also took a West Coast Swing workshop.
A really cool thing that went on everyday at lunch was something called
Dining With the Blantons. The Blantons are a brother and sister who
came up with the idea where everyone who attended had to eat a certain
way. One day it was dining like wolves, the next it was feeding each
other, and the next it was eating to the beat, which I contributed to
with my drumming. There are many people with so much creativity and
spontaneity roaming camp. It’s wonderful.
Almost every night there was a drum circle or a jam session. Some were
scheduled, and some began spontaneously. I happily joined them all,
either performing or dancing. However you dance, it is okay at NBTSC!
The second to last night was prom. Some people came in drag, some in
suits, some in dresses, some in costumes, and some in barely anything
at all! I wore a suit—MUCH different from my previous
outfits. A
handful of people didn’t come, but everyone who was there was
dancing to all kinds of music from hip-hop to swing to rock and roll. I
danced till 2:30 that night. I had such a great time and learned a
whole lot!
The Closing Ceremony and Hug Circle end NBTSC. Everyone gathers in a
circle, and Grace leads us in a night of appreciation and thanks to
everyone who contributed to camp that week. That is everyone!
We go around the circle, and in a sentence or two, the campers say what
we intend to accomplish before next year rolls around. Some goals are
as big as riding a bike across the country; some are as small as giving
more hugs to the people at home. I said that I was going to volunteer
at at least one place in my hometown, to make more art, and to get
really good at dancing with a partner. After everyone goes around, we
make kind of a horseshoe where everyone is facing one other person.
This way we get to hug every single person who was at camp. Chests hurt
afterwards, but it feels so great!
At camp it is really hard to be sad or mad, and if you are, you
won’t be for long. Everyone is so supportive and caring for
the others around them. Constantly there are people offering help in
the kitchen or sweeping the dining hall or moving tables so people can
eat. NBTSC is a community. Everywhere you look there is someone giving
another person a hug, sometimes three! There are so many different
types of people getting along all week. It’s so peaceful
there. No one is an outcast, and no one is normal. I wish the entire
world were like that.
Cameron
Lovejoy has been unschooled since he was 12. He is 18 now and
is enjoying life thoroughly. He really enjoys learning and is
interested in a lot of diverse things, including drumming, cooking,
mountain biking, music and writing. Writing is a new interest, and this
is one of the first pieces he's written since he left school.
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