Some Quick Background

I just realized something--not everyone reading the blog knows about the camp I keep referencing.

When I was 12, my grandma sent me to Canoe Island French Camp for the first time. It's on a private island in Washington State, near Canada, and I immediately fell in love with it.

There are a maximum of 40 campers each session of 2 or 3 weeks, and French is interlaced with normal camp activities like archery and sailing and kayaking, as well as a few less common activities like fencing and French cuisine class. There are always 4 or 5 people from France who come to be counselors, as well as counselors from other countries like South Africa, Spain, and Russia, not to mention England. It's not an immersion camp, but there is French class in the morning and campers of all levels are encouraged to speak French.

I went for four consecutive years as a camper, and then returned as a counselor in 2004. This past summer was my fourth year on staff, where I was Program Director. I have made countless great friends and had some of the best times of my life there. A huge bonus is that now I get to visit so many of them in Europe. It's also greatly influenced my life to be more internationally focused.

Anyway, poke around the site if you'd like (check out the Photo Gallery to find some pictures of me from this summer).

Now you know what I keep talking about.

Back to the trip!