Summer Camp Friends; What Keeps Us Together?

‘Friends, friends, friends, we will always be, Whether in fair or in dark stormy weather, Camp will keep us together.’

I learnt this song on the second day of arriving at camp, and at first, I believed it to be the cheesiest of songs going, what is summer camp I found myself asking.

I found it even weirder to be singing it with complete strangers. I wouldn’t have believed anyone who told me those strangers would become my best friends. More so than the ones I have known since being in nappies.

Camp truly did keep us together.

A friendship before even meeting

Before my arrival at camp, a Facebook page was set up for all new and old staff members.

This space allowed new staff to ask questions, introduce ourselves, and get a feeling for what was to come. With the ‘Question of the Week’, they asked us to introduce ourselves; name, age, where we are from and our job role. I not only figured out who was working in the Art department with me but also who had common interests from other summer camp activities.

Yet, I could never comprehend that these online relationships could delve as deep as they are with my summer camp friends now.

One of the bittersweet features of camp friends is that 98% of the time they don't come from where you have.

My first summer at camp was the first time sleeping on a bunk bed since 2006.

There is no better way to bond with people you’ve just met than boosting each other up to the top bunk with no ladder.

Living in close proximity with strangers for 9+ weeks and zero personal space. This level of summer camp friendship was inevitable, something you cannot simply avoid. The six other staff members I shared my bunk with in my first year at camp became not only friends but family.

We all tossed and turned on hot nights and helped each other out of bed when the music started at 7am.

We pulled off each other’s wellies (or rain boots, as the Americans call them) and wiped each other’s tears away when the dreaded homesickness kicked in.

I learnt to love the lack of privacy that comes with camp.

Communal bathrooms meant my solo singing career became a duet in the shower rooms.

I never once brushed my teeth alone, and if I forgot my towel (which happened one too many times), I’d have someone to fetch it for me.

Friendships without boundaries

My first summer at camp was the first time sleeping on a bunk bed since 2006. There is no better way to bond with people you’ve just met than boosting each other up to the top bunk that had no ladder. Living in close proximity with strangers for 9+ weeks and zero personal space. This level of friendship was inevitable, something you cannot simply avoid. The six other staff members I shared my bunk with in my first year at camp became not only friends, but family.

We all tossed and turned on hot nights and helped each other out of bed when the music started at 7am. We pulled off each others wellies (or rain boots as the Americans call them) and wiped each other's tears away when the dreaded homesickness kicked in. I learnt to love the lack of privacy that comes with camp. Communal bathrooms meant my solo singing career became a duet in the shower rooms, I never once brushed my teeth alone and if I forgot my towel (which happened one too many times) I’d have someone to fetch it for me.

Keeping the friendship going after camp

Whilst at camp you meet people from all corners of the globe. You can embrace each other's cultural differences, mimic one anothers accents and share your favourite snacks from home. I passed out a lot of Percy Pigs and now have an overbearing love for Tim Tams thanks to my Australian chums. The not-so-fun part is once you leave camp.

Going from being in each other’s bubble 24/7 to relying on texts and FaceTime was hard. Particularly hard when time zones come into play. However, no matter how long it takes to connect to your camp friends, it is always worth the wait. Once you get home, all you’ll want to do is chew the ear off anyone that will listen about camp. Camp this, camp that. Your home friends and family will start to refer to them as “camp friends” and probably zone out once they hear the word. So talking to someone from camp becomes a luxury, talking to someone who gets it.

Real life becomes waiting for camp life

Before leaving camp you might want to organise travel plans for when the busses come to take the kids as a way of soothing the heartache to come. Travelling with camp friends is the best way to go as it means camp isn’t really over. You can go on the biggest adventure with your new found family and continue to sing friends, friends, friends… on your road trip. After my first summer at camp I travelled around the US for three weeks with a few camp friends.

When booking long trips a lot of people find that they see a side to their friends on the road that they had never seen before. It's due to the fact they have never spent that amount of time with them. This is a shock you won’t have to worry about with camp friends since you have already spent every waking hour with them for the past weeks.

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