Train to Schlaitdorf

Saturday, August 4th, 2012

Jet-setting English native speaking counselors abound at LEO-Lingo Sprachcamps in Bavaria, Germany. I have found my niche-not in counseling, but in traveling, and I love that my fellow counselors share my love of jet-setting. It’s refreshing to be able to sit around and listen to crazy stories that start with “When I was in Panama” or “that summer in Greece,” etc… then I don’t sound like a braggart when I say “that time in Dubai, or that summer in the Netherlands." We understand each other in a way that others back home may not. We are young and have a lot to figure out about life and our place in it, but for now, we are finding ourselves by trying out different identities in different places. We aren’t perhaps following the most traditional of paths, but I’ve learned that life isn’t about fitting into a box. My life is what I want for myself. I want to take my last breath and think, “I lived.”

I will not lie. Working as a language camp counselor is a stressful job, one that, more often than not, involves 16-hour-days and less than enthusiastic children. But what makes it are the smiles you get from a kid that finally gets it, the goodbye hugs at the end of camp, and nights laughing with fellow counselors. I am in a constant state of exhaustion, but I never frown. I greet each and every child with a smile. I know that I am their caretaker, their role-model, and that if I look tired and sad, perhaps they will be inclined to feel tired and sad. My goal is to make the children feel well looked after here at camp. I am by no means a pushover. I tend to yell at them too much. But I’ve learned that kids need boundaries in order to feel secure and succeed. Let’s hope I can find a balance between fun and discipline this summer. Only time will tell.

This week was a short work week. The camp started on the evening of Tuesday, July 31st at 6pm and ended today at 5pm on Saturday, August 4th. Now I’m on a train on route to Stuttgart. Eventually (likely in the wee hours of the morning) I will arrive in Schlaitdorf. Why am I subjecting myself to such stressful travel when I have to be back to work on Monday? It’s because a certain German family that lives in the US is here for a visit, and it would be a shame not to see them. More than that, there are just certain people in my life that, no matter what the distance, I feel close to them. And whenever we happen to be anywhere near each other, I have an aching need to see them. Thus, I am making the 5 hour journey from Vorra to Schlaitdorf out of love for a family that has become almost blood related to me.

So with 2 more hours to go I sit here, exhausted, but with tears almost coming to my eyes because I feel like I will be, if only for a moment, coming home.