Many of you may have thought that I have fallen off the face of this earth… I assure you that if there was an edge of the earth that Pickens, South Carolina would be pretty close to it. But I love it out here. This will be extremely long, and I am certain that most of you will probably not read all of it, so I will just give a survey of everything that has happened in the boondocks. Maybe break up my story into little pieces like a bed time story… I have gotten pretty dang good at telling stories… just ask me. I have been in night story mode for about 5 weeks now. The "biggest" thing I learned out here? You may think that Georgia is known for its peaches, thus enabling it to have the largest peaches... but the largest peach in the world is actually located in Gaffney, South Carolina. Proof? I am to the right of the peach--Camera POV.
It was really fun working for a few days with the people from our sister camps such as Wildlife, Sewee, and 4-H. We work the more nerdy camps (ZQ and Voyager)… but not as nerdy as Summer Science Camp. Oh, and I learned that counselors do crazy things sometimes… like bring machetes to camp. The group I am working with is awesome: Jackie Kippen, Khalil Madani, Jeff Aglow, Lashia Wilson, Jackie (JP) Preston. Some of the highlights include: JP doing something manly (unladylike) during training, Lashia in downtown Greenville, Jeff on his 21st birthday, duct taping Jeff’s sheets to his bed, flying fishing with Khalil, and talking about just about anything with Jackie.Above/right is Jeff astonished at the kid's uncanny ability to duct tape sheets to a bed. Actually, it was me. Sucker. Below is our group at Table Rock/Caesar's Head, minus Jackie, plus Nick, who is this extremely knowledgable, awesome, hilarious, good-natured guy that helps us out as the maintenance guy, ropes instructor, and great friend.
The Youth Learning Institute is a big organization that runs through Clemson University. It has about 10 different camps, I think. The first two weeks of camp were Zest Quest University weeks. ZQ is a program that incorporates 7 healthy habits into curriculum. The habits include eating 3 vegetables, getting 9+ hours of sleep, incorporating more country ham into your diet, etc. Just kidding about the last one… that is one of the habits that I have been practicing on weekends.
The biggest thing (literally) that happened at camp was Dwayne Allen being an intern. He is the tight end for Clemson University. He is going to play in the NFL. I could take him, though. Please do not blackmail him for giving the "Hook 'Em."The first week was spent getting to know the ZQ coaches and the program itself. ZQ is a program with about 10 teachers, and many of those teachers helped us with curriculum. It was a lifesaver having them there assisting with field trips during the first week of camp. Our first week of camp was scholarship-based, so many of the kids had very crazy backgrounds. The coaches teach classes like physical activity, sleep, and etiquette. We were there to take kids around to do ropes, camp fires, and other stuff.
I will say that though I do not normally eat corporate cereal and milk, cartons of milk and Kellogg’s granola have been my saving grace during breakfast this past month. I am not going to eat pure sugar for breakfast, which is what many of the kids eat. Along with that, I have grown to love iceberg (bland) salad… that is pretty much the only thing I will eat at lunch, as lunch for the counselors is typically roast beef on cardboard wheat. One day a week we eat mashed potatoes from concentrate, processed chicken nuggets, and bitter green beans for dinner. That is the day that I bring my own snacks to dinner because I pretty much do not eat any of that! We get lasagna and spaghetti sometimes, and I eat about 4 portions to make up all the calories I missed out on the rest of the week.
As expected, I binge eat and drink on the weekends. No reason not to… I have to explore all the food I can on the weekends. I figure I only have 8 weekends to explore the culture of South Carolina. Did you know that none of the Southeast considers Texas part of the South? Khalil and I argue it a lot. If you think about it, Texas did grow the most cotton. On the other hand, if you think about “Westerns”, you think cowboys. What do people think when they hear Texas? Cowboys… There is no right answer.
A little about Pickens: there is a mile of “downtown.” The rest is country and farm houses. It is awesome. To explain, let me show you where I get my haircut. If you look closely to the door's right (door POV), you see the classic red/white/blue candy pole. America!
My times fly fishing out here have been so humbling. They are what keep me going during the week. I get tangled most of the time and probably only fish about 50% of the time that I am on the water, but the tedious parts of fishing are not burdensome at all, surprisingly. Brett Deming, one of the old YLI directors, started a fly shop, and Khalil and he go out to the river a lot. I go out with them when I am up to it. I feel like I am holding them back, so I try not to bother them too terribly much. They love fishing so much, and I love their passion for it. It rubs off on me like crazy. One night, we went out to this gorge portion of the Eastatoe on SC11, and it was something straight out of a movie. We went around the gate, down a rock path, down a hill of tree stumps and rocks, and straight into a little valley of rocks and falls and rapids. We stayed until the late 9PM sunset. Amazing experience. Too bad I suck at fly fishing.
Here is our most visited fly fishing spot. Khalil stands ready to conquer the little guys.
Now…what most of you expected me to write about: the food culture! Well, it is exactly what you expect out here. There is barbeque, meat and 3’s, and ham galore out here. I know I should be posting food pictures, but most of the food is not terribly photogenic. Plus, I take terrible pictures, to boot. A word about the BBQ: If you know me, you know I stand true to the No Sauce in Texas rule--save Franklin's because it is on a pedestal of its own. (See Franklin's BBQ) I love the Mustard-based vinegar sauce out here. It is typically the Eastern style, but I have found some solid mustard sauce out here in the Upstate. Apparently, SC has 3 BBQ styles depending on the region. Too bad I do not have enough time to explore this more.
On weekends, we typically go out to Greenville. It has been listed as one of the top 10 places to retire. It is awesome; there is a big late night culture as well as a very close-knit community. I have grown to like coffee… mostly because of the wi-fi access. I do not get internet on my laptop at the site, so weekends are spent catching up on necessary things online at coffee shops.
Our latest week of camp was Camp Voyager. With 60 kids, there was bound to be some issues. The major one that freaked me out? Pink eye in my group. One of the girls caught it late in the week, and we all freaked out. She had to go home… and the next day, 3 other girls in my group complained of it. So scary. I also think one of my kids gave me a cold. You guys will get a hoot out of my group…. They were all black. And not just black… I mean like straight up black. I really liked them, and they really liked me, though. Let me just explain how hard I thought it was going to be. Their names are as follows: JAQuail, JAQcquez, Bri’Asha, Shayla, Shamir, Ronald, Ashaunti, Jasmine, Gabrielle, Bruce. Other African American names from the week: Tymashio, DeRonald, Tiari… the list goes on. Needless to say, it was a fun week. I mean... we did "The Dougie" for the talent show. Talk about soul. Below is my group.
There was plenty of stuff I left out, but I just wanted to give you guys a brief update of what I have been up to. Hope you enjoyed reading.
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