Bunac

...can have. The other BUNAC reviews on here are regarding the Work America programme. I travelled with BUNAC to America on the Summer Camp programme. After researching the two I decided the Summer Camp programme was better structured and offered you more for your money.

BUNAC stands for British Universities North America Club. It is an organisation that has been working for over forty years to help students and young people plan and ...
.../> I applied for the BUNAC camp programme in November 2000. The application was similar to a job application form; you were prompted to sell yourself! It was mandatory to have some child care experience and references were asked for. There was a section for special skills (such as ability to do archery, or art and craft experience) and I was asked whether I would like to be a general counsellor or one that taught a skill. I selected the general ... more

I am about to describe to you the most excellent summer experience you can have. The other BUNAC reviews on here are regarding the Work America programme. I travelled with BUNAC to America on the Summer Camp programme. After researching the two I decided the Summer Camp programme was better structured and offered you more for your money.

BUNAC stands for British Universities North America Club. It is an organisation that has been working for over forty years to help students and young people plan and carry out their travels and adventures in North America. It now caters for people wishing to travel to other countries too and has many other branches besides the one which I am focussing on here. The website is useful and informative and can be found at www.BUNAC.org.uk

I applied for the BUNAC camp programme in November 2000. The application was similar to a job application form; you were prompted to sell yourself! It was mandatory to have some child care experience and references were asked for. There was a section for special skills (such as ability to do archery, or art and craft experience) and I was asked whether I would like to be a general counsellor or one that taught a skill. I selected the general option. I was called to a local interview held in a plush hotel nearby and was quizzed about my intentions, why I wanted to go to camp and a bit about myself. In turn my enthusiastic interviewer related stories of their times at camps and explained to me what I could expect.

In January 2001 I received an e-mail from the camp that had selected me. They provided me with some details on the camp, a link to their website and a packing list. You do not (generally) get to choose which camp you go to, although you can select whether it should be for disabled children, girls boys mixed etc. I chose mixed but I was placed at an all girl camp in New York State (www.llgsc.org). I was initially disheartened to see it was run by the Girl Scout Association but I needn't have been worried. The photographs made the site look fantastic with many things to see and do with the children.

I attended an induction day in a local university (I was given a choice of where to go). Here they gave us more information, about what to expect, what to pack and allowed us to meet many more counsellors and counsellors to be.

What did the experience cost? I have noticed comments on the reviews for the Work America programme about the expense, the Camp Counsellor program, in my opinion is not expensive, all money paid out is recouped and the money to be paid is not a great deal anyway. If me memory serves me correctly I had to pay £60-00 none returnable fee for applying to the programme (This was returned if your application was rejected), I had to pay £101-00 for travel insurance and £30-00 for my visa application. In all just £191-00. In return I got free flexible return flights, free coach transfer, 2 day orientation in new York, eight weeks food and board at camp, weekly days out to new York city, approximately $600-00 'pocket money' paid in weekly instalments, a t-shirt?!?, an international phone card, BUNAC’s travel guide, the Moneywise Guide to North America, help with Visa application, a visit to check I'm doing okay by a BUNAC worker and a fantastic experience.

Finally the day to leave arrived, I waited with trepidation at the coach station and travelled down to Gatwick airport (flights may be booked from other UK airports if you pay a small supplement). The flight went smoothly, it was a posh Virgin Atlantic aeroplane, and on arrival the BUNACers gathered in the airport and were transported by coach to New York City. We booked in for one night (Paid for by BUNAC) at the International Youth Hostel on Amsterdam Avenue and were left to settle in. I went to look at the bright lights of Times Square with some other girls. The following morning we had a short orientation and then were collected by staff from camp - Chief (the director) and Baywatch (the head of waterfront).

We were shown around camp and had first aid training followed by a week of other orientation activities.

Camp was on a large rambling site with many cabins that slept between up to 8 campers. The cabins were made of wood without windows but with insect netting, they had metal beds and wooden cubby holes, they were sparse but comfortable and best of all the counsellors were allowed their own cabins. I had previously been told I had to share with the campers. Other facilities on camp included a climbing wall, a fire circle, areas for barbeques, an activity hall with fireplace, large TV, stereo, games and art and craft area, a trading post where stamps and sweets could be bought, an office with a telephone, photocopier and fax, a large dining hall and kitchen and the waterfront area.

The waterfront had a group of lifeguards patrolling it (also recruited from a BUNAC-type scheme). There was a shallow pool sunk into the deck and then two areas cordoned off for swimming. The campers were required to wear swim hats in colours denoting their ability. This allowed the lifeguards to ensure they were only swimming in an area appropriate to their swimming skills. There was a slide and a collection of pedaloes, canoes, kayaks and row boats.

The toilets were basic to say the least, there were flush ones for the smaller children near the entrance but the main ones were long drop style (think Glastonbury toilets!) and the showers were insect infested with just a shower curtain between you and everyone else. All in the name of good fun though!

The other counsellors were mainly girls, some were assigned a duty, such as waterfront, maintenance or in the kitchen (they had chosen this option before arrival) and the others were just general counsellors. The counsellors were recruited from many countries; America, UK, Korea, Poland, Australia, Denmark, Spain, South Africa, Russia, Columbia, Romania…… Some counsellor’s English was not good, or they were not confident in it. At times this made it difficult as the native English speakers often had to shoulder more responsibility. However it was very rewarding to be able to experience that cultural diversity, both for the staff and the campers.

Camp was divided into 5 age group units with approximately 20 girls in each unit. 2-3 counsellors were assigned charge of a unit. Prior to the campers arriving on a Sunday we were assigned a blank schedule with just archery, boating sessions and swim lessons timetabled. It was up to the counsellors to invent activities to fill in all the gaps between waking up and bedtime. This was a difficult exercise, we were reprimanded for repeating activities to regularly and sometimes it was difficult to think of enough activities. With retrospect it would have been nice to know prior to leaving for America the requirements so I could have researched some activities. Examples f activities we lead were; games, croquet, mini golf, dinosaur egg hunts, hikes, cook-out hikes, hobo hikes, night hikes, ghost nights, ultimate Frisbee, water fights, slippery slide, team skills, crafts, cooking…. The list goes on. At least one lunch a week we made a boasting lunch. All the lunches were wrapped in airtight bags and the counsellors set off into the lake with them the campers then had to make chase on other boats to retrieve their lunches! Froggy pond was a nature site on the edge of camp, it was very muddy and full of bullfrogs, the campers had good fun wading through catching, naming and releasing ‘specimens’!

Each week we went on a trip, this was excellent as we got free entry into many excellent places, we went to see Riverdance on Broadway and a local production of Romeo and Juliet, we visited Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History, Mars 2112 theme restaurant, planet Hollywood, the wildlife café, IMAXS theatres x3, a zoo, a canoe regatta, white water rafting, Woodstock……
The time off we had was minimal, most campers went home on Friday-Sunday so lonely a few counsellors needed to be on duty, the rest of us could do what we wanted and sometimes a minibus would be available to take us to a Mall. One evening a week was assigned as a night off too. I was 19 at the time and unable to drink alcohol so I was not allowed to go on night trips to the pubs but the other counsellors went every couple of weeks.

The wildlife at camp was amazing as it was so rural! There were chipmunks everywhere and the children could not believe we had never seen them before! We were taught what to do if we met a bear, met a rattlesnake, got a tick or met a bat! Several rattlesnakes were found during my time at camp and I have some excellent photographs of them. One night we returned to our cabin and found a raccoon had ran in and was sitting atop my staff shirt! (Staff uniform – orange shirt, tan shorts worn only when parents were there and trip day) Again I got some lovely photos and the raccoon made some friends!

I got a tick, it was removed and sent for Lyme disease testing (negative). In the event of a bat being seen in a cabin with occupants it was necessary to remove it and kill it for rabies testing. This was done by squirting it with a water pistol so it could not fly, trapping it in a biscuit tin and putting it in the freezer. Once one was not caught and the waterfront staff were subjected to several weeks of rabies injections!

I have many wonderful memories of camp and have no favourite or worst moment, I still sing the songs I learnt whilst there, in the car and am in touch with many counsellors (and campers) from my time away. I was very sad at having to leave camp as I had a wonderful time.

The support from BUNAC while at camp was good. We got telephones regularly and a representative came to see how we were getting on. This is over and above what many of the other counsellors from other schemes had.

At the end of camp I transferred my flight (about £20-00, BUNAC arrange it all) so that I could co-ordinate my flight with someone I had met at camp. I then went travelling for two weeks with other counsellors, we visited New York City, Boston, Providence Rhode Island and a water-ski camp in the Adirondacks. I went on a whale boat trip, climbed the Empire State Building, went to Macys, Tiffany’s, central park, John Lennon’s apartment, the court buildings from Ally McBeale, the camp from Dirty Dancing, Lake Placid many Ben and Jerry’s scoop shops, Salem where the witch trials were held and on the Staten island ferry to the statue of liberty. I did not climb the twin towers but had a coffee under them.

The water-ski camp was an excellent adventure; it was run on a camp that had been used for kids in the summer but now was open to counsellors. I had waterskiing, knee boarding and wakeboarding lessons every day, the food was plentiful and nice and the cabins luxurious (en suite!). It was a cheap trip and free beer was available in the evenings in a fill your own cup from the tap in the wall style! I leaned to ski (in a fashion) and again was sad to leave.

All in all I had a wonderful time and would recommend it to anyone who had an interest in childcare and wanted t spend a summer doing something different in a different environment with people from very different cultures. Go, do it, you know you want to!

www.BUNAC.org.uk

www.llgsc.org

I am endeavouring to find the website for the water ski camp – I will update when I can.
 

...less