As you might see from the last picture in the last chapter we visited Philadelphia on the 6th of August. Yes, it was already August. The time flying really fast. The kids arrived end of June and they were supposed to leave around the middle of the month.
Although we were working 6 days out of the 7, we were not exhausted or tired. It might be because of the work, or the environment, however the work in the Camp was really refreshing. It was of course time demanding and we really had to be 100% effective and precise, however it was not something which anyone couldn’t manage in such a great team we had. Therefore we didn’t even realize when the day came when the kids left the camp. it was not a good day. Not only because it was full with emotion, however also the counselors left that day, which made us sorry and unhappy. During the almost 2 months we made great Friendships, learned a lot from each other and got something, what you can’t gain at home. This something was a View about a different life style and culture, which we could see it only in the TV so far. Now it became reality. That is one of the reasons why I always tell to my Family, Friends and even to strangers, that this summer was one of the best in my life so far. Hopefully there will be even better summers coming, however this one I won’t never forget. Don’t be afraid, we are not at the end yet.
As I mentioned before the kids were really sad. They enjoyed the camp and each other during the summer. Now they had to go back to their reality and wait another 10 months to come back to the camp. We tried our best to make their last day memorable. Many of them came personally to us and were thankful for everything we did for them. I was really surprised. I was not expecting kids coming and thanking me/us for the foods and helps. It was a touching moment. The counselors left the same day as kids. We had a longer contract, therefore we stayed. I’m not sure about the others, but before the camp I was asked about the weeks, which I want to stay in the camp and work. I didn’t know how much should I, therefore I said until the end of August. So my last day was the 31st of August.
If I remember well, the kids left together with the counselors on the 13th. The work became less and less. Mostly during the breakfast and lunch we helped to repair the broken things, cleaned and collected the equipment left there. We helped to prepare the camp for the Winter. A big surprise was when Matt announced that a new groups of people will come to the camp for 1-2 weeks. These groups were kids, however not simple kids, but football players. During the day there were training and trust me, it was not easy. We were lucky, as we could watch some of their trainings, and to be honest with you it was more than painful. After every day they were totally exhausted, some of them wounded and sometimes you could see even blood on their shirts. Football is a hard game. Therefore if you want to become the best, you need to get the best out of you.
As those kids were the whole day practising, we did not talk to them much. We prepared the food and drinks for them, however that was all. It might be that someone from those guys is now a famous football player, however this I won’t ever find out.
As mentioned before, the time was flying really fast. It became my last day, which was the 31st of August. What I did not mention before was that during the camp Matt asked us about our future plans. Some of us decided (like Iggy, Tibor and Joanna) to go home, some of us decided to travel. Therefore for those who decided to travel, he advised to buy the bus tickets and book the accommodation in advance. Since the early beginning I wanted to go to Boston and New York. I’ve asked around and at the beginning no-one wanted to join me. One of the reasons was that they left the camp in a different time, or just wanted to go to New York. Anyway at the end Adam and Eva decided to join me. Therefore I bought the tickets, managed the travel and booked the hostels where we stayed. After all kids & football players left and only we stayed to prepare the camp for the Winter. Made some last picture and Helen prepared a beautiful plate, which stayed in the camp.
At the end of August my new Friends started to leave the camp. First Iggy (Izmail) left the camp and traveled back to Turkey. After him Tibor left and went back to Hungary. Joanna was also saying goodbye and traveled back to Poland. I was a bit sorry for them and didn’t understand why they don’t want to stay and travel with us. Anyway, Vitalii, Helen, Rico and Yuri stayed with us. As far as I know Helen and Vitalii left in the middle of September and Rico together with Yuri stayed even until the end of September. Before we left, Vitalii asked me to cook a Slovak speciality for him. It was Slovakian Potato Dumplings with Cottage. I’m not the best cook and for sure Gordon Ramsey would not eat that food, but I did my best to cook it. I called my mom and asked her how to do it with US food-stuff. I was lucky, I had all ingredients in the camp, which I needed. Of course we did not tell our main cook what are we planning to do. For sure he would “kill us” as he was very nervous when we were doing something in his Kitchen, specially when we touched the food. However he was not there and I didn’t care. It took me 2-3 hours (my mom does it in 1/2 hour) to prepare it. It was not so good as my mom does it, however it was tasty. Vitalii, who was in love with this food had even 2 plates and eat all of it. He loved it. So I was really happy that I made something special from my country and other did enjoy it as well.
The last day arrived. Matt paid us and wished all the best in future. I thanked him for the opportunity to be there as he was the one who have chosen me. I gave him a postcard from my home town Kosice. Later on went to Noel and thanked him as well. I don’t remember who, but someone took us to Hancock. The city where we arrived. We were looking back on the road and thinking about the Summer and the Camp. All of us agreed that it was great and definitively a huge adventure, which we won’t ever forget. If you would see us during that time, then we all were smiling and waiting for the bus to come, which led us to our next adventure in the United States. More to come in the next chapter đŸ˜‰
Treska - Travel Smart with Koloman 