// Natsu no rakuen: My very first CCI EVER!

Hello everyone!

Im currently in a cabin and feels sooooo good to be in one again, its like a little taste of summer. My first day at Camper Continuity Initiative(CCI) was excellent! A lot of my old campers and friends were there and it was great getting attacked with lots of hugs and love. I Met A LOT of new kids who instantly became besties. We had a little olympic game versus the Patriots, Red Sox(my team!), Celtics and the Bruins and we played many games like musical chairs, ballon structures, building an obstacle course, and even had a nice little egg race . We had lunch, rest hour then cabin free time (great time to do my Japanese lesson plans to teach the CCI kids about Japan). Had talent show rehearsal where the kids where just dancing and singing and having a great time . We had Dinner (ravioli and garlic bread YUM! ), storytelling with Michael (my other director/boss) about his Grandma in Scotland (Video at the bottom of the page) and then we ended with Casino Night where kids "gambled" their tickets for candy.
Every night before we go to bed we always do insight. Insight is really important at Crossroads because this is when we either reflect about the day, or we share deep stories. Insights are powerful and we take it very seriously here at camp and the kids know its a time to accept and not judge others. Its a time where we unite as a cabin and share hardships that we don't share with anyone else. Today for our insight we kept it simple since this was my first day here and my cabin really did not know me well enough to automatically open up and share struggles they faced or are facing.
I asked what they rated their day five being the highest and all of them said either a four or a five. They shared what they liked about that day and sometimes what they didn't like. When my turn came (My day was a FIVE) I told them I had a great first day at CCI.

I explained by telling them how happy I was to see some of my old campers as well as meeting new ones. I added about how my Crossroad family just keeps getting bigger, I have friends at Camp Mitton(my campsite where I work during the summer) and now I have friends at Camp Wing(another summer camp site where CCI is held). I emphasized how we are a family, we are together all year long, and we continue to grow. We will always be here to help each other out. I know that if they continue coming to Crossroads they will have a bond with each other for they're whole life. Like their counselors, they were campers too, now they go college and works at Crossroads all year round. Making sure that the campers now will follow in their positive foot steps and continue to help Crossroads the same way.
Crossroads is like a loving nurturing mother, father, sister, and brother that a lot of these kids don't have. We are a family and we always help family out. This is why I picked Crossroads, they are that powerful and I want to give these kids a glimpse of what is outside of Massachusetts so one day they can explore what is out there. They are my little brothers and sisters that one day will go to college and be the first of their family to go and succeed. Being a part of that and seeing their smiles is all I need to be happy.