CITs 2013: Allie Ernst

Allie found a ladybug while doing community service on our college tour!

Name: Allie Ernst

Years at Camp: This will be my 8th summer at camp and hopefully the best one yet.

Hobbies When You’re at Home: I play field hockey, volleyball, and softball for Germantown Academy.

Secret Talent: My secret talent is that I’m good at Mah Jongg. Pam taught me how to play during one of the iCan nights and I fell in love ever since. I think what hooked me was that my first game that i played by myself I beat Pam and got to yell MAHJONGG!

Favorite Camp Activity: If I had to chose one it would be leagues! I love all the different sports that we get to play as teams and WNBA is amazing even just being a mascot!

Funny Camp Memory: My birthday is in July so one of the ongoing jokes in my bunk is that we celebrate my birth-week because it’s such a huge celebration! My mom always gets us birthday shirts so that we all match – my bunk actually started that tradition! My favorite birthday celebration was my lower inter summer. It was the first summer with the amphitheater and so my bunk decided to have pizza and cake on the new deck! When it was time for cake the boys in our division came out to sing to me and we had a cake fight! Of course we had to clean up our mess but it was well worth it because that is my favorite birthday memory EVER!

Advice for a First Time Camper: When my little sister was first coming to camp the one thing she was really scared about was that she would be away from our parents for so long. The only thing that  I would tell her was that when you go to camp you make a whole new family. There is always activities for you to do where you can make new friends and will be having so much fun you won’t even have time to miss your parents! The girls in your bunk become your sisters so quickly that there is no way you won’t be wishing camp is 10 months and school just for 2. Trust me!

Something You Learned at Camp: One thing that I learned from camp from a young age was how to live with other people and to make friends with any and everyone! Being away from home and living with a bunch of girls my age also really helped me to come out of my shell because if we had an activity I was afraid of, like the ropes course, instead of being too scared to do something new I had my sisters there to show me how to have fun doing it!

I never leave for camp without my: DUCK TAPE… This may sound weird but its almost what I’m known for. One summer I brought maybe 20 rolls of duck tape and it was by far the most used thing in our bunk. We hung signs during free play, taped posters to the walls, I made wallets for my bunk before one of our trips, I even learned how to make a purse one rainy day. It is one of my favorite things that I bring to camp because you can do so much with it!

If I could have any job in the world it would be: Aunt Terri! OMG I would love to be her if I could. She has the best job ever because absolutely everyone in camp knows who she is and somehow she knows everyone too! When I see her driving around in her pink golf cart all I want to do is go over and give her a huge hug. I can’t even imagine if every kid at camp felt that towards me.

My favorite place I’ve traveled is: I went to Rome and Greece two years ago with my whole family. The history and culture that I got to experience on that trip was epic!

One thing my campers will learn about me is: I’m not afraid to dress up with you guys and get crazy! I don’t get embarrassed easily so I wont be afraid to be weird with you guys. I’m so excited to meet my girls and get to know them and share my camp experiences with them so that I can make theirs even better than mine was!

One fun fact about me is: I’M IN LOVE WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA! I have so much random Captain America and Steve Rogers junk its insane. My phone case, wallet, key-chain on my backpack, and the mug I drink from at breakfast all has him on it. Some people say I might be slightly obsessed with him…

CITs 2013: Lindsay Gelber!

Name: Lindsay Gelber
Years at Camp: 9
Hobbies When You’re at Home: I love to play tennis and hang out with my friends and family.
Secret Talent: I am a fast runner!
Favorite Camp Activity: EVERYTHING
Funny Camp Memory: Even though every moment at camp is funny, I was running back from the lake when it was raining and I stepped in a huge pile of mud. When I got out of the mud my flip flop was gone. I was looking in the mud for my flip flop and I couldn’t see it! So i went back to the bunk with out it. Three days later I had to go back to the lake and saw my flip flop sitting in the mud. I had to dig through the mud to get my flip flop back! I was covered in mud and not allowed back in my bunk until I cleaned off!
Advice for a First Time Camper: Never take any moment at camp for granted. Enjoy every second you have because it is one of the best places you could be. Try not to fight because camp is all about having fun and not fighting with the friends you’ll have forever! Make the best of every second of the day!
Something You Learned at Camp: At camp I learned to just be myself and be comfortable in my own skin. It’s always important to laugh at yourself and be happy with who you are and not be embarrassed to do anything!
I never leave for camp without… my CIT2013 APPAREL
If I could have any job in the world it would be… a dentist.
My favorite place I’ve traveled is… CAMP OBVIOUSLY!
One thing my campers will learn about me is… I love to have fun and make the best out of every situation and I am very outgoing!
One fun fact about me is… I have really been at camp since I was 5! My dad was the camp doctor for a few weeks when my brother and sister went to camp and I use to go up to camp with my parents!

CITs 2013: Tori Handler!

CIT Tori is ready for camp!

Name: Tori Handler
Years at Camp: 10 years at camp!
Hobbies When You’re at Home: Playing sports and being with my friends.
Secret Talent: I have no secret talent but i wish i could dance!
Favorite Camp Activity: COOKING!!!
Funny Camp Memory: Waking up alone in the bunk because there was a fake break and all I saw was a chipmunk running through the cubby room so I thought my bunk was outside because they were scared.
Advice for a First Time Camper: Be open to making new friends because the friends you make at camp will be your sisters forever, and live every minute to the fullest.
Something You Learned at Camp: How to waterskii and now its one of my favorite things to do!
I never leave for camp without my… my gold color war shirts.
If I could have any job in the world it would be… a manager for someone famous.
My favorite place I’ve traveled is… St.Thomas because i got to do so many fun things.
One thing my campers will learn about me is… how much I love camp and that it’s my home forever .
One fun fact about me is…
I was at a froyo place once and made a new best friend who is 4! His name is gavin 🙂

Gavin reads Tori his favorite book!

CITs Cook for a Cause

Hi Everyone – I’m excited to be back on my blog sharing a great story from the weekend with you all!

On Sunday morning a few of the 2013 CIT girls joined me, along with Pam and Dani, to cook dinner for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia. The Ronald McDonald House is one of my favorite philanthropic organizations – if you want to learn more you can visit their website here:

http://www.philarmh.org/who-we-are/history/

We were planning to cook a few casseroles for the House, which they then put into the freezer and take out when they need a meal in a pinch; most large dinners are donated or sponsored. At the last minute the Sunday night dinner donor cancelled – turning Camp Canadensis into the Sunday night dinner crew! We upped the number of casseroles, picked up some more ingredients, and got to work cooking enough dinner to feed 90 people!

I am so proud of the hard work everyone put in to making Sunday a success. I can’t tell you how many times I heard someone reference Jojo’s cooking elective at camp as we put our chef skills to the test! The best part about this service experience is the fun we had while preparing the food – there were lots of giggles and even a few noodles escaping on to the floor. We were all so happy to know we would be making a difference for the families staying at the house last night.

As we continue to look for opportunities to get out and take on service projects with our camp families,  I hope you will let us know about all the great work you’re already doing on your own! We love to hear about all the good deeds our Canadensis families are doing to make this world a better place!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Sunday’s Guest Chef experience:

Broadway Saturday

Hi camp world! I’m really excited to be able to share my first post-camp reunion story! My sister [aka, Upper Senior counselor] Dani and I, along with my two best friends, spent last Saturday in beautiful NYC! We went in to town to see a play and ended up getting to meet Jake Gyllenhaal – talk about a crazy morning!

Cayla, Lynne, and Dani pose with Jakey!

After some shopping we decided to meet up with my other favorite celebrity, [Upper Senior group leader] Alex Feigin, for dinner that night!

Party in the dining hall!

Alex and Dani put that photo on instagram and within minutes their Upper Senior girls were going crazy! Alex said that her parents we ALSO in town seeing the new Paul Rudd play – now, anyone who knows us knows that we LOVE Paul Rudd, specifically in his famous camp movie, so hearing that he was in town meant we HAD to get tickets. As it always is when we’re together, the man at the box office was able to give us rush tickets in 2 private boxes, we thought that was a pretty sweet setup!

Can I just move in and live here forever?

After dinner we had some time before the show so we trekked uptown to one of my favorite places – Bendels! We were having the time of our lives in the headband room and Alex posed for this picture with her favorite accessory…

Hello, Gorgeous!

After lots of laughs and crazy hair pieces we went back downtown to see our show! My friends and I sat in one box, while Alex and Dani sat in the “Upper Senior Box”:

US Girls in their private box - Canadensis VIPs!!!

The actors in the play were absolutely amazing – we were all on the edge of our seats the whole time! After the show we waited outside for a chance to see Paul Rudd… we were NOT dissapointed:

"See you in macrame, Paul!"

I love NYC, I love seeing shows, and I LOVE my camp friends, so this was pretty much the perfect day! Dani and I are already planning our next trek for November, so hopefully we’ll have some more camp friend sightings to report! I hope you’re all making time to keep in touch with your camp friends throughout the winter, it definitely keeps the campsick-ness away!

We're Back!

Happy October everybody! It was a chilly morning as I made my way into the office – I guess this means summer really is over! Now that we’re back in full swing in the office I’m really excited to get back to my blog – I’ve got so much exciting camp-themed fun lined up for this fall and I can’t wait to share it all with you!

Looking back over the summer, I can definitely say this was the BEST SUMMER EVER! So, as is usually my “first-blog-back” tradition, here are some of my favorite moments of the summer, captured on film for you all to see. The best part, I’m proud to say, is that I took all of these snapshots myself! I’m getting super proud of my photography skills and I loved toting my camera around with me, from Ithaca to Orlando, to capture the most amazing summer of our lives…

Some of the CIT girls pose with Robin and newborn Baby Carli during CIT weekend!

Olivia and Chloe head out to the CIT overnight!

Rachel gets some tomatoes ready for the skillet!

Chef Dara

CITs in a tent!

Justin picked a lot of peas to feed families in need!

CIT Girls take a break from picking peas to take it all in...

Rikki was one with the fields...

CIT and SS Girls on our tour of Cornell

Jordan and Justin admire the dome...

Lauren and Mel get serious about their DDR!

Dorm Life!

Gotta get your college gear!

The theatre staff hold auditions for the summer shows...

CIT Boys at the NBC 10 Show

Brett and Dara loading boxes for the JRA

Sam helps Dani and Neali deliver boxes to families in need.

CIT counselors Nicole and Grace go for a spin on the floor!

Rebecca and Mindy discuss prom decoration strategy...

Super Seniors setting up on Prom Day!

CIT Taboo got very intense!

Casual posing at the V-Day dance!

We love EPCOT! (Ok, the Disney guy took this one for me!)

Mickey Mouse!

Next stop, Barbados!

Someone loves Goofy...

Being silly in Italy

My middle of the night view of the Rec Hall during color war...

Caila and Dani discuss the murals...

Lt. Olivia, Lt. Lauren, and Cpt. Rachel get soaked after winning Rope Burn!

Hallie is one with the fire...

Hanging the murals is a huge group effort!

Credit to LMac for this one:

Best. Summer. Ever.

There are literally hundreds of photos I could post and still never show you what a fabulous summer we had. A picture is worth a thousand memories and this was a summer we’ll never forget 🙂

Open for Business!

Can you believe my countdown hit the single digits? In only 3 days I’ll be moving up to Canadensis and I can’t believe the time went so fast! Matt and Eric are already up at camp with the precamp staff getting things ready for summer 2012, and Pam and I joined the fun last week to prepare the fabulous camp store!

The camp store is stocked with additional staff shirts during our staff orientation so that counselors can pick up additional Canadensis gear. Parents may remember our camp store from visiting day when we were selling tees, hoodies, hats, hockey jerseys, blankets, and all sorts of other Canadensis goodies! Since we’re always trying to do everything bigger and better we went up early to get things looking beautiful for this season – here’s a sneak peak!

We’ve still got a bit of work to do – especially the part where we decorate the walls with sample apparel – but we should be up and running in no time!  What would you love to see in the camp store?

Field Trip!

The winter office took advantage of the warm and sunny Tuesday weather to take a day trip to Long Island for some staff fun! Here are a few pictures from our travels:

Ralph's! Twin Pop recommended Graham Cracker and he was right!

Alex and I want you to vote Sigal Negrin for Merrick School Board!

We had the best time visiting Alex and Ben! What an amazing family 🙂

Meet the Staff: MIKAYLA BELLACH

Mikayla (in the middle) keeping score during basketball...

Mikayla Bellach
Syosset, NY

Years at Camp: This summer will be my 10th summer
Position this Summer: Junior Counselor
Favorite Camp Memory: 4th of July fireworks!!! It was the most surreal moment of my camp experience as me and my best friends sat there on the amphitheater with the rest of the camp behind us.  Just watching made me cry as it all hit me that I was a CIT and that I have never been more happy in my life to be surrounded by my family.
Advice for first year staff: Its my first year being staff also so my advice for myself is to just be myself and be open to trying new things and to meet new people!
One thing you’re going to do this summer that you’ve never done before: I’m excited to finally be a counselor for the first time after 9 years of looking up to mine.
Advice for a first time camper: Don’t be scared to be yourself. This place is your new home and the place where you will make your best friends that will be your friends for the rest of your life. Don’t stress about the small stuff. Forgive and forget easily. Stay away from drama because at the end of the day, this is your new family who will accept you for who you really are. This is the place where you learn who you are as a person so don’t take anything for granted. Live to the fullest and make every moment count because time really does fly and as soon as you know it, you will becoming a JC sitting here, crying, writing this, and just wishing you could go back and be a camper again.

Meet the Staff: MAX HECHT

Max getting ready for a fun day at camp!

Max Hecht

University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Business Administration. From Plainview, NY.

Years at Camp:10

Position this Summer: Group Leader

Previous Positions: Junior Counselor, General Bunk Counselor

Favorite Camp Memory: CIT summer amazing race.

Advice for first year staff: Treat the kids with respect. You give respect, you’ll get it back in return.

One thing you’re going to do this summer that you’ve never done before: Mah Jongg.

Advice for a first time camper: Don’t take a second for granted. These seven weeks will fly by. Cherish every moment of it.