Back at the Office

Posted on by Canadensis

Hi Canadensis Bloggers!

Sorry for not posting in a few days. I returned home from my adventures on Tuesday evening and was at work bright and early on Wednesday. Of course there is so much to catch up on when you are gone from work for 2 weeks (plus 3 weeks before that for Australia, etc.) Such a rough job I have, right?? Hehe.

I also came down with a nasty cold- fever, running nose, sore throat, etc. It definitely was because of all the flying I am sure, but I guess it’s a small price to pay for being able to travel so much and see the world, quite literally.

Planning for camp is in full swing. Matt Unger and I spent yesterday working on the operational stuff. Things like fire extinguisher inspections and recharging, power generator testing, kitchen fire suppression systems, drinking water inspection, telephone line installations for our phone room, etc. I know all very stimulating conversations, but someone has to have them! Matt has been so busy picking up the slack from my travels and trying to schedule everything to happen in the month of April. You see, we have a narrow window of opportunity to do all of these tests/installations in because the water can’t be turned on at camp until the snow melts and temperatures are above freezing. We have groups (including our CIT WEEKEND!) up at camp beginning May 1, and so the month of April is BUSY.

Speaking of the month of April, Matt and I will be moving up to camp on April 20. That is about 5 weeks from now, WOW! How the winter really flies.

What else can I tell you about- Cara and I worked on ordering the t-shirts today for Visiting Day, staff shirts, etc. The new shirt designs are really exciting and I am sure you will all be excited as well to see them.

Finally, our 2009 Staff Message board has kicked off. For all of our staff, we have a message board forum where they can visit and introduce themselves, new staff can ask returning staff members questions, etc. Each March we kick it off and it’s a favorite of many of our staff members! Sorry to all the campers, but its only for staff, although hopefully someday you will be one!

Saturday I am going to meet up with Sam Ginsburg (shout out to Sam) for lunch and then I have tons of laundry to do from my trip. Then on Sunday, we have new camper bowling for our new campers in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. I am looking forward to meeting many of our new campers!

That’s it for now. Have a great weekend and keep checking the blog because next week Jaycal and I will be announcing the winners of Round 2!

Where in the World is Eric Forti: Part 2- Budapest

Posted on by Canadensis

Hello from Budapest! I’ve had a great trip so far and have hired alot of great staff for Summer 2009!

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This picture is from the hiring fair in Budapest where I was met by many former Canadensis Staff! Pictured from left to right are: Esther Galamboszi, Zsofia Ivan, Nora Kasik, me (Eric Forti), Janos Kerezsi, and Gergely Bodo.

A special thanks to all of the staff who met me at the fairs to help me find the best Support Staff for 2009!

Where in the World is Eric Forti: Part 2-Prague

Posted on by Canadensis

Hey Everyone! I had an amazing time in Prague and am literally minutes away from our staff hiring fair here in the Czech Republic! I flew in last night and immediately went into town for dinner. I did a little exploring before and of course brought you along for the ride!

Click here for my introduction to Prague video!

Click here to see me answer some of your questions and answers!

Today I went out and explored the oldest active Jewish synagogue in all of Europe and had a brief tour. Of course following the tour, I needed to eat so Pam Levi (co-Evening Activities Director with me a few years ago) knew of a great bagel place to head to. We went to Bohemian Bagel and you will never believe who I ran into! Check out the attached video and see Joe Shelley and Jesse Charnoff, CITs 2004. They are studying this semester in Prague and by chance ran into them. Pay special attention to Jesse’s shirt and I promise you this was NOT PLANNED!!!! See, Canadensis truly is a global, worldwide camp.

Check out the video by clicking here.

I have to run and go hire some terrific staff for Summer 2009. Tomorrow, I fly out at 4:45 AM to my next destination. Find out where i’m going by checking out the next post!


Where in the World is Eric Forti: Part 2- Moscow

Posted on by Canadensis

Hello Everyone! My last three days in Moscow have been crazy busy. On Monday, I flew from Saint Petersburg, Russia to Moscow, Russia, which was only about a 30 minute flight. The airport in Saint Petersburg was designed so “smartly” with steps at the entrance and you had to carry your 50 pound suitcases up the stairs- ingenious I tell you. Our flight was great on Aeroflot, which was a pleasant surprise on an absolutely brand-new Airbus aircraft, that was built in August 2008.

Upon our arrival in Moscow, the 9 camps that had travelled to Saint Petersburg joined up with about 15 other camps for the Moscow camp fair. We were treated to a huge feast as a welcome dinner and toasted to a great hiring fair and Summer 2009!

Tuesday morning, we had our staff hiring fair and I interviewed some great kitchen/laundry staff for this coming summer. Following that, I went on a sightseeing tour of Red Square and a Jewish synagogue, in which I had the chance to pray in Hebrew, using a Russian/Hebrew siddur! I guess I need to confess that we stopped at a Sbarro pizza place for a taste of home, which was very welcomed to all of us. At night we had a big farewell dinner (yes we eat a lot) and there were pantomimes, which were interesting and strange!

Right now I am typing this from the airport as we head to our next destination. Check out the video clip- enjoy and good luck!

 

P.S. Keep sending in your questions to editor@canadensis.com so that I can answer them in future videos!