One Parent's Perspective

Each year, long before summer vacation starts, our son Nicholas talks about what fun he will have when he gets to Catalina Island Camps. For the past three years CIC has been the highlight of his summer break. In fact, I'm not even sure if summer would count as "summer" if he were to miss his annual camp visit. As his parents we are so pleased to have found such a nurturing place, a fun and active experience that fosters his independence, allows him time to vacation with existing friends and that presents him the chance to make not only new friends, but life long memories. The CIC experience is something that we treasure for our son; this is exactly the recharge he needs after the school year, enriching his mind and body, bolstering his confidence and providing an unmatched level of fun. We are fortunate to have Catalina Island Camps in our son's life; the stories he brings home are colorful and exciting and have his younger brother clamoring for visits in future years. Thank you, Tom and Maria, for sharing your wonderful camp and staff with Nicholas, and for taking such wonderful care of him while he is there!

Our surprise bracketeer! Maria Horner

South Region Bracket

I’ve been asked to step in at the last minute and offer my expert analysis of the South Region Bracket. The intended analyst, Phillip “P-We” West, claimed some feeble “I have too much to do at school right now” excuse. No matter…my insights will prove to be far more valuable. After all, I have beaten Wendel Roth-Strong two years in a row in our youth group bracket pool.

The gentlemen who provided their thoughts and opinions on the other three brackets logged a crazy number of hours on the internet and ESPN, gathering data for their predictions. I scoff at their methods. Who cares which team has the strongest bench? Does it really matter how many three point shots your point guard can hit in a game? And I cannot agree with all the talk about some conferences being stronger then others!

Instead, I share with you MY picks for this bracket. No sporting websites were consulted. No player stats were compared. No coaching techniques or conference schedules were taken into consideration. I have my own approach to March Madness, and I am confident that my picks will emerge victorious. I only addressed the first-round; after that, you’re on your own. It’s important to think for yourself!!

North Carolina (1) vs. Radford (16)
I love a good upset as much as the next girl. ..plus we had a long-time camper, CILT and CIT whose last name was Radford. Normally I would choose the Highlanders to shock the Tar Heels…but even I can’t stretch that far. North Carolina wins this one.

LSU (8) vs. Butler (9)
This one’s easy. The Butler Bulldogs will win and here’s why – Butler is in Indianapolis, and we have huge contingent of staff from that area (even though they all go to IU and Purdue). In addition, Butler was founded by Ovid Butler in 1855. Butler is a liberal-arts university that emphasizes, among other things, an appreciation of beauty and a commitment to community service and global awareness. Love that!

Illinois (5) vs. Western Kentucky (12)
This is the toughest pick in the bracket. A long-time staff member, Brian Dowgiallo graduated from Illinois and bleeds orange and blue (really – I saw it once after a particularly gnarly hike to Howlands Peak). He has this nasty old hat with an “I” on the front and “1983” on the back. I once asked him about the significance of the 1983, thinking it was the year Illinois had won some kind of sporting championship or something. He said he liked the hat because 1983 was the year he was born. 1983 was the year I graduated from high school…ugh. On the other side, Holly Kern, our Food Service Manager, went to Western Kentucky. Holly was born before 1983, so I like her much better. In addition, she is in charge of all the food in camp. Sorry, Brian, the stomach wins. The WKU Hilltoppers upset the Illini.

Gonzaga (4) vs. Akron (13)
I ALWAYS pick Gonzaga, regardless of how they’re ranked or who they’re playing. I think if you go to a school with that crazy of a name, you deserve to win. Add to the fact that it’s a Jesuit university and I’m a big fan of the Jesuits. Gonzaga was started in 1881 by Father Joseph Cataldo, who bought 320 acres of land and water in Spokane for $936 silver dollars. How can you go wrong?

Arizona State (6) vs. Temple (11)
This is another of my upset picks, and here’s why. Both Jenna Yost, a long-time camper and staff member and Mara Lague, our Administrative Director, went to the University of Arizona. This makes it unwise for me to pick ASU to win anything. Temple has many things in its favor. Their mascot is the owl…and we all know how wise and crafty owls are. Plus, Temple is in Philadelphia, which is where the aforementioned Phillip West’s family hails from. Temple wins.

Syracuse (3) vs. Stephen F. Austin (14)
This is another easy one. Even though Syracuse has a ridiculous mascot (really, an orange? what’s up with that?), I have to honor the legacy of the Rose family. Both Ron and Kathy spent many summers, springs and falls at Howlands Landing, working in the summer camp and CELP programs. They are from Syracuse, and Ron bleeds that orange easily as much as Brian bleeds Illini orange and blue. Sorry, Stephen F. Austin. I’m sure you’re all a nice bunch of boys, but Syracuse wins this one.

Clemson (7) vs. Michigan (10)
When former staff members have strong ties to certain universities, it’s hard to pick against them. Sam Cover, who was our summer camp director for a very long time, grew up in Clemson. Her parents both worked there. She takes her college basketball very seriously. She also bleeds orange (there’s a pattern here) so I have to go with Clemson. Now, if it were a hockey game, I would definitely go with Michigan. Their helmets are really cool.

Oklahoma (2) vs. Morgan St. (15)
I really like Morgan State. They were founded in 1867 as the Centenary Biblical Institute by the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. I am a big fan of Methodists and Episcopalians. Their original mission was to train young men for ministry; they later broadened their mission to educate both men and women as teachers. I’m a huge fan of teachers. They were renamed Morgan College in honor of the Reverend Lyttleton Morgan, the first chairman of its Board of Trustees, who donated land to the college. I love a generous donor. The Oklahoma mascot is the Sooner. That’s even crazier then an Orange. I did a little research and it seems that Oklahoma University is the only school with a Sooner mascot (imagine that). The name is a part of Oklahoma history. On April 22, 1889, people were given the opportunity to claim land in Oklahoma; sort of a land grab, first-come, first-served. One of the few rules was that all participants had to start at the same time. The ones who went too soon were called “Sooners.” These Sooners were usually deputy marshals, land surveyors, railroad employees and others who were able to legally enter the territory early to mark out choice pieces of land for themselves or others. Sounds like favoritism to me; Morgan State wins. Besides, Morgan Pepper is coming back to camp this summer!

NCAA Basketball Bracket Breakdowns

Today we have three special guests breaking down three of the four NCAA Tourney brackets for all our CIC friends. Tomorrow we have a very special guest who will break down the final bracket.

East Region Bracket

Steve Yellenich will graduate from Washington State this spring. He was a cabin counselor the past two summers. 2009 will be his third year at CIC and he will be in a brand new position at camp as a Trip Leader. Steve is a huge Ken Griffey Jr. fan and I expect he will be picking him to be the American League MVP in his return to Seattle this year.

For for all you die-hard, March is the best time of the year, I pick a team based on colors, and whichever school seems the most polite, the time is here, it is tournament time! The mood in Pullman (Washington State University) is a somber one since our beloved Cougars failed to make the tournament for the first time in two years (although we did get a shot at the NIT). Aside from that I could not be more excited for the month of March and the upcoming tournament. It truly is the best time of the year! (besides summer camp on Catalina of course!) The region I chose to break down this year was the mighty East bracket, full of east coast bias and crab cakes.

FIRST ROUND:
The first round as you all know is the most exciting couple days of the tournament, full of upsets, blowouts, and what just happened? There are six games going on at once!?


Pittsburgh (1) vs. East Tennessee State University (16): As much as I want to see this happen in my lifetime, I don't think this will be the first time a 16 seed beats a number one seed.

Duke (2) vs. Binghamton (15): Unlike last year, Duke will not be seeing a first round loss this time around, Duke wins by big. Thanks for playing Binghamton.

Villanova (3) vs. American (14): Head coach Jay Wright of Villanova led his team to a 13-5 record in nation's most difficult conference. As much as I love America, I am going to have to go with the more dominant team in this one.

Xavier (4) vs Portland State (13): This game could be surprisingly interesting to watch. Portland State, which got into the tournament by winning the Big Sky tournament, has three big time players on their team in Nelson, Dominguez, and Waters, all transfers from bigger division one schools. Portland State's biggest win this year was their early victory at Gonzaga, which is a rarity. Xavier, who has wins against tournament teams like Missouri and Memphis are coming out of the Atlantic 10 conference with a 12-5 record. Xavier has played more "big" games this year than Portland State, but don't be surprised to see Portland State compete in in this game. There will definitely be more of a home town feel for them since they managed to only have to go to Boise, Idaho. In the end though Xavier's better talent, and experience will allow them to take this game.

Florida State (5) vs. Wisconsin (12): This is not going to be the infamous 5/12 upset this time around. Wisconsin (19-12) was not even on many people's "bubble watch", but since having a 10-8 record in one of the nation's best conferences, they snuck in. Florida State, coming off a loss to Duke in the conference championship, is looking like a real threat to this bracket. After beating North Carolina in the semi-finals of the ACC tourney, and having a hard fought game against Duke, FSU has to have the "we can beat anyone attitude," which is why they are going to beat up on Wisconsin.

UCLA (6) vs. VCU (11): I could write all day why I think UCLA will win, and I have West Coast bias, and Pac-10 Bias. Therefore I will spare you guys from rambling. UCLA wins.

Texas (7) vs Minnesota (10): This is a tough draw for ole Tubby and the boys from Minnesota. Texas, led by senior guard A.J. Abrams, has something to prove to the nation in this tournament after having some questionable losses throughout the season, and after being knocked out by surprise team Baylor in their conference tournament. Minnesota on the other hand making their first tournament appearance in a few years is ready to surprise some people. Minnesota does have quality wins vs. teams such as Michigan State, Louisville, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Penn State. Tubby knows how to win in thie tournament and I believe that he will find a way to win against Texas.

Oklahoma State (8) vs Tennessee (9): The 8 vs 9 game is always one of the most difficult to pick, they aren't back to back seeds for nothing. OSU is somewhat of a defensive-minded team and could disrupt the run and gun throw up 3's left and right offense of Tennessee. The Vol's on the other hand don't really know what defense is, especially after allowing Jody Meeks of Kentucky to drop 53 points on them earlier in the year. I believe Oklahoma State's tough nose Big 12 style of play will overwhelm the NBA-esque style of play that Bruce Pearl uses at Tennessee.

Second Round:
So the first round wasn't full of the upsets like there usually are, but in the end the better seeded team really does feel like the best team to pick. Maybe the second round will provice something different.

Pittsburgh (1) vs. Oklahoma State (8): Jamie Dixon has his team as a number 1 seed for a reason. Their defense is familiar to that of the nation's leading defensive team, Washington State University (my school ). It is a pack-style defense that forces the opponent to shoot the outside shot, which still is usually contested by a hand in the face. Oklahoma State, who shot about 38% from the three point line this year, could have one of those games and find their shots, but Pittsburgh has too many weapons in this game. Pittsburgh wins easy.

Florida State (5) vs. Xavier (4): Florida State is still riding the momentum from their conference tournament and first round win and knocks off the mid-major conference team in the 2nd round. Hellllllllo sweet 16.

UCLA (6) vs. Villanova (3): UCLA has been an under-the-radar type team this year. Coming from an underrated conference this year in the Pac-10, UCLA knows how to win in the tournament. After being in the final 4 for the last three years, UCLA is determined to return to their usual scenery in March. Again, my west coast bias picks UCLA over the east coast foe of Villanova.

Duke (2) vs. Minnesota (10): I'll keep this short. Duke wins.

SWEET 16:

Pittsburgh (1) vs. Florida State (5): Behind the senior experience of Levance Fields, and their two leading scorers downlow in DeJuan Blair and Sam Young, Pittsburgh will put an end to the run of Florida State and move onto the Elite 8.

Duke (2) vs. UCLA (6): My west coast bias will be coming to an end. Duke is just to tough all around for the Bruins to take this upset. Kyle Singler is the same type of player as Dragovich for UCLA, but better and will show this against the weak inside game of UCLA. Gerald Henderson will match up very well with Josh Shipp of UCLA, and again I think the advantage here goes to the Dukies. Coach K, one of the most respected coaches in all of NCAA, does not want to see his early exit like they did at the hands of Belmont last year. Duke advances to the Elite 8.

ELITE 8:
So, go figure... I have the #1 Pittsburgh vs. #2 Duke teams from the east bracket in the Elite 8. These two teams both have shown to be atop the nation's best this year and will continue to show it in this region. I am going to have to go with the team I picked to win the entire tournament, the Panthers of Pittsburgh. DeJuan Blair will prove to be to much to handle for Kyle Singler of Duke. Along with Blair, Duke will have to draw their attention to Pitt's leading scorer Sam Young, which will cause problems all around for the Blue Devils. Pitt wins in a close game, but Pitt will win by 10. Final 4 here you come Pittsburgh!

Final Four: Pittsburgh

West Region Bracket

Danny Olson will be a third year counselor at Catalina Island Camps in 2009. He is a graduate of Washington State Univeristy.

March Madness, it’s awesome baby! Although Dicky V is a lil’ upset about St. Mary’s snub. Anyhow, on to the West Region breakdown, which features two tough Pac-10 teams that all of us west coast’ers should be rooting for!


Connecticut (1) vs. Chattanooga (16)
The last ten seasons have not seen a number 16 seed lose by less than 21 points to a number one seed. Sorry Chattanooga fans, not looking good. Uconn is the Juggernaut here, they will dominate in easy fashion to a thirty point victory.

BYU (8) vs. Texas A&M (9)
The 8-9 match ups are always the most fun to watch as the two teams are fairly equal. BYU has the better record of the two, but A&M was in the much tougher Big XII. I’ll go with the Aggies here for the slight upset over BYU.

Purdue (5) vs. UNI (12)
CIC has a strong Purdue connection, and I’m not aware of any University of Northern Iowa CIC’ers so I better make the safe pick. Typically the 5-12 game is a favorite pick for an upset in March Madness but Purdue had a solid year capped by winning the Big Ten tournament. They won’t allow a Cinderella story from UNI here.

Wash (4) vs. MSU (13)
Normally, I loathe UW. As a graduate from Washington State, UW was our biggest rivalry. We bleed the many crimson, they bleed purple. What is that about! That being said, after my Cougs made the tourney the past two years, we struggled this year to a NIT berth, just short of the NCAA’s. And come tourney time, I always root for any Pac-10 teams, even if I have to root for my bitter rival who wears purple. Huskies are paced by the Pac-10 freshman of the year Isaiah Thomas and senior power forward John Brockman who averages a double-double. Mississippi State was a surprising SEC tournament champion so I expect them to hang tough but UW to edge it out in the end with a victory and advancing to the next round.

Marq (6) vs. USU (11)
While Utah State is in the weak WAC and Marquette in the Big East which is probably the toughest conference in the land with three number one seeds in this tourney, don’t be misled. Marquette’s best player is out for the year and they lost early in the Big East tourney. Here’s my upset special pick of this tourney, USU and their 30-4 record upset the Goliath Marquette and advance to the next round.

Mizzou (3) vs. Cornell (14)
If this was a knowledge bowl, Cornell would have to be the favorite to win. Representing the Ivy League, Cornell had a solid year but let’s be honest they have no chance against the Big XII tournament champion Missouri. All you Cornell Big Red fans here’s hoping you prove me wrong!

Cal (7) vs. Maryland (10)
Cal is in the Pac-10 so you better know this Dusty will be picking the Golden Bears. Led by first year coach Mike Montgomery, Cal excelled with one of the best three point shooting teams in the nation. They lost last year’s star in Ryan Anderson and fired coach Ben Braun, but replaced him with former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery which proved to be a good move. Maryland has been a regular in the NCAA’s every year and coach Gary Williams is one of the best, but I gotta go with Cal to represent the west coast and PAC-10 with their dominant three-point shooting.

Mem. (2) vs. CSN (15)
Memphis doesn’t rebuild, they reload. Last year’s squad went undefeated until tourney time and they made it to the final four. This year’s squad looked to be a down year and then all they did was go 31-1. John Calipari can coach, recruit, and probably even play if he needed to. Cal State Northridge is a fun story, and while they aren’t Pac-10 they are on the west coast so I would like to pick them, but I’m not stupid. Memphis in a blow out.

2nd round

Uconn. (1) vs A&M (9)
Uconn

Purdue (5) vs. Wash. (4)
Washington

USU (11) vs. Mizz (3)
Missouri

Cal (7) vs. Memphis (2)
Memphis

3rd round

Uconn (1) vs. Wash. (4)
Uconn

Mizzou (3) vs. Memphis (2)
Memphis

4th round

Uconn (1) vs. Memphis (2)
Memphis is technically a mid-major playing in Conference-USA and Uconn in the powerhouse Big East. But Memphis schedules the toughest non conference schedule in the nation every year, beating teams like Gonzaga on the road. I think their athleticism will prevail over Uconn and they will win in the final game of the West bracket and make a return trip to the final four.

Memphis wins the West!

Mid West Bracket


Tom Horner is the executive director of Catalina Island Camps and a huge hockey fan. Actually he cares more about the World Baseball Classic than college basketball.

He does however enjoy the great CIC staff and thought putting his NCAA knowledge out there for everyone would be a great way to participate in what they love. Basketball.



Did you watch the selection show on Sunday afternoon? I didn't. I was at Costco buying food for the St. Patrick's Day potluck lunch Rasheed has organized for the office staff.

Have you watched much NCAA basketball this year? I haven't. See my pic? I’m posing with the only trophy I really do care about, wearing one of two jerseys I’d really ever purchase. (the other would be an LA Dodger jersey).

So how did I get to break down the Midwest bracket for the CIC blog? I run the blog. I needed 4 bloggers and figured if I said I was breaking down one of the brackets the other bloggers would feel confident they could outperform me. It’s a pretty good strategy on my part and on the other bloggers’ part. It's highly likely they will outperform me – except I can win more games because there is the play in game in the Midwest. It’s not really 64 teams; it is 65 teams with the last two playing each other to earn the right to get slaughtered by the number 1 number 1 seed.

All you need to know about the Midwest is that Louisville will win 4 games to reach the final four and then win two more games to win the entire tournament. They play in the Big East Conference. Three of the number one seeds in the tournament came from the Big East. Louisville beat them all. Some will argue UNC is the best team and chances are Lousiville and UNC will meet.

Louisville will beat Alabama State who will have beaten Morehead State in the 64 vs. 65 game.

Other round one winners on Friday are:

Sienna (9) over Ohio State (8)
Too much defense and experience from Sienna. A small upset here especially since OSU fans should outnumber Sienna fans about 100 to 1 in Dayton.

Utah (5) over Arizona (12)
Sorry Taki, Jenna and others who care about UofA or the Pac-10. Arizona shouldn't even be in the tournament this year. (See Danny's note above about St. Mary's getting robbed) The Wildcats would probably lose a first round NIT game.

Wake Forest (4) over Cleveland State (13)
Cleveland State is good but Wake Forest started 16-0. They will be too much to handle the first weekend and should make the Sweet 16.

West Virginia (6) over Dayton (11)
This could be a very close game. Dayton plays great defense and could give WV some trouble, but they can’t score enough to compliment their defense. Watch out though, if Dayton scores more than their opponents, they will make the sweet 16.

Kansas (3) over North Dakota State (14)
Last year’s champion will make this one look easy. NDSU is in the tournament for the first time - in the first year they are eligible. That is a success story in itself.

USC (10) over Boston College (7)
I don’t really like USC and routinely root for UCLA or other Pac-10 teams. However, USC is on a roll. They are playing fantastic defense and have solid team offense. BC drew the wrong team. This is the one of two first round upsets I will pick.

Michigan State (2) over Robert Morris (15)
Next

On Sunday we will see these games

Louisville (1) vs. Sienna (9)
Should be a good game but in the end the Cardinals will move on to the Sweet 16

Utah (5) vs. Wake Forest (4)
Utah relies too much on the outside shot and the last undefeated team in 5 of the past 6 seasons has made the sweet 16. Wake Forest moves on.

West Virginia (6) vs. Kansas (3)
Another good game. Kansas is better than expected after losing all 5 starters from last year’s championship team. Kansas is young and West Virginia needs their veterans to perform. I’ll go out on a limb and say West Virginia will make it the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five years.

USC (10) vs. Michigan State (2)
USC is on a roll, but it ends here. Michigan State is the model of Big Ten consistency and USC is riding the wave. Waves end up washed out. MSU moves on.

Sweet 16

Louisville (1) will beat Wake Forest (4)
Michigan State (2) will beat West Virginia (6)

Louisville (1) over Michigan State (2)

A Louisville victory over MSU will send the Cardinals the Final Four in Detroit April 4-6.

That’s how I see it at 10:25 on Sunday night after 30 minutes of reading other people’s comments on the internet. I don’t think I’ve ever won a bracket, but I did finish in the money one time or another. I’m sure I missed an upset or two (Dayton or Cleveland State?) and picking Sienna over Ohio State in a game played in Dayton Ohio may not have been the most solid idea but I will stand by it.

The one thing that is clear is that Louisville is the class of the Mid West and gets a favorable game location in Indianapolis for the sweet 16.

Growing up at Camp

The following post is by CIC Camper Haley Kern, who has lived at Howlands Landing (home of Catalina Island Camps) since 1996 when her dad took the job as Site Manager.

Haley is in the yellow shirt

My name’s Haley, I'm fifteen years old, and I've been living on Catalina for as long as I can remember. I live with my mom, my dad, and my two younger siblings. We live here at Howlands landing. A lot of people may think that sounds fun, and a great place for a kid to grow up. Now don't get me wrong, I love it here, but it definitely has its ups and downs.

These photos are of Haley's CILT group from 2008

I'm a sophomore at Avalon High School. The school is kindergarten through twelfth grade; unfortunately, my school is nearly two hours away. But, just like most kids that live down here at this side of the island, my sister and I take the school bus. We leave our house at 5:50 a.m. Our mom drives us as far as the Isthmus of the Island. There, we catch the bus at about 6:15 a.m. The bus has nine kids from this side of the island. All of us are friends, we do get nearly 4 hours a day of travel together, and therefore, we're pretty close. We finally get to school at about 7:30 am. After we get there, we still have time to just hang out or get help with school work. School doesn't even start until eight so we have time to spare. It’s pretty nice though being able to go to school in town because we live in the hills. As the normal school day drags on, it finally ends at three. The bus doesn’t leave until 3:30 so we still have loads of time to just lie around or go for a walk around campus before the long bus ride. When the bus takes us home we spend the ride talking, reading, or listening to our iPods. We finally get home at 5:15 pm. And that's pretty much our normal weekday.



Every summer I am blessed to attend summer camp for two weeks, here at the camp I live at. It's so much fun being able to meet so many people from around the country, even from around the world. A lot of the staff here are international, so I get to meet people from all over. Just last summer, I was a CILT (camper in leadership training). It was the best CIC session I’ve ever been in.

Living at a camp is fun, I admit, but it gets pretty boring sometimes. I mean in the winter, the water is freezing, and so you can’t really do any activities that involve the ocean. It doesn't even start to warm up until summer. And all my friends live in Avalon, so unless I want to spend the weekend there; I only get to see them at school during the week. It really does get annoying living in the middle of nowhere. I mean, imagine being stuck here, with the nearest kid my age living two hours away, with no cell service!




Of course, living at Howlands landing isn't all bad. I live on the beach. I get to go to the best summer camp I’ve ever been to, every year. And, I get to hang out with a great group of staff during the summer. I absolutely love it… but it is kind of weird when I go to camp because I can see my house from my cabin. All the friends I go to camp with thinks it’s so cool that I live here, and I agree with them. Living here has been a great experience that I will always treasure.

El Paso Texas Campers and CIC

CIC has a growing community of campers from El Paso Texas. Maria and I had the chance to visit there this past weekend. It was my third trip to El Paso and Maria's first.

We flew non-stop from LAX on Southwest. It was an easy 1 hour and 45 minute flight. El Paso is 800 miles from our home in Altadena. That's closer than Houston is to El Paso. It 4 hours is due south from Albuquerque. Interstate 10 runs through El Paso on its way from Santa Monica to Florida.

The first camper from El Paso was Alex Taber. Most campers will know Alex because he came to CIC for 4 weeks his first summer, 8 weeks two years ago and 4 weeks last summer. His brother Scott came 2 weeks and then 4 weeks last summer. They are both coming four weeks this summer. They obviously love camp. Alex was one of the campers I consulted with before making the switch of boys cabin names two summers ago.

Alex and Scott's mom, Andrea, also loves camp. El Paso is pretty hot in the summer so she wanted the boys to get out of Dodge for awhile. The first year she sent us several referral cards full of families who she thought would be interested in CIC. I was going to Texas for a conference so we arranged for me to stop in El Paso for 8 hours. We held a small gathering and a few more campers decided to attend camp the next summer. I even got to have birthday dinner with with the boy's dad Jeff at a great restaraunt in Las Cruces, New Mexico, about a 30 minute drive frm their home.

In 2008, I returned to El Paso and we had a reunion and opportunity to meet more families. Even more campers came from El Paso last summer. I think there were a total of 12 different campers.

I made Maria come along this year to meet everyone. Andrea arranged for us to come to St. Clements School and meet new families there. It was great. Afterwards we had another reunion and met more families who had come before and are coming for the first time this summer.

Andrea and I were counting up the families and we think we may have 20 campers from El Paso this summer. The families all love being part of CIC and knowing their children are all going to the same camp and get to meet so many new friends from California and across the United States.

Alex and Scott will once again get all three camper referral gifts from CIC when they get to camp this summer. If you would like to share camp with friends you know call our office at 800-696-2267 or return the brown referral card in every mailing we send.

Laura Marshall's Trip to Africa

The following post is written by Laura Marshall who travelled to Tanzania last summer after working for a part of the summer at CIC. Laura will return to CIC this summer as the Lead Challenge Course Instructor.




I spent three weeks in the village of Rau outside of Moshi in Tanzania. I could see Mt. Kilimanjaro from my porch when the winter clouds didn't cover it. I went with an organization called Cross Cultural Solutions based out of NYC. When we first arrived at the home base we went through a fully day of orientation. We learned about our placements and safety and about town life. We had to go out into the city and find a point of interest like the bread shop, gas station, the ymca and the hindu temple. We had to make basic conversation in kiswahili to get information. Everyone was extremely friendly and open to help with our language deficits. The children were so adorable and love a camera.



During our orientation we learned about the word "Mzungu". This is basically a word to say "smart white colonizers" from the time Tanzania was colonized. The measure of wisdom is shown through how you dress and your age. If you are dressed "smart" in Tanzanian culture you will recieve the word mzungu as a compliment.



When we went to a local artists house for a visit to see his shop the children outside were saying.. the Mzungu's are here! the Mzungu's are here! It was an odd feeling but a joyous one. The city itself had a mix of concrete medians and mostly dirt roads. There were some roundabouts (clearly British influence) in which cars from every direction drove like a bat out of hell. The public transportation system revolves around these cars called DALA DALA's. These van's fit about 10 people comfortably. In the streets these cars will be zooming by with men hanging out the door, off the sides and on the back. I had the joy of riding in one of these vans (a very short distance) and a nice woman sitting next to me just handed me her baby to hold. The sheer anxiety and muted cultural collision I felt was evident. I luckily didn't have to remain in the position for very long but I will always remember that in depth look at life in Tanzania.



I worked with preschool age kids in a one room school house attached to a mosque. Two years ago to leader of the mosque let the local volunteers use the room. Six months ago they just got desks and uniforms. These kids are so adorable and are so happy with very little. They often break pencils to share them and most of them are ecstatic when they have two shoes to wear one day. The culture is such that sharing is almost mandatory. These kids will willingly take off their shoes and share with everyone else. Anyway, I digress. Before I spent enough time in Africa I had this preconceived notion that all the continent's people must be unhappy because of their poverty. Through the course of spending time in homes, orphanages, local hangouts and at the home base I came away with a deep understanding of the life East Africans lead. Life is simple but hard. Throughout my experiences I became illuminated to the idea of simplicity equaling more happiness. I saw in every situation that there was not a lot of material things, not too many choices to be made in a day. Tanzanians' value relationships just as some in more affluent cultures value independence and material possessions. This simplicity I found to be gold. I saw how genuinely connected and happy the people were to each other, strangers and relatives alike.



As I was spending my final day in Tanzania, I made my way to an orphanage up the road from the home base. I fell head over heals for these kids. I spent a majority of my afternoons there informally teaching some of the kids art. The girls loved playing "Little sally walker". they couldn't get enough of it. I'd walk in the gate and they'd start chanting the song. we played jump rope and made paper airplanes. I remember sitting at my mom's computer after I had returned home and uploading all my photos when I looked at my pictures from my final day and I was still in the same clothes. I felt a wave of accomplishment, joy, sadness and connectedness to a land so far from me. Tanzania is an entirely different world and I find it to be one of the greatest corners of the globe.

Baadaye! (see you later)