Dirty Feet

hello all. i've certainly been lacking in detailed posting on the blog. my apologizes, so here i am to make up for it.

lots of words mean i am not going to capitalize, if this drives you crazy, i'm sorry.

wednesday we went to carney park - which i am now calling crater because the word carney is gross and it's a giant crater so it makes sense. first we went on an "amazing race" around the park looking for places, getting held up at pit stops, etc. we had to get in the pool for like 10 seconds, i hate to get my hair wet! well that was terrible, nikki if you read this please send me a quick fix for when i have to get chlorine in my hair! my group did NOT win. oh well. then we ate lunch at the restaurant in the park. it's basically for the golfers but it is where we will be eating dinner when we live at crater (emily and i live there during week 4 of camp, 4th of july. over 10,000 people come to the park for the celebration!!!).

the crater is one of the most beautiful outdoor locations i've ever been to. it's just these massively high walls of beautiful green grass, tree's like i've never seen, small prairie flowers, the whole works. it's just gorgeous. naples' weather is also amazing. it can get VERY hot during the day, but thus far for us it's been really nice. sunny, blue skies, cool breeze, stereotypical perfect weather. it rarely rains here, and when it does it's just these random bursts of a downpour that feel so refreshing and then it's over in 3-5 minutes. if it ever does storm, they have flash floods that can cause a lot of damage.

after lunch we got the rundown of how a regular week would work. i will spare you all of the details of the day. i'm sure at some point you will piece it all together or i will give the full day if someone asks.

we eventually arrived back at the hotel and went to dinner at the pizza place (photos in previous post), and then had a big CA meeting. boring boring boring.

THURSDAY! we went downtown naples. as i've mentioned naples is dirty dirty, but that's okay because there is still so much history to be discovered, good food, good drink, cheap shopping! just lots to explore. we took the bus to the metro, to the main train station. it was pretty fun. jerry, the director of crater, is a homegrown italian who speaks perfect english. he showed us around, along with michael, the teen center director. it was a great time. i went picture crazy and i can't wait to continue to be picture crazy! naples is BEAUTIFUL despite the nasties all over. "it's like a beautiful woman with dirty feet, just don't look down" or so i've been told.. i have terribly dirty feet right now! oh my! call me miss naples.

after touring downtown, we headed back to the hotel to pack. emily, allie, kristina, and myself are lucky enough to be chosen to go to capodinchino, the main navy base, first! we were thrilled. all of us had been hoping to get a chance to go (some will not be able to).

friday morning all day camp got on the bus to crater, along with our luggage. we began programming (little details, theme stuff) for the week. audrey programmed week one so we just decided who was leading songs, in charge of clubs (i'm at arts & crafts, surprised?), and painted posters. the four of us had to leave early to go to capo with kathy, our poc. capo is a-frigging-mazing. as i said yesterday. after we got all our stuff settled in we headed over to subway, then ate outside at a picnic table. let me tell you, living on a military base, is weird. camp adventure has a sort of reputation, .. tramp adventure .. so everyone, EVERYONE takes it upon themselves to really look you over. it's honestly one of the most awkward things ever. people just walk by and blatantly stare at you. check you out. look you up and down. literally walk past and turn their head to keep looking at you. thankfully all four of us have boyfriends that we have made a commitment too and plan to keep it. so we all think this is hilarious. well last night while eating dinner two guys walk by, dressed in civilian clothes, and start up a conversation with us. it was a nice change from the awkward stares. so they invite us out to watch the world cup game at the restaurant not far form the base. there was another girl going as well so we decided it couldn't be too dangerous. there was four of us going, and it was close to base. we ended up having a not too bad time. they paid for everything so we tried the wine and appetizers. i spent most of the evening talking to this guy from florida, he was.. a douche. but oh well. free is free. it was a good experience and hopefully now the base will know we aren't tramp adventure, just boring camp adventure.

today the day camp counselors went to pompei! what a cool place. we took the metro and it only took about half an hour to get there. oh my gosh. going to des moines is a bigger hassle than going to pompei? are you serious? it was awesome! i don't even have enough describing words to tell you about this place, similar to downtown naples. it's just so beautiful. i can only hope my pictures will speak for themselves. to be someplace so old is just mind blowing. i am now a little more thankful i took that classical studies class because i knew a lot about what certain architecture words were, what rooms were for, who god/goddess were, other random things. it was really dusty there and i am just covered in dirt. i need to take a shower before i head over to allie's room to watch alice in wonderland with the girls.

tomorrow a group of us are going to the isle of capri. we are taking a boat around the isle. rumor has it that the driver lets you jump off the boat into the green grotto. i am SO excited.

in other news, i bought a watch today for 3€ and a backpack for 5€. both things i needed for camp.

also at camp i will be working with 10 year olds when in small groups.

things have been going so well. i hope that i can keep the good times rollin'! i am ready to start working with the kids and have a blast at camp!

pictures to come after i edit them! there are a lot so it won't be for a while. how is picasa working for my readers? opinions.. basically anna.. what do you think? since no one else comments. you know you don't have to have a blog to leave a comment. just click the comment link and it will pretty much step by step guide you to posting.

miss you all!
have a good weekend.