A summer of Cool Camps in Romania

Guest Post - For myself and Ailín, this summer began on the 23rd June and finished just a couple of days ago at the beginning of September. In between we experienced two months of non-stop activity which involved 11 (eleven!) separate summer camps, spotting bears in the streets, trips all over Romania, and not much sleep to name just a few. This was my second time working at English Cool Camp and Ailín’s first, and once again it was an unforgettable experience. The opportunity to work in what is fast becoming one of my favourite countries was easy to take. The camps possess an energy that allows you to forget about the real world - particularly good given the constant sh*t happening in the world over the past year or two. I will allow Ailín to describe her experiences of camp but I must finish with a thank you to the owners of the camp; Mihaela and Clement (and their two children Clementina and Robert) make up one of the kindest families you will ever meet. Nothing is too much for them when helping their trainers, to the point that me and Ailín even stayed in their house for five days at one point. I am extremely grateful to them and hope to continue to repay their kindness however I can in the future.

Tom

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As soon as I arrived in Predeal to start this new experience, my boss, Mihaela, and her husband, Clement, were waiting for me outside the train station with a smile and a warm, welcoming hug. They helped me with my suitcase and we started our short ride to the hotel; a very fast one I should clarify as for some reason Romanian people like driving fast which for people like me - who get car sick sometimes - it can be challenging. When we arrived, a fancy meal was waiting for us, with nice wine and after that a platter of different desserts.

After a delightful night, the next day arrived, bringing with it nice weather and buses filled with laughter, songs and many children ready to have a fun and action-packed summer. The first day, in my case, was a bit difficult given I had no experience neither in terms of teaching, nor generally working with such large groups of children. Thankfully I had two wonderful Romanian trainers to help and guide me, Sorin and Clementina, and, of course, I had Tom to help me since he had worked in this environment many times before.

When I got used to the rhythm of the camp everything went smoothly; the children were happy, the teachers were happy, and so was I. Every morning starts with “buna” (hello in Romanian) after “buna” and the word would be repeated non-stop the whole day, no matter how many times we saw the children that day - which I found adorable.

In my free time, or when the day was over after the evening entertainment and we finally were free to rest, I could either spend the afternoon playing card games with friends or go and say hi to one fluffy, cheerful and happy friend, Argos, a beautiful dog who is specially trained to keep bears away from the hotel. Argos was alway ready with a friendly and heart-warming good morning and goodnight, when he wasn’t on duty of course.

Despite initially only signing up for one camp, we (Tom and I) were ultimately part of three different projects and teams. Across these, we had the pleasure to be based in two breath-taking locations. One was Predeal, where Argos, a big zip-line, a therapeutic alley and a very friendly kitchen staff were some of the many highlights. The second location was Paltinis, a wonderfully remote mountain location, a couple of meters away from cool water falling directly from the mountain, with a pool and a sauna. In my case, even though both are amazing places, Predeal will always have a special place in my heart.

But before I realised, it was the end of the camp. Two months had passed and the time to say goodbye to the place that had been my shelter for what felt like much longer. Across 11 separate camps we made more than 2000 kids laugh, but we also saw many crying by the campfire on the last night while “See you again” was playing in the background. We received innumerable number of hugs; we heard our last “can we take a picture with you please?”, our last “can you sign my shirt please?” and we, the trainers, had our last night together as a group. We had our last drinks, we played games for the last time and the orange team came to an end that night along with the camp.

The next morning came and our job there as trainers was done. Suitcases ready, some kids waiting for buses, others were already on their way back home. All that was left was some boxes of teaching resources - our saviours throughout the whole summer - and the hardest part, goodbye hugs. After wishing each other the best, promising to keep in touch and letting some tears roll down our faces, we parted ways and started our separate journeys. It’s a bittersweet end but at the same time I still have the best feeling. I will always remember this experience with a huge smile on my face and I’m pretty sure I will do it again if I have the opportunity. But now is time to move on and go on a new adventure as me and Tom - finally (thanks Covid) - travel together for the first time.

Posted: 05/09/2021
Written by: Ailín Moyano Carbone (@serendipity_jb3)