The Summer Bubble

Summer Camp. Never Never Land. A Working Holiday…

Whichever way you want to look at it, it’s a funny old place. Where else do you find 50 adults and 200 children living together within communal living spaces and dining upon questionable food? Well, apart from the average British school obviously…


The summer camp setting cultivates a complex environment where the outside world fades to a distant existence as an invisible bubble encapsulates its latest residents in a crazed cauldron of youth, enthusiasm and awkwardness. The summer begins in biblical fashion, no not with Adam & Eve’s nudity (that would be considered ‘camp inappropriate’), but rather more akin to Noah’s nautical antics. 50 random twenty-somethings collectively thrown in the deep end with the expectation of building a raft capable of weathering two tempestuous months of challenging children, dubious dinners and…each other. Team-building exercises suddenly seemed appealing…

But, in truth, the group gels pretty quickly despite the crazed myriad of nationalities, languages, accents, and cultural norms that inevitably go hand in hand with international summer camps. And even though the group is made up of similar-minded people, each individual brings a different set of cards to the proverbial table; whether it be a funny accent, a drinking game, some strange bodily attributes, or a weird sense of humour. Indeed, living amongst such a crowd screams for punchlines to inadvertent jokes as you objectively witness ‘a Kiwi, an American, and a Scotsman walk into a Croatian bar…’ or reinforce pre-supposed stereotypes as an Englishman happily sips his imported PG Tips. Even more amusing is hearing some people’s distorted accents after a summer spent in the company of a newfound foreign friend.


So how does this bunch of individuals streamline into a team so smoothly? This process is definitely aided by the social lubricant of alcohol in combination with the much-anticipated once-weekly 24 hours off duty. That time of week when females look prettier, males make an effort to smell that little bit better, food becomes tastier, and the alcohol tastes sweeter. Night-day trips may include checking out a neighbouring city, cliff-jumping at a national park, group kayaking some white waters, or simply indulging in some late night drunken antics. This is also the day of reckoning for the weekly enthronement of ‘that guy’; the he (or she) that, after a long week of trials & tribulations, decided to have five beers too many and earn oneself a few funny photos and a hefty hangover to remember the weekend by. But we also return to camp with the newly scripted stories, newly founded friendships (aww), newly-purchased matching accessories, and of course the ‘consummated’ romances from that manic day release.

However it then quickly dawns on these new couplings that they’ve now effectively been fast-forwarded to marriage and kids as they are reunited with the campers and the oh-so-intimate camp grounds. This is when the sanctuary of the staff lounge comes into its own, for never has a key for a glorified crack den become such a prized asset as in the wake of a weekend off. And for those romances that managed to dodge the spotlight during this period, they must take their relationship covert once back at camp in order to outmanoeuvre and outlast the inescapable gossip loop. Even the slightest hint of ruffled hair, a love-bite, or a sighting of a male counsellor and a female counsellor whispering to each other arises a suspicion that quickly escalates into some pretty interesting rumours / filthy fabrications; “Russian chaperone retrieves condom supply in a teacup for Welshman” anyone?

Moving on… Aside from the fun and games, what about the work? Well, this would include more fun, and more games. The nature of the work undertaken at camp, at surface level, is very appealing due to it being outdoors, active, social, alternative and liberal in contrast to the 9 to 5 jobs many of your friends may be grinding through at home. You cannot really complain of work-related stress when your prime duties for the day include teaching windsurfing or football to a bunch of kids on the Adriatic coast or in New England, USA. But dig deeper, and you can definitely appreciate the mental and physical demands of the job as the staff are entrusted with the responsibility of supervising, teaching, entertaining, and even parenting these children 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. The job soon becomes a perfect paradox of fatigue and fun, as the counsellors mask their exhaustion with enthusiasm with the aid of some much-needed caffeine and camp depot.

This fatigue and frustration may become too much for some as the quite literal ‘cabin fever’ suddenly sets in, where the bubble becomes a boundary with no escape route from living in close quarters with the same people day in day out. The time continuum warps as minutes drag to hours, hours become days, and days feel like weeks whilst your personal space seemingly dwarfs in the company of these needy kids and relative unknowns. Simultaneously, the outside world’s current affairs become secondary to the internal disputes and discrepancies that make mountains out of molehills amongst the staff ranks. Yet, just as suddenly, the fever will cool off alleviating your anxiety levels and downgrading your stress to that of questioning which mystery meat will be served at dinner or which boardies to wear with this t-shirt.

And whilst on the subject, image and appearance also takes a sharp twist once within the camp gates, with some interesting clothing combinations that will challenge contemporary fashion norms. Tie-dyed shirts and sweatshirts, bandanas, capes, casual cross-dressing, body-painting, optional showers, no make-up, males walking around topless, pyjama bottoms, and customised wife-beaters... Would these really be socially acceptable should you wear them down your local high street? There’s no doubt that they should be, I mean who doesn’t appreciate a good tie-dye, but we’re unlikely to see Armani stock a range for the foreseeable future.

This future then suddenly becomes a reality as the season finishes in a frenzy with the closing night staff party, and is followed by the inevitable farewells of the morning after. Everyone stands around nursing their hangovers as they reflect upon the hectic summer blur of crazy campers, early wake-ups, hilarious night-day trips & in-jokes, and those moments that you can’t quite remember but will never forget. Emotional goodbyes, prospective reunion and visit vows follow amidst the final embrace with those people who you’d only met some nine weeks ago. The very same set of strangers that quickly became a group of friends that hadn’t yet met...


Dan Bowen.