One of our goals at Camp Champions is to find the best staff possible.

Over the years, we learned that one way to accomplish this is not just to hire the best domestic counselors, but to extend our reach to internationals.

As you might imagine, it takes extra effort to find and interview people in different countries on different continents. Our fantastic directors (especially Alice Ma’am and JB Sir) often woke early or stayed up late to conduct that extra Zoom interview to Australia or Turkey.

In 2018 and 2019, we had campers and counselors from every continent in the world. [Note: I guess I am not being entirely honest. We have never had a counselor from Antarctica, but penguins are famously bad at camper supervision so we have passed on the Frozen Continent.]

Then Covid messed it all up. [Second Note: I think that could make a great t-shirt, “And then Covid messed it up”. That is true in WAY too many circumstances. But I digress.]

In 2020 and 2021, a combination of travel bans and visa issues took away our beloved internationals. We had none in 2020 and were limited to a few from Latin America last year.

2022, however, has us back to normal. Once again, we have counselors from every continent. The countries represented include England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Turkey, France, Hungary, Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The accents are wide and varied. Occasionally, we might have to ask someone to repeat what they are saying (a thick Scottish brogue can be confusing), but the cultural exchange combined with their enthusiasm makes it a joy and not a chore. For example, one counselor was excited to tell me that she had seen an “uh-MAR-du-lo” (strong accent on the second syllable). After a little charades, I gleaned that she had seen an armadillo.

Welcome to Texas!

Your kiddo is attending camp in central Texas, but they are learning about the world at the same time. I hope it makes the world seem more inviting and slightly smaller (but not as small as an uh-MAR-du-lo).

Steve Sir