Oops. I really love Dinosaurs.

There was a hula-hoop lodged into one of the trees at camp for most of the summer. One day when I looked up at it I had the most wonderful flashback to a certain evening at Willamette, the night of Wulapalooza, when about 10 bearcartz (or Bintronz, thank you Sarah) gathered inside of a hula-hoop and proceeded to travel all the way from the mill stream, up the stair well in Doney, and eventually collapsing in front of the golden door of 218. Thank you for those of you who participated in this endeavor. 

And thank you to everyone for your wonderful posts. Although I haven't had a chance to write something since the beginning of the summer, I have appreciated hearing about all of your stories and adventures. 

So here mine goes. two acronym's that summarize my experience at camp. KAGAS (kids aren't good at stuff), and AFCO (another fucking growth opporunity.) The latter was used in situations, like say, your camper decides they are going to run away from camp and you have to chase them down the road, or the former, when your camper drops their flashlight down the hole of the composting outhouse. 

Camp really was a great experience though. I met some really amazing people and really enjoyed haveing my jon the same place as my home. The special part about camp was the fact that we were all living in community together, and that everyone gave their 100% best to make camp a fun and safe place to be. The staff were amazing and I was lucky to form some really great relationships over the summer. Camp also rekindled my love of being in the outdoors! I went on a few trips on the Appalachian trail and had a great time. One of my new life goals is to hike the Pacifc Crest trail. But that will come later. 

The next step is Mexico. I leave Sept 12th for Oaxaca. I plan to spend a week or so in the city of Oaxaca, possibly hang out with Bintronzz and take a refresher course in Spanish. Then, I am off to the coast of Oaxaca where I will be staying for the next six months. I will be both living and working with an organization called Pina Palmera, an organization that works with kids and adults with physical/mental dissabilities. The main appeal for me in choosing to work with this organization was their focus on community. The organization strives to empower others to use the tools and resources available to them to accomodate people with special needs. The require that volunteers stay for at least six months so they get a chance to become integrated into the community. I will be living with 15 other volunteers, most of them are from Europe and Mexico. I am nervous and excited. 

The tenative plan after those six months are over is to travel through Central and South America. The goal is to be in Ecuador in May so I can sing and dance and eat oatmeal+peanut butter with Lucia! I encourage you all to do the same. It can be a reunion!

Team - I think you are all wonderful and amazing people and I hope that we can continue sharing stories over this next year.

Best of luck with all of your adventures, 

Cheers to the universe!

Hayley

P.S.

(My address at Pina Palmera. Letters are magical!) 

C.I.A. Pina Palmera A.C.

PO Box 109

CP 70900 Pochutla

Oaxaca, Mexcio