Sometimes I imagine people wonder why I enjoy going camping so much. After all, I give up the comforts of home: no choice in A/C or heat, no dish washer, no soft bed, no computer, no internet, often times no connections to the modern world. Sometimes I wonder why myself. There are times you go hiking, you’re carrying excess weight on your back, you’re sweating, you’re dehydrated and have no water left, and the end is nowhere in sight. There are times you get reduced to tears from stress, and there are other times you feel the acidic stab of being away from home.

To be honest, I don’t go camping because sometimes I go days without cleaning out my Tupperware I eat out of, or that I am often forced to drink water that leaves a sour after taste in my mouth. These things happen nearly every time, but they are not the things that I remember. What I remember are the moments (or even minutes) of laughter that seem like they will never end. I remember the pleasure of hearing others’ life stories and discovering the common connections we have. I remember the evenings of expressing our gratitude of our newfound friendship. In short, I remember the people.  The people are what make it worth it. The wide smiles, the sharp laughs, the witty sense of humor shared.

A couple days ago I came back from leading my first ever First Year Journey (FYJ). The anticipation leading up to the event was tremendous, and had been building up ever since April 2014. And now it’s done, in just a matter of 5 days. In the anticipation however, I found myself reflecting on my experience as an FYJ’er my freshman year, and remembering how absolutely fantastic the experience was, and how badly I wanted to make sure that these new freshmen got the same positive experience that I had received. In reflection, I have realized that if possible, I had an even more positive experience than my freshman year, and that is saying A LOT! It has been my privilege and honor to lead this truly wonderful group of thirteen freshmen, and I sincerely look forward to spending more time with them when I come back to campus in the Spring.

The rest of the discussion however, will be a reflection of what happened over the course of those five days that these people met, and how the group came to develop such a close bond.

Wednesday was the first day we were all together, and from a trip leader’s perspective, there was remarkably little we had to facilitate to bring the group together. Virtually nothing. The morning was filled with the boring logistical details of the trip, followed by two rather amusing games: Ninja and Wha!. It was Wha! that I felt like really broke down the barriers. It was so ridiculous and loud, and helped people realize that it was ok to be ridiculous and loud, that suddenly the group felt much more comfortable together. This made the rest of the day easy: the pack explosion to go over their gear, the group-wide initiatives, and finally the day’s closing evening meeting.

I was particularly happy with the way evening meeting was introduced for this particular group: no introduction, no warning, just the mysterious touching of the pinkies! After accepting the weirdness of this tradition, the group embraced it whole-heartedly for the duration of the trip, and I expect for the duration of their experience with Outdoor Programs the next four years. Evening program that night was Hopes and Fears in a Hat, which the group discussed admirably, and I firmly believed help set the serious undertones of the trip really well.

And that was day one! The next post will cover both the rest of the trip, and why the unusual title, Fire and Spit.

Until Next Time,

Joe