Ryan - Muskrat Dam report

Hi everyone,

It's Saturday and the sun is shining(somewhat) and we are abo0ut to go shopping at the Ochikan Atawagamik (don't know what that means) store, where we will buy food for camp and for ourselves, and maybe even get a treat (I saw a quart of strawberries there yesterday. They looked a little beat up but maybe a pie or crisp or something. what do you all think?)

Later on we might attend some of the "rummage" (Ojibway for "garage") sales that are taking place around town, which might win me some rubber boots which are sorely needed. I wouldn't mind some bannock bread either. Hmmm...We're supposed to have a meeting with a local artist named Don who is consulting us on painting a mural with our afternoon campers. I had big, Diego Rivera-type ideas about histories of oppression and some crazy interpretive figure of salvation but the kids just want a rainbow, wildlife and some happy looking people. Oh well.

Maybe after that we might walk to the airport with the nurse, Kelly, who is from BC and is very nice and invited us over for Chili and Criminal Minds yesterday. As far as white people up north go, she's very tolerant and has yet to make an extremely ignorant comment. Unfortunately, she's suffering from a bit of cabin fever, a vacation from her southern mid-life crisis, which has led her to believe she's doomed to spinsterdom. Too bad she won't consider an aboriginal partner...

Tonight we are having a sleepover with our afternoon campers at the youth centre. Somebody is going to bring a TV and we'll use our DVD player that was lent to us by the Knowlton, the school maintenance guy, who never fails to remind me of Filch from Harry Potter, although he's been less grumpy ever since we decided not to hold camp in one of the classrooms. I'm so excited because I haven't had a sleepover in so long, but I'm also really nervous because I know that the kids's crazy secrets will be divulged in the dark and once I'm in the loop on village gossip then I'm bound never to lower myself from "counsellor" to "camper with executive powers" status. What do we do if they want to play Spin the Bottle or Truth or Dare? You can't deny those at a sleepover, but they can only lead to an awkward final week at camp where nobody looks at each other straight and nobody wants to play any tag-type games for fear of contact. Oh well...At least we'll have pancakes in the morning, and the kids have an excuse to skip church.

The numbers at camp haven't been overwhelming, so our biggest trouble has been trying to figure out how we can dognap the neighbours' puppy and get it back to Thunder Bay. It's far too cute and neglected to not dwell on, and it always comes to greet us from it's perch on the neighbours deck, rolling over and being submissive and using its tractor beam dark eyes and just asking to be put in a cardborard box with air holes cut in labelled "camp supplies" and shipped off to a home where it can sit inside all day and get fat and have its worms treated. Unfortunately, his 6 year old keeper Jayden is almost as cute and would probably be broken hearted if he disappeared, and Jayden wouldn't fit as easily in a box. Oh well...

Ok, I think I'll sign off, wish everyone good luck and good posting and ask whether any of you saw the grand finale of "The Hills"? Can somebody explain what the hell happened at the very end?

Much Love,

Ryan