Everybody Hurts

The dining hall on the left, the lecture hall on the right.

     Right, SITREP (situation report). I seem to have caught something again. Or whatever it was that I had earlier in the week is back. The simple list is a sore throat, a pair of weak/sore legs and a headache. The legs and headache are related to the higher level of activity than I am used to. The sore throat, I suspect, is a result of the dry air combined with my cold from earlier. Yes, I'm drinking a lot and trying to stay hydrated. I also am getting as much sleep as possible and taking acetaminophen as necessary. No need to worry. Just pray.
     With that out of the way, I can move on to today. Today was actually rough mixed with fun. It started rough, got better, and then started getting rough again around the middle of English. I think it was Ultimate Frisbee that did me in today. But it was a lot of fun. I'll get to that in time. For now, lets start at the beginning.

My building for the week.

      Is it really Thursday? I feel like I've been here a lot longer than a week. Almost like I never left. Almost. During the staff meeting this morning, I had the distinct feeling of going downhill. No, I wasn't traveling south. No, I don't need to get my inner ears checked out. We are well past the middle point of the camp and are on the downhill run. Today meant only two and a half days, two more English lessons, and two more Way Home lectures.
     Of course this means I can't coast through the remainder of the week. What it does mean is that things will soon be drawing to a close. I'm not really sad about that either. Camp is a lot of fun. But I'm ready to go back home to my normal life, to sleeping in my own bed, to swatting at the alarm clock when it says I should wake up for work. Basically, I'm glad this camp is only once a year for me.
     Anyways, after a good staff meeting and American team meeting, I skipped morning exercises and just sat for a while. It didn't really do a lot for my leg muscles. However it did feel good to do nothing for a while.

Nastia (in orange) and Brandon (in black) learning how to throw.

     Following breakfast and team time, we found ourselves over our heads in probably my most and least favorite things of the week. Favorite because I got to play Ultimate for the first time in nearly a year. And least favorite because it left me feeling like I exacerbated my condition. Side Note: It may sound like I'm complaining. And that may well be the case. But I'm trying to present this in a way that is informative of the situation while also giving solutions to my discomfort. Back to the narrative now. 
     I really enjoy Ultimate Frisbee. The passing, the scoring, the team work. But what I struggle with is the running. I've never been a good runner. And yet today, my team ended up winning by playing two or three games in a row. That meant a lot of running with little to no rest in the hot sun. My phone recorded six minutes of running. That may not sound like a lot. But consider most of that was sprinting and I'm not used to it. My feet and thighs really feel the burn now.

     Despite the pain, it was a lot of fun. My team won. I got to throw the winning goal. I was even called an "expert" by a professional Ukrainian Frisbee player. Overall, it was a good three hours.
     Directly following Ultimate though, I took a cold shower and laid under the air conditioner for over ten minutes. I've got a feeling I way overdid it. Over heating, dehydration, fatigue. Probably all three to some extent. Believe me, I fully intend on getting to bed early tonight.
     Following on the heels of lunch, I had my penultimate English lesson. It seems like my group is really enjoying the lessons now. It also helps that I'm a lot more comfortable teaching and leading. We went over the lesson much in the same way I used to do in the English club. Afterwards we played Pictionary and Crocodile with Taboo cards. Crocodile is like Pictionary except you have to act out the word instead of draw.
     It's about this point that I really started feeling bad. Its getting to the point that walking is difficult and I have trouble focusing on conversations and thinking. Headaches can affect my focus when they get bad enough. The walking thing is just the fifteen squats from yesterday and the running today combining to haunt me. I'll get over that. Sleep will take care of the headache.
     As for the rest of the day, per usual I typed out most of this post during the Way Home lecture. It's difficult for me to follow along with Max's talks, even through translation. Also, I've heard most of it before in previous camps. Unfortunately, I had to bow out of the evening's festivities due to feeling like garbage. Today just isn't my day. I'm gonna go sleep and try to recover as best as possible. Good night.