GLOW Camp and Phyllis

Summer camp, an American phenomenon I had only observed on TV…Well I did it, in Azerbaijan, and surprisingly it worked quite well. I went into it thinking how I am going to be running after and babysitting 14 year olds that have never been out of the house before. It wasn’t far from the truth except that it turned out I didn’t mind it quite as much as originally predicted. We had all the usual camp activities including: bonfire, smores, dance, talent show, journaling, games, etc. We had the girls divided into groups and I happen to be the counselor of one of those. My girls were precious with the exception of one…The kid was bright but had a severe case of ADD, which of course is not recognized in this country. She never listened, couldn’t concentrate on anything, ran off without asking permission, and was involved in all aspects of my camp life. At night I literally had to tuck her in and turn off the light. During the day I had to constantly watch her so she doesn’t run off and further our group ended up being last in points, because she was always late and non-cooperative top it off, on my birthday, which was also the last day of camp, she head butted me in the eye during a water balloon fight. Ugh! Other than that, GLOW was amazing, we could see the girls break out of their shells and really experience something new and exciting. For most of them this was their first time away from their families and the friendships they made are ones they will never forget. The camp ended with snot and tears and lots of wet kisses which I didn’t quite enjoy, but I pretended…

So camp ended and now I am back in hot and steamy Barda. Sweatiness is in full force once again. When I came back I was naturally worried that I got robbed but instead I found an egg on my doorstep. I was quite excited thinking how nice of my landlord to give me a fresh egg for my return. The next day me and my dear friend, who joined me at site for a few days, woke up and started with our morning routine of doing nothing. At one point, while lying in bed, I heard a piercing scream coming from the kitchen, sheer terror… I ran to the door where Jenny googly eyed was looking through the glass at a strange phenomenon occurring in my kitchen…. A chicken had wandered in; it was huge and black, and looked even bigger in my tiny kitchen area. It was squacking and quacking and couldn’t get out due to the fact the door to the outside had closed. We screamed for help but nothing happened, it was stuck! Eventually I managed, through screams and fear, to release the poor thing. And then the strangest thing happened…I looked down to the floor and what do I see? A perfectly shaped beige egg sitting on my flip-flops. I looked at it once, and then twice, and pushed it slightly with my finger…It was warm! The chicken had given me a present, and it had done so the day before too. I know exactly who she is because there are 6 chickens running in my yard and she is the only black one. To commemorate the moment we named her Phyllis and we are good friends now. Even today I found an egg on my doorstep.