Camping Day 1: Diary of a mad white guy camping in Armenia…

Camping Day 1: Diary of a mad white guy camping in Armenia…

So we woke up at 6:45 because we had to leave for the sport complex at 7:40. I thought my sister was coming with, but as I waited and waited for her, I finally asked when she would be ready, and she informed me that she wouldn’t be coming with me. That’s ok though.

So I got to the complex and helped load up the van full of all the stuff. Then we had a little pep-talk that I completely understood… not really, then we set off to the camping site that was 16k away… and we were going by foot. If you do the math, which I did, it is about… 9.94 miles, approximately of course. It took us 3 and a half hours to walk there. Walking was myself, my counterpart (to who I will now refer to as CP), and 39 kids. Although it was a beautiful walk, it was still very long. We got to camp and all the tents were set up by about 4-5 of the older kids that came in a van. Then the camping got interesting very quickly…

We broke into 4 different tribes, and each tribe chief learned the rules of the game we will be playing for the next 4 days. I was told I will be the chief for the 2^nd tribe. I own the 2^nd group, they are my tribe, and I am their fearless, American, non-armenian speaking leader. First thing I asked them was if they wanted a team name, one kid yelled cheechu/vort, which is a kind of worm, so we were the worms. Great name guys…

Now the game. This is a serious game, and everyone bought into it, and I now understand why. First thing was they roped off a compound around where we were camping, and you could not leave the compound without approval. Approval came from the chief that was currently in charge of post duty. Starting at 6pm that evening, each team had a 2 hour post, and the chief would roam around and make sure everything was ok and tell kids, “yes u can leave and go to the bathroom.” Also in the compound, they placed an Armenian flag in the middle that would also be guarded during post. Post were stationed at 8 different places around the compound, and the 9^th post being the flag. We rotate post’s every 2 hours. EVERY 2 HOUR’S. So even from 2-4 in the morning we had post.

The reason we need guards around our campsite is because there are demon snathcers that come in the middle of the night and take people that are outside of the compound, they are called Diversante’s. I have no idea what that translates to. But they dress in all black, and if they take you, you are basically their slave and POW. They can even snatch a post or guard if they get close enough and can manage to do it. This game is to go on for 4 days, all day and all night, never stopping.

So my 1^st shift with my little villagers was from 6-8pm, not bad. Very easy. But that means my 2^nd shift will be from 2-4am… ya. So one thing I forgot to mention is that we have to get water out of a spout from the side of the road, about 150 yards away outside the compound, and with 35+ kids, water must be filled regularly.

Right after my shift, we ate dinner and I was exhausted from the walk and the long day, so we lit a bonfire, as did the DS’s (diversante’s) and they were trying to intimidate us with it. I wanted to rest so bad. But why rest when you can sneak behind enemy lines and put out their fire… im not sure really. So myself and 2 other village chiefs left the camp, dressed in all black, and went to go put out their fire in the cover of darkness, without using any lights. So we are sneaking around in the dark, I get stung by neddles probably 5 times, and we only use the moon to light where we walk. We climb a mountain, sprint around a historic church, and stomp out their fire, which is good fun. Then the guys im with want to find them and try and take one of the hostage… so we attempted to do so by looking and hiding in bushes for about 40 minutes, regretfully not finding any.

So we successfully sneak back to camp, and its 11pm, and I have shift at 2am. So I head to bed to get some shut eye. I am in a tent with another kid, but he doesn’t sleep until like 4 am, and that was in another tent, so im alone.

Even with ear plugs or an ipod, I did not sleep a wink. We had a bonfire going, 35+kids running around screaming, and the DS’s had fireworks and firecrackers they set off every 10 min and would throw them into camp. Im pretty sure at least 3 hit my tent. Needless to say, I was never even close to sleeping. So I get up around 1:20 so I can prepare for shift at 2. It looked like WWII outside. Things exploding, kids diving behind trees. Fires going. I had flash backs of firework wars at The Rojas’ house in Titusville, where I grew up. People wore all camo, repelled out of tress, and used mortar fireworks as hand grenades, it was amazing. If u know what im talking about, u know how ridiculous it is. Now imagine you cant speak the language and your in a foreign country… you actually kinda feel like your in a war haha.

So at about 1:50, it starts raining, which is just super since I have a 2 hour shift in 10min. As you can tell by my writing, I am less than happy. So its 1:55 and im about to wake up my viallgers, and my CP tells me since I have a group that is 11-13 years old, they get to sleep, and I have to patrol with the older kids… yay. So I did my patrol for WWII and was exhausted the whole time. Everything went fine though.

The end of day 1 was rain, fireworks, more rain, lighting and fire, and more rain, and bed at 4am. Not bad though. Interesting to see how the next 3 days turn out, and if I can actually make it. This game is serious, and every kid is into it. All I can think of is my good buddy Manolo back in Orlando. This is what he is made for, and this would be the best 4 days of his life, maybe even better than his honeymoon… Sorry Ashley J

Day 2 comes early….

“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.”

- General George S. Patton