Page 143 - WhyAsInY

PunCtuate tHis: anaWana Go to CaMP
cheer when a waiter would lose control of an entire tray (“Fish! Fish! Dropped another dish!”), understand who poor Fish was, and realize why, as was obvious even to me, his name lived in infamy; how to write postcards and letters home (mandatorily); how to react if none were received in return (I can’t, however, recall such an occurrence); and how to try, unsuccessfully, to stifle tears when visiting day had to end.
But, there were other, far more important things. I believe that camp, more than school, helped my socialization process. I was with my bunkmates twenty-four hours each day—on the fields, in the water, in the mess hall, while cleaning the bunk, during rest hour, during “free play,” and while laughing after lights-out—and I was with the kids in the other bunks in the group virtually all day as well, during every activ- ity. I learned to get along, to make real friends, to negotiate disagreements, to share. I suppose that it was like having brothers. Also, and probably more important, I learned to be more independent, to function away from my parents.
That was Anawana. Then came Starlight, a very different experience.
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