Joe’s first summer camp adventure

When Joseph came into our lives, one of the things that we promised ourselves was to do everything in our power to expose him to other kids in similar circumstances. There’s one obvious place to do that: heritage camp, which is a place for transracial adoptive families to learn more about their kids’ culture and and to connect with other adoptive families. Camps are usually broken into cultural groups, so there’s a Chinese Heritage Camp, Indian Heritage Camp, Cambodian Heritage Camp and so on and so forth; you get the idea.

We’re lucky enough that we have one of the biggie camp organizations right here in our back yard. So, a couple of weeks ago, we drove up to Snow Mountain Ranch (a YMCA camp near Winter Park, CO) for a long weekend of (the 10th annual) African/Caribbean Heritage Camp. Our camp was geared for kids who were adopted either internationally from Africa or the Caribbean, or domestically within North America. There was something for everyone. Altogether there were about 41 families there and I expect that number will grow dramatically next year.

We stayed in one of the lodges at the Y. Some folks camped or stayed in hotels or rental houses nearby, so there were plenty of options. Winter Park was lovely in July and the wildflowers were in bloom, but it saddened us deeply to see the extent of the blight caused by the pine beetle, especially in and past Fraser, Colorado. (Look behind Joe for an example of the dead trees. In fact, the YMCA was doing some serious clearing, which made shade a depressing rarity. Despite this, it was still a wonderful place for camp.)

The camp was parent-run, so it was a little confusing at first for us as newbies. But soon enough, we realized what an awesome experience it is for all family members. I was particularly amazed at the way even shy kids who were first-timers were drawn into the midst of a wild hoard of happy campers in no time flat. Wow, these kids really connected! The camp had parent sessions and kid sessions (broken down by age) as well as recreational activities (like a marshmallow roast – yum!), a marketplace, and all the cool stuff the Y had available (horseback riding, mountain biking, rock climbing, you name it). Joe was still too little to participate in the kids’ programming, so he was either in daycare with some awesome counselors or with us. This was Joe’s very first “daycare” experience and he really seemed to enjoy it (except for that last day when he was starting to get super clingy and only for daddy, but that’s another story!)…

Here’s a photo of Joe on the first day of camp during lunch. We had arrived late the night of check-in and our room was overlooking a common area in a building where the bigger Cambodian camp was located. Kids ran wild until the 11pm quiet time, and Joe had a difficult time getting to sleep. We would have sent him into the fray if he had been old enough, but we’ll probably try to find another family or two with smaller kiddos to share a cabin next year, then go back to the thick of it once Joe is old enough to run with the crowd.

The food at the dining hall was surprisingly edible (Dan really enjoyed it and there were a ton of options even for picky and healthy eaters). We had no problem feeding Joseph a healthy meal. And the camp-provided lunches were yummy (the second day was an Ethiopian spread).

The parent sessions were pretty good and addressed a number of topics (ranging from adoption to parenting to hair/skincare). There were also parent roundtables and guest speakers/keynotes, who were really interesting and impressive this year: Arthur MacFarlane (grandson of W.E.B. DuBois), who talked about his grandfather’s legacy, and Demetrius Walker, an inspiring young entrepreneur who shared his success story. Hearing from the adult adoptees was also eye-opening and helped us reinforce some of the difficult, but good choices we’ve made.

All in all, it was a successful, if exhausting weekend. We might tack on a couple of days next year and make a real vacation out of it. (There’s soooo much to do at the Y too…) Bottom line: we’ll be at heritage camp until Joe stops going (hopefully he won’t stop and will contribute as an adult alumnus). We owe it to him, and ourselves. If you’ve been considering a heritage camp, all I can say is “GO!” You won’t regret it and your kids will love it! If you’re considering Colorado’s African/Heritage Caribbean Camp next year (the last week in July (23-26, I think), feel free to contact me. I’m actually helping with newcomer coordination next year.

And if you’re wondering why Joe did not wear his camp t-shirt at camp, it’s because it was huge. I mean huge…a child’s extra small, not a toddler size. When we put it on him, he kept falling over because it came down to his ankles. Maybe next year, he’ll get a shirt that fits! OK, and it was pink, which really didn’t bother us (me) much, though I really didn’t want to have to explain that he was a boy (the only boy under 3, I think…oh, he’s gonna have fun when he gets older!)