Day 21

WELL. I'm writing this at midday on a Wednesday because I'm not at camp today due to a stupid infected insect bite. More on that later!

Well after blogging on Sunday I did a load of laundry, rung the family and did a bit of channel hopping, then Amy and I took the big trek from 14 Mile and Drake (where we are) up to 14 and Orchard, the same hike we did with Leanne and Sarah last week. I needed a toiletry refresher so the Walgreens up there came in very handy. For $7 I bought this MASSIVE bottle of Listerine that probably in GBP costs not that much more than a regular bottle at home, and I will take a picture of it because it needs to be seen to be believed! We also had a Staples and Borders binge and then walked back home again, both quite tired by the time we got back!

At about 6ish the Cohens from round the corner came round (they're housing Sarah) for a barbeque-type meal. Got a chance to have a catch-up with Sarah and we had a really good talk about pretty much everything to do with camp and being out here which was very feel-good and resolved the odd thing or two. After the mealage we strolled round to hers and she went on a long cycle through all my Facebook pictures, and as we went through them she came more and more to the conclusion that Dean "is a bit hot actually, isn't he?" haha.

Monday was the beginning of the second "Session" at camp, and this session is four weeks long. Mine and Steve's Tigers group is more or less the same as last week only a couple have gone and a few more have been added. The Green Dot bus has got double the amount of kids on it, but with about 25 on our bus now we're still a way off the 40-50 that some have.

My ankle was beginning to get a bit sore on Monday where I'd been bitten by something out of the ordinary at camp on the overnight, so I didn't play again in the traditional Monday night football game. Aaron didn't play this week either; instead the four of us (the other two being Leanne and Amy) ended up talking in Mark's car for the majority of the evening! We didn't get out of the car immediatley when we got there because hardly anyone else had arrived, and then as time went by we just kept deeming it too cold to get out so by the time we did finally get out there was only half an hour or so until we actually left. The obligatory subsequent couple of hours at Champps saw me, Amy and Sarah trying to finish off this Mile High ice cream thing that really is enormous. We didn't quite make it, in fact there was only a little bit left, but we made good progress!

Yesterday [Tuesday] was probably the most tiring day at camp so far, but there was nothing really out of the ordinary about it. We had our first Instructional Swim which only lasted a few minutes but it was a start. I'm in Red water for that, which is like "Advanced Beginner", like level 2 of 4. Jenni and I also had our first Drama selective, which was what was supposed to run last week but it was never made an option to the kids. It wasn't an easy one to run at all, it was very difficult, and Jenni and I both agreed that next time we will pre-plan exactly what they'll do at the Friday Show instead of giving them rowdy creative license.

Last night was a staff meeting and staff social at the same bowling alley where we first met our host families on the evening we arrived. The meeting and meal (pizza and salad... the pizza is becoming a diet regular of just about everyone, whether they like it or not!) was followed by bowling, where Leanne, Amy, Aaron and I had a lane and I lost spectacularly... Leanne won with 110 and I had 50! I think that at about the eigth turn I had literally had as many gutter balls as I had balls that actually managed to make it to the pins. Aaron and me decided that we'd done the gentlemanly thing of letting the girls win...

It was about 9:45 when we left so the four of us and Sarah came back to mine, where Richard's cousins (19 and 23, who are staying for two days) were playing Guitar Hero in the basement. I said I was going to take some painkillers for my ankle, which had begun to hurt a bit, and everyone looked at it and was like "WOAH!". Everyone was making suggestions and Aimee insisted on calling a doctor who lives in the subdivision, and he told her to send me round. Me, Richard [host dad] and Sarah then bundled into a car and headed over to his house; he took one look and went "Woah, that's bad...". He told me it was a bad idea for me to walk on it (and suddenly the big multi-mile walk to 14 and Orchard on Sunday was regretted!) and that I needed to try to keep it elevated and prescribed me some drugs for it. It is a bite that has quite badly become a bacterial infection. He said he's seen cases where its carried on swelling right up to the knee!!! Apparently mine isnt quite that severe though! We then went to the 24 hour pharmacy and got a few pills, and I called Jason, a senior staff member from camp, who told me to call Lorraine. Which was petrifying... so Richard said he'd call her for me! Lorraine apparently was understanding. I am really glad that everyone, especially Aimee and Sarah, were insistent on it getting seen, because I was just going to let it run its course. Mum gets bitten all the time and it occasionally swells so I just assumed this was like that, but nope! Trust me to get a bacterial infection lol.

Just the standing around in the pharmacy had made it really quite sore, so I was limping quite a bit when we got home. Leanne, Aaron and Amy were still there with Richard's cousins and Aimee playing Guitar Hero! When everyone left I went straight to bed and woke up at 8 this morning to take a dosage. I have to take it three times a day, so that's 8 hour intervals.

Today it doesn't feel that bad although I've barely walked much. Hopping up the stairs for breakfast was a mission and a half, but other than that I've just been on my bed with the foot slightly elevated, as instructed, sending apologetic texts to Leanne, Aaron and Amy for inviting them over here and then going with Sarah to see a doctor after five minutes! Getting a bit bored, I really do hate having to take a day off, especially after only three weeks. I don't get it though because he said I need to elevate it so blood can flow to it... but surely elevating it is going to restrict the blood flow to it? I dunno, he's the professional!

Anyway, while I was lying here watching Music And Lyrics on my iPod this morning I was thinking that even with the ankle drama I am actually having a wicked time out here at the moment, and it really does feel like when I flew out here I pressed some sort of life reset button and I've completely started again from scratch. I can't imagine how weird it will be flying home and I'll be back in Hertfordshire, Sarah will be back in Norfolk, Leanne in Romford, Amy in Portsmouth, Aaron on the Isle of Wight, and so on... This all feels normal now, this feels like this is my everyday life, and even though I am looking forward to seeing family and friends again it is probably going to be just as weird going back to England as it was leaving it.