Before leaving my home country of Jamaica, while checking in at the airport, I told my dad and brother, “Bye!” My sister and my mom came on the plane with me. After getting on the plane to New York, we sat patiently waiting for it to take-off.

When we reached New York, we arrived at the JFK Airport, which is really big, compared to Sangster International in Jamaica. We got out of the airport and my uncle was waiting for us outside. When we reached his house, I noticed that the houses were different from those in Jamaica, and that the roads in America are better than those where I live.

The next morning, we went to my aunt’s house, where we stayed until Friday. I missed my home, but I had a lot of fun. It is strange when you are in an unfamiliar environment that is not your house. It felt weird! The smell of the place was different. The people in America were speaking English, but sounded different from how Jamaicans talk. In my country, we speak English, but we also speak Patois (pronounced patwa), which is a language that is close to English—but with a little twist of the words.

When I boarded the plane for Ohio, I realized that I would be flying by myself to camp without my brother. I cried and became sad.

While on the plane, I sat patiently in my seat waiting for it to take off. Once in the air, the plane started to drop, and it felt like it was going to crash. The plane dipped close to the water and then went back into the air. Everyone felt tense, thinking it was their last day of living, but I prayed and the plane started to climb into the air again. I am so glad that God protected me, so I could make it to my first camp ever.

When I arrived at the campsite, there were a lot of trees and bushes. I saw animals I had never seen in real life before. When the van parked, all the campers hopped out.

When we arrived at Raccoon Creek State Park, our experience of being away from home and family began. After being assigned to our different cabins, we learned the rules—and that there were consequences for breaking them.

The first day, we went on a mini-hike that was challenging, but fun. The next day we played volleyball at the sports complex, and in the afternoon, we went to the pool. I had so much fun that I didn’t even miss my home and family.

On Wednesday, we played soccer. First, there were soccer drills and then we played some games. The day was hot and most of the campers were sweaty, thirsty and tired, but we all enjoyed our day. You could see it on our faces! We did our Icebreaker speeches the same day. Everyone’s Ice-breaker was great!

On Thursday, we got up early at 5:30 a.m., dressed and left for canoeing. It was still dark when we left, but the sun soon came out. Along the way, we got stuck in traffic. When it cleared, we still had a long way to go.

When we reached the place, we broke into different canoeing groups and hopped into the canoes. We started off on a long 13-mile journey. I felt the water with my hands and it was really cold! When we finished our journey, everyone cheered each others’ great effort.

On Friday, we participated in “The Amazing Race.” We named our team “Team International,” but they gave us a different name, “the Koalas.” My team took first place. The Grizzlies came in second. The Coyotes came third. All the winning teams got prizes and, of course, the prizes were great.

My parents called me from time to time. I heard from them, but did not see them during my time at camp. I missed home, but not really that much because I had a lot of fun.

This first camp ever was the best two weeks of my life!