Who would have thought a few years ago, as a
History-Political Science/Business/Spanish major that I would A) teach English-
a class I never took in college or B) teach at an outdoor school with an
extreme science focus- classes I avoided at all costs in college. It is funny
where life can take us, and how pleasant of a surprise it is. I think one of
the best things I did for myself was not having a plan or an objective going
into or coming out of college. Sure I had my fair share of ideas about what to
do with my life, but ultimately I have been able to follow my heart and find
some pretty nifty ideas.
With that said, let me elaborate a little more about what I
am doing these days. I am currently employed at Echo Hill Outdoor School,
located right on the Chesapeake Bay with a swamp (what was a previously a pond
before a marsh before the swamp) that Capitan John Smith mentioned specifically
in his diaries exploring the “New World.”
Yup, right smack dab in Maryland, on the East coast where I never
thought I’d be for more than a week. My
loyalty to the Eastern Shore (of Maryland that is) is already starting to blossom
because of the amazing people, opportunity, lush vegetation, and breathtaking
sunsets. That is just the cherry to top off the sundae, because what
I have been hired to do is pretty special. Echo Hill is what I deem as a “field
trip school,” where schools come for a 1-5 days to experience the great
outdoors, expand their knowledge, learn about individual and group development,
and just have fun! Our schedule keeps the kids (and inadvertently ourselves)
super busy throughout the week, but with a lot of variety so that there is
never a dull moment.
Since I have been out here I have done a number of new and
really exciting things for a girl from Montana. Life on the Chesapeake is full of water adventure, fresh crab, and a number of new creatures I had never gotten the chance to touch before. The school itself has opened up a lot of these new doors for me. Training week started out with
a hands on introduction to a core of our course. These include adventure
classes focused on pushing yourself as well as your team to get through
mentally and physically difficult task /puzzles, bay studies on the Chesapeake looking
at the life found below the surface, scanoe class through our swamp, as well as
sailing and crabbing on some of the school boats around the watershed. That is
just a few of the many really cool things we have the ability to introduce the
kids to here at Echo Hill. I have found myself learning just as much, if not
more than most of the kids out here since this area is so foreign to anything I
have studied or encountered in the past. The learning experience alone is worth
the time, my coworkers and the kids we shortly come in contact with really seal
the deal and really make it worthwhile to get out of bed after repetitive long
days.
Let me run you through I typical EHOS day. The day starts
with the ringing of a bell at 7:30 to wake you and the tent side kids for breakfast.
Breakfast starts at 8:00 and starts with thanking, sharing, and a moment of
silence. We then enter the dining area, known as the Whip, where we serve food
family style with an Echo Hill staff member dishing up food for each person
with the point of not wasting too much food. After breakfast a few members of
staff wrap up breakfast with a SLOP skit (Stuff Left On Plate) and a song. We
start our first class at 9:00 and run it until 12:00, when we repeat the meal
process before an hour of rest time. The second class for the day starts at
2:00 and goes until 5:00, only to be interrupted for an hour of extra time
which most of the kids spend on the beach. We then serve dinner, sometimes on
the beach or sometimes in the woods, giving the kids a somewhat unique experience
to dine outside over a campfire. The last activity starts at 7:30 and goes
until 9:00. This is different than class and can be a night hike, night hayride
and games, or a class based on Dr. Seuss ‘s The
Lorax. Leaving little time for boredom, but lots of time for unique and
entertaining experiences through the large variety of classes we offer. What is
best about this is we are rarely alone leaving a lot of time to not only new
material and experiential methods, but really develop the family atmosphere
that has quickly adopted all of us just arriving this fall.
I am excited to see how this all develops. I am quickly
feeling at home and now ready to explore the East Coast being within driving
distance of a lot of the big cities, historical sites, and friendsI only used to be able to imagine visiting.
