Camping with 8 Year Olds

Two weeks ago I got a chance to join the year 4's on their annual camping trip. It was rather entertaining to see the kids all outfitted with the latest hiking backpacks in miniature sizes. Tears did ensue from a few kids who had never been away from home before along with grumbling from many about having to carry their own gear. Most of the kids have amahs or helpers at home who do almost everything for them.

We headed out to Lantau Island on a slow ferry at 8:30AM on Monday morning. All 88 made it to the campsite after having to walk about a half a mile from where the bus dropped us off. The group was very distracted by a herd of wild water buffalo that grazed in the feed just behind the camp. Upon arrival, the kids were whisked away by the camp leaders to get tours of the campsite leaving the teachers to sit at the beach resteraunt and enjoy tea and coffee.

Of course within 5 minutes of the first activity (tent setting up) the first pair of tighty whities appeared. From then on there was a never ending supply of underwear, girls and boys, being passed around camp.

I helped one group of boys, fondly knicknamed the old men, set up their tent. They are incredibly nice kids, but they all act as though they are 60 already. Gabbe and I have fun picturing what they will look like sitting in a pub or playing chess together when they get older.

In the afternoon, the kids were put into groups and did a variety of activities. The most anticipated of these was the kayacking which several parents were adamantly against. No one drowned or even fell out of the kayacks, so all was good. Others went on a nature walk, and the highlight of that activity was playing with hermit crabs and trying to incite the water buffalo to charge onto the beach.

The activities wrapped up just as the sun set, and we all headed off to light the campfires that the kids had prepared earlier in the day. Roasting hot dogs was the highlight of the evening. Some of the girls had no idea why their hot dogs were not getting cooked even though the hot dog was held about 3 feet from the fire.

That evening I headed back to Hong Kong Island on the ferry because I had meetings and other classes to attend on Tuesday. The ferry I caught was packed with Mormons on their mission. Needless to say, I decided not to convert.

I arrived back at camp Tuesday night just in time for dinner and a beach movie. One of my wonderful but very ADHD kids met me as soon as I stepped out of the cab. He was bouncing around in his bare feet and begging to go back to his tent because he had forgotten his shoes and wouldn't be able to eat without them. On the walk back to his tent, he told me that one of the water buffaoloes had wandered right through one of the groups of kids as they made their way back from the nature hike. This was a highlight of the day because (as my student informed me) he was born in the year of the buffalo, so he is not scared of them and can talk to them. Adorable kid!

The kids were exhausted Tuesday night because they had been up all of the night before and had played hard all day. Several fell asleep during the movie on the beach. We watched a classic which had Matt LeBlanc and a monkey that played baseball. The ones that stayed awake loved it, and the teachers were just glad that the screen didn't fall into the ocean because the tide was coming in.

Wednesday went pretty smoothly, and we managed to get everything packed up and back on the bus. The ferry ride flew by, and we got all the kids and gear on the buses headed up to the school. Unfortunately, one of the buses broke down on the way which just added a bit more fun to the end of the trip.

I definitely prefer camping with my friends, but it was really interesting to join these city kids on their first camping trip!