So long summer!

Whew. That was quite a wild ride. How I managed through another (my FOURTH!) year of summer camps in Spain, I can't tell you. At the end of it, every time without fail, I'm amazed I made it out alive. How did I do it? In the midst of it, there were days where I really didn't think I could get out of bed. How did I survive 5 hours of sleep a night in a student residence, eating camp food, dealing with teenage drama, cross-cultural drama, co-worker drama, etc. But, I look back with a smile, every time. I miss it already.

It's the same every June, 20-something 20-somethings show up to an office in Madrid, usually hungover from their big night out, thanking dios for the air-conditioning: the only saving grace of the "training" meeting. There are the quiet ones, and the loud ones who insist on introducing themselves and asking way too many questions. As a veteran, I usually keep my head down and drink my cafe con leche until the painful icebreakers begin. There's the loud American girl who sits next to the quiet English lad, who is next to the bohemian half Spanish/ half American, who is next to the Irish girl. We may not know much about each other, but we're all here, and most likely, none of us have a permanent address.

I must say I was incredibly lucky this year, as the first two weeks I worked at one of the nicest camp venues, where we had waiter service and our own rooms (que lujo!) The pool wasn't overcrowded and the food was actually edible. My co-workers were amazing, we had some unforgettable times together. As kids sneaked out of their casitas on party night, we ran a covert ops mission, "kidnapping" them and sticking them in the director's house. After about a dozen teens were thrown in "prison", and were falling asleep on the floor, the director blasted music and we all sang and dance for them, keeping the "poor" things awake until 6 in the morning. Hey, we have to have our fun, too!

The sun rises and sets over Spain and before we know it, we're saying goodbye. There are broken hearts and friendships that will last forever (or at least until school starts and they stop writing on each others Facebook walls) and the kids get on the bus and go their separate ways. It's amazing how two weeks can feel like eternity.

Now that I'm back in Ireland, I can't help but wish I was laying by the pool at Aldeaduero, even with teenagers screaming and running around like maniacs, driving me absolutely crazy.