Camp America all advice welcome

[NotBabiesForLong]

DD is heading to Camp America this summer. Anybody with any experience of this please pass on your tips and suggestions.

Particularly, did you need to get a doctor to complete a medical form? Our GP says it is £67 to fill out a form to say she is healthy. Seems a lot if it is not needed.

Also, what to take that we probably haven't thought of?

To participate or to lead.

She is going to be a camp leader.

She plans to travel for a few weeks afterwards. How on earth do you pack enough for the whole summer, but light enough to carry it travelling?

I took a backpack, 75l I think it was. Was hard to carry but better than lugging a suitcase around when I was travelling. I ditched some clothes and bought some new ones out there.

all campers will need a medical form (it’s the norm in the US for camps, schools etc before they start) I imagine if they ask for it, and you don’t provide it, she can’t go.

get her a mini first aid kit with useful stuff in it, good sunblock and bug spray, decent hat and sunglasses, and also an emergency card topped up with cash, esp if she’s going travelling. Re the travelling afterwards, most hostels etc will have places she can wash her clothes; she won’t need more than a pair of trainers and sandals and summer gear

Thank you, I think back pack will be a good idea. And I hadn't thought of bug spray or hat. Obvious when you think about it.

I actually found it easier to take a wheeled bag than a back pack when travelling. You can get ones which are like a duffel bag with wheels, so can still be stuffed in places.

Well, if she's old enough and responsible enough to be a camp leader, I'd suggest you leave it to her to manage her packing.

If she really wants advice, there will be FB or other more socially acceptable to her age group SM chats where she would be able to find out what she needs to know.

I'm a GP and I wouldn't fill in a camp america form. The wording is too general, it's something like 'is fit to participate in all these activities' - massive legal risk if I sign it. If your GP is naive enough to sign it for as little as £67 then bite their hands off before they change their mind. It's being discussed today on a GP FB forum that I'm on and everyone is telling the GP who posted that they'd be mad to sign.......

How on earth do you pack enough for the whole summer, but light enough to carry it travelling?
Easily! Clue: you can wash the clothes and use them more than once!

My daughter is going next month too. It's cost her a fortune in fees etc. I'm not sure what luggage she is taking but I know I'm going to feel worried as this is a massive adventure for her !

How on earth do you pack enough for the whole summer, but light enough to carry it travelling?
DD went travelling for a whole year with just a backpack. They don't need much.

Is she excited? Mine can't wait. I am so pleased for her to be able to get out there and explore this year.

Re leaving her to it, she has done everything herself so far, but given that her final uni exam is 12 hours before she flies she doesn't have a lot of spare heads pace, so I am more than happy to help where I can (as I would if it was a friend asking me to help)

I did it 34 years ago. Loved it !

Don't worry about the packing. She will probably gravitate towards her most convenient travelling clothes after camp has finished.

Some camps are at altitude so may not be very warm! We had snow when we arrived in June a long long time ago........

Don’t pack bug spray and sun tan lotion! Buy it out there- countries with more need for these things than the UK generally have better quality stuff and she’s going to need enough for several months so will have to buy some out there anyway!

also, I find a backpack too impractical for long term travel- it’s generally too heavy/tall for me to get on my back on my own! So if travelling alone fairly useless! I use a holdall on wheels…places like Roxy/Eastpak are good for these style bags.

I did it at 18 and loved it.

This might come across as OTT, but maybe think about the cultural differences depending on where she is. I was in Bible Belt territory in Virginia. It was a bit of a shock about the expectations of how an 18 year old woman would act and dress. This was a much different experience to my brother who was in California.

Where is she going? As a pp said climate and expectations vary greatly. When I did it 3000 years ago the exchange rate was very favorable, so toiletries were all bought out there, better bug spray, better hangover curing painkillers. Also clothes- by the end of the camp most of the stuff I'd brought was fairly ruined by weekly trips to the laundromat, but I bought almost an entirely new wardrobe (just shorts, t-shirts etc) for pennies from Walmart, champion, thrift stores etc.
75l rucksack.
It was amazing I hope she loves it!

Definitely buy bug spray out there.

I paid to get my form signed, and was annoyed when I turned up and all the American staff were just squiggling on theirs to avoid having to pay. The camp is never going to check.

Oh also, is she aware that any UK electric appliances (hair dryer/straightener) won’t work out there?

Underage (under 21) drinking was a real no-no for staff and quite hard generally in the US. Instant dismissal if caught. Smoking cannabis seemed less of a concern!

She can buy a lot of it out there, toiletries, spf, bug spray, clothes are probably much cheaper than here. The bug spray will be better there too. I worked at a camp near Boston 10 years ago and remember being amazed at how cheap stuff was, a litre of shampoo for like five dollars, a hollister t shirt for 8 dollars etc.

And obviously she'll be able to wash her clothes, so I'd say take a weeks worth of underwear, t shirts and shorts, a couple of nicer outfits, a hoodie, swimwear and some comfy shoes.

Camp forms are standard in the Us and are taken very seriously. No medical form, no attendance, not even for an hour while you try to resolve the issue.

my child is attending 3 different camps so I had to have her doctor do 3 different sets of forms. They also won’t take anyone else’s even though many of them are nearly identical just with different headers.

Take less than you think you need. Can always buy more, Amazon delivers everywhere! I had a 55L rucksack which was far more manageable than friends who had 65L. I travelled for a couple months afterwards and the season changed, I donated my t shirts and shorts and got jeans and a hoodie. I also shipped home a box of souvenirs.

Lots of good points here. I hadn't thought about the electrical appliances. I'm also wondering about her mobile contract.