Thanks a Million!

This is my favorite Irish phrase, and it's very indicative of how lovely I find the people of Ireland! (Granted they are all people who've dedicated their summer to helping sick children, so I may have somewhat of a biased vantage point, but nonetheless, they are fabulous!) I arrived last Monday 04-06-07 into cold and rainy Dublin. Upon clearing customs, I met a fine fellow named Collin. He had come to collect me at the airport. Over the next hour, Collin gave me an in depth history of farming in Ireland. (I told him this was my first time to Europe, and this is what he thought I must know!). At times I questioned whether he was actually looking at the road, and you know how I am with being in a car and not being in control. (right, dad?) Barretstown is on a little winding road through many sheep pastures. (By the way, they are very loud!) In the states I would call this type of road a one-lane, but in Ireland it's a two lane road! We pull up in front of the castle.. it's about 4 stories and covered in the most beautiful ivy.. and he welcomes me to my new home for the next month. I am staying in the 'pink room' which comes equipped with my own shower and chandelier. This is my kind of camp.

Today, we've just ended the first session of camp. All of the children from Russia, Poland, Belarus, Slovakia, Georgia, and the Czeck Republic have all gone home! The last 10 days have truly been full of magic! The children come on Day 1 and check in at the med shed (where I am working) with the doctors and nurses. The team this session consisted of 2 Irish Nurses (A+), myself, and another Canadian nurse (who happens to live in Seattle of all places). The MDs were from London, UK and the republic of Georgia. (Atefa and Tamara respectively). Tamara is fluent in several languages but speaks none of them quietly. She's hilarious and very typical Eastern European. Atefah and I took walks each afternoon to balance out the desserts we scarfed down after dinner. Our teams staffed the Med Shed from about 8:30 am to 11 pm, so we took turns being on call for any number of scrapes bruises (hurt thumbs from punching someone-- I have a solution for that!). We gave out tons of oral chemo (for our little Leukemics) and Factor VII (for the hemophiliacs). Amazing that these kids can be so far from home and maintained medically. Oh, here's something else interesting.. we serviced children from Belarus (they are children who are still suffering the effects from Chernobyl). The DNA passed to them from their parents, clearly, has left them susceptible to thyroid cancers.

The children loved camp as there are a million and one activities for them to do. Horse back riding, music making, archery, fishing, arts and crafts, photography, theatre, canoeing, ropes courses, dancing, special projects, cottage chats, cook-outs, film making, you name it! The food is actually delicious, and there is dancing after lunch and dinner! Cha Cha slide and reach for the stars are big hits!

Perhaps the most heartwarming thing that happened this last week is Mr. Johnny Mo-Jo. He is a fictional character who left packages for all of the kids. They (all 100 of them!) received Barretstown T-shirts and CD Walkmans! These hole in the wall camps are funded and run very well!

Unfortunately I will not be able to post photos until I get back in July, but just imagine laughter, chocolate, children, a castle, green rolling hills, and lots of sheep.