Something like 31 inter- national counselors (most of them new to FV, a few returners) arrived at around 10 pm last night. They'd endured a dozen or more hours of airports and flights and then the wiles of JFK, whereupon one energetic staff-shirted Frost Valley staffer met them with a smile and an enthusiasm not seemingly typical of other airport denizens, pushed into a camp mini-bus, and through the absolutely pouring rain driven 2-plus hours into the torrential darkness and into the mountains, bumping down the pot-holey camp road the final 7 miles, and brought to what we know as the bottom of Geyer Hall. There, super well-lit, awaited 40 or so VCs, adventure staff, program staff and directors. A double line formed, a happy welcoming gauntlet of rhythmically clapping folks, and as the bleary-eyed sleepy internationals entered their first Frost Valley space, they were greeted thus. Some brightened, some stared like deer in headlights, some actually shielded their eyes. There followed some music, lots of greetings (handshakes and even some hugs),
and an announcement that they would now be escorted to various lodgings by way of wet dark unknown paths. This morning they were awakened at 7:45 in their new time zone, and led to the dining hall for breakfast. By now some are meeting with their VCs, while the program staff formed a circle in the drizzle and met their program directors, Mike Obremski (guy with beard, talking) and Megan Lawrence (blue shirt with back to us). One of the sleepy new ones, Kieran Murphy (guitar slung over shoulder) will teach music this summer; he's mainly a piano guy and surely one of his projects this week will be to look around camp to see what keyboards we have. Of course there's the one in the Castle, he'll be told. Imagine his surprise when he gets directed there, and wanders into that unexpectedly luxurious room and sees that the "camp piano" is a custom-made 1912 Steinway. Let's face it. For the new arrival, this is a beautifully strange place.
Something like 31 inter- national counselors (most of them new to FV, a few returners) arrived at around 10 pm last night. They'd endured a dozen or more hours of airports and flights and then the wiles of JFK, whereupon one energetic staff-shirted Frost Valley staffer met them with a smile and an enthusiasm not seemingly typical of other airport denizens, pushed into a camp mini-bus, and through the absolutely pouring rain driven 2-plus hours into the torrential darkness and into the mountains, bumping down the pot-holey camp road the final 7 miles, and brought to what we know as the bottom of Geyer Hall. There, super well-lit, awaited 40 or so VCs, adventure staff, program staff and directors. A double line formed, a happy welcoming gauntlet of rhythmically clapping folks, and as the bleary-eyed sleepy internationals entered their first Frost Valley space, they were greeted thus. Some brightened, some stared like deer in headlights, some actually shielded their eyes. There followed some music, lots of greetings (handshakes and even some hugs), 
and an announcement that they would now be escorted to various lodgings by way of wet dark unknown paths. This morning they were awakened at 7:45 in their new time zone, and led to the dining hall for breakfast. By now some are meeting with their VCs, while the program staff formed a circle in the drizzle and met their program directors, Mike Obremski (guy with beard, talking) and Megan Lawrence (blue shirt with back to us). One of the sleepy new ones, Kieran Murphy (guitar slung over shoulder) will teach music this summer; he's mainly a piano guy and surely one of his projects this week will be to look around camp to see what keyboards we have. Of course there's the one in the Castle, he'll be told. Imagine his surprise when he gets directed there, and wanders into that unexpectedly luxurious room and sees that the "camp piano" is a custom-made 1912 Steinway. Let's face it. For the new arrival, this is a beautifully strange place.
