2018 Chawanakee Summer Camp

After what seemed to be a week on the road, we finally arrived to our destination, Camp Chawanakee! This was my second time to this outing, so I was already accustomed to our campsite and how things were going to work. I bunked with Wei-heng, who also usually became my buddy throughout camp. Wei-heng also coincidentally had the same merit badge schedule as me.

A schedule in Chawanakee is similar to a middle or high school. First there is breakfast and flagpole, where we go to the mess hall, eat breakfast, then go to the area with flag ceremonies. During the morning, there are also announcements made, although some are running jokes throughout the camp. Our skit this year, “ A Day in Camp Chawankee”, utilized these gags to playfully twist the jokes and their endings. Then there are your “hard”, four merit badges. The truth is, most people think merit badges are a ton of work, and some are. But in Camp Chawanakee, you can take care of a “hard” merit badge in only four days. People usually just see the thickness of the merit badge packet and assume the difficulty, which leads them to think that the merit badge is hard. Some hard merit badges include, Environmental Science, Communications, and Wilderness Survival. There are your four main merit badges, which are divided in forty-five minute periods and fifteen minute passing periods, and then lunch. Then you have open periods. Open periods, or tutorial, or office hours, or advantage, or advisement, or whatever you want to call them, are basically times where you can either work on your main four merit badges(there is homework), or get possibly a new badge. There are hard merit badges, and then easy ones. Some easy ones include, Art, Robotics, Geology, Nature, Mammal Studies, and Leatherwork. These merit badges could be finished in one to two open periods, provided you do the homework. Some you can even get in less than an hour. After the open periods, you have some time before dinner, also at the mess hall, where pretty decent food is served. There is also a dessert in every dinner, and usually seconds.

This time at Chawanakee, I completed seven merit badges, which included Kayaking, Communications, Citizenship in the World, Pioneering, Geology, Soil and Water Conservation, and Robotics. I enjoyed my time here at camp Chawanakee, and liked the selection of merit badges, and I had a fun time at Chawanakee.