SDA 861-Lowcountry

So, here I am pulled out of the field for a sinus infection while my students and co-instructors are backpacking through the mountains.  I am truly saddened by this.  However, there were lots of memories in the 14 days of course so far.

I'm doing an intercept course through Charleston, SC with 14-17 year olds from all over the country.  I even have one boy from Alaska.  The boys' parents pay for this course unlike my others, it's 6,000 plus airfare for the guys.  In addition all parents are required to attend a conference/meeting at the end where I would sit in with each student and their parents and make a plan for home, so that's another two person airfare.  Talk about money.

So when we picked these guys up from the airport on day 1 all they could do was complain about life, I don't get Coke for 29 days!  What?!  Their problems are far different from STEP boys, 90% have problems with drugs/alcohol, defiance with parents, troubles in school, social anxiety.  So to be honest these are typical teenagers.  

We spent the first 13 days canoeing on the Santee river.  South Carolina this time of year gets to be 110 degrees +high humidity.  The Santee River has NO SHADE!  I mean we couldn't find a tree for one person to get shade under let alone the entire group ever.  It was hot!  Most of the time we camped on sand banks so it felt like the dessert, or what I'd imagine the dessert to be like.  We've had three students get boils from the heat.

We had a thunder storm everyday, so we sit in lightning drill in the pouring rain for at least 1 hour.  One day we had to sit in it for 5 hours and the guys were getting hungry.  Despite going against policy, I went out into the pouring rain, set up a tarp, the kitchen and made dinner for them all.  It took me 2 1/2 hours to complete it all and I finally served them individually their bowls of couscous and veggies.  Their reaction, "Well, this is shitty.  Who eats couscous?  Mine got wet!  And not one thank you!"  I was so angry that I yelled at them, I said, "You ungrateful little punks, you think you are all high and mighty and worth something because your parents buy you $400 shoes and can send you here, but really you are a burden because you don't work and only complain, you wouldn't understand hard work even if it hit you in the face."  So I refused to give the rest of them their bowls.

I went back under my tarp and ate my yummy dinner.  then after 20 minutes one by one they came and got their food.  They then saw that the tarp was only about 2 feet off the ground and in order to cook I had to hunch over the pot and sit on the wet ground.  They got their food, but I still only got 3 thank you's of 10 students.

Needless to say this put me in a foul mood and wanting my adjudicated thankful students back.  At least they understood the importance of food as food.  

But there were some amazing times as well, when I'd check-in with them while they were homesick and be so grateful for me talking to them, I've had several of the guys cry to me.  Some say they need to change schools to get away from their peers who are a negative influence.  Some told stories so heartwrenching that I realized they really can't afford this camp and that this is a last chance for them and their families.  Many have parents who are addicts and uninvolved with their lives.

Now for the funny stories.....

While paddling further down the Santee River we crossed a creek called Alligator Creek.  There were gators eveywhere!  We even paddled it during dusk, their feeding time so they were all out.  We saw up to 14 foot gators everywhere and we had to paddle close to shore because of the winds and tide.  While paddling in the front and navigating we saw a 10 footer 7 feet ahead of us and he wasn't moving so we stopped paddling to look at him and in an instant we saw a baby 7 foot gator pop up right next to our canoe hitting the underside with it's tail.  it's head was literally right next to me where my paddle had been in the water. And then it got scared and dove back down.  That was a thrill let me tell you.  

For some ungodly reason we were scheduled to paddle down the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) a manmade chanel with huge barges running down it from FL Keys to Maine.  Ridiculous!  There are no wind breaks and it's all tidal because it's connected to the ocean.  So not only are we going against the tide most of the time but also 20 mph winds.  We spent 2 hours going 1 mile and 1/2.  We pulled over for a rest and lunch when a huge barge passed us and a created huge waves.  We had 6 boats, 5 of which were all lashed together in a raft like form and mine was solo because I was listening to the weather radio and not wanting the students to hear.  The barge created tsunami like waves and pushed my entire canoe with me in it 20 feet into land, nearly swamping and crumbling my canoe.  I won't even mention the dangers of it all.

Then realizing we were supposed to get a storm, with no real land to park on.  It was all high grass and alligator city.  We decided to ask a small motorboat to tie onto to get pulled to our destination.  So we found these two old women, both in their 70's offered to tie up onto them and pulled us the 10 miles they could and then we had to get picked up at a different location.  It was an experience let me tell you, but I was so thankful for the ride because our guys would not have made it in time.  

So now here I am back at base and saddened I'm missing the best part of the trip, the trail.  I truly had a great time on this course and I hope to do another one.  Love and hugs!