Howdy from Camp Bloomfield!!

We finished our first week at Camp Bloomfield!!! And now we are on our first break. Which we so needed because a lot of us are getting burned out. :) It has been so much fun as well as exhausting and blazing HOT!! This first week we spent training and preparing for our first session which starts on Tuesday, so we have to report back to camp tomorrow evening. There are a lot of great and fun people here I had no idea how diverse it was going to be. We have quite a big chunk of international staff from all over like, Ireland, England, Kazakhstan, Korea, South Africa, Columbia and a bunch of others. It has been fun to get to know them and their cultures and everything.

Anyway, training week has been a lot of fun, most of it has been meetings and such but we have been doing some blindfolded activities too. I got partnered with a very sweet girl named Panda (I am only using Camp Names here) We would alternate meals where we would do sighted guide and guide the person from the cabins to the dinning hall and load up their plates and then sit them down and explain where all the food was so they could eat. It was a great exercise and was really eye opening how difficult even the simplest things are when you are blind. Panda was a great guide though. We also did a few activities blindfolded like climbing a rock wall and archery. After a few days they partnered us with new people and the guy that I was with ended up running me into things and dropped me off at the table and left so I didn't know where my food was, I ended up sticking my fingers in my pasta, salad, juice, and pudding. It was very frustrating so I just gave up and didn't eat half the meal. It really was a great experience.

There are also six guide dog puppies here, it is so fun to have such a great group of well-mannered dogs. Black labs definitely dominate there are four, 3 boys (Spanky, Sherwood, and Daughtry) and a sweet little girl (Miata). We also have a yellow lab (Frisco) and a Golden Retriever (Godfrey) It is definitely going to be a fun summer with all of these pups. Spanky is doing really well, I am so proud of him. He really does love me and even whines and barks when I walk away (which is super annoying) But he is a great puppy, he does have his issues but we are working through it and he is making slow and steady progress. I love this big doggie!!!

And Sherman is in phase 1! He has been for two weeks but I didn't expect him to move, I think there is only one dog in his string that went up to phase 2 this week. So maybe next week my perfect puppy will be in phase 2. I am proud of him no matter what, but I really hope he does good. At least make it to phase 2, I haven't had a puppy in phase 2 since Tahoma. . . so I will be happy if he can just make it to phase 2. :)

Sorry no pics but they take forever to load and I have not put them no my computer yet. Maybe next break I will try to get a few pics on here. Happy Sunday!!!