summer camps

this is a short entrance just to get the writing going again. i don’t know if you’ve ever had the privilege to go on any summer camp, something quite traditional in the US, i believe. when i lived in germany, i went to five summer camps: 1986 in the south of germany (diepholzburg), and every year from 1989 on. most of the time, i already knew some people when i got there, from my home town or from other events, but this is a list of memorable people i got to know at these summer camps.

need i say that those three weeks were usually the best ones in the year? i mean, around 50 people your age, day-to-day, activities, sports, competitions, music, worship – it is very special and maybe someday my kids will have the same privilege.

in 1986, i remember meeting two people for the first time: the very cute sonja dörr and obi, whose real name is andreas nahrstedt. me and my brothers (mostly my older one) would see sonja every year after that, in harpstedt, a little town in north germany where around 150 young people would camp every year near june. and obi would be in three out of the next four summer camps i went to, he taught me how to hit the ball in table tennis.

in 1989, i was in speele, right in the middle of germany, next to the river fulda. i made friends with holger roth, with whom i played table tennis and football quite a lot. the kid who slept in mine and leo’s room is also quite unforgettable, although i don’t remember his name! in those double beds, he always wanted to sleep on top; but there was no protection, and every single night, he fell. he was kind of fat, so we woke up every night with him falling more than a meter to the ground, but he insisted in sleeping up there. at the last night, someone left the big drawer under the bed open, and he fell with his head first right on the border – hole in head, hospital. tragic, but somehow funny. he survived, of course… . silvia wilhelm is to be mentioned here to, a year later she became my first pen pal. and melanie, a great football player and seemingly nice person. and of course, matze dolenc, who became a constant friend in summer camps and harpstedt camps. i even went to his house for a few days a few years later.

in 1990, it was eisenberg, the best summer camp of all. i knew most of the people who were there already, but from those i met there, probably inka pursche is the one i remember the most. she made friends with my friends bärchen and jana, and i though she was cute. even more memorable, though, was the “helper” tom, who really was an inspiration to me, some kind of a role model.

1991, it was holland: huis ter heide. the first person i noted there was jessy, a really good looking brunette with nice hair. rüdiger, from berlin, became one of my better buddies at that time. verena jancke is also memorable (quite cute), and so were the friends holger and björn, really funny and older than most of us (so we looked up to them). but the most important people i got to know there, in this not so brilliant summer for me, were the three most important people i ever got to know on any summer camp; they will have a post of themselves (or more), so here just the names: anne pfarrkircher, adrienne jäschke and inga bendig.

1992, back to eisenberg. it was my last summer camp, and probably the least exciting. no new people, but a good amount of old acquaintances.

just a last fact: two of these summer camps were with my younger brother leo (89/92), two with my older brother andre (86/90) , one alone (91) – and none with all of us three!