Camp des Cimes

"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" I just got back from the little GEM-K reunion up in France. Technically, it was ski camp, but, as the coordinatedly challenged person that I am (that, and the almost innate and uncontrollable necessity to hit anything standing upright in a couple meter radius), there was no skiing to be done in my case. "Shoe size?" "Extra-large hot chocolate." Standard answer. We found one of my friends hanging out at the airport, where he had been for hours on end. Then, after a cryptic SMS to the organizer of the whole thing, and after a short-lived 'hacky-sack party', we zoomed over to pick up a very freezing friend at the train station. From the first moment on, a certain feeling of harmonious cheerfulness united us all.

First day on the slopes, we gathered a small group of people that had turned over to the dark side (aka--they did not feel an urge to ski, and hot chocolate and running around having snowball fights sounded better to them), and trotted around town. Although we ended up drenched and freezing, I'd have to say it was a wonderful day. Especially if you take into account the snowboard-sledding event we started at the bunny slopes. We found out that snowboards make EXCELLENT sleds :D

The next day, one that was supposed to be stormy anyway, a few others added themselves to this core group of non-skiers, and we stayed back at the camp. A most wonderful day filled with stories, laughter, GEM-Ball, ping-pong, foosball, tea, and FOOD! We realized how truly ingenious some of our ideas could be, and how amazingly creative and resourceful we all were when we put our heads together (and when food was involved :D) Roasting apples and grilling our sandwiches, and drinking incredible amounts of tea... that's the life! All that, huddled around a bewitching fire that we kept going 24/7.

The third day, I believe I exercised more than I had all year. A 4-hour hike up in the lower French Alps does sound exhausting, now that I think about it :D But, after a slight case of altitude sickness (and the restorative powers of a well-deserved Mars bar), I not only felt healthy and vigorous, but my legs stopped aching altogether, adding an extra dose of cheerfulness to the whole experience. My question still is-- I know that I am always sore the next day, after walks, when I get up; however, since I haven't really slept these past two days (all-nighters are amazing :D), when will it start hurting? Unfortunately, I have few pictures to commemorate the feat, seeing as the stupid batteries that had been charging for a solid 13 hours wouldn't even turn my camera on. Very sad. We visited these amazing ruins, played rock-wall Jenga, and then hiked the rest of the way up to the Roman Gate. The hike afforded one of the most breath-taking views I have witnessed in a while.

I considered the all-nighter almost to be an entirely different day. There are lots of hours in a night :D So many memories to be made! SO many wonderful people to hang out with! So many jars of Nutella to be finished, and so many games of Dutch Blitz to accompany that gorging! Words cannot describe the beauty of that all-nighter. I'll confess that the nice big bottle of Pepsi allowed it to even take place, but the chocolate truffles sure made everyone perk up! Partings this year were extremely painful, especially because I know of so many that won't be able to make it again. Tears flowed freely--seeing as we left early (6am), the "crying barrier" was broken rather early on.

For everyone who was there, I just want to thank you for the lovely time we had together, and I wanted to let you know how much I cherish all of those wonderful memories we created and your beautiful, unique, crazy selves. Thank you, from the depths of my heart.

For those of you that were not priviledged enough to make it (tehee, just kidding), I cannot begin to describe the atmosphere of these reunions, where everyone can decide who they want to be, and be as crazy, cheerful, bubbly, or dark and mysterious as they choose to be. Truly amazing. Well, that's all my brain can handle right now--I've caught a few hours of sleep since getting home, but only just about enough to allow my mind to wander, but not enough to reel it back in. So, I'm off to bed, and I wish everyone a wonderful day tomorrow, and sweet dreams! Yoi yume o!