Letters Home
Camp Half Blood Campers' Correspondence a Year Later-[Leiv Fairbairn to Freddy Erikson]
Dear Uncle,
I've been put into supplemental classes. It's a bit of a degrading name, but it's really not meant to be. When they caught wind that I've been doing nothing but busking on the streets since the 5th grade (when I realized it could make me money, which I needed) they decided I needed to learn some basic education. I'm surprised that this in a somewhat new phenomenon, but I think that they were able to home school the kids that had dropped out of school independently until the rush came in this year. It's not for all the kids, of course, but there are quite a few year-rounders here (that don't go back to school in the winter because they have nowhere to go) that some of the Returnees with college educations felt bad for us. So on top of my "survival training" I get to learn basic mathematics from Alex (Alexandria), a Returnee from Athena, Biology and Organic Chemistry is taught by the 2 Demeter Returnees, English from a guy in the Dionysis cabin, if you can believe that (the other teaches business, although I think people show up more because he's crazy). Music is taught by Herb Wachsberger (who everyone can't quite help but make fun of). History is taught by Dr. Pompei. Mythology from Chiron. And language (meaning Greek) is taught by an assortment of campers, not the least of them being those previously mentioned. Of course these classes are not to interrupt the training and socializing of the summer, so really we get a few supplemental classes a week after Lunch if we're lucky and if the teachers don't get distracted (we all get distracted easily). It is kind of cool to be studying with a bunch of other kids that have some form of ADHD and/or dyslexia because they know what it's like and we all can share strategies we've developed so these differences don't hold us down. Of course this isn't to forget other such classes that form vague lines between school classes and camp activities, such as metal shop, music, art, gym, debate, barrel jumping, history not in texts book, religion, sustainable agriculture, peace studies, home repair, home economics, personal finance, and skeet.
Speaking of theater, the Muses are arranging a play. There's maybe two kids in that cabin at the moment, but there's also two Muse Returnees and some fifteen Apollo kids that can fill in the gaps (not to mention the twins in the nursery). Not that all the Apollo kids focus on singing and not that there aren't some wonderful voices to be found elsewhere in the camp. They're holding auditions in the amphitheater after dinner. I don't know what they're planning on putting on, but it's either going to be an original production of bravery and whimsy or Oedipus. I'll approve of both because who can turn down an opportunity to watch eager campers embarrass themselves in front of all his peers in a camp play? Even if the writing and directing and props and music and lighting and refreshments are guaranteed to be amazing? If they find the time to rehearse when they're not learning their Alphas to Omegas, that is. Not that we have the attention span to rehearse. God, I miss New York.
Signed, Leiv
P.S. The Apollo cabin's also forming an a cappella group. I'm told they're revising songs from 'Hercules'.
Eos Cabin