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I totally used to do that, mostly unintentionally though. I just never swore or anything. Now I swear more, but funny thing is that I got into the habit at camp since the minute the campers were out of sight the staff were on Super-college-kid mode in the sense that they swore and talked of parties and realtionships and drama and all that.

when you decide that living the way you would as if campers were there, first of all, means something to you, and also when you decide to do it! (I love the idea and may actually try to do it too, especially since I need to work on cleaning up my act, such as swearing less and actually doing my homework. I will try to be the best role model to my invisible campers!)

yeah, i used to think i had to be all 'BA' and swear and the like, but it's really not my style.
i'm trying to raise awareness about watching what you say, by simply responding to someone saying a cuss word or 'that's gay' or 'that's reatrded' with a nice, 'Word Choice!' and offering alternatives.
So far, so good in my attempt to curb verbal bullying.

very nice! It isn't so much that I try to be like them so I swear, but that I subconsiously pick up on it after a while. Like, I really don't care if people think I am a goody-two-shoes and don't swear. It is just the whole sub-conscious thing that we mentioned in the Camp Conformity thread.

I dont care what people think - i dont swear for religious and personal choice and if people have an issue with that then it is there prob not mine - but it certainly helps when you are camp cos you dont have to worry about watching your language!

I might have already said this one- in fact I am almost positive I did, but I want to keep this thread going!

when you choose the boards over showering!

ok, so I apparently didn't need to bump this thread with that one, since i have now found a whole bunch of cool ones on other threads just like this one! I took out the ones that we have definitely done before, but some may still be repeats, so sorry if they are. I didn't think of any of these, but stole them, so no credit for me!

bug spray counts as deodorant.....for 2 days

You speak nonchalantly about your foreign friends, though you've never been to Europe, and explain how accents don't phase you anymore.

You have a soft spot in your heart for burned hamburgers on paper plates and watered down bug juice in dirty-looking plastic cups.

*When you have to make a conscious effort to be sure not ALL of the photos in your apt are from camp.

You know you are an international at camp when you fold your flag the same way the americans fold theirs

you know you are an international at camp when you took an active interest in the election and tried to vote for Kerry

when you see a fellow staff member out somewhere you get excited and scream and attract attention

you automatically get hungry at 8:00 am, 12:30 pm, and 6:00 pm.

when you don't blink at your college friends having names like "genghis"

when you twitch if you hear your camp name, even if it's just a word

that you have been at the camp longer then the kids you are a counselor for have been born

People who work for the Girl Scout Council full time including the council CEO calls you by your camp name

Go to camp just to see progress of new construction and take pictures of it.

Get excited when you get to go and have lunch with some of the program department staff including the camp directors.

The smell of fire is something you want to make a perfume

Your wallpaper on your computer is always a camp picture

you understand the importance of a camp name

you understand that said camp name will be morphed into many a twisted things

Just to switch it up a bit, what you can only do AT camp:
*see your boss dress in drag
*get a free car wash
*paint people in charge of you
*throw someone in the lake without legal repercussions
*have regular mud fights
*get paid to sleep and lay on a beach
*walk around at night serenading other people
*wear your underwear outside of your pants
*use a giant slip-n-slide
*act like you?re eleven years old all the time
*get a real breakfast most mornings
*you get children to set the table for you (and do other random stuff for you too)
*lanyards are a form of art, as are friendship bracelets
*when you hear an air horn, you start ripping off your clothes and run to the nearest body of water.
*you get really happy when you hear ?Love Me Do? and ?Wannabe?
*if you don?t shower for three days, you?re still relatively clean
*you can steal mattresses from other peoples beds and not get in too much trouble
*shaving is way overrated
*you can blatantly lie to children, and it?s okay (and they believe you)
*you start writing notes to your friends again, just like in middle school
*you can take pop away from children, and drink it in front of them
*you get way too excited about chicken patties
*you sing songs that make absolutely no sense, and have absolutely no point
*boys can wear nail polish
*you make up songs about everything
*?your mamma?s on the roof? is the best comeback ever
*throw flour filled socks at children
*capture the flag becomes WWIII
*you have ten secret boyfriends (or girlfriends) again, just like in grade school
*Wednesday night is hospital night
*you can wear the same clothes for a week at a time, and no one notices
*confusion is the only state of mind
*you can call yourself a tripper in public, and not get in trouble
*toys are the best gifts to receive (especially if they?re Barbies, and you?re a boy)
*toilet-plunging is a necessary skill for survival
*watch tans are so in right now
*have pillow fights at work
*naptime is the best part of the day
*everyone is a winner
*you can have hot dogs for every meal
*you can get the plague and find a dollar all in one day
*you start dating other peoples boyfriends
*being licked by a small child in your sleep is not that unusual (note from campkgurl-I don?t think I want to know!)
*leader in training really means slave labor
*the Village People make regular appearances
*you can wear tie-dye, camouflage, and Hawaiian all at the same time
*make friends with strange people in boats while teaching a class from a canoe
*sit on a bed eating ice cream while the CIT watches the kids
*Teddy Grams in frosting is the funniest suicide you?ve ever seen
*your tan washes off in the shower
*funny and obscene quotes are written on walls, and this practice is encouraged (staff quote board in the lounge)
*when you hear a Disney song, the whole camp starts to sing along
*the Sound of Music soundtrack inspires dance parties during meals (best lunch I have ever had)
*you can color people?s ears purple
*for us the purpose of life is to fight maturity, screw everything else!

This is a list that we Ceadrledge gals compiled a few years back. Sorry if it's been posted already:

You Know You've Been a Cedarledge Camper Too Long When...
1. ...some of the younger girls weren?t even alive when you started coming.
2. ...you?ve almost memorized the entire meal schedule.
3. ...counselors treat you like Junior Staff (when you?re only 13!)
4. ...your counselors give you a scavenger hunt and you are able to complete more than half on your own.
5. ...your scavenger hunt group finishes the hunt in less than forty-five minutes.
6. ...you can name every unit on camp, plus histories and a few little known facts too.
7. ...you can name every mountain on camp and most of the elevations from memory.
8. ...the thought of living without running water is nothing new.
9. ...you are proud of the fact that you can survive in 100+ heat indices without air conditioning.
10. ...you go home and are so cold you walk around in sweats and blankets (because you are not used to the air conditioning anymore).
11. ...you can name off every C.I.T. group you?ve been to camp with -- and it?s a LONG list.
12. ...you can remember when there weren?t ET?s on camp.
13. ...you can remember when the Whispering Winds and Conestoga latrines were still used.
14. ...you write essays and other things, like this, about camp.
15. ...you can remember when whoever the Assistant Camp Director is was still a C.I.T. herself.
16. ...you see nothing wrong with songs that involve dead buffalos, or being nude, or people dying.
17. ...there is dirt in your water but you drink it anyway.
18. ...you no longer make an effort to wipe the sweat off your back.
19. ...when a hamburger falls on the ground, you pick it back up and throw it back on the fire.
20. ...you sign all of your e-mails and letters with your real name/your camp name.
21. ...you can walk up and down Teddy Bear trail at night with no flashlight.
22. ...you can walk around camp in general at night with no flashlight.
23. ...you?ve used the phrase, ?I?ve been coming to camp for {insert number} years and it hasn?t killed me yet. There?s nothing here that?s going to kill you.? when you talk to homesick campers.
24. ...you can give the B.E.S.T. lecture yourself.
25. ...you are picked to be a head because there is no extra staff or C.I.T.s.
26. ...some of the staff members were actually campers with you at one time, and you remember it.
27. ...your friends at home stop asking questions when you tell stories including people?s camp names.
28. ...you go home and miss camp, but refer to it as ?homesickness.?
29. ...you stopped learning new songs a long time ago.
30. ...the concept of individual showers at camp will always seem strange.
31. ...you?ve hiked on the Frontier Trail so many times, you can lead a unit to do it.
32. ...you can name off the campers who will be in future C.I.T. groups 3-4 years down the road.
33. ...you know why people such as J. Mo, Garfield, Red Cross, and ACA are so important -- before you?re a C.I.T.
34. ...all staff know who you are (even if you don?t know them!).
35. ...you have so many memories that you can?t even imagine picking a favorite.
36. ...you?ve been on all the creek walks.
37. ...you stopped bringing real cloths to camp, P.J.s will do just fine.
38. ...even though the book says to not bring sandals, you know that there is no way you can survive camp without them.
39. ...you no longer need to actually think about what your camp name will be.
40. ...you can predict what unit you will be in.
41. ...you don?t care what your counselors? real names are anymore.
42. ...being away from home to be at camp is the best thing in the world.
43. ...you think siesta should be part of your everyday schedule, at home!
44. ...you can have 4 hour long conversations with your camp friends and talk about nothing but camp, even if you experienced everything together and know all the stories.
45. ...you measure your life and its stories by the unit you were in that year.
46. ...using a roll of duct tape within 24 hours doesn't bother you.
47. ...you know that duct tape SHOULD be on the camp supply list.
48. ...you just don't understand why everyone in the world isn't named things like Jabba, Tweety, Spider, Rainbow, and Skeeter.
49. ...you think campfires should be the opening event at everything.
50. ...when you see someone you met at camp - it doesn't matter how long ago you last saw them....you know that nothing has changed so much that you won't have anything in common with them.
51. ...you know that when you become a C.I.T, L.I.T, or A.W.I.T that you're making best friends for life.
52. ...you know in your heart that Cedarledge will always be home - no matter where you are.
53. ...you remember when they gave swimming lessons during swim times!

When you show your countdown to your friend (who also happens to be going with you...) and she doesn't understand why you're making such a big deal out of it. "Calm down! 123 days is not that close! You're driving me crazy with all this countdown stuff..."

Whan you quote people from here in an English essay - which just happens to be about camp!

I did that! (I know you all know that, but hey!)

I know - but you didn't mention it!

I was surprised that you missed it on your list!

When you meet other camp people on here

When you count internationals as a part of your extended family

When you have to get certifications ( CPR and First Aid) before camp starts and you are the youngest person taking the class

when you know that you can live without TV and more importantly it doesnt bother you!

whne the cost of fuel is about to deter you to walking everywhere with your backpack!

When you think that rubber chickens are the best thing in the world for keeping kids occupied! (if you end up working with and international who used CA and they have one it is my fault!)

When being asked to teach a class of 8 year old with 5 mins notice doesn't phase you even though you are not a teacher.

When you are doing singing with your brownies and the songs they request are the hippo song and the conehead song.

When the hands up signal doesnt quieten your brownies so you revert to techniques (clapping) that you learnt at camp!

That list was made by the people at my camp... I contributed to a lot of those with the exception of this one. I think the girl who wrote all this up was actually woken up by someone licking her...I don't remember this was made back in 2004

nice! I like that list! It would definitely be a pretty weird experience to be woken up by a kid licking you as opposed to a dog (that, I have had happen to me, many times!)

I guess one of the huge advantages of GS camp is that the kids live seperate from the staff so that is never something we need to worry about - thank goodness!

I suppose if they needed you though, they would come get you and possibly do that

oh the joys of living in a cabin with your kids.

You also know you are a counselor when you wake up to any noise that is out of the ordinary and can't fall asleep when you get home unless you have white noise to make up for the lack of frog and cricket sounds.

They werent allowed in our cabins - if they needed use during the night they had to knock (or bang on) the door! Usually they didn't have to knock very hard for it to wake me!

oh ok, that makes sense.

You know you are a counsellor when you are asleep and are woken up by the dogs tail wagging against the wooden door! (cos you are that used to listening out for campers knocking on the cabin door!)

haha, or when you actually awaken when your campers softly say your CAMP name because you are so used to it, and used to them waking you up!

when you cat is jealous of your laptop cos you spend soo much time on camp related forums!