Lunch off, pool duty, funny things

I had a lunch off today, and after the meeting this morning - I headed to Madrid. I ended up catching a bus with Kristin and Ryan and the Students going on a field trip. I decided to join them for their first stop, a monastery that previously was very connected with the Palace. The next place, we missed, and I split off and headed to the Paella place I had been recommended and read about.

Terrible. Paella was edible, but was nothing special. In conclusion, after all the hype, it was terrible. I should have known when I saw the quality of the bread that came out.

I came back, and headed with 7 campers to the pool. The CTY espana group arrived, and the RA asked me if I minded if she left for a few minutes to get something to eat. I said it would be alright, and so she rounded up all her kids, and disappeared for an hour and a half. I stayed with my kids, one of which swam, and chatted with the rest in addition to peppering a bit with the beach volleyball. I had a good time, and hope to get back to the pool later this week - especially after spending an entire day preparing for the activity the other day, the academic team decathlon which actually got very good reviews.

I learned upon returning that at least one of our campers has been confirmed with H1N1. By nightfall, a few more were also sick. Quite a few students are quarantined.

Shit.

We inquired, but haven't gotten any new information. This evening, while talking with Maureen and Jenn, we asked about protocol and possibility of shutting down the camp. We heard that another camp in the states was shutdown when 60 of 300 became sick. Ryan inquired if similar percentages would be used for us, asking if ten would close us down. Apparently, there are already 10 sick - not all H1N1 confirmed though, so as of now, no. I just plan on washing my hands a lot.

On the funnier side, we saw a CTY Espana camper being marched down the hall followed by a Monitora (spanish RA) carrying what remained of a six pack of what looked like beer. I asked Gabi, "que haces?" and he responded. Cerveza... Sin Alcohol... Manzana flavored.

What kid has developed a taste for non alcoholic apple flavored beer!!!