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by Chris Ruan

“Jie Jie, come push me on the swings!” Every day during recess, the kids from ages 3 to 8 would joyfully cry out to the counselors to push them higher on the swings. It was tiring work for us counselors, but we could see that the little kids were happy and we became happy, too. This year, like previous years, many campers came to attend this unique and wonderful summer camp. A total of 68 of them–local ones and some hailing from China, Malaysia, and Japan–enjoyed the camp together, made many new friends, and learned many useful things.

This year, the Girls’ 2016 summer camp, was very entertaining and enjoyable. Not only did the students learn a lot from the teachers, but they also had lots of fun making new friends and experienced different and new traditions. For the kids at ages from 3 to 8, everyday they got to learn to make new vegetarian foods and eat them during snack time. After a day of tiring activities, food is the best source of energy. Also everyday, the younger kids would have memorization with Heng Fu Shr. They would memorize Buddhist texts in a fun rhythmic way so that it will stay in their minds. Throughout the memorization time, you can hear the cheerful recitation of the children through the hallways and outside the building.

This year, the theme of the summer camp was kindness. During the two weeks, all of the students would have arts and crafts class. In these classes, not only did they learn how to do different projects that were creative and artistic, but they also learned how to make it from recycled/re-usable materials such as margarine tubs, paper/aluminum plates, tin cans, and glass bottles. Using the recycled materials, they learned to be kind toward the planet by using recyclable materials instead of throwing them away. On the last day of camp, there was a kindness shop which included some of the projects the students made during their two-week stay in CTTB. There were many beautiful pieces of art made from recyclable materials.

Lastly, this camp would not have been able to happen if there were not as many teachers, volunteers, and counselors helping out. The coordinators for this year’s girls summer camp were Ms. Zelia Law and Ms. Yini Wang; the hard work of these teachers brought delight and joy to students in this year’s summer camp. Every day was filled with fun and exciting activities in which the students were able to learn new things, including, recycled art, memorization of Buddhist texts, and cooking of vegetarian foods. Just like previous years, the 2016 summer camp was awesome and unique, and was enjoyed by everyone involved.