My Summer Top 3: Fun, Sun, and WOW

It’s been 70 days since I have last written to you. I’m really sorry that it’s taken so long, so to make it up to everyone I am going to fill you in on my top three things I have done in each of my summer locations: Washington State, Washington D.C., and Nigeria (where I am now).

Washington State = Camp Fun

I’ve already talked about Spokane, where my mom grew up and I spend a lot of my U.S. time. My top highlight in Washington state was that I went to my first overnight camp. It was really fun! It was called Camp Reed and is run by the YMCA of the Inland Northwest. The YMCA is a kid friendly organization that offers a lot of kids’ programs, like camps, daycare or summer school. I had to get so much stuff ready for my week of overnight camp! My mom helped me gather all the supplies. I needed to get a sleeping bag, my special sunscreen (I’m allergic to a lot of other brands), a pillow, toothbrush and holder and toothpaste, bug spray, shampoo and conditioner, and much more! One of my favorite things about camp was that it was on a lake, and we got to play in it all the time. We also had a fun carnival where you played games to get beans and then exchange the beans at an auction for fun prizes or activities for your cabin. Our cabin used our beans to buy breakfast in bed! It was really fun. The cooks came into our cabin and served us, like the ultimate V.I.P treatment! On the same night as the carnival, we had an all-camp dance. Also, we held a Summer Olympics. Our cabin joined with another cabin to be team Brazil! I really recommend going to overnight camp if you have the opportunity. But for younger readers, you could do a “mini camp” where you only spend one or two nights at camp! And of course, there are always lots of day camps in most cities that could offer similar activities and experiences.

District of Columbia = Baseball and Cotton Candy

After Spokane, my family spent a few weeks in Washington D.C. for my dad’s job. I love being in our nation’s capital! The most fun I had in DC was probably when we went to the Nationals vs. Padres baseball game. I was really excited just to watch the game and cheer all the fun chants and songs, but I was super surprised when we walked through the ticket gate and the stadium workers were handing out free Nationals jerseys! We were attending on a family fun day, so the stadium also gave us a free kid’s meal. (All the parents say “Woohoo!”) The game was really intense, and it looked like thought the Padres were going to cook the Nationals. But surprisingly we were wrong and the Nationals had an amazing comeback and won the game! At the game, we also got to hang out with our really good friends that we met years ago while living in Egypt. It was really exciting because it was my first major league baseball game! And I might have enjoyed some really yummy cotton candy! The only down side I could share about the game is that the baseball jerseys (which are actually cut more like basketball jerseys) are all XXL (extra-extra-large)! Ha! But they were free, and I still wore it proudly. My final takeaway that blew my mind was that some people in the stadium had a whole suite to themselves! They sat in fancy boxes and ate buffets of food. Wowzers!

Nigeria = New Adventures

At the end of my summer, just three weeks ago, our family made our move to Nigeria! And here’s the deal. I haven’t been to a lot of places in Nigeria before, and I haven’t had much time to explore yet. So, this summary will be pretty quick. Like many people in the country, I am living on a small housing compound. For security reasons, whenever I mention it, I will call it “Jed compound.” It has a couple playgrounds, a small pool, and plenty of green space to play and explore with other kids who live here. I do have to mention that the power goes about six to eight times a day! Yikes. But I am starting to really like Nigeria; there are a lot of kind people and I love the areas I’ve seen. Because it’s rainy season right now, everything is very green and colorful. It feels really peaceful even though the city is busy and there are police and military all over the streets. I also really enjoy my new international school! I’ve made a lot friends, my teachers are great, and we have an awesome bunny nursery where we can hold lots of adorable bunnies and help take care of them. Lastly, one of the best things about Nigeria is the food! We hired a chef who comes to our home a couple days a week and cooks for our family. My mom loves to cook, but we don’t have a car right now and we aren’t allowed to take any form of public transportation. So, it makes getting groceries really hard. Our chef will go to the store, get ingredients for meals, wash all the produce properly (we have to wash them in bleach here!), and then make yummy treats our whole family loves. And it’s very affordable in Nigeria and helps give someone good work. For the future, I am really interested in Nigeran history. I hope to learn more and report back soon!

Please leave comments about your summer, too! Did you go anywhere new? Or maybe you had a family gathering or did something that’s a family tradition every summer. I’d love to hear about it!

Lastly, I have a big announcement! I am in the process of launching a YouTube vlog! It will be connected to my Kid Explorer Club (this blog). Check back in soon for the link to my channel!

🌍 The Kids Explorer Club With Jed   

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