Royal family obsession

Every time I have visited America, I have seen magazines plastered with the latest completely untrue scandal about the royal family. 'Charles and Camilla shock secret divorce'. 'Kate and Wills secret heart ache'. They literally just make stuff up. Let's not forget the fantastically tacky (but also secretly watchable) Kate and Wills movie they made - which FYI I only recently found out the actress that plays Kate Middleton is Jo from Grey's Anatomy. 

Credit or Debit?

Whenever you use a card they also ask 'credit or debit?' I always have a travel bank card, but find staring at them blankly works a treat, and suddenly they just seem to know the answer. Also, if you want to draw out cash from a cash machine, you have to pay for it. If you're going to Vegas, you can expect to pay $7 for your own money. Daylight robbery. 

Biscuits are not biscuits

In America, biscuits are more like scones. And they have them with gravy. And to make it slightly more weird. They have them for breakfast. I cannot cope. 

The Adverts 

TV programmes have SO many commercial breaks. And it's not always obvious. Sometimes there is definitely some uncertainty as to whether it is actually part of the show. They advertise some weird stuff too. Medication (with all the side effects listed), and this sign in particular was one of my favourites - Divorce. Spotted somewhere near Newark, NJ. 

So much water in the toilet bowl

The toilets are full of water, and they are not blocked. They are actually supposed to be like that. If you drop your phone in there, it's survival rate is practically next to nothing. 

Tipping

You have to tip everyone for everything. Basically add extra to any bill, taxi, or service. I joined a taxi queue in NY and had to tip the man stood at the front for sticking his arm out for a taxi for me. He literally stuck his head through the window and wouldn't let the taxi leave until I had paid him. I paid him $2 to stick his arm out. Also whilst getting a pedicure in NY, me and my friends basically got held hostage until we tipped. But that's another story. 

All the Pop-Tarts 

They have so many choices. And this isn't just the Pop-Tarts. We are also talking Pringles, Ben and Jerry's, and Oreo's. How are you possibly supposed to choose? I would 100% be obese if I lived in the States. 

Jay walking

It's illegal in America to just cross the road anywhere. You have to use the crossings. Illegally crossing the road is called jay walking. It's highly inconvenient if you don't have a car, as some of the main roads don't have crossings, and for example, the 'all you can eat Chinese buffet' might be on the other side of the dual carriage way. Which we definitely did not make a cheeky illegal dash to. Disclaimer - don't do that. 

They love Australian's

I did some travel after camp, with an Australian girl I had met. We had numerous conversations with American's that basically went like this. (I'm not joking, it was a regular occurrence)

American: So where are you girls from?

Me: I'm from England 

Australian friend: I'm from Australia

American: Ooo Australia! I know someone who went to Sydney once, have you been there? 

Laws change in different states

So, in some states it is illegal to use a mobile whilst driving, but in other states it's not. Each state has it's own state laws. How on earth American's know what law is where?! Very confusing. 

I headed over to America two weeks early to help out in Pre-Camp. I'm sure its fairly explanatory, but pre-camp is the weeks before all the kids and staff arrive at camp. It's pretty much setting up and preparing everything to make sure it is all ready for the campers. Over the winter the camp can get pretty neglected so theres lots of tidying, setting up and even building to be done. 

I arrived in Hancock, NY just after lunch. It was everyone's day off so when I pulled up at camp, there was no one around. I headed into my new room for the summer and instantly broke my bed - queue the move into the room next door and pretend that never happened. 

One of the highlights of doing pre camp, was that I had a proper mattress for my whole stay as I arrived before they changed them all to thin plastic wannabe mattresses. I however had my stuff spread out all over my bed so they forgot about me - the one time I haven't complained about being forgotten. 

I headed into the nearest town, Hancock, to meet the rest of the pre camp crew. It was pretty much all guys, as pre camp involved a lot of building and DIY - I was just there to help out in the office. Weirdly, over half the people at pre-camp were actually from England. Some even lived quite close to me back home. There were two girls there that worked within the kitchen, so I did have some female company. 

We spent the first afternoon in a local bar. Hancock is a very small America town/village (I'm not even sure and Google confused me further when I tried to fact check). It kind of reminds me of Sleepy Hollow in Gilmore Girls - it even had the town square. I remember feeling really nervous as all the guys were drinking alcohol and I was under the impression that was a strict no-go at camp and I didn't want to get fired on my first day (turns out this was not the case and I had nothing to worry about - there were plenty of drunken nights ahead). I made friends straight away, and I was thankful for how friendly and welcoming everyone was. 

The work over the pre-camp period was fairly easy. I answered the occasional phone call and had simple tasks to do in the office. It was a little lonely at times as the office was set up for 6 people and at the time it was just me. There was a terrible moment where there was an event at camp (I can't for the life of me remember what it was, new campers day possibly?) and someone rang asking for directions. I didn't really have a clue where I was, and I couldn't find anyone to help me! Great impression I made there. 

The work hours during pre camp were nice and easy. It was a simple 9-5 each day. The evenings were great fun. A couple more girls had made an appearance since my arrival and we had already made a super tight friendship group. There were activities most evenings such as basketball and frisbee - not that any of those interested us - but they were great for us to watch. 

We had a couple days off before others arrived, both times we headed off to the nearest town and did a bit of shopping at the mall. The shops were nothing exciting. It was usually a choice of Victoria's Secret, PacSun and Hollister.  Lunch was at TGIs which was pretty much the same as it is over here and Ruby Tuesdays. On one of the trips we stopped in some bars on the way back - which were exactly like I would imagine an American bar would be like. I think the correct term is 'dive bar'? There were hot chicken wings involved so it was pretty great.

The closest friendships I made during my whole time at camp was during pre-camp. A group of 3 girls who I am still in touch with now. All through our camp experience we stuck together and would meet most evenings to gossip/moan/chill. I even travelled after with one of them, and am planning to stay with one of them on my trip to New Zealand next year.

The whole atmosphere of pre-camp was totally different to actual camp. It was very chilled, and there were not many of us there. We even had a pool party on one occasion, and evenings watching the sunset at the lake. These places were pretty much out of bounds for us support staff once camp was in motion. 

It was an incredible experience and definitely my favourite part of my trip. If anyone has the option to do a pre-camp I would totally recommend it.