Hello and thank you for your time that you will spend trying to get to know me! I hope that at the end of this, you’ll have pretty good idea how much of a weirdo I am!

First of all and again, hello! My name is Jan! Yes it is not exactly american sounding name as I am not American neither! In fact you would have to spin a globe quite a bit to find my home country. Located in central Europe there is tiny country of Czech Republic which 25 years back was merged with Slovakia and known as Czechoslovakia (we are not that original when naming things), and that is where I come from! As for my name… You can call me Jan, John, Ian or whatever else we’ll figure out as my official nickname… or we can reuse some of my high school ones, or variants of my name used in my country (you would not guessed them, they are quite far from similar to Jan).

26 years I have waited to be part of camp Augusta family. Counted since I was born though (poor attempt not to slip into obligatory “I am X years old, i know). As for how much time I have spent in camps… at home there are not many camps set up for kids to spend their summer in but I have been part of one when I was 7 years old as camper. I would lie if I would say that I remember much of that experience but it definitely started something.

Two years ago my friend recommended me to participate in Camp Leaders program that would allow me to spend my summer in US surrounded with similar minded people as my colleagues and whole bunch of kids as a bonus. To be able to sit on big metal bird, cross the ocean and work there with kids and people talking with different language was like finding portal to Narnia in an old wardrobe. To bore you very briefly, I had time of my life that changed helped and pushed me to my better self. At the end of my summer I was exhausted, but smiling and excited for things to come. This year, I left my job to be able to relive this amazing experience again!

Now, what do I do you ask? I do loads of stuff! Actually I am getting pretty good at it. Not the things. Not that! I am freak for trying out new stuff, more variance the better. To start with, there is graphics that I have actually studied at school. That involves things from playing with old photographic machines to creating web pages. Aesthetics, color matching, scribbling with crayons, I am supposed to be good at it (and have paper as a proof so…) and I am!

Canoeing is my big hobby as well. Since I was little guy, parents were taking me on camping/canoeing trips along our biggest river in country. I was actually counting how many summers I have spent on river and it was reaching number 13(ish?). Many, in short! Later we have joined formed group of people that were sailing down river every year and I have somehow took a role of the guy who shows you how to paddle and handle streams if you are less experienced and get yelled at when it “does not work”.

List a few more of these obsessions on mine are woodworking, coding on computer and generally poking through old computers, very limited ability to play piano (would love to have more time on that one), crocheting (do not ask), travelling (many plans, please ask), running at the end of a day in heat of dawning sun, a good series, or film is something that I would love to have more free time to spend on as well…

All that is me, what I love though, is sharing my passions with others and this is a part why I am not at home this summer. What I love about being part of camp, being surrounded with kids left and right is like being thrown into cold river stream. It is refreshing, lively experience that can drive people to be better themselves, learn something new from others and find new things to try and there is always new person to meet or share activity, story or feeling with. This summer I plan to recharge my battery, depleted from routine riddled past couple of years and experience once more magical summer!

So…this is me! Thank you for your time again and I will be looking forward to see you in summer at camp Augusta!