Vanessa Vasquez a.k.a.Butterfly

About Me...
   My name is Vanessa Vasquez, but my friends call me Butterfly.  I am 13 years old, and I'm from the Bronx.  I am Hispanic.  I'm going to be starting high school in September 2001.  I live with my brother, my sister, and my mother.  I get to see my father every week.  In my spare time I like to hang out with my friends, talk on the phone, surf the internet, go to the movies, or just read an interesting book.  My favorite food is Macaroni and Cheese. I like to listen to Hip Hop, R&B, or anything that's good to dance to.  When I'm older I would like to be either a lawyer or fashion designer.  My friends are always telling me I should be a fashion designer because I'm always drawing.
    I'm recently involved in a group called Camp Interactive.  We went camping at the Adirondacks.  My group is called the Wildcat Survivors.  My group included seven people and three instructors.  We were camping for twelve days.  We hiked for five days. Everyday we got better and better. On the fifth day we hiked five miles in an hour and forty five minutes.  After hiking Beth picked us up and took us to an Elderly People's Home.  It was really fun, and it was a lot better than sitting in history class.  The next four days were full of canoeing.  We did an average of about five miles a day.  The last two days we got together with the other group and we talked about the trip.  When we got to the Bronx it felt so different that we wanted to go back to the Adirondacks.  I have to say that this was the best trip I've been on. I met new people who I've learned to love. I slept in a totally new environment which I found interesting and comfortable. Finally, I've learned how to survive in the wilderness.
 

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My Favorite & Least Favorite Role

    My favorite role was being motivator.  A motivator is like the leader of the day. They make sure that everyone and everything is on time.  They lead us to our destination. They motivate others.  I was a motivator on the fifth day of hiking. When Aida chose me to be motivator, I was already saying that I couldn't do it. Everyone supported me, and Jorge and Aida stuck by me.

    My least favorite role was being sanitation.  Two people had to do sanitation.  I hated it when there were leftovers.  We either had to eat it or put it in the garbage.  After that we had to clean the pots with big leaves and take it to the lake to rinse it out.  Sometimes the leaves would rip and my hands would get a little dirty.

Day Two                                                                                                                                                9:50 a.m.
                                                                                                                                                        July 24, 2001

                                                                          Deep Sleep

    When we went to sleep last night it was kind of uncomfortable for me.  The tent was stuffy and it smelled a little.  We kept hearing noises from outside.  You could hear an owl, but it sounded like a dog howling.  Later on, it sounded like someone was walking around our tent. I got kind of used to it the smell, but the noises were scaring me. The only thing I disliked was that I kept getting bit by mosquitoes.
 

 Day 4                                                                                                                                                           5:25 p.m.
                                                                                                                                                               July 26, 2001

        So far, so good.  These past four days have been all right.  The first day we learned how to do simple things like, setting up a tent, fixing  our backpacks, cooking etc.  The second and third days were rough because we had to hike about 11 miles in all.  I never thought I could do that.  The third day it started to rain and our tent got a little wet.  Today we got up a little late but we still managed.  The hike wasn't even a mile. It was like 3/4 of a mile.

        It's really nice out here.  We settled next to Rock Pond.  I hope to take a nice bath in it even though it's chilly.  Right now I'm just hoping time flies because I want to go home and see my family and friends. I want to go lie on my bed and be in an apartment.
 

Day 5                                                                                                                                                         7:48 p.m.
                                                                                                                                                            July 27, 2001
 

What We Like About Each Person

Dominique- He's funny.

Aida-  She's a nice person to talk to.

Keyla- She's always attentive and she knows the lyrics to every song.

Erika- She's nice and is always around to talk to.

Jorge- He's a good listener and a nice person to talk to.

Akiem- He's hilarious.

Greg- He's our leader, and knows how to survive in the woods.

Ralph- Always makes me laugh, talk to him when I don't want to, tells good stories.

Melissa- Knows  exactly how we feel because she feels the same way too.