Family Chan Camp Reflection -- I'm home!!

Every year, without fail, going to Chan Camp feels like returning home.

There's something special about the familiarity of the bending trees, the anticipation as the stone pillars draw closer, the cheerful, waving stick figure mailbox (affectionately dubbed "Jerry" by the counselors). There's something in the wide blue sky as one pulls into the winding road past the main house, the rolling green lawns, the view of the nostalgic buildings, that just screams: I'm home!

This feeling held especially true this year—2022, the first post-COVID year of camp, and one of the greatest I can remember. Whether we were flying kites on the grass or sitting in peacefulmeditation during Contemplation Hour, camp was a deeply introspective and simultaneously exhilarating experience. The campers conducted several activities centering around the themes of compassion and gratitude—writing cards for the kitchen staff, learning about social justice, and composing original skits for the talent show, just to name a few. The counselors, as always, were a tight-knit team. We spent late nights constructing the next day’s camp experience, but not without a fair deal of laughter, games, and snacking. From our first icebreakers to our final, mad cleanup of the flooded bathroom in the women's dorm, we had true, real fun together.

This year's camp experience was also particularly spiritual. I can still remember our first lecture with Guo Xing Fashi, where we peppered him with questions (in somewhat broken Chinese) during his presentation. I can remember the quiet reflections after the first time we completed sound meditation, and the excitement of watching my peers Melanie Tsai and Eveline Shiao take refuge on the final day of camp. We departed with promises to begin a Buddhist book club and take our newly gained knowledge from camp into our daily lives, and of course, to see each other again.

At the beginning of the camp, I asked one of my campers (who had been participating only half-heartedly) if he was having fun. The answer was a quick, easy "no". I then asked if his parents had forced him to attend. They had, so I assured him that it would get better. "You'll see", I remember saying, "I was the same way at first, but I love it here now. You’ll be surprised." After the week ended, I was saying goodbye to the camper when he told me that he would return to camp the following year. At that point, it was my turn to be surprised; I recall tearing up while being reminded of the impact that Chan Camp has had on me over the years. So much love existsat camp, and I am constantly in awe of its ability to connect all of us time and time again.

As I finish my reflections, I want to share the thought that I take with me every time I drive away from camp, after all the campers have gone and the retreat center is placid and empty once again.

Goodbye to my home away from home, and I can't wait to see what the following year has in store.

Written by Serena Li
photo by Yin Ting