DIARIES OF ROUND LAKE

Here we are going to place some diaries of people who have visited the camp Round Lake, (RL- in short) this year or who visited it some years ago

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    On the first day, when we arrived, emotions overfilled me. It was like shock, but very pleasant!!!
    First - a wood, life in a tent was very unusual. Second was that Vadim striked me with his appearance, behaviour and so on. I’ve never met such people before. He’s a very nice chap.
    The competition of tribes was very interesting, but I got exhausted, especially when we were writing our anthem.
    One of those days we had to overcome the set of obstacles. My first thought that time was: ”Where am I and where are my things?” But it turned out that we were playing in a team and helping each other.
It rained almost every day. Our tent sagged and it was a real challenge!
We also had to do different tasks and I got convinced again that we were the close-knit team.
I won’t forget our songs near the camp-fire and our friendly talks. I’ll remember this camp for a long time!

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    Day 1  “The Way”

    Oh, no, this is the alarm - clock again! But it’s still a real curse to get up at 7 a.m.! Ah, I must set off for a camp today, but I’ve almost forgotten. Incidentally, no one knows where & with whom I’m going to be here. But why should I? All right, as the Russians say, I’ll get mixed up a brawl first & then think it over…                  Look, a heap of people is standing here. Shall I come up to them? But I feel so shy… “Well, will you move at last or will stand stock-still?” (just talking to myself). Finally, I’ve come up. It has been a weight off my mind. The bus arrived. We plunged. I’m trying to find more comfortable seat.
     I’m on the place, in the camp, I mean. It turned out that it isn’t a real wood, because many people are hanging about there. It seems to me, that there are several Germans among the volunteers. Can they speak English, I wonder? A vital problem is to find a tent, but I don’t make song & dance about it & went for a walk. I like it there, really.
     …And how can such cookery masterpiece be created under the field conditions? A local cook, Michael, has a great talent for it. But he isn’t a real cook by profession, he’s studying history at a university.
    …The Night. The camp-fire…Actually, the smell of it is nearly forgotten. Last time I sat by the fire 3 years ago. I’d appeared “in bed” by 5 a.m. I’m freezing! It’s still the real curse to get up at 8 a.m.!

     Day 2  “The Concert”

    But it’s still the real curse to get up at 8 a.m.! To be honest, I remember nothing about the concert itself. Everyone was making a fuss about it, but I felt blue & understood that everything was trifle. Only the chap of our team was laughing so infectious…I hate speeches & performances! It’s good that it finished at last. I want to forget.
    …Only now I’ve realized that I have no floor in my tent. I’d crept to my “bed” by 4 a.m. I’m really sleepy. But that’s not how it turned out, because a fellow from the next tent has just come. We’ve been talking till the sunrise. So I must sleep, if only for an hour.
    But it’s still the real curse to get up at 8 a.m.!

     Day 3  “The Swimming”

     Rain, rain, a little more rain… But it’s still the real curse to get up at 8 a.m.!

     Day 4  “The Trail-Seekers”

       I am not tired, although we have been running about the wood & seeking something all day long. & how can Alexei help everyone simultaneously? It’s interesting, that he doesn’t realize it himself. He just doesn’t refuse to help anybody. It’s not easy for many people, I know. So, I like & respect him for such things.
But it’s still the real curse to get up at 8 a.m.!

    Day 5 “My Thoughts”

    Thought 1  Tanyusha… Well, I don’t know how to say it exactly…   She’s serene…Pure…Sometimes she’s like me. It turned out that she also lives in Minsk, not far from me.

    Thought 2  Vadim… What a man! He does the great work - shows a piece of a real life to the invalids. This puts everything down. I don’t believe, that he doesn’t like it! I can be mistaken, but to my mind, everything we have there is his service.

    Thought 3  The volunteers… What makes them be there & help us? May be it’s LOVE FOR PEOPLE? But it is a nearly abstract concept nowadays…

    Thought 4  About everybody… What a pity, that we’ll never meet again!

    Thought 5  Sergei… He is not always so joyful, as he wants to appear. It’s just easier for him to behave like that. I understand him, because I’m the same. In fact, he had to put up with a lot in his life. But the same situation is with the others, who arrived there. Each of us (except me) has his own troubles. Each, except me - I have no troubles at all!

    Thought 6  Paul & Victoria… It’s great, that they’ve found each other!!!

    Thought 7  Ruslan… A wonderful person…

    Thought 8  Julia, Diana, Helen… To my mind, they’ve understood a lot during our friendly talks. & not only they, but me, too. I wish them only happiness & joy!

    Thought 9  … But it’s still the real curse to get up at 8 a.m.!

    Day 6  “The Guys”

             Anyway, the lads are really cool!!! You must agree that it was a great feat of labor to drag me over the rope or swing for about twenty times. I’m not a hypocrite & I liked it! It was like thousands hands supported you thousand times…What a pity, that all this has little connection with our life. Nevertheless, it’s a bit of a fairy-tale there. As for me, the more you try to give a situation closer ties with life, the less realistic & life-like it becomes. But, look, if these ten days  was only the tale, this tale was unforgettable!