Snapshots! They are special moments in time we capture with our phones, cameras, and even tablets today. Yet, they also describe a longtime tradition of UniCamp, where volunteers and campers share their favorite “snapshots” with each other at the end of the day. But instead of cameras, these snapshots are “captured” by the person’s words and memories. Throughout the year, we will be providing some of our favorite snapshots. Here is one by last year’s volunteer, Nacho!

A seemingly relaxing task and an unexpected visitor….

 

A Snake Encounter 

By Natsha “Nacho” Siri

On a Friday afternoon, I was asked to make a set playlist of camp-appropriate songs for the dance, so I went to the Leadership (Lship) cabin to work on the playlist. Though I was left alone in their cabin, it didn’t bother me much in the beginning because I got to listen to music and got a short break. As I listened to a couple of songs, I started hearing hisses coming from the right side of the bed I was sitting on. At first, I didn’t turn around and just kept concentrating on my music. Then I saw something slither across the pillow, so I stood up right away and panicked! Not only do I have the fear of being alone…. But I have the fear of snakes- and there was a 14 inch cream-colored snake moving on my L-ship’s bed!!!

I didn’t know what to do. If I walked out of the cabin, I would lose sight of the snake and it could be a threat to Lship and even the kids at camp. If I tried to catch it myself…Yeah right, I would never try to do that because I don’t have the guts. So, I grabbed the walkie-talkie that was lying on the table in front of me, pressed the talk button, and asked for Lship. The first Lship to reply back to my distressed call was Motown. “What’s up?” he asked. “There’s a snake on your bed.” There was no reply for a good 30 seconds and I thought maybe he didn’t take me seriously. But then he replied again and said he was on his way back to the cabin. Meanwhile, the snake is crawling through other belongings and finally made its way to another bed. Motown arrived and we tried to get the snake out of the bed corner. Eventually, more helpers from K-staff came and tried to capture the snake. It was the most ridiculous situation ever, but at the end, the snake was locked up in a cooler, and Trunks (another Lship) got to take a couple of photos of the snake itself. And from then on, I swore myself to never stay in a cabin alone ever again!

 

Have a favorite snapshot you would like to share? Send an email to Evi at clau@unicamp.org to be a guest writer for us!

Did you have an encounter with a snake? Or other animals up at camp?