by Juliette Guilloteau
Food Service Coordinator in Spokane, WA
When I got hired by Sierra Service Project as a Food Service Coordinator, I only had an extremely vague idea of what was ahead of me. I only knew that I was looking forward to traveling to the United States for the first time and that I could not wait to meet my team and have the best summer of my life with them.
Goodness gracious.
I did not know that I would feel overwhelmed by being the only international staffer and one of the staffers that could say “I have never had any experience with SSP at all before, like, never ever.” I did not know I would miss my family as much as I did. I did not know I would sometimes have to go to bed at midnight and wake up the next morning at 5am. I did not know that it meant no cell service, no direct access to the Internet and that we would have to drive for an hour until we came across the next city. I had no idea that my air mattress would deflate every night. I had no idea that we would have to drive for two days until we even reached our site in Spokane, Washington and that our car would break down in a town like Dunsmuir, Oregon. I did not know that we would have to make eighteen pizzas every Friday and eat excessive amounts of celery every week because we ordered too many bags by mistake. I did not know about the issues with counselors, campers or my team that we would have to deal with throughout the weeks. I did not know about prep week or clean-up week. I did not know about weekly food inventories or the importance of getting receipts for purchases. I did not know I would sometimes need to just stay ten minutes in the bathroom on my own because I had to take a deep breath before going back to work. I did not know any of that. But there is more.
I did not know that working for SSP would change my life.
At the beginning of the first day of Training, all I wanted to do was to go back home to France; I had cried all morning and I was exhausted due to the nine-hour time difference. But by the end of the day, meeting everyone, my team, the office staff, and spending the day hugging people, all I knew was that I never wanted to leave.
Throughout the summer, I grew as a person, as a team member and as a member of the SSP community. I was able to teach children how to do things that I loved doing, and in return they taught me a lot about life and how the world works. I got to inspire and be inspired by people I had never met before and will probably never see again. I tried food I had never had before, and I learned cooking skills that will forever be useful. I met people with their very own stories, people who were willing to share their feelings and thoughts with me because we had learned to trust each other. I met young people who have hearts so full of love they could explode. One wise youth told us that, “SSP is not a place you go to every summer, it’s a mindset”. I learned so much from such a short sentence. If you carry an open heart, if you open your arms to people and if you show unconditional love to anyone you meet, you do not need much more in life. That is the SSP mindset.
I met young people who have hearts so full of love they could explode.
In the span of two months, I felt like I became my truest self. I have never been happier than when I had to make those eighteen pizzas and would see campers come in to help, singing High School Musical. I have never been happier than when I was holding hands with my team and praying before going to bed every night. I have never been happier than when we played Four Square with youth. I have never been happier than every time we sang “Build Me Up Buttercup” together.
SSP made me realize that I am capable, loved and that I have the right to be part of a loving, caring and supportive community no matter where I am. SSP showed me that I could do anything I wanted and made me feel at peace with the world. SSP gave me friends for life, friends I never thought I would end up having such an intense connection with, friends I am going to miss every day until I get to see them again. SSP gave me a purpose and the best summer of my life.
Editor’s Note: Registration for the 2017 summer will be on a first-come, first-served basis starting October 24. Email Veronica Russell with your questions! Applications for the the 2017 summer staff will be made available in early winter.