Charlie Dupuis' 2nd Week

Hey there, my name is Charlie Dupuis, I just turned 18 and I'm from Orleans, ON, and this is the beginning of my 2nd week in the Keener program. I was aware of the Keener program when I participated in Teen Camps last year for 1 week, which was a whole lot of fun.

I'd like to start off on talking about my first week, since I didn't get the chance to. My first week was honestly a bit confusing and exhausting, yet still very fun. Most of that would be because of how difficult it was to get out of my comfort zone and to meet new people, which I'm assuming is something a lot of people go through anyways. But Iv'e met a lot of nice people here at this camp, especially the camp instructors and supervisors. It's really cool to meet professional kayakers and world champions and having the chance to talk to them. Not only that but on the water, I got a huge improvement since the Teen Camp session last year, I managed to get my roll during the first week, and I did a little bit of surfing too. Still swam a LOT but still, loads of improvement from my last time in a boat.

My favorite thing about kayaking going down the rapids, it's like a roller coaster ride for me almost. Though I may be the least experienced kayaker in this session, I still enjoyed going down the Middle Channel friday, despite being a little rough in the morning, especially the storm. Kind of ruined my mood for that morning due to the thunderstorm overnight. But later that day, running the rapids was a huge blast for me, and I ended up connecting really well with the Teen Camp group I paddled with. Not only that, after the paddling on the river, since it was friday, we all had pizzas for dinner back at the Keener village, and since it was my birthday too, I got a birthday card signed by everyone and we all had the best vanilla cake ever! That was awesome.

So now that the 2nd week just started, and I'm ready to paddle, and practice even more. Managed to get my First Aid Training complete, which I found was pretty fun, doing the scenarios. I'm hoping later this week that I manage to improve my white water rolls and surfing, and that everyone continues to get along throughout these last 2 weeks. This session is filled with a great group of Keeners and instructors, hoping for the best! Also wal-mart and movie tuesday, yay. c:

1/3 done.

TL;DR : IT WAS A FUN WEEK.