Nanny On Camp America

Name: Karen Wilde

Age: 24

Job: General Counsellor in charge of a group of 9-10 year olds.

Pay: You don't do it for the money. I got $410 for the whole summer (That's about £300). They call it pocket money as you also get your board and lodging. You have to put down a deposit when you apply. Mine was £40, it's more expensive if you leave it later.

Qualifications: They mainly take university students in their holidays but you can get on to the scheme if you have experience in child care.

Hours: I was at a day camp so I had evenings and weekends free. On sleep-over camps you share a dorm with the children and take it in turns to be on call at night.

Accomodation: My camp was in Brewster NY State, which was about an hour from New York. The accommodation was a very rustic dorm (for rustic think basic), which I shared with five other girls. One of them has become my best friend and she recently moved to London from Australia so that we could work in the same city.

How do you enrol?: There are two ways of getting on to Camp America. You can either go to one of the recruitment fairs in March/April - contact Camp America for details. Or you can apply through interview - there are interviewers all over the country who then pass your details on to the Camps who allocate you a place.

What was it like?: I decided to go to Camp America to have the experience of working abroad and meeting people from other countries. It's not for the faint hearted. It's very hard work, you're on the go twelve hours a day leading your group of kids through activities such as horse riding, canoeing, archery, and the high ropes (you're super fit by the time you get home). You really bond with the children and one of my favourite activities was drama - my kids really put their all into our plays and did me proud.

The camps are usually in remote locations - it's lots of fresh air and a young studenty atmosphere. If you're not the sort to muck in and are more interested in groovy nightclubs this isn't the place for you. I combined my Camp America stay with a trip across the States on the greyhound bus, which I teamed up with some of the other Camp girls for.

Karen's Tips:

• Going to one of the Camp America recruitment fairs. There are stands from all the different camps and you get a chance to see where you are going and meet some of the Camp leaders. If you apply through interview, as I did, it's Hobson's choice. You are sent a placement and, although you have a choice not to take it, you aren't guaranteed another placement if you turn it down.
  
  
• Save up before you go. You'll need extra money.
  
  
• Take half the clothes you think you'll need. You live in shorts and t-shirts and you'll only need one going out dress.
  
  
• Take bug spray.
  
  
• Don't see The Blair Witch - there's an awful lot of camping out in the woods.

Camp America tel: 020 7581 7373
www.campamerica.co.uk