23-year-old Renee from Adelaide has just been impersonating a birthday candle by standing on a chair in the middle of the room, with her hands above her head. It's her 4th season at camp and maybe this time the Texan heat has gone to her head...

The camp:
Camp Hoblitzelle is a Salvation Army Camp in Texas, one hour south of Dallas. The camp is co-educational and aims to provide a camp experience that is fun, education and inspirational, with a range of activities such as bible study, craft, swimming, horse-riding and general sports activities.

Renee is Head Female Counsellor and brings us this update just before she finishes her time at camp.

Another Texan summer
"Camp is, as usual, fantastic! The weather here in Texas is beautiful and warm but not as hot as it normally is (which is normally too hot anyway) so in other words, perfect! We are due for some storms this week, which will make life interesting with rainy day activities and not being able to go swimming, but we will survive."

Camp food
"We have a brand new cook this year so for once camp food is not so bad, in fact for the fourth of July we had a talent show and then the cook had made this enormous cake of the USA flag! The blue stars were blueberries and the red stripes were strawberries! Yum!"

Another birthday at camp
"I am about to go into my last week of camp!! I had my birthday on camp and it was on a weekend off so we went to 'Six Flags over Texas' which is a big amusement park. Birthdays are fun at camp- we have a special birthday song here at Camp Hoblitzelle and they make you stand on a chair in front of everyone with your hands above your head like a birthday candle- highly embarrassing but lots of fun to watch. My Australian friend Peter also sung 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport' for me as well :) We have been averaging 250-300 kids per camp which is big for us and for me as I am in charge of all of the girls on camp, it has made everything interesting but everyone has coped splendidly! We played flag football (American football minus the brutal tackles) last weekend and tonight we are playing an International versus America soccer match! I will be very sad to leave, the summer feels like it has flown by!

"By the way I got my UK VISA and I will join IEP's Work Britain program after camp. I am confirmed to arrive in London in September!

Renee ;)"

And a quick update from Renee:

The kids are gone! Time to say goodbye to camp

"Today is clean up day, all the kids have left and we all have cleaning assignments! Luckily the girls have finished first because we are great! The boys planned a massive food fight in the dining room this week (it was amazing just like in the movies) so they have a lot more cleaning to do today! I can't believe how fast the summer went and how fast these last four years went but I am going to have to say goodbye to Camp Hoblitzelle and hello London! I will miss the camp atmosphere and of course all my amazing friends I have made but tomorrow I say goodbye to the crazy American camp culture. Our camp directors have planned a really cool steak cookout tonight for us at our fort, it's going to be amazing with fairy lights everywhere and a moonlight movie, I can't wait! :)"

What to do when you don't want to come home

Summer camp counsellor Renee Chomel may have just finished her fourth season at camp but her travels are far from over. She has taken the option of continuing her working holiday in the UK, with IEP supporting her all the way

"Hey there everyone, I'm in London!

"So I have been back in America doing my camp thing for the last time in Dallas :( Then I went travelling to California, went to San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and then San Francisco (my favourite place in the world!!!) then back to Dallas via Colorado (we were driving and it was very pretty!) From Dallas I came to England! I am currently staying with a friend of mine from camp 2003 (my first year).

"I am enjoying London very much but have been spending almost every waking hour since we got here looking for work! So I haven't done much sightseeing but London is so impressive almost everywhere you go. I've been along the Thames, London Bridge, seen Big Ben, The London Eye etc...

"I haven't had a chance to see much else of the UK- it is my aim to do a lot more travelling once I actually get a job! I want to see Ireland and Edinburgh desperately; it will happen!"