78 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL SUMMER CAMPS SUPPLEMENT Our daughter attended Camp California for a couple of summers while our family was posted to Vienna. It was about a six-hour drive to Pakostane, Croatia, but we also took advantage of a shuttle service offered from Ljubljana, Slovenia, which cut our drive to about four hours each way. Both summers, our daughter had a blast, and I always felt confident that she was having a good experience. Phones and other electronic devices were left at checkin, but campers had the opportunity to send handwritten letters, which were scanned and forwarded to parents by email. Camp photographers posted hundreds of photos daily, so while she felt far away from us, we never felt too far from her. When she got sick in the middle of the night, the “Camp Mom,” a nurse, took her to the wellness hut and provided us frequent updates on how she was feeling. Both summers, she met up with a friend from a previous post, helping to maintain an important relationship. Camp gave them something to text about throughout the year, especially when it was time to choose activities or think about what to pack. When that friend’s family—Murray’s family—was eventually posted to Vienna, the girls were able to pick up their friendship like no time had passed at all. For our two daughters, a shared summer camp experience helped a relationship flourish over three Foreign Service tours, and counting. n A camper ziplining in Croatia, 2025. CAMP CALIFORNIA
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=