Sorry we have been slow with blog posts, but the internet was very expensive in France. Robin is at her gate for her flight home and I am at mine (different terminals unfortunately) headed to DESTINATION UNKNOWN for 2 more days of work. We had an amazing time in Paris. We took it fairly easy by the Forti runaround standard when on touristy vacations (I was still wiped from Australia), but we ended up seeing some great sights and working fairly hard! We went up the Eiffel Tower (that’s what Robin really wanted to do), did a river barge cruise of the Seine (it was freezing, even on the inside), did a bit of walking (actually a lot), and yesterday went to the Jewish section of Paris. It was so neat- falafel stands, borekas, kosher restaurants/bakeries, etc. We loved it. We also went to the Shoah Museum (Holocaust museum) of the French jews and we found it to be fascinating. Aot of material and unfortunately we didn’t have enough time. Eating wise, I (Eric) was being a pain and didn’t want to eat long drawn out dinners, plus alot of French restaurants serve frog legs and steak tartare, so we ate at more casual places, except one nice Italian restaurant. We shared the Sole and a pasta, it was great. Believe it or not, I ate meat only once and that was chicken out of 5 days! Maybe that’s why I was tired?

The croissants, pain du chocolate (chocolate croissants), the apple tarts (pomme de tarte), and baguettes are all amazing. Despite all that, we ate relatively healthy and well, with a few sweet tooth items here and there. Oh, let’s not forget the crepes- but we only had them ONCE the whole time! Chocolate/Banana for me, coconut/banana for robin.

We really had a wonderful time together (no cell phones except a few texts from Jaycal/Unger) so we had some time to be together without lots of interruptions.

AuRevoir for now…I will check in from my next destination and stay tuned for Clue 2 (Video) of Where in the World to guess where I am headed next (without Robin).

Well hello everybody from beautiful Sydney, Australia. Sorry I haven’t blogged very often, but it seems that we have been receiving excellent feedback on the use of our new twitter page – http://www.twitter.com/whereisforti. We have had an overwhelming number of emails answering random trivia questions throughout my stay here in Australia and I am glad to see so many campers remembering former staff amongst other random facts about Australia!

I had a wonderful week as always. I was here the shortest amount than I have ever been here- 6 days on the ground…which considering it took almost 3 days to get here, that’s a short stay. No complaints though as I had an amazing week full of visits to the beaches, an impromptu surfing lesson, visits with SOO many former staff members in each city, and oh yea I hired a great set of Australian Staff here for Summer 2010! All of the staff are so excited about coming to camp for this coming summer and meeting all of you- the Canadensis Family! Of course ya’ll will greet them as you always do and welcome them to our summer home.

Well short blog as I prepare for my last dinner here, which is actually a Sydney Harbor Cruise! I did it last year as well, and it’s an awesome vantage point of the beautiful well known Sydney Opera House, Sydney Bridge, etc. You all know my love for boats, so it should be a good night.

Tomorrow I head home and I arrive Monday evening in Philadelphia (quicker on the way home b/c I don’t go through Korea this time!). I leave Thursday for my 2nd round of Where in the World is Eric Forti and these 2 countries on the itinerary this year (plus a stopover in a 3rd city) are all-new ones for Where in the World. I will be sure to bring you videos, trivia questions, and pictures from there, so keep checking back MATES!

Oh, one last thing. That VERY embarrassing image of me surfing is 100% legitimate- no photoshopping whatsoever, because if it was photoshopped it would be my head on Will Armon’s body!

Goodnight all.

Well technically, I am certainly not a Singapore Airlines Crewmember, although that would be a cool job, but according to the computer that I found tucked away in the gym at my hotel, I am! See, technically there is a crew room with a computer for Singapore Airlines, but since nobody else is here at 8:30am, I figured I could pass as one, so that I can blog for all of you.

Good morning from Brisbane, Australia. I say it every year, but I love Australia. The people are friendly, the city is clean, and the weather is amazing! Yesterday I arrived here at 6am and was met at the airport by a very nice staff member from 2009! She woke up at 430AM to get me from the airport. I can’t say her name, but hop on over to www.twitter.com/whereisforti and you will see a picture of her (or scroll down and see a blog from yesterday). Guess who she is and you can win a point towards great prizes! Email editor@canadensis.com with your guess.

She took me to the Gold Coast, which is about 1.5 hours outside of Brisbane City. It is amazing beaches, including Surfer’s Paradise, which truly is Paradise. I have done alot of traveling, but the clarity and color of this water was truly splendid. We walked on the beach for a while, had some lunch outside enjoying the nice hot weather, did a bit of walking through shops, and then on our way out stopped at my favorite place of all time- Boost Juice. They have fresh fruit smoothies/ice drinks, but its just so fresh and great. I had a Lemon Crush, which is sorbet, fresh squeezed lemon, orange, and ice blended together. Yum.

In the afternoon, I took the train back to the city and walked to my hotel. Checked in, grabbed some dinner, and went to sleep nice and early. On my way to dinner, I literally walked right passed a former staff member- Tim Pearson. Tim worked in Summer 2006 or 2007 (I don’t remember!) and was on his way home from work grabbing something at the market. It was grea tto catch up just for a few minutes before he had to catch his train home. He is headed to vacation in Bali in a few days, so I won’t be seeing him again.

I slept about 10 hours last night, but remember I hadn’t slept on a real bed since Friday night and now it’s Monday- so it was well deserved, if I may say so myself! Today is Australia Day. Basically, everything is closed and everyone goes to the beach with a big barbie (not the doll, a BBQ).

I on the other hand have been told by Jim Price that I MUST learn how to surf after all these years. I am nervous (OK, terrified) to try to surf and I am sure I will look like a beached whale on the surfboard. He is on his way now to my hotel to pick me up and take me to the Sunshine Coast (similar to the Gold Coast I am told, but nicer!). For my next trivia question, see my twitter where it asks how many summers Jim price has been to camp?? Email editor@canadensis.com with your guesses…

Well before I get caught and am arrested for “impersonating an airline crew member”, I better get off this computer! Hello to all and I will update you on my surfing, or lack thereof, on my twitter.

Finally, many of you were probably watching the Jets game yesterday and may have seen CIT 2009 Josh Schultz at the game. Below you can find a video from that game. Josh can be seen around the 1 min and 9 seconds mark.

Eric

Hello everyone and welcome to the official launch of Where in the World is Eric Forti, Year 3, Part 1. I am back at what has become my transfer airport of choice, or so it seems, Seoul, South Korea. Unfortunately my layover is only a few hours until my next flight, so I am unable to leave the airport. One year I must schedule a longer layover and spend the day sightseeing in South Korea (not to be confused with North Korea!).

So if you are following along with my twitter, you will know that this morning (I dont know what day it is, but the morning I left the US) there was some drama at the airport. The agency that I am traveling with for staff recruiting (yes, there is a purpose for doing these trips!!) was responsible for getting me a visa for the country I am headed to in a few hours. Well they put my birthday on the visa as December instead of September. Sounds like no big deal, but for those who travel alot, you know that’s pretty serious. Fortunately for me, Korean Air helped me get a new one issued on a Saturday morning and after about 20 minutes of nerve wracked waiting, visa was in hand and off I was to board the plane.

The flight was uneventful. Exactly 13 hours and 3 minutes. The food on the other hand was quite eventful. The first meal (lunch) was fairly normal and I opted for the fish since dinner I chose beef. Lunch was OK. Airline fish is so so, many of you are probably thinking I am nuts for eating fish on an airplane! Dessert with lunch was HAAGEN DAZS ice cream! Sorry Cara, no Ben & Jerry’s, but they did have dulche de leche flavor (Robin’s favorite!). Dinner I ordered Korean beef. I figured it would be like all other Asian beef dishes- beef in a brown sauce, like beef & broccoli. No such luck- it was like a Korean meatloaf. Silas’s meatloaf at camp = amazing. He makes it for us during pre/post camp when it’s staff only nights. Korean meatloaf= YUCK! I don’t mean to be culturally insensitive- I am sure Korean meatloaf is wonderful to most, but airline Korean meatloaf I do not recommend. So, I ate bread, a salad, and white rice and I am definitely full. Don’t feel so bad for me, when I get to my destination, I will definitely eat some Tim-Tams (uh oh, thats a hint!)

Here in the Korean lounge I just took a shower. Doesn’t that sound weird, a shower in an airport! It definitely helps me feel refreshed and I am sure my seatmate on the next flight will appreciate it too:)

Some of you may remember the infamous toilet episode here in Korea. Well, the toilet is STILL HERE! The funniest part is there is a puddle on the floor in front of it, which means no doubt some other “dumb American” did what I did last year. In case you didn’t read about the toilet last year, I promise it’s worth your time.

Have a read here:

http://www.canadensis.com/blog/eric/?p=312

Well hopefully no more drama and just a peaceful, uneventful, good food and good sleep 9 hour flight to my next country. I am sure many of you already know (thanks facebook) where I am headed, but the contests will be on the twitter about other things in this country, so stay tuned.

Busy week in the office getting ready for my upcoming adventure. This year I will be taking 3 separate trips overseas, some of them similar to the past few years, but there are also new destinations. Also, I am now on twitter and I will be doing most of my updates on where in the world from the twitter account. So hop on over to www.twitter.com/whereisforti and become a “follower”. There will be contests throughout my trips in which you can reply to my tweet by emailing editor@canadensis.com with your response. You can earn points and the people who collect the top points win great prizes, including as an ice cream sundae party for your bunk, an exclusive spot on the Canadensis Today Show, and much more!

Otherwise, I look forward to seeing as many staff as possible from the past years at my first destination. I will post videos with staff members right here on the blog and pictures/contests to the twitter. So, for the next few weeks check back often and enjoy Part 1 of Where in the World is Eric Forti!!

Hello all from the windy city! As you all know, I never sit still and so following the reunion, I headed out to Chicago for a menu planning/food conference through our purchasing group. But first, the reunion was absolutely awesome! Every year it seems we have a bigger turnout and it was so great to get to see so many campers and their parents.

The younger camp may not know, but around 2PM we had a quick meeting with the Seniors/CITs in the room up front at the bowling alley and it was so amazing to hear how excited and spirited the CITs of 2010 (pronounced twenty ten according to them!). We announced the details of our options college tour for our Super Seniors and CITs and they responded with interest.  We also announced that the Super Senior trip will be a trip to Niagara Falls (as in the past) as well as Cleveland. We have decided to stay out of Canada for the main reason of dealing with passports. It has become increasingly difficult to cross the border with a group of kids (without parents) and the documentation necessary has been challenging for some of our families. Also, we have had problems in the past crossing back into the US with some of our international staff. We are so excited for the Cleveland addition, which will include a visit to Cedar Point (the largest amusement park in the US), a visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and some other exciting additions to the program. We will of course still do the popular jetboat tour in Niagara and additional attractions.

I hope you all had an amazing time at the reunion and for those campers who missed it, we missed seeing you! BUT, the good news is we will be coming to an ice cream parlor near you. We will be holding “Canteen on the Fly” in 6 towns over the coming month, so stay tuned for exact dates and locations.

I need to get back from Chicago quickly because tomorrow is our Sixers Night. Camp will be hosting a group of over 50 campers, parents, and alumni at the Jewish Heritage Night with the 76ers. If you will be there or are coming with us, please be sure to wear a Canadensis shirt and show your pride! If you are from NY/north Jersey, we have a night with the NY Knicks upcoming as well.

Well that’s all I have for now! See many of you tomorrow night- did I ever say how much I love/hate flying? It’s definitely a love/hate kind of thing:)

So I let some of you down yesterday by not posting as promised (Sorry Marshall!). It really isn’t that great a story, but here goes the shortened:

I was supposed to fly back from Florida last Saturday and when I arrived at Miami Airport it was a zoo! They were looking for volunteers to give up their seat and I was the only one willing to. In the end, 3 people got “involuntarily bumped”, while I voluntarily was bumped off the flight. The problem was they couldn’t find me another flight out until Monday. So, I suggested they look into Fort Myers Airport, which is on the other side of Florida (West Coast) from where I was! In the end, they found me a 6:50AM flight the next morning to Philly. Next was trying to figure out how to get to the airport. Delta paid $350.00 for me to get in a Super Shuttle (alone in a mini bus thing) for a 2.5 hour ride across Alligator Alley to Fort Myers! I arrived around 1 AM, checking into a hotel paid for by Delta, was supplied with 3 meals paid for by (you guessed it) Delta, and was given a $600 travel voucher on Delta which will certainly help to pay for my honeymoon after the wedding!!

The moral of the story is if you have a flexible schedule, offer to give up your seat and you could get rewarded VERY nicely!

Anyway, Robin flew in last night and today (Friday) is a day off for me as we are having wedding planning meetings all day long. But, I got away for one hour and am now at the office blogging to all of you. Tomorrow is our annual head staff winter meeting in NJ, followed by the most exciting day of the winter months- the 2009 Summer Reunion!!

We hope to see as many of you there as possible. If you didn’t RSVP yet, just email and let us know you’re coming! If you are reading this on Sunday, just hop on over to Brunswick Zone in North Brunswick, NJ from 1-3PM.

Otherwise, have a wonderful weekend!

So I know I am a little bit late, but Happy New Year! I hope 2010 brings everyone much happiness and a great rest of the school year until CAMP!! Of course, it’s an exciting year for me as it’s the year of my marriage to Robin Hasson, camp’s Girls Head Counselor. Speaking of Robin, I spent 10-days down in Florida and while you would think it should be warm, it was COOOLLLLDDDD! Well, not as cold as Philly, but 40s overnight, and that’s just wrong.

While I was in Florida, we had tons of great meetings, appointments, meals, etc. First we saw Harold and Phyllis (camp’s baker and his wife) for brunch one morning. Harold took us to a deli, and they had the best omelets ever! Great choice Harold. Next, we saw 2010 first-time camper Leah Otner, her mom, and grandma. Since she is a first-time camper and she happened to be right nearby Robin’s house, I wanted her to meet with Robin before summer began. We had a GREAT meeting and Leah is so excited for camp. She is going to be such a wonderful addition to our theater program at camp, both on-stage and behind the scenes amongst other activities. So, welcome Leah to the Canadensis Family!

We also interview a new nurse at camp. No worries- Betty (our head nurse) will be back for her 5th summer at Canadensis as well as Bonnie and Mary. Anyway, Fredericka is going to be a great addition to our returning health center team and she is highly qualified! Robin and I also had dinner with Programming Director Roy Faden and his wife Lisa.

Finally, we met up with a company who helps us bid out our food and paper good products to different vendors. Alan and Carol (H &H Purchasing) have become good friends of ours and they hosted us at their house for a pool party (but it was too cold) and a great BBQ. We also tried to see Geo (last summer’s hockey director), but we couldn’t coordinate our schedules.

So, it was a busy busy trip to Florida, but very productive! Now, things are busy in the office preparing for the reunion and upcoming Sixers game night. If you need more info about either, email me eric@canadensis.com.

Take some time to watch the videos below. Once again, great job Jaycal. He will be at the reunion with his camera (duh) as will Will Armon and I, so you know what that means- CANADENSIS TODAY ON LOCATION!!

Check back tomorrow for my airline bumping story on my return flight to Philly (I know the suspense is really killing y’all!)

Good Morning Everybody and it’s a great morning because today is the last day that the office is open until the New Year! On Friday, I am headed down to FL to spend some time with Robin and her family. While I am down there, I will be interviewing a nurse for our health center, meeting with new camper Leah Otner and her family, having dinner with Roy, Lisa, Danielle, and Matt Faden, seeing Harold our camp baker and his wife Phyllis, and also meeting with a few prospective families who are interested in Canadensis! So, it’s half vacation, half work but the work part is all fun work! Robin and I also have lots to do in terms of wedding planning, so my guess is we will have a busy week. But, the busy week is in FLORIDA in hopefully sunny, warm weather, so I have no complaints there!

We are really busy in the office planning all of these Canadensis get-togethers. From the Summer 2009 Reunion on Sunday, Jan 10 to the Sixers game on Wednesday, Jan 13 to the Knicks Game on Tuesday, Feb 9, plus our Canadensis Canteens on the Fly (dates to be announced soon!) we truly are everywhere and can’t wait to see all of our camp families at some or all of these events! If you are unsure of what I am talking about, email me for more info on these community events.

Otherwise, Aunt Terri took a trip up to camp to check on a few things and so I wanted to paste the pictures here. Hope you all have a great break from school and enjoy your vacations if you do go away! Please email in pictures as usual of you/your family in Canadensis shirts so that we can post them on the blog and include them in future Canadensis Couriers.

Well unlike usual storms, Philly got slammed with 23 inches of snow, while Canadensis got a measly 4 inches! But, I am not complaining, as the less snow at camp the better, as more work will get done without all the snow to contend with. For all of you that enjoyed the weekend snowstorm, please see the post below. If you played in the snow, had a snowball fight, made a snowman, etc. please email editor@canadensis.com with your picture of the fun in the snow! We will feature your pictures right here in future blogs as well as in the Canadensis Courier.

Sorry I didn’t blog for a few days. Between the holiday card being posted on the website as well as the latest edition of the Today Show, things have been busy! If you haven’t seen it already, please login to the Canadensis Media Room on www.canadensis.com and view the Today Show as well as the Holiday Card. The Holiday video features all of the administrative staff and a special surprise at the end…(OK, I will tell you…it’s Robin and me at the end in front of a bazillion menorahs at my mom’s house!) So, Happy Holidays to everyone and enjoy the videos.

This past Thursday was exciting in the office as staff member Peter Tarnoff stopped by before headed to Steamboat Springs, CO for a ski trip with his sister Liz (from ceramics) and friend Hannah Race (girl’s general counselor). I have spoken with Pete since arriving in Steamboat and he is having an amazing time snowboarding the slopes!! Pete dropped off his contract in our office, which means he will be back for yet another Summer!!

After his visit, I headed to Long Island to continue visiting camper homes. It took me over 3 hours and 45 minutes to drive there. Along the way, I passed 2 separate tractor trailers flipped over as well as a few accidents. The drive should have taken me 2 hours or so, it was horrible! I was over 1.5 hours late to my first appointment and I felt so bad. Fortunately, the families completely understood and took it in stride. My first stop was camper Logan Katz and her brother Brent Katz who will be a new camper this summer! Brent is really excited for camp, obviously. We watched a new promotional DVD that Jaycal had created for us and it is about 7 minutes of nonstop fun. From activities to evening activities to special event days to friendships, the video captures all that Canadensis has to offer. Brent is excited for pretty much all of the activities that Canadensis has to offer and is looking forward to a great summer at camp. Logan is doing well and is also excited to return to Canadensis for her third summer of fun. They are both doing well in school. While I was there, I also got to meet her younger brother, who is so cute and was wearing those little footie pajamas, which I wish they made for adults. But, that’s a story for another day.

After leaving the Katz house, I went to visit the Portnoy boys! Ben, Jacob, and Matthew Portnoy are all campers at Canadensis. I remember when Ben was coming for his first summer, with his younger brothers in tow at the Open House and how excited he was to join the Canadensis Family! Now he is in his fifth year and moving to Senior side. His younger brothers are both at camp, and they are a FUN family. For Chanukah, they received a number of Wii games, which they showed me, including Tony Hawk (no I didn’t attempt to skateboard), High School Musical Sing Along (no I didn’t sing HSM, but I was secretly wanting to – JUST KIDDING!), and many more! Matthew is going to be Danny in Grease (the main lead character) and practiced some of his lines with me! He knows all of the choreography as well, and I am sure he will do an amazing job…just don’t break a leg literally Matthew as that wouldn’t be fun at camp!

After showing me the Wii games and Matthew singing his lines, I checked out their rooms, which are awesome. Of course they are great rooms, but what makes them awesome is that they have Canadensis stuff all over each of them!

Friday was a pretty normal day in the office! Counselor Erica Carey stopped by for lunch and to discuss the COALS Program. COALS is the Canadensis Outdoor Adventure Living Skills Program at Canadensis. Erica will be once again returning as a COALS staff member and has great improvements for this already successful program, including new and fun activities to offer during the COALS period and awesome enhancements to the overnight program! It was great to see her and then head out around 6PM for a weekend of SNOW! Just before leaving, this email was sent out. If anyone wants to join in the fun at the Sixers Game/Matisyahu concert, please email me at eric@canadensis.com. We have had an overwhelming response between 6PM Friday night and today, Sunday. Tickets are limited, so be sure to email me if you want to join Canadensis for this exciting event.

Come join us at a Philadelphia 76ers game vs. the New York Knicks and a postgame concert featuring Matisyahu on January 13, 2010 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia! The Sixers will be celebrating Jewish Heritage Night and are offering discounted tickets of $25.00 per person. Our directors and winter office staff will be there cheering on the Sixers or the Knicks (some of us are from Philly and some from NJ/NY!). We would love for our camp families to come join us, see your camp friends, and enjoy a basketball game/concert. Be sure to wear your Canadensis shirts and show off your Canadensis pride!

We have reserved a section at Center Court in the Mezzanine for Camp Canadensis so that we can all sit together. After the game, we will all go down to the Lower Level and enjoy a postgame concert featuring Grammy nominated recording artist Matisyahu. There will be special booths and food stands setup on the concourse and it is sure to be a fun event! In addition to the game and concert, with this special $25 ticket deal you will receive a Sixers t-shirt in Hebrew! For more details, see the attached PDF flyer.

If you are interested in attending, please email eric@canadensis.com with the number of tickets you would like for your family and we will reserve seats for you. Seating is limited, so please respond ASAP.

We hope to see as many camp families as possible!

And finally, if you made it this far in the post, KUDOS TO YOU! This afternoon, a few of us camp staff people (11 to be exact!) got together for lunch at CHAMPPS in King of Prussia. It’s always fun seeing camp people and today was an absolute blast. Thanks to all who came out for lunch. Afterward, I stopped by the Waxman/Cook family home for a quick impromptu visit with campers Matt Cook and Rachel Hannah Cook! See the picture below!

That’s all for now. Hope to see alot of you in the coming weeks at the Summer 2009 Reunion and the Sixers Game/Matisyahu Concert!!!