Tropical time off

By NATE HUBBARD
The Wytheville Enterprise
Published: May 27, 2008

Many teenagers and college students dread the thought of entering the work force through summer jobs, having to trade video games, sleeping in until noon and trips to the movie theater for less appealing pursuits such as burger flipping, lawn mowing or grocery bagging.

But two recent George Wythe High School graduates have a tale to tell that proves summer work doesn’t have to equal drudgery.

Ally Goff, GWHS class of 2005, and Eric Camden, a 2004 GWHS graduate, are back in more traditional employment this summer.

Goff is working as an intern for Del. Anne Crockett-Stark, R-Wytheville, while Camden, who just graduated from Virginia Tech, has started a career with Northwestern Mutual in Charlotte, N.C.

Two years ago, though, they were eagerly anticipating starting a month-long job as housekeepers – in the Virgin Islands.

“I just want people to know that you can take experiences like this and you can go, I mean it was just on a whim we went,” Goff said during an interview Friday afternoon. “There are things out there that are off the beaten path that can really change someone’s perspective a lot.”

“We live in a small community, but there’s a lot of big experiences out there,” she added.

Back in fall 2005, Goff and Camden, who were dating at the time and remain a couple today, took a trip with Camden’s family to the Virgin Islands where they stayed on St. Thomas.
Camden is the son of Betty and Vic Camden, who still reside in Wytheville.

The young pair, though, decided that one trip wasn’t enough. They had taken a brief excursion to another one of the islands in the chain, St. John, during their fall trip and got the wild idea that it would be fun to go back, not as tourists, but employees.

St. John is home to Maho Bay Camps, an eco-friendly facility which each summer offers people the chance to stay in its tents for free in exchange for 124 hours of work during a month-long stay.

“We wanted to make sure that we stayed within our means because the whole purpose of the trip was not to spend a lot of money, was not to live lavishly, but still experience a great place,” Goff said.

“We wanted to live as natives. We wanted to get out of the touristy spots. We actually wanted to feel like what it was like to live there at the island and not be looked upon as tourist.”

Although the trip started out as way to get to spend part of the summer on the beach, Goff said the experience ended up being a life-altering one.

The couple’s accommodations were Spartan, with each small housing unit consisting of a wooden floor, canvas roof and a single overhead bulb. Otherwise the tents had no electricity and Goff said there was no running water in the units.

“I kind of felt like Tarzan’s Jane,” she said about living in the dwellings surrounded by dense foliage. “It was different for me to live without all my creature comforts and the amenities that I’m used to and it taught me not to take those things for granted in everyday life.”

Goff said her three older brothers thought she wouldn’t last more than a day without the comforts of home and Camden even added that he too was surprised that Goff calmly handled the daily sight of such creatures as tarantulas and scorpions.

“She’s an absolute bugaphobic,” he said.

Despite their gorgeous surroundings, the work Goff and Camden had to do also was strenuous.

As housekeepers, they were responsible for cleaning out the inside and outside of the tents at the facility.

Goff, who expects to get her degree in communications with a minor in political science this December from James Madison University, also said she got a workout each day from hauling bedding up and down the more than 1,000 wooden stairs connecting the buildings at the eco-resort.

“I have a new respect for anyone who works in service,” she said.

In addition, Goff said the experience woke her up to the importance of conservation and “green” initiatives.

“This idea of going green is new to America, but for them, they’ve been doing that since the beginning days of the island,” she said. “I can live a lot more simplistic life than I thought I could.”

Although Goff, who is living with her parents Judy and Dennis Goff in Wytheville during her summer break, hasn’t done anything radical like giving up driving, she said she has made many little changes in her everyday life, from recycling everything she can to making efforts to conserve water.

She added that she may discuss green issues with Crockett-Stark later this summer once she gets more comfortable in her position and that she will definitely push for environmental causes during her own hoped-for career in state politics after graduation.

Camden said the Maho Bay experience certainly had an impact on him and he said that he thinks Goff gained a lot of self-confidence, too.

“When you get out of your comfort zone, you find out a lot about yourself,” he said.

While the trip provided plenty of discomforts, Goff and Camden also still had ample time for fun and day trips to explore the island.

Goff and Camden both recalled a nighttime snorkeling experience where glowing phytoplankton beautifully lit up the water as one of their favorite experiences.

“There’s no such thing as time,” Goff said. “They call it island time. They don’t stick to rigid schedules, which was just amazing to me because here in the States schedules run our lives and time runs our lives.”

So while Goff herself is focused on learning more about the Southwest Virginia area this summer through her travels with Crockett-Stark, she urged other young people in the area to take a chance on an uncommon job, be it something a plane flight away or just something out of the ordinary.

“In life you have to take risks and explore places beyond your comfort zone of home,” she said in a written statement about her St. John experience. “It takes moments like what I experienced while I was away from home without the familiar that really made me find out the person I truly was.”

Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or .