Camp Part III

First session is coming to a close. It feels like yesterday I was arriving late from New Jersey.

Today was a very special day at CYJ. (EVERYDAY IS VERY SPECIAL DAY AT CYJ!) Today was Yom Yisrael, Israel day. Throughout the day we had the campers going to different stations learning about several famous Israelis: Golda Meir, Moshe Diane, Ariel Sharon, and Yonatan Netanyahu. The best part was that all the food throughout the day was Israeli. YUM! Ani ohev bamba!

This last weekend was the last Shabbat of first session which means it was Machon Shabbat. I don’t think I mentioned this, but the age group of campers I have is called Machon. Anyways, my campers lead Shabbat services, singing at lunch, and discussion groups. It was beautiful thing to finally see a more mature attitude from my campers. It really made it feel like all of those long nights of writing programs, those talks with kids you didn’t want to have, and endless conversations, all worth it.

Last night there was an incident in our cabin. One of the boys did something really mean to another one. The worst part of this was that not even half an hour before I gave a talk to all the boys about how bullying is not accepted in any way. It really made me and the staff very upset. Hopefully that will be the only problem we encounter.

Currently there are serving their punishment. Since today was Yom Yisrael we are having a Israeli style party outside. There is pita making (YUM), dancing, art, and food. My campers have to sit out because of the shinanigans they pulled last night. Noah, Alon, and I have been taking shifts watching them. It has actually turned into a pretty good bonding time.

Tomorrow is out last real day at camp. I have to lead another nature program and a sports club. Hopefully I will get a bike ride in there somewhere. Starting on Wednesday I will be in Chicago for a few days between sessions. I will actually get to see the city!