Welcome parents! This is the blog, a place that has been literally sanctioned for us to write whatever we want and pass it off as authoritative news from Camp Yavneh. If a historian ever decided to study Camp Yavneh in the future, she would probably need to use the digital archives which would include this blog. And if this historian chose to use this writer’s blog as a primary source, providing “on the ground” “real” “perspective,” then I’d finally be published in academia. If any of you publish in academia and want to just toss my name in there, that’d be dandy. I imagine my blogs probably don’t fit the usual structure of peer-reviewed journal articles, but you can’t really win them all.
Monday: a Torah reading day. Reeling from mifkad (morning flag raising, prayer saying and Hebrew word learning) and the reading of parshat Devarim (the first portion of the book of Deuteronomy, read Mondays/Thursdays during tefillot (prayer)), we rolled in to aruchat boker to be greeted by hash browns and eggs (this writer’s favorite camp breakfast!!! I’m not really supposed to eat so many carbs but I had a little bit of a cheat day. Don’t tell my mom!!!!!)!!!!!! After nikayon (bunk cleaning), we had a morning of a new Israel focused kitah (class) and helped cover for new chuggim (electives). The Kerem banim (boys) became really good friends with the 10 year old younger Kfirim banot (girls) on the Kangaruach (Yavneh’s own giant inflatable trampoline. It’s like a hot air balloon in the ground. Yes, I know it’s ridiculous. It’s also super fun) in the tzohorayim (afternoon) and the Kerem banot did some fun Stomp-based dance and improv. For peulat erev (evening activity) we had an activity where we discussed Israel and opinions about modern events in a round-table fashion, followed by some learning for Maccabiah (the multi-day color war that Kerem runs for all of camp at the end of second month).
Tuesday brought much of the same in the morning with an afternoon of more fun and planning for the Kerem Karnival (this requires no explanation as it is exactly what it sounds like). Tuckered out after a dinner of Baja fish tacos, the chanichim did some more learning for Maccabiah before a medurah (bonfire) and some star gazing. What a night! I saw a shooting star (shooting star emoji) and had a great time at the medurah (fire emoji) (fire emoji) (fire emoji) (fire emoji).
Wednesday was pretty normal as far as a day at Yavneh goes, meaning it was unique and sublime!! Simultaneously it was a pretty normal schedule. The chanichim went into the Agam (lake) and played some soccer. Dinner sent us into a fun evening peulah: a murder mystery! The culprit was none other than our own Amichai Schleifer, alias Dr. Weisenhower, hiding in plain sight. “I’ve already won!” He screamed in a fit of rage as the authorities cuffed him. “It’s over! This well crafted narrative arc has left little to be desired! No chains can hold me!” Frothing at the mouth, he was brought to Northwood county before being transferred to maximum security lock up, vowing all the while that his real plan had only just begun. Afterwards the chanichim learned more rekah (content related to Maccabiah) before a night of relaxing games and an auction wth a twist: the chanichim has the chance to buy camp related prizes for the summer. For example, I have to wear a leash and be a chanich‘s pet for the day. It’s pretty terrible. I was vaguely willing to do this.
I bet you thought I was gonna say Thursday was a normal schedule. But no! It was not! At mifkad, Kerem feigned being late and being in trouble, only to rush the entire camp with shouts of excitement when the American and Israeli degalim (flags) had been replaced with a sign pronounced the beginning of Kerem Karnival!! The chanichim spent the morning setting up their stations: balloon shaving, jelly bean testing, donut eating off a string, digging in rice for candy, eating cotton candy, and more! Also there was like a moon bounce and this thing called meltdown where you had to jump over and under this giant rotating inflatable tube. I got knocked over a bunch. After an intensive camp clean up, Wacky Chad himself came and jumped on a pogo stick and did other tricks. He comes every year and I’m not quite sure why or how he got here but he had drones too so why not. What a day and what a night. Stay tuned next week for more Shabbat updates!!
Xoxo,
J & T
