This week, Machaneh Yavneh had its July 4th celebration on July 6th. To kick off the fun-filled day, we had waffles with whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries for breakfast to represent the American flag. In the afternoon, all of Kerem participated in the camp parade. We all decided to wear shirts with Chanes’ (one of our madrichim (counselors)) name on it inspired by songs about America. Some examples included: “God bless Chanes,” “I pledge allegiance to Chanes,” and “Chanes the beautiful.”
We cheered as we walked from the office to the beit am (gym) in front of the whole machaneh. Once we reached the beit am, we sang some classic American songs and danced with lots of ruach (spirit). After we sang and danced, we went outside to eat red, white, and blue cupcakes that were in the shape of the American flag; they were delicious!
Then, Lisa Rubins instructed us to stand in a line and we were blindfolded. Lisa led us through camp and once we reached the soccer fields, she told us to remove our blindfolds. To our surprise, camp got us Bubble Soccer! We got inside a giant inflatable ball and played soccer. To be honest, though, we were bumping into each other and falling over on purpose more than we were playing soccer. It was hot, to say the least. Despite the temperature, it was tons of fun.
In the evening, we went to
tzipori (one of the outdoor amphitheaters) to watch the all-camp talent show and the fireworks show. Our
madrichim performed their dance to the song “Rather Be” by The Clean Bandits. Sarah M. played the piano and sang her own version of some popular songs. Isaac and Herschel S. played “Amazing Grace” on their trumpets. Everybody who performed was amazing. After the talent show, we watched a very long fireworks show. Afterwards, we were supposed to watch
Toy Story but there were technical difficulties. Instead, Kerem went to the tennis courts and had a barbecue. It was a great end to a great day.On July 8th, we had our first out of camp
achla yom (trip day). We jumped out of bed,
davened, ate breakfast, loaded the bus, and traveled to Boston. Our first stop was at a
n assisted living facility in Chelsea, MA. We sang some of our favorite Hebrew songs, and Sarah M. even sang a song in Yiddish. We talked to the residents afterwards, and they loved our performance. We then headed into downtown Boston and walked around Faneuil Hall. A lot of people bought ice cream and Boston souvenirs. Next, we went to Fenway Park and took a tour. Fortunately for us, there was a game that night and we got to see the players warming up!
On our way back to the bus, we ran into Sara Schulwolf (one of our former
madrichot)! We were so excited to see her and even more excited to hear that we will see her again soon at
Zimriyah (the camp-wide singing competition). Then to take a quick break from the fun, we had a moving experience at the Holocaust Memorial. After we had a discussion about our personal experiences at the memorial, we loaded the bus yet again to head to Needham to visit Shira C.’s house for dinner. Once we arrived, we headed to the backyard to hang out and wait for Becca (one of our
madrichim) to arrive with the Chinese food. Once she arrived, we all thoroughly enjoyed the non-camp food. After a long, fun day, we loaded the bus and headed back to camp.
– Shira C., Kerem chanicha