Week Three Updates – Arayot!

It was a super duper fun-filled week here in Arayot! After a much needed trip to the beach on Monday to cool down, we dove right back into the camp schedule, but still remained cool despite of the heat wave. We had many activities involving water and many of us were lucky enough to go on the brand new Aqua Kef (and yes, it is super kef).

Tuesday we spent the day either in the few air conditioned buildings in camp or playing some fun water games. We continued to practice for Zimriyah and Ketzev and finally got to learn the hand motions for each song! After a long, but fun practice we got to unwind and cool off with some ice cream for nish nush! After a quick snack break, the girls got into a really fun water fight organized by hanhallah filled with water guns, large buckets, sponges, spray bottles, our own water bottles, and a hose. While the girls were deep in battle, the boys were having a blast on the Aqua Kef! However, Danni did not have as much fun as everybody else because every time she tried to get on, she either couldn’t pull herself up or slipped off. Then, in the evening, we performed in the upper camp talent show! Each bunk got to perform a talent all together. There were also lots of individual acts including Avi playing the trumpet, Seth tap dancing, Roni doing stand up comedy, and many amazing singers and dancers! Arayot is definitely the most talented aydah!

Wednesday we celebrated the 4th of July! We woke up and had pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream to resemble the American flag. In the afternoon, Arayot dressed up in super fun costumes and participated in the camp parade! The parade ended in the Beit Am where we danced to some American classics, such as the Cotton Eyed Joe, Sweet Caroline, Chicken Fried by the Zac Brown Band, and many more! Then we all went outside and admired the American flag made out of cupcakes for a second before devouring them. Later that night, we participated in a new camp masoret of a game show entitled “Let’s Make a Deal!”, where a few campers were called up in front of the whole camp to trade (some good and some bad) presents. It was a joy to watch! Afterward, we went outside to watch an amazing fireworks show while eating a special treat of popcorn and soda!

On Thursday, we were glad to hear that it was the last day of the heat wave! We celebrated by having a peulah learning about Israel’s drip irrigation system and then creating one ourselves using pool noodles. We then had a dance party under our stellar drip irrigation system. At nish nush, we were all treated to ice cream in honor of Yuval’s birthday! In the evening, we were lucky enough to have the Kerem run the peulat erev. The banot split up into groups and had a mini lip syncing competition. The winning group of the competition got to go to the Kerem bunk for a party!

Shabbat, we all had a chance to relax and cool off from the busy week. On Friday, we celebrated Maya and Yoni’s birthdays with some delicious ice cream! At Havdallah, the banim performed their Ketzev dance for the whole camp. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and cheered for them when they were done.

Arayot is really looking forward to the coming week with Zimriyah, Ketzev, and an Achla Yom all lined up!

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