It's been awhile

It's been about 3 weeks since I got back to the US and I've held off from writing lots of blogs because I've been reflecting on my time at camp. I didn't really want to write a lot at the beginning because I was afraid that I would only focus on the difficult and stressful parts of camp that I didn't particularly like. I really didn't want all my posts to be a giant bitch-fest so I decided to wait awhile so that I could start remembering the really amazing and funny moments that went on at camp that I'd rather share. 

Last Days

I know, I know, I haven't really talked about a lot of things that happened during camp. But have no fear, this is not the last blog post. I'm going to do a Last Days post and then go back with specialized blog posts that recount some of the memorable things that went on at camp.

So... here we go...

The last days of camp were crazy. Both the campers and counselors were antsy about camp being over, and there was also a lot to do after the campers left before we could leave.

You could start to really see how hard the camp had been on the counselors during the last few days, almost all of the counselors were completely exhausted, frustrated, and sick of dealing with the constant problems. However, one of the most amazing things about these last days was the love and support that the staff gave to each other. 

The last days for me were filled with never ending problems, whether it be personal or professional. I felt like I could barely catch up, and I honestly don't think I ever did fully catch up. However, on the very last day, I was so excited and full of energy because the kids were leaving that night and it really helped me get through the last day, which was pretty hard. The last day was mainly hard because the kids had so much down time and weren't constantly occupied. A huge chunk of the day is spent in the dorms packing, cleaning, and exchanging contact info for after camp. Unfortunately, Megabytes (13-14 year olds) do even worse with downtime than the Gigabytes. The Gigabytes got bored, but the Megabytes create serious trouble. We had pranking, kids disappearing, and other general shenanigans that kids do when they're bored.

That part of the day was hard, but I think the hardest part was dealing with the constant changes in my group as the day went on. I had kids leaving early, late, crying, screaming, and just general insanity.

By the end of the day I was so sick of kids that being involved in the checkout process was something I didn't think I could handle. Even before checkout I had kids tackling me and hugging me saying that they would miss me (which was shocking because I had thought that they all hated me). Thankfully, I didn't actually have to participate in checkout because I was the Lego Robotics counselor. This meant that I had to reorganize all of the Lego kits and make sure they were ready to go. Basically, as soon as the closing ceremony started, I immediately went to my workshop room and got to organizing. I had a few short spurts when I'd have to go find one of my kids in the ceremony to bring them to their parents who were picking them up early. Those were my only breaks in about 7 hours of just organizing thousands of little Lego pieces. By the end I got some help from some really amazing ladies who made the last bit of organizing go so much faster.

In all, the last few days were hard, but they were worth it.

Day off

A day off in camp is like gold, and I'm so glad that I got to take my last day off on our session 3 Big Day. I had originally wanted to just stay in Shfeya and rest, but instead I wound up going to Tel Aviv and meeting my friend Gal from camp who is the workshop coordinator. Since she was staying where she lives in Ramat Gan and I was staying in Shfeya, I took the bus alone to Tel Aviv. I'm really glad I can speak some Hebrew or I would have had a really hard time. The people in Israel are also really helpful when you need them. I arrived successfully in Tel Aviv and found Gal and then we went to Pasta Basta to grab lunch. Just a note about the food here... it's fucking amazing. The only bad food I've had here is the camp food and that shouldn't even count because it doesn't represent Israeli food at all. Every restaurant, bar, or place that I've been to has served amazing food. Seriously, the burgers, the Italian food, and of course, the Middle Eastern food. I'm going to miss the food here so much, and not just because I can get amazing falafel here. Anyways, after lunch went to the shuk and did some shopping. It was a very weird experience for me because I don't have a lot of girlfriends that I go shopping with and actually have fun. I'm really glad I went out and had fun on my last day off instead of staying in Shfeya and attempting to avoid campers. 

Quick note

Due to the busy nature of my job, I was unable to publish some of my posts. They are now being published and I am writing more about some of the things that I want everyone to hear about from camp.

Stay tuned for more! ;)

5 days

I've gotten to the point in camp where I'm just going through the motions until we get out. I've also stopped caring if kids aren't quiet when I tell them or if they are being obnoxious. It's just not my problem anymore. Even though it's Monday, the session is super close to being over and it'll be Saturday before I know it. I've been trying to imagine what it's going to be like to get back on a plane and actually fly back home to normal life. Being at camp for almost 2 months has become almost normal. I'm used to where I live, the shitty, food, and the staff that I work with. I just can't imagine going back to normal life, but at the same time I crave it. I miss living alone, my food, my cats, my crazy parents that I used to Skype every weekend, Netflix, school, work, etc... I just miss normal life. But I can't imagine leaving the amazing staff. I've never experienced the love and support before to the extent that we have here. The counselors here notice when another is feeling down, and we try our best to help that person even if we are having a rough day ourselves.

Tomorrow night starts my last night and day off here at camp, meaning I only have 4 more days with campers. Most people would be sad about that, but I'm really excited for them to leave. During my time here, I've had a lot of really great campers, but I've also had a lot of difficulties with them. I can't say that I ever want to work with kids to 

Soy milk, honey, pizza, talking teddy bears, and music

I realized that I rarely talk about the great things the staff do on our nights and days off, so I will now.

Every session, the each staff member gets about 2-3 nights out and during the whole summer, we get about 4 days off total.

On our nights out in the beginning, most of us got together and went to Zichron Yaacov for food, drinks, and other shenanigans. The nights out have always been a really great reprieve and a way for the staff to get to know each other better in a non-stressful environment. I've always really enjoyed and looked forward to nights out because it gives me something to look forward to and it is also a really nice break.

Lately, we've all be really exhausted from constant work and lack if sleep, that we've had no energy to get everyone together to go out. So, the other night, a few if us decided to be lazy and order pizza, watch a movie, and just hang out away from the kids. We wound up watching Ted 2, which I've been wanting to see for awhile. The movie, the company, and the night in general was just great.

I have one more night and day off on Tuesday night and Wednesday where I'm going to Tel Aviv to shop and eat with a friend from camp. I hope it gives me some extra energy to get through these last days at camp.

Lucy and Avroomi

I saw a dog lick a bunny on the head today. Best thing ever.