Yom Meyuchad!

Good evening!

Today was bright and sunny… and full of special programming! Once a session, machaneh (camp) runs an exciting, themed day called Yom Meyuchad (Special Day) where we have fun activities all day instead of the regular schedule. As a member of the committee planning the day, I’m very excited to tell you all the scoop about what we did!

This year’s theme is A Day at the Office, so we had fun office-themed activities planned out! After an hour sleep-in, we had breakfast on our way to work. There were “fast-food” stations set up around the basketball court with iced coffee, milk cartons, donuts, cereal, and Egg McMuffins prepared by the tzevet mitbach (kitchen staff). When we got to work, we played real-life versions of Pac-Man, Tetris, and other computer games with the chanichimot (campers)... that is until our boss caught us slacking off and fired us in a fun skit on the ropes course.

Chanichimot take revenge after being fired

Afterwards, we headed to a party in the Moadon (clubhouse) to spend time with our co-workers while hiding from our boss. At the party, the chanichimot danced, sent each other secret messages, played cards, and completed a giant puzzle. Then, we had some free time until lunch in the “break room” at the chadar ochel (dining hall), where the tzevet mitbach prepared some “take-out” Chinese food including rice, vegetable Lo Mein, and spring rolls. For dessert, we had orange slices, and even some fortune cookies!

Chanichimot celebrating at the messibah (party)

Later, chanichimot were able to choose some chugim (electives) for the day, including Office Yoga, Break Room Board Games, and a Scavenger Hunt through machaneh (camp) among others. Then, each shichva (age group) headed to an obstacle course in the refet (barn) where they pretended to crawl through the vents of the building while hiding from the boss. From there, we had cookies for kibbud (snack time) at the “water cooler” on the porch of the Mini-Moadon (small clubhouse).

A delicious breakfast!

Then, we had a “jobs fair” in the pavilion where the chanichimot trained for the army, made oobleck (cornstarch and water mixture) with NASA, wrote poetry for the New York Times, and had their hair braided in the salon, among other stations. At the end of the fair, the chanichimot were assigned their career paths and gathered for a camp-wide game of Capture-the-Flag!

For dinner, we headed over to an Office BBQ in Hyde Park complete with kabobs of meatballs, pineapple, pepper, mushroom, and onion (with vegetarian and allergen options) and coleslaw. As a big treat, there were also cans of soda for the chanichimot.

At the end of the day, we were hired to work at Machaneh Galil as a camp counselor and had a big pool party to celebrate!

See you tomorrow as we return to the usual routine!

- Carli