Tiyul (Camping) in French Creek State Park

Hello again! Before we dive into the current excitement at Galil, I’d like to clarify some questions about the current names of the shcavot. We have three age groups this session The first is the 9-11 year olds, who are the Amelim and Chotrim (Am-Cho). They recently chose to be collectively called the “Cochavimot”, which means “stars”.

   The second shicvah is the 12 and 13 year olds, who are the Sayarim and Tzophim (Say-Tzo). Their chosen name is the “Melafefonimot”, which means “cucumbers”.

    The last shicvah is the 14 and 15 year olds, who are the Bonim and Bogrim. They like being called the “BoBo”. Although they are combined, the two ages will keep their traditional events. Bonim will plan Aliya Bet and the Bogrim will plan BoCoup. If you’re new to Galil, you’ll learn more about these two special activities later on in the session!

Now let’s get back to Ottsville. On Sunday morning, the kids brought their packed bags to the chedar ochel (dining room) and ate some breakfast before loading buses for tiyul, a camping trip. This year’s tyul was a little different than past years. We took the entire macheneh (camp) on tiyul at the same time! This meant lots of extra organization for our tiyul specialists, but Erica and Arik were up to the challenge.

     So off we went to French Creek State Park! After about an hour, our buses arrived at a huge campground, where each shicvah (age group) had their own area with tent space, a firepit, and picnic tables. We put up our tents, and then gathered sunscreen, hats, and sneakers in preparation for our outdoor adventures. The Cochavimot went peach picking in an orchard, while the Melafefonimot and BoBo went for an intense hike. We met back at camp in the evening. Once we got back, we started to chop vegetables for dinner and gather firewood. In a little while, we had chopped cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, and onions and were ready to eat it with rice, chili, and optional chicken.

    Following dinner, we gathered around our respective campfires and started “Medurah”. Medurah at camp is a huge bonfire with certain acts that are always represented by specific shcavot. For example, the Bogrim always do a comedy act called “Froggy and Gnu” and the Bonim give out the Bozo awards, which lovingly go to the people with the most embarrassing moments from the week. Medurah during the camping trip is special because kids of any age are welcome to try out these traditional acts, regardless of age. At the end of medurah, we roasted marshmellows and enjoyed s’mores before the kids headed to sleep. Madrichimot stayed awake in shifts, so there were always two of them awake at each campsite in case any chanichim (campers) woke up and needed something.

In the morning, we toasted bagels over the fire and ate them with cream cheese. The Cochavimot and Melafefonimot walked to a nearby lake to skip stones and relax on the beach. The BoBo headed out on another hike. We all met back at the campsite, loaded the buses, and headed back to camp.

   When we got back to Galil, chanichim (campers) showered and got to eat chicken nuggets and green beans for lunch. After that, they could choose between two options: a pool party or watching “Big Hero Six” in the moadon (recreation center). Then they’ll have free time to unpack their tiyul (camping) bags. Tochnit erev (evening activity) will be l‘shicva, or “by age group”.

It’s been a busy past few days, and we’re all happy to be back at Macheneh (Camp) Galil. See you tomorrow!