We Love Repairing the World!

Today was a busy day! The Bonim left today for a 2 day hiking trip (tiyul) and will return tomorrow afternoon! They were all very excited to be able to spend the next 2 days with their age group (shikvah) while camping! 

They weren’t the only campers (chanichim) to leave machaneh today. The Amelim, Chotrim, and Sayarim went on Tikkun Olam today. Tikkun Olam means repairing the world. Every summer the chanichim do a tikkun olam project usually outside of machaneh. Today, the chanichim went to Urban Tree Connection in Philadelphia. Urban Tree Connection creates community gardens in urban areas as well as distributes produce in low income areas. The particular garden the chanichim went to today was in West Philadelphia.

Today they weeded the garden and picked up any trash where plants were growing. We pulled up invasive weeds, composted those weeds, and even played with bugs! The neighborhood kids came out to the garden while we were there to help us out and to play with the chanichim! Everyone had a lot of fun together! After all of the weeding was done we ate a picnic lunch and drank lots of water! All of the chanichim had a really meaningful day and really grasped the idea of repairing the world. Look out for pictures from tikkun olam tomorrow! 

As you can imagine machaneh felt a lot smaller today because only the Tzophim, Bogrim, and Madatz were here. However, the Tzophim also had a special day. Today was Yom Tzophim. Yom Tzophim (Tzophim Day) is a day planned by the chanichim themselves and they spend the entire day together. In the morning they had a small sleep-in which everyone was excited about after a tiring visiting day! The tzophim then had breakfast in their cabins (tzrif)! In the morning they played different games together that they planned for each other. As the day went on, it also got warmer outside so the next activities involved water games! One of their favorite activites today was the slip n’ slide that they built for themselves! They built the slip n' slide on the hill near the parking lot with tarps, soap and hoses. They all had so much fun sliding down the hill! In the afternoon they went on a short hike in the creek together from the parking lot to the other end of the creek. 

The tzophim had so much fun together today and the best part about the day was that they planned it for themselves! 

Tonight we are having a fun evening activity (tochnit erev) in the dining hall (chadar ochel ). The theme is Vegas and during dinner there is going to be different shows put on by the staff (tzevet) and different card games going on. Pictures to come tomorrow! 

Visiting Day!

We had a great Shabbat this weekend! The Chotrim had a very funny Oneg Shabbat on Friday night. Oneg Shabbat happens every Friday night after dinner and before Israeli dancing (rikud). Each week a different age group (shickvah) puts on a short play written by themselves or their counselors (madrichim). 

The play always has a theme and is always funny filled with inside jokes from the summer. This week the Chotrim performed their oneg shabbat in front of the camp (machaneh) and everyone enjoyed it. Although Shabbat was lovely, all of the campers (chanichim) were anticipating today....visiting day!

We had a great visiting day today! All of the chanichim, madrichim and parents had a wonderful time! The food everyone brought looked delicious and all of the chanichim were very happy about the amount of candy their parents brought for their kupa! 

The day began with all of the chanichim anxiously waiting at the top of the hill in the parking lot for their parent's car to pull into machaneh. As soon as the car is spotted the campers (chanichim) ran down the hill to greet their parents with a big hug! Each family scoped out the best picnic area and enjoyed a picnic lunch together. Our "adopted campers" today were well fed and had a lot of fun hanging out with their friend's families!

After lunch everyone gathered in front of the Moadon for the traditional Visiting Day song and a welcome speech by the director of camp (rosh machaneh), Kali Silverman. The chanichim sang Splendor Bridge by Sam Flesher, a Habonim Dror alum. Everyone then split up by age groups (shkavot) to play fun games with the parents, chanichim, and madrichim. Despite the rain everyone still had a great time and we were able to utilize all of our indoor space at Galil! 

After all of the chanichim said goodbye to their parents and families we went back to a normal schedule. Everyone went to their interest groups 

(chuggim) and were gladly sharing all of the food with each other that they received today! Everyone is stuffed but had a great day and we are all looking forward to movie night tonight!

Ma, Madatz, Madatz are Amazing!

Revo has come and gone but that doesn’t mean the Madatz have stopped working. The Madatzim, like the staff (tzevet), each form a smaller staff (tzevet katan) and have an age group of kids (shickvah) that they work with for the session. On Friday’s the Madatzim plan an activity (peula) for their chanichim in the morning before Shabbat singing (shira). The Madatz are given the opportunity and responsibility just like the counselors (madrichim) to plan a peula that ranges from playing fun water games to having serious discussions. 

Today, the Chotrim had a peula all about Israel. The Madatz started off the peula with a game of Scategories and the topic was Israel. The Chotrim split up into teams and were each given a piece of paper. The goal was for each team to come up with as many different words that they thought was associated with Israel. Some of the words the Chotrim came up with were falafel, desert, hebrew, Western Wall and various other words. 

During the peula they learned more about Israel in the form of a cake! The Madatz made two plain cakes before the peula started and gave the Chotrim ingredients to create the map of Israel in cake-form. They used graham crackers for the desert and chocolate chips for mountains. 

The Sayarim went to the creek today with their Madatz and had a peula about respect. They stood in a circle and each went around saying one idea they had about how they can respect one another.

The Sayarim are the next chanichim to move into the older age groups so the Madatz wanted to 

unify their group (kvutza) a little more. The Sayarim had really great things to say about each other and are excited to put into action all of the ideas they came up with today. 

On Friday nights the Madatzim put their chanichim to bed instead of the madrichim. The chanichim and madatzim really enjoy this time together. Typically the madatzim ask their chanichim if they would like to hear a story or listen to a song while they fall asleep. This time together allows the chanichim to get to know their Madatzim and the Madatzim to hang out with their chanichim.

Everyone is getting so excited for Visitor’s Day on Sunday! Please remember no peanuts!

See you all on Sunday and Shabbat Shalom!

Viva la Revo!

Today was Revo, short for revolution. Revo is when the CITs (Madatz) plan an entire day for the rest of machaneh and "kick out" the counselors (madrichim). Revo always has a theme and the activities planned follow the storyline. This session's theme was Viva la Revo! To explain the day a little more is one of the Madatz, Reba Cohen...

"This morning started off as a normal Thursday, until the Madatz (junior counselors) announced a revolution during Ivrit shimushit (learning a new Hebrew word).  They came in running from the Moadon to the toren (flag pole) pretending to be chased by the “chubacabra” (a Mexican folk monster).  The madrichim (counselors) were then “kicked out” out of camp and the Madatz were here to take over for the day!  They told the kids that they would be traveling to different parts of Spanish speaking countries throughout the day! When the kids arrived at breakfast they walked in to the Chadar (dining hall) that was unrecognizable because it was decorated to be a Rain Forest.  After breakfast we took a walk in the “rain forest”, which was actually one of the trails in the woods that goes behind the pool and around the camp.  The Madatzim and Bogrim were dressed up as animals in the woods to surprise the kids.  When we came to the end of the hike and after the Madatzim checked the children for ticks, there was a Brazilian themed carnival in the parking lot.  There were many stations for kids to go around and have fun at, such as a face painting station, a hair wrap station, and even a water station so everyone stayed hydrated. 

From the parking lot we had a “running of the bulls” activity in which members from the oldest age group were dressed up as bulls and ran with the kids from the parking lot up the hill.  Afterwards, they had a bit of free time before having a Mexican themed lunch filled with chicken and rice, beans, and different types of salsas. After lunch we had a nice siesta (nap) so everyone could digest before the next activity began.  Next, there was a huge soccer game that the kids played and they pretended to be on teams from Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil.  For those who did not want to watch the game or partake in it there was the option to hang out on the basketball court where they could eat churros and listen to Spanish music.  

Next, the whole machaneh (camp) went down to the pool for a party to cool off from the intense heat.  After we cooled off, the kids went up to the basketball court where we had a “Tomatina” fight. However, instead of using tomatoes to throw at each other, we used cut up pieces of red towels. 

Next, we had kibbud (snack) which was themed Day of the Dead and the kids had chocolate skulls and a Mexican chocolate drink.  Afterwards, we had chugim (interest groups) based on the Latin American culture, such as a learning how to draw like Frida Kahlo and Lucho Libre wrestling on mattresses.  The kids were then given more free time to relax before dinner.  

Dinner's themed is Night Life in Spain with enchiladas and tapas.  After dinner there will be a huge party in the moadon themed a Night in Spain.  Everyone will be dressed up in white clothing, which will look incredible with the strobe lights and the colored lights.  It was a fun day for all!"

The chanichim are having a great day and the madrichim can't wait to hear all about it at the end of the day when we put them to bed. There will be pictures to follow at the end of the day!

Working Together as a Team!

The Borgrim have had a busy last couple of days at camp (machaneh). After hosting their new Na’aleh friends for 2 days at Galil and participating in Maccabia 2012, they were ready for a normal day and to be together again as a group (kvutza). Today, the bogrim went on the high ropes course. While many of the bogrim have already been on the ropes course in their previous summers, they still challenge themselves to beat a previous time, or to do a cool trick off of the zip line. For example, many of the bogrim tried the giant’s ladder for the first time. The giant’s ladder is part of the high ropes course and usually requires two people to work together to complete it. Sometimes if the campers (chanichim) really want to challenge themselves they tackle the giant’s ladder alone. The giant’s ladder is a wooden ladder suspended in the air and the object of the challenge is to get to the top. To make it more challenging today, some of the bogrim decided that they weren’t going to touch any of the ropes and were only allowed to touch the actual ladder. Eventually they all made it to the top with a lot of encouraging friends cheering them on from the ground.

The bogrim have a lot of responsibility at Galil as the oldest chanichim. As chanichim grow older at Galil and in the movement (Habonim Dror) they obtain more and more responsibility as the future leaders of machaneh. Everyday it is the responsibility of the bogrim to give out the snack (kibbud) for the day to the rest of the machaneh. It is their job to go to the kitchen (mitbach) and coordinate with the staff of the kitchen (tzevet mitbach) of what the kibbud is and the quantity they will need. They are in charge of organizing the chanichim waiting for kibbud and making sure everyone is given kibbud. The Bogrim also plan many of their own activities (peulot) for each other as well as the machaneh. Every summer the Bogrim plan an evening activity (tochnit erev) for the machaneh which we call “Bozman” as well as a themed half of a day which we call “Bo-coup”. These activities help prepare the Bogrim for their future summers at machaneh and also allow them to work together as a kvutza and grow as leaders. 

While the oldest chanichim spent their day on the high ropes course the youngest chanichim, the amelim, spent their afternoon by the creek. Their challenge was to build a raft that would float in the creek out of sticks, recyclable materials, duct tape and glue.

There were 4 teams and each team created a completely different float design. After the floats were ready to be tested the Amelim moved closer to the water and each team launched their float. They all did a great job because none of them sank! 

Check back tomorrow! 

Maccabia 2012!

This morning the rest of Camp (Machaneh) Na’aleh joined Galil for Maccabia 2012! Before the games started, each colored team gathered together to paint their faces, come up with cheers and get to know each other since the teams were a combination of Galil and Na’aleh. Maccabia 2012 was kicked off with a song written by the CITs (Madatz) in front of the Mini-Mo to the tune of “Eye of the Tiger.” After everyone was pumped up for an exciting day, the games began! 

There were 5 sports on a rotation that each team participated in. The sports included basketball, gaga, ultimate frisbee, soccer and UTC (ultimate throwing challenge). At each sport there were two different colored teams playing each other. Each team was a mixture of chainichim from Galil and Na’aleh that included all of the ages.

A familiar cheer that the chanichim and madrichim chant here is, “we’re Habonim Dror we don’t stress competition.” So of course every game that was played today ended in a tie regardless of the score, also known as a “habo tie”. The games were meant to be playful and friendly rather than competitive. 

When the games were over everyone was invited to Hyde Park for a pizza picnic lunch. The Galil and Na’aleh chanichim mingled, created new friendships and of course enjoyed everyone’s favorite meal...pizza! 

After lunch the fun continued and there was a carnival with many different stations for the chanichim to go to. The chanchim were able to switch stations whenever they wanted and go to the ones that interested them. The stations included, mural making, yoga, meet the camps (machanot), year-round programming (eizor), israeli dancing (rikud), sports, card games, silk screen and sprinkler fun! The most popular station seemed to be the silk screen station. Here, all of the chanichim were able to bring a t-shirt to the arts and crafts center (beit omanut) and get a silk screen with a Maccabia 2012 design. 

We’ve had so much fun hanging out with everyone from Na’aleh for Maccabia and we can’t wait to do it again next year! 

Mifgash, Mifgash, Mifgash!

All the Bogrim meeting each other for the first time! 

Today was very exciting for the Bogrim and CITs (Madatz) because it’s mifgash! Camp (Machaneh) Galil is a part of the youth movement Habonim Dror North America. HDNA has 7 camps across the country (including Canada) and their camps are very similiar to Galil. Each summer the chanichim learn about the different camps (machanot) in HDNA and count down the days until Bogrim mifgash. Mifgash is when the chanichim from the different camps (machanot) meet for the first time. This year Bogrim mifgash is being held at Galil so it's very exciting for the Bogrim here to be able to host their new friends from different camps. This year Camp (machaneh) Na’aleh came to Galil for mifgash. Na’aleh is located in New York and they will be spending the night here at Galil. When the bogrim from Na’aleh arrived, the Galil bogrim welcomed them in true Galil spirit with lots of cheering and excitement. The day is spent with many activities planned by both the Galil and Na’aleh bogrim staff (tzevet). The first  activities were name games and introductions because no one knew each other yet! 

For our Madatz, mifgash is more of a reunion because they spent the previous summer together on MBI in Israel. MBI is our Israel program that the chanichim after their bogrim summer go on. The program includes all 7 HDNA camps (machanot) together in Israel for 5 weeks. The Madatz were all very excited to see their friends from Na’aleh again! 

The tzophim planned Yom Tzophim (Tzophim day)

The rest of machaneh is running on a normal schedule. The tzophim returned home today from their tiyul and had nothing but wonderful things to say. The tzophim bonded in new ways and spent the afternoon planning a special day for themselves called Tzophim Day (yom tzophim). This special day will happen next week and they are splitting into smaller groups to plan specific activities for themselves for the day. 

The Amelim, Chotrim, and Sayarim learned how to dive today during instructional swim! They were all so excited because every year on the first day of instructional swim the most repeated question is “When are we going to learn how to dive?” The chanichim were very excited to learn that today would be that day!

We are very excited for tomorrow’s Maccabia games with Galil and Na’aleh! 

Check back tomorrow to read all about it!