As an Argentinian, going to a summer camp in the States was completely new. In Argentina it is not common to go to sleepaway camp, but I decided to go anyway because I thought it was a remarkable opportunity.
I attended one of the BBYO Summer Experiences: Kallah, which is all about self-knowledge through Judaism. The camp lasts 21 days and a lot happens everyday! The day starts at 8 AM, with Shacharit (morning prayer), and then moves to breakfast an hour later. After that, the Limmud Sessions start. These sessions were elective workshops with different educators and topics. Each camper had two Limmudim per week and they were always new ones. There were plenty to choose from: art, discovering family lineage, cooking, movie analyzing, learning stories from Torah, among many others. Then we’d have lunch and move to a Sivuv/Chug depending on the day. Chug was a fixed activity that a group of campers had together. I had pottery and we had six sessions with the same group. The Sivuvim were random activities with a random group of people, there were many options. For instamce, yoga, coffee tasting, pool time, and chess. Chofesh (free time) is next. It was around three hours of doing whatever you want! Speaking for myself, I played tennis, went to the lake/pool, made bracelets, sunbathed, played card games, or just made new friends. It’s a perfect time for bonding with the other campers. After dinner, we would have new activities each night. One time we had campfire chats, which were separate (in which AZA (typically boys) and BBG (typically girls) separate to have a personalized program. Sometimes we would have our Limmudim sessions at this time. Also, special days were a part of this routine. One full day was Maccabiah: all 210 campers were split into four teams: red, yellow, green and blue, and competed for the victory of the sports tournament. My team (blue) won and it was a beautiful and unique moment. Another day, by the end of camp, they took us to Philly. We went to super interesting museums, ate local food and walked the streets.
Overall, my experience at Kallah was beyond amazing. I met tons of people from all around the world (UK, Israel, Netherlands, Spain, El Salvador, France, Germany, and of course a lot from the States) that I can call family. I have learned a lot of important practices and values that I can now share in Argentina. My time at Kallah was an extraordinary experience that I will always be thankful for.
