Camp fatigue settling in? Are you ape?
It sure didn’t feel like the 3rd to last day of camp on Sunday when Camp Simcha escaped to the zoo. Actually, the zoo came to us! The morning kicked off with a personal petting zoo in the baseball field. Our campers got to experience goats, rams, bunnies, sheep, snakes, and llamas (did I spell that correctly?) first hand. Every camper got a seemingly endless supply of animal food (am I the only one that thinks that it looks like overpriced cocoa pebbles?). When they were in the mood of some adventure, our campers headed over to the stable where they enjoyed pony rides, hay rides, and horseback rides.
As the afternoon progressed, every division gathered in the gym where they made an animal related commercial, and recorded it. The judges are now reviewing the clips, and they will announce the winner of the competition tonight. When they were done recording their clips, campers rushed around to different workshops to finish any unfinished projects before the session ends. The leather workshop was where I found Aber, Yehuda, and Yosef working on bracelets, key chains, and wallets. They carefully lines up their leather stamps, and pounded them into the leather. In ductagami, I found Forrest constructing a green and brown baseball cap out of duct tape.
There’s nothing like sitting around a bonfire, linking arms together with your friend, and singing your heart out. That’s exactly what happened last night in camp. At around 10:15 P.M., Bentzi Brown and Co. set up a tremendous bonfire behind the pool area in camp. Campers and staff alike gathered around to sit, link arms, and truly release their emotions through slow, melodic song, as opposed to the usual wild n’ crazy dance party music that we are used to listening to. Our head counselor, Ari Dembitzer, spoke about our innate instincts to help one another in a moment of need and the need to look past physical and religious differences in people. It was really a great way to bond with each other, as well as unite us emotionally, giving us the courage to face our fears. Because we are never alone.