Caves, sems and late night shiurim.

This is really a blog for yesterday (Thursday), but also for the early hours of this morning. Yesterday was an interesting, varied day, with lots of different things happening and lots of ice cream (mmm.... biscuit cornetto).

In the morning (after Shacharit (morning prayers) and breakfast), we boarded the coach in "messy" clothes (or clothes we didn't mind getting dusty or "a little muDDy" (which seemed unlikely to me- the mud, that is- since there is little rain and little water in Israel as it is)) and headed off to a set of caves (which I don't remember the name of) where we were told the mysteries of the chalk quarrying caves and the Rav Mitch told us a scary story ("When the log rolls over, we will all be dead!"). We were then led on our hands and knees through a teeny weeny pitch black tunnel into a relatively tiny cave(well, it seemed pretty small with 30 or so of us in there anyway. We could barely move around in there), where we had the most amazing ruach (atmosphere- raise the roof singing type thing) which I loved. (And the girls did join in, boys. Just 'cause there are more of you. :P)

After that, we were supposed to go to more caves and tunnels but unfortunately (or fortunately for the claustrophobes) we didn't have time. However, we went to Tel Azeka (where the story of David and Goliath in the Bible happened) and Rav Mitch told us what he normally does with groups there (but we didn't have time) re-enacting the story a bit, admiring the view (which is absolutely amazing) and took a group photo (which is tradition at Tel Azeka, or so it feels). Anyone who has that group photo digitally, please send it to me. I forgot to take my camera up there with me. :S

In the afternoon, the boys went to Yeshivat Hakotel and had chevrutot (one-on-one learning) and a shiur (a text based learning session) with the Bnei Akiva (the youth movement I belong to) Rav Shaliach (Rabbi who comes from Israel to England for two years) who has just returned (we had a farewell party for him during pre-camp), although I think it was one or the other that they went to, as we were all running late and they didn't have time to go to both.

Meanwhile we (the girls) went to Nishmat (a seminary in Bayit Vagan, a suburb of Jerusalem), where we had an excellent shiur on the three parts of the Torah- the mountain, the field and the house. The Rabbi giving the shiur managed to connect this into various things, including the Temples, our forefathers and the studying of Torah. However, the shiur only lasted 45 minutes, we weren't given a tour of the campus (we saw one room and the toilet, although the room we were in was quite nice I thought) and we had an hour and a half to kill before the coach returned with the boys. So we went for a walk, bought ice-cream, walked a bit further and arrived at another shop where three girls randomly decided to buy dummies, which was rather funny. Charlie and Tamar drove past at one point, saw us, turned around and came to chat for a bit, which was fun and probably one of the highlights of our hour and a half of nothingness.

Tonight (it finished about an hour ago) I went to an optional shiur given by Benjy Myers about humility; asking why anybody has the right to stand up and tell someone else what to do. (This seemed particularly relevant as everyone here has just taken camp and so been in such a position.) I thought it was a good shiur, although it was rather long (it started at 11.30, and finished at 1.50)- I had two cups of Arabic/Turkish coffee. :) We were given two sources- one showing humility to be a good thing, and one showing it to be a bad thing. We had lots of discussions, and, fortunately, not everyone in the group was of the same opinion (although I suppose that is why the shiur lasted so long. But I like discussion :) ) and we had great ones about what humility is and the like.

Since then, everyone has been hanging about chatting etc. outside the building with our rooms in, which is fun, but I was growing tired, hence coming in and writing this. Anyway, enough for now- I need sleep!

It doesn't feel like Monday.

I haven't had a normal night's sleep since Sunday morning, due to last night's night flight. So, not only has my sleep pattern been mucked up (I've been told that I did actually sleep on the 'plane, but I don't think it was that much, since I heard the same four pieces of classical music at least three times each. They really shouldn't let that happen on a four hour flight. There is blatently enough music in the world to have different music playing for four hours. I also caught two hours sleep after lunch today, which explains why I can still write at this time of night), but I also can't properly tell which day of the week it is, due to the loss of a night.

I was rather annoyed when going through passport control in Israel, as I managed to go in the queue where everyone was being made to fill in landing cards (which they hadn't given out on the 'plane, and they normally do). I normally don't mind filling in landing cards, but they have recently been updated and changed, and they require even more information than they used to. What's more, I then got through passport control to discover that barely any other person in our group had filled one in.

But we did see Dovid in the airport. :) *waves to Dovid*

Exciting thing that happened yesterday: I finally found a recording of Schumann's Fantasiestücke (op.73)! It was 'free' with a BBC music magazine (but I really bought it for the CD) - you don't understand how long I've been looking for it! Even I can't remember when I first started looking for it!

Exciting thing that happened today: Daniel (madrich (leader)) told me about Bernie's (another madrich who reads 'Private Eye') rosh yeshiva (head of yeshiva. A yeshiva is a place of intensive Jewish study for boys. The equivalent for girls is a midrasha (seminary).) is some kind of world expert on Milton (and one of very few in the world apparently), and that he manages to keep his secular and religious studies completely separate. (I think I'm about to be accused of being slightly obsessed. :S)

Gah. Another forgotten memory or two.

I am off to Israel this evening for a week, and so once again will not blog for a while, however this time I am going to blog, but not online, while I am away, so that I don't have all these forgotten memories. I'm also going to try and figure out what to reminisce from camp, so that I can do a big blog for the two weeks of camp (which I realise are still missing from here).

Yes, as predicted my memory is slowly returning to me. (Or, more accurately, memories are returning to my mind which I have forgotten. I doubt my memory ever left me, just the memories seemed to hide away so that I could not access them.)

(This is another pre-camp memory, by the way. I recall it being very funny when we were at pre-camp, but I have a feeling that it is nowhere near as funny when retold on a blog on the net. Ah well, here goes.)

There are actually two things (*shock* Naomi can actually remember two things??), which I at first remembered as one, as they both involved acting, however I then looked back at the memory and realised that one, indeed, was just an inane advert, whereas the other was an advert for a made up superhero.

On Friday night, we were gathered in the gym (which hadn't changed since I was at Aleph summer '98, I'm sure, except for the fact that the stage was lower than I remember. Everything else was the same though: the curtains, the windows, the climbing frame thingies, even the piano) and we got into groups of three or four (I think. I was in a group of three) and each group was given a slip of paper with a product, style and catchphrase out of which to make an advert. The thing was, the catchphrase was always nothing to do with the product (style is never really related). For example, we had to advertise a Bnei Akiva CD including the catchphrase "I thought I saw a pussy cat, I did, I did, I did!" in the style of 'Eastenders'. Fun. Except that wasn't the big memory. One group had Teletubby style (I can't even remember the product or catchphrase, but the skit was truly wonderful) and they repeated their skit a gazillion and one times screaming "Again, again!" each time they had finished. Also Alistair's wonderful impression of the teletubby who is lucky enough to have had a video implanted in his stomach was great, and it's a real shame that this all happened on Shabbat, and so we couldn't take photos, as it is an image in everyone's minds I'm sure.

On another day (I don't remember which, but it was the day when we prepared stuff about superheroes) we made adverts again, but this time we were only given a style and we had to advertise a made up superhero (so we had to make one up too). Our style was Biblical, so we had a man who could pee pure water, thereby saving us in the desert (I do not remember the superhero name :( ), but again, the one I was in was not the one I remember so much. Josh, the tallest madrich at 6'3", was made into 'Shortman', and had an amazing superhero-dashing-to-the-rescue type look which is actually all I remember on top of the hilarious name considering his height. I appeal for more funny details, if anyone can remember them.

Forgetful memory

I have such a terrible memory, that I have remembered that I forgot something that happened at pre-camp, and yet now I have forgotten what happened again, but remember that I forgot something! Does that make sense? I hate my memory. Stupid thing. >poke<

Went today to have a photo taken for the Hendon Times, which was rather random. Well, I knew yesterday that I was going to go today to have my photo taken, but it was rather random that I was the one picked. It was one of those results thingies. Except I got AS results when surely they normally want A2 results, and I didn't get straight As, unlike many of my friends. So surely other people should have been asked, not me. Not that I mind having my photo in the paper, but still. It's strange. Hm.

Ah. One thing was that on Friday night we had the most lovely of singing sessions, which I always love anyway, and managed to join in with despite having already lost my voice. (Yes, I had lost my voice within two days of pre-camp. Ridiculous, I know, but that's the way it was. I could still shout and sing enough though. ;) My voice still hasn't fully returned, in fact.)

Ooooh. And at se'uda shlishit on Shabbat of pre-camp we had a great competition concerning pretzels. We had to take out the middle bits to leave a heart without breaking the outside at all. That week I only managed the one, but the next week I managed 5, and the week after 8. :D

Aleph Machane 5764: the camp song

(to 'I will Survive')

Verse:
At first when we arrived, we were petrified
Machane with crazy madrichim by our side
But on our first night we just wouldn't go to bed
So we stayed up 'til the morning drinking Irn Bru instead!

And now we're here, singing together,
Knowing memories of camp will live forever
With 'Sk8r Boi' at breakfast, and 'Baruch Hagever',
Not forgetting 'Funky Chicken', 'Boomchikaboom' and 'Yibaneh'!

Chorus (x2):
STAND UP! Aleph machane
With hornets, plates and ruach flying high up in the air
Kvutsot, funs, shiurim
Tochniot and cool chugim
Machane 5764
Two weeks of fun here in Brymore
(in Brymore...)

Verse:
The theme of machane is Luach Hashana
We took a journey through the year and stopped at Tropiquaria
Tiyul, the muddy walk, lots of time to chill and talk,
At the theme park we got sick, 'cause the rides just went too quick!

We named our kvutsot after superheroes,
We've got Superman, Spiderman, Buzz Lightyear, Dangermouse
Bananaman, Daredevil, Popeye and Superted
Then there's Ninja, He-man, Batman,
By great madrichim we're led!

Chorus (x2):
STAND UP! Aleph machane
With hornets, plates and ruach flying high up in the air
Kvutsot, funs, shiurim
Tochniot and cool chugim
Machane 5764
Two weeks of fun here in Brymore
(in Brymore...)

Verse:
Jonny is our rosh, we must look up to him
Michelle our cool sganit and her great madrichim
Danny is T.O., he helps the machane go far
Sacker drives around getting kishut in his blue car

Nothing could work without our technikim
Sitting, hoping finally we can be toranim
The food has been amazing and we love our kitchen crew
The bread is always frozen and there's ladles missing too!

Chorus (x2):
STAND UP! Aleph machane
With hornets, plates and ruach flying high up in the air
Kvutsot, funs, shiurim
Tochniot and cool chugim
Machane 5764
Two weeks of fun here in Brymore
(in Brymore...)

Aleph Summer 5764 (pre-camp)

Right. I'm going to try to blog now for the first of the three weeks I was away for, and possibly in a comprehensible order, as otherwise it is just confusing. Although it is confusing anyway. The way the three weeks worked were that there was one week of pre-camp, which is when the madrichim (leaders) all prepare everything for when the chanichim (participants) arrive, and two weeks with the chanichim there when we run the activities for them, etc etc. So I'll at least try to keep pre-camp and camp separate, although they are inextricably linked, so it may be hard.

Pre-camp began at 8am outside Kenton shul on Wednesday 28th August (the morning after Tisha B'Av, a 25 hour fast which ends the 9 days and the three weeks, when many people don't wash their clothes, so lots of people were up all night the night before washing their clothes and packing) and we then had to wait for a couple of hours before any coaches left (although not as long as the Aleph Chalutzi coach, which hadn't yet arrived when we left). We then had lots of fun on the three and a half hour coach journey to pre-camp, with about 24 of us (leaders, cooks and technikim, although mainly leaders). When we arrived it took a while for any of us to find our sganit (the deputy-head of machane) as there was very little signal around the site, especially for Orange, which she was on. We then had much schlepping to do, including moving everything into store cupboards, the tuck to the tuck shop, and our suitcases upstairs. Possibly my suitcase was a little too heavy, as I had two others helping me take it up the two flights of stairs to our dorm.

We soon discovered how temperamental the electricity in our dorm was, with it *rather* frequently not working, which becomes rather annoying when 15 girls want to charge their mobiles, dry their hair and straighten their hair (especially with only two electricity sockets in the entire room). I managed to go three weeks with only straightening my hair once, I think because I had a spare five or ten minutes.

Madrichim's (leaders') meetings were fun and interesting and a great laugh, what with poor spelling in the chomer (material we used for various activities and getting the theme of camp across to the chanichim (participants) during our daily session in our kvutsot (groups which were set for doing stuff about the theme of machane (camp), with each day being a different theme, in this case a different month of the year), the sneeze-ometer and three pieces of tuck.

Each day was similar but different, although I'm pretty sure it wasn't as bad as the toranim (who organise technical stuff, mainly washing up and laying of tables etc, but not the actual cooking) had it, one of whom actually told me "It's like groundhog day, except sometimes the plates are red instead of blue." For leaders of groups, it was a little more varied, as sometimes we did a round of tochniot (where we would be in groups of 2, 3 or 4 organising an activity that would last a maximum of 2 hours), or a kvutsa (explained above; we did quite a few of these each day), or a fun (an hour of fun each day, which was a competition between the different tribes, the winners won some tuck at the end of camp I think), shiurim (source based discussion-y type things, on a famous role model from the Bible) and creative chugim (an hour when we made stuff; I made birthday/new year/greetings/good luck/I miss you/welcome back/Shabbat cards with them). Both shiurim and creative chugim we prepared before camp, and so only had a small amount of time to finalise that. When preparing things (especially kvutsot), we went through all the chomer and had some great discussions about what was in there; obviously deeper than we ever would get with the chanichim, but they were still amazing discussions. After we had discussed everything with everyone, we would go away with our co (mine was the delightful Abi *waves to Abi*) and decide on what we would do in the hour in which we had to convey all these messages, which games to play and which discussions to have, and how to teach without them realising (#Education *clap* informal, and it's called hadracha-aa#) and would prepare anything that we would need to carry out that individual kvutsa (like making cards for pairs, or happy families, or a board game, or a die, or something like that), and would then return to everybody to share all of our ideas, and use them if we were short of ideas or anything like that.

We also had time when we were taught to "doughnut", when all madrichim spread themselves out so that there is a ring of chanichim about them, and so that we close to another madrich or madricha who we can pass a message on to. This is done at mealtimes, during tefila (prayer time) and also when we want everybody to be quiet so that we can explain what is happening next. We were also taught how to wake up chanichim (we had a really fun simulation, which was absolutely mad) and sessions on how to deal with various situations. We had rather late nights during pre-camp, although they became later as it went on, as we had more stuff to finish off before everybody arrived, and less time to get done in.

I'm pretty sure I made a blonde comment or two during pre-camp, as way too many came out during the three weeks, becoming more frequent as I went along. However, I'll keep them all to the camp-proper blog, as I can't remember which ones came where, except for that most of them were people's sarcasm, which I just didn't get as sarcasm, so thought they were being truthful. :S I can be rather blonde sometimes, as many can testify to.

One highlight of each day (apart from when we got tuck) that I can remember is the super sonic jets. There was an army (or RAF or something like that) base nearby, and so every day we would hear this massive noise, and all rushed to the window to point out and go "wow" as a jet would race across the sky over us. That was definitely an excitement each day, and never ceased to amaze us, I believe.

It was all very fun, but nothing strikingly funny is hitting me at this moment in time, as I write this. I'm sure they will later, and I may well blog about them at a later point, but for the moment this is all for pre-camp. Anyone who can remember anything else, wants any words explained (I tried to explain most) or just wants to chat about pre-camp, please comment. :)