Young Judaea
On the Move: Camping in Barryville to Exploring Philly
Written by: Elianna K.
My name is Elianna, and I just got back from Alumim trip week. Trip week started with tiyul (Hebrew for “trip”), where we went camping for two nights and three days. On the first day, we took a short bus ride from camp, then hiked the rest of the way to our campsite. This was incredible, because we really got to experience the nature as we hiked with a specific destination for our end point. On Day 2, we took a beautiful, longer hike where we saw gorgeous views, challenged ourselves, and really got to know new people. On the final day of camping, we took a shorter walk to the bus, where we passed beautiful waterfalls. Something that was so special about this trip was that even though the tsofim (Israeli scouts) led the trip, the campers really got to be involved in making everything happen. Before the trip, we got to choose to be one of four va’ads (committees). Our options were cooking, fun/activity planning, chuparim/little gifts, and logistics. On these va’ads, we got to be in charge and set things up for everyone else. I was on cooking, and I really enjoyed learning how to make good food in the woods while having limited options. Overall, the tiyul was really amazing. But that was just part one of trip week.
After showering and repacking at camp, we went on our way to Philadelphia. Philadelphia was incredibly awesome, because it was such a nice balance of education and fun free time. In Philly, we started at the Constitution Center, where we talked about how the constitution was the basis for the amazing country most of us live in, where we can be American Jews. We continued our day with an hour at Reading Terminal Market, where we ate great food and had fun with our friends. After stuffing ourselves, we continued our conversation about Jews in America at the Jewish History Museum. Here, we went on tours, read things, and saw amazing artifacts. We also got to hear from three people who have been volunteering for Repair the World. We heard their stories and did a bit of text study. For the final part of our trip, we had some relaxing fun time in Franklin Square Park where we played mini golf, drank cake-shakes, ate fried oreos, and just chilled. All in all, Trip Week was so much fun and I really enjoyed getting to know people even better.