Goodbye from Nitzanim and Abirim

Thank you so much for reading! We had SO much fun this kayitz and we can't wait to share more memories with our friends and family at home!!!!   -Yael, Ella, Noa, Ethan, Grace, and Avi

Mini Maccabiah by Ella

I interviewed different campers about the "Mini Maccabiah" we participated in during sports time today.

Ella: What sport did you do?
Sydney: Soccer.
Sam: Tennis.
Ethan: Tennis.

Ella: Did you win anything?
Sydney: Yes.
Sam: No.
Ethan: No.

Ella: What did you win?
Sydney: Gatorade and a lollipop.


Ella: Did you have a lot of fun?
Sydney: Yes, because I scored a lot of goals.
Sam: Yes, because I didn't lose every single game and it was fun overall.
Ethan: Sort of because my partner and I had to wait a long time to play, but it was worth the wait.

Tzachazemer by Noa

The Tzophim play was excellent. The songs were beautiful, the costumes were exquisite, and the acting was superb. Even if you didn't understand hebrew, you could tell what was going on. "The transitions were very funny when people would yell out funny things," said Yael. "It was very funny when they were moving benches and people say "You go girl! Lift that bench!" Before the play, Etgar Hip Hop and Etgar band performed. "The band was really good, especially the singers," said Ethan. All in all, Tzachazemer was the place to be last night!

Happy Birthday to Yael!!

Guess what today is! It's my birthday! Today I am turning 10 years old! It has been very fun, and I know that really soon I'll be able to see my parents and celebrate at home. But I'm really glad I'm 10! I've really enjoyed being able to celebrate my birthday with my friends at camp. The best part: I can celebrate my bithday at camp and at home!

Last Shabbat of Second Session by Ethan

The last Shabbat was the best Shabbat of camp. Amitzim was giving out lemonade and brownies right by the chadar. Most of my edah missed it, including me. Then, Nitzanim sat down in a big circle by bunks three and four, and told each other their highlights of the week. Ari Polsky didn't call on me. I didn't raise my hand though. Then we went through the Machon line into Kikar-tzion. We had my 2nd favorite meal in camp. It was the best last Shabbat ever!

Gaga Survey: The Best and the Worst (By Avi)

I interviewed different campers to see what they like the best about gaga, and what they think is the worst about the sport.

Best:
Having fun (x3)
Dodging balls
Winning
Playing (x2)
The excitement (x2)
Competition
Getting people out (x3)

Worst:
Too crowded (x2)
Getting out (x7)
Broken alliances
Fear of the ball
Getting hit in the face

Human Battleship by Grace

While I was interviewing people about Dalia, I camp across a tent activity of live battleship at the handball court. They were sitting on opposite sides of the handball court and throwing water balloons to the other side, trying to hit other girls. It was hilarious to watch them squeal about getting wet. Sollelim girls are very entertaining!

Abirim Peulot Erev- August 11th

On Thursday night, we had a fantastic night activity of... The Next Top Chef! They split us into small groups. Then, they told us the three different competitions that we were going to do. The competitions were: drinking different kinds of sodas, feeling different kinds of food, and making a final meal made out of candy. We then explained our creations and said the brucha. Then we chowed down on our candy creations!
Brianna thought that "it was so fun and I thought our final was really good and sweet. The creation my group made was spaghetti, made out of redvines, and fake meatballs were made of oreos with chocolate frosting and m&ms on top. I had a great time doing the activity." Grace said, "our activity was fun and delicious, and I'm glad I didn't have to touch mayo, tuna, or spicy mustard. Even though there were no winners, deep in our hearts my team knew we won with our display of candy pasta." Emilie says, "It was so much fun and it was the best experience ever!" Noa said, "I thought Top Chef was a very creative idea, and the counselors struck gold when they had the idea. Three cheers to the counselors!"                            -Ella, Grace, Noa, Emilie, and Brianna

Nitzanim Peulot Erev- August 11th

On Thursday night, our peulot erev (night activity) was "Army Training." We did not make great rule followers. We had to run away from bombs, aka softballs, and most of the boys would pile on top of the softballs. If we did anything wrong, we would have to do ten or twenty push-ups. One time, a boy swatted at a fly, and Raz (the Krav Maga instructor) said, "What are you doing?"
"I swatted a fly!"
"Do you think the fly liked that? 20 push-ups!" Army training was run by the Mishlachat. We barely passed, but we still became soldiers. After that, the blue team (bottom bunks) and the red team (top bunks) went head to head. BAM! We played two games of capture the flag, and the red team won both! Yael thought the night activity was "fun, but exhausting! And the army training was hysterical." Ethan said that army training took "forever" but the capture the flag games were "really fun." Avi said that the night overall was "fun." -Yael, Avi, and Ethan

Tree Climbing

Tree climbing is an activity where specialists come to camp and teach us how to climb ropes that are attached to trees. We learned things such as there are two types of ropes used in tree climbing and that there are a lot of really hard levels to tree climbing, but we did the easiest level. Tree climbing was in four groups, Nitzanim girls, Abirim boys, Nitzanim boys, and Abirim girls. Tree climbing was really fun, but when you just hang in the tree it gets really uncomfortable and your legs start to hurt. It felt like we were flying. Everyone looked so tiny from above!
Avi liked it when he got to go up the tree on a part that had a branch in the way and it was fun climbing through the leaves. Noa thought tree climbing was really awesome because it felt unreal and amazing, "I just want to stay up there forever." Ella didn't like how uncomfortable it was and someone had to "rescue" her! "I got really tired." Yael thought it was really fun because her rope was pulled all the way back and then the specialist just let go! She also got to go and touch a branch that was really high up, although my legs were starting to cramp. Grace thought it was really fun and she went on the highest course. It was hard to go over the branch because the "magic knot" would not go over the branch. Ethan was one of the last to go up into the tree so he didn't have much time. "I only made it halfway up but the half that I did get to do was fun."

Photography from Abirim and Nitzanim

                                                                By Noa

I imagine this picture from a gan kid's point of view. They are going up the play structure stairs, looking up at the stone wall beyond, and everything looks really big to them because they are so little.


                                                                           By Grace

I was walking around the garden, and this flower caught my eye.

                                                                              By Yael

A mix between a play area and nature. The swings look like they are really close up and really far away at the same time, and same with the grass.

                                                                             By Ella

I took this picture because it was created by people at Ramah and it tells people what safety measures to take while driving through macheneh Ramah.





Interview With Gabby

Grace: What's your favorite thing about being a counselor in bunk 1?
Gabby: I love my campers.

Grace: What was your favorite thing to do while you were a counselor?
Gabby: Chug Bishul and Tzadah.

Yael: Where is your favorite place at camp?
Gabby: Kikar-tzion

Noa: How many years have you been a counselor here at camp?
Gabby: 2 years.

Ella: What's your favorite meal at camp?
Gabby: Monday lunch which is spaghetti.

Yael: What is your favorite part of the day?
Gabby: Bunk activity.



Above: Gabby is an abirim counselor this kayitz in bunk 1.



Nitzanim/Abirim Overnight

We left to go on our overnight on Sunday after lunch. We went to the Lake Casitas water park. It had a lot of water slides on a playground. It also had a lazy river with a waterfall at the end. After an hour or two, we went to this campground where we were going to stay the night. We put down all our sleeping bags on a tarp. The boys had a tarp, and the girls had their own tarp far from the boys tarp. We had dinner, then did the skit "Eggs." It's a camp tradition where our counselors do a skit in all these different kinds of styles. Then we went to sleep. In the morning, it was freezing cold. We had breakfast then left to go back to Ramah. -Ethan

After lunch on Sunday, Nitzanim and Abirim went to Lake Casitas. First, we went into Lake Casitas Water Park and went through the lazy river about ten times. In the same water park they had a water playground with a lot of small water slides and spouts of water. It was pretty cool. Then we lined up to get on the bus and went to our campsite to set up our sleeping bags. After that, we waited until dinner and for dinner we had chicken nuggets, pickles, rolls of bread, and some green beans. Then we gathered around the campfire and did "Eggs." It was so funny! We then had s'mores, sang songs, and went to bed. It the morning we prayed with our bunks and had cereal, fruit, and rocky mountain toast. -Ella

On our overnight at Lake Casitas, we first went to a fantastic water park. Everybody went on the Lazy River! After we dried up we gathered on the bus, and made a quick arrival at the luxurious campsite. We unpacked our sleeping bags onto the big, blue tarp. Then we sat in our bunk lines, and heard some Mishnah from our great counselors. To figure out which bunks would get their food first, one of our counselors asked jeopardy questions. My bunk got in line second to last, and we got our food! We ate chicken with veggies and fruit. Everyone loved it! Soon enough after everyone finished eating, we all gathered around the campfire and sang, did "eggs" skits, and enjoyed some s'mores. As we woke up the next morning we had a great breakfast of rocky mountain toast. Before we knew it, we were rolling up our sleeping bags and boarding the bus. I wish I could go back! -Grace

Yesterday, we went on our overnight. First, we went to the Lake Casitas water park. We then went to our campsite, got settled, and ate dinner. After dinner, we sang songs and did skits and ate s'mores. Then we all went to bed. The next morning we woke up and ate breakfast. At the end of the overnight we packed up and went back to camp. -Yael

All our bags were packed, and we were ready to go. Anticipation was rushing through our bodies, and everyone was wondering the same thing: Would the buses ever leave? Finally, after what felt like hours of waiting, the bus pulled out of the driveway, and we were off! After about ten minutes of driving we reached the Lake Casitas water park. In a frenzy, tickets were handed out and everyone began lining up by bunk while our counselors told us the rules. Then, in an orderly fashion, Camp Ramah's 4th and 5th graders pushed through the gate and began running towards the lazy river, the jungle gym, or the kiddie pools. After hours of fun, the dripping wet, blue lipped, shivering campers boarded the bus to the campsite. It was a night of Hawaiian chicken, "eggs" skits, campfire songs, and of course s'mores. After much laughing and talking, we headed off to bed. In the morning, after a breakfast of rocky mountain toast and rice crispies, we rolled up our sleeping bags, packed our jammies, and boarded everything onto the bus. We were sad to leave, but happy to be able to shower! -Noa

Meet the New Nitzanim and Abirim Blogging Team!

The new Nitzanimers and Abirimers are so excited to start blogging! The five campers are Noa, Grace, Ella, Ethan, and Yael. 



First Post from the New Nitzanim/Abirim Blogging Team!

Hi! We're excited to give you our news and updates from Camp Ramah campers and staff! Check us out! -Grace, Ethan, Noa, Ella, and Yael

Goodbye from Abirim Girls

Thank you for reading, this was a great experience for us! We're really sad to leave this chug, but we must. We are looking forward to our new chugs. We hope that you will keep looking at our blog even after we switch to a new chug. 


~Brianna, Lucy, and Hannah

Abirim Chug Interviews

For the past two chug days, Abirim has been working hard to do some interviews with other chugs and get some really cool answers and pictures.

Chug Bishul:

Hannah: What is the best thing you have made so far?

Jayden: Tiki Matuki, it was very good.

Hannah: What do you enjoy about this chug?
Jayden: Eating

Hannah: Have you made anything with chocolate?

Jayden: Yes, we made cake.

Lucy: Was cooking your first chug choice?/

Nomi: Yes!

Lucy: What do you like better, cooking or eating?

Nomi: I like them both equally.

Lucy: What do you like to cook?

Nomi: Desserts and breads.

Brianna: What have you cooked so far?
Camper: Tiki Matuki, onion pancakes with salad, orange fizzy fizz, chex mix, and whoopie pie.

Brianna: What do you think of this chug?
Camper: It's awesome, and we make really good food.

Brianna: What is your favorite ingredient to use?

Camper: Chocolate.


Baking foccachia.



Nomi Willis smiling for the camera in Chug Bishul

Hip Hop:

Hannah: What is your favorite dance move?
Eli: The robot.

Hannah: do you have friends in this chug?
Eli: Yea!

Lucy: What do you like about dancing?
Camper: The moves you do.

Lucy: What kinds of dance do you like?
Camper: Israeli and hip hop.

Lucy: How long have you been taking dance?
Camper: It's my first class here but I practice at home.

Brianna: What kinds of dance do you like?
Natalie: Hip hop and break dancing.

Brianna: Why do you like dancing?
Natalie: I'm good at it and it's fun.

Brianna: Was Hip Hop your first chug choice?

Natalie: Yes it was.



The Nitzanim/Abirim hip hop group.



Campers having fun dancing in hip hop.



Art:

Lucy: What art projects have you done so far?
Maya: Groggers and masks.

Lucy: Was this your first choice?
Maya: It was my second choice.

Lucy: What is your favorite art tool and why?
Maya: Paint brushes because you get to paint with them.

Hannah/Lucy: What is your favorite thing you have made so far?

Jasmine: A mask.

Hannah/Lucy: What kind of art do you like the best?

Jasmine: Sculpting.

Hannah/Lucy: Would to call yourself an artist?

Camper: Yes, I love to draw.

Hannah/Lucy: Who inspired you to want to draw?

Camper: My teachers.

 

Shabbat table from Chug Omanut

Making little Shabbat tables.

Camper in Chug Omanut


Jewelry:

Brianna: What is your favorite type of jewelry and why?
Lilah: Earrings because they are fun to make.

Brianna: Why do you like making jewelry?
Lilah: Because it is easy and fun.

Brianna: Why do you like making jewelry?
Noa: It feels so cool to make something you can wear!

Hannah/Lucy: What is your favorite thing that you have made?
Shira: A necklace.

Hannah/Lucy: Was this your first choice?
Shira: Yes.

Hannah/Lucy: What kind of jewelry do you like to make?
Emilie: Necklaces and earrings.

Hannah/Lucy: How long have you been making jewelry?
Emilie: This is my first time!

Hannah/Lucy: Do you like making jewelry?
Emile: I like it a lot.

Favorite Places at Camp

My favorite place at camp is the Whizin Field because I love going on the swings. -Brianna

My favorite activity is chugim time because we get to try out new things. -Lucy

My favorite place is the Tikshoret room because we can do so many fun things on the computers.             -Hannnah

The First Shabbat of Session 2: Piece by Piece

Getting ready for Shabbat at camp is really fun! First, everyone took showers. During shower time everyone is so loud. I have never heard anything louder. Then, I got dressed in a black dress and a while cover-up. We all went to services. Services are really long. They are one hour and thirty minutes. After that, we had dinner. We had chicken. We did Birkot Ha'mazon. Finally, we went to sleep. It was a fun evening. -Hannah

I've been to camp before, so it wasn't my first Shabbat at Camp Ramah. But it was my first Shabbat of the session. I really enjoyed it! On Saturday, our edah had popsicles while Rabbi Joe told us a story. It was about a boy who goes to a summer camp just like Ramah. He didn't like it at first, so he went on a journey. Somehow, without meaning to, he ended up back at that camp, and he started to like it. We also had a long rest time. Another part of our Saturday was free swim in the pool. That was one of my favorite activities because it was our first free swim. In the morning we also had sports. It was really fun. We had a choice of playing basketball or watching. -Brianna

After our Saturday activites we went down to dinner. We talked and laughed as we ate. The Spaghetti totally beats the falafel and pita we were munching on, but it was okay. We finished the meal with Birkot Ha'mazon as we waited for Havdallah. Finally, it came. Arm around arm, we sang happily. Then we lined up to get our ice cream. We had a choice of chocolate or vanilla. Then, we hurried down to the basketball courts for the dance party. We spent the next hour dancing with friends. What a great Shabbat! -Lucy

Meet The Team

Lucy, Hannah, and Brianna are the Abirim bloggers for the next two weeks. Keep checking their blog to see all of their great posts!

This Just In...

First Day:
We found out our chugim today and everyone seems to be happy.
We think that we got the best out of all chugim. We got the newest chug in camp... BLOGGING!!! And we have the best blogging counselor.
More news to follow.
-Lucy, Brianna, Hannah

Goals/ Things We are Looking Forward To

We are looking forward to the waterpark, our overnight. We are just looking forward to everything! Our goals are to make new friends and to have the best summer ever!