If you know anything about me, you know that camp (and all my Young Judaea experiences) have brought me to where I am today. So I was thrilled to write some camp-related humor when approached by the Foundation of Jewish Camp, who have done wonders to standardize and professionalize (is that even a word? I’ve been abroad a long time) the camping world.
Enjoy this blog post as seen here:
In 2006, I left my Jewish communal job in New York and made aliyah. This week, I fly to the US to perform standup comedy shows about Israel for Jewish organizations. Neither of these things would have happened if not for my experiences at Young Judaea summer camps. My Jewish identity, connection to Israel, leadership and communication skills, and so much more are a result of my journey which began as a camper, then a staff member, and continue to this day.
Today, my friends are camp directors, camp parents, and Foundation for Jewish Camp employees, and have done wonders to improve the camping world over the years. I can only imagine how camp has evolved since my first summer in 1984.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 ways camp has changed since the ‘80s:
10 – The chadar ochel now includes a Starbucks.
9 – Camp cheers downloadable via Soundcloud.
8 – “Today is the last day of camp. To capture the current moment, you’ll now write yourself a text message which will be sent to you in 5 minutes.”
7 – Loud, colorful outfits are worn ironically for theme parties, not because they don’t know better.
6 – OUT: Name labels on clothing. IN: Campers connected to lost socks via Bluetooth.
5 – The bunk cleanup wheel now includes the KonMari method for cubby organization.
4 – Archery and ceramics replaced by coding and podcasting.
3 – Tsofim caravan performance includes autotune and smoke machine.
2 – Kids no longer terrified by ghost stories but by having to go three weeks without Instagram.
1 – It’s even better now!
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