The End of Summer Camp

The summer camp has come to a close. I am now officially back home in my apartment, freshly showered, with reliable access to internet once more. 

Yesterday was the last day of camp, and the kids prepared a festival of sorts, showcasing all the different things that they have made and learned during these last two weeks. They also prepared a production for their parents to come and watch, consisting of several songs, a dance, and a play. They all worked very hard on it. So did the volunteers. We are all a bit sleep deprived and exhausted, but even so, it’s been a good camp, and we were all excited to see the fruits of our labor yesterday evening. Here are a few pictures to help illustrate my time there:

One of the projects the children did during the camp was completing a tile mosaic and painting to decorate the walls of a new kitchen area.

Several of the kids at the camp play brass instruments as part of an ensemble called Brass for Peace. They learned three new pieces of music during the camp, which they’ll play during the festival on Friday.

Here is a picture of my side of the cave. I shared it with another volunteer who happens to be from Chicago. Though it is really great, temperature wise (cool even during the heat of midday), there is kind of a mustiness that never leaves it…also, mosquitos are a problem here, and even with a screen door, they manage to come in during the evening. 

(My roommate and I spend about 45minutes each night stalking them and killing them with our hands. I was squeamish about it for the first couple nights, but when the other alternative is bug bites while you sleep, you get used to it. We’ve turned it into a game to practice our Arabic. We count our kills with Arabic numbers and compete to see who can get the most on any given evening).

 

As I take a (brief) minute to reflect on my time spent here on the farm, I have realized that there are a few things that I have truly missed during my two weeks here, as well as some things that I know I will miss now that I have returned to my apartment. I’ve listed several of them below:

Things I have missed:

-Showering on a daily (or even biweekly!) basis

-Clean clothes (you re-wear clothes for several days here)

-Time to journal and blog

-My guitar

-Free time

-Exploring new places on my own

-Real coffee

Things I will miss:

-The other volunteers who have become close friends after eating, working, and living together for two weeks in a row

-The daily classes in Arabic, and being tutored by the camp children when I attempt to have conversations with them

-The challenge of trying to put a camp together with people from all different backgrounds and cultures, and all the chaos and beauty that comes with that

-The traditional Palestinian meals served for lunch and dinner, and the great conversations that happen at meal time

-The familiarity of routine and knowing what each day is going to consist of/what needs to be accomplished

-The breathtaking sunsets every night, viewed from the hilltop where the farm is located

It was amazing watching the sunset every night at diner.

It’s been a busy two weeks. Extremely stressful at points, but also extremely rewarding. I’m both relieved and sad to see it end. But, next week will bring yet another new adventure – Kristen is now back in Israel, and I will start my work with her in the Methodist Liaison office early next week. I'm excited to see what this next chapter will bring!