Coming back home from summer campo is a daunting task to undergo. Especially when one's camp feels like home, as does mine. Of all possible things to do to reconnect with society, I spent a gloomy day back going to the dentist and buying shoes. To make matters worse, it was rainy on this bleak Monday morning. That afternoon the joy continued with a visit to the orthodontist to get my braces tightened. After about three weeks in the "real world", I can honestly say all I want to do is get in the car, turn around, and return to Liberty, NY. To say the least, it was an amazing summer at Camp Shomria.
One of the greatest things about Mosh (as we call it) is the massive potential to witness instantaneous friendships form. On the first day, campers are split into age groups known as kvutzot. Besides a common age and grade, these groups can be totally dissimilar. Some come from Israel and others come from down the road. From my experience, I know all fourteen year olds learn, work, and interact with each other in different ways. Somehow, a kvutzah can come together to do number of tasks. For instance, they do the dishes for the whole camp or write and run an activity. By learning to work with my kvutzah, it eventually taught me how to understand people. Everybody in my kvutzah did not speak English fluently or agree on political issues. At Mosh, I learned to accept people's flaws. When someone new entered the kvutzah, they were welcomed. Of course, kvutzot get mad at each other and they fight. However, families are the same way. Arguments between members of the same kvutzah somehow get resolved. Lifelong friendships quickly take shape as one begins to live with their kvutzah. I know these bonds are indestructible and will only strengthen with age.
One of Camp Shomria's newest initiatives is to achieve self sustainability. With a hundred mouths to feed at each meal, this is quite the dream. Although this year was only the start, we turned a parking lot into a garden that produced dozens of vegetables daily. It grew a wide range of produce, including tomatoes, beets, spices, potatoes, and corn. This garden was entirely organic. Across from the garden were nearly eighty chickens which laid all of the camp's eggs. It was a daily activity to weed the garden or feed the chickens. At the end of a meal, campers would throw away their food scraps into one of two compost bins. One bin would be used as chicken food at the farm. The other decomposed to become rich soil for the garden. In addition, campers learned about a large array of ecological subjects. My kvutzah's topic for the summer was water. One week we boiled lake water to become tea, and another week we discussed how drilling for natural gas in the Catskills can taint New York City's water supply. I find it fascinating how unequally water is distributed in the world. My kvutzah discussed how to solve this problem. One of my least favorite moments of the week returning home was the reawakening of how ecologically unfriendly Americans can be. Like I said, I was sitting in the dentist office the other. A commercial came on about natural gas and how it was "the cleaner solution". I immediately became disgruntled that the ad left out how drilling can tamper with water supplies and the resource is non-renewable. It was an eye-opening experience.
Unlike regular summer camps, Shomria is part embraces the power of its campers. In fact, it is entirely run by youth. The oldest councilor at camp was only twenty-two years old. The camp is exactly what we want it to be. Shomria embraces this and really lets us call the shots. Every year the older kids hold a forum to make decisions about the camp's future. Mosh gave me the belief that one person can change the world at any age. Being home, I realize that youth are not encouraged as much as I would like. Adults run the banks, the institutions, and the countries, but children are the future. We constantly put our hopes on the back burner saving them for when we are older. I may not be eligible for the US Congress yet, but I know I can lobby for what I believe is justice. If the councilors tried to teach me anything at Camp Shomria is was to stand up for the causes I deeply believe are important. Hopefully, I can take this lesson as my part to perform tikkun olam- fixation of the world.
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