Arrival at camp and staff week – June 16th – June 24th 2024
URJ 6 Points Jewish Creative Arts Academy!
On Thursday, June 14th, 2024, I said goodbye to my partner, closed the door, and made my long journey to Heathrow Airport. I had no idea what to expect when I got out on the other side of an eight-hour flight to Philadelphia. I knew I was going on a journey; I knew that some of it was going to be extremely fun, and there was also going to be some hard work, too. I had been on a staff orientation day online and met some of my colleagues, and I had already danced to Happy Place FT Hannah Ashbrook to introduce myself to campers and parents. I had already braved a journey to London to obtain my Visa and work permit. I met with my line managers online before flying out to discuss my disabilities and any reasonable adjustments that needed to be made, and I found my employers to be incredibly friendly and helpful. However, I got so much more than I bargained for during my eight-week experience with Camp America.
I had some worries before I set out. Am I too old for Camp America? What is it going to be like on-site? Have I remembered to pack all the things on the packing list? Will I make friends with others easily? What were my colleagues going to be like? Do I actually know enough about Theatre to teach it to a group of young people? How will my physical health and my Autism impact me when I am over there? Please, God, don’t let me need a doctor. I can’t afford it even with insurance. I needn’t have worried, because many of my colleagues had the same concerns as they left to fly from their respective homes and countries.
Flying alone as a disabled adult is always an interesting experience because the accessibility quality varies from airport to airport, however, nobody left me alone waiting in the access support area and I managed to successfully board the plane. Choosing my own seat really was a blessing on the way there because nobody sat next to me in the row of three seats, so I was able to get some sleep.
When I got off the plane on the 16th of June, I had stayed at a hotel overnight to be on time for my flight on the 15th, the jet lag hit me hard! I was greeted by the logistics team at the Philadelphia International Airport and was relieved when I saw them because I knew I was in the correct place. They were very friendly and helped me put my suitcase onto the bus. We had to wait for some other staff to arrive so that we could all go to camp together. It was 5 pm in America and 10 pm at home so I really wanted to close my eyes, but it was so hot that I was unable to. When the other families arrived, it was the first time I felt truly excited. I was finally there! I wanted to know what camp looked like and I was being asked questions about my country which really made me think about how to answer in an informative way. We stopped at Walmart on the way across to camp and when I saw the 6 points creative arts campus building my eyes were wide with awe.
It was a huge campus with beautiful buildings and tons of facilities, including a swimming pool. We met the camp Director Jay Rapoport, RJE who gave us our security cards and I.D badges and, after drinking chocolate milk for the first time, it really does help cure jet lag, we were shown to our rooms. My line managers had kindly purchased ice packs for me because I have difficulties when it gets too hot, and I also get Migraines. There was meant to be an orientation meeting after dinner, but I slept through both until the next day because, by this point, my floor was spinning due to my Vertigo, so I wanted to be well enough to engage fully with the program.
The whole of the next week was staff week. This was filled with informative learning sessions, games, and fun events so that staff could get to know each other and feel secure in their roles. There was even Mental Health awareness training and basic life support, and I got to be on a panel of staff who discussed their disabilities with the other team members and how their disabilities affected their day-to-day life. It made me feel really seen, validated, and valued as a member of staff. The campus was huge to walk around, and so the logistics team sent a golf cart to pick up me and some of the other disabled staff members to take us to each session if it was in a faraway location. We had a Tony watch party, a daft bowling tournament where it seems I could bowl better with my right hand than my dominant hand, and many opportunities for singing, writing poetry, and drawing. I remember one of the things I said in my interview was, “Maybe I am too old for Rap battles,” and one of the first things that happened was I had a Rap battle with my colleagues and a group called ‘The Bible Players. ’ It was amazing fun.
One of the things that I really valued was the Jewish learning. Every morning before breakfast, we would attend Mo Moments, which was an opportunity to learn about a Jewish value from the Faculty Team. We would sing songs to prepare for the day, and the first time I heard the Asher Yatsar prayer, I cried because it was so beautiful.
At breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there were blessings to say to give thanks, and the first time I attended the Friday Shabbat service, it was so amazing and inclusive that I felt part of a truly beautiful community. The Rabbis were very helpful and always happy to answer questions about Hebrew learning. My father’s family are Jewish, and so I had many questions. I could remember some of the prayers and songs from when I went to a Jewish primary school when I was younger, but I could not remember the meanings of the songs or for what celebrations they were to be sung. I am not Jewish; I am a pagan, and I thought that was going to be a problem initially and was frightened to say. However, when I saw a Rabbi say good morning and hug a tree, I was able to fully be myself with others and discuss my beliefs. Nobody seemed to mind me sitting with a tree for Midsummer as long as I was back on time for Siyum, which was our evening closing reflections on the learning of the day. By this point, I had only been at camp for a week. No young people had arrived yet, and I had not even begun to teach any classes, yet I learned so much about myself and others and was truly living life according to my values – kindness, gratitude, fairness, learning, integrity, and empathy. The camp values were to choose, curiosity, craftsmanship, creativity, collaboration, and grit, and boy were we going to feel some grit once the young people arrived on opening day for the first day of their 12-day session on Tuesday, the 25th of June 2024. Whatever challenges were waiting for us, we were ready.