SPECIAL GUEST WRITER!!!!! (UNEDITED)

Convention '05

An Unforgettable Experience

By:Amanda Krantz


Convention 2005 was amazing , and the friends I met and what I got to experience cause me to have a great time. From blessings after meals, to Asepha, to Saturday Night Fun, the time I spent at Sprout Lake this past weekend was just awesome event and anyone who can go, should. This was my second convention, and I can't wait for the next one!

The whole event was so memorable, even the car ride up to the camp was exciting. Once at camp the four of us who came from First Hebrew were split up into bunks according to age groups, and then we met back in the Chadar Ochel. We met a lot of great people by just saying how we liked their unique style, and that gave way to conversation. In these four days, I would meet so many crazy, fun, unique people. "Convention takes you out of your normal setting and forces you to make bonds with people." That night, I sat up with a couple of my new-found friends from my bunk, and we just talked about normal girl stuff; boys, school, clothes, and what we thought this convention was going to be like.

Friday morning, everyone groggily got up after a 7:45a.m. wake-up, and went to the Chadar Ochel for breakfast;cereal, toast and eggs. After Berchat, we were sent on a "journey". We were each given a bag of trail mix and told to answer the questions on the posters, and follow where they told you to go. Some of the questions were:


*Do you listen to Israeli Music?

*Do you understand it if you do?

*Are you a Zionist if you don't support Israel's economy?

*Who do you prefer; Golda Meir, or David Ben Gurion?


And the last question really stuck in our minds,"Why did you choose to give up your weekend to come to convention?"This last question was the reasoning behind our discussions.Why did we go to camp? My reasoning was I wanted to meet new people, and learn more about Israel. After that, we were led back to the Chadar Ochel for another journey, to learn more about Israel in reference to a Passover Song, in anticipation of the upcoming holiday. This involved the Israeli soccer team, and how some Israeli's and being unjust and are taunting the two Arab players on the team. Also a Israeli show that's similar to our "Apprentice" with Donald Trump, in which a wealthy Israeli seeks help in finding a good spokesperson for Israel. We also learned about Ariel Sharon wanting to pull out of the Gaza Strip, and how some rabbis are disagreeing to this,because Israel is our land. But if we want peace, this may be the path Istael needs to go on to do so.

After lunch, of which the food was not very well favored, we had Asepha. Empire, as usual, took very long to elect our Mazkirot; our regional leaders who would represent us for the following year. Later on, we got ready for Shabbat, which in a bunk full of girls and only so many electrical outlets, is not as easy as it may seem. After a brisk service, in which most of us wanted to go and change into something warm, we had a traditional Friday Night Dinner. We had chicken, challah, salad, and potatoes. After prayers, we were told to change and come back to the Chadar Ochel. The staff had planned a Young Judaea Fear Factor. From eating ketchup packets, to tuna(using no hands), to whole oranges(with the peels). It was crazy! My friend ate the orange, and believe me, she did not think that tasted good. Well after Fear Factor ended, we were sent back to our bunks, which because of Shabbat, the bunk lights were turned off, which made it hard to get changed.

"I sat next to two strangers during Saturday Morning Services, and ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the weekend." Services were, well services, with Aliyot given to those going on Year Course, those whose birthdays were that weekend, and those whom this convention was to be their last at Young Judaea. After kiddush, we split into age-groups, and our group heard about Camp Tel Yehudah and how much fun it was. And from there we had lunch, more discussions,we made a skit about immigrating into Israel, and how the number of immigrats goes up and down. Then we had free time, yes! Time to chill outside and talk more to these new people I met. My new friend Sarah and I laid outside in the sun, and talked about everything, from Israel, to movies, anything that popped into our heads, and by doing so we found we had so much in common. We had region time and then after dinner, another pulot, and then we had to finish our Asepha, which did cut in slightly into our Saturday Night Fun, but I thought that electing our leaders for the upcoming year was important, so I stayed to vote. The rest of my night was so much fun. I bought two hilarious fundraiser shirts: one that said "Herzl is my homeboy" and another which had a picture of a lobster with the caption"trayfe"underneath it. And then as all things do, Saturday Night ended, and my bunk stayed up to talk about what our individual experiences were for that night.

Then, Sunday came, time to go home. We ate, knowing that we'd all be seperating soon. Tearful farwells were obviously none of our strongpoints. We exchanged emails, promised to write, made plans, and hugged. All I know is, personally I can't wait for next years convention, and I hope that more young people from our synagogue's youth group join me next year, it's a lot of fun and a great way to make new friends while learning about Israel.