Galil Blog
Hey Galil families, as I mentioned last night, today was special day! The day happens once per session and is full of themed activities and fun meals. We woke up to a country theme, with country music playing over the speakers and a farm-themed breakfast of fried eggs, hashbrowns, peach cobbler, grits, and an assortment of juices. Everyone came in their best country clothing and had so much fun! After we had some grub, we split into schavot (age groups) for some farm tasks. There was sewing, a chicken coop egg toss, a “country frog” scavenger hunt for candy, and more! Then, we had a little bit of time to rest before visiting the county fair, where we had a hayride, farm animal painting, needle in a haystack using candy, and spikeball. We were pretty hungry at this point, so we headed back to the chadar ochel for a county fair lunch of mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cornbread.
After lunch, the theme shifted to country club! Everyone ditched the overalls for polo shirts and were split into “families” to compete against each other in a variety of activities. There was “tennis” at the ping pong table, a climbing competition at the mountain lodge rock wall, potato sack racing, and competitive decorating. Next, each shichva came back together to film music videos, which were shown before dinner. Since we were still at the country club, we had some time to relax by the pool with a snack of lemon sticks and smoothies before visiting the in-house spa featuring a foam pit and massage chairs. We were pretty hungry from all this running around, but luckily the country club’s restaurant had prepared a delicious dinner of vegetarian steak, roasted potatoes, caesar salad, glazed carrots, rolls, and sparkling water with lemon to drink.
After dinner, the theme switched again to night club! Everyone headed to Ottsville’s most exclusive venue, Club Red Hill, for a party featuring a cotton candy machine, a dancing competition, karaoke, a soda bar, and an “anything for candy” challenge! We even had some “celebrities” appear followed by some paparazzi. We danced the night away, full of joy from the whirlwind of a day we had all just experienced! Tomorrow is our final shabbat of the session- it’s going to be beautiful, but also very bittersweet. See you then!
-Jonah