Galil Blog
Hi, my name is Abby! I’m one of Galil’s Madatz (CITs) and today I served as machaneh’s photographer. Today was a really special day for our kvutzah because it was Revo! For those who don’t know, Revo is the day where the Madatz kick out all of the tzevet and get to run camp (with the help of the Bogrimot), and this year our theme was Revo Spaceship Under the Stars, or Revo SUS (bum bum). It began last night at around 9:43 when we called all of the chanichimot together to make a heartbreaking announcement; Camp Galil had to shut down because the air quality in Ottsville was too unsafe for anyone to stay (not true, don’t worry). Then, our tzevet announced that while everyone else had to go back home, they were going to go to space and leave us all behind, which was of course, a reason to kick them out. After this, everyone went back to bed.
Today began with a 30-minute sleep-in before we taught the chanichimot our Revo song and raised our Revo flag. Following our own little hikansut, we went to breakfast at the NASA Cafe and at Starsbucks, where everyone had crepes with ice cream, fruit, Oreos, sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and of course, cheese. Following breakfast, all of the chanichimot moved over to Hyde Park to begin making their own alien headbands, before entering a training circuit, where they tested their agility at the rock wall, practiced their outer space movement with the “Zero-G Obstacle Course,” learned to eat like an alien (with fruit roll-ups), were able to disguise themselves like aliens, decorated machaneh’s very own spaceship, and went through outer space combat training.
After this circuit, chanichimot were led through an obstacle course (blindfolded) to the Chadar which had been blacked out and decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars to ensure an outer space vibe. There, we enjoyed Korgan’s Fried Creatures (KFC), with biscuits, curly fries, and of course, fried chicken (and fake chicken tendies for non-meat eaters like me). When everyone was done eating, we watched a short tribute to Earth made with pictures taken at machaneh that served as a goodbye to life as we had once known it. All of a sudden, an emergency meeting was called! Surprise! Not only were we in space but all along there had been an imposter on our ship. We watched a short video (edited by yours truly) of various madatz doing tasks, and at the end saw one of our dear crewmates killed by… the imposter.
Our next goal was to complete various tasks to find out who the imposter was before they were able to hurt anyone else. But before we left lunch, we taught the second and previously secret part of our Revo song. After lunch, the chanichimot went through a task circuit where they had to climb through wires in the refet, catch the (oiled) imposter, design their uniforms (using tie-dye), experience venting (on a chair), and “fix wires” while on the slip and slide at the basketball court. Once all of the chanichimot had (semi) successfully completed all the tasks, they were sent back to Hyde Park where we served kibbud (snack), which was various “soil samples” from different planets, aka pudding with Oreos, pretzels, and marshmallows. We then had everyone collect by the pool, where three potential imposter suspects were revealed sitting along the pool edge. Chanichimot were given three various clues, some much more obvious than others, and then the opportunity to “vote out” who they thought (knew) it was. After they had successfully voted out the imposter (one of my fellow Madatz), we had a pool party! Then, everyone was instructed to put on fancy clothes to attend dinner at The Four Planets Restaurant.
Once everyone was changed into their nice(r) clothes, we went back to the toran to lower our Revo flag and again, sing the Revo song. Once we had really drilled the song into everyone’s heads, we went back to the chadar where we had “impasta” (like imposter haha get it), which was penne a la vodka, broccoli, garlic bread, and sparkling grape juice. When dinner was over, chanichimot were sent to the basketball court to complete tasks while someone discreetly tried to sabotage their team. They all had to stack cups, play telephone with pringles like duck lips, had a water balloon toss, and had to play our own little version of “what’s in the box,” where random items were stuck in a box and chanichimot had to guess what was in it. Each “task” ended with the group voting out whoever they thought was “sus.”
Our day finally ended with our messibah (party), with lots of music and stations such as postman (where Madatz and Bogrimot hand-deliver messages that the chanichimot can write to one another), “venting” (where chanichimot could “vent out” their feelings and then scream into a squishmallow), cup pong (with soda), and tasks for candy (which is exactly what it sounds like). As each shichvah was sent to bed, they received SNL (snack night late), which was cosmic cookies, made by our very own “Madatz Mitbach” (CITs who ran the kitchen, menu, and meals throughout the day). Although it was a long day and a lot of work, it was really fun and everyone had a great time. Together, our kvutzah was able to embrace the leadership positions we were given and learned how to run machaneh. Can’t wait for second session!