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This may take several posts, but here's a start. Either that or it'll be too much to write about, and this will be it and very short. I don't know.
Camp was a lot of fun (as always), although the programming at night was pretty lousy, which is quite unusual for Steve who was programming. Usually he's very good, and then when he's bad, he's really bad. But a lot of this varried between very bad and truly mediocre. So I sat out a good bit more than I usually would. Although Alexis was good for me there- when I was hanging out with her, I danced more because she's more likely to dance things she doesn't mind, rather than just things she really likes. And usually when the person I'm talking to goes to dance, I'm more likely to, especially if they're someone to whom I can talk while I dance.
Along with that, the stuff they taught wasn't so great. The guy they brought as a teacher who wasn't a choreographer not only was a ridiculously slow teacher, but inaccurate as well, and his rhythmic sense was lousy. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy though- he wasn't hitting on every woman he could, not even![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hannahlin with whom he taught. The old reliable, Meir, was about the same, but lower energy than usual, and his dances weren't real thrillers, although the couples dances were nice- but not hits of the camp sorts of nice. Of the other two choreographers, one was energetic and some of his stuff was decent, and the other was even more energetic, and actually a very good teacher (and 17- I'm not old enough that the choreographers should be younger than me yet- that was just Weird), but his stuff wasn't so great. Maybe with practice, but... Moshe and Eileen (the camp directors) taught some of Moshe's old stuff, which was pretty darn neat. I need to practice it, but that was stuff I really enjoyed learning, and will really like having in my repetoire. Maybe I'll try and hit Sababa (their other camp) at Memorial Day. I was thinking of doing so this year, but well, shirei_shibolim's wedding was a clear priority. That camp focuses on older material too, which would be nice. I Like oldies. Better than a lot of the junk that's been coming out in the last year or two.
It was mostly just nice to spend time with people I don't usually see, and in a very concentrated form. Camp is like juice concentrate- it works out into a much longer span of acquantance in areas that come with the sleep included. It also intensifies things though- which I darn it really need to look out for. But every time I get home I say that, and every time I go I forget again. Made a couple of new friends- some nice folks from San Diego, a mother-daughter set from Houston (the daughter is off to Israel for the year on Year COurse now, so they left camp early). And I got to see some folks I hadn't seen since last time I was at Keff, which was two years ago. The human contact was overall very nice and rewarding, and I'm now going to miss folks, although luckily I'll get to see the Boston crowd in less than a week. Possibly Wednesday night, since Moshiko is going to be at the MIT session.
Shabbat at camp was interesting. I was very glad Steve was there- otherwise it'd have been very lonely: I'm not one for bed quite as early as dinner was over. So we did some learning, and took a walk, and hung around some. Shacharit was fine, although I found out that there Was No women's section (there's only orthodox services run by the actual camp's staff during the day, Kabbalat Shabbat there's a Conservative service run by a cantor who comes to camp), just the gym to which the shul (which really is a Very small room) is attached. So besides the doorway, there was an actual full wall between me and the rest of the service. Some other women came in around the torah service, and one left right afterwards, after telling me that I didn't need to cover my hair until I was married (a scarf that starts partway back on my head and only covers maybe 6 inches isn't covering my hair, not when it's as long as it is- it was my usual "this is Not covering my hair" sort of arrangement for orthodox shuls). But it was all fine. Mincha wasn't so much- I couldn't hear very well, I couldn't see at all, and there was someone facing the door so I didn't feel ok scooting myself up closer to the door so I could hear and see better. I was pretty ticked off by the whole thing. But Maariv was better (different location- not a shul, so I just stood off to the side and towards the back, although the men spread out so I wasn't really behind them all. We jokingly set up a few chairs as a mechitzah, and at the same time one of them only-half-jokingly suggested that since we had 10 bodies and 10 kippot, it was too bad we couldn't just start. It was an interesting combination of people and observance factors.
(Speaking of observance factors/signals- Steve gives the most interesting collection of them, especially on Shabbat. The combination of black suit, in the midst of summer, tzitzit, hippie tie, black hat of a variety that look sort of like your standard frum black hat, but is just different enough to notice it- it's a business man's hat really, all over the long hair, albeit in a ponytail. It's amazing how particular cultural cues can be. I got a couple of "you look frum" comments on my Shabbos gear myself, which was mildly disconcerting, although understandable: long skirt, elbow-length sleeves, reasonable neckline, and chosen for those reasons: I was, after all, davening in, or perhaps Near an orthodox shul. But it's one of those things that I always think about around the beginning of a school year anyways. Impressions are so easily made then.)
But I'm now in possession of some nice new Israeli music, if nothing else. And a great deal less sleep than I'd have otherwise gotten, although I "took a nap" last night and then didn't get up until 9:15 this morning. That said, I'm off for an actual nap, and then to pack up.
Camp was a lot of fun (as always), although the programming at night was pretty lousy, which is quite unusual for Steve who was programming. Usually he's very good, and then when he's bad, he's really bad. But a lot of this varried between very bad and truly mediocre. So I sat out a good bit more than I usually would. Although Alexis was good for me there- when I was hanging out with her, I danced more because she's more likely to dance things she doesn't mind, rather than just things she really likes. And usually when the person I'm talking to goes to dance, I'm more likely to, especially if they're someone to whom I can talk while I dance.
Along with that, the stuff they taught wasn't so great. The guy they brought as a teacher who wasn't a choreographer not only was a ridiculously slow teacher, but inaccurate as well, and his rhythmic sense was lousy. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy though- he wasn't hitting on every woman he could, not even
hannahlin with whom he taught. The old reliable, Meir, was about the same, but lower energy than usual, and his dances weren't real thrillers, although the couples dances were nice- but not hits of the camp sorts of nice. Of the other two choreographers, one was energetic and some of his stuff was decent, and the other was even more energetic, and actually a very good teacher (and 17- I'm not old enough that the choreographers should be younger than me yet- that was just Weird), but his stuff wasn't so great. Maybe with practice, but... Moshe and Eileen (the camp directors) taught some of Moshe's old stuff, which was pretty darn neat. I need to practice it, but that was stuff I really enjoyed learning, and will really like having in my repetoire. Maybe I'll try and hit Sababa (their other camp) at Memorial Day. I was thinking of doing so this year, but well, shirei_shibolim's wedding was a clear priority. That camp focuses on older material too, which would be nice. I Like oldies. Better than a lot of the junk that's been coming out in the last year or two.It was mostly just nice to spend time with people I don't usually see, and in a very concentrated form. Camp is like juice concentrate- it works out into a much longer span of acquantance in areas that come with the sleep included. It also intensifies things though- which I darn it really need to look out for. But every time I get home I say that, and every time I go I forget again. Made a couple of new friends- some nice folks from San Diego, a mother-daughter set from Houston (the daughter is off to Israel for the year on Year COurse now, so they left camp early). And I got to see some folks I hadn't seen since last time I was at Keff, which was two years ago. The human contact was overall very nice and rewarding, and I'm now going to miss folks, although luckily I'll get to see the Boston crowd in less than a week. Possibly Wednesday night, since Moshiko is going to be at the MIT session.
Shabbat at camp was interesting. I was very glad Steve was there- otherwise it'd have been very lonely: I'm not one for bed quite as early as dinner was over. So we did some learning, and took a walk, and hung around some. Shacharit was fine, although I found out that there Was No women's section (there's only orthodox services run by the actual camp's staff during the day, Kabbalat Shabbat there's a Conservative service run by a cantor who comes to camp), just the gym to which the shul (which really is a Very small room) is attached. So besides the doorway, there was an actual full wall between me and the rest of the service. Some other women came in around the torah service, and one left right afterwards, after telling me that I didn't need to cover my hair until I was married (a scarf that starts partway back on my head and only covers maybe 6 inches isn't covering my hair, not when it's as long as it is- it was my usual "this is Not covering my hair" sort of arrangement for orthodox shuls). But it was all fine. Mincha wasn't so much- I couldn't hear very well, I couldn't see at all, and there was someone facing the door so I didn't feel ok scooting myself up closer to the door so I could hear and see better. I was pretty ticked off by the whole thing. But Maariv was better (different location- not a shul, so I just stood off to the side and towards the back, although the men spread out so I wasn't really behind them all. We jokingly set up a few chairs as a mechitzah, and at the same time one of them only-half-jokingly suggested that since we had 10 bodies and 10 kippot, it was too bad we couldn't just start. It was an interesting combination of people and observance factors.
(Speaking of observance factors/signals- Steve gives the most interesting collection of them, especially on Shabbat. The combination of black suit, in the midst of summer, tzitzit, hippie tie, black hat of a variety that look sort of like your standard frum black hat, but is just different enough to notice it- it's a business man's hat really, all over the long hair, albeit in a ponytail. It's amazing how particular cultural cues can be. I got a couple of "you look frum" comments on my Shabbos gear myself, which was mildly disconcerting, although understandable: long skirt, elbow-length sleeves, reasonable neckline, and chosen for those reasons: I was, after all, davening in, or perhaps Near an orthodox shul. But it's one of those things that I always think about around the beginning of a school year anyways. Impressions are so easily made then.)
But I'm now in possession of some nice new Israeli music, if nothing else. And a great deal less sleep than I'd have otherwise gotten, although I "took a nap" last night and then didn't get up until 9:15 this morning. That said, I'm off for an actual nap, and then to pack up.