A Very Long Day

I just counted up- I worked somewhere close to 11 hours today- 6:30 until just before 4, and 6ish until about 7:30 (someone else was supposed to work dinner but couldn't, and it was going ot be a busy night, and we are having oven trouble, so they did some double-wrapping and baking on the wrong side of the kichen, and I wanted to be there to make sure nothing went wrong with that, since that got sort of complicated. And it made me awfully nervous. By the end, I was moving things in the meat fridge, and spilled chicken stock in the fridge and had to clean it up- after I freaked out a bit. I had such a good regular day too: calm, if rather tiring and sort of dull at the end- we were making grilled cheese, which means tray after tray after tray of bread, cheese, bread, spread melted butter (and there are more to do tomorrow).

This camp has this odd fascination with the dance Amen. It's weird.

I am still finding the camp experience very odd. The kitchen feels much more real and more human. THe whole camp thing as a whole feels very foreign, like I'm meeting lots of people, but not getting to know any of them, or connecting at all with anyone I didn't already know, outside the kitchen and my roommate. On the other hand, I've gotten to spend some time with a couple folks I know from Brandeis and get to know them better. But as for camp in general- it's this world of Jewish young people who are nothing like me, who are into being at a Jewish camp- but aren't necessarily so into Judaism the way that I connect to it, it seems. We are having a mincha minyan after dinner, and it's reasonably attended thus far- but when everyone davens together (i.e. when it's required), it's full of people just standing there, or talking, and it doesn't feel like a room full of people praying. I've found that I can Feel the difference.

Tomorrow night, I'm teaching as part of the evening learning program- it's going to be all a bunch of JTS students teaching. I'm rather nervous about it- I know what I want to talk about, but I should write out a slightly more detailed outline of what I want to say, so that I don't wander quite so much. Also, if I have guiding questions preapred in advance, that should help things run. So I guess I'll finish filling those in tomorrow afternoon. I'm not worried about the content, just about the presenting of it in a clear and understandable way that is bother accessible and mature- but not too adult-focused for any CITs who come to my session. I guess it'll all depend on who shows up. I hope that people do show up... I'd be rather disappointed if no one came. So, it'll be another busy day. But at least the latter part will be different stuff from kitchen stuff. I'm using a source sheet left from one of the women in halakha shiurim I went to the first couple of years of college. It's funny how much clearer the point of the shiur is now than it was when I actually went to it, and how much more I can follow the process and the question that was being investigated. It's rather pleasing.

A Very Long Day

I just counted up- I worked somewhere close to 11 hours today- 6:30 until just before 4, and 6ish until about 7:30 (someone else was supposed to work dinner but couldn't, and it was going ot be a busy night, and we are having oven trouble, so they did some double-wrapping and baking on the wrong side of the kichen, and I wanted to be there to make sure nothing went wrong with that, since that got sort of complicated. And it made me awfully nervous. By the end, I was moving things in the meat fridge, and spilled chicken stock in the fridge and had to clean it up- after I freaked out a bit. I had such a good regular day too: calm, if rather tiring and sort of dull at the end- we were making grilled cheese, which means tray after tray after tray of bread, cheese, bread, spread melted butter (and there are more to do tomorrow).

This camp has this odd fascination with the dance Amen. It's weird.

I am still finding the camp experience very odd. The kitchen feels much more real and more human. THe whole camp thing as a whole feels very foreign, like I'm meeting lots of people, but not getting to know any of them, or connecting at all with anyone I didn't already know, outside the kitchen and my roommate. On the other hand, I've gotten to spend some time with a couple folks I know from Brandeis and get to know them better. But as for camp in general- it's this world of Jewish young people who are nothing like me, who are into being at a Jewish camp- but aren't necessarily so into Judaism the way that I connect to it, it seems. We are having a mincha minyan after dinner, and it's reasonably attended thus far- but when everyone davens together (i.e. when it's required), it's full of people just standing there, or talking, and it doesn't feel like a room full of people praying. I've found that I can Feel the difference.

Tomorrow night, I'm teaching as part of the evening learning program- it's going to be all a bunch of JTS students teaching. I'm rather nervous about it- I know what I want to talk about, but I should write out a slightly more detailed outline of what I want to say, so that I don't wander quite so much. Also, if I have guiding questions preapred in advance, that should help things run. So I guess I'll finish filling those in tomorrow afternoon. I'm not worried about the content, just about the presenting of it in a clear and understandable way that is bother accessible and mature- but not too adult-focused for any CITs who come to my session. I guess it'll all depend on who shows up. I hope that people do show up... I'd be rather disappointed if no one came. So, it'll be another busy day. But at least the latter part will be different stuff from kitchen stuff. I'm using a source sheet left from one of the women in halakha shiurim I went to the first couple of years of college. It's funny how much clearer the point of the shiur is now than it was when I actually went to it, and how much more I can follow the process and the question that was being investigated. It's rather pleasing.