International Week!

Wow, what a week it's been, flying around to visit so many different countries for International Week. On Monday, we found ourselves in China. We had amazing workshops, like the extremely cool liquid nitrogen experiment in science and learning a really fun dance together with the counselors in dance workshop. Then we headed off to make a hole-in-one at Putters, golfing, playing arcade games, and collecting some awesome prizes. Thankfully, the rain waited just until we got on the bus! When we got back to camp, we watched Lauren and Noah compete to drink a bowl of water through a straw, but wait! There's a catch here, isn't there??!
On Tuesday we each got a lei and a "aloha to Hawaii!" The Hawaiian tropical rains prevented us from going on an outdoor trip, so instead we got an exclusive visit with Fireman Dan at the fire station and got to see a real fire truck and pole up close! Then we went to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum, where we had a blast in the ambulance, the tornado exhibit, the miniature house, and all the other cool things that they have to learn and see. When we finally made our way back to camp, who should we find but a very strange looking visitor with huge glasses and colorful hair who called herself Mrs Smoothie, and her little friend Bluey!! I don't know who the mystery visitor was, but somehow I couldn't find Mrs. Goldstein all afternoon. Strange. Mrs. Smoothie whipped up a storm full of bananas, pineapples, ice, orange juice, and each of us got our very own delicious authentically Hawaiian smoothie!
What a wacky, wonderful, Wet n Wild Wednesday we had! In the morning we had workshops like making beautiful lava bottles in science and crafts, chess, and sports! Then after lunch, we got into our bathing suits for a smashing time outside. First we warmed up blowing giant bubbles at the big bubble pool. Then the real action started, with water balloons flying in every direction, and buckets of water everywhere. We had a great time 'washing' the counselor's car, though most of the paint and shaving cream ended up on our friends instead of the car! Then came the highlight of the whole day -- a terrifying ride down the enormous water slide, with jets of water streaming down on me and a huge splash in the pool on the bottom! It was a blast, I kept running to the back of the line to go again!
Shalom yeladim! when we walked into camp on Thursday, the lunchroom was gone and instead, we had to find our seats on a huge airplane. Destination: Israel! When we touched down in the Holy Land, we each got a handy map so we won't get lost, and to make sure we visit all the important places. On our action-packed itinerary was: creating a unique piece of artistic expression in the artist's colony of Tzfat, making our own fish-shaped photo frames in sunny Eilat, making sand art in the dry, sandy Negev desert, and of course, writing a personal letter to Hashem to stick between the cracks of the Kotel in Jerusalem. Of course, what would an Israeli vacation be without the food, so we stopped in Haifa to squeeze oranges into fresh, delicious orange juice, and in Tel Aviv for a yummy bite of felafel! After lunch, we went to our local Petco for an awesome tour, where we saw cool and weird animals. Lehitraot l'kulam! Goodbye, everyone!