{"id":38125,"date":"2022-01-14T01:49:20","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T09:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=38125"},"modified":"2022-01-13T15:52:36","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T23:52:36","slug":"theres-no-place-like-miriam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2022\/01\/14\/theres-no-place-like-miriam\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s no place like Miriam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Judah Altman,\u00a0left, Daniel Fine and Marina Levy all packed up for the bus. (photo from Camp Miriam)<\/em><\/p>\n

Returning to Camp Miriam every summer is like going home. The kids shouting and laughing for joy, the bright smiles of the counselors, beautiful Gabriola Island \u2013 there\u2019s no other place like Camp Miriam.<\/p>\n

My first summer at Miriam was 2013. I\u2019ve returned every summer since, more in love with the place and the people each time. I\u2019ve grown up at Camp Miriam. I\u2019ve grown up with the people; they are some of my best friends. I\u2019ve grown up as a person; I\u2019m always learning about myself and the world in ever-changing new ways. Most importantly, I\u2019ve grown up at Camp Miriam having fun \u2013 summers at camp are what I look the most forward to most and I never want them to end.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Left to right are \u201cVisionaries\u201d\u00a0Daniel Fine, Marina Levy, Judah Altman, Mira Macnair, Kieran Macnair and Mica Hastings. (photo from Camp Miriam)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve been a camper, a junior counselor, a counselor and, last summer, a counselor for the leadership training program. Last summer was my favourite summer yet, and I can\u2019t wait for this coming summer. To me, Camp Miriam has always been special for two reasons: the first is the activities, and the second is the people.<\/p>\n

This summer, as chinuch<\/em> (educational director) on our youth-led executive team, or mazkirut<\/em>, I will be in charge of activities for the entire camp. I could not be more excited. One of the main reasons I continue to return to Camp Miriam is the unique options it provides for campers. There are the classic undertakings \u2013 like swimming, soccer, art and music. But then there are the programs that few other summer camps have, such as special days where all camp activities run around a surprise theme, ocean swimming as the sun sets, Jewish learning, and a focus on social justice.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also looking forward to seeing the new and returning campers bond with their cohorts and with their counselors. I know firsthand that Miriam friendships last forever. The people I\u2019ve met at camp will undoubtedly remain my friends for the rest of my life. These are the deepest connections I have.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Judah Altman with friends Meital Smith, left, and Rakeea Chesick Gordis.\u00a0(photo from Camp Miriam)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After two years of COVID, these connections couldn\u2019t be more important: for counselors like me, and especially for kids. Camp Miriam empowers youth and provides a space for kids to be themselves and to continue to discover who they are. It is a place to make new friends and reaffirm old ones. It is a place to talk for hours on end about all manner of issues, and to play and be silly without fear of judgment. It is a place to learn what true friendship means.<\/p>\n

I am excited for the summer because, once again, I will get to meet new campers and counselors and help create the community that is the essence of Camp Miriam. I also can\u2019t wait to see all the familiar faces. I can\u2019t wait to run memorable programming for the kids that will be fun, while also empowering them to grow as people. Camp Miriam is the most important place in the world to me \u2013 I feel so fortunate that my parents have given me the opportunity to return summer after summer.<\/p>\n

Judah Altman<\/strong> is a student at Columbia University, studying philosophy and sociology. He will be chinuch, or director of education, at Camp Miriam this summer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Judah Altman,\u00a0left, Daniel Fine and Marina Levy all packed up for the bus. (photo from Camp Miriam) Returning to Camp Miriam every summer is like going home. The kids shouting and laughing for joy, the bright smiles of the counselors, beautiful Gabriola Island \u2013 there\u2019s no other place like Camp Miriam. My first summer at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2113,20750,3076,5127,218,3430,6153],"class_list":["post-38125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-camp-miriam","tag-covid","tag-education","tag-jewish-camp","tag-judaism","tag-kids","tag-summer-camp"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}