By Sam Thal, NFTY in Israel Madricha
What a day! As a staff, we have thought about and prepared for this day for anywhere between a week and a year. It finally arrived, the start of our trip! Our excitement in the airport was tangible, we couldn’t stop dancing! We needed our missing piece, our participants!
I have worked at URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI) for the last 5 years. I always enjoy staff week. It is a beautiful time to build community and learn about roles for the summer. Staff week is great, but it always feels like there is something missing. I love the feeling when the campers arrive. Everyone is energized and the wheels of our well planned machine start turning.
Opening day is always a special day and yesterday was no exception. We welcomed our teens at the airport, got situated with luggage and passports, and started our journey. On the bus to the hotel, we introduced ourselves as a staff, went over some useful information, and started to get to know everyone.
At the hotel, we stretched our legs with some introduction games and we made our count off for the summer. Once everyone was settled into their rooms, we headed to Prague’s old town square for a pizzur (choose your own) dinner.
When we got back to the hotel, we had some time together as a community to reflect on the day and sing the bedtime Shema. Then it was time for bed so that everyone could have plenty of energy tomorrow! Today was a successful beginning to what I believe will be an incredible and life changing summer!
