Search

JCC Camp Chi | Wisconsin, USA

Simon-Peter Lincoln
Aug 23, 2016
4 min read

So, this summer I've spent my time in the old US of A working at Camp Chi, which is an overnight camp for Jewish children in the heart of the Wisconsin Dells, run by the Jewish Community Center of Chicago (JCC). It's been an unbelievable experience with amazing positives that I can take away and apply to my life. I've learnt so much from these people; not only the staff but the children as well.

I'm now in the last week of working at Chi and I'm seriously going to miss it. I've honestly made some of my best friends here, people from all over the world, and I know that we're going to be friends for a long, long time. Friends who I would never have had interactions with if it weren't for Camp Chi. So for that, I genuinely thank you.

Now, I'm not Jewish and originally I kinda thought that I would be turned away because of this. However, I was hired as the Woodshop specialist and arrived in Wisconsin on Thursday 9th June. After, 38 hours of not sleeping I eventually got here and as I stepped off the bus I was NOT ready for the most enthusiastic and loud greeting I've ever had; but I soon came to realise that this was the way the whole summer was going to pan out, and looking back now, I wouldn't change it for the world.

As I've never been a woodshop specialist, I was nervous of how I was going to teach children something that I've not had to teach before and I've only used in the field, but I soon found out that my co-specialist, Gary, was a teacher in training. You have no idea how relieved I was. I learned so much from him and I can take the things I've learned from him and use them in the future. We made some awesome stuff this summer with the kids, including a Euchre table, a camp map and a world sign! I was stunned at how imaginative and talented the kids were (and I'm not just saying that!). There was this one Russian girl who was such an amazing drawer and although she spoke very little English, her drawings spoke a thousand words.

During our days out of camp, we tried to see as much of the area as we could. Whether that meant travelling to a local lake and hiking, tubing down the river or just walking down the strip in the town and taking part in the novelty entertainment. There are some truly stunning places in this area, and I'm so glad I got to visit them. My personal favourite was a place called 'Devil's Lake'. Originally, we went as a huge group from camp to go for a swim and have a few drinks by the lake but I soon fell in love with the place. In the heart of forest-land, there are huge hills that you can hike and be blessed with the most amazing views of the area that you could possibly imagine. The water is warm and great to swim in (although, I did lose my sunglasses) and its just an awesome place to relax and take in the beauty of mother nature. I went twice during my time here and both times I fell in love with it; I wish I could've gone there more. If I could recommend you go anywhere in the Dells, it would be to Devil's Lake. Also, two of my close friends from camp got engaged here this summer and what a beautiful place to do it! Congrats Toes and Jess!

The summer at camp is split into two halves; first and second session, and between these we have intersession. Intersession is a couple of days where we have no children in camp and the staff can rest and rejuvenate before the second half. This year we decided to spend this time in Madison; the Capital of Wisconsin.

As we drove into Madison, I'll admit that I was pretty disappointed in what I saw, but this was before I actually saw the city. It's such a beautiful place with a whole bunch of character. In some places it was grand and majestic, whereas in others it was quaint and quirky. This is one of the reasons I loved Madison so much; everyone seemed to have a place. We stayed in the HI Madison Hostel and in here we met some absolutely amazing people who made our night there even better. In a short period of time, this place made an impact on me.

The day after I was a little bit worse for wear, however, this didn't stop us from taking a wander through the city and visiting all the little stores and boutiques that Madison had to offer (I bought the best Hawaiian shirt here!) and I won't forget the main attraction of the Capitol Building; a grandiose building in the heart of Madison. Towards the end of the day, a few of us thought it was a good idea to go and get tattoos from a local artist. I got a small Camp Chi flame on my ankle and I love it! If you're in Madison or the surrounding areas and you're into your tattoos or piercings, I'd definitely recommend Great Whale Tattoo & Piercing Company. Tim did a great job on my ankle as well as my friend's tattoos. As I travel I want to get little tattoos that remind me of what I've done and where I've been; I guess this is my way of remembering.

Now that Camp is coming to an end, I feel that I'm ready to leave and see what the rest of the world has to offer. I'm genuinely going to miss it here, the people that I've met and the experiences that I've had in my 10 weeks of camp and I'm definitely going to miss teaching some of the most extraordinary kids that I've ever met. I'm thankful for the things I've learned about Judaism, teaching and life. However, I'm excited to travel the world and learn more about what it has to offer and what I'm capable of. I want to publicly thank JCC Camp Chi for all that they've given me and done for me. Maybe one day I'll be back, but until then I'm gonna keep expanding my knowledge of the world.

This will not be my last Shabbat.