Loch Leven camp was amazing! It was such a fun, spiritual and meaningful week and full of new experiences for me. On the second day of camp, we had a strange and cute visitor, it was a baby bear lying on a branch of a tree near the dining hall who lost his mommy and he stayed there for awhile.
The area was full of bears, mountain lions, spiders and snakes, thank God we didn’t see them all. We also slept outside for a night and it was a bit scary knowing that there are animals surrounding us and it was a bit cold but overall it was nice sleeping under the stars and trying something new.
We also did a great trust and teamwork group activity which was a wall climb. Campers and counselors had to get each one of the group over the wall to the other side. It seemed scary and it was dark but most of us did it! I ended up with a couple of bruises but it was worth it!
Being here this summer and moving from camp to camp I learned that most people don’t know anything about my country Palestine, they don’t know where it is or what happened and is happening right know, and if they knew they only knew one side of the story, and most of the times, when people hear that I am from Palestine, their questions would be about arranged marriage, how women are treated their, if I wear Hijab back home, how do I dress and what do I eat, they are not about the occupation, the checkpoints or the wall! So I really appreciate this opportunity to tell people the other side of the story, the side that they would probably never hear in the media, and increase their awareness about the need of peace and justice in the world and I appreciate their willingness to listen to something new and openness to think about it.
Last week was intense, we discussed Palestine's situation, black lives matter, and LGBT. I have seen different responses and opinions and all of us learned a lot. I really enjoyed Loch Leven and meeting everyone there and I really appreciate being a part of this amazing group of counselors and directories, Brain, Jeannie and Chris who made me feel welcomed and I sincerely thank them for a great week, I feel blessed that I was there.