Encampment 2011!!

Since I am clearly too lazy and busy to write about encampment I am instead going to post videos made be Will the creator of USY Facts, if you like this you should check out the USY Facts Facebook page.

Encampment- Boards Night (Finally)

I am finally writing about encampment and now that I have power but no internet I will have some time to write without distraction although it also means my actual posting may be sporadic.

Monday my dad drove Jacob and me to Trader Joe's in Danbury, where we met up with Tammi and the rest of the board. Our first task was to fit all six of us PLUS our luggage(which was the killer) in to the mini-van. With a little help from my dad we made it work. Rachel and I squished in the back where we could not feel our feet for the next four hours.

We were the second board to arrive at camp. We met three Tzafon board members, David J. (President), Shula (Rel/Ed), and my counter-part Jordyn (Mem/Kad). We start unloading the vans. It is raining and drizzling all day, so there was mud every where.

A while later EPA and Hagesher's boards arrive together. As soon everyone is settle we got to work. The rest of the day was pretty boring but it was really nice to get to know the other board members and have bonding time before everyone else came.

Quad Regional Boards!!

Big Time Rush

Again I have a lot of homework so this will be a short post. Anyway this past Sunday was the summer kickoff concert at Six Flags while we were there. The biggest name that was there was Big Time Rush. For those of you who don't know who they are, its a boy band that has a show on Disney Channel(or Nickelodeon don't remember which).

Before I get further I would like to put in a disclaimed about the fallowing story. I was not there for the fallowing events and heard them through a friend. All information I am about to post may not be true though I will do my best. If you were there for the fallowing events and I do not have them correctly please do not get mad or offended.

Back to the story, some USYers saw the band as they were coming into Six Flags. Releasing their inner tween they decided to start cheering for the band.

The members of Big Time Rush turned towards them and asked, "Can any of you name one song by us?"

Big Time Rush performing at Six Flags New England

A hush fell over the USYers fallowed by an awkward silence. I can proudly say that none of them knew the name of a song by Big Time Rush, I feel this is probably a good thing.

However I can not say the same for my friend Vanessa, who when I relayed the story to in free quickly told me about how "Boyfriend" is there latest song. Good Job

Six Flags!!!(and Getting French Fries)

Yesterday was my first event on REB. And with it comes quite a few good stories. First off when we arrived at the amusement park we were handed a pink sheet from the region explaining all the rules and things. OK most were easy enough to fallow requiring no real effort.

Anyway a few friends and I went on a few rides and whatever and then got hungry around noon. My friend, Jillian, and I decided we were going to get fries, a task that should be simple enough, right? Wrong. We got online and whipped out our pink sheets just to re-check the rules on Kashrut.

• No meat
• No hot dairy (i.e. pizza)
• If purchasing cooked foods (i.e. French fries, pretzels, etc.), you MUST inquire about the following:

1. has it been pre-breaded/cooked
2. is there anything else cooked in the same batter with it
3. what type of oil was it cooked in (can not be a meat/chicken based oil!)

As we read these three questions Jillian and I look at each other a bit skeptical, would whoever was working at the food stand even know the answer to all of these? Did people actually cook things in chicken or meat based oils? 

Jillian quickly said to me "You are asking, because I won't."

"Fine, I guess I will." I replied while think 'Great, now they will think I am crazy.'

So we wait are turns in line and when it finally is our turn to order I launch into my questions in a matter of fact sort of way, "Have the fries been pre-breaded or cooked?"

The woman looked confused, "What?"

"Pre-breaded or cooked?"

She turned around and yelled the question to someone in the kitchen. That person yelled back "Not that I know of, I am pretty sure they haven't" and the woman helping us repeated the answer. So I guess that was the right answer but not really sure at this point. 

Onwards in my quest I went "Were the fries cooked in the same batter as anything else?"

The woman, now looking at me like she was sure I was crazy and should probably be put in some sort of mental institution, answered with a reassuring "No."

One left, What type of oil were the fries cooked in?"

Starting to look pissed but keeping calm the woman asked, "Are you allergic to something?"

Taking a moment I though through different responses and the scenario that would fallow each one, finally settling on one, "Yes, I'm severely allergic to meat...and chicken."

"Oh OK then I will go check to make sure there was nothing in the same oil as the fries and make sure there is no meat in the oil." The woman said with a look shifting to more scared.

She came back with one order of fries, now her face looked relived, probably because she was done with me. I was happy though too, because I finally had my fries and a nice cold drink. 

As soon at I went back to where the other USYers were sitting they all wanted to know where I had gotten the fries, so they would not have to go through the conversation I just had, though it was rather entertaining. More six flags stories to come.

Flashback: First Regional Event (and the Making of a Mem/Kad)

So this is another flashback because we haven't done much yet on the regional board so I don't have any good stories about it yet. I also thought it was appropriate for today because Sunday in Yom Six Flags, which will be my first event while on board so I thought it is a good time to reflect back on to my first event and the road I took to get from there to here.

So as I said in my last post I went to the kickoff event my freshman year. I had recently started a new school and didn't have any of my old friends, and knowing no one I became a little shy. Anyone who knows me now will tell you that I got over that rather quickly. USY helped me get over my shyness. This is the story of how.

Cara dragged me to kickoff, it was in October of '09 and I had never been to a regional event before, and once again I was put into a situation where she was the only other person I knew. Unlike before that changed with in a few minutes. Since Cara drove me I was got there early (the board has to go to all events early), when we first got to the place, "Daddy's Extreme Sports", the place seemed a little sketchy, especially since we were the first ones there. Soon the rest of the board came and I met them one by one. And with them came one other freshman. The first thing anyone notices about this girl is usually her hair, but something else stood out to me that day, how outgoing she was.

"Hey, I'm Penina, Max's(the region president at the time) sister, what's your name?" Penina said as she reach out her hand to me (both literally and metaphorically).


I replied "Hi, I am Joan, I am from Cara's Chapter. Are you on board too?"

"No, I wish, but freshman can't be on board." She said with a smile on her face.

"Oh cool" was all I said next.

Penina and I at spring convention in our Togas. (I'm on the left and Penina is on the right)

We started to talk and I knew I was going to make alot of friend, the event hadn't even started and I already made one. Soon Dina, a friend of mine from my chapter, arrived and introduced me to some people that she had gone to camp with. But I was still a little bit shy. Dina and I stayed together for most of the time.

The next event I went to was Saturday Night Live, I still only knew a few people but by the end of the night I was exchanging cell numbers with a bunch of different kids. USY was the place where I didn't heel shy any more. I still didn't look at my self as that out going yet.

 Last week I read a post of a Facebook group called "You know you are in USY when..." and the person was saying that the think of people in terms of what board position they would be best at, one person comment that they think of mem/kads as really friendly and out going. I have always thought I was friendly enough but was never sure about that out going part. All the sudden I was scared that I had chosen the wrong position and was think twice about it. Then this week end I went on a shabbaton at a different chapter and did not know a lot of people. I didn't feel shy anymore and just started introducing myself to everyone.

About twenty minutes into the bus ride to the camp the shabbaton was at a girl turned to me and said "You are a very open person."

"I guess your right" I said with a smile and sigh of relief. Maybe I would not have been right for this board position two years ago, but now I am.