Every year, Sephardic Adventure Camp is lucky to host international campers and staff. This year, we hosted campers and counselors from Canada, Israel, Spain, Turkey, Gibraltar, and South Africa! La Djente caught up with Serena, Dana and Reyna to hear about their summer.
At SAC, Sephardic culture is at the forefront of every activity, every meal, and every camp gathering, uniting our community and allowing every camper to embrace their heritage. To learn more about SAC and our place in the Sephardic Community around the world, we interviewed campers Serena and Reyna from Turkey and counselor Dana from Spain.
How is Shabbat different at Sephardic Adventure Camp?
Reyna and Serena have attended Jewish overnight camp before, but we were curious to know if and how Shabbat is different at SAC versus their past camp in Budapest. Serena and Reyna emphasized how special Shabbat is at SAC. After every Shabbat meal, campers and staff gather around the table and sing Pizmonim. This is a time when campers come together and embrace Sephardic tradition. Reyna, Serena, and Dana all commented on how they sing different tunes at home, but they were excited to see how American Sepharadim embrace Sephardic culture in the Turkish and Rhodesli traditions.
SAC tradition is to have a dairy Shabbat lunch. Reyna and Serena were not used to this, but they love the tradition. They especially enjoyed the Boikos on Shabbat and said they are excited to bring that recipe and the dairy lunch tradition home to Turkey with them.
Every Shabbat, after Seudat Shlishit, campers perform Refranes. Haham, our camp Rabbi, hands out Ladino prompts, and each bunk competes to put on the best skit. The cabins incorporate Ladino words and phrases into their skits. Serena and Reyna both commented on how much fun they had during this activity every week.
What stood out to you about SAC?
Serena and Reyna both spoke about how much they enjoyed the technology-free camp experience. They were able to truly live in the moment and enjoy every camp activity. Serena and Reyna loved how diverse the activities were at SAC.
At SAC, campers participate in traditional camp activities on SAC grounds like archery, swimming, and sports, but campers also get to go on amazing trips like hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, and boating. These trips make SAC so special and facilitate lifelong memories and friendships.
What was your favorite activity at SAC this summer?
Serena and Reyna both agreed that the camp-wide water fight on the first night of camp was their favorite activity! Paint-balling was a close second, but both agreed that they love the way the entire camp sometimes comes together to participate in an activity. On Shabbat, for example, the entire camp participated in a camp-wide baseball game. During Color War, SAC organizes an all-camp soccer game where every camper is encouraged to participate. Serena, Reyna, and Dana all spoke very highly of SAC and its ability to bring campers of all ages together.
If you could sum up Sephardic Adventure Camp into one word or phrase, what would it be?
Serena: A great experience.
Reyna: Fun.
Dana: Familiar. We are very proud of the community we have built at SAC and our ability to bring Sephardic campers from all across the world together. We are grateful to be part of such a beautiful community and provide a summer camp infused with Sephardic traditions, customs, and flavors for campers to look forward to every year!
Finally, we asked Serena and Reyna if they would return to SAC? This was both camper’s first year and both said they were excited to come back as counselors! We cannot wait to see them at SAC in the future.
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