By Maddie Gold
Unperiods are unstructured times throughout the day; the in-betweens. These unperiods include wake up, nikayon (cabin clean-up), rest hour, shower hour and night time ritual. Although to some counselors these can be the most stressful and exhausting times because there are no planned activities or programs, as a counselor in Carmel Girls 2, these are my favorite times.
As someone who grew up at camp, I don’t remember what sport I participated in one week in Sharon or what ceramics project I made in Omanut while in K’far. I remember building forts during rest hour in Kineret with my bunkmates or my bunk song from my Galil summer. Most of my memories from camp come from these in-between periods.
In CG2, the unperiods truly are the best part of the day. Within minutes of our wake-up song, You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile, being played over the speaker, 4 or 5 girls are already snuggling with me in bed. To many, cleaning for 45 minutes during nikayon doesn’t seem appealing, but in CG2, we have speed cleaning dance parties, where the girls speed clean to their favorite songs and then we stop and have a dance party. During rest hour, I am either playing an intense card game with the girls, running a nail salon or allowing the girls to look through my drawers and try on my clothes. By the time shower hour comes around, CG2 is having a fashion show up and down the center isle of our bunk while a line of girls sit by my bed and wait to have their hair braided. Even after an exhausting day, there is always time to end the day with a lip sync battle before closing the night with a MadLib and our bunk song.
The reason that these unperiods are the most memorable ones are because they are what bring us together as a bunk. Lip-sync battles allows each girl to have their own moment to shine as they rock out to any song they like while showing off their best moves to their bunkmates, making each of them feel special and unique. Fashion shows allow each girl to get complemented on their outfit for the night, giving them confidence and putting a smile on their face. Braiding the girl’s hair or doing their nails allows me to make personal connections with each girl and gives each girl uninterrupted time to talk to me about anything they need. Doing a MadLib each night allows us to have a good laugh before bed, making us go to bed a in good mood.
These unperiods are what make CG2 so special and have allowed us to become a family, as these girls will forever be connected due to memories shared within the bunk. I am so lucky that I have gotten the chance to be a part of these memories as these memories will be ones that I never forget.
Maddie Gold will be attend Binghamton University in the Fall. This is her 8th summer at camp, and first year on staff. Maddie loves adventure, song sessions and evening programs. When not at camp, she plays lacrosse and am very active in her youth group.