Camp Ayandeh Blog

After 4 days of enjoying the trails, fields, and forests of Hemlock Overlook, Day 5 of Camp Ayandeh was the perfect time to start giving back. The trails of the park are lined with logs and mulch, and after so many groups enjoy them repeatedly, they often need replenishing. So our campers set off to give back by carrying logs to line the trails, and shoveling mulch to protect the trail and help promote healthy growth in the surrounding forest.

After another rousing game of 4-square and a healthy lunch to promote our campers' growth as well, the afternoon was spent working on activites related to a method known as "Theatre of the Oppressed," a form of pedagogy that uses games to play and learn together, mixing the notions of discipline (clear rules) and freedom (absolute creativity). These games included, "Columbian Hypnosis," in which campers pair off and must lead each other in silence, each following the other's extended hand. Other games played were: "The Vampire of Strausburg," "The Wooden Sword of Paris," and the exercise known as "Image Theater."

Image Theater has participants act as clay to mold images of oppression that they have personally experienced. One camper at a time arranges and "molds" the participants, making the image change with each camper to express their reaction to the previous image. In this way, campers use theater, movement, and non-verbal expression to examine various oppressions that happen in everyday life.

With the games and the theater of the afternoon, counselor groups were warmed up for their first chance to create and practice for the talent show! Each group will perform a skit, musical performance, or dance for the whole camp on Friday night. From the looks of it, there will be plenty of lezzat for everyone!

After dinner, the campers were split into groups by gender, and with staff and counselors of the same gender, shared in discussions that perhaps they wouldn't want to have in front of the others. The bonding continued around the campfire, where we heard the final chapter of Yusef's tale of Parivash, accompanied by performances on tar and dombak. As the last campfire of Camp Ayandeh, campers were treated to s'mores around the fire, and sing-along songs ranging from "Age ye rooz" to "Lean on Me."

In step with discussions surrounding our Iranian-American identity, the theme of Day Four of Camp Ayandeh was also bicultural: along with American Independence Day, today was also Iranian-American Culture Day at Camp Ayandeh! During the morning, campers were divided into groups to rotate through six stations relating to Iranian-American culture. The subjects of the stations were chosen from campers' own suggestions:

Speaking of college prep, after lunch, campers spent the afternoon hearing from college students, recent college grads, and recent high school grads regarding preparation for college. Topics included SAT tips and and prep information, tips on mastering the application process, a discussion regarding choosing a major, ideas and suggestions for getting scholarships, and whether or not to take a gap year between high school and college. Campers took vigorous notes, and gave feedback that these discussions helped put things into perspective and gave them an idea of what they can or need to do, and when.

Not forgetting that today was also an important day for the Americans in all of us, the group began a hike through Hemlock, led by Hemlock Overlook staff member Brian. Brian shared the significance of this park in American history, as it is located along the famous Bull Run, land that was highly contested during the U.S. Civil War.

Unfortunately, rain brought our hike to a short close, but the excitement did not end there. Upon our return, each counselor group contributed to dinner by making their own Persian side dishes. To accompany our delicious kabob meal catered by Moby Dick, campers prepared maast-o-khiar (cucumber yogurt), salaad-e Shirazi (chopped salad of tomatoes, onions, and cucumber), and doogh (yogurt drink). As the rain cleared, we then enjoyed our meal in a 4th of July picnic on a giant sofreh outside: Iranian-American style!

The first week in July seems to be particularly blessed for Camp Ayandeh, as we were treated to yet another birthday celebration! Nikta's 17th birthday was celebrated with cake and dancing, giving campers another chance to practice their moves. Nikta kicked it off with her favorite song, "Joon-e Khodet!"

To close off the celebration, campers were invited to bring their sleeping bags to the common room for a viewing of the film, "Maxx!" This comedy, in Persian with English subtitles, describes the travails of a singer from Los Angeles who is mistakenly invited back to Iran in an effort to reverse the "Brain Drain" from the diaspora. As Maxx would say, this was an "un-be-liev-a-bel" end to an "ahsan" day! Elahi!

To properly digest all of the activities from Day Two, the third day of Camp Ayandeh began with reflection time. This is a time each morning that campers are given to reflect, and if they so choose, to write in journals, about their thoughts, ideas, and experiences of the previous day.

The group was then split into three teams to rotate through three stations devoted to team spirit (banner making), public speaking (speech delivery), and physical activity (vasati).

This prepared them for a favorite Camp Ayandeh tradition: the Ta'arof Tournament! Each counselor group chose one camper to represent their team in the competition, which tested the campers' skills in ta'arof, with a twist. For each round, campers were given an item to "ta'arof over" for 30 seconds, and the judges took creativity, flow, and sting into account when making their decisions. After eight strong matches, Rassah was left as the final camper. Before she could receive her medal however, "Dariush, the 27-year world champion of ta'arof" challenged her to a final battle! Rassah and Dariush ta'arofed with great skill and creativity, but in the end Rassah proved she was a champion in the art of Persian hospitality!

The competition was followed by free time, with campers continuing their vasati games, sharing stories with each other, or participating in an impromptu sing-along with Raha, our resident guitar playing counselor.

The day continued with a return to group discussions regarding culture and conflict resolution. The campers learned about several theories regarding culture, and were given some ideas to consider: are some cultures more individualistic, while others are more collectivistic? Or is it perhaps a mix of the two? What are different ways that various cultures react to change, conflict, or gender relations? The campers were encouraged to analyze the theories and criticize them where they didn't seem to work.

After these theoretical discussions, the campers found physical relief in a game of whoosh -- a simple game that the campers and counselors creatively amended and extended to include gherrrrr!

Dinner was complemented with another birthday celebration, this time for Kamran's 14th birthday! What better way to digest birthday cake than with a lesson in Persian and Kurdish dancing? Farzad and Nasim led the camp in a lesson in Kurdish dancing, while Shabnam and Danesh taught the Persian style. More advanced dancers were quick to help teach other campers new moves.

The night was capped perfectly by storytelling around the campfire. If the profoundly simple stories of Mullah Nasruddin left the campers contemplative, Counselor Yusef's original Persian tale sent them to Mevieval Nayshapur to hear the story of Parivash. While Nasim provided the English translation, in true Iranian storytelling style, Yusef's story about young Parivash was complemented by musical interludes on tar and dombak, played beautifully by Kayvan and Yusef.

With the threat of rain on the horizon, the campers were left in suspense to hear more about Parivash's tales...to be continued next time!

The campers rose to each challenge and, after completing the physical and mental challenge of completing a walk across a high tightrope, were rewarded with a zip line across a large forested ravine.

Once all 49 campers arrived safely to our Iranian-American oasis in the forest, the campers, staff, and counselors introduced themselves with creativity -- and movement! -- through a rousing round of name games.