CLTC 3 2023 has been a great experience so far. The people, the programs, the Judaism, the staff, and the experience have been incredible.

On the first day, after meeting everyone at the airport, we boarded the bus. The bus ride was tons of fun and everyone got to know each other. As we unpacked, we learned that the bunks are comfortable with lots of room for storage. We took a short bus ride and watched fireworks, a perfect activity for the 4th of July, and a great start to the trip.

Every morning, we start off the day with a Pep Rally led by the bunk or chapter of the day. The second day, it felt like we all had known each other for years. Each day has been filled with leadership training, bonding, Judaic learning, and free time to hangout. During free time, if weather permits, the lake is open for swimming, bouncing on the lake trampoline, boating, or fishing. If the lake doesn't appeal to you, basketball is open, you can buy snacks at the canteen, make friendship bracelets, relax and unwind with a good book at the library or you can just hangout with friends.

At CLTC, we are split into AZA and BBG mock chapters, where we have learned about elections, event planning, and service programming. We are also split into families (Mishpacha), groups of people split with the intent of giving teens options to bond with others who may not be in their bunk or chapter. There has been ample time to bond with everyone and form lifelong connections.

On Fridays and Saturdays, we observe Shabbat. Some parts are led by us and other portions are led by the Jewish education staff, but this Shabbat we plan on it being led fully by us.

Sunday it was raining, but we didn’t care. We made the best out of the bad weather and still had a blast learning the importance of and how to create a calendar for our chapter.

Monday brought back the sunshine and an open mic program lead by our guest, Aaron Samuels.

On Tuesday, we took a field trip over to Perlman, the home of ILTC and Kallah. There, we took a tour of the camp, reunited with some friends, learned about the history and importance of Perlman, and saw the famous Perlman tree.

Wednesday, we spent our morning and afternoon at Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, where we rode awesome waterslides and played in the arcade. In the evening, we defined what home was and what belonging meant to us.

As you can see, everyday is different and fun, and on most days we enjoy teen-led activities and services. We can’t wait for the rest of 3LTC!

Myer Brick Gersh, Justin Wilner, Ben Wiener, Misha Gusatinsky