I took the train up to Wassaic, NY following my preschool
graduation. I had met up in Queens with a girl who came from Israel and
we took the train up together, joking about how rude the driver was from the
car service we took up to Grand Central Station, and how obnoxious a staff at
the train station responded when I had asked her for exact directions to the train.
We were glad to leave the busy city of New York, entering
the new world of Falls Village, Connecticut where we would be working at the Isabella Freedman, in a
Jewish eco-friendly farming-type of environment, where life slows down a bit. I
still haven’t been able to properly label this program- while I’ve been describing it as a “farming fellowship,” it seems to be a lot more than just a farm.
I still don't know how to respond when people ask why I’m doing this
program. A staff member had assured me that at some point during the summer- the answer will come to
me- when I’ll know why I’m really here, whether it’s while milking the goats,
pulling weeds, or cutting vegetables for an Adamah dinner.
The girl and I met up with a fellow “Adamah-nik” on the train during our
brief transfer. The fellow had just arrived from Austin, Texas where he was
visiting family on a vacation, and we talked about the difference in culture
and experiences in Israel, verses the US.
A staff member met us at the Wassaic station with a sign welcoming us
to Adamah. She drove us in an Isabella Freedman van,
telling us about her experience and what to expect at Adamah. Arriving at the
Adamah House, soon to be known as the Beit Adamah, we were ushered to a meeting in the main area, where the co-director at Adamah opened with an ice breaker to allow the 10 Adamah-niks (soon to be 12) and a few members of staff to get to know each other, ensuring us
we would not only be teaming up with each other, but building a community this
summer. After being broken up into
groups and performing humorous skits intended to display our expectations of
the daily routine of an Adamah-nik, we went off to dinner, where we were joined
by members of Teva, a camp that was running that week, which educated teenagers
on the important of taking care of the environment. An info session followed
dinner, informing future Adamah-niks gathered inside a hut about scheduling and
general guidelines for the summer. While some people attended an optional
lecture given by an expert on eco-friendly expert, many of us retreated to our
places of stay, unpacking and turning in for the night.
It’s been a long year living in the city of New York, and
coming to the Isabella Freedman for their Adamah program this summer was
something I had looked forward to since last year. I knew that this experience would
be unique, and while I have little to no experience in farming-type activities,
this program presents more than simply a farming fellowship. It’s a community-
it’s individuals from places as local as Boston, as far as Israel who came with
a range of little to extensive experience in this area. But there’s a deeper conscious
and subconscious feeling of home at Adamah. I’ve been here on retreats on
several occasions, and certainly returning here with fond memories of friends,
discovery of self-identity, bonding with nature, and peers who are warm and
accepting adds to the cozy feeling of the Isabella Freedman. And I think on top
of that, coming on Adamah to fill in the holes of my sometimes subconscious
desires- connecting with nature, caring for farm animals, building true
friendships, creating a strong community through team-building tasks, and
perhaps striking up new friendships to last a long time- that, along
with other reasons that are sure to come up later in the summer, is my reason
for participating in Adamah this summer. On so many levels, I feel my life has
just started.
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