From the Brook: Two for the Price of One

Noah Weil—known as “Boah” to differentiate him from the other Noah (himself called “Shnoah”)—has found time in between his role as Leader of the Week and his work on his Deep Dive project to write two entries for the Brook Blog: one about Intensive III, and one about the Deep Dives. Enjoy!

Intensive III: Shrood the Doof to Build my Roof

The Hill House was silent this past week, as the gap crew spent their days and nights on intensive  in the woods surrounding Glen Brook. On our first day out, we constructed shelters from sticks and forest debris (these were quickly dubbed “Shrek Huts”). Although this was one of the coldest weeks we have had so far, these simple shelters kept us warm once the sun went down. During the day, we took refuge in the wood-powered warmth of a massive canvas tent which had been erected at the heart of our campsite. It was in this tent that meals were eaten, games were played, and preparations were made for our 24-hour solo fire vigils, which comprised the final day and night of the intensive.

Thursday morning, we awoke in silence and broke down our Shrek Huts. When we were ready, we were given a single coal from the campfire burning outside the main tent, nestled in a bundle which would preserve it until we made our individual campsites, which we had selected and prepared over the preceding days. We were tasked with starting a fire from this coal, and keeping it going through the night until the following dawn. During our solos, we brought nothing which could be a distraction from the fire, leaving us alone with our thoughts and the splendor of nature surrounding us.

Phase 3: Diving Deeper

This week marks the beginning of Phase 3, and with it, the beginning of our deep dives. The deep dive projects are the culmination of our time at the Gap at Glen Brook, where we focus on a specific facet of what we have experienced in the program, and take the coming weeks to independently study this topic, and create a self-guided project to invest our energy into in the absence of scheduled programming. During this period, the Gappers will operate largely independently of Jake and Alison; planning and executing our projects on our own time tables.

Across Camp Glen Brook, we have been busy working on our projects. Experiments in bread-baking are being conducted in the kitchen of the Main House; inside the Hill House, guides to nature and music are being written, and a game inspired by the Glen Brook Environment is in development. In the great outdoors, the orchard is being maintained by Gapper hands, and four Gappers have taken it upon themselves to clear out the trees encroaching on one of the fields at Glen Brook, and using the the wood that they gather to build a fence which will better fortify the edge of the field.