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From Outside the Camp

JL;DR SUMMARY Cindy Scarr recounts her experiences as a young camper feeling out of place at Camp Bais Yaakov, where cultural and geographical differences initially highlighted her outsider status. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

IdentityFriendshipJewish CommunitiesPersonal GrowthDiversityConnectionChildhood ExperiencesCultural AdaptationWriting CareerCamp Bais Yaakov

Places mentioned

Queens, New York, United States
"As one of just a handful of Queens campers, I found myself facing questions like, Is Queens a long-distance phone call from Brooklyn?"
Spring Valley, New York, United States
"She lives in Spring Valley, New York."
Boro Park, New York, United States
"but we were still very much out of our element in CBY, a place where well over 90 percent of the campers came from either Boro Park or Williamsburg."
Williamsburg, New York, United States
"but we were still very much out of our element in CBY, a place where well over 90 percent of the campers came from either Boro Park or Williamsburg."
Brooklyn, New York, United States
"Is Queens a long-distance phone call from Brooklyn?"

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Retrieved 2025-08-13 05:30:32 UTC
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