Northern Minnesota’s pine forests don’t resemble the landscape in any Arabic-speaking country, but every summer since 2006 Camp Trowbridge, outside of Vargas, Minn., is transformed into the small village of Al-Waha, the newest Concordia Language Village program.
"[Arabic] seemed to be an important language to add at that time, and world events were certainly pointing to Americans needing a better understanding of the language and cultures," says Denise Phillippe, associate director for programs.
Al-Waha offers one- and two-week sessions for students ages 7–18 as well as four-week high school credit sessions and a separate week-long family session. Phillippe says the camp’s staff, who come from all over the world, do their best to turn the traditional north woods camp into an international experience as soon as campers arrive: Participants are mailed "passports" and have their bags searched at "customs" (anything with English writing is contraband) where they also change over their money. "We put a lot of effort into creating the culture through things like decorative items, holding activities in a traditional Arabic tent, and simulating life in the countries that speak Arabic," says Phillippe.
Attendees come from all over the country — Phillippe recalls a family preparing for a move to Saudi Arabia — and enjoy traditional camp activities, with as much of an Arabic twist as possible. "It works more easily in some cultures. At our French camp, we incorporate the history of the Voyageurs into canoeing, but it’s a little more of a stretch with some of our Arabic countries that are desert lands," she says. "We always want to make a cultural link, though."
al-waha
95-camper capacity
$1,635 for two weeks, $3,675 for four weeks
ConcordiaLanguageVillages.com
