There's More Than Ramah?

When I lived on the Jewish Studies floor last year, I was surrounded by Conservative Jews who all attended Camp Ramah.  It was if they lived and breathed Ramah, and it's all I heard about.  My roommate and I would often joke about how we were the "odd ones out," for we both grew up in the Reform movement.  Some of my floor-mates convinced me to try going to Conservative services at Hillel, and once again I felt like the "odd one out," since I didn't know half of the prayers and Hebrew being said.  I knew there was something more, but I felt as if no matter what, I would never truly fit in with the ideas of Conservative Judaism.  

While exploring the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's website, it struck my attention that the words "Come home to Conservative Judaism" are often displayed on the top of the page.  It was a lot different than the Reform Judaism website, for I felt more disconnected, lost and confused about what was going and what was trying to be said or expressed.  While there were things that made sense to me and I agreed with, the majority of the website made no sense.  If I were someone exploring my choices of Judaism, I do not think this website is a great example of Conservative Judaism.  It should make it look appealing, yet I do not get that feel from the site.  

However, I did enjoy exploring the ShefaNetwork website.  It reminded me of the Reform Judaism blog website, but offering Conservative perspectives on major issues that could be brought up in Judaism.  I know there is more than being part of USY and going to Ramah over the summer, but this really brought to my attention all that Conservative Judaism has to offer.  I do not think one branch of Judaism is better than the others, and I think it is crucial to learn about the different types of Judaism.  I felt like I've been trapped in a Reform bubble, and the website did help to open my eyes to see what is out there.