I lay in my bed after a long amazing life-changing couple of days in Budapest. Upon arrival, I was a little anxious even though I already knew many of the Hungarian kids. Within the first 30 minutes of being with the Hungarians, all that anxiety dissipated and was replaced by the desire to be best friends with every single one of them. The most amazing part is that I felt no pressure whatsoever about being someone who I wasn’t in order to fit in and everyone was just so kind and excepting. I want to give a shoutout to my friend Borna (in the photo on the left) whom when I met was extremely intimidating because of his height but when I got to know him we became very close friends.
I spend the past couple of days walking talking, laughing, crying, singing, dancing and bonding with some of the most amazing kids I have known and I feel so grateful to everyone that has helped with my ability to take part of such an amazing program. Another extremely memorable moment was being able to help someone who has very rarely or possibly never put tefillin on put it on. In the process, it was obvious that the person really wanted to learn and experience Judaism in a way he had never experienced before. Additionally today I had the pleasure of speaking with Alan about the mission of SOS and how unique and special it really is. We discussed many aspects of the program and I found out that SOS is not just in Hungary but in four other European countries as well which is truly amazing.
I have truly had an amazing life-changing experience thus far and can’t wait to see what this Shabbas has in store for me and all my amazing friends here in Hungary!
Until my next blog,
Avishye M.
