„I am here, as if I belonged to this place”.
I took it on myself to fall out of my comfort zone on this trip, moreover, I was not waiting for it too much. I mean obviously I was thrilled about seeing my friends, but I was really nervous about it. I did not know how I would get on with my host person (Sarah), I did not know what would happen in the school and in the programs and I was afraid of the language barrier as well. When we arrived at BT, everybody was glad at me (of course not just at me) even those who I had not been able to contact with on their visit to Hungary in March. I felt so amazed. Sitting next to Sarah in her car I felt it would be hard for me to fight the language barrier. When we arrived at their house, her parents greeted me with love, which I absolutely had not expected, thinking that I was only a stranger to them. In school everybody was so nice to us. We gained an insight into the American teenagers’ world. It was weird to see how different they were and even so how similar. Lifestyle is so different as if it did not matter how cold it is outside or inside you drink ice cold water even then. Day by day we got closer to each other. We got increasingly more used to each other, though we were together all day long, we talked and we fooled around. To me Skyzone was the groundbreaking step, it was like we were just jumping out the stress, the barriers. And the Shabbaton? It was awesome. There I could feel that „I am here, as if I belonged to this place”. We danced, laughed, talked, enjoyed each other’s company and punchlines. The farewell was one of the hardest moments in my life and I do not exaggerate it. It felt like I was leaving my big-tiny family there. I was sitting on the bus and I felt like crying because I needed to leave. SSG Morim Limmud Program gave me a lot, I feel that I am so much more than I was when I left Budapest for Baltimore. I miss everyone so much! I think that one week puts a very strong bond between us. I would like to thank Alan Reinitz and Glynis Smith for their making this opportunity become true. And I would like to say thank our teachers for their being there for us and helping us with everything even though they were really exhausted.
I would like to thank everybody for this unforgettable experience, for the best birthday ever in my life and the friendships that we made in this program. I hope we will meet again! ~Natália B., Grade 13
