Concluding thoughts
On our last day we had some free time in the morning and early afternoon. We had the option of going to Shul and eating with Rabbi Frolich and the community at Talmud Torah Building of the Dohany Synagogue or spending some time on our own. Ildi invited me and Natalie to her house for lunch along with Cili, Natalie’s partner teacher. I ended up having lunch with Ildi and it was a wonderful experience. Ildi lives in an old apartment complex on the Pest side. She was so nice and accommodating as she had made us a wonderful meal. It almost felt like a Thanksgiving dinner with the amount of food and care put into the set up, organization, and food preparations. There were various cheese dips, breads, dried plums, fruits, and a vegetable lasagna along with wine. We had shared great conversations reflecting on our week and explored the differences and similarities between Hungarian and American educational systems and our time in Budapest.
After lunch Ildi showed us artwork that she had made consisting of pen and ink drawings, lithographic prints, and oil paintings, all of which were very impressive and moving. Ildi works with different figurative dreamlike narratives. I could see influences from the art movements of surrealism and regionalism and cultural and perhaps spiritual undertones from Buddhist thought and Indian culture. Ildi works very hard at what she does and concentrates on creating artwork during the week and weekends. When Natalie asked her how does she manage to do all of this Ildi said to us that “time is an illusion, it can be done!” “You make time to do things.” I thought this was a very true statement and one worth reflecting on more deeply.
After lunch at Ildi’s house we had a tour of Budapest’s sites including different landmarks around town and a holocaust shoe memorial by the chain bridge. We also celebrated the Havdala ceremony by the river.
We fished the evening with an amazing cruise on the Danube river and took some photos of the city. The city just glows at night and is illuminated with golden yellow tones. Landmarks such as bridges, parliament, the castle, freedom statue, and many other sites really become an extraordinary site to look at. We had a farewell dinner at Tel Aviv Café which included very special and moving words of thanks by Alan, Gylnis, and the rest of the teaching crew. It was an unforgettable last day in Budapest.
In my spare time in Budapest during the week, I was able to visit some sites with my colleagues including the open market, Szechenyi baths, walking around the city with Paul, and spending time with my new found colleagues at the school. This trip helped me develop a bond between my JDS colleagues that I don’t often get to see at school because we work on opposite sides of the building. I feel like we got to know each other on a more personal level and were able to establish a deeper friendship. I really value this part of my experience.
I understand that this is the beginning of our journey and we hope to move the Morim project forward in new ways in the upcoming years. I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to participate in the program and experience Budapest and the many amazing things the city has to offer including its rich presence of Jewish identity and culture. Without Alan and Gylnis this trip would not have been possible. So thank you for all the work you continue to do to help and support the Jewish communities of Hungary and Budapest and all over Europe. Your work means a lot to me and I will share this with the community in many ways.
Moving forward, I plan to stay in touch with Ildi and Cili and hope to reach out to the other Lauder school teachers and administration. I would like to skype with the art classes I have taught and maybe do a joint lesson between us, which would be amazing.
I also feel like we can get involved with different types of projects that we can send to each other. Even if its just some artist trading cards, letters of correspondence, or small works of art sent back and forth. I am really looking forward to seeing if the Lauder teachers will come to the US and teach at CESJDS and the possibility of bringing students with them and vice versa. I feel there are many possibilities moving forward.
