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That one week…

„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

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First time in my life I loved going to school

I was really looking forward to this week, not just because I was excited to see my best friends, but also because I had never been to America before. I was a little bit scared of the 7 hour-long flight, but it wasn’t even that bad. When we arrived at the school on Sunday, I didn’t even have time to be jet-legged. Everyone was greeting us, and this was the moment when I realized how much I had actually missed them. During the trip, I had the time of my life. Surprisingly, I loved going to school every morning (I think that was my favorite part), because I could really get a taste of what it was like to go to an American school. I also really enjoyed the projects that we did one afternoon with Art with a Heart. We had fun making crafts together and knowing that it was for a great reason made it even better.
One thing that I’ve learned during the trip is that in Beth Tfiloh there are so many different ways that the students can decorate their own school and make mandatory things kind of fun in some ways, and I think this would be possible in our school as well. Right now that I’ve been home for a week I’m really sad, because I know I won’t see my friends for a while, but I’m sure that I’ll visit them again in the future. I’m really grateful that I got to be a part of this trip, because I made some really good friends along the way. One thing that I would do differently next time is that I would give more free time to the students during Shabbaton, because we were at a really nice place with lots of animals, but unfortunately, I didn’t have time to see them. ~ Brigitta B, Grade 13

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Stepping out of ones comfort zone

I had been waiting for the trip to Baltimore since last March when BT students and teachers had visited our country. The date of the trip finally came and it is unbelievable how fast the time went by and the trip is already over.
Many people asked me about how it was. My answer is that it was phenomenal. But this word cannot describe how I feel. It is impossible to express in words how magical this week was to me.
Some people asked me what I had enjoyed the most during the trip. Honestly, I cannot answer this question, because I cannot choose only one from the thousands of unbelievable moments. When I think about the days we spent in Baltimore memories are continuously popping up in my head: the corridors of the school, the lessons, the synagogues in Baltimore, the view of Washington, jumping in Sky Zone, the conversations, laughing a lot, the games we played and of course the highlight of the week, the Shabbaton.
During the trip, we both learned from each other. We learned from BT teachers and students, but also from our students, who taught me that if I pushed myself and step out of my comfort zone I could achieve goals that first might seem impossible.
I’m extremely happy that I experienced this memorable week with my colleagues. Preparation for the lessons was really good. Our hard work was worth it because our lessons were successful. All the participants enjoyed it, even the ones who were just looking from outside.
During the week in Baltimore (just as during their visit in March) I noticed the happiness of togetherness. It was heart-warming to see that the connection was getting stronger and stronger between us.
The last part of the trip was the amazing Shabbaton at a beautiful place surrounded by nature. During the weekend our Jewish identity got stronger by praying a lot and singing together as one community. We played different games and had many amazing conversations. At the end of the Shabbat meal, each and everyone got a book written by Rabbi Soskil.
Last but not least I would like to say thank you for SOS International: Enriching Jewish Identities for the opportunity and also to BT for the warm welcome and the cooperation. I’m extremely excited about the upcoming journey. I also want to say thank you to Glynis Smith and Alan Reinitz who put all their heart and soul into the program and without them, this unforgettable adventure could not come true.
We are looking forward to seeing you again in March. ~ Zita Bauer, SSG Educator, Elementary School Teacher, Sciences

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My experiences in Baltimore

For me, it was the first time ever in the United States and the second occasion participating in the Morim Limmud Program. Therefore I had already known all the SSG/BT students and teachers attending the program.

Before our departure I was very excited because of the unknown places I would visit and I was curious to see some new ways of teaching and get some more resources to use in my work. The transatlantic flight was also one of the reasons for being excited.

Our journey was safe and sound and our welcome was heart-warming.

The days passed faster than I thought they would due to the numerous experiences we had. We visited Baltimore, Washington DC, we had useful meetings and most of all: the school.

Being there at Beth Tfiloh was a turning point in my life as I had always wanted to know the American way of approaching Sciences and teaching them. Now I’ve got a huge amount of examples, methods, and ideas about it. Through this experience, I have plenty of ideas and projects to implement in my everyday practice. It can make my work more efficient and for my students, the time spent with learning will become more pleasurable and easier. It was a pleasure to see a society and an education system which believes that Sciences represented the future. They also believe that we have to prepare our students for it and provide them with the competence to use so that it can make their lives successful and make this planet a better place to live on.

The other big surprise for me was the STEM-lab and how it was involved in the curriculum. It was a big novelty for me, I had heard about it, but I didn’t know its meaning in the practice. The integrated approach to these materials is essential in this century. I feel lucky to be probably one of the first ones from Hungary to see this integrated method in everyday teaching and gave me the possibility to adapt it to our curriculum.

The Morim Limmud Program gave me new ideas to accomplish and let me see how a modern school does work, what is needed in the 21st century.

That is why I felt I had to write this blog to give thanks to Alan Reinitz, Glynis Smith and the SOS Morim Limmud Program to make my ways of teaching change and gave me the opportunity to show and explain to my colleagues all I had seen. ~Ferenc Mark, SSG Educator, Science

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They just left…

They just left. It’s been about an hour and I’m still crying. Crying because it’s over. The bond that was formed will still be everlasting but it’s still different. We will never stop talking to each other but there is something different. A good different and a bad different.

I’ll start with the good (everybody loves the good). The bond we made is still here and will forever always be here. I will forever love my Budapest friends (right now I’m trying to convince my parents to allow me to visit them over the summer!). The bond as I mentioned previously is everlasting. It’s the small moments that mean the most (as much as the programmed stuff helped us bond, it was when we were alone, being kids that helped strengthen the bond most). One of my favorite moments happened today (although there are so many and you are gonna hear a lot of them so…get ready). Today we had a farewell meal. During the meal, I was sitting next to my good friend (very good

friend, because I love them all and it feels like we’ve been friends forever), Simon. I had been wearing Simons scarf (it is black and very comfy) since the Shabbaton. But today, I also had on his ‏black beanie, his black sunglasses, and his black jeans (and fuzzy) jacket. Suffice to say, I had become Simon. And to add the cherry on top, he had on my red and black fuzzy jacket. This is just another example of us being kids. Us bonding in the way kids are meant to, by being silly and wearing each other’s clothing (I really love that scarf).

The bad moments aren’t actually bad, they are just really (really, really) sad. The farewell dinner is exactly as it sounds. Saying goodbye (but not forever). After the meal, where we all talked and had our last bit of fun came the sad part. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing I had to do. Like I mentioned it an hour later and I still have tear after tear leaking down my face. But as much as it was sad, it showed everyone present the strength of our bond. Nobody wanted to be separated. There was talk of running and hiding in a closet to miss the planes so they wouldn’t have to leave (of course it was only talk). The hugs really made the tears fall. I must have hugged everybody twice. I was just standing there leaning into the hug from my newly (not so new, we were also friends in March) made friend, just crying. I was physically shaking with sobs. And even though we were hugging and trying to comfort each other it was still horribly sad. Sad that we had to leave. Sad that words weren’t enough. But that sadness is what was meant to be there. SOS is meant to make bonds like this. As much as nobody liked leaving and being the ones left, it was a necessity. The program was made for us to form the bond that made us want to hide our friends so they wouldn’t leave. The program was made for us to stay after they had left still crying (at least I was…still am actually) and talk about how we will stay connected through the time we are not together. We came up with a plan (but shhh…it’s a secret…for now) to keep us in touch (and maybe even still pray together every once in a while). So as sad as it was (and it’s heartbreakingly sad) it’s also a great opportunity to continue to share this bond (and make it stronger even though it doesn’t really need to be because it’s so strong now).

Now I told you I would share some of the little moments so after all that sad talk here is a funny one.

During the first night of dinner, I was trying to pour myself a cup of water (key word…trying), I spilled the water however. Next (same night) a new pitcher of water was placed on the table and in trying to move it I made some splash over the top. That was night one. I’ll skip the many other spills I had and go into the two most important. I had a cup of tea in the davening room. While picking it up I dropped it all into the carpet and my shoes (newish shoes). I cleaned the spill up of course but they got a little stained. Now this morning (Sunday morning) I was having a cup of passion tea. And surprise, surprise, I spilled the tea. It got all over the table and my shoes. I was so scared my shoes would stain. But thankfully they only have a little bit of color. But Glynis told me something amazing. It was along the lines of don’t worry about it, it shows you were here. And now whenever I look at my stained Tim’s I’ll know when it happened and all the feelings that were there.

My last moment was staying up until three am last night. Except I didn’t stay up. I fell asleep on one of my friends. And to show how bonded we are, they didn’t wake me up, they didn’t move me. I was allowed to sleep for a few hours on this person while they just sat there and talked with the people around us. It was a moment where everybody felt the bond. Because at three am were (really them) were all awake and just taking (I heard from a friend what happened while I was asleep). And despite being asleep, I still felt it. I felt the connection that Alan and Glynis made possible.

I cannot, and never will be able to thank them enough. They brought us together. They made out connection possible. And they encourage us to do what we want. For that, I am forever grateful for those two amazingly wonderful humans.-Lily G., Beth Tfiloh student

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From a different perspective

Last time I wrote the blogs from a different perspective. Last time I was in Budapest, I was the traveler, I was the one with jet lag. This time, however, I am the host. I have somebody staying in my house. I get to show people around my city. And most importantly I got in touch with my Judaism once again. 

I’m not going to lie. After getting back from the trip there, for a few weeks was more in touch than ever before. But after a few weeks, I lost that touch. Now, however, I’m realizing how lucky I am. How lucky I am to be in America, where I can practice freely.

During this morning Shabbats praying, there was an option for an alternative prayer. In this, we talked about what the SOS program means to us. There were so many responses that showed how important this program is for all of us. My take on the program is that it breaks down barriers. In the end, we are all teenagers and it amazes me that this program allows us (teenagers from two different countries) to get along like we’ve known each other our whole lives. 

The first day, it was around 8:45 pm when the buses came from the airport. The second they emerged from the bus it was like it’s hadn’t been a year. A year since we had last seen each other. Everybody was just hugging and smiling. There was no unhappy face in that crowd. It was amazing.

The week passed so quickly. I can’t believe it’s almost over. These past two days we have been on a Shabbaton. It had been fantastic. Like I mentioned earlier, we are just teenagers. On Friday night, for example, we stayed up until like 2 am just talking and goofing around. Despite all that we all go through personally we are still in the end teenagers. At dinner, we played pranks on each other. Waters were salted. I would make a very sugary tea (because I needed the energy to stay awake) it would get passed around to be tasted. Because again (I will never be able to say this enough) we are just teenagers!! Teenagers who learn from each other. I have learned to appreciate my Judaism more. How privileged I am to be able to practice mine. I used to take it for granted. I would get bored in my Jewish classes. Now I see it in a whole new light. I feel more in touch with my Judaism than ever before.

Tonight for example. (After Shabbat ended of course) we all sat around in a rec room watching a movie. We all agree fed on the movie and relaxed on each other watching a movie. And when the movie ended some people headed to different places. But as I am typing this now, I’m sitting on a couch in a dark room watching “Pitch Perfect 2” with around 11 people. Some of us on the couch, others on the floor and some just in chairs pushed right up against each other. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to this week. We ended it like kids. Just watching TV, or listening to loud (very, very loud) music, playing ping pong, or just talking. As mentioned many times, we are just teenagers. Except we are all contracted through a sense of community that SOS brings us.

I am forever grateful for this program and for Alan and Glynis who have brought us all together. And for helping create this everlasting friendship and bond.

-Lily G.

 
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The Shabbaton – from a male point of view

This Friday, we had another experience we’ve never had before.

We went to the STEM lab for the third period. Mr. Bonina held the class, as usual, I assume. He was talking about the other projects that were robotic arms in the making. After that, he introduced us to the 3D printer and printed us some little gadgets that we asked for.
As soon as we finished, we proceeded to head towards the theatre, where some of us held the Dva’r Torah, followed by the Fireside chat hosted by Ethan Traub.

I haven’t been in front of that big of an audience before, so let’s just say, I was a bit excited. I also had stage fright, but I was able to overcome it after the first question due to the cheering I received. I felt relieved. People even seemed to like the jokes I’ve made. It was a good feeling to make many people laugh.

Also, it was fascinating to see how actively the students were taking part in the school’s life, let it be the students’ government and their goals or the school clubs which made several announcements during the assembly.

After the assembly, we had a period with the student government, where they gave us a deep insight on how their system works and gave us tips & tricks on how to manage it on our own.

Then we proceeded to gather our stuff for Shabbaton.

We quickly changed into our fancy Shabbat clothes, but before the prayers, we had a game of human domino hosted by one of the SSG teachers. From there I got to know Coach Creeger. It turned out we had a lot of things in common. After Kabbalat Shabbat, we had a great conversation throughout the Shabbat dinner. Then we finished our meals and received books written by the rabbi. We had an hour to finish the assigned chapters given to us by Rabbi Soskil. We shared our thoughts about the chapters we were given. After a break, we had a tish. At the tish we ate sweets, sang songs, told stories, and had a good time. That was the last program before we went to bed.

The next morning we woke up to Rabbi Soskil and his specialty, called the Dinosaur song. We went to have breakfast, which was followed by a prayer. We participated in reading from the Torah, and for some of us, it was a new experience.  Avishye Moskowitz helped with great kindness those who felt inexperienced.

We had our lunch, where we sang Shabbat songs. After that we had some free time. Before the next prayer we had games hosted some SSG kids and even Rabbi Soskil.

Unfortunately, because of the rain we had the Havdalah indoors, but it didn’t matter, because of the good vibes. The feeling of standing in a circle, singing in the dark while the only illumination was a candle.

At the end of the week, everyone was so in tune with each other that we were bringing food to each other without the other one’s having to ask. We had a lot of great conversations, some even in depth. We played jokes on each other, told each other funny stories. I felt so blessed that I was able to see my old friends I met previously in Budapest and also I got to meet some new people as well.

Simon P., Grade 13

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What Havdala candles now mean to me

It’s already Saturday! I can’t believe I’ve been here for almost a week. I was looking forward to this Shabbaton since the BT students came to Budapest in March and we celebrated together.

The day started when we were woken up by Rabbi Soskil around 8 AM. We had a quick, but delicious breakfast and then the davening started. I took part in a davening like this back in March but I still enjoyed every moment of it like it had been the first one. After davening we had lunch and a little bit of free time. I didn’t really know what to do because I couldn’t use my phone, but I soon realized that I shouldn’t waste my time on social media since we don’t have that much time together. The whole day we were playing games, eating delicious food and enjoying each other’s company without any distractions and it truly felt amazing and refreshing.

As the night came around we changed into our comfortable clothes and stood in a big circle holding each other’s hand and singing songs together. As Rabbi Soskil was lighting the candles I realized that the candle had two sticks. A white one and a blue one were braided into each other. For me, it symbolized how Beth Tfiloh and Scheiber came together and made a life-long friendship even if there are almost 8000 km between us.

At night we were planning to have a campfire, but unfortunately, it was raining. But that didn’t stop us from having fun. We gathered together in a big room, made smores in the microwave and watched a movie together. As I was sitting there I was so sad that this week is going to end soon but still so happy that I got to be part of this program and that I could meet some of my best friends. This one week has honestly been one of the best experiences of my life.

Brigitta B., Grade 13

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Looking forward to Shabbaton

We have finally had our opportunity to have our workshop, with all of our educators involved in it. Sincere thanks to the awesome MLP members for their collaborative work to create the questions and answers. This quiz wanted to show the history of Jews in Hungary through a funny quiz show hosted by one of us, involving the tenth graders and with the participation of my outstanding colleagues who showed some significant moments of the story of the Jews in an extremely funny way. Without the enthusiasm of my colleagues or the excellent sense of humor of them all, we could not reach the kids out the way we could. Hopefully, kids from BT could take advantage of the things they heard and we sincerely hope that they became interested in Morim Limmud Program as well and this way they also might apply for this excellent program in the very near future.

The assembly was the other wonderful part of our day. Some kids of SSG made the Dvar Torah and we are proud of them as some of them had their first time in front of such a big audience, not telling about the fact that English is their second language. The Fireside Chat was really cool for our kids, as well as some of them, have a very good sense of humor. We love how organized it always is and we are happy to know that in Budapest we can welcome Eli Creeger, the head of this amazing event.

After the assembly, I personally could have a meeting with Karen Kaufman, responsible for the Department of Spanish as a foreign language. We could have a very useful talk about the work of departments and talked about the possible changes we could do to improve the efficiency of language teaching. We agreed on keeping in touch in the future to improve our professional development.

After the last period, we are ready to leave for Shabbaton, which every one of us has been looking forward since the moment we arrived here in Baltimore.

Violetta Varga, SSG

 

 

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Art with a Heart

It has been a very rich day in varieties as we have done some charity in a place called Art with a Heart.  We very much like the idea of doing some charity annually together with BT kids, it feels so good to give. Kids and teachers altogether prepared some handcraft so that little kids can play with them in the future.

 

 

Our evening program was the Skyzone, where our kids could have so much fun playing sports together. After this active day, we are looking forward to Friday and SSG teachers’ workshop. Hopefully, BT kids will enjoy having it together. ~Violetta Varga

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“Art with a Heart”

I can’t believe it is already Thursday! I feel like we just got here. Time goes by so fast when you are having fun. Today’s program was very packed. In the morning we had the chance to visit the STEM lab. It was very exciting to learn how the 3D printers work as well as to see what the BT kids usually do in this class. I wish we had a class like that at home. I would like to design my phone case just like the students in BT do. When the class ended we spent a period talking with the 12th graders. They asked us some questions about Hungary and also they were interested in our opinion and knowledge about Israel. I was happy to see how curious they were about our country and everyday life. During lunchtime, we had the opportunity to see the rocket club launching their rockets. I was so lucky that they let me push the button. I was literally jumping because I was so happy.

During the afternoon we went to do community service with the organization called Art With A Heart. They try to help the Community by doing art programs with kids and teaching the kids to respect and love themselves. We helped to make samples that they will give the kids when they have classes with them so that the kids can do art. I enjoyed it so much. We had a meeting a few days ago about community service with the BT kids which made me want to do more for my community. I got a lot of motivation from that talk.

We left the best for the end of the day. We went to Skyzone and jumped at the trampolins for two hours. It was so amazing. I think I can say that in the name of the whole group that we had a fantastic time there. I can’t wait to see what the next few days are having for me.  ~ Alexandra D., Grade 13

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It’s no dream – it is reality

‘If you will it, it is no dream, and if you do not will it, a dream it is and a dream it will stay.’  – THEODOR HERZL, 1902

This is how I can sum up the day we have been through. We wanted it, it is not a dream anymore, we are doing it and we are doing it together. BT and SSG. It is much more than friendship. Our kids are brothers and sisters. Words cannot express how important we consider it is to keep the relationship between our kids all alive. That is how we felt at the end of our extremely busy and very useful day.

To begin the day we were hosted by Peter Paplanos, the Head of Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Hungary in Washington DC. First, he made a presentation for all of us, for the sake of BT students when he told them about those Hungarian Jews who became world-famous. Among them, he mentioned Theodor Herzl, Imre Lichtenfeld – founder of Krav Maga and so many more. We then heard about some further plans that the embassy fulfills cooperating with the Hungarian Jewish Community in Budapest, supported by Yad Vashem as well. Hopefully, the matter of antisemitism is going in the right way. After the presentation, BT kids’ questions were answered. We also learned the fact that Israel is the third biggest investor in Hungary and the USA is the second biggest one, which means to us that our country does matter on an international basis. It is another important reason to keep our personal relationships alive, which we are sure both parties can take advantage of.  He put a strong emphasis on the bilateral relationship that is between the two countries.

Yisroel A, Grade 10 was happy to play the very famous Boganyi piano at the Embassy. It was beautiful and heart-warming to listen to him play.

Last but not least Mr. Paplanos told us that he as the Head of Public Diplomacy at the Hungarian Embassy is widely open to any common project which helps the two communities keep our bridge between us which he considers as a flourishing project and is worth all the support it possibly can get.

Our following programs were visiting the Lincoln Memorial and we could also see the Washington Monument from inside. Kids were all amazed by the spectacular view.

Following this, we went inside the US Capitol Visitor Center where we were shown around in the crypt. We learnt a lot about the statues set up there. e.g. the fact that the number of statues represents the thirteen colonies which became one nation in around 1787 with the Constitution of the United States.

After the Capitol, we were honored to meet Congressman John Sarbanes who had a very friendly welcoming conversation with us. He introduced himself to the kids and told them about the story of his career. He also introduced the House of Representatives and in a few words and had an interactive conversation with the kids. Finally, he expressed how opened he was to any form of relationship between the kids of the two schools. He also expressed how important he considered it to keep such relations going on. We were very happy to see how many important people welcome what we have been doing, which makes us keep believing how important is our mission and it could not exist without the further support of SOS International: Enriching Jewish Identities or the support of Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School.

By the end of the day our kids were mixed. They are not kids from BT or SSG any longer, they are the kids from the same community, who have one goal, one heart and one way to go together on and holding hand together they can fulfill the dream that Alan Reinitz and Glynis Smith had one day, bridging Jewish Communities throughout the world, enriching Jewish Identities and it means to us something that we must take care of and there is no doubt about it for sure.

Following through Theodor Herzl, we hope we will (want) this dream enough to come true that it will not stay a dream, but remains reality so that we can all be proud of what we have created together. It cannot be sustained without our common will, so we are very grateful again to everyone involved in the project with all of their hearts. ~ Violetta Varga, SSG

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