Introducing myself and Updating!

Hi everybody!
First of all I'm introducing myself since I know that some of you may not know about me. My name is Yael Magenheim and I've been spending this past incredible days with the boys and girls from Texas. I'm Argentinian and live in Buenos Aires and got to meet this wonderful group of people through Hillel since I volunteered to help them at the task of fixing one of our community's school.
I wish i could express in words how wonderful this experience has been, but English is not my first language (as u'r reading) and even if it were, i think words still won't be enough. Working with them, painting the school, making TWO HUGE AMAZING MURALS. panting two of the gyms, spending time with the kids, going to their classes, writing a Tora and having a Kipur Masks Contest with the Dallas Federation Mission and letting them see that although we are so far apart, we have the same customs when it comes to Judaism.... that's amazing. Talking with all of them, seeing that we have SO MUCH in common, even more than what we could think we have.
I'm just not looking for the words to say how all of this has gave me more enthusiasm to try to help in what i can at my community, is just like that. And also let me thinking about how can we, from here, start helping each other so eventually, all that this wonderful people had done here, will eventually reach others.
Also I expect that we can stay in touch and keep on finding similarities and helping each other in any way we can and even looking for ways to help others, not only in our community, but also in others.

I just hope that my english was at least OK so u all can get what I'm feeling, or at at least a small part of that.
Also I hope i can have this experience again and again, so we get to know each others' communities with each trip.

OK, someone here needs the computer so I'm leaving.

I'll wait for more posts, comments, whatever that will make us stay in touch (remember that when I get to go to Texas I need a place to sleep =P)

Some spanish that I think u all will understand

Los quiero mucho y los voy a extraniar (shmulik add spanish in your computer u don't have ENIE!!!!)
Espero verlos pronto en Texas (hope to see u soon in Texas)

Le Shanna Ha'Vaa Be Texas!!!!!!!!!! ^_^

BESOTES!

Yael

The last dance

As our last day in Argentina has arrived, it is now somewhere between 1:30 and 2:30 in the morning (daylight savings has just kicked in here), we have been able to see how far we've come. The afternoon following our first day painting the Marc Chagall school we questioned whether or not our painting murals and refurbishing gyms was in fact serving the Argentine Jewish community to the best of our abilities. A few nights later, a couple of us spoke with Nick, one of the Hillel Argentina peers about what he thought of what we were doing. Specifically what we were doing versus what we could or should be doing. In Nick´s mind we were exactly where we were supposed to be. He said that it's true we could have been handing out food to needy people, however those people would still need food beyond the week that we were visiting. The work that we were doing at Marc Chagall was something lasting, and something we could accomplish in a week. Another, and probably the most important aspect to Nick's answer, was that the work we were doing gives us the ability to go home and talk about the Argentine Jewish community with people in the United States. He said that this was the most valuable aspect of our trip here, and I completely agree.

Two days ago our group met with a delegation of Jews from Dallas whose donations helped fund our trip. I was incredibly thankful to meet them, because they are the reason I am able to work on a project like this one, as my capacity to be philanthropic is limited at this point in my life.

So yes, while painting the school may not have been the best use of our time, it was still a worthwhile project that hundreds of kids will be able to enjoy for years to come. However another very important aspect of our trip is what we take away from it.

It's sort of like seeing to believe; if we hadn't come here to experience the toll the economic collapse of seven years ago took on the community, then none of us would have thought twice about it. However by visiting and sharing our capacity for understanding our willingness to help has broadened considerably.

In 7-8 hours given wherever daylight savings has put us, we will wake up, spend our last little time in a city we have come to love, and return home; in our suitcases: laundry, trinkets, and a renewed desire for giving.

The Proof is in the People

Like most of my peers introspective thoughts about this trip, I had my doubts as to whether or not I, Rebecca Weiser, would really make a difference to the Argentinian Jewish community. After four days of painting and refurbishing the Mark Chagall Jewish Day School gym, my doubts increased. I flew over 10 hours to Argen-freaking-tina, and all I got out of it was a pair of ruined sneakers, some boxed kosher meals, and some cute pictures?

Wrong.

I felt this way until I more actively started engaging the Argentinians around me. After thought provoking and reassuring discussions, I concluded the following:

1) My Spanish sucks.
2) We really did make a difference. Education is key in building any society, and by improving the facility's morale we made an impact on these kids' future.
3) Our presence alone, affected both them and me. It sent the message of Jewish solidarity and continuity, as well as sharing the benefits of our respective cultures.
4) My sneakers were old anyways.

Long story short, it wasn't until I started speaking with the PEOPLE did I realize this trip's importance. Engaging the locals opened my eyes to how much we really impacted the community and how much they will truly benefit from our work.

The moral of the story?
Sometimes you need to step away and appreciate the bigger picture over a cup of matte and a buddy to help see the other side. Get out there, have those conversations, and find other ways to connect. Relationships make HUGE impacts in life, so whatever you´re doing, make sure it´s with a smile and a friend. Really, folks... the proof is in the people.

Day 2 March 11

Today we ate breakfasts at the hotel and then departed on the bus for the JDC baby help center. At the baby help center we learned about the mission of the JDC and the baby help center in Buenos Aires. We spent time playing with the children and organizing the items we donated.

Afterwards we bussed out to one of the city’s shantytowns to visit a soup kitchen that the JDC’s non-sectarian wing operates. The manager of the kitchen told us how she came to operate the soup kitchen.

Following our visit to the soup kitchen we dined at a kosher restaurant that served Middle Eastern food. We then proceeded to the Marc Chagall Jewish Day School where we began our project of painting various rooms in the school and playground equipment.

After work we sat down for a discussion on the Jewish outlook on charity and community relations. When this was done we went back to the hotel, showered and went to dinner in a nice part of Buenos Aires.

My personal experience thus far has been amazing. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city and the people are as warm and friendly as I have ever met. I am getting a chance to really try and speak Spanish. The idea that an organization such as the JDC has been able to make a difference in so many thousands of people’s lives makes me proud to be a part of this experience.

Day Three-March 12

This is the day when fatigue started hitting everyone. Did it matter to any of us? Of course not!

We headed out after our usual bland breakfast of Orange Tang and Medialunas to the Mark Chagall Day School to finish working on our different projects: the gym, the second floor mural, and the playground mural(which i was assigned to).
Work was fun, the paint fumes must have contributed to this overall feeling, because it was definitely not easy work.
Outside, our Hebrew alphabet started taking shape, and those assigned to the project knew it would come out awesome.
Lunch included this brick of a cheese sandwich, which probably would have weighed in at about a pound.



At 4:00 pm(1600 army time) we left Mark Chagall and headed to a JDC welfare center.We received an explanation about the function of the 62 JDC supported welfare centers, I must say this was the moment you could really tell people were really tired. When the briefing was done, we split into 3 groups, each group would meet with a different welfare case, my group met with Avram.

Avram was a senior citizen who spoke good English, I felt this really helped my group understand the severity of his case since we were listening to it first hand rather than through a translator. Avram told us how he had dreamt of a better retirement and future, for himself, and for Argentina, however, over the years the different regimes and events slowly started removing the hope he had, his breaking point was the economic crisis in 2001.
Avram's life savings, accumulated over 50 years, were frozen and he never got to see a dime of it. Instead of living on 5000 pesos a month, Avram is forced to sustain himself with 1000 pesos only, his budget has to include not only rent and food, but also medications. Leaving the session with Avram I had a lot of food for thought: trying to understand how these people must feel, and what could be done to help not only them, but Argentina in general.

Our group meetings were followed by everyone's favorite, group reflection. The conversation we came up with was quite interesting, and it led to some idealogical and political questions.
Would a different system of government prevent future crisis? Why is there no public outcry?

We returned to the hotel to shower, and headed out to the tango show, dinner was ok, then we all headed out to watch a play/recollection of life in la Boca in the late 19th century, it was quite cheesy, but entertaining.
The tango show itself was great, long, but great, the dancers were very good.
I was most impressed by the leader of the band, even though he must have played this show every night for us turistas, he still managed to be excited and was cheering the dancers and singers the entire show.

There you have it, day 3 of our trip, stay tuned for day 4....

Wednesday, March 12th

Howdy y'all. I'm Nathan Kaufman, a freshman meteorology major from San Antonio, Texas currently attending Texas A&M University and I've been suckered in to telling you about our Wednesday. Well, Maybe not suckered; I volunteered.

It started off like the others, early. Of course we were tired, we had an awesome night with some of our Buenos Aires Hillel peers the night before. However, today was a busy day. We started by returning to the Marc Chagall School and continued our work there. The indoor mural had to be postponed due to classes taking place, so some of us worked on an outdoor mural at the playground. I must say that it turned out very well. It is a long, wavy white band with the Hebrew alphabet inside the band. Some others worked on the playground equipment that needed repainting. The remainder, along with me, worked upstairs in the gymnasium, repainting walls, doors, and benches.

Some had the opportunity to help out teaching English classes in the school today while everyone had the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of writing a Torah when a scribe came today and let us write (or in my case, guide his hand while he wrote) some letters. I chose a nun for my name, Natan.

We hurried off to visit one of the JDC run welfare centers and were able to hear stories from some of the elderly that the center helps. We also got to ask lots of questions about a variety of subjects from the economic crisis to movies to girlfriends. There was also a short discussion on tzedakah.

The evening took us to a touristy area called Boca Tango. It is reminiscent of the Boca area of Buenos Aires and while dinner takes place, a tango dancer patrols the dining area, taking pictures with guests in possibly not too flattering poses. After dinner, there was a short play and then a tango show. The tango show was really neat because it showcased the dance style and included a live band and singers. The tango dance itself is a very sensual dance that is a lot of fun to watch.

Well, I believe that is all. It's past 1:30 and I must email the paranoid parentals and check Facebook before catching a couple hours of sleep and starting yet another crazy day in Buenos Aires.

We`ve Arrived! (Day 1)

Though this is day one in Argentina, it is in fact day two or day three for the members in our group. Many of us spent the weekend in Houston, Texas before departing on our long flights to Miami and Buenos Aires. Our trip has truly appeared to be much longer than the ten hours we have actually experienced. I never realized how far away Argentina was from Texas! Our time spent in the airport terminals was the perfect opportunity for each of us to play games and get to know each other better.

After arriving in Buenos Aires, we took a surprisingly short bus ride to the hotel (normally there is more traffic). At the hotel, we reviewed information on the current economic situation and then headed off to AMIA. We participated in a memorial service, planned by Ben and Heather, for the victims of the terrorist attack that occurred on July 18, 1994. The memorial sculpture was absolutely beautiful! When looking at the memorial from different angles, we could see different images that held certain significances. My favorite angle was the one that showed a menorah pointing up and one pointing down, signifying life and death.

We then moved on to our bus tour of Buenos Aires! The group took a stop at the main plaza in front of the presidential palace, which is pink! I found it interesting that the building's architecture represented a combination of both Italian and French culture. We all had an amazing time chasing pigeons and viewing the Metropolitan Cathedral. After returning on the bus, we had an extended view of the city while driving towards the Argentina Hillel.

The Hillel was really fun! We were able to see the differences in the culture of students involved in Argentina in comparison to our own. We made friends that we will see throughout this week and hopefully gain a stronger connection with. In addition, our dinner with the students was our first window to the local cuisine.

This long, amazing day was termed "Argentina Light." I cannot imagine what will come next!