Argentina, tiene nuestros corazones

So, we're back. But not really. As our group of Argentina travelers returns to our busy lives in North America, we realize a few things that were anything but expected. I think i can speak for all of us when i say that when someone asks "how was your break?" we freeze up. Not because we are at a loss for what to talk about, but because our experience is unexplainable. Many, if not all of us, had the best week of our lives on various levels. There are many people to thank for a rush of emotions that engulf our bodies when we think about this trip. First of all, I believe the community service aspect of our trip was fulfilled in the best way. We were able to work for Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Argentina, but more importantly, we are able to feel our impact. From smiling children to grateful locals, our service was and continues to be extremely rewarding.

Next, and what i would like to focus on for this particular post is a different community, nay, a family, that was created on this trip. In my personal opinion, the two most powerful ways to become close to someone are through work and/or difficult times and through sheer happiness. In these experiences one sees into a person and really discovers who they are. I am proud to say that on this trip, our stunning group of 30 students, sharing 6 languages by the way, connected on before mentioned levels among others. Without even realizing it, and right under our noses, we were becoming more than friends on a life-changing trip. This family includes so many aspects, that I will cherish for the rest of my life. People I didn't even know 2 weeks ago have become my closest and most trusted friends and the friendships created on this trip will without doubt last forever. Reunions have already been planned and attempted despite less than a week passing since we touched down in Houston together. We are expecting a full reunion to take place by summer time. 

One phenomenon seems to be on everyones mind. Each and every person from this trip who i have spoken to is having an unfamiliar and shocking feeling. Though seemingly indescribable, i will try my best. Well, we dont want to be back here. We want to be in Argentina, and we want to be with each other. Some have even voiced the lack of desire to see other friends, and we surely do not want to get back to school work. In a sense, we are all homesick for Argentina. The experience we shared as a collective group enabled us to make a home in the ever-so welcoming Jewish community in Argentina, and especially amongst each other as members as the most fun and exciting family one could be a part of. As we share this feeling of slight depression of our trip being over, we find the euphoric feeling of becoming closer with other people in one week than any of us thought possible. Seeing each other and reflecting on our experiences together (including a list of 50, thats right, 50, hilarious inside jokes) slaps a grin on our faces that we can not get rid of.

In short, we are now a family. We should also note that none of this would ever be possible if not for our loving parents: Kerin, Naomi, Shahar, Yael y Brenda. We love the five of you more than you realized as you have brought us together in the most incredible way.

Anyhoo, Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible. This group of 30 was, and is, the most intimate and awesome group to ever travel together. 

Besos,

Avi

I miss u!

Hi again! I hope everybody is safe back home.
I'm here in my room trying to find some words that would help descibre how great was spending this past week with the group but i fin it difficult since i'm doing it in english and also some things can't be said with just words. I just hope that u all understood that for us here it is important that u went throught the trouble of comming here and that the help u provide is very important and valued.
I hope that u understood that u r part of a much bigger comunity than u thought and will always be welcomed again. It's thanks to people like u that the world keeps moving towards a better future and it's important that u realize this. Some choices may not seem thta important but after some time u realize how much that affected someone else in a very possitive way.

Miss u all a lot!
Thank you for letting me be part of the group!

Los quiero mucho!

Yae

Baby Help Center

Video Footage and Pictures from the Baby Help Center in Buenos Aires

-Jared K.

Before You Set The Table...

*Dedicated to mi madre*

Hola y Shalom,

As I write this passing by the awesome scenery that is Buenos Aires, the countdown to Shabbat begins. In 12 hours I will partake in an entirely new Shabbos experience with the Orthodox community of Buenos Aires. And the synagogue is conveniently located 20 footsteps across the street from our hotel! I have some things on my mind that I would love to share with you. Yesterday, we had the honor and privilege of visiting the LeDor VaDor Old Age Home. I can honestly say, without any exaggeration, that it is the nicest and most beautiful facility of its kind that I have ever seen. And the fact that it is serving the Jewish community, one that has been struggling in recent years, is both comforting and incredible. I encourage you all to become more familiar with JDC, with their mission, and with what they have accomplished. It is truly an incredible organization.

I have connected with Jewish communities in Budapest, Krakow, and in most major cities in Israel. They are all wonderful, of course. Anti-Semitism is unfortunately expressed here in Argentina more often than in other places around the world. The strength and pride of the Jewish people here is radiated with the love of the culture, necklaces with HaMagen David and Chai, and of course, ample amounts of delicious kosher cuisine. It’s a beautiful thing to see and experience and it only increases my love and pride for Judaism even more.
We have been having discussions every day about what it means for us to be here as Jews, performing mitzvoth, giving Tzedakah, and experiencing an unfamiliar culture. While helping at La Botallita (remember, boh-tah-zheeta), which was incredibly rewarding, we discussed an article by a Jewish man whose name I am currently forgetting, but perhaps you are familiar with this. He shared an opinion that I strongly disagree with, writing that the global Jewish community as one people-hood was coming to an end because of modern American culture. He gave offensive nicknames to modern American Jews such as “Frankenjews” and others. He blamed a modern progressive lifestyle in America for losing the idea of what it means to be Jewish, that we no longer care about the real religious aspects of Judaism. I would like to respond by saying this: One of the biggest, if not the biggest, responsibility of the Jewish people is to perform mitzvoth. How can this man say that Americans are losing their Jewish identity when young college students are willingly volunteering to travel over 4,000 miles to Argentina to help both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities here, through an American Jewish non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to help struggling Jewish communities around the ENTIRE WORLD? Judaism can be expressed in multiple ways. We are expressing it in every way possible, and I assure this pessimistic writer that there are many, many more Jewish people in America like this. The people-hood certainly remains a very real thing, as I am seeing it with my own eyes at LeDor VaDor , the Hillels here, and the amazing service of our wonderfully diligent group. So the time for the sun to set comes nearer, and two completely different kinds of people will come together by two simple, yet very powerful words:
Shabbat Shalom.

I am so lucky and honored to be a part of this trip. I hope you all reflect on this and realize that the global Jewish community is stronger than ever, and start/continue to contribute to it through ways in which our group has performed here in Argentina.

Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Aviv Schor

¿Quieres bailar conmigo?

We realize that we’ve been M.I.A. for a couple days and that you’ve missed us, but we’re back and will be posting on the daily. The reason for our absence is an incredibly busy, yet more rewarding few days, sharing our experiences with the less fortunate, and each other. We have only been here for a short time, but our schedule has been booked minute to minute accomplish as much as possible for the Argentinean community.

From helping babies with supplies and funds to painting murals that will last forever, we feel that we have helped both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities here in Argentina in very meaningful ways. After at least 11 hours of air-travel, we immediately began our special journey by finding our home in Buenos Aires: The exceedingly gorgeous Hillel house. From there, we delivered our kilos of baby clothes to the Baby Help Center and got to mingle con los precious little ninos. Highlights included an epic performance of the chicken dance, toys, arts, crafts, and laughs (Shout out to Nacho!!). Following our overnight double-decker, reclining leather-chair-equipped “bus” to the charming ciudad de Cordoba, we had a full day of touring the Jewish facilities, including the inspiring Welfare Center, the only Jewish day school in the city, the spankin’ new JCC, and the extremely welcoming deliciously foodly equipped Hillel house. We also had the opportunity to begin our volunteer work with the non-Jewish community. La Botallita, (pronounced boh-teh-zhita) is a community soup kitchen to assist residents of one of the poorest neighborhoods in Cordoba. We split up into groups to renovate and beautify both locations of La Botallita to make the facilities accommodate the people as effectively as possible. We are proud of our work which, when completed, attracted the media who requested to interview a couple of our students about our efforts to enhance a community experience for the less fortunate. Ariel Lipski and Giselle [pronounced Gri-zezscj :P ] flaunted their Spanish to explain our mission to Cordoba. Though unfinished, our work in Argentina will continue to be appreciated by these beautiful people.

Work hard, play hard. As a bi-product, we were able to experience the Argentinean culture with college students in the most enjoyable and memorable ways. We would like to thank the Cordoba Hillel for welcoming us with open arms, empanadas, world-class kosher meat, cerveza, and great company. As we make our way back to Buenos Aires on our limo-bus hybrid, we reflect on last night and appreciate going out with the locals and immersing ourselves in their rich and intriguing culture. Caipirinhas para todos! We wined and dined in two fabulous restaurants sharing memorable moments, with some of the finest food our pallets have ever experienced, and celebrated our accomplishments con los ninos de Sour Patch.

It would be chutzpah to not mention this exciting facet of our spring break. Despite coming from three different schools, and ultimately, many different backgrounds, the students on our trip have already connected in an exceptional way in which we know will be everlasting by the end of the week. We personally feel that everyone has gotten the opportunity to express themselves and become comfortable with one another. This couldn’t be possible without our lively and understanding staff who have done everything in their power to make this trip truly great; and they ain’t bad to look at either. In addition to the Colonel, Teddy Bear Shahar, and Naomi, we would like to give a warm Tejas welcome to Yael y Brenda. Bienvenidos a nuestra familia!!

We know that was a lot to take in, but there is even more to come. Stay tuned.

Un beso,

Avi(v)

We're in Argentina!!!

BY Laureen
Today, well yesterday, we started our amazing journey below the equator to Buenos Aires. We have been preparing for months! After a bumpy plane ride from Houston to Miami, we arrived at the Miami airport and waited impatiently for our plane to Argentina. After the eight hours on the plane, where we did everything from play games, to watch movies, to sleeping, we arrived with a bit of delay in Buenos Aires at 9:06, and our day started immediately. We packed up the bus and got our first glimpses of Argentina. First we went to Hillel. The architecture for this building is very different from what we are use to in Texas. It’s a gorgeous building, and we were greeted by very friendly faces. After learning a little more about the Baby Help Center, we were on our way to a delicious Kosher lunch. Then we went off to play with the babies. The kids were really happy to see us. We got to sort the clothes, play with the wonderful children, do arts and crafts and participate in a song circle. It was great to see not only how we can impact their lives, but how they can impact our lives, too. At this point, we were starting to get really tired, but we still had a wonderful opportunity to hear a great speech on the economic and Jewish history of Argentina. There we also got to meet students our age from Baltimore that came to Argentina with Hillel to help out in other ways. From here we got to go back to Hillel, relax for a few minutes and then off to dinner. Once dinner was over we were headed for a 9 hour bus ride to Cordoba where we would hopefully, finally be able to catch up on some sleep on our beautiful bus.

Group safe and having fun in Cordoba

Rina blogging... our group is having a lot of fun! Yesterday we were in Buenos Aires and today and tomorrow we are in Cordoba. Today we visited the only Jewish school in Cordoba. The school has Jewish kids from all backgrounds of Judaism attending. We are staying at a hostel and tomorrow evening will be heading back to Buenos Aires by bus. The country is beautiful!

Llegamos a CORDOBA! (Arrived to CORDOBA)

For those of you that still don´t know, I´m Yael Magenheim and I´m an Argentine Hillel voluntier for the Tzedek Project that will be taking place this week in the City of Cordoba, Argentina
Once again, I´m ready to work with the JDC group. This time we moved to the city of Cordoba instead of staying at Buenos Aires, so it´s gonna be something new for me two. I´m really excited about having this opportunity again with a group of people that´s willing to help the comunity in my country. As always, expectations are at the top and I´m sure this group won´t be less when it somes to work.
I hope that we all can enjoy the experience not just by helping but also by learning from each other during the next days.

Besos

Yae

6,422-15-30

                Those are some big and pretty numbers. Let us tell you the significance:

6,422 - $$$ Cha-ching! That's right folks. Our amazing group participating in ASB 2009 has raised that much money (and counting!) for the Baby Help Center and L'Dor V'Dor. Our fundraisers were a huge success. A special thanks from us to Pluckers and Zeta Beta Tau for hosting our events. They were a blast. An official amount raised for these extremely worthy causes will be released in the next post. 

15 hours until we depart from IAH on flight #1294N! Only so many adjectives can describe how we feel. We'll tell you. Excited, proud, thrilled, happy, philanthropic, and ready. Ready to have the most meaningful experience, to perform inspiring mitzvot, to bond with new friends, make wonderful connections, and lastly, but certainly not leastly, eat some of the best food this planet has to offer. 

30 awesome students from UT, UNT, and U of H will bring you insight and share their experiences with you throughout the next 7 days through words, videos, and pictures right here at JDC Rocks Argentina! 

We know this has been our first post in quite some time, but be sure to check back daily, as every day this coming week is sure to be filled with stories to make you smile and get all warm and fuzzy inside. 

Buenas Noches & Shavua Tov,

Avi(v)