On this blog post I will share with you about this current week that I had as well as about the past two weeks (because I did not write how was my week two weeks ago).
So two weeks ago I had the North America Shlichim (emissaries) Annual conference! We had a super early flight on Sunday morning (5:30 am) to Atlanta and straight from there to Boston. From Boston we took a bus with other Shinshinim to Palmer, Massachusetts to Camp Ramah in New England. It was so nice to meet again all my Shinshinim friends which I haven’t seen since our final training on July. I was very excited to see them all. There, we talked about our experiences are so far, at the work places, host families, supervisors, the work with the other Shinshinim and activities that we did. During all the conversations and sessions I realized how lucky I am to be in St. Louis and have (in my humble opinion) the most amazing community there is with the most amazing and supporting people, and inspired by the thanksgiving I want to thank you for that!
After 3 days we went to Yale University, toured the campus and then went to a hotel in Stanford, Connecticut and joined the rest of the North America Shlichim. We came back to town on Wednesday night and on Thursday we had a meeting with an Israeli businessman named Nir Tzuk, which was an honor to meet and talk to and I really hope to have the chance to do collaborate with him in the near future. After the meeting I went to the ECC at Kol Rinah and we did an activity about Thanksgiving and talked about all the things we are thankful for. We made drawings for Israeli soldiers and a thank you art for Israel. We in Israel don’t celebrate thanksgiving so I thought of a creative way to combine thanksgiving with Israel and to the ECC kids.
Also, on Tuesday at the ECC at Shaare Emeth we talked about the things we are grateful and thankful in our lives and made thank you arts to Israel and the soldiers that protecting it. In addition, I moved in to my new and second host family, the Silver family. I am looking forward to have a great time with them and thanking them for open their house to me
On Friday of that week I flew to Minnesota with some of the teens from Kol Rinah USY to the Emtza convention. It was so fun to meet teens from all over the region and to see another state and although I was so exhausted from the conference, I had a good time there! We came back from the convention on Sunday.
This week’s first three days were the last days with my first incredible host family- the Samson family that I love so much. It is so bizarre to me that it’s already been 3 months since I came here and I have to say that I couldn’t wish for more and want to use this platform to thank again to the Samson family for everything they have done for me and for the great time we had together. I will always remember it.
Now we’re getting into the thanksgiving holiday weekend and I am super excited for my first thanksgiving (and probably the last for the next few years until I’ll be back here again), to see how you celebrate the holiday, enjoy the holiday meal and the weekend that comes.
I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend!
Shaked