4 DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR ISRAEL

SIX DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR ISRAEL!!!!

Spent all day today getting ready for the trip. Planning conversations and looking over the itinerary and agenda. Take plenty of vitamins and get plenty of sleep! This is going to be an awesome journey that I can't wait to share with you all. Sue

This year instead of going to the beach and partying for spring break, I went on the Jewish National Fund's Alternative Spring Break with my fellow Hokies from Hillel! I raised money over winter break by asking my family, teachers, and friends to donate to the JNF on my behalf instead of giving me Chanukah presents or birthday presents. Other people on the trip sold raffle tickets, and one student raised all his money doing challah bake sales for his temple!

I wanted to go on this trip because Taglit Birthright Israel made a huge impact on me and I love Israel, but I felt like such a tourist. I wanted to see to see how less fortunate citizens of Israel lived, and I wanted to give back to the land I love. Our first day on the trip we got off the plane at Ben Gurion and drove to Yerucham near Be'er Sheba in the Negev. This was not going to be a touristy trip, we were staying in a youth hostel in a residential town with nothing to do. We spent our first full day painting government housing projects to make them look better. It was hard work chipping away at all the flaking paint and painting all the hard to reach areas like the ceiling. As residents began to come home from their days work, they saw how nice their building looked, and they cheered us on, and in some cases they helped or brought us food. It was great to see the joy on their faces. These people don't have much, and just seeing that someone cares about them made a big impact on their day.

Each day we worked on a different project, and saw where other JNF groups had been before us. We saw other JNF projects, like the indoor playground in Sderot where children can play without fear of a rocket attack. We saw the water project in Be'er Sheva. We worked at an Ethiopian absorption center, on an olive tree farm in the Negev, on river terraces near Jerusalem, at Yad Sarah (the largest medical supplier in Israel), and on forest fire prevention in the Carmel region near Haifa. We met many project coordinators; Israelis who were working hard every day to make their country a better place. There was one project we visited that was an after school program for elementary schoolers in composting. They made their own compost facility, and the local neighborhoods all used this compost center that the children made and maintained! We also had many deep discussions about the value of service work for the participant and for the community involved. I grew very close to my bus members, and I will take this experience with me much further than a week of tanning in Miami. Thank you Hillel, and thank you JNF for an amazing Spring Break!

Chiddy Bang Concert by Dayna Guadagno

On March 22, 2011 the Hillel concert chair, Izzy Shocket, and I ran our first Daniel Pearl Music Day concert in Burruss Auditorium. Performing was The Illiance, an undercover rap group from New York, The White Panda, a mash up DJ group, and Chiddy Bang, a quickly up and coming rap group that is popular with many college students.

Daniel Pearl Music Day celebrates the power of music to reaffirm our commitment to tolerance and humanity.

Overall, we were very pleased with the turnout of the night. This was The Illiances' first show and they started the concert out with a great performance. The White Panda was up next and started the dance party. Last up was Chiddy Bang. There was a bit of a problem when this time came because one of the two group members, Chiddy, had missed two flights that day and was running late. Thankfully, he arrived after only a few minutes of stalling and Chiddy finished the concert with a "bang" and pleased their fans. We are looking forward to putting on our next concert this fall!

Alternative Spring Break in Los Angeles!!!

At the elementary school we got to tutor children. I was assigned to a first grade girl named Pearl. The whole time I was helping her with her homework she seemed very reserved and shy. I tried to read to her and make a connection, but she just didn'te seem interested. I was convinced she just didn't like me. I was disappointed and a bit hurt. When we finished her homework I moved on to help another boy and left her with some other tutors. When we all piled together again to move outside to the playground, I noticed one of the other tutors was holding her child's hand. I naturally lookd for Pearl and saw her, but she wasn't looking for me and it just reassured me of our lack of conneciton and brought back my disappointment. I looked away. Less than 10 seconds later I heard my name being spoken out loud and looked down.

There was Pearl with her hand outstretched waiting for me to grab it. That definitely was an experience I felt with my heart. I was so surprised that she had apparently bonded with me enough to want me with her for the next activity.

Sophie DeWaal

While at the Jewish Home for the Aging the senior I spoke with was from Czechoslovakia. She was close to turning 100 yeas old. She was fluent in five languages. I asked her to teach me a phrase in the Czech language. The words she taught me were "very good". She told me without learning - life would be very dull and boring. She kept saying how she wanted to learn Spanish and keep on learning and learning until she dies. This 100 year old lady impressed me with how positive she was.

Meredith Frank