¿qué pensaron los adolescentes sobre BBYO IC 2014? / what did the teens think about BBYO IC 2014?

I could tell from the constant smiles and laughter that my teens from Argentina had a good time at BBYO's International Convention, but I wanted you to hear it from them. THANK YOU BBYO for giving the Hebraica teens this opportunity, it made an impact on them far more than I could have hoped for:

Herni (left) with other friends at BBYO's IC 2014

Si me preguntan que es lo primero que se me viene a la cabeza con respecto a la IC 2014, serian muchas cosas juntas, como por ejemplo, la palabra unión. BBYO no es solo una organización, es una hermandad, es una familia, es un concepto y un punto de vista totalmente distinto a lo que conocía. La posibilidad de interactuar con personas de culturas distintas, con costumbres distintas, pero sin embargo con muchos intereses en común que hacen de las diferencias culturales e idiomáticas una minoría. BBYO crea un espacio de intercambio increíble que permitió que todos los delegados internacionales se lleven nuevos amigos, nuevos recuerdos y sobre todo una nueva experiencia de vida. El hecho de ver lo que la fuerza de un lazo cultural como el judaísmo puede provocar, es motivador, pero sobre todas las cosas provoca esperanza en los adolescentes que construyen el futuro. Entonces que es lo que la IC 2014 me transmitió? Me transmitió esperanza para un futuro mejor, y me dejo amigos de 20 países distintos.

Gracias Joey, gracias Kate, gracias Hebraica, y gracias BBYO

-Herni Melinsky 

If you ask me what is it first thing that comes to mind in respect to IC 2014, many things together, for example the word union. BBYO is not only an organization, it is a brotherhood, it is a family, it is a concept and point of view completely distinct from one I've ever known. The possibility to interact with people from distinct cultures, distinct traditions, but at the same time with many interests in common made our differences in cultures and language virtually unimportant. BBYO creates a space of incredible exchange that allows all of the international delegates to make new friends, new memories, and above all a new experience in life. The fact is you can see the strength that the cultural bond of Judaism can cause, it is a motivator, but above all raises hope for teens who are building the future. So what is it that IC 2014 transmitted to me? It transmitted to me the hope for a better future and left me friends from 20 distinct countries.

Thank you Joey, thank you Kate, thank you Hebraica, and thank you BBYO

-Herni Melinsky

Tami (right) with her pen pal and
now friend Bojan from Macedonia

IC es una experiencia única, en esas dos semanas te haces amigo de personas de todo el mundo, que desde un principio solo tenes algo en común, el ser judío. También haber tenido la oportunidad de conocer a Bojan, mi "hermanito" que me dieron desde hebraica para hacer un proyecto (antes de IC), fue increíble. Después de hablar con el, conocer como es el judaísmo en Macedonia, video llamadas, etc, pude pasar esas dos semanas con el en Dallas. También con los de hebraica tuvimos la posibilidad de conocer a los chicos de la región de liberty, nuestro socio región en BBYO, con quienes durante el año hicimos varias video llamadas. 

Aprendí sobre las diferentes culturas de los judíos de muchos países, costumbres e historias, diversidades del judaísmo y conocí personas increíbles que gracias a BBYO pude conocerlas. Esta experiencia me hizo crecer como persona. Ya no sólo me siento parte de la comunidad de argentina si no me siento una judía dentro de la comunidad del mundo.

-Tami Kusznir

IC is a unique experience, in those two weeks you make friends with people from all over the world that from the outset you only have one thing in common, being Jewish. Also I had the opportunity to meet by "brother/pen pal" from our project in Hebraica, Bojan, in person, and it was incredible. After speaking with him through the project before IC, learning what Judaism is like in Macedonia, video conferences, etc., I was able to spend two weeks with him in Dallas. Also with those from Hebraica we had the opportunity to get to know teens from Liberty Region, our partner region in BBYO, who we have had various video calls with throughout the past year.

I learned about the different cultures of Jews in many countries, traditions, and histories, diversities within Judaism and met incredible people thanks to BBYO. This experience made me grow as a person. I now not only feel like a part of the Jewish community in Argentina but like a Jew within our world community.

-Tami Kusznir

¡felicidades Hache! / congratulations Hache!

Hache, one of the two assistant youth directors I work with at Hebraica, was honored by BBYO as the international advisor of the year. The award is called the David Bittker Advisor  of the Year Award and was awarded to Hache for helping to start and sustain Hebraica's partnership with BBYO among many other reasons. My teens and I wrote a small speech that two of our teens, Ari and Melu, presented to Hache along with the award in front of all 2,000 participants and esteemed guests. I am so proud and lucky that I get to work with such a creative, innovative, and passionate person in Buenos Aires. Hache completely deserved this award and I'd love for you to read why:

Why does Hache deserve this award?

Could it be for his experience as an educator, as a leader, his innovation? Could it be because he is an excellent guy?

In our Hebraica community, Hache is one of three directors in the youth department. He is always looking for new techniques to educate and teach both the chanichim (youth participants) and the Madrichim (counselors). He is not only a leader in our Hebraica community but also among Argentina’s Jewish community.

Hache was a key leader in both starting and strengthening our organization’s partnership with BBYO. This year at IC we are proud to say we have 7 representatives and hopefully more in the years to come. Hache, we would now like to present you with the David Bittker Advisor of the Year Award.

Hache, te queremos muchisimo y estamos muy orgullosos.  Gracias por todo!

We are so proud of you and love you so much. Thank you for everything you do!

BBYO's pre-IC (International Convention)

International Delegation at BBYO's IC

I just finished a whirlwind twelve days in Dallas, TX at BBYO's International Convention.  Over 2,000 teens from over 20 countries met to celebrate the successes and growth of BBYO and think about the future of the organization. For those of you who do not know, BBYO is the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, a youth movement with the mission of more Jewish teens, more meaningful Jewish experiences.

The first five days were spent with wonderful host families in Dallas, TX. Most of the international teens and staff (about 100 people) gathered to get to know each other, sightsee around Dallas, leadership development programming, and through this formed a tight-knit community. Highlights included:

-Team building at Group Dynamix where we were high above the ground on zip lines and ropes courses 

-Visiting a Jewish Hebrew school and meeting with American high school teens to compare and contrast our Jewish communities 

-Spending a morning at the North Texas Food Bank sorting over 7,200 lbs of food and putting together 6,000 meals for in-need families in Texas

-Learning valuable skills to bring homes with us to our communities around the world 

-Visiting Dallas highlights including Dallas Aquarium, Perot museum, Dallas shopping malls, and more

-Spending time with our wonderful host families and being taken in by their Southern Texan hospitality. A huge shout out to the Gabay family for the warm hospitality and wonderful brown-bag lunches! 

Before we even joined the rest of the convention, our global teens had created friendships among themselves and with their host families. A bunch of my Argentinian teens even messaged me to ask if they had to come to the hotel because they didn't want to leave their host families. 

Thank you SO much to Joey Eisman, BBYO's Associate for Israel and Global Jewish Peoplehood, for bringing this global Jewish community together. Joey worked tirelessly and passionately to bring as many teens as possible to IC and to make sure their experience both during pre-IC and IC was one never to forget! Also thank you so much all the Dallas families for taking us in and logistically making sure our pre-IC experience was wonderful. 

el discurso / speech

This is a speech I gave last week at the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization's International Convention at a session on globalization.

Seven years ago, I made an Israeli friend named Achi-Or at BBYO's International Leadership Training Conference at Perlman Camp. I hadn't seen him since, but two months ago we reunited to celebrate Shabbat in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

How did this situation come to be?

From a shy freshman new member to President of Eastern Region: Virginia Council, my four years in BBYO were full of friends, conventions, summer programs, singing, leadership development, and memories. Through it all, I became a confident leader who could speak to a large group and strived to capitalize on opportunities in the present to create a strong Jewish future. And if that wasn’t enough, just by organically developing a network and traveling abroad in BBYO, I discovered my passion to be part of a global Jewish world and to help it become increasingly connected.

During my years at the University of Virginia, I sought out a Jewish community through Hillel. I became an active leader and found out that my Hillel offered alternative spring breaks through JDC Entwine. For those of you who don't know, JDC Entwine is the young leadership development part of the American Jewish joint distribution committee, and connects young Jews to global Jewish communities. My first JDC Entwine experience was a college service trip to Israel. I was so overwhelmed by this experience that I then led a trip of my peers to Ukraine the following year. I went a step further and spent eight weeks in Argentina as a multi-week JSC fellow the following summer. This experience was so moving and I came back with many ideas, so I was honored to be invited to JDC Entwine's 20 member national steering committee as the first college representative to help develop Entwine's strategic goals, something I'm really proud of. These experiences put me in a unique position to learn about the challenges and successes of many Jewish diaspora communities and opened my eyes to the role I wanted to have in helping to shape and continue to strengthen our global Jewish community. 

Now you can understand why I have the best job. I am a JDC-BBYO Jewish Service Corp Fellow, which means that I work with two amazing organizations and get to connect Jewish teens in Buenos Aires, Argentina with teens in the US and around the world through BBYO programming. I was surprised to learn how eager the teens I work with were to connect with their peers around the world and learn about the differences and similarities they share. My favorite moments of this experience include the Argentine teens lighting Shabbat candles with teens in Boston through video conference for BBYO's Global Shabbat and my teen Tami's sheer excitement when she realized she would get to meet her Macedonian pen pal Bojan here at IC. Moments like these make me believe that I am a part of something greater than myself. I feel proud and grateful that I have an active part in building and strengthening our global Jewish community. Hopefully I am helping to create relationships and friendships that will last into the future like mine with Achi-Or.

vamos a IC / we go to IC

7 Argentine teens, a few staff, and I will be traveling to BBYO's International Convention (IC) in Dallas, Texas in just a few days and we cannot wait! We met earlier this week at Hebraica for a final planning meeting, to answer lingering questions, and get our gear together. Some of you may know that I was an active member of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) and have attended four past IC's as a teen and staff. I know that this experience will surpass them all! I am now not only representing my previous home (Eastern Region: Virginia Council) but also my new home, Argentina and Hebraica. I also will get to experience IC through my teen's eyes, three who went to BBYO IC 2013 in Washington DC and four for whom it will be their first time. Our first six days will be spent with other international delegates from over 20 countries and then we will join over 2,000 teens from around the world in learning, sharing, and celebrating. We leave today, next post from Dallas! 

Join thousands & keep up with IC 2014 here:http://bbyo.org/azabbgic/

Hashtag: #azabbgic2014
Twitter: @azabbg_ic
Instagram: @bbyoinsider

Fundación Tzedaká y Refuot

I have started volunteering at Fundación Tzedaká, a huge foundation that makes a difference in the lives of thousands of Argentines each year. I was drawn to Fundación Tzedaká because of the respect it holds within the Argentine community and because of the name, Tzedaká, which translates to justice and loosely charity in Hebrew. I am in the fundraising department but they (and I) believe it's very important that their volunteers experience their programs to give the fundraising more meaning. I work in the main office with the fundraising team but the organization has over 100 professionals and 600 volunteers that support their various health and education projects to fight poverty. 

I had the opportunity to visit one of their programs, Refuot, yesterday and it was an incredible experience. Refuot is a community bank of medicines that gets distributed all over the country to people that cannot afford medications. We walked in and I was shocked to see the sheer volume of medicines waiting to be sorted. Javier, Refuot's Assistant, showed my colleague Samanta (International Fundraising Assistant, Fundación Tzedaká) and I around so we could get to know a bit about the program and meet some of the important people involved in the operation. 

Boxes were everywhere as Javier explained to us that storage is a problem as they are fortunate to receive many donations and do not have the hands necessary to sort them all efficiently. We first went to meet some of the dedicated volunteers that come to sort and import the medicines into the system. The room was full of bubbes, zaydees, and one of their adorable grandchildren Marco who explained to us what he usually does he to help out. I of course had to sit down and help for a minute to get in on the sorting action! 

Next we went to the are where the pharmacists sit to fill the prescriptions and sort them into the appropriate places so they get where they are supposed to go. This medicine bank serves over 30,000 people each year throughout Argentina so making sure the prescriptions are filled and sorted correctly is no easy feat. 

We also got to meet some of the administrative staff that make this operation happen year round and finished our visit in true Argentine fashion, sipping on mate. 

Refuot is an amazing program that helps people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to access the medications they need each year. Refuot is an invaluable service to the Argentine community, I am so glad I had the opportunity to visit and learn about it!

If you want to support Refuot or other Fundación Tzedaká programs, click here. 

To connect with Fundación Tzedaká on Facebook, click here.

¿qué es lo he aprendido? / what have I learned?

I've been in Argentina over five months. At times I can't believe it but then I think about how accustomed I have become to a porteña life and I really do believe it. Here are a few thoughts on TIA and what I've learned in this experience so far:

"TIA - This is Argentina"

Argentina is an interesting country because at first glance, it appears to be a complete first world country but when you dig a bit deeper, it is not. I've heard a lot of people say Argentina's people are first world while the infrastructure is not. And it's so true. From the cracked sidewalks to the electric system that cannot withstand people turning on their air conditioning to the inconsistency of everything from what food is at the supermarket to the internet connection, Argentina is not a fully developed first world country. I constantly am reminded of this as I trip on the sidewalk or get cut off Facetiming with my family or friends. In these moments (and many more) I say to myself/out loud, TIA: This is Argentina. 

What have I learned?

After being here five months, I realize that more than anything I am here to learn. I see this as an experience to learn about working on the ground with people from other places; while they share the same religous culture, there are differences in the secular culture, the way they work, communicate, and interact. I have learned to be thankful for the opportunities I've had, especially the things I took for granted living in the US. I am learning to work in a language that is not my native one, learning translating skills and how to express myself in a foreign language. I am learning patience, for Argentina moves at a different pace than I am accustomed to in the US. Everything takes longer and that is not an exaggeration. When I go to the grocery store for a couple items, I plan to be there for a minimum of 30 minutes. About a month ago, I went to buy milk, eggs, and yogurt. I got in line at the checkout and while waiting completed a sudoku puzzle. Although that is pretty funny, it's a good example of the pace of the country. 

I am learning to be a better listener and to listen with my all. Sometimes (or a lot of times) this means not giving my input but just being there to listen, other times it means offering my advice or persepctive. All of the time it implies asking questions. I have always been inquisitive but have learned to ask even more questions. Asking questions lets me learn, shows I'm interested, and also lets me (and the other person) realize what I do and don't understand. I am learning to be diplomatic. I get asked a lot about my views on politics, government, etc. and it has been a good experience having these conversations with people that come from a different system and have strong views about the American system. It can be difficult to share my own views while at the same time making sure the other person understands that it is only my view and not the view of all people from the United States, aka diplomatic :). For a fun side note, I've really improved my math conversion skills. Whether kilometers to meters when I'm bike riding, Celsius to Fahrenheit to ask someone the temperature, grams to cups when I am cooking, or kilograms to pounds when I decide it's a good idea to weigh myself, my math skills have definitely improved.

I have learned to communicate non-verbally, both understanding nonverbal cues and using them myself. Especially before I knew Spanish well, I became a pro at understanding and communicating in a nonverbal way. For instance, sometimes living in a place you are not fluent means you might play charades to describe an onion when you forget the word at the vegetable market (yes that happened and it was successful). I also use my nonverbal communication skills to know if my teens are bored with what we are doing and if we should move on to another activity. I've also realized how much more Argentine's speak with their hands (I think it's because of the Italian blood running through their veins) and think I have started to speak more with my hands as well. I have learned to be by myself, something I was nervous about and now have accepted and learned to like.  

After this year, I envision myself working in the US to keep our global Jewish community collaborating, partnership, and sharing. I know that I will carry the lessons I am learning by living and working in a diaspora Jewish community into my future work and future life. I can't wait to see what the rest of this year will bring!