Every trip has a few days in it, which really define the trip by a large. Today was one of them. We started off the morning really early, grabbed our frozen breakfast and ran on to our favorite ride, “the bus”. We get on, being greeted by our “warm” Czech bus driver and our wonderful guide Eva. Most of us tired from the night before tried to catch up on some sleep, it didn’t happen we where there before we knew it. That’s when we started to feel the power of the place we were in.

Terezin – a forced work camp about an hours drive outside of Prague served as the final stop before deportation to many of the infamous concentration camps. We were also told world that the Jews where being treated wonderfully. When the Red Cross delegation came to inspect the conditions of the camp little did they know that they were walking into a play. Everything around them was a huge lie, the smiles on the prisoner’s faces, the mock soccer games and jolly Nazis.TheNazis pulled off another scam in front of the entire world. All of this done to show the world that they were treating the Jews very humanely we walked to the shooting range where our brothers and sisters where murdered daily, buried in open graves one atop another. We were definitely feeling the power of the place. We each had our own thoughts going through our minds but one thought flowed through us all, - WHY?

Why did this happen to us? How could it be? This wasn’t the first time this thought had gone through our minds. We all heard about the holocaust while growing up beautiful “safe” America. But that’s all it was, a passing thought. We didn’t feel it we didn’t see the proof. We haven’t walked the same path as our holy brothers and sisters have. Today was different we where there we saw the proof. Today was a day that touched us all.

Tonight we had a group discussion about the holocaust and together tried to take the most out of this meaning experience. One by one we got up and told the group what was on our mind. The rabbis threw in a few questions and together we felt we were staring to realize how far we have come along and that if one person could destroy 6 million precious lives. How much more could can each and every one of us do. We also realized that we cant sit back and let history control our destiny we must act and spread the message to everyone that we can. We are a light unto nations. Every single one of us.

Finishing up the speech, rabbi Dave then announced that we got to hustle to the bus to make it back to the hotel. On the bus we decided that we where going to go to this really cool club. Five floors of dancing and music. We were even honored by the presence of Rabbi Dave!!!!! (Way to go!!!!!) Drinks flowed as we danced, laughed, and shared some heart to heart conversation. One thing was for sure Praha (Prague) knew that we were there and we weren’t shy. Getting back to the hotel was a trip in itself. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I don’t remember most of it. That’s probably why this bog is going up a little late Lol. But as they say “don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house” anyways where arewe getting with this…ok, we think its time to go find some internet so we can get the “message” out to you guys back home. We hope that tomorrow we will have a shout out page where we can send some love back to you guys in the states and abroad.

We will be going to Israel G-d willing tonight and we are really excited. Our flight is 11:55 pm Prague time. Till next time!!!! לשנה הבא בירושלים(“NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!!!)

OREO AND MILK

Hello everyone!

Tuesday arrived rather early and we slowly made our way to breakfast and then next door to hear R’ Greenman and Charlie Harary speak to us about happiness.  I thought I knew what happiness was but I was in for a surprise! We learned how to maximize our minds in order to bring ourselves every lasting happiness and now we are experts!! What a great way to start off the day!

After the class we happily made our way to the dining room to enjoy a delicious lunch and had a special birthday cake for Farah! Happy 20th birthday Farah!! We love you!!!

Then it was off to NYC!! Our first stop was Madame Tussuad. Due to yesterday’s packed schedule the museum was optional so the staff offered to drop off the girls who hadn’t seen it yet. But alas it was the day before New Years and EVERYONE in the world had made the same decision! Seriously, we were told there were 7,000 people in there! We quickly decided against it, hopped back into the bus and made our way to the Lower East Side.

First, it was a quick stop at Ground Zero. We shared our memories from that frightful day and stood there for a few moments of silence remembering all those that had lost their lives. Then we were off to the Tenement Museum where we got to see first hand how the immigrants lived when they first arrived to NY. We met a 14 year old girl in her tiny apartment (10 people lived in there!) and she answered all our questions about their new life in America. Let me tell you, after that  we are DEFINITELY appreciating our ginormous and spacious Passaic home!!

Hungry yet again, we were off to Aish NY to enjoy a hot dinner and hear from 2 successful business women who shared their life stories with us and answered all our business questions. I’m starting to feel like I can really open my own business!! Whose in with me??

After the business panel (and those huge scrumptious cookies) it was time for our free night in NYC! Most of us went to the Empire State Building, some went to the movies and some went shopping. It could not have been a more perfect night for those that went to the Empire State Building! The visibility was incredible and we were able to pay $15 extra to get to the front of the line!!

Midnight soon arrived and it was time to head back to Passaic. Exhaustion is not even the word to describe how we all felt so we were all very much looking forward to getting back home and crawing into bed.

We just found out it is supposed to snow tomorrow! Woohoo!! OK well at least we LA girls are excited. The Canadians are a different story…

Until tomorrow!

Hey everyone!

Our very first Monday of the trip allowed us a little sleep in and we are forever grateful for that! After a quick breakfast we were off to NYC for a competitive ad activity. Having discussed some of the key issues facing the Jewish people a few days ago, we were ready to begin tackling them! Each of us was divided into a group of 5-6 girls and we were told to choose one of the key issues (such as assimilation, lack of Jewish education etc) and capture it via photos, make a collage and present it at the end of the trip. With that we were dropped off in Times Square for an hour and a half and it was run, run, run. Let me tell you, this is definitely an activity that begs creativity and we’re looking forward to putting together our photos and creating our collages!

After an hour and a half we all met at J2 Pizza and enjoyed some hot pizza and fries while listening to R’ Shalom Yona talk about gossip and how important it is to be careful about what we say about others!

Then it was off to Reuters studio, one of the biggest news studios in the world! There we met with Sasha, one of the sweetest women ever! She’s a senior producer for the financial news and is in charge of the 4:30 PM Market Wrap Up, a six minute segment on TV on the worldwide financial news of the day. We arrived just in time to watch it live in the studio!! Then Sasha explained to us her journey through Judaism and how she balances work and family life. What an exceptional woman!

Time for dinner! We were off to Kosher Deluxe and THIS time chicken Cesear salad was the majority choice! After a quick bite to eat we had some free time and then we all met up to take our very first subway ride!! Then we walked and walked and walked until we finally got to Aish Center for the Discovery seminar!! For the next hour and a half we heard R’ Bergstein (what an amazing speaker!!) talk to us about the evidence of the truth of G-d and the Torah. He made us think, laugh, question and wonder over lots and lots of candy! What a great combination! The bus ride home was buzzing with girls talking about all that they heard in the seminar.

We were home by midnight and it was time to heat up last night’s Chinese leftovers! I guess the salad at dinner didn’t do its job…

Well tomorrow is another day in NYC! Gotta get some rest before the day begins…but first some more Girl talk and Chinese!

CZECH 22:46 (10:46 PM) DAY 1

I can’t believe that I’m writing to you right now. I can barely keep my eyes open (Red Bull is not a commodity in Czech. So with that said here goes………
We all met at the airport right on time (well, some of us…. where was Aryeh anyway?) got our kickin’ luggage tags, our fancy itinerary and of course the never-leave-home-without-it emergency contact cards. Awesome!!!!!!
Security was a trip in its own. No one told me “Buchara” was a no fly country. Strange enough “Alla” our favorite Semite was left alone.

The trip had finally begun. With 8 hours of hardly sleeping, we most definitely made the “VIBE” on the plane… soda spilling, (sleeping)pill popping rabbis, and somehow we managed, as only an Aish group can, to drown out the sounds of a pair of 3 million-horse power Rolls Royce engines! Things where looking good, then it happened we entered into what Magellan would call a cyclone -the plane was being put to the test thank G-D we had the rabbis to pray for us because the last people we were trusting were our “Borat accented pilots”. WOW. Things settled down as we came in for an uneventful landing at “PARAH”(???) airport. That was until the door opened and we felt the frigid air. New York was starting to feel warm in comparision. But no, we did not turn around. We built up some major courage and departed the freshly scented European plane. Then we gathered our suitcases (did I mention how awesome those “Aish luggage tags” were?) and onto the buses we went. After arriving at our awesome 5 star hotel with record timing we managed to bring in all our bags. Did I say “we”?!??? Ooooops, I meant the guys. The really “strong” “manly-type” guys who would do just about anything to show how manly they really are. Ok, ok, ok I think I’m getting a little carried away but thank you “guys” (nooooooooot!!!!!!!!) so where were we?! ah!! ok! Back to the bus (again just the guys, oh yea I forgot to mention that us girls where getting our nails done, on the bus! Down to the Old City or was that old-new city? Or city new old new old city? I don’t know but our very “young” tour guide who not only mastered the English language but also successfully captivated every single one of our energetic refreshed minds! (I joke again!!) The atmosphere on the bus was so positive and vibrant despite the lack of sleep and jet lag.

We headed to our second home away from home, the CHABAD center of Prague. Awaiting us there was a delicious hot breakfast. Some of the boys went upstairs to pray while exciting conversation broke out among the students. What happened over the next few hours wasn’t so clear but it all turned out for the best. A few hours in the cold never killed anybody (or did it?). We were most def being put to the test. Once again we arose as victors minus the numb hands and feet. But as they say in Prague if you’re not cold then you’re not really in Prague. We where most def in Prague. And what a beautiful city it is. Somehow every one of us found something appealing to the eye. What a great city! We eventually made it back to the hotel where our beds where waiting for us. Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. We were awoken too soon for awesome supper (brought to us by our awesome friends at CHABAD). After the feast R’ Dave came up with this “brilliant” idea to make us think…the game of 2 Truths & 1 Lie where a student has to get up in front of everyone else and say three statements: 2 true and 1 lie. The object of the audience is to decipher the statements and vote on the “false” one. Rabbi Dave!!!!! kol hakovod (props, respect!!)  We had a great time. Thank you. Each went his own way some to town, some to sleep and one “special crew member” went to write this all down.

P.S. Thank you everyone for all the pix!! The more the better.

MILUJI TE!!!!!

OREO AND MILK

So there you have it folks! The first Aish Connections blog! It definitely was an exciting experience and I hope that everyone reading enjoyed my ravings! I’m not too sure who all of you are, whether you’re parents keeping in touch with your kids, my new family from the trip, rabbis across the Aish organization, or even kids who are thinking about coming on a future Aish Connections trip! Let me know what you thought of this blog!

Every single person on this trip was absolutely amazing and special in his or her own way. I’ll never forget you guys! We’ve all been Aish’d and I hope that everyone continues on their paths to finding themselves and making Judaism a part of your lives. Big shout out to the rabbis and leaders who spent the first few nights of Chanukah with us instead of their families. You guys were awesome! It’s been a pleasure!

On that note I bid you all adieu! Maybe I’ll see you on a future trip! Thank you all for letting me be a part of YOUR experience!

-Steve

Alright, so you KNOW there was no way that we wouldn’t end this trip with a bang! Like I mentioned in the last post, this trip helped make some friends for life and we were definitely going to celebrate! What first started as a little get together in room 206, became a dance party at Snowshed Lodge!!! You could hear us from blocks away! Good thing for us that the lodge (and Vermont) was completely desolate at that hour! The party lasted all night, with most of us retreating to the fireplace and game rooms at the hotel before we got the hour or two of sleep before we headed back to the city (or Canada for the peeps from Ontario!)

As we checked out of the hotel we realized one important thing… we didn’t have any ice cream from Vermont’s finest! We hit up the gift shop and loaded up on some Ben and Jerry’s that made our tummies extremely happy! Goodbyes were said in the lobby and before we knew it we were on our way. You would have thought that we would have slept all the way back home but that was far from the case.

All throughout the bus we reminisced about the past 5 days and simply could not believe it was over. We traded numbers, made the trip superlatives (check out the pics for that one!) friended each other on Facebook, and made plans to hang out in the near future… as well as down the line. I can’t say it enough but this was simply an unforgettable experience where true friends were made, one that I can assure will last a life time.

Hello everyone!

Firstly, I must apologize to all of my readers for not having posted sooner. We are so busy on our Fab Fem trip, that finding time to actually sit and write about all the amazing things we have going on is VERY hard (4 AM is an option but unfotunately my writing skills aren’t up to par at that hour). I know you are all dying to find out about our weekend so here it goes…

Friday began the craze of the weekend with classes in the morning. R’ Greenman had the girls tackle the Key Issues Facing the Jewish People and we came up with some of the biggies such as assimilation, lack of Jewish education and lack of Jewish unity. Together we Fab Fem’s will try and put an END to these problems!

After class it was off to the Upper West side of Manhattan. There we grabbed (literally) a bagel and got gifts for our host families in Woodmere. We arrived in Woodmere an hour before Shabbos and we quickly dropped off each group of girls at their respective host homes. It can now be said that a girl CAN get ready for Shabbat in 10 minutes…and we have 41 girls to prove it!

After we were all bedecked in our Shabbat best it was off to Aish Kodesh, a rockin synagouge in the heart of Woodmere where we sang and danced. Dinner was served at the Davidson home, a newly built master piece where we all felt comfortable and enjoyed a delicious Shabbos feast. R Shalom Yona turned on the masculine energy by getting us to talk about our favorite sport. Mrs. Davidson, un unbelievably successful women, bashfully spoke to the girls about her climb to success. We then made our way to our “Jelly Belly Fest”, aka our Oneg Shabbat, and had the priviledge of a Q and A with the Rebbetzin of Woodmere, Mrs. Weinberger.  Then it was off to bed…

After a very needed sleep, we had lunch at the homes of our host families and each of us got to taste home made cooking and wondered if we would EVER be able to cook like that ourselves! Everyone spoke about how warm and welcoming each of their hosts were and how completely comfortable they felt in a strangers home.

Then it was time to eat again! We all made our way over to the Harary home for our third meal of Shabbat. We enjoyed R’ Shalom Yona who spoke to us about finding that piece of G-d within each one of us and how to use it to maximize our potential to the fullest.

An hour later and it was time to eat yet again! We were off to NYC to Kosher Delight were we enjoyed burgers, fries, chicken sandwiches and salad. Well actually the truth is, we had a choice of either a burger and fries, a chicken sandwich or a salad with tuna and I am very proud to say that there were ONLY 4 orders of salads and tuna!!! That’s right boys, only 4 orders. Girls really do eat…especially when there are no guys around!

Time to pack back into the bus and head to Fuerza Bruta, an off broadway that makes Cirque du Soleil look like child’s play. There are people running through boxes, gliding on walls, swimming in a pool that comes down so you can touch it and oh prepare to get wet!! Some more star spotting for us. Actor Taye Diggs and star of Wicked, Idina Menzel made an appearance at the Broadway. Yeah, yeah, some pointing and picture taking that was all. We oohed, we aaahed, took loads of pictures, danced, danced, and danced!

Our bus ride back to Passaic was like none other. We learnt some very sophisticated songs about Shomer Negiah and Kosher not from our group leaders or our madrichot, but rather from the students themselves!! Go figure…After we sang our hearts out, Cynthia took over the mic and entertained us with some stand up comedy the entire way home! Cynthia pretty much covered every topic on our drive back and in doing so made us laugh until our cheeks hurt! You rock girl!

We got home around midnight and made a mad dash to light our Chanukah candles then danced and sang utnil we fell on our faces and were dragged to bed.

Sunday morning arrived sooner than expected. We heard R’ Yitzchak Feldheim and Devora Kigel speak on the theme of relationships, had some pizza for lunch and were off to Palisades Mall, one of the biggest malls in NYC for a scavenger hunt! There we were split into groups and had an hour to find and take pictures some of the most absurd things you will ever have to find on a scavenger hunt. We are still waiting to hear who the winners are so stay tuned!!

Free time in the mall was next so we shopped till we dropped an then it was off to our very first religious wedding (well for most of us at least). Yup, call us wedding crashers cause that’s EXACTLY what we did. OK so we called in advance and found out if we could crash but we still crashed! Our dear madricha Sarah prept us all before we arrived about what we were about to see. As soon as we got there we met the bride, got a special blessing from her and of course we ate! We really enjoyed watching the groom’s friends dance in the groom to see his bride who he hadn’t seen for a whole week!

Home sweet home, back to Passaic we went where we lit our final Chanukah candles and got a special live performance from Sarah and Elana. Geez those girls can sing! And then it was time for Chinese and Karaoke!!! Talk about our madrichot changing a dining room into a disco! Tip for all those wanting to try this…all you gotta do is turn off the lights, set up some candles, get a strobe light and voila you have your very own home made disco! It is currently 1:45 AM and the music is still going. Trying to write this blog with Ricky Martin blaring in the background is quite a feat…and we have this Karaoke machine until tomorrow morning! All joking aside, tonight was and I guess still is AWESOME! We were able to watch everyone come out of their comfort zones, let loose and just have a plain old good time! I’m kind of waiting for someone to knock on our door and tell us to kindly shut off the music or to at least turn it down. Could it be that Passaic is actually enjoying Rihanna at 2 AM?

Shout out to Zahava! Thanks for the delicious home made cookies!!

Well the night is still young, the music is still playing and our Chanukah candles are still burning. Guess I won’t be getting to bed anytime soon so I might as well enjoy. Oh it seems that the girls have finally found the Chanukah songs so I better get back in and join!

A strong bond is definitely beginning to grow amongst us girls! Thank you Aish for an absolutely unreal weekend together! I can’t wait to see what this week has in store for us!

Ah, the last full day in Killington Vermont. It’s a bit bittersweet but we Aishers are going to make the best of it, and boy are there stories to tell.

The conditions outside weren’t as great as yesterday as we hit some new highs with about 40 degree weather. The snow was slushy, the wind gusts were scary, and the fog made the it seem like you couldn’t see three feet in front of you! Did that stop us from hitting up the runs on our last day??? No way!!!

People pushed themselves to new limits today, including Rabbi Bolsom, who gave an awesome speech around lunch time about getting out of your comfort zone and exploring one’s true potential in life. Sure we focused on going from the green slopes to the blue slopes, but it sure does relate to how you live!

The later part of the day, as people were returning equipment rentals and relaxing in the hotel, it became clear that this group was something special. During these past few days, people who came on this trip alone and with friends they knew, have been getting to know each other on a level that I bet most people weren’t expecting.

Rooming, skiing, snowboarding, and having class with folks from different countries, states, and boroughs, brought us together that honestly created a family that I don’t think anyone on this trip is ever going to forget.

During dinner that night, the fourth night of Chanukah, we had a special birthday to celebrate! One of our favorite Bacharians, Arthur, had the chance to celebrate his birthday with the group! How else but to celebrate but with good times and some cake to the face! Haha, check out the pics and videos and you’ll see how we celebrate! Happy Birthday bro!!!

So now for the highlight class of the trip! The Discovery Seminar led by Rabbi Bergstein. This was definitely the class everyone has been looking forward to without even knowing what it was about. Rabbi Bergstein showed a method of proving theories “beyond a reasonable doubt” I don’t want to give too much away but this lecture was MINDBLOWING!!!! There was one reason for this seminar and I bet everyone was saying and thinking the same word as they left the lecture… maybe. No matter how religious you are or how you viewed Judaism before you came on this trip, this lecture (and the trip as a whole) gave us all a new point of view coming out of it.

We then headed back to our rooms to pack so we could be good and ready for our trip back home tomorrow. Did our night end there??? You wish

Hey Everyone!!!

My name is Oriann A.K.A. OREO

So i don’t know about all of you but I’m so excited to leave!!! I can’t wait to be on the flight to PRAGUE already! I think this trip is going to be the best trip that AISH CONNECTIONS ever had and if not the best then it should be in the top 3

My job on this trip is to keep everyone posted on what the group is experiencing on the trip…I’ll be uploading pictures and posting blogs almost everyday so get ready!!

I hope you started packing because I know I have. See you on Sunday!!!

GO PRAGUE/ISRAEL 08′!!

-Oreo

Hello everyone!

So today, I came to the conclusion that everyone needs therapy. Some need group therapy, some need occupational therapy, some need skin therapy and some need all of the above. Well today, we Fab Fem gals got a dose of everything.

The day began rather early. We enjoyed a quick satisfying breakfast, (you know it’s a girl’s trip when branflakes and soy milk are available) heard Devora Kigel speak about some top secret feminine “stuff” and then a class on the origions of both Christmas and Chanukah from R’ Yaakov Deyo. The girls took away a clear message that while looks, strength, and brains are nice, that is all our outer beauty, nothing we really worked for and thus not what can use to define who we are as human beings. Rather, we as Jews stress the inner beauty, the beauty that makes the me, me and the you, you.

(Note: There is a LOT of inner AND outer beauty going on on this Fab Fem trip!)

So then it was time for our next activity of the day…to meet our very first successful business women in Passaic NJ. But first that entailed the arrival of the bus (go figure) and of course our bus was running late so we took the opportunity to use those precious moments for a bit of group therapy. After yesterday’s travel trauma the madrichot thought it would be a good idea for everyone to tell their story of how they got from point A to point B and all the fun that happened in between. We were just getting to the third travel story when I thought we’d have to bring in a real professional…Thank G-d we made it through, everyone got to share and everyone felt a lot better! Gotta love group therapy…

So our bus arrived and with that we headed out into a beautiful sunny winter day and arrived at the practice of Dina Leiter, a licensed OT and proud owner of her very own OT practice. She told us how she built her practice, gave us some business tips and taught us how to use our talents to reach our potential and attain our dream goals!

Very hungry girls arrived back to our bungalow home and enjoyed a lunch of delicious lasagna (with whole wheat noodles) and a rockin salad bar. Somehow I managed to sneak in brownies and sufganiyot! (Donuts in Hebrew!!!)

And then it was time for skin therapy. In walked, Bracha ready to pamper us with feet, hand, and face washes along with moisturizing mud applications. We relaxed and lit some candles giving off the perfect professional spa atmosphere. We then readied our faces for mineral free (and animal free!) makeup with a special wash and toner. And then it was time for the beauty challenge! After a quick makeup education we were given 45 minutes to apply makeup and the most talented make up artist would win a very special gift cards to Sephora! And so apply they did…some a little more than others, but all in all everyone looked beautiful and choosing a winner was NOT easy! Shout out to Sarah, Jessica, and Michelle, our beauty challenge winners!!

Chanukah lighting and dinner were next and then it was off to ice skating in Central Park! I didn’t know it was possible to get lost trying to find Central Park, but alas it is! After lacing up we hit the ice and the theme of the night was to not get run over and killed by some crazy kid screaming “Merry Christmas!”

The evening was truly magical and it ended with us strolling over to the infamous Plaza Hotel where some were privileged to be serenaded by Billy Joel himself! Now THAT is sightseeing in NYC!!

Alrighty, off to pack for our Shabbat in Woodmere! I can only imagine the fun and games that are in store! But first I must upload some more fabulous pictures…