After a long day of planes and bus rides, we finally arrived at the hotel by the University of Miami Hillel. We were so excited to finally get to meet all of the wonderful people that we are going to spent the next week with.
Once we were all settled in at the hotel, we headed over to the UMiami Hillel for a pasta and meatballs dinner. Personally, the rugelach was my favorite part! Everyone started talking and doing “Jewish Geography”, and it turns out that we really are all connected in one way or another.
After dinner, we went outside to do some icebreakers. This led to a lot of laughs and getting to know each other, and the group became more comfortable around each other. As much as we wanted to stay and learn more, it was time to go back to the hotel to rest up for the busy day ahead of us.
Today, the first official day of the trip, has been quite eventful so far. At 9 A.M., we loaded the buses and headed over to a local synagogue, Temple Israel of Greater Miami. We played some games (ninja, anyone?), and then headed over to a cemetery. We learned a little bit about the history of the cemetery and about Miami, and then were split into groups. We grabbed shovels, gloves, rakes, rags, and buckets of water and split up around different areas of the cemetery. It was interesting to learn different things about the people who were buried there, and to see the different areas. We weeded, raked, and cleaned, and we felt a true sense of accomplishment once we were done.
After cleaning up at the cemetery and washing our hands, we went back to the synagogue and enjoyed some lunch. Well it’s time to get back to the program! Thanks for following the blog!
With love,
UDelaware Participants
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