We left the shabbaton feeling so much closer to the Israelis than we had before. We had finally met the Israeli cohort and knowing that they were all such amazing people made it so much harder to say goodbye. On Wednesday, the Americans arrived at the Peninsula JCC and prepared to bid our Israeli friends farewell. The only problem was that the Israelis were not there! After about thirty minutes, the Israelis arrived after being stuck in heavy traffic and our closing ceremony began. It was getting to be late, so as soon as we said hello, we sat down to enjoy dinner. A short while later, Gabi and Shani got up in front of everyone and thanked all of the people who made the NAS possible. They were followed by two Israeli Diller Teens who thanked the American Dillers and their families for making the trip so enjoyable. The ceremony officially ended with a slideshow of pictures that Diller Teens had taken on the shabbaton and over the week we were able to spend with the Israelis.
Although the planned activities had ended, the goodbyes had just begun. As soon as the slideshow was over, a wave of hugs and heartfelt goodbyes spread over the San Francisco and Upper Galilee (SFUG) chapters. It was truly hard to say goodbye to the person who I had spent the last week or so with. We had grown so close over the week we were together and seeing him leave was a sad time for me. I know that I am not the only one who felt that way and we were all (both American and Israeli) super excited to see each other again when the Americans go to Israel in the summer.
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