A Congress to remember!

Contributed by Vicki Maler

The day started a little later than usual as we exchanged bittersweet goodbyes with our host families and boarded the bus for the (super long) 10 minute bus ride to Congress! Soon we arrived at the park, after a short pee-break for a certain fellow who couldn't quite hold it in for the entirety of the bus ride where we proceeded to eat lunch. [Editors note: this means that the fellows are taking their water drinking job seriously. We are very proud of them at the San Francisco office.]

After lunch we split into "tribes", mixed cohort groups consisting of one fellow from each Israeli and International cohort and played ice breaker games. After this, we joined together again in local groups with some going for an optional dip in a nearby lake to cool off, while others stayed behind in the shade. At around 4 o'clock, the fellows got on the bus and drove to our hostel where we got to unwind and settle into the rooms that will be our home base for the next few days.

Yonim is reunited with his mandolin

We were told by the JCs to put on nice clothes for dinner and with that we boarded the bus and arrived at opening ceremony which was at a beautiful venue with AMAZING food. There were stations dedicated to different parts of the world -- there was everything you could imagine! Burgers, fries, shawarma, falafel, "Mexican", kabobs, sushi and other asian cuisine, and a variety of fried foods and of course to top it all off: parve desserts! 

The opening ceremony was opened with an inspiring speech by San Francisco's very own Mark Reisbaum and was followed by an incredible dance performance by our beloved JCs and adopted uncle/international staff, Phil! This long day and night finally ended with a hilarious dance song session while we waited for the bus back to our hostel and headed off to bed.