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To get a real understanding of what an Etgar
36 journey is all about, please read the quotes, essays, and
articles written by and about participants and parents.
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SUMMER JOURNEY COMMENTS |
SCHOOL TRIP COMMENTS |
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“Thanks again for a journey of a life time. I had an
amazing experience, and I will definitely get the word
out about this trip! I am determined to continue
following through with all of the lessons that I have
learned throughout this trip. Thanks again for
everything!”
"Etgar 36 was way more than I ever expected and could
have hoped for. It was the trip of a lifetime."
"Thanks for a mind blowing experience. Where else can
you meet with politicians, get a tour of Kent State from
a survivor of the shootings, talk to the homeless, see
concerts and plays, debate with heads of major
organizations that create change and be taken so
seriously and get so inspired."
"The night after returning from Etgar 36, our son
started asking us about our beliefs and what he should
do with his life. He has such a global view of himself
now."
"The trip is awesome. It doesn't matter if you are into
politics or don't know the first thing, you will get so
much from this trip."
"Not only do I feel empowered to create change, I feel I must."
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"Every day I kept thinking that it couldn't get any
better and then the next day topped everything before
it."
"America became our playground."
"I cannot thank you enough for what you have done and how you
have changed me."
"The trip helped me realize how other people think and that I
need to understand other people's point of view."
"I now have the confidence to think my own thoughts and speak up
about what I think."
“I just wanted to say thank you for giving these kids an
incredible gift. Our daughter had the most incredible journey
and from what I have seen, the trip will have a lasting effect
on how she sees the world around her.”
“Thank you so much for returning my daughter home safely. She
has come home charged as a Jewish and American teen, with new
perspectives, fabulous new friends and a new sense of autonomy
and independence. And, by the way, she had FUN along the
journey. “
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ESSAYS
WRITTEN BY PARTICIPANTS:
"I've had a lot of time to reflect on the 36 days I spent on Etgar 36, and I wanted to take a minute to just thank you for
giving me the opportunity to be a part of Etgar 36. My friends,
family and especially my parents have all noticed that my time
on Etgar 36 has changed me as a person tremendously. It has
caused me to mature greatly and I am now a much more
independent, confident, and outgoing person. I have a much
greater interest in the world around me.
I am constantly watching the news or reading the newspaper and
engaging in conversations with my peers and elders about the
various issues we explored on the journey. I feel that the
journey has, and will, play a vital role in my life as I grow
and mature into the person I want to become. I have learned
countless lessons and I know each person we heard from has had,
and will continue to have, an impact on my life. I look forward
to recommending this trip to my friends and my sister already
plans to attend in 2 years. The one thing all of my friends from
Etgar 36 that I've talked to have said is we all wish more kids
got the opportunity we did."
- Sheri C. Cherry Hill, NJ
"I am one very lucky teenager. This has been the summer of a
lifetime. 32 Jewish teens from around the U.S. began their
journey in Atlanta on June 26th. We visited 26 cities in 36
days, but not the typical cities or sites, which you might
imagine are stops on a teen tour. In the words of the visionary
founder of Etgar 36, Billy Planer, this is not your Hard Rock
Cafe teen tour. The challenge of Etgar 36 is twofold- learning
to reconcile our Jewish and our American identities, and to
confront the many social and political issues and problems
facing America. Visiting the sites of the Civil Rights movement,
experiencing Shabbat across the country in Orthodox,
Conservative, Reform, Gay-Lesbian, Reconstructionist shuls,
shuls founded by Jewish recovering addicts and ex-convicts,
joining the joyous spirituality at B'nai Jeshurun in New York.
We heard a father's personal account about the day his son was
killed at Columbine High School, contrasted by later meeting
with an NRA representative to discuss gun control and hearing
the blast of an AK-47 attack rifle in a firing range. We were
overcome with emotion during experiences at the Mura Federal
Building Memorial in Oklahoma City, Kent State University, and
Ground Zero in New York.
I could go on and on. More important than the sights, were the
discussions and debates by a group of teens, who learned that
our country is filled with wonderful people, natural beauty and
history, but also saddled by the weight of tragedy, social
injustice and far too many examples of man's inhumanity to his
fellow man.
I could spend hours sharing the details of my journey, but I
want to speak to you about the essential core concept derived
from this experience, one that affected me most profoundly.
Although we met with many prominent and famous people, such as
Senator Barak Obama, Congressman John Lewis while we were in
Washington, Penn and Teller in Las Vegas, Blue Man Group in
Boston, it was an exchange with someone who none of you ever
have heard of, that best explains the true challenge for each of
us as individuals, as Americans and as Jews. In San Francisco,
we met with a man named Leon Veal. Mr. Veal is a simple man, who
for most of his life remained illiterate. He was unable to read
contracts, maps, or even a book or a newspaper. At the age of
44, he learned to read because one person showed up to meet with
him every week to teach him. Once educated, he went forth and
dedicated himself to educate others about the plague of
illiteracy and helping others who were lost in a world that was
unreachable to him before he could read. One person can make the
difference in this world; all you have to do is show up. Our own
scholars explain this concept in a similar manner, as the Talmud
teaches us, if you save one person, it is as if you have saved
the world. The trip is technically over, but the journey will
never end. Etgar 36 has changed me for the better. I would like
to close by thanking Billy Planer for his own devotion to his
dream, as it made a difference in my life. and now it is my turn
to make a difference."
- Noah F. Atlanta
"I wanted to thank you so much for the most amazing summer
experience ever. I had the most amazing time and made the most
amazing friends. I learned about myself and about history and
civil rights. I have been following up by writing letters to
major news corporations about genocide, tolerance and AIDS
awareness. I've sent an e-mail to the AIDS Quilt, and I've been
in touch with Andrew from the Southern Poverty Law Center
concerning the essay on tolerance I'm entering to possibly get
published. Anyways, I wanted to know that I'm carrying on what I
learned this summer back at home. Etgar changed my life and I'm
so fortunate for being able to have had this experience. None of
it would have been without you. Thanks for making summer '05 the
best summer so far."
- Andrea H Tulsa, OK
"Now that it is over, I realize that this was the greatest
experience of my life. I went into Etgar 36 excited about the
meetings and nervous about the people. I figured it had to be
fun traveling the country, and that I would have my likes and
dislikes. I did not expect to have my loves. Loves are what I
call events that inspired me and that I will never forget.
Among these were sitting at a blues bar in Memphis, listening to
recovering drug addicts at Beit Teshuvah, and roaming around the
powerful city of Washington D.C. I name these three when there
are at least a dozen more I can recall. There was another love,
and so much more than the events, it was the people. I love the
people that accompanied me on this trip. Prior to the trip, I
often thought about what I would do on the numerous bus rides.
I was worried there would be nothing to do, and then I found
myself making choices about what not to do. Talking to people,
reading a book, writing in my journal, listening to music,
sitting at the front with the bus driver, or even calling
someone at home, these were all possibilities on the bus. I feel
as though those 5+ weeks were a chapter in my life that will
never completely end. July 27, coming home, is like learning to
talk. For the first year or two of my life, I assume I listened
and observed. Then I started talking. I shared ideas with
people. This is what I plan to do in the coming years. Etgar
36 was like the Green Day lyric-- it was something
unpredictable, and in the end it was right, I certainly had the
time of my life."
- Daniel R. San Francisco
“Freedom and Discovery,” the mantra of Jack Kerouac's On the
Road, was in my mind when I hit the road for the trip of a
lifetime last summer. Twelve strangers and I, unique teenagers
from all over the country, headed from coast to coast, then back
again on a bus. In 36 days, we studied and discussed political
issues, met with important individuals and groups, studied Civil
Rights of past and present, and received a hands-on education of
U.S. History as well as a life-changing experience. All of us
were in for a ride we would not soon forget.
Upon boarding that bus, I was as good as a blank slate. Not only
didn't I have an opinion on any of the issues facing us, but I
had absolutely no knowledge of these issues. I didn't know how I
felt on such divisive issues as gay rights, abortion, or gun
control, which were only a few of the topics tackled on our
journey. But because I spent time studying these issues from all
sides and discussing them with my peers along for the ride, I
became more informed and I now question and think more in-depth
about everything I encounter. One of the first stops along our
journey was at Beth El Binah, a Synagogue just outside of
Dallas, Texas; however, this was no ordinary Synagogue. The
members of this Synagogue were mostly Gay and Lesbian. I had
never really talked or spent time with anyone so openly
homosexual before, so this was a new experience for me. After
sitting and talking with them, I realized they are just regular
people. Most of the time, I couldn't even decipher which
congregants were gay and which were straight. They were nice,
thoughtful people who I realized shouldn't be treated any
differently because of their sexual orientation. Along with many
other insightful meetings and discussions, my world started to
take shape around me. Things began making more sense and I began
to become opinionated. The greatest result of this discovery is
that I now know my true passion: studying and discussing these
same issues. This epiphany has pointed me in the right direction
to my future in political science. This trip was, and still is,
an integral part of shaping who I am today. I have learned about
interaction and relationships with other people as well as many
valuable lessons about myself. Just as importantly, I have
discovered my passion. In the aftermath of the trip, I realize
that I now need to pursue these social and political aspirations
with full force. The quote, “Let the world change you, and you
can change the world,” has inspired me to dream big and then
pursue these dreams. I feel as though I have progressed
immensely in the first part; I have let the world begin to
change me. Now I need to move to the second part, changing the
world for the better. I have learned that anybody can talk, but
the people who back their talk up with actions are the ones who
make a difference in our world. One major message I took out of
that amazing trip was to take action, and that's what's next for
me. The trip is long over, but it will never leave me, as it
will be forever changing me and helping me to change the
world."
-- Alex M. Ann Arbor, MI
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