Homestays/Interaction
with the Community
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Coming to Belarus, many individuals in the group did not really know what to expect from the community it’d be doing its work in. There was no surviving Jewish community and many of the members of Sopotskin had probably not even seen Americans before in their lives. Any negative preconceived notions were just those, notions. The people of Sopotskin welcomed the Americans in with open arms and warm hearts. Right from the arrival at the cemetery, they were there to help ship the fence to the site, help dig the holes, help translate, and help carry the fence. Were any of them Jewish? Nope. Did any of them have ancestors in the cemetery? Nope. They did realize that a group of Americans, both Jewish and non-Jewish came halfway across the world to their community to work on this cemetery. To the group, it must have been important, therefore it became important to the community, and they did everything in their power to make the Americans feel comfortable in an obvious foreign environment to them. After the first day of work, the students were to pair up and stay with volunteering families. Little did the group know, but it had been arranged that the Americans would be doing the homestays individually, as the community had been fighting over WHO would host the Americans.
Coordinating the homestays at the school
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Sasha meeting her host mom at the school
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Students experienced hospitality at its best when they returned to their hosts’ homes. At the homes, students dined with their respective families, truly sampling Belarusian cuisine. Although each student experienced different dinners, the students experienced a strong similarity in all of their dinners, kindness.
Jeff with his host mom
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Evan with his host sister, Lena
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Ethan with his host brother, Sergei
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After dinners, students further conversed with their respective families. Some students were taken around the Sopotskin area and shown some beautiful scenery. Some people swam in the river and had a bonfire. Thereafter, a bunch of the children in the families and students set up a stereo and a few speakers in the middle of the street and had a dance party until 2:30 AM. So much for quality sleep for work the next day.
Swimming at a nearby river
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The parents set up a fire for the kids
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A typical summer Belarusian sunset; at 11:30 PM
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Alexis and Sasha grabbed out onto the 'dance floor'
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Sasha, Evan and Alexis dancing
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Carolyn and Alexis dancing with Carolyn's host brother, Andrei
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After a couple days of work, the entire group was invited to share in the community and school’s high school graduation ceremony. Little did the Americans know, but they would be treated as the guests of honor. The school set aside the front two rows as their seats for the presentations. Michael had purchased a Xerox machine for the school’s use. Following the presentation, a combination of both the graduates and their younger siblings put on a show for the audience. Thereafter, the group was invited to a feast, which featured Belarusian cuisine. After an enormous dinner, everyone went back into the auditorium where all the seats had been moved to make way for an all night disco party. It could have been one of the most fun and most unanticipated highlights of the entire trip.
Buying some flowers for the graduates
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Rabbi and Michael presenting the Xerox machine to the school
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The graduates putting on a performance
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Presenting the flowers to the graduates and their families
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Kristan, Laura, and Ivan enjoying the feast
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Invited to the ENORMOUS feast
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Sam doing a little dancing
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John in a dance competition
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Taking a break from the dance
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Ivan dancing with the Rabbi
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Sasha and Alexis dancing
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Group Shot
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Overall, the experience with the community was amazing. During lunchtime on workdays, the American students played soccer with the Belarusian students. Often times, the Americans got crushed. After the work was completed, a few adults of the community were invited to the final dinner in Grodno, the neighboring city that the hotel was situated in. The school director presented a gift to the Rabbi as a sign of friendship between the Americans and the Sopotskin community members. Thereafter, the group departed for Minsk hoping to keep contact with the newly made friends in Sopotskin via mail.
Laura playing some soccer
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Sasha sporting his new t-shirt
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The school director presenting a gift to the Rabbi
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