November 13-16, 2008
Contributed by: Ben Sousa
Photos: Adam Cohen
[Blog Editor's Note: Every two years, our high school youth group, AETY, takes a trip to Boston. The "curriculum" includes discussions of how to find and select a college with programming and activities which support Jewish life on campus.]
The trip to Boston started off like most trips by car to another state, long. Our first stop was Quinnipiac University, a small university in Hamden, Connecticut. We stopped at their Hillel for lunch and a tour of the campus. It was very small compared to the schools we went to two years ago, but everyone seemed to have a good time. For some, like the freshmen and sophomores, this was their first college visit. We didn’t spend much time there before moving onward to University of Hartford. Once again we stopped at the Hillel and went on tour of the campus. We had dinner at the Hartford dining hall, kosher section, before saying our good byes and heading for the hotel. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriot, and hung out in the lobby for a few hours before going to bed. And there was morning, and there was evening, the first day.
The second day of the Boston trip was very similar to the first one. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and packed ourselves back onto the bus as we continued towards Boston. We stopped at Brown University for lunch at the Hillel and a tour, accompanied by AETY alumna, Noa Nessim. From there we continued on to Brandeis for Shabbat services and dinner. We joined the reform minyan on campus for their kabbalat Shabbat and evening services, before heading over to the Brandeis Hillel for Shabbat dinner, though not enough apparently because once we got back to the hotel, we immediately took out the take out menus. The night activities mirrored those of the previous night’s of board games and cards, before we all went to our rooms for sleep.
Saturday we didn’t go visit any colleges, seeing as it was Shabbat. Instead, we went to Rabbi Gold’s congregation to join them for Shabbat morning services. Afterwards, we chatted with Rabbi Gold and had lunch at the temple, before heading off to Boston for a walk around the city on the famous Freedom Trail. We learned about the history of the Revolutionary War Boston as we visited the historical sites such as the building where the Boston massacre happened and the harbor where the Boston Tea Party occurred. We ended the Freedom Trail tour at Quincy Market, where we broke for dinner and shopping.
The second day of the Boston trip was very similar to the first one. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and packed ourselves back onto the bus as we continued towards Boston. We stopped at Brown University for lunch at the Hillel and a tour, accompanied by AETY alumna, Noa Nessim. From there we continued on to Brandeis for Shabbat services and dinner. We joined the reform minyan on campus for their kabbalat Shabbat and evening services, before heading over to the Brandeis Hillel for Shabbat dinner, though not enough apparently because once we got back to the hotel, we immediately took out the take out menus. The night activities mirrored those of the previous night’s of board games and cards, before we all went to our rooms for sleep.
Saturday we didn’t go visit any colleges, seeing as it was Shabbat. Instead, we went to Rabbi Gold’s congregation to join them for Shabbat morning services. Afterwards, we chatted with Rabbi Gold and had lunch at the temple, before heading off to Boston for a walk around the city on the famous Freedom Trail. We learned about the history of the Revolutionary War Boston as we visited the historical sites such as the building where the Boston massacre happened and the harbor where the Boston Tea Party occurred. We ended the Freedom Trail tour at Quincy Market, where we broke for dinner and shopping.
But that was merely a prelude to the real show of the night, the Blue Man Group. For those of you who have never heard of the Blue Man Group, three bald men dye their skin blue and perform an exciting multimedia presentation, full of colors, lights, and humorous skits, while they don’t say a word. Some members of our group were asked to participate in the show, much to their surprise. To wrap up a phenomenal experience, rolls of toilet paper are rolled over the crowd as a strobe light goes off. I can assure you, the enjoyment is in direct proportion to how disoriented you are. We all went to bed that night still talking about the show.
Sunday morning, we packed our bags and boarded the bus for our last college tour and the subsequent long bus ride home. Our chaperone, Jamie, took us around his alma mater, Harvard University, along with Jeff Feldman, another AETY alum, who is a student at the school. It wasn’t as long as the other tours, nor as formal, but we all enjoyed looking at the old buildings that fill the campus. We got back onto the bus, homeward bound.
Sunday morning, we packed our bags and boarded the bus for our last college tour and the subsequent long bus ride home. Our chaperone, Jamie, took us around his alma mater, Harvard University, along with Jeff Feldman, another AETY alum, who is a student at the school. It wasn’t as long as the other tours, nor as formal, but we all enjoyed looking at the old buildings that fill the campus. We got back onto the bus, homeward bound.
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