Israel Isrealllyy Fun: CONGRESS Part 2

TUESDAY:

Good morning Diller parents! Our fellows arrived for  Congress yesterday afternoon and have had a very busy past 36 hours. After arriving at our accommodation in kibbutz Manara (photo of the beautiful view attached), and meeting the other partnership communities located at Manara the fellows attended the opening ceremony for Congress. This was a beautiful evening with food stalls and mingling of all 700 fellows, as well as presentations from Diller, including from Helen Diller's daughter. It was a lovely, but very hot, evening, with beautiful photos to come as Diller had drone photography the event. This morning the fellows went to Tel Hai University campus where the main seminar is located. Throughout the day they explored their origins, noting the major differences between Australians and American heritage, and explored their connection to Israel and Judaism. There was also a Diller Fair, with each partnership presenting their communities and the fellows learning about each other. The atmosphere was incredible, with music fairy floss popcorn and many goodies throughout the day. It has given me great joy to see the fellows meeting new people and embracing the Congress experience, which can be overwhelming with the sheer number of people around (and the heat! It was 40 today!).  Their enthusiasm and ruach is becoming known to all on Congress, with just a snapshot for you in the videos. The fellows returned to our accommodation for a relaxed evening discussion of Jewish dilemmas, enjoying the cooler mountain air and a beautiful view.

WEDNESDAY:

Good afternoon parents! Yesterday was the last day at Tel Hai for Congress. The fellows learnt about their  Impact Projects and some tips and tricks of the trade. They also heard about all the future opportunities to be involved in Diller after completing the program as a well. Finally the teens explored the concept of pluralism and what it means in practice, as well as it's relationship to diversity, tolerance and multiculturalism. The official group photo and partnership photos were taken with the golani Melbourne partnerships cheers above and beyond the rest. Today we are based in our kibbutz with the Miami, chicago, and Pittsburgh cohorts doing outdoor activities with ropes courses and scouts activities. Tonight we will be having the final Congress gathering, with a party for all the fellows which they are very excited for!

Hey diller fam,
Today was a day all about diller. We left our beautiful accommodation on kibbutz menara to arrive at the amazing tel chai university campus. The golan Melbourne cohort brought all the ruach by being the loudest and proudest group. We then split into two separate groups. All the international kids were sent to start to discuss and brainstorm ideas for their impact projects after we become diller alumni. The Israelis went to the auditorium where they heard the importance of being a diller and the opportunities that stem from that. Lunch is always a great time because this is were you really get to know the other nearly 700 people around you. It's a great chance to mingle and meet new and amazing people from all over the world. After lunch the two groups swapped and the internationals learnt to importance of diller whilst the Israelis discussed their impact projects. Now we get to the exciting part! We received new diller merch!!!
Together as the diller cohorts of 2017, all nearly 700 kids wore the same diller shirt and we started the process of trying to take a group photo. The day headed to its end where we arrived back at kibbutz menara and had a beautiful maagal through song. This allowed our group to express their feeling through a different medium. With a bit more mingling and obviously some dancing we ended this awesome day and are looking forward to the rest of the week.
Can't wait to see you soon,
Emily Matich.

THURSDAY:

Good morning from Manara. This is our last morning up north, with all very quiet at this hour as the fellows have been treated to a sleep in after the closing ceremony for Congress last night (and huge dance party). Yesterday was a busy day at Manara. As you may have been told, the sail across the kineret had to be cancelled due to the extreme heat (42) and their being no shade on the kinneret. Instead, the fellows participated in outdoor training activities here at Manara. They worked together developing their leadership skills to complete the tasks. Also most tasks included water to keep them cool and engaged. After time to get ready we departed to Tel Hai for the last time for the closing ceremony. There was a video of Congress, slideshows and we heard from various Diller staffers and fellows. Aaron Corne was chosen to represent Australia and talk about the Australian experience in Congress, making all the Australians feel very proud. The "after party" of Congress was a massive party at Tel Hai, which everyone very energetically participated in. Today we are finishing Congress and travelling to Tel Aviv for our closing shabbaton with the Golani. We can't believe how quickly it has gone that we are starting our closing activities!