Day 1 - Akila

Everyone met at the St. Louis Lambert Airport at five forty five in the morning. After all the bags were checked in and everyone went through security, we waited until it was time for the plane to board. The plane started boarding at seven o’clock, all the students had to board y the order of his/her group. After boarding the plane, everyone one sat in his/her seat and waited anxiously for the plane to leave. Most of us could not wait on the plane to leave and ended up falling asleep before the plane took off. The plane left at seven thirty and arrived in New York at approximately ten thirty (Eastern Standard Time). Once we arrived in New York we all took separate cabs to our Hostel. The Hostel, which is on 103 and Amsterdam, was very nice. We ate lunch, went over the hostel rules, and began our way for the day’s activities.

Once we hit the streets, we received our metro passes and were told not to lose them because they cost 27 dollars. We walked to the subway and experienced life as “a tourist” in New York. After what seemed like a thousand subways and miles and miles of walking we arrived at New York Tolerance Center. Unfortunately our speaker, the president of Donors Choose, Charles Best, had to cancel so the vice president Thalia Theodore Washington spoke instead. She talked about the Donors Choose Program and what it does and the effect similar programs have on the community. Afterwards, we had a tour of the Simon Wiesenthal Tolerance Center which impacted all of us. Docent Andy Gold gave us the tour and explained in great depth the impact of hate and why there is s much hate in the world. I would like this reflection to end with a quote from the Tolerance center which says: “If I’m not for myself who am I… If I’m not for others who will be”- Talmudic Scripture