My son went last year as a sophomore. We walked him into our local airport - and said good-bye there. He flew to Kennedy - retrieved his luggage - made his own way to the correct terminal - and met his group. I was a bit nervous as this was actually his first time flying alone - but it went fine. He texted me every step of the way, which was more for my benefit.
If the trip had been leaving from a closer airport - we would have driven him there and walked him in to meet his group. I think itās harder on the parents. The kids see it as part of the adventure.
I wasnāt concerned about him dealing with the airport. He has been flying to and from college for 3 years. I just wanted to know the usual custom for parents. Anyway, we dropped him off this morning. We did go in and helped find his group, though he could have done that easily.
Safe travels to Chardoās son and all the others going on Birthright trips. Birthright trips can really be life changing. My D had a great experience on Birthright a few years ago and is planning to do an internship in Tel Aviv this fall through the Masa Israel program.
My older S did a similar internship program after his birthright trip too. That summer after his sophomore year he did Onward Israel from Boston and did a summer internship in the heart of Jerusalem. Loved it, but his real true love is with Spanish speaking countries. After doing a semester abroad in Madrid, he felt very connected. Heās graduating very soon with a double major and minor. One of the majors is in Spanish. Your D should have a fabulous time. We have cousins in Tel Aviv that met my older S in Jerusalem. (Isnāt your second D graduating now too?) Mazel Tov.
stradmom: my younger S had two āmandatoryā orientations to go to for Birthright but could only go to the first. The program director said no problem. He didnāt miss anything. Why would parents have to go? I would just say if you donāt want to make the drive, that they can email or phone you with what you missedā¦thereās really nothing that they canāt just send to you, basic info.
The parent orientation we attended at our local JCC was skippable. Mostly centered on packing, security, phones and currency - all of which is available on the website and is contained in the info sent directly to the students. I had to laugh as the mother of sons - when we got to Q and A - more questions on girls and their blow dryers and straightening irons than anything else!
My daughter is currently doing an internship in Tel Aviv through the Destination Israel (which is associated with Masa). Itās a 5 month internship program that sheās using to fulfill one of her coop positions - sheās a student at Northeastern. Let me know if you have any questions. There are a number of semi-related internship programs affiliate with Masa.
Thanks for the tips @chocchiipcookie and @rockvillemom! Neither kid can make it to an orientation near them, and I feel like someone ought to get orientedā¦but maybe not after allā¦
Is a prior visit to Israel required for Masa internship? Also, are they all 5 months? Do they have shorter, summer internships,too?
Also looking for a good summer program for 2016 where my hs daughter can get solid Hebrew (ulpan?) and earn credit for it - that is affordable. Alexander Muss and EIE are too expensive.
Thanks Chocchip! Yes, my D is graduating also. Congrats to your S. It sounds like he made the most of his college experience.
Tootiredtocare: I donāt think a prior visit is required for a Masa Internship. They do have summer internships, but all the housing slots for this summer have been filled. Hereās the link to their website: http://www.masaisrael.org/.
krnBoston: I hope your Dās experience is going well. Iām going to PM you to find out more. Thanks.
Thanks for the quick reply momjr. My goal is to get my #1 son who is in college and #3 daughter who is a freshman in high school this year to Israel next summer (2016) - #2 son who will be a freshman at Ohio State this fall is not interested at this timeā¦sigh!
@momjr: do you know when the optimal time is to apply for summer 2016? I will have #1S check out the website.
Tootiredtocare: Iām guessing that late fall, early winter would be the best time to apply for next summer. When my daughter started the process a couple of months ago, they still had summer openings but had filled all the summer housing spots. You could email and ask that question. My D has found that they are very quick to respond. It seems like a very well-organized operation.
My daughter never did Birthright and no previous Israel program was required for the internship. Her program is Feb - July, so it didnāt fill that quickly. As I mentioned, there are multiple programs. I know someone else who was looking at just a summer internship, so I know they exist. My daughterās program included an Ulpan program for the first few weeks. At her internship, everyone speaks English but will usually use Hebrew (but use English with her). She wants to improve her Hebrew, but itās difficult since so many people speak English well. Right after the election she said everyone was arguing loudly and quickly (as Israeliās tend to do) in Hebrew and she couldnāt follow any of the discussion.
Sorry I havenāt been on this thread in awhile and can offer some insight to the birthright trip as my son went on it in December 2014 and came home January 2015. He was only 18 at the time. He goes to school in Mass (UMASS-Amherst) and signed up for the trip through his Hillel at school. All the orientation sessions were for the students and parent were not invited. I think you can get all the information you need from your students trip organizer on their web site.
My son has been a traveler since he was 14 with BBYO. When he was 14 and 15 we walked him into the airport but since then we have just done the drop off thing. We did have him text when he met up with his BR group though. I have to say living in Queens, NY with both airports only 20 minutes away (without traffic) makes flying very easy for us. To walk in or not to walk in depends on your kid and your own comfort level. Follow your gut instinct and you wonāt go wrong.
As far as staying in hotels right by the airport tell them not to leave the grounds once there as the surrounding neighborhoods do get dicey. They will be tempted to go and party for the night in NYC but honestly itās just not worth it. And tell them to be prepared for a stink (literally) as the airport at JFK is right off of Jamaica Bay and when itās low tide the stench is awful.
Also for any who havenāt booked airlines back home yet from NY you might want to wait. I got the call from my son that he wanted to extend as about 60% of the kids were going to do so. They all hooked up and went to hostels in Tel Aviv. My son actually stayed 6 extra days. So extra money and a charge card are important. (Do notify the company that there will be charges from Israel so there is no problem with charges being declined). Since they are responsible for food and entertainment on their own extra money is essential as you just canāt charge everything. I also told him that I didnāt want him on the buses and that any traveling they did was to be done with cabs. It was only $75 dollars to change the flight back to NY so we thought it was a great opportunity. For those that need flights out of NY to their final destination I have no clue what a rebooking would be-I guess it depends on the airline and other factors. After speaking with other parents it seems that many of their kids who went on BR extended (but maybe that is just a NY/NE thing as the logistics make it easier to arrange).
My son made free calls to me through facebook. I donāt know the name of the app but I will ask him tomorrow. So renting a phone was a non issue. However, if you need the ability to get in touch with them at any time invest in a phone. From my understanding its not very expensive and might be worth the piece of mind.
Last precautionary note: My son bought what he thought was a 14kt gold Jewish star from Jewels of Jerusalem on Ben Yehuda Street and it turned out to be copper. I found out when it accidentally went into the wash and came out all coppery looking and black. I guess I should have told him to look for the 14kt mark. Iām in the process of disputing the charge but was pretty much told that if you buy it in person there isnāt really anything that can be done. He then said he understood why they were pushing for him to pay cash for it. Live and learn I guess. If you have any questions just post them or pm me and I will be more than happy to help if I can.
This thread has grown beyond its title to more of a ācolleges for the Jewish studentā thread. But still interesting.
To back up, I did ask about how Israel and Hillel were perceived as younger son visited colleges. It wasnāt a concern for older son. Texas schools are very friendly fwiw, UT included.
I came to this thread when my S was applying to college, and next Tuesday Iāll watch him graduate. Sending D2 off to college now. Glad that weāre still chatting. Next up, weddings???
Mazel tov indeed! Nice to see these updates. S2 - who was my reason for starting the thread - is heading home today - having completed his junior year at Elon. Time flies.
