Berlin, Germany
OH HELLO, KEEPING PACE! It’s been a while, and I missed you. Wow, December feels like a lifetime ago, but how could I forget about the month spent on three continents, so many reunions, and the best food? To make this one a bit more fun, here is my official December Top 10 List!
To this moment, I cannot grasp that we raised $1M!! Spending this day with Mountain and some great hummus for our GBD Hummus Tasting was so fun. Like most of you, I spent most of this day on the phone with donors, my family, and, of course, Alex! Shoutout to Alex for an incredible network.
WOW, Michigan RC was insane. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a weekend filled with so many new friends, so much creativity, and so much fun. I loved, loved, loved all the Michigan BBGs and all the work they put into their Regional Convention performances. Not to forget—getting to meet Alan from DWTS!!! (He was so nice.) Special shoutout to Maya for being the best host and showing me the best corners of Ann Arbor.
I feel so lucky getting to be part of this NTO tradition. It’s so fun seeing teens love what they do and dedicate so much of their time to their chapters. And Beau and Sweethearts really is exactly that.
What can I say? Since IC 2023, I have been dreaming of Whataburger, and the reunion was indeed magical. SO GOOD. (Missing it right now.) And to make that experience even better, on my last night in Dallas, I even got to go to a Dallas Stars game—my first ice hockey game!
Because this year's Winter Retreat was in Philly, one of our evenings was spent hanging out with Liberty and SJR’s Regional Board. Reuniting with the Liberty BBGs and getting to know the SJR ones was so fun, and I loved witnessing everyone seeing their counterparts again.
When I tell you it was magical, I mean it. Our KabShab, and especially our little shira after Shabbat dinner, was, I think, the most memorable part of my term so far. All of us sitting in each other's arms, screaming at the top of our lungs, hyping each other up, and just spreading so much Shabbat joy filled my heart with so much happiness. A personal highlight was Justin's time to shine, rapping Guns and Ships from Hamilton. So much love for 180 always!
Wicked. The theme of the month. Green. The color of the month. Defying Gravity. The song of the month. Seeing Wicked for the first time—magical. Seeing Wicked for the second time—magical again. Special thanks to Ashley Weinstein for taking me to an empty movie theater on a random Wednesday night and embracing this experience with me. And when Moe and I found out Dan hasn’t seen Wicked yet, it was a simple must to go after our retreat experience. Sorry (not sorry) to everyone who had to listen to us singing!
Although I was FREEZING, and camping was definitely an experience I needed to embrace, I loved the Maccabi Tzair camping overnight. I loved making new friends, learning more Hebrew, and playing so much shesh besh. It was especially cool to mix so many BBYO traditions with Maccabi Tzair traditions and really experience the beauty of both movements.
Spending this Hanukkah in Israel made everything shine even more. I was able to try so many sufganiyot, light candles with new people every night, and learn so many more traditions. I want to thank everyone who hosted us for one of the eight Hanukkah nights and made this experience so fun and special for Dan and me. A special Hanukkah highlight was our alumni reunion with some recent and not-so-recent alumni, where Dan and I shared about BBYO right now and got to listen to so many fun memories that were shared with us.
Happy New Year! First off, thank you for making my 2024 so special. I was able to make so many more friends, try so many new foods, lead so many BBG Legacy Nights, and participate in so many chapter programs, and none of this would be possible without all of you. With that, I am so certain that 2025 will be even better. Here’s to a great year to come!
Joelle Abaew is a BBG from Germany and is serving as the 80th Anita M. Perlman International N'siah.
All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.
