This past summer I was accepted to be a part of a prestigious international fellowship program in Szarvas, Hungary. Szarvas was about building relationships with people around you and building bridges over the cultural divisions that are among us and lastly strengthening your relationship with yourself. It was the only place I have been where I can truly say the atmosphere was completely accepting of everyone. 

Szarvas is an international Jewish summer camp founded by the Ronald S. Lauder foundation and the Joint Distribution Committee. The camp draws together campers from all over the world especially from Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Campers range in age from 8 to 18 years old. No country dominates in this environment. The United States is just another table in the dining hall between Russia and another group which was from Hungary, Israel and the United States. There are four sessions throughout the summer and each one lasts two weeks with about 500 people at camp at a time. Different countries are present at different sessions and the United States usually tries to participate in all of the sessions.

The international aspect of the trip is perhaps what distinguishes Szarvas from other summer programs. Initially I was surprised by the level of openness. Within minutes of arriving at camp, people would go up to each other and introduce themselves. There was this immediate assumption we should all be friends. I found myself hanging out with people from Romania, India, Hungary, Russia, Israel and many other countries. Although the mix of cultures, customs and languages was interesting, I found our similarities to be more interesting. I even formed a very close bond with a eight year old boy from Romania. I still email him every few days and he understands what I am saying he speaks fluent english at only eight years old.  While at camp I finally understood  that you can grow up outside of the United States and be just like me. Whether it was singing Hebrew songs during lunch, which I still randomly sing to this day or playing games in the pool, the cultural differences seemed minimal. I had expected differences. It was our similarities that came as more of a surprise to me.

Summer programs often foster rapid friendships and Szarvas was no different. Except that it was.
The bonds between the American fellows were uniquely strong, stronger than any other camp I have ever been to. There were twenty-five kids, two counselors and an American Director. The focus of the trip was sharing things about yourself and where you came from many things such as doubts, uncertainties and beliefs were shared. Each participant had the opportunity to share his or her life story. Sitting together in a circle a few people a day were given the chance to explain who they were; what was important to them; and how they struggled. The issues ranged from not wanting to be as religious as your family to feeling inseparable from your identity as “The Jew” in a non-Jewish high school. The environment was free of judgment. For the first time I knew I could express the absolute truth with no hate back on me. By the time the session was over we knew each other very personally. Today, I feel that separation of time would not diminish that bond we have created with each other.

I expected to make friends and learn about other cultures; I was surprised by how I changed as a person. You have to understand yourself before you can explain yourself. Or in the process of explaining yourself, you must come to understand yourself. Szarvas gave me that space to discover I knew a lot more about myself than I  ever thought before.