What a summer!

Well MBI has come to a close and almost all the MBIers are safe and sound at home with the exception of a few who stayed on in Israel after the program. Being in the airport on Monday was great to see the emotions of the MBIers. Many tears were shed, and I'm told the crying process began on Saturday for many MBIers including a number who actually cried for several hours! Having worked at machaneh(summer camp) and with MBI now for a couple summers, I've been told that the amount of crying on the last day can often be an indicator of the success of the summer. With that rubric it is clear that MBI Yud Zayin 2008 was truly great.

Thank you to all of the chaperones for all of our buses and flights which made the travel day a success. Of course the MBI tzevet(staff) led by Leon and Mauri(our technical director) were instrumental in making the experience a truly special one for the MBIers. Their guidance, knowledge and leadership paired with the experience and know how of our program providers the Israel Experience, made MBI Yud Zayin so special. And of course thank you to all you parents for your support throughout the program. I'm certain it is quite an experience to release your children to our care and to take part in the varying experiences that your MBIer underwent. Thank you also to the overwhelmingly positive response we have received for our request for additional funding.

As we our constantly in a process of evaluating our programs I would like to request that you all take a few moments to fill out an online evaluation of the program. I am curious to hear your feedback and input so we can improve next year's program. The link can be found by clicking here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ysCltqKh4LQpC65rV8D92A_3d_3d

It's been a great experience interacting with many of you wonderful families and I hope to be in touch in the future. I will be moving on in September to start a new adventure in my life working in restaurants to work my way up to be a chef. I will continue to live in New York and to be an available resource and consultant for the office. The woman taking over for me is none other than Shani Bob, madricha(counselor) on MBI for the second time this summer, and from the Galil family. She will no doubt bring a lot of experience and know how to make the future MBI's great as well. Thank you all for your support and hopefully we will cross paths soon!

Signing off from this blog,
Michael Kanter