When the Garin Came to Town

by: Lisa Caldes, Vancouver

So, Garin 2000 had a little while to go home and reflect on the decision that they had made and hear the reaction of their friends and family, and then we all met up in Washington DC along side the Habo/LZA conference for March 5 and 6. We even acquired a new member -Abe Chiswick is the latest to join our happy family.

Jared, Dan, Abe and I (Lisa) drove down from New York, Shira, Moz and Robin drove from Oberlin, Western and McGill, and Shani and Ezra flew in from Miami and Hampshire. By Friday night after much confusion and excitement, the entire Garin had arrived to take over Maya Natan's house.

Our first night entailed a Shabbat dinner at the lovely DC Bayit and a late night of discussion during which everyone managed to stay awake...

The next morning the sun rose on Garin members sprawled throughout Maya's house and those reluctant to get up (mostly me). Our day involved asephot and a most informative visit from Aliyah Shlicha Judy Widesky. Another highlight was deciding important tafkidim. Shani Friedman was elected Garin Mazkir.

On Saturday afternoon, members started leaving to get back to their busy lives. Those of us who remained had an exciting dinner with local DC Habos at Burrito Brothers and subsequently found it difficult to sit through the opening of the LZA conference (okay, mostly me). By Sunday, most of the Garin was gone and the LZA action was well under way.

I can safely tell you that Garin 2000 is doing very well and is gearing up for another Kinus, May 14^th-16^th at Oberlin, Ohio. We will continue to plan... the rest of our lives together, and we invite anyone who is interested to join us!

For more information about Garin Alpayim, contact Garin Mazkir Shani Friedman at shani00@ibm.net or Jared in the Habonim office: mazkir@habonimdror.org