Alternative Winter Break 2018 Carnival in the Mountains: Eitan Weinkle

The first full day of AWB was such an impactful day. I was able to travel with the rest of the group to the municipality of Morovis in the mountains of Puerto Rico. Once we arrived we split in to two groups, painting houses or running a Christmas carnival for the children of Morovis. I was in the group that ran the Christmas carnival, and the impact we made was evident. The children we interacted with were glowing with excitement as we played carnival games with them and taught them our rikud dances.

After the carnival we drove further into the mountains to a church that houses a small Holocaust museum. For me this small church had the biggest impact on me. To see that a church, of all places, was home to a Holocaust museum and welcomed in people of all faiths without second thought was eye opening to me. As we were wrapping up at the church the pastor and staff of the church gathered all of us to bless us before we left. When they began to bless us the pure emotion in the room just washed over me. I looked at all the church members and the looks on their faces and the sounds of their voices showed me how truly thankful they were that we were there. Moments like these make me and the rest of AWB remember why we are here.

~ Eitan Weinkle: 11th Grade, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania