They chose us meticulously. Personal knowledge and good English were among the criteria for selection but most important of all was good behavior. Eventually, a group of seven youngsters was selected: Two from Tamar: Asaf of Neot Hakikar and Orly of Ein Gedi; and five from Arad: Nofar, Irena, Anna, Rahav and Porat. We were accompanied by Yardena. The purpose of our trip was public relations - a significant and perhaps somewhat frightening assignment we received from the Jewish Agency's Partnership 2000 Program in Arad and Tamar.

After weeks of arduous preparation and an eleven-hour night flight, we landed at Newark Airport in New Jersey and were immediately brought to the synagogue in Monmouth, our host community, where they welcomed us with an American breakfast: Coffee, orange juice and, of course, doughnuts and bagels with cream cheese.

We managed a ten-minute sortie to the Atlantic coast to invigorate us for the day's work ahead.

In one synagogue hall, that also serves as a Sunday School, dozens of children and parents gathered to hear what the young people from Israel had to say. We introduced ourselves and talked about our lives as youngsters in Arad and Tamar. We spoke for about an hour, telling our stories and answering various questions - some easy, such as "What's your favorite television program?" or "Is there a McDonald's in Israel", but there were also more serious and sometimes difficult questions, such as "Aren't we afraid to serve in the army?" or "How does it feel to ride a bus when there's always apprehension about suicide bombers?"

For a full week, we faced children, youth and adults, in various places such as Jewish schools, Sunday schools, public schools, and synagogue congregants and even ORT women. Each time, as a group or as individuals, we talked about Israel and especially about Arad and Tamar. Sometimes we did so once or twice a day, sometimes three to four times...and one day we even spoke on ten separate occasions.

I'm sure you think it was difficult and that we had no time to enjoy ourselves. It's true that we had hard work to do, but we actually did enjoy ourselves. First, we were surrounded by the warmth and affection of the families who hosted us, who always made sure we felt good. Whenever we had a free moment, they took us to different places, including tourist attractions, Broadway shows or shopping at a nearby mall. In addition, the organizers made sure to include recreation for us, such as a tour of Manhattan, bowling and more. There was even a planned visit to Six Flags Amusement Park, but to our disappointment, it was cancelled because of rain. Even our "speeches", as we called them, were fun. We met marvelous people and got to know youngsters our own age. We found out that we're really quite similar. We like the same television programs, the same music and the same books and films. We do the same things during our spare time (Internet, chats, computer games and other extracurricular activities) and have the same dreams about the future.

On the morning of the last day, we all gathered to say goodbye to our host families. It was very hard to do. You could see the tears. Although we were only with them for one week, it was a week very full of activity and we were together most of the time, so we became very closely bonded to one another.

During preparations for the trip, they explained to us that Partnership 2000 is three kinds of P2P: Partnership to partnership, people to people and person to person. Looking back, we are certain that we succeeded in carrying out all three, but what will remain with us most is the third, the personal level. The ties we formed with people in this wonderful community will stay with us for a long time.

One more thing is certain. Everyone should enjoy the experience that we had.