For a week in February, some 60 Jewish families in the Denver-Boulder area opened their homes to hundreds of teenage guests from every corner of the world.
For a full two-plus weeks, a palpable and excited energy exploded in a WhatsApp group set up for hosts welcoming guests for BBYO’s Global Ambassadors week ahead of its annual International Convention, which this year took place in Denver.
Along with all the usual logisitics necessary for such a feat, hosts began floating social plans, suggesting ideas for welcome packages and sharing the various shops and fast food outlets their guests wanted to try while in the US.
As a host family, my husband and I leaned into the experience full tilt (our guests were from Serbia). As a kosher-keeping vegetarian couple without children, we had a lot to learn! I’d never heard of Crumbl or Raising Canes, two names that dominated the group chat. (Did Crumbl especially notice its bizarre rise in sales those five days?) Target and Walmart were also popular destinations.
As the teens started their journeys to Denver, pictures were posted of them at their home airports, the delegations posing with their country’s flag. As the teens began arriving in Denver, hosts posted pictures of meeting their guests at DIA — and the pictures kept on coming. Shopping at Target; Shabbat dinner; mall outings; Red Rocks, etc.
Almost around the clock an infusion of positive energy and Jewish joy.
The camaraderie was coupled with a sense of community. I picked up an extra kid at the airport to save a host a second airport run.
A different host had one of our kids for the last night after our other kid came down with the flu.
Then there were the Super Bowl parties! Several host families generously opened their homes; after all, is there any more of a quintessential American experience?
Most impactful were the interactions and conversations between hosts and guests, learning about one another’s cultures and communities, sharing our varying Jewish experiences and building strong and lasting connections.
As six host families share their experience, be prepared for your infusion of Jewish joy.
Cindy & Barry Noam
Who were your teens?
We hosted eight teens from across Israel — Nadav, Ofir, Noah, Shalev, Yona, Dan, Omri and Kfir. They ranged from 15 to 17 years old.
How did your children get along with your guests?
We have been a BBYO family for 13 years. My daughter Arielle and son Jonathan both started their journeys at BBYO in eighth grade. Both served on their chapter and regional boards. Arielle went on to be an intern for BBYO in Washington, DC while she attended George Washington University. She is currently the regional director of the Rocky Mountain Region for BBYO.
What motivated your family to host?
My husband, Barry, and I are currently empty nesters. We were excited to host and had the space.
Did you share a cultural background with your guests?
Barry was born in Israel. It was easy for us to accommodate all of the boys’ needs and culture. They were comfortable in our home.
What are some of things they wanted to do or try while in the US?
The boys all wanted to try American food. They asked for cereals, like Capn Crunch, Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs. They also wanted to try Crumbl Cookies.
They wanted to go to Target, grocery stores and the mall. They were so impressed with the size and variety of what these American stores offered. Obviously different from Israel.
All of the boys were fluent in English and were happy to converse in English.
They were a tight bunch who looked out for each other.
What was something about Jewish life in the US that they commented on?
They were amazed by how close our community is. How we all came together to host, drive, volunteer and make their experiences incredibly special. It was something they felt was so special about the Jewish community in the Diaspora. All of them were so grateful to be able to be in the US and meet and experience people from all over the world. They said it was worth all of the work they had to put in to be able to come to BBYO IC as representatives of Israel.
What is something you learned from your teens?
One of the boys, Ido, lost his older brother on Oct. 7 at the Nova Music Festival. The seven other boys really looked out for him. Making sure he was OK. Their bond was special. They truly cared for one another.
Would you do this again?
It was an absolute honor to have hosted these boys. We have formed connections with them and their parents. We will be in Israel in June and are planning to see all eight of them and their families. We have built bridges and friendships. I hosted eight boys six years ago and would do it again, every time I am able. I love my Denver community, BBYO and this incredible event that brings our Jewish youth together. They are our future.
Goldie & Joel Cohen
Who were your teens?
We hosted two boys, Joel and Misha: one from Cologne, Germany; the other teen was also part of the German delegation, but is from Ukraine. He is living in Germany due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
What motivated your family to host?
We have really enjoyed hosting experiences in the past, and our kids have been welcomed generously into homes themselves over the years related to teen travel.
How did your children get along with your guests?
We have two kids still living at home, and one in Barcelona studying abroad. Our kids loved having the boys here. The guests brought such a fun and curious energy. They wanted to try everything — from a real American breakfast with maple syrup to Canes chicken.They stayed up late watching “South Park” and laughing so much.
Did you share a cultural background with your guests?
Yes, our family is also from Germany and Romania. It was wonderful to hear about their Jewish life. They also brought some amazing gifts, including kosher chocolate from Ukraine.
What did you learn about Jewish life in their country? What was something about Jewish life in the US that they commented on?
Both our guests are one of very few Jews in their schools. One of them frequents Israel and that is a huge part of their connection to Judaism. They love how big, loud and fun we are with our Judaism. They loved how we wear so much Jewish jewelry and have lots of Judaica in the house. It was a great time to share. We hosted like maybe 50 of the teens Sunday for the Super Bowl — they just got dropped off and we had pizza and just basically watched the half-time show. It was so amazing to see them all interact. They all loved our very American playlist of music and candies — like sour patch kids and other junky treats.
Any amusing language or cultural miscommunications?
Not really, these were pretty sophisticated young men. They loved learning American slang.
What was a highlight of your hosting experience?
I loved making them breakfast each morning. They had such busy days that I think it was really their most sit-down meal. I loved seeing how they enjoyed trying new things — like turkey bacon. One said it “literally changed his life.” I loved their curiosity.
Would you do this again?
Yes! It was a great experience.
Meredith, Benjamin, Zahava, Dahlia & Adira Levy
Who were your teens?
Katya and Alexa from Mexico City.
What motivated your family to host?
We enjoy having guests. Our oldest is in eighth grade and excited to join BBYO, and Ben is an Evergreen BBYO alum and former staff member. There is a lot of chaos and cruelty in the world right now, and this was a nice distraction.
How did your children get along with your guests?
We have three daughters, ages six, 11 and 14. The girls enjoyed hanging out with our guests and tasting spicy and tamarind flavored Mexican candies.
How much did you know about your guests’ home country and its Jewish life?
We were unfamiliar with Jewish life in Mexico and the large size of the community. Both teens attend an American School and Conservative synagogue in Mexico City, so being immersed in an English speaking household and joining us at Rodef Shalom on Shabbat was familiar.
Was there something specific you learned from your teens that’s stuck with you?
The teens commented about how many choices of products there are during a Target visit and how little traffic there is compared to Mexico City. They were grateful to drink water from the tap!
What was a highlight of the experience?
Hosting Shabbat dinner for our teen guests and friends who were hosting BBYO teens from South Africa. And attending the Mary Poppins theater production at PACE Center.
Would you do this again?
Yes.
Kevin & Pam Jinkerson
Who were your teens?
Four girls from Poland: Mia, Zofia, Hannah and Sarah. Mia and Zofia went to the Szarvas summer camp together, and Mia knew Hannah and Sarah as they are all from Cracow. Zofia is from Bielsko-Biala, which is around five hours from Warsaw.
What motivated your family to host?
Our son is in eighth grade and is just starting BBYO. My daughter is envious that he gets to join now and she has to wait two years. My wife was in BBYO and my niece is really active in it. We thought it would be a great opportunity for our kids to a taste of BBYO and of international kids and get another cultural perspective. It’s not something they experience every day.
How much did you know about your guests’ home country and its Jewish life?
Like some others, our first thought was, There are Jews in Poland? My wife’s grandparents lived in Poland and went through concentration camps. So she has roots back to Poland, but after their experience, they thought basically all the Jews left after the Holocaust. Practically speaking we knew there was some, but we didn’t think there was much Jewish life.
We learned that there’s about 1,000 Jews in Cracow, which is one of the largest communities, and that there’s only about 10,000 Jews total in all of Poland.
Zofia is from a smaller town where they are the only Jewish family. She travels to Warsaw to participate in BBYO. Mia told us that in Cracow, instead of each family doing their own Shabbat dinner, the entire shul gets together every Friday night for the Shabbat meal.
What was something about Jewish life in the US that they commented on?
Two things: One is how many Jews there are here versus home. Two, and I find this is true in a lot of other parts of the world, they don’t understand the concept of Reform or even Conservative Judaism. It’s a foreign concept. When they practice, it’s more what we would describe as Orthodox Judaism. When my wife took them to services at Aish, it was pretty similar to what they were used to.
What was a highlight of your hosting experience?
We ended up with 91 people at our house for the Super Bowl party. My wife joked it was the United Nations Super Bowl party. I’d go downstairs and we’d have all these different kids from all these different places interacting. It was really cool to see all these different kids and how much it’s all the same. Them hanging out looks just like when we see our friends’ teens hang. Even though everyone was from different cultures, it’s all the same thing at the end of the day.
Was there something specific you learned from your teens that’s stuck with you?
A couple things really stood out. One is how easy we have it to be Jews comparatively. One of our guests travels five hours by herself on a train to Warsaw to be part of BBYO. Two is the amount of independence they’re given as teens versus what we give our kids. We wouldn’t let our kids hop on a train by themselves at 14 years old to travel to a big city. That would be crazy for us.
Another interesting think was how different their academics are. They take between 15 and 17 different subjects and typically do Jewish studies outside of it.
Did anything stand out to you about their curiosities about the US?
It was interesting that most of what they wanted to check out and try was based off of TikTok. Everybody’s kids want to try Crumbl cookies, Raising Canes. Ours wanted to go to the thrift stores. They said they don’t have thrift shops in Poland. We took them to a Goodwill and an ARC and they bought a bunch of stuff and thought it was such an interesting idea. So that was different. But what they wanted to see and try was all TikTok driven.
Would you do this again?
A hundred percent, especially as long as we have our kids at home.
Danit Damari & David Kaplan
Who were your teens?
Keano and Daniel from Frankfurt, Germany.
What motivated your family to host?
My son Eli is in his first year at BBYO. We love to entertain and have people over.
How did your children get along with your guests?
Eli and Ethan got along with the boys from Germany so so well. Eli introduced Keano and Daniel to his friends and everyone got along really well.
How much did you know about your guests’ home country and its Jewish life?
Throughout the experience, I became very friendly with their parents. We spoke on video and got to know each other before they came. I am originally from Israel. I shared Israeli food with them, and stories about Shabbat and high holidays that we all could relate to.
What did you learn about Jewish life in their country that you didn’t know?
I learned how scary it is to be Jewish in Germany and in Europe these days. I heard horrible stories. That made me feel very sad knowing that Jewish people are not safe in Europe.
Any amusing language or cultural miscommunications?
It was fun, jumping from language to language, from English to Hebrew to German.
Was there something specific you learned from your teens that’s stuck with you?
I learned that my heart can open up so fast to two strangers and now I feel that they are part of my family and part of my heart. It was such a perfect match.
What was a highlight of your hosting experience?
All of us staying up late in the living room watching TV, speaking to each other and sharing stories nonstop until 1 a.m.
Would you do this again?
One-hundred percent yes!
Daniel & Elissa Siegel
Who were your teens?
We hosted two boys, Mati, 18, and Sebastian “Sebas,” 17, from Buenos Aries, Argentina.
What motivated your family to host?
I am the delegation head for the Colorado JCC Maccabi Games. Each summer I coordinate a group of teens who compete in the games in another city where they are hosted by families. It felt important to me to do the same for other Jewish teens needing to be hosted in our city. We enjoy hosting people in general! It’s a great opportunity to connect with new people and learn things. I’m part of a community that hosts bicycle tourers, and we’ve been lucky to host people from around the world this way as well.
Do you have children of your own at home?
We don’t have any children of our own, however, we have both have worked with youth in some capacity throughout our careers. I worked profession in summer camps for a decade and currently manage teen programming at the JCC Denver currently. Elissa nannies a couple of times a week and formerly worked as a youth mentor. I think most people assume DINKs (dual income no kids) like us have an aversion to spending time with teens, but Elissa and I enjoy spending time with kids in our community of friends and co-workers.
Did you share a cultural background with your guests? How much did you know about your guests’ home country and its Jewish life?
Beyond having the common thread of being Jewish, we did not have too much culturally in common with our teens. At the same time, Buenos Aries is a developed and westernized city, so there wasn’t a huge gap. It was fun listening to their music in the car and hearing about their Jewish day schools.
What did you learn about Jewish life in their country that you didn’t know? And what was something about Jewish life in the US that they commented on?
As a JCC professional, it was interesting to hear about their system of community centers in Argentina. Mati is a madrich (counselor) at one and he shared with me a little about how they function and we compared and contrasted to the JCC system in the US.
Any amusing language or cultural miscommunications?
The boys have great English! Miscommunications were minimal. When they first arrived, I took them to the grocery store to grab a few things. In their jet-lagged English they couldn’t remember the word “weigh” as we were picking out produce, so Sebas made a gesture for it. It remained a great joke the rest of the trip!
Was there something specific you learned from your teens that’s stuck with you?
Thanks to TikTok, the boys asked about going to places in Denver that we would never go. It was nice to explore those parts of Denver. We learned that there is always more to experience right in your own backyard.
What was a highlight of your hosting experience?
Our family is not religious, and our version of Shabbat is getting into the mountains. We took Mati and Sebas to Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs. It was so fun to scramble around the rocks a bit and share some of the incredible landscapes in Colorado. We asked them what they thought of the day and Mati said, “Today we had no FOMO (fear of missing out).”
Elissa and I felt pretty good about a teenager declaring that they didn’t miss their friends.
Would you do this again?
Absolutely!
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