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learn a littleyiddish...

Jewish youth groups have a blast!

Gotenu

(pronounced got-en-oo)

Definition: "Oh, my God!" From the Yiddish word for God, got, and the Hebrew word for us, anachnu. Sometimes it
is not enough to just describe something as cool — that is where gotenu comes in. When you are excited beyond

belief about getting tickets to the Gwen Stefani concert, there is nothing like Yiddish slang to help you express

your enthusiasm. If you are sick of your parents telling you to expand your vocabulary beyond the phrases "Oh,

my God!" and "Leave me alone," now you can impress them by using their favorite phrases as yours in another

language. And don't forget, guys, a girl loves a man who can flatter her in Yiddish.

Example: "Mom, you wore spandex to the Cohen's bar mitzvah?! Gotenu, are you TRYING to ruin my life?!"

By Adina Applebaum, 15, Frankel Jewish Academy, West Bloomfield

Venturing Crew 18 — I was delighted to hear the Exploring and

Venturing Officers Association chose my Venturing Crew 18 as

Venturing Crew of the Year. This award is an honor as we end

our first programming year and begin looking towards next year's

adventures as part of the Boy Scout's coed Venture program. We

attended a special campout May 29 to receive the award. Our day

slice of life

a

began with pistol target shooting under the expert supervision of

T2T column

instructors and continued with skeet shooting clay pigeons. We

ended our exhilarating day with a special awards banquet. Above

can't live without that cell phone

are Crew 18 officers Melissa Gildenberg, 16, Teddie Olender, 17,

and Max Olender, 14. Crew 18 is chartered by the Jewish War

Veterans-Department of Michigan. As with all of our campouts, with

"Im so bored," says the text that flashes across my cell phone screen.

friends, fun and adventures you can never go wrong.

The sender is sitting 5 feet from me. We are in a tedious class.
"I no," I respond. The teacher continues to write on the board, undisturbed by our conversation.
To adults, this may seem preposterous: Using text messages — where cost can add up very quickly
— to tell someone who is sitting a short distance away something that can wait until after class. Why,
for instance, is telling the person two desks over that one is "lol (laughing out loud)" so imperative,

By Danielle DePriest, 17, Frankel Jewish Academy,

West Bloomfield

especially if the sender is not actually doing so?
When I first discovered cell phones, I thought they were meant for adult use only. Then, in

ninth grade, I received my first cell phone. My heavy pocket endowed me with a new sense of
maturity Yet the only people I called were my mother and sister, and the only ring tones I used

were the pre-programmed ones.
As cell phone manufacturers crammed more technology into their ever-sleeker products, my peers
and I began to explore the recreational capabilities of our phones. They could double as cameras,
voice recorders and Internet hookups. Soon phones became expressions of identity People encrusted

them with crystals and assigned a unique ring tone to each friend.
And the trend continues today. We use our cell phones to receive Facebook messages, send
Valentine texts, film 30-second stunts and play time-wasting video games.
Cell phones, therefore, are as much a part of the teen culture as rock'n'roll was 50
years ago. I am not advocating a "textfest," nor am I saying that the cost of text mes-
sages should be disregarded; however, the next time your child receives a text such as

NCSY (National Conference of Synagogue Youth) — Having fun

at NCSY's annual fall convention in Cleveland are Rachel Devries,

16, and Elizabeth Traison, 17, both of West Bloomfield; Shoshana

Gruber, 16, Southfield; Devorah Mandel, 15, Cleveland; unidenti-

fied; Marisa Gruber, 18, Southfield; Elizabeth Shore, 14, and Marnie

Beals, 17, both of West Bloomfield.

"!!!", do not try to understand. Simply, it is what we do.

By David Lehmann, 17, Yeshivat Akiva, Southfield

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out /7et-e ?Lo ore.

BBYO — Taking a break during the recent ETC (Election Training

Conclave) in Ortonville are Sarah Hepner, 17, North Farmington High

School; Stephanie Horwitz, 16, Frankel Jewish Academy; and Dana

O'Neil, 18, a recent West Bloomfield High School graduate.