Dear Servas Friends in Haifa and around Haifa,

I returned from my Israel Culture and Language Programme back home to Warsaw safely with lots of new memories and experiences. At the same time I got to know new people, new country, new places, new language and details of everyday life somehow different from what I live here in Poland.

All this gave me an idea of organizing a small picnic party at the fashionable river beach of our Vistula river here in the centre of Warsaw and inviting not only our National Secretary but all Servas members from Warsaw. As a result such a picnic party took place on July 14 with the lead message “Servas Warsaw sends greetings to Servas Haifa and to all neighbouring Servas places around Haifa”. My talks with Debbie and Nathanel Zelnik were also an inspiration for this meeting.

Unfortunately, the weather happened to be rather poor for a picnic, with some rain and strong wind. Some 11 persons appeared at the beach, not all of them on the photo and a bit less than I had expected.

The main theme of our talks were my stories about Israel and my experiences there. People were interested especially in life in modern kibbutzim, in the safety of life and travel in Israel and in my language experiences. People shared also their memories and impressions from their own visits to Israel and from their other contacts with Israelis.

All in all, the initiative which started with my talks with Debbie and Nathanel in Haifa, turned out to be more fruitful in terms of Servas activities than we could expect. And it was a great fun, too, bringing Servas Israel closer to Servas Poland – and bringing Warsaw closer to Haifa!

I am sending you photos from our picnic at the Vistula beach with our best regards.

I attach a few photos made by Marek Borchert exactly sixty years ago (in 1956!) at the same beach and at the same place where our picnic took place, too. Marek brought the pictures to the picnic to show them to us. He kindly gave me his permission to present a few of the photos to you as well.

Servas Warsaw sends best greetings to Servas Haifa and to neighbouring places around Haifa!

Thank you once more for all.

My special thanks go to Debbie and Nathanel.

Regards,

Mirek Wasilewski
and Servas Warsaw