This past weekend a group of young Bukharians took a trip to two American national treasures, the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island. The group took a lot of pictures and had an opportunity to make new friends. They had a lot of fun site seeing and learning about immigration history of the United States.

It began on Sunday morning, May 12^th, yes, on Mother’s Day. We actually had a mother with us with her daughter, who had a good Mother’s Day. The group met up at the Bukharian Jewish Center, around 8AM. Everyone rounded up by 8:40AM. Most came on time for a warm complimentary breakfast provided by BJOY. We made sure that everyone was full before the trip.

After breakfast, we boarded two eighteen-seater vans and drove to our destination. The ride was safe and entertaining, and quite for the most part. Not everyone was awake yet.

Once we got to our Ellis Island pick up location, we boarded a Circle Line ship and headed for the sites. During that time, Daniel Zavulunov, our master comedian, and Roman Movashev, our very own vice President of BJOY, kept us entertained. The guys told a lot of good jokes. They touched upon every stereotype they possibly could, including BORAT, etc…. the jokes were in Bukharian, Russian, and English. Everyone was laughing and having a good time throughout the trip. Even bystanders were jealous of our laughter and tried to listen in and participate.

The two historic sites, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were educational. Our first stop was at Statue of Liberty. We visited the museum, read the history, and listened to the guide discuss the history of the statue. We learned that the Statue of Liberty was built in France and shipped to the US and the statue inauguration was in 1886, which makes the statue 121 years old. We visited the top of the actual pedestal from where the statue is displayed. From there, we also took a lot of panoramic pictures, with views of the statue and Manhattan. On the island, we had lunch, which was followed by our next stop, the Ellis Island. On this island, we learned about how immigrants came to the US in the early 19^th and 20^th century. We also took a lot of pictures and listened in on the tour guide provided by the Ellis Island Park.

Around 3PM, everyone was pretty exhausted and we headed home.

Over all, I believe the trip to Ellis Island was a great experience. There were many new faces that were introduced to BJOY. From their feedback, they will definitely participate in our future events. There was even a talk of doing white water rafting next. I believe everyone enjoyed the organization, entertainment, meeting new people, and the educational material provided by BJOY.

Many thanks go to BJOY guys!