CamelCamelCamelCaramelCamelCamel

After we woke up at the Bedouin campsite, we got some breakfast, then rode on camels. oh yes, you read correctly. CAMELS. C-to-the-A-to-the-M-E-L, CAMELS. 

side note - Camel is just a weird word when you read it over and over again. CamelCamelCamel.

also, Caramel Camels would be an awesome candy. Get on that, Willy Wonka. 

From here, we drove out, took a hike to a "secluded desert pool" which was more or less just a tiny body of water. The hike was pretty fun though, we even got to do some rock climbing! 

Drive drive drive, look around out the windows, rappel down a crater...

Oh right. We rappelled into a crater! It only took a couple of minutes, and we only could go 3 or so at a time, but it was an amazing view. 

Finally, we drove the last leg to Tel Aviv. It was pretty late, and we were all exhausted so getting to the hotel rooms became our priority. Then after everyone showered and rested up, several of us went out on the town. After a little bit of bar-hopping, a few of us came back at around 12:30. Then it was bed time before our final day in Israel. 

I Guess the Bedouins make their own Kool-Aid...

Today,  we started our day waaaaay too early, around 4:30, and drove about an hour to ascend Masada. Without a doubt, this was the most exercise I had gotten all week - by the end of the trek I was sufficiently sweaty, but not entirely exhausted. From the top, we did a little exploring, along with some education about the history of Masada. I won't lie, I got much more out of walking around the rocky stairways and looking out over the canyon than I did from the history lesson.

From here, we had a quick lunch, then traveled onward to David Ben Gurion's burial site. I actually found this history lesson to be much more interesting! Ben Gurion really was a fascinating person, someone I could see myself looking to for inspiration. 

From here we drove to the Negev Desert to experience life with the nomadic Bedouins. After an introductory speech from one of the Bedouin men running the campsite, we had a feast of chicken, pita, rice, hummus and deliciousness. Oddly enough, the drinks they served us were reminiscent of Kool-Aid, but what do I know?

After the feast, we had a bonfire which turned into a bunch of American and Israeli jews gathering to sing pop songs from the 80's and 90's. I can't complain, it was actually very nice. 

Finally, it was bed time, where we all gathered into a giant tent and slept together. (wink wink)

 

Israel's not all Fun and Falafel

Today we went to "Har Herzl", a famous Israeli cemetery. We walked around and saw the graves of political figures and war heroes, but it wasn't until we got to the military graves that everything really hit me. Everyone in Israel has to serve for 3 years after they turn 18, so there were plenty of graves marking 18, 19, and 20 year olds. It was a little hard to think about, considering how many graves there were, but we got through it. The soldiers were pretty visibly shaken, but they seemed to be doing alright by lunch time.

On a positive note, it was a really awesome looking graveyard - lots of great floral decorations and interesting architecture.

Anyways, from there we went to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum.

Side Note - This was NOT a happy day.

walking around the museum, seeing everything they had, it was a little, well, alot overwhelming. There was just so much to see, so many testimonials, I wish we'd had more than 2 hours. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to go back, or I could just go to the one in DC.

better yet, no more museums for a while.

Spell Check doesn't work on Transliterations

The Last couple days have been spent in Jerusalem, living in the beautiful Shalom Hotel. On the first morning in Jerusalem, we met 6 soldiers from various factions of the Israeli army. Together we all went to an open marketplace to buy food for our picnic lunch. With Maya, one of the soldiers, in my ear, I was able to order some Jerusalem bread and pita from a vendor! Its hard not to feel accomplished when people can understand you in a foreign language. 

From here, we drove to Old City Jerusalem, doing a walking tour and eventually ending up at the Western Wall. It was actually a pretty amazing experience, being at the wall, even in the rain. Unfortunately there were a few over-zealous orthodox jews pestering our group for tzedakah and "suggesting" we wear teffilin. (damn you, spell check!) I had hoped for a strong religious experience, but it was hard to focus when in the corner of my eye I could see my friends being poked and prodded by the "men in black."

Afterward we headed back to the hotel, celebrated shabbat with a nice dinner and a short service. Then, since it was only 8 or 9 PM, we were left to do... well, to do whatever college kids do in foreign countries with a lowered drinking age. 

On Shabbat we got to sleep in and went out into the city around 11 or 12 on a walking tour. It felt weird being a large group walking through these quiet neighborhoods, especially with Adam and Kenny talking about figuring out the scores from the football games the night before. Still though, it was humbling to experience an entirely different culture just in seeing how much shuts down on the Sabbath. We came back to the hotel for a havdallah service and then all left for Jerusalem. 

Shwarma. Oh My God, Shwarma is potentially the greatest food ever. Kenny had been talking about it for days, and when Adam and I, Shwarma virgins, finally had it... wow. We were truly amazed. It occurs to me that we didn't get any pictures of the Shwarma, but they wouldn't have done it justice. I love Shwarma. 

Shwarma - thin slices of hot lamb on top of lettuce, hummus, cucumber, and french fries, all wrapped in a pita. AMAZING. 

After our culinary experience, we wandered the streets and spent time soaking in the culture. It got pretty cold, and by 11 we were ready to head back to the hotel when the bus arrived to take us there. 

Not every day earns a witty title.

We started off the day in Tzfat, the birthplace of Jewish Mysticism. Walking the stone streets, visiting the old, small synagogues, seeing the awesome candles in the candle shop - it was all pretty awesome. I learned that to the mystics, blue is a protective color and as a result its painted onto everything. Seriously - EVERYTHING. There was blue cement on some of the stone walls!

From here we went to the village of Peki'in, walked around a little and went to a Druze tent for lunch. The Druze are a subset of christianity and judaism, following the teachings of Jericho, but i'll be honest - that didn't really matter to me. Fact of the matter is, they made an AMAZING lunch. hummus, pita, sliced beef, chicken, wild rice, vegetables - it was a feast, and we loved every bite. 

Of course, all good things must end, so after the feast we drove to Jerusalem for the birthright Mega Event. 

I'll keep this part short - after a 3 hour bus ride, we arrived just in time. It was about 50,000 birthright participants from all over the world gathering in this auditorium, screaming and shouting, hootin' and hollerin'. 

It was a little overwhelming. 

Still Though, a decent event, but we were all ready to crash when it was over. We drove out to our hotel, waited in the lobby to get our room keys, then went upstairs to sleep. 

Day 3, DONE.

"Eifo Ha Sherutim"

After a much needed sleep, we got up around 7 for breakfast at the hostel. Eggs, toast, Cream Cheese, Cereal, nothing out of the ordinary, except for the cold fish. Eww. Someone said that it was probably herring, all I know is it was NOT yummy. 

From here, we hopped onto the bus for our second hike. On the way there, Yuval taught us our phrase of the day, as seen in the title, which means "where is the bathroom?"

  This hike  started at the top of a look-out, and after a brief history lesson regard the 6 day war and the Yom Kippur War, we descended down along a canyon - incredible views and actually a pretty solid hike. 

Fast Forward after lunch, and we traveled to the Yarden Winery - a world class, award winning winery in the Golan Heights. After a brief film and a tour, we had a tasting. Then several of us bought bottles of wine as gifts for our parents... or ourselves. More about that later. 

After the winery, we went to a hot spring - everyone went swimming, relaxed in what can only be described as a big, smelly hot tub.  Turns out the hot spring is heated by sulfur. Smelly, Smelly Sulfur. 

At this point, we went back to the hostel and spent the night relaxing and bonding as a group. Some of the gift bottles of wine didn't make it back to the states, but everyone had a great night. 

Overall, the whole group really bonded and it was great to see everyone getting along so easily.  Its true what they say about jews - we just don't seem to hesitate when it comes to making new friends. 

Sleeping Pills Don't Work

Read the title, because if there's anything I learned today, that's it. 

We left for Newark from Steph's house around 8 AM, arriving at the airport and meeting our group around 10. From there we waited in line, went through customs/security and got some food before the flight. 

 Side Note - Israeli Customs loves to ask strange questions. "What was the name of your Synagogue?" Ok, I guess its sorta relevant.

So after a brief ice-breaking name game to pass the time before we boarded our flight, we walked onto what turned out to be the coolest plane I've ever been on. In seat TVs with On Demand style movies, TV shows, Music and Video Games is AWESOME for a 10 hour flight. We even figured out how to make seat-to-seat calls, which would have been cooler if Adam and Steph weren't right next to me. Adam and I were able to play against each other in Tetris though, which made everything even better.  About an hour into the flight, we popped our Over-The-Counter sleeping pills and I sat back with The Simpsons Movie in hopes of sleep. 

No Such Luck. 

What ended up happening was the three of us couldn't get comfortable enough to stay asleep for more than 30 minutes. Trying to fall asleep is almost exhausting by itself.

At 7 AM Israeli time (Midnight in Maryland), we touched down and got on a bus. We drove out to a beautiful hostel in Northern Israel, near the Golan Heights. We went to our rooms, cleaned up, and had lunch until about 2 pm.

From here we went on a hike down a mountain, which was great until around 5 pm when being awake for 24 hours started to catch up with me. Adam will vouch that Dan says some weird things and stops making sense when he's exhausted. 

We drove home at this point and I passed out on my bed until 7, when we had dinner. Then we all met for a brief discussion about being Jewish in Israel, what we hoped to get out of the trip, What it meant to be Jewish in general, etc. It was interesting to get so many different perspectives, and there seemed to be some common bonds connecting all of us together. 

After this, it was about 9 PM, about 10 of us went down to the convenience store/bar at the hostel, had a beer and went to sleep. 

Day 1 was looooooong, but a great start to the trip.