Day 10: Mount Herzl and the Old City

January 19th- Day 10

Today was our last day in Israel. We started the morning by traveling to Mount Herzl, the National Israeli Cemetery. We saw both Herzl and Rabin's graves, along with other political dignitaries and soldiers. It was surprising to see how young most of the soldiers were when they died. Most of them were around my age. 

Herzl's Grave

After the cemetery, we got on the bus and were instructed to close the blinds and shut our eyes. Then, we departed the bus (eyes still closed) and holding hands to the promenade. On the count of three, we opened our eyes to the most beautiful view of Jerusalem. We took lots of pictures and then moved on to actually go to the old city. 

View from the Promenade 

 We put our best foot forward (our right foot to be exact as it is tradition to step into the old city for the first time with your right foot) and stepped back in time. 

Stepping into the Old City

We received a quick history lesson from Moran about who ruled this part of Israel and when, while eating some delicious bread and spices. After seeing a few more historical sites, we were set free for lunch. I chose to get what seemed kind of like a calzone with cheese and tomato sauce inside. It was delicious! We also did a bit of shopping around the old city before it was time to meet up again.

When we met up, it was finally time to go to the Kotel, or the Western Wall. We saw many elements still left today and even did a few Bar/Bat Mitzvahs (along with a quick hora). After all the suspense and anticipation, we finally visited the Wall. I was overwhelmed and cried for all the people who had been there and for all the people who would never get the chance to go. I stuck Allie's, Mom's, and my notes in and said a few prayers. It was really quite a magical, emotional experience. When we were all finished sobbing, we had to leave the Old City. 

We sat right outside of Zion Gate and did a small wrap up activity. During this activity, I realized how wonderful the people are that I have been traveling with for the past 10 days, and how close I have become with some of them. 

We grabbed a quick dinner and then it was time for our ride back to Tel Aviv to go to the airport. As I get ready to land back in the United States, I feel like a different person then I was 10 days ago. I am so grateful for the experiences that I have had and cannot wait until I am able to return to Israel!
                                

Day 9: Shabbat and Night out in Jerusalem

January 18th- Day 9

This morning, we opted to wake up a bit earlier so that we could go to a synagogue on Shabbat. It was a really emotional experience to pray in one of the holiest cities in the world. We celebrated two bar-mitvahs and we got to throw candy at them! It was also my first time being in a different section than the men. Overall, it was an amazing experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I truly understand the meaning of Jewish community as the woman next to me shared candy to throw and her prayer book.

When we returned back to the hotel, we had a political lecture to explain the current conflict in the middle east. I actually enjoyed listening to the lecture and learning more about the political situation in Israel. He first tried to explain to us the way that people view politics in the Middle East. Then, he went into more specifics about Israel's relations with it's neighboring countries.

After the lecture, we had lunch and some free time before the park. At the park, a few of us played on the playground and sat around and chatted. We did our Havdalah service there as well.

We returned back to the hotel to get ready for our night out on the town in Jerusalem. We went to Ben Yehuda street where I ate my very first schwarma. Then, we headed over to a bar called Toy Bar where we were surprised by 6 out of the 8 of our soldiers! It was such a great night filled with laughter and great friends! Last day in Israel tomorrow:(

Day 8: Yad V'Shem and the Shook

January 17th- Day 8

We started off the day on a bit of a depressing note, as we started at Yad V'Shem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum. It was beautifully done and very moving. We ended our time at the site by listening to a testimony by an actual Holocaust survivor. He was the first survivor I've ever seen who had the numbers tattooed on his arm.

Yad V'Shem

After the museum, we had a tearful goodbye with the soldiers as they left to return home for Shabbat.

Then, we headed to the shook, the infamous market in Jerusalem. We ate some delicious falafel and did a lot of shopping. We then headed back to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat and set to work on our Shabbat-o-grams for the Oneg. We did candle lighting and dinner.

The Shook

We reconvened for Oneg Shabbat and swapped lots of food and goodies. We ended the night early so that we could hang out and be well rested for our last weekend in Israel :(

Ready for Shabbat

Day 7: Tzfat

January 16th- Day 7

We had an early start to the morning (8am) to head to Tzfat, an artist community. Our first stop was a mikveh, which is a tradition for Jewish women. There are several reasons a woman goes to the mikveh: a married woman 7 days after the end of her period, a woman about to get married or give birth, and for conversion. It was a great tour full of information. I felt a lot more calm afterwards and was a good way to start the morning. We then headed to three different synagogues where we learned about levels of Judaism- what we do, what we say, and what we think.

At the Mikveh

For lunch, we ate Lehuhe, which was several different kinds of cheese, tomatoes, herbs, and onions all wrapped in something like a crepe. It was so delicious, and was hands down one of the best things I have eaten so far on the trip.

Eating Lehuhe

Lehuhe

After lunch, we did some souvenir shopping. My favorite was a specialty candle store that sold the most beautiful candles I have ever seen. When we were finished our free time, we went to listen to an artist who was quite the character. He was pretty interesting and talked a lot about kabalah and Jewish mysticism.

Noah's Arc Candle

Then, it was time to hop on the bus to Jerusalem! When we got to the hotel, we went to dinner and then did some preparation for Yad V'Shem. It was definitely apparent how different our cultures were between the Israelis and the Americans. We finished off the night by hanging out in the hotel lobby.

Day 6: Haifa, Mount Arbel, and Hot Springs

January 15th- Day 6

We started our day at the University of Haifa. We planted some flowers for Tubeshvat on the roof of one of the buildings. Then, we got a small tour around the university.

Lizi and I planting our flowers

After a quick lunch, we headed to Mount Arbel, which we didn't have to hike up (only down). It was literally a cliff that we had to climb down using a series of hand holds. It was definitely a challenge, but was a lot of fun!

Top of Mount Arbel

Mount Arbel

The best ending to the hike were the hot springs which felt amazing!

Hot Springs

We ended the day with dinner and an activity led by our Israeli soldiers. We capped the night off by hanging out at the hotel bar.

January 14th: Day 5

We started our day in Tel Aviv at the Shalom building, where we looked at the mosaic illustrating the history of Tel Aviv. We learned that Tel Aviv was the first Hebrew city established in Israel. Then we went to Herzl's house, where we listened to the recording of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Israel.

Inside Herzl's house

Then, we went to Rabin Square and saw the Rabin Memorial. He was a Prime Minister of Israel and wanted Peace in the Middle East. He was assassinated by an Israeli, who still remains in jail to this day.

Rabin Memorial

For lunch today, we went to a place called Dr. Shakshuka, which was so delicious! I can't explain what I ate but it was amazing!

Shakshuka

After lunch we went to Jaffa, which was a beautiful, old city. In Jaffa, we got to go to a marketplace, where I had my first experience with haggling. I got a few things that I really liked!

Wearing my newly acquired goodies:)

Tonight we went to the Mega Event, which was a really cool experience. We did a lot of dancing and even got to see the Prime Minister speak. The founders of Taglit also spoke. It was definitely an interesting experience and a good ending to a long day!

Mega Event

Reping Israeli Pride at Mega Event

Day 4: Camels, and coffee, and goats oh my!

January 13th- Day 4

This morning we woke up and ate breakfast at the Bedoin tents. Then we did the long-awaited camel trek through the desert, which was a lot of fun! I rode with Megan and we named our camel Genie.

Megan, Genie, and I

After we got off the camels, we took a short ride over to Ben Gurion's grave, who was the first prime minister of Israel. It was a beautiful park, with an amazing view. Then, we all waited with baited breath as our Israel soldiers approached! We got to know each other in small groups and then played a quick game of Coke and Pepsi, which was pretty hilarious to try and explain to the Israeli soldiers.

Park at Ben Gurion's grave

We then set off for the bus and I met Naomi, one of the soldiers, who sat with me for the remainder of the day on the bus. We got to know each other better by becoming roommates for the night, along with Megan. We then went for our least intensive hike yet in another set of mountains. We saw another smaller waterfall than the ones in Ein Gedi.

Views on the Hike

After the hike, we went for lunch at Aroma, which is known for their iced coffee.

Aroma iced coffee

We then headed to a Goat Farm where I got to hold a lamb that was only a few days old.

Rachel had a little lamb

We also got to try some homemade goat cheese. It was pretty good. We also helped make mud bricks, which was pretty disgusting. We hopped back on the bus and took a ride to Tel Aviv, where we brought our stuff to the hotel and ate dinner. We then got to take a shower….FINALLY!!  Our group activity tonight was about exploring the differences between Israelis and Americans. We hung out for awhile after and then ended our very long day. Really looking forward to the Mega Event tomorrow!