Reflections from Day 8 - Part 1

As we woke up in our new homes, we finally got to experience the every day lives of Israelis. Breakfast was different than one would expect such as chocolate croissants and cake balls with Nutella. We arrived at the Youth Center and hopped on to the buses, making our way to the Golan Heights. Once we got there, we separated from the Yokneam teens and sat down by a bunker in the shade. Roni told us the story of Eli Cohen, an Israeli who left his life behind to become a spy in Damascus, Syria. He released information to Israel which allowed us to win the war. When the Syrians discovered Cohen, he typed more slowly so they would know he had been captured. Cohen was later hanged, but he is still remembered for his bravery for the land of Israel. What made this story more meaningful, is that while Roni told it to us, we were sitting on land that used to be part of Syria. Next, we went rafting down the jordan river. This rafting trip featured a lot of fighting between our different boats. Rabbi Rau and Mr. Amsler went all in destroying everyone in sight. This fight was highlighted by Max "Kibbutz Water" Adleman soaring across the Jordan river to grab a paddle. Everyone agreed this one of the best activities of the trip. Next we enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches and vegetables out in the sun. From there we went to an amusement park where we took a gondola to the top of a mountain to go ziplining. Upon reaching the zipline station, we all took a few minutes to take in the view. 

Sammy Lettes, Ariel and Brad

Reflections from Day 7

This morning we went to the ancient ruins of an Edomite city where an Israeli archeological dig called Beit Guvrin was taking place. Upon arrival, an extremely enthusiastic guide named Mark gave us a history of the area. He explained the history through an archeological structure called a tel. He explained that a tel is a hill with layers of ruins chronologically stacked on top of each other. Having some background information, we descended into an active cave dig nicknamed Buffy. One of thousands of caves in the area, this cave was originally an ancient basement that the Edomites inhabited. Mark explained that when the Jews took over the land, the Edomites either converted to Judaism or left the area. One family that converted included King Herod's grandparents. For those who left, they did not want to leave free housing or dishes for the Jews, so they threw all of their pots into their basements. Two thousand years later, the Temple teens started uncovering ancient pottery shards. Ranging from handles of vases to pieces of oil lamps, the artifacts were untouched by human hands for thousands of years until we found them. There were also bones of animals that the ancient people slaughtered and ancient charcoal that the used for fire. After digging for some time and filling buckets with the dirt that we thought did not have any artifacts in them, we started a schlepping line. This entailed all of us lining up the stairs to ground level and handing the buckets of dirt one by one to the top. After finding some really neat stuff in the dig, we left Buffy to go spelunking. We descended into a series of ancient basements that were connected when they were discovered. Lit by candlelight, we saw where ancient peoples kept their pigeons and grain. Afterwards, Mark debriefed us and we got to take some of the pottery finds that the archaeologists did not need. 

Jared

Afternoon

None of us had gotten much sleep the previous night, so during our two and a half hour bus ride to Yokneam, all but a few people fell asleep. Our chaperones thought this was hilarious of course, so they went down the bus aisle taking pictures of everyone asleep. These should be available for your entertainment soon. Upon our arrival in Yokneam, everyone stumbled out of the bus to work on a service project, which was painting a large cement bench area located behind an apartment complex. The purpose was to make the area into one that Yokneam residents would be able to enjoy. We accomplished our goals, painting the walls with bright, pleasing colors. 

Covered in paint and dirt, we met up with our host families and played mixers for a few minutes. Then we went to our host families for delicious dinners. Once the sunset, the Atlanta group, a group from St. Louis, and our host families gathered in an open field for a nighttime hike. Once we were split into four group, we began hiking through the field, first in our groups and then in pairs so that we could get to know each other better. Unfortunately the fields were covered in cacti, so the hike was painful. However, we were given hot tea, cookies, and a campfire at the end of our hike, which made it mostly worth the pain. Luckily, we stayed on an actual path for the hike back to our original meeting spot, where we met back up with our host families to go home and finally to bed. 

Katheryn

Yokneam Day 2

The day started at the new community center with a group activity discussing Israel and the P2K partnership. 

But then on to pool time and lunch!

After a tearful goodbye, the teens moved on the the Ayalon bullet factory in Rehovot.

And ending the day in Jerusalem. We walked to the Old City for the sound and light show. 

The group played on an art installation in front of city hall along the way. 

Tomorrow is Yad VaShem, the Herzl Museum and Tel Aviv ... another full day!

Yokneam

Yesterday, we arrived in Yokneam ... our sister city ... and immediately started a project to beautify a park. 

Afterwards, the kids met their Israeli friends and host families.

This morning, we visited the Golan Heights where we learned about the Six Day War and Ellie Cohen. 

Following a wonderful raft ride down the Jordan River (sorry, no pictures), we headed to Manara Cliffs for a zip line and toboggan adventure. 

The teens are with their host families and we'll all be at the country club in the morning. It's been a great trip and we are heading back to Jerusalem after tomorrow's activities. 

Digging Through Time

This morning, the group worked at an archealogical dig.

After a briefing in 'Buffy', the nickname of the Edomite room we were in, the teens got to work ... and found fantastic things. 

Now, we are off to our sister city of Yokneam.  

Reflections from Day 6

This morning, we woke up with one thing in our minds: The Dead Sea. After about a two hour drive from the Kibbutz we pulled up at the Hod hotel, which was a spa where people could walk in, get dead sea mud,and of course,go down to the beach to float in the dense salt body of water. I was one of the last people to go in to the sea, and it was so much different than I had always expected. Seeing as there  is nothing living in the dead sea, I was anticipating extremely murky and ugly looking water, but it was the polar opposite. The water was gorgeous and clear, and instead of having sand at the bottom, their were layers of salt. After about twenty minutes of floating around and coping with the mild stinging that one expects would happen when salt is put on cuts, we all walked out and lathered ourselves in the free mud that was handed to us on our arrival to the hotel.  Once we had finished creating a second layer of skin with the mud and let it harden, most of us rinsed it all of in the dead sea, while me and about two other people rinsed it off in the outdoor beach showers. Afterwards, we went to our respective locker rooms to change and get our belongings, and we then ate lunch at the Hod hotel before departing to the Bedouin tents.

The bus ride was long and full of sleeping as well as sightseeing as we drove through the desert. Along the way, we were shown camels, mountain ranges and more. We stopped at one point for a contest. We lined up on a cliff side and saw the amazing view of long, tan desert spotted with rolling hills that look as if they were shedding the dust into the tinted air. After a few seconds, Roni had us split up by gender and stand by the edge. He picked up a rock and challenged the girls first to hit the rock out of the air. He launched the rock up, and after a series of misfires, it clattered to the ground. The boys had similar luck. Roni then uncovered a bottle with a mysterious golden liquid inside and said he would buy us all ice cream if we were to hit it. Again, we all missed, but we spent the next 10 minutes trying to be the one to hit it on the ground. After we had exhausted our capacity for easy entertainment, we went back to the bus and continued on our way. An hour later, we arrived at the tents. Our first task was to partner up for the camel rides. Seeing these creatures in the fur made me realize just how profoundly strange they are. With their misshapen heads, long necks that seemed to be infinitely flexible, massive toes, large humps, and double backwards knees, camels are a sight to behold. After I got over their strange appearance, it was time to mount. As the larger person, I sat in the back and Josh sat in front. With both our water bottles in hand to free up Josh's for his GoPro, we lurched forward and then immediately backward before finally leveling out. Garth (our camel) was ready to rumble. After a few strides, Josh and I noticed some mild to intense discomfort as Garth made frequent stumbles over rocks and holes, but we sucked it up and took it like men. By that, I mean we screamed like 6 year olds at every trip of the camel. All around us, the desert spread with a ring of rolling hills containing the vastness of the arid plains. Half an hour later, we dismounted and walked to the tent where we would spend the night in the cool desert air. We had about an hour of free time which consisted of rest, card games, and conversation. Dinner was amazing. The Bedouins sat us down in comfortable chairs with no placemats or utensils. We were served a large platter full of fresh lamb meatballs, grilled vegetables, and warm tortilla-like things. We ate without plates or forks, piling couscous and lamb and eggplant in the tortilla; it was very freeing. After dinner, we had an interesting program in which we debated what it means to be a "good" or "bad" Jew and what Judaism meant to us. As the sun set behind the mountains, a beautiful gradient of blue, pink, orange, and grey formed opposite. Slowly, a band of yellow materialized around the mountains, creating a ring that kept us grounded. Once it was almost completely dark, we walked out into the rocky abyss. Stopping at a small valley, we were all told to find a rock that we could lie down on and look up at the stars. Looking up, I saw the impressive minuteness of my existence and truly appreciated my rich Jewish history as Rabbi Rau read us passages from the Torah. After sharing our thoughts and reflections, we stood up and began our hike back to the tent. I felt like we were reentering the present as rocks became illuminated by the light from the tents and the music became increasingly louder. Once we returned, we lit a fire and sat around talking. We were joined by the same group of kids from St. Louis we had met a the hostel who were also staying in the tents as well. We swapped campfire stories and eventually campfires until it was time to retire to "bed." That night showed me just how powerful a few words can be. 

Mandy and Sam Levy

Judean Desert

Sunday morning we left to En Bokek on the Dead Sea ...

And a little mud beauty treatment. 

After a good lunch and cleaning up, on to a Bedouin experience at Kfar Hanokiam  The teens loved the camel ride!

A great breakfast and now on to Beit Guvrin to dig back through time.