SH-26-221's blog

If there is something that I already know I will have learned (even 5 days into this trip) it's how much the Jews of my generation take for granted. For all of our lives, there's been a Jewish state, Jews could pray at the Western Wall, and the list could really go on forever-- but those two facts stand out more than anything.

Israel has been amazing so far and not at all whit I expected. It is so beautiful and we've already had so many adventures. The ISraelis we are with are awesome. They may be soldiers, but fit in perfectly with us and I already want them all to fisit us at U of I. This morning we woke up in a tent all together and rede camels. The camel Missy and I rode was the tallest, and a bit of a dumb blonde. There has never been a dull moment here and I can't wait for more days with our group!
-Jordyn

As we descend from the magnificent Golan Heights toward Tel-Aviv on this sunny Thursday afternoon, I reflect on our morning. We awoke this morning at an hour unspeakable to college students (7am) to eat our last breakfast at the Afiq Kibbutz. With our newly acquired Israeli coffee brewing skills now mastered, we managed to finish packing and board the bus heading to Mt. Arbel.
We were told about Mt. Arbel, but it wasn't until we saw the cliffs up close that we realized what we were getting into:
- "We are hiking down that?!"
- "No way!"

Yesterday after dinner, we had our group activity for the day. Our initial assignment was to choose things from a group of 20 that our group believed were most important for maintaining a Jewish identity. Some of these things included: having Jewish friends, marrying someone Jewish, calling yourself a Jew, remembering the Holocaust, studying the Torah, and visiting Israel.

As we descend from the magnificant Golan Heights toward Tel-Aviv on this sunny Thursday afternoon, I reflect on our morning. We awoke this morning at an hour unspeakable to college students (7am) to eat our last breakfast at the Afiq Kibbutz. With our newly acquired Israeli coffee brewing skills now mastered, we managed to finish packing and board the bus heading to Mt. Arbel.

On Wednesday we went ricer rafting on the Jordan river. We were split up into groups of 6-8 people and, as you know, 8 college students in a raft can get a little crazy, with some minor injuries (an oar to the face.) Everybody had a great time - we were warned before there may be 6 inches drops, we were a little freaked out.

Upon arrival in New York, we were all excited for the long ours of bonding to come. We first were indicidually interviewed by the Israeli airline staff. We were all surprised by the in depth questioning about outr Jewih haritage. Although it seemed to take forever, we thankfully all made the cut! After that it was smooth sailing to the gate. It was so late that it seemed like we were the only ones in the airport along with the many other birthright groups. After many hours of waiting and getting to know our peers, we finally boarded the plane and began our journey.