SH-21-114's blog

On Saturday we all got some much needed rest and relaxation after the exciting and fairly tiring five days before. After sleeping in, we had a very nice and light breakfast and we listened to stories from Shahar about why Shabbat is important to all of us.

On Friday we went to the beautiful city of Tzfat. The weather was perfect for walking around the city. It was special being there on Friday afternoon because all of the people who live in the city were preparing for Shabbat. Restaurants and shops were closed earlier to welcome the Sabbath. On one of the streets there was a very narrow stairwell with a great view of Jerusalem that led to stairs to continue throughout the city.

Thursday morning, we woke up in Bat Yam and ate breakfast at the hotel. Something was wrong with our bus, so to be sneaky and pass the time our wonderful guides took us to the beach and had us form EVERY letter of the Hebrew alphabet out of groups of people…very time consuming, but fun. Then we climbed on a different bus and went to Independence Hall, which is a modest old house in Tel Aviv where David Ben Gurion announced the establishment of the state of Israel for the Jewish people on Msy 14, 1948.

The day began in the quiet town of Old Jaffa. Our group wandered through the alleyways of this historic artist colony peeking into studio windows and attempting to feed or pet the various cats that roamed the streets. We then came to a lookout point giving a beautiful view of the Mediterranean and the modern city of Tel Aviv. Sitting on stone benches in an amphitheater on the edge of the lookout point, Shachar gave a short lecture on the history of Jaffa and Tel Aviv. To the right of our group was a class of schoolchildren.

We started off our first full day as a group bright and early with breakfast at 7:30. Then, we met for a quick group activity outside the hotel where we drew clocks on pieces of paper. We filled in the names of group members who we did not know next to each hour. These were out “dates” for later in the day when Shahar called that time out for bus rides. Then we took the bus to a trail in the mountains called Sataf. It was a beautiful hike through the mountains with an amazing view of Jerusalem. We stopped during the hike, and Shahar gave us an overview of the history of Jerusalem.

The wheels of the plane gently touched the asphalt of Ben Gorion Airport in Israel. We wished the same could have been said for the landing in Philly which was a lot shakier.
 
 
I was extremely excited to come back to my home country after five months away from home. But I was even more awed by the faces of the students as we walked from the gate to baggage claim. In every corner stood something new or different than what they were used to.
 
"All the signs are in Hebrew or Arabic!"
"Look at those palm trees"