Days 1-4

Hi all. Sorry we are late in updating our blog. We had some technical issues, but are back on track! I'll start from the beginning...

We had an amazingly awesome (& long) first day. We left at noon on Monday from NYC and landed at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Tel Aviv. We went from the airport to Kibbutz Harel and ate breakfast and did some getting-to-know-you activites. Then went for a hike at Sataf. The highlight was climbing on our hands and knees through a small irrigation tunnel. (Pictures will follow soon) and then went on to Jersalem for the night.

On our bus for the whole trip are 7 Israelis (5 current soldiers & 2 students/former soldiers) who are great. They are helping us understand current Israeli society, including life in the army. One of them is a bomb diffuser like in the movie The Hurt Locker. Others include a Navy officer, an IDF education officer, and more.

On Wednesday morning we awoke early and toured the old city of Yerushalyim (Jerusalem) and ended with a magical visit to the Kotel (Western Wall). Afterwards, we hit Neot Kedumim, which is a "biblical nature preserve" with great views and in hearing range of an IDF training base (so we had gun shots in the background the whole time -- very exciting!). We then drove to Tel Aviv-Jaffa and toured Jaffa and ended with an amazing view of the beach and the city of Tel Aviv. We shot our first group photo there. Shortly after, we headed to the hotel and and ate dinner, then went to a local restaurant/bar for some hard-earned relaxing time on the beach.

Waking up on Thursday in Tel Aviv, we walked Rothschild Boulevard and ended up at Independance Hall -- where the David Ben Gourion made the announcement of the establishment of the State of Israel. They played a recording of the actual announcement and of the orchestra playing Hatikva (Israel's National Anthem). Great/exciting energy there.

On Friday, we met for breakfast at 7:00 a.m. for a hearty and healthy breakfast on the shores of Yam Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). We're at an awesome resort-style Kibbutz (Haon) -- it's a place where many Israelis come to vacation. After breakfast we went up to to Gilabun for a challenging hike in the Golan Heights. We crossed through streams, climbed rocks, and had great views of the land of milk & honey.

We are all doing great and are thrilled to be in Israel. I'm having trouble getting pictures off my camera...will try again later/tomorrow.

-Jeremy (& Staci)