We said the "shehecheyanu" blessing,cheersing to life (with grape juice!) and our existence and being together in Israel. We then had a surreal experience seeing the Syrian-Israeli border from the top of Golan Heights.

Although we were all exhausted after a strenuous day of travel, we were able to adventure through a nature preserve and catch a glimpse of a beautiful waterfall. Along the way, we made numerous stops to help strengthen our understanding of Israeli culture.

We explored the natural beauty of the Golan Heights with a hike at Zavitan. Some brave 874ers took a dip in the pools while others sat together and wrote a lovely first-day haiku

So far, the trip has been amazing and I am excited for the next few days, yet sad it is coming to an end.

Check out what we've been up to in Israel so far!

Check out what #Bus530 has been up to so far in Israel:

"We went to Mount Bental, where we could see the Israel/Syria border. We learned the history and recent hardships of that area while getting to interact with UN soldiers from Ireland, Switzerland, and Australia."

"The "iced coffee" here is basically coffee ice cream disguised as caffeine. We haven't gained the freshman 15 yet, but after all the falafel and magnum bars, I'm sure we'll be well on our way."

"The trail got a bit rocky, which was challenging to some, but it was worth it to make it to the natural pool. A good number of us jumped in and it was refreshing after being in the hot sun."

We've been in Israel for 24 hours now and I feel as though I have new lifetime friends and I've learned more in this period of time than any other day of my life.