Today we woke up in Jerusalem and drove to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. The museum was beautiful and so was the view from the museum grounds.
Walking through the museum and listening to the guide was a somewhat surreal and intense experience. The museum was a huge pyramid-like structure filled with what seemed like endless exhibits portraying the vile and evil acts of the Nazis towards the Jews.
A few of the best names we gave the camels were: Donald Hump, Alexander Camelton, and Chewy Bacca.
Talking to the Bedouin woman who is an activist for women's rights was our favorite part of today because she was working to positively change her community.
After an upbeat welcome ceremony with live music, we split off into multiple activities - scorpion hunting, belly dancing, creative movements, drawing, herb and oil tasting, star gazing, capoeira, and more! Israelli and American music filled the cool, desert night as we watched a drum circle ensue with fire dancers, belly dancers, and a capoeira demonstration.
Saturday was a very chill day, which was very much appreciated by most of the group after all of the busy and exciting days we have had so far! We got to sleep in and had an optional breakfast at 9:30am, which was the perfect way to start Shabbat. Our first group activity was at 11 am; Michal (our Israeli trip leader) started the activity by asking us to go around and share our least favorite chore to do. At first we were confused, but played along with her directions. Thank you for a fun morning Michal!
I cannot thank my group enough for making me feel so comfortable and supported during such a challenging time as this hike up Masada. Hikes such as these are rough, but it's the end goal that makes it all worth it.
Next, we saw a great music group and got to sing, dance, and make beats together. Everyone was laughing and jumping around while making beats and whatnot. It was so fun.
There are certain things in life that when you finally reach the pot at the end of the rainbow, you know the journey was worth it, and this was one of those things. Words just can't truly describe the waterfall and my attemps to describe it will not do it justice, but I felt so lucky watching my new and old friends dive in to refresh in one of nature's amazing gifts. It was honestly a perfect afternoon.
Our group is filled with enthusiasm to explore and learn. This openness to new adventures has helped us learn and experience so much already, even though the trip has just begun.
Shorashim Bus 551 jumped right into the action in Israel on day one.