I recently returned from a 10 day trip to Israel provided by Taglit Birthright, with the Shorashim (Israel with Israelis) trip provider on Bus 127. It was an incredible experience, and a wonderful opportunity, since the trip was essentially free and everything was planned out for us. The particular trip I took was one for DC area young professionals, which was a good group to travel with since we are all in the same age group and live in the DC metro area (with a few exceptions). In addition to about 40 Americans, there were 6 Israelis who joined us on the trip, and it was great being able to experience things with them, rather than in a more isolated bubble of foreign tourists. Add in the tour guide, medic/guard, and the two American group leaders, and we filled up our tour bus completely. The ten day trip was packed with activities and there was very little time to sleep. Luckily it was bookended by two Shabbats, days dedicated largely to rest. I will do my best to recall everything we did on the trip below. (Although some of this was written while I was still on the trip, and I will refer to the trip itinerary throughout).
I turned 26 this year, which is the oldest age you can still be eligible to go on a Birthright Israel trip. After researching and discovering that the trips can be pluralist and are not religious pilgrimages but are open to even non-believing Jews like me, I decided to take advantage of my Jewish status and go on the trip. As an atheist, I do not believe in God, but as a Jew (who has had a Bar Mitzvah) I still think of myself as belonging to the Jewish culture. I think that Judaism is not simply a religion, but is a heritage, and a people that one belongs to regardless of personally held beliefs. I haven't been very connected with other Jewish people since I ceased going to Hebrew School after my Bar Mitzvah, so this would also be an opportunity to travel to a land amongst my own kind, where being Jewish no longer puts me in a minority.
Thursday, June 14
Every trip has a beginning, and this one starts with a ton of travelling and very little sleep. The night before the trip I did not sleep very much, having spent the evening frantically packing my bags and preparing for the trip. I think I probably overprepared, I was spending time ripping new CDs to my mp3 player, and packing a few too many portable electronics (mp3 player, ps vita, psp, 3ds, tons of games, kindle) for the anticipated long periods of traveling and boredom I foresaw.
Christina's Mom took me early in the morning to the BWI train station. I was very happy and surprised to see that Christina came with us, and we got to say goodbye at the train station. I took the Amtrak up to Philly, then transferred to their regional rail, the SEPTA train, to get to the airport. Being a fan of Game of Thrones, I was amused by the name. Anyway, once at the airport about 6 hours before our flight, I realized I had no idea where our group was meeting. I had not gotten an email for this. So I wandered over to the international terminal, and finally found a group of young people sitting around with their luggage, and recognized a few of them from the orientation. I sat with them, introduced myself, and we chatted while waiting to pick up our tickets in a couple hours. (We had to be at the airport over 4 hours in advance of the flight!)
Finally, after getting our tickets and going through security, we went to get dinner. Most of us ate together at a restaurant with a bar, where I enjoyed my last non-kosher cheeseburger (which was actually somewhat interesting, it had some unusual gourmet-sounding ingredients in it. But then the "parmesan" fries were literally regular fries with some powdered parmesan sprinkled over them, which was really amusing.) Then a couple hours prior to the flight we had to head through a special second security at the gate, where we had our waiting area. The flight departure was at 9:15PM and the flight was 11 hours to Israel. Unfortunately, my seat was in the dead middle seat of the middle row, there was a woman with a young toddler to my left, and our row was behind a wider row so our trays could not be used. We instead had smaller trays that pulled out of the arm rests. I had to look to the left for my tv, but I mainly used it for the GPS and instead relied on my new Playstation Vita for entertainment. I played a lot of Lumines, and tried the beginning of Gravity Rush, and enjoyed both games immensely. Michelle, one of the 40 American Jews in our group, sat on the other side of me, so we chatted for awhile. I didn't really manage to sleep on the flight, even though I had my pillow with me. I was cramped in the middle, the seats recline about 2 inches, and the toddler kept kicking me at inopportune times (and another toddler nearby started crying at one point). I was really glad to be off the flight once we arrived, but sadly there would be no rest for awhile, because it was the middle of the day on...
Friday, June 15
Once we arrived at the Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion airport, soon after we got our luggage, we went to meet our tour guide and the Israelis that would be joining us on the trip. They were singing to us and had everyone join in a circle, put arms around the shoulders of those near us, and hop around in a circle. I was too tired for that kind of shenaniganery, but participated reluctantly.
We exchanged money in increments of $100 for Shekels and picked up water bottles and Israeli snacks outside the bus. I exchanged just $100 and got 370 shekels for it, and this was almost enough (towards the end I would use my debit card for some things, and take some more shekels out of an atm for shopping on the last day). The bus was completely packed, and throughout the trip they would ensure that everyone was present simply by asking if anyone had an empty seat near them. I sat near the front, but was asked to move so the leaders could all sit together at the front, and sadly the only seat left was the very last row in the dead center, so I went from center seat on the plane, to center seat on the bus that day.
We drove to the Neve Shalom Guest House, which is somewhere near Jerusalem. We were all assigned roommates. Each hotel we stayed at we would get new roommates. This night I was with Fred, one of the Israelis, and Sam, and they were both friendly decent guys. After unloading at the rooms, the group hiked out to a scenic vista above a valley where we were properly introduced to the land of Israel, where the guide, Iftach, told us "welcome home", and had us close our eyes and come up with a word that described how we felt. (Mine was "history"). Every night of the trip the group got together for silly ice-breaker games, kicking off with "riding the pony" this night. (Jenny, a kindergarten teacher in our group, was already familiar with most of the activities, and was able to demonstrate this one by going first). I was really glad I never got picked for this one.
We went to a large dining room for an enjoyable Shabbat dinner. I could definitely get used to always having lots of hummus and pita available. Then more activities, which we would do basically every night after dinner, and finally time to sleep.
Saturday, June 16
We then spend the rest of the free time in the pool, which felt amazing in the heat of Israel. I didn't even have to get used to the water temperature here, it just felt great to slip in. It was very crowded with lots of people, so our group hung out at the deep end, where there was a ledge that you could stand on around the edge.
Once it got dark and Shabbat
ended, we got on the bus and went to a mall for dinner and shopping. Outside the mall they had everyone get into a circle to assign us numbers from 1 to 47 so we could count off to determine if anyone was missing, something we would do a few times during the days to come. Realizing that 42 was contained within this number, and that they had started counting fairly far down the circle from me, I hoped that I would get this number - even thought maybe I could switch spots with someone near me to claim it. I know I would probably be in the low 40s at least, and as they continued counting up it seemed more and more likely I'd be very close to 42. Then, without me needing to change spots at all, they ended up reaching me and assigning the number 42 - the meaning of life, the universe, and everything (see: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams) - and I had my first spiritual experience of Israel. For the rest of the trip I felt a certain geeky pride when I called out my number, even though only a couple other people got the reference. (But that's what being a geek is all about).Sunday, June 17
After touring the streets and hearing about history, including a really thin alleyway where a woman used to wait every day with tea and cookies to greet the messiah because she believed he would come down that alley, we headed
to see a store where they hand-make candles. We saw a demonstration of how to
make the twisted woven candles used in some Jewish ceremonies. We also saw an
ancient Jewish synagogue which was really beautiful. During an attack from Syria, much of the city was burned, and many pacifists were praying in that synagogue. An extraordinary coincidence (what some might call a miracle) occurred when a grenade was thrown into the synagogue, right as everyone inside was in the middle of a prayer that had them bow, so nobody got hurt.
We visited a young man named Avraham who emigrated from America to study the Kabballa and interpret it into abstract paintings (which he sells). I enjoyed the air conditioning, and being able to sit down for awhile, while he regaled us with his story, and talked to us all about Jewish mysticism, an aspect of Judaism many aren't aware of. The main point is that the world was once all good, and it shattered, and our goal in life is to do as much good as we can to bring the world back to that state. Which is definitely a noble ambition, even if Kabballa is based on some very bizarre ideas. The guy acted just like a Jewish hippie, he said the Kabbala 'blew his mind', and the deeper understanding he had gained made him 'totally blissed out', and that your true name, your Hebrew name, has an incredible significance. (Coincidentally, my Hebrew name is Abraham too). He was a very entertaining character.
After this very full day of touring Tzfat, we boarded the bus again and headed to the Jordan River for rafting. We broke into groups of 6-7 to raft down the river, and got very wet, but it felt nice in the heat. At one point we had to avoid cows in the water. Rapids were very mild, and actually a bit disappointing in that regard, but the rafting trip was very pleasant. I definitely want to do more rafting or tubing back home based on how much I've enjoyed it back in Jamaica and now in Israel. (And I live right near places to do so in the Potomac!)
This night we drove to the Kibbutz Afik Guest House in the Golan Heights, which was absolutely gorgeous, the walkways were filled with lush greenery. The bathroom wasn't very nice though, since there was no divider for the shower besides the curtain that wrapped around it, so the floor of the entire bathroom was constantly wet. I roomed with Simon and Ilan (another of the Israelis), and we stayed here for two nights as well.
Monday, June 18
We traveled to an old bunker on top of Mount Har Bental, near the border with Syria. It was cool exploring the bunker, and interesting learning about the history of attacks on Israel and how they prevailed despite being surrounded by enemies.
After this we went for a long hike that was mostly in an ankle-deep stream. The water was very cold, and felt great on such a hot day, and it was nice that the hike was in the shade. At times the water felt a bit too cold, actually! My water shoes came in really handy for a second time after the rafting! Most of the other hikers used old sneakers that they planned to throw away, and they got pretty gross, so it was great having shoes that were designed exactly for this kind of activity - they are comfortable, have tread like sneakers, but have mesh and rubber and drains so they let the water back out and dry very quickly and cleanly. I love them.
We stopped at a mall for lunch and I finally got to try shawarma, which I've been excited to do after seeing it on The Avengers. (Seriously, very effective product placement there, and it wasn't even intentional!) Shawarma was really tasty. I'd have it a couple more times on the trip, with varying degrees of quality. It makes a nice meat alternative to falafel.
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| Pictures of the base cannot be posted, so here's Shawarma! |
Tal, one of our Israeli participants, was able to organize a very unique visit to an active military base, and a visit with his squad along the border with Lebanon to see a tank. This is not usual for a Birthright trip to do, so we felt incredibly fortunate to have this very rare opportunity. We got to talk with the soldiers, peer at the Lebanon border with powerful binoculars from a watch turret (with a machine gun), and see their jeeps, and tank-like pumas. They even let us take a group shot on top of a puma, although we aren't allowed to post any pictures online from the bases due to security concerns. It was really remarkable thinking that you could basically be in a base and looking across the border at an enemy in Israel - they are surrounded by unfriendly countries (although they have peace with some of them now, they've been at war with all of them in the past). This is very different from America where we need to pick fights halfway across the world, but our borders (drug and alien trafficking aside) are basically safe. It was a bit scary riding in the bus on the road that was right along the Lebanon border as we went to visit Tal's squad in an undisclosed location on a dusty road.
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| On top of the bunker (since photos from the base cannot be posted) |
Tal's squad was very happy to greet us and talk with us, and show off their very modern Israel invented tank. It was very impressive. They let us climb on it and go inside. It was really amazing to get that kind of opportunity, and the technology was very impressive. I was able to appreciate everything, despite being a pacifist. Israel needs to defend itself, and this technology is key to keeping the land safe.
At this point I was already very tired. Luckily I managed to avoid sunburn the entire trip, with lots of applications of sunblock. While my stomach bothered me sometimes, I wasn't one of the people they needed to pull the bus over for.
Tuesday, June 19
We then went to Tel Aviv and took a tour of the fairly new Rabin center. It was super modern, we all had listening devices that either broadcast our tour guide or sound from whatever screen we were standing in front of (or sometimes randomly played clips of old music based on where you were standing). The museum told the history of Israel in context with Prime minister Rabin's life and world events. Sadly, we had to rush through and skip things to get through the museum in the time allotted, but everything we did see was very informative. If I find myself in Israel again I may need to revisit this museum and take some more time there.
We next went to the Independence Hall where the Israeli declaration of independence was signed, in a relatively non-descript small art gallery, which was chosen largely for safety and secrecy. After dinner we had a concert with Israeli musician Udi Krauss, who introduced us to Israeli rock music and played a number of songs for us. We then had just over an hour out in Tel Aviv on our own. Most of the others went to bars, so I ended up exploring on my own.
Once back at the hotel we weren't supposed to leave again, we basically had a curfew despite all being adults. The birthright trips are fairly strict in herding us, and we generally aren't allowed to do anything on our own. This was disappointing because this was our only night in a big city that never sleeps. Also, it turns out our hotel was two blocks away from the beach at the Mediterranean. The crazy idea to break away and go to this beach was brought up, and somehow I got roped in to going. So several of us snuck out late at night to walk the two blocks to the Mediterranean and wade in. The weather was cool, the sand felt incredible, and the water was warm. I'm not one for beaches, but I really enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately, my nice pants got soaked and I had my wallet with me, so decided to head back to change. Dan, one of the other guys went with me, and we agreed to convince more people (who were up late partying at the hotel) to join us. Since our feet were covered in sand, we had to walk through the city barefoot carrying our shoes. What the heck, we were already dirty. The pavement was cool and for some reason it didn't hurt to walk on at all. But then we got lost... we were lost and barefoot in Tel Aviv. Despite the hotel being a mere two blocks from the beach, we kept going in circles on every wrong street. I even had grabbed a street map from the lobby, and we tried to make sense of it, but couldn't quite figure out where the hotel was. We almost decided to retrace our steps back to the beach, but decided to try one last street. Finally we saw the hotel, and we were quite relieved. Luckily for us the others had actually beaten us back by this point and gotten reamed for it, apparently. People still hanging out in the lobby warned us to go straight upstairs, and since it was late, and since we didn't want to court any more trouble, we didn't end up going back to the beach that night after all. It may have been a brief experience, but it was a memorable one, and I'm glad I decided to take a chance and have an adventure.
Wednesday, June 20
From there we went to Beit Shemesh, which is a sister city of D.C. We visited an elementary school to spend part of the day doing activities with the kids. I ended up with fifth grade students painting in a mural on the wall outside the school. The school is very interesting architecturally, due to the weather there it is basically all outdoors, the halls are basically outdoors passages that lead to the classrooms, which each have heavy bunker-style doors. It was interesting interacting with Israel's younger generation, and the kids were very happy to play with us, and many knew a good deal of English. One kid asked me what bands I listened to, and when I mentioned Porcupine Tree, he said "Gavin Harrison is the drummer", and I was very impressed that he knew this!
We stopped at a strip mall for lunch, and I had shawarma again. Then we finally headed to Jerusalem. First we stopped at a lookout point just outside, the Jerusalem Overlook at Haas Promenade. We could see the entire city beneath us, and the guide talked about it. Then we went inside the old city and got to see some of the excavation of older and older parts of the city, which had been destroyed and rebuilt by many different empires throughout thousands of years of history. It's interesting to speculate how this one city, not even a trade port, managed to be so important to so many different civilizations, and continues to be considered a major holy site to many of the world's modern religions.
The old city was fascinating, we walked down passageways built with cobblestone everywhere, cutting through walls, and winding around buildings - and then would have to step to the side to let a car through! There were also several cats hanging around, seeming totally at home out in these beautiful, ancient passageways. We finally got to the western wall. I hadn't originally planned it, but I decided to put a note in the wall, even though I know it won't be read by anyone or answered. I decided to just leave a hopeful note for humanity in general. We are alone on this Earth, and we need to make peace ourselves.
After ridding myself of this ceremonial accoutrement, I finally approached the wall itself. I found an empty spot in front of it. A man approached to my right, and prayed quietly, pressing his head against the wall and kissing it and crying. I handed my camera to one of the guys in our group, and took a few pictures in front of the wall. Then I turned my attention to the wall. I don't believe in God, and therefore don't believe in a place being holy, or in it having wish-granting powers. But I find that a place can have significance. So many people attribute significance to this wall, therefore it is significant. I placed my hand on the cool, smooth stones, and reflected.
The word I had thought of when I closed my eyes on day one was "history", and here it was, thousands of years of the history of my people. The wall is a mere remnant of our temple, once a true marvel that would have rivaled the greatest cathedrals today, the pyramids, and other ancient grand sites; and yet all that remains of it today is less than a ruin, all that we have left that indicates this great structure ever existed is only a wall of a foundation of a ramp. Our greatest accomplishment was destroyed, and yet one wall stands, and we remain. How symbolic of the plight and resilience of the Jewish people this one wall is. As I kept my hand against the wall, I felt connected to all this history. Thousands of years have passed for my people, and here I am. Thousands of years of exile, numerous attempts to destroy us or erase our identity, and yet the Jewish people have survived, and a Jewish nation stands in Israel once again. The ancient Egyptian civilization that once enslaved us is no more. The Roman empire that destroyed the temple long ago collapsed. Numerous empires, civilizations, conquerers, enslavers, exilers, and destroyers are all gone, and we remain: a people with an incredibly ancient history still thriving in the modern world against all the odds. I had never before reflected on just how far back my heritage stretches, and as I held my hand against this wall, I felt the weight of all the millennia of my Jewish ancestry. I felt a sadness for what we lost, and a pride for what we have retained, and a sense that we would always survive, as we have survived from ancient times. No matter my beliefs (lack thereof), I am still a Jew, and I belong to the Jewish people, and this is something to be proud of.
Thursday, June 21
We started the day by going to the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. I have been to other Holocaust museums, but this one had an interesting architecture with videos of past Jewish life prior to the Holocaust playing on one end, and a window with a beautiful view to Jerusalem on the other, always reminding us where we come from, what was lost, and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It was another emotional experience, but it was a good museum. I decided that I should ask my grandparents more about our family's losses and stories from the Holocaust. It was a dark time, but a time that we must all remember, even if it is painful for us. I also reflected on the fact that as a descendent of both Germans and Jews in some way I represent a resolution to the conflict. My German grandmother married my American Jewish grandfather directly after the war when he was stationed in Germany. My great grandfather had been a soldier, although he died young and it is unknown if he was a member of the Nazi party.
After the museum, we spent several hours driving to the Negev desert. We stopped at a scenic overlook in the desert, where the whole group was told to close their eyes and lead each other down the path, so we could be surprised by the amazing view. This is where Ben-Gurion was buried, and the guide told us his story.
We continued to a tourist replica of a Bedouin village designed to simulate the Bedouin lifestyle. We got to ride camels there. Two people sat on each camel, on either side of the hump, then the camel walked down the dirt street. I was having fun, and was ready to head off into the desert for a long trek on camel-back, but the guides looped us right back, and the ride was little longer than a pony ride you might get as a kid. When the camel kneels back down, first the front legs, then the back, which fold in different directions, you have to hold on tight to stay in your seat, and that is the trickiest part of riding a camel.
We ate a traditional Bedouin meal sitting on mats on the floor and eating with our fingers from a shared table. The food was pretty good, consisting of rice, a naan-like flatbread, chicken, and of course tsatsiki sauce (sadly we ran out early, only later did I see that other tables got two bowls of sauce when we only got one.) After eating, our Israelis had prepared the evening's activities for us. First a game where they picked someone to hold a stick above their head, spin around while looking up at it a number of times (which increased as the game went on), then drop it, jump over it, put on a uniform, and eat wafer with a spoon. This ended up being a pretty nasty game, and I was conscripted into it last - by this point they were up to 20 spins, and they gathered around me and pushed me around faster and faster than I wanted to spin myself. By the end I felt the room spinning around me and careened towards the floor very hard, scraping my elbow. Thankfully after this they moved on to performing skits, breaking everyone up into groups and assigning us a skit to perform based on different aspects of the trip (my group did arriving at the airport and meeting the Israelis), and everyone else had to guess what the skit was about. They ended up being really excellent parodies of the trip, including many in jokes and references that only these 40-odd people would get.
We were supposed to sleep under a massive Bedouin tent, with mats and sleeping bags provided, but with the plan to leave at 4am to see the sunrise the next day from the top of Masada, there wouldn't be much of a sleep. Many of us decided not to bother, and hung out late at night, sitting around with a guitar playing several rock/pop songs (generally only the first verses, because we didn't know much more than that for most songs). I ended up opting for a short nap for the last hour. This time that was all too quickly over, as they turned on the lights and forced us up.
Friday, June 22
Sure enough after barely napping in the tent we had to head to the bus dark and early so we could climb Masada and see the sunrise. We grabbed a small cup of that delicious Bedouin coffee to get us going, and headed to the mountain. It was exhausting on a whole new level. Tired, no sleep, trekking up a mountain, running so we wouldn't miss the sun coming up. The site was absolutely beautiful in the end, but I'm still not sure it was worth pulling an all-nighter for, which I haven't really done since college.
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| Yes, I'm including multiple pictures. I hiked up a mountain on no sleep to get these shots! |
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| That's the Dead Sea, below. |
We had a boxed breakfast at the base, which includes the best plain yogurt I've ever had, it was cold and really sweet and creamy. Then we got back on the bus and drove to the Dead Sea, sadly too brief a ride to sleep on. We made a stop at a place that makes (and sells) lots of different Dead Sea products, lotions and salts and such. I ended up buying some liquid bath salts for Christina, and hand lotions for myself (since I have dry hands).
Finally we arrived at the Dead Sea itself. The beach is stony rather than sandy, luckily I had my water shoes with me. Unfortunately the Dead Sea water was very painful for me because the salt gets into any chafed, irritated or scraped skin. Chafing was inevitable with the one-ply toilet paper they had at our stops. I had to get out in pain before even getting to float, and wash off in the on-beach shower they had, trying to get all the salt off of me so I would stop burning.
Instead, I decided to try lathering myself with the famous Dead Sea mud, which they had sitting in barrels off to one side. I was hoping it would be soothing after that stinging experience. It did feel good on my skin, but then when the time came to wash it off, I kept finding more mud in different places (and still found it later in the day after we had left.) Since we were running out of time at the Dead Sea, and this was one of the stops I had been most anticipating for this trip, I decided to try floating once again. This time I managed to lay back and float for a few minutes. You really can't help but float on this water, it is so dense that it's actually very difficult to sink any of your limbs to stand back up again. If you somehow ended up on your front, and nobody else was around to help you, you might drown before you managed to flip yourself back over. Floating around was fun, and I wish I could spend more time there, but the stinging from the salt became too much again, and the time had come to change and leave again anyway. Yet again I regret how little time we are allotted for each activity due to packing the itinerary so heavily, but hopefully one day I can come back to the Dead Sea, better prepared to enjoy it.
The bus took us back to Jerusalem, and with still no time to rest they stopped at a large street market for lunch. The market was really crowded since it was just before Shabbat, and everyone was out doing their shopping now, but it was really interesting. I would have appreciated it more if I were more awake, I'm sure, but I got some inexpensive falafel to enjoy for lunch anyway.
Finally, after the very long day, we went back to the hotel we had stayed at in Jerusalem before, which is the nicest of the places we'd stayed at. We would have two more nights there. This time I was assigned to room with Mash, getting the double room I had been hoping for, rather than a triple. Thankfully there was some time before Shabbat to shower and relax, but not really enough to sleep. I lay in the room playing my Vita. Some people, like my roommate Mash, slept and were late to the next activity when they couldn't wake up.
We were spoken to by the Israel advisor to the Secretary of State. Unfortunately, he was so monotone that most of us couldn't really pay attention due to the intense sleep deprivation we were all suffering from. Things he would say would cause images to spring into my mind, and before I knew it I was looking at them through closed eyelids and I was somewhere else, suddenly shaking myself back into reality. Over and over, as I haven't experienced since early morning classes back in college and high school. It was ashame, because I really did want to give him my full attention, but I didn't have much attention available to give to anybody by that point. After he wrapped up what I'm sure was a very interesting discussion on the state of Israel and American relations, some people from Birthright spoke, and we were joined by a group of Birthright alumni and the other D.C. bus for Shabbat. We had a choice to go to an orthodox service, a reform service, or a non-religious discussion group for Shabbat services. I opted for door number 3 and we discussed how to make a change in the world, with quotes from various leaders to reflect on. Shabbat dinner followed, but I sadly couldn't really enjoy it, since I was running on fumes by this point, and my stomach was getting quite upset as well. The food was excellent I could tell, and I made myself have a few bites of everything. The rest of the night is a blur to me even now, I think there were more activities getting to know the alumni and the other bus, and at some point there was finally sweet sweet slumber.
Saturday, June 23
Luckily we didn't need to wake up till 10 the next day, due to the Sabbath. I took full advantage of sleeping in, but still was so tired I ended up using my break after morning activities to take a nap in the room. I had intended to go swimming at the hotel pool, where most of the others went, but I just couldn't get back out of bed until the next activity.
Once the sun fell and we could travel again, we took the bus out to the German Quarter of Jerusalem, to find a restaurant to eat at. That night would be our very last night together as a group, so some of the guys had the idea to throw a toga party at the hotel. Zach convinced me to don a toga as well, so we ripped the sheets off my bed and he helped me tie it up. Everyone said I looked like Jesus, and they were surprised to see me in white rather than black or other dark colors.
Sunday, June 24
The final day of the trip, and by this point I finally am ready to go home. I've seen a lot, and done a lot, gotten a ton of exercise, very little sleep, made friends, enjoyed good food, and now I'm missing my girlfriend and my bed at home and the familiarity and comfort of America. I had an amazing trip, but I'm ready for it to be over at last.
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| Our Israelis. Iftach, the guide, and Dudi, the medic, are in back. Left-to-right in front: Tal, Ilad, Snir, Elan, Fred, Inbal, Liz |
Our last major activity was traveling to the Military Cemetary up on a hill outside of Jerusalem, where we heard heartbreaking stories of loss from all the Israelis with us, losses in war or in acts of terrorism. It was a very bittersweet ending to the trip, but a stanch reminder of the challenges Israelis face every day in a region that wants them wiped off the Earth. They survive, and they defend themselves, but they suffer terrible losses, and every Israeli has lost dear friends to the strife.
We made a stop for souvenir shopping at Ben Yehuda street. I ended up getting one last delicious falafel, some delicious ice cream, and bought a lot of things for Christina back home. We stopped back at the hotel for dinner and final discussions reminiscing about the entire trip, and were each given a map of Israel to trace the varied locations we had traveled around the country.
Finally, we got to the airport, and said goodbye to the Israelis who had taken the trip with us. I feel they have all become friends with all of us. Security took a very long time to get through, but we made it on board the plane. Luckily I had a window seat! I did manage to sleep on the plane this time around, at least, although it was still a cramped and uncomfortable sleep. I watched the movie "In Time", which was a great scifi concept, although had lousy one-note acting (from none other than our leading man, Justin Timberlake). Ultimately it was still enjoyable largely due to the concept, but not a must buy. I played a bit more Gravity Rush on my Vita, and slept for much of the 12 hour flight. My last Kosher meal was the breakfast they served me on the plane.
Monday, June 25
I finally arrived home as the plane landed without incident after a 12 hour flight (it's longer going back) in Philadelphia at 5:10AM. Although for me it felt like about 7 hours later. But my trip was not yet over, I was not home yet! First we had to get through customs, then get luggage, then take the SEPTA back to the train station. I found out that my Dad had to go into work that day and would need to pick me up at Union Station, although my ticket was for BWI, so I had to pay an additional $17 to get my ticket changed. Once in DC, Dad and I had to pull my luggage from the station, to the Library of Congress so he could clock out, then to where he was parked - which was quite a hike, especially as tired as I was and with such heavy bags.
We ended up eating at Urban BBQ on the way to his house, and I got to break my kosher diet on bbq pulled pork. Yummy! Then Christina picked me up from his house an hour later and took me home, where, exhausted, I ended up falling asleep fairly early at about 9PM. (She made me stay up that late, even going as far as washing the bed sheets after I got home.)
Unluckily, I had to go right back in to work on Tuesday, there would be very little break for me. This trip has used up all of my paid time off and a little bit of borrowed time, though, so I couldn't afford an extra day off.
In the end it really was an amazing trip. I don't know if I can qualify it as "life changing" like so many people say it will be, because my life returns to normal now. But I can say it was an experience of a lifetime, something that has broadened my horizons. I have learned a lot about my heritage, reconnected with my people, and made several new friends. And since the group is mostly native to the DC area, I will have opportunities to see many of them again. Even the Israelis who traveled with us developed such a bond with us that they are all planning on making a reverse-trip to visit DC and the USA now, and are very excited about coming over here.
By the way, the official trip blog is here: http://www.shalomdc.org/bus127
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