Shalom to all!!

Well hello dear family. I have returned from the homeland. For those of you who didn't get the memo, I was in Isreal from Dec. 31st to Jan. 10th on a Birthright trip. Now I know Kimberly already regaled everyone with the details of her trip, but I would also like to tell you about mine because I am insanely eager to talk about it. And after all, no two people can have the same experience.

Let me start by saying that the trip I took was called Amazing Israel EXREME and boy was it! Think of it as a tour and an adventure trip combined; it was like your regular everyday Israeli tour on steroids. After many hours of rigorous travel, first to JFK where we met our whole group, and then to Tel Aviv, we arrived in pretty good condition. By we I mean myself and Jonathon (we made this journey together and I was thrilled to share each and every experience with him). Our group consisted of 40 participants: 11 girls and 29 guys! I guess when you sign up for an adventure trip, those are the kind of numbers you can expect. We drove right to dinner at a restaurant called Beit-Haful for what would be the first of many hummus offerings. FYI: if you don't like hummus, don't go to Israel. It's just not meant to be. I felt a little weird throughout dinner and with good reason: i had a seizure shortly after outside the hotel. Not the best way to start off the trip, but we had a medic with us at all times so it was all good. I'd rather not dwell on the repercussions of that incident and just move on in my summary.

The next morning we took a 3 hour hike on Ein Akev and visited the grave of David Ben Gurion (you might want to brush up on your Jewish history if that name doesn't ring a bell.) Then we drove to Arad, further into the desert, and enjoyed some Bedouin hospitality and a homemade "hafla" dinner. The evening concluded with name games around the bonfire. Then all 40 of us slept under 1 tent which was AWESOME. Some of the other girls did not share in my enthusiasm. Too bad, so sad. The next morning we arose before dawn to ride camels into the sunrise. A very cool but very smelly experience. And by the by, camels are not nice animals.

Then we hiked Massada where we had a tour and values clarification exercise. If being atop a piece of history like Massada doesn't make you think about your connection to the Jewish people, then you must be without a pulse (and then you would have some bigger issues). We then took the snake path down (which would later result in the worse calf pain I have ever felt in my life...little did I know). We then hiked the desert oasis of Ein Gedi followed by a refreshing dip in the Dead Sea, which ironically made me feel more alive than ever.

After washing up a bit, we drove to Jerusalem where we would be spending the next few days. That night we had what they call the Mega Event where Jews from countries all over the world get together in one place and dance and eat and all that good stuff. I got to say, it was pretty cool meeting Jews from Uruguay.

The next day in Jerusalem, I got up close and personal with the Western Wall along with some other very cool historical sites. We then met the 8 soldiers (our Mifgash) that would be sharing the next 5 days with us. After playing a game that can only be considered a rare form of speed-dating, we toured the Old City soaking up sooooo much culture along the way. Boy do Orthodox Jews do things differently than the rest of us. We then returned to the hotel where we got ready for our Shabbat service, which was beautiful, followed by a festive (albeit not tasty)Shabbat dinner.

Shabbat (Saturday) was pretty chill all in all, and trust me: we needed a day to rest! We toured the kibbutz, participated in a Jewish Identity Program, and had a beautiful Havdallah service. That night we were free to roam Ben Yehuda street (consisting of an indoor market as well). I bought (and promptly ate) a container of olives. Seeing as I was not feeling 100% during the trip and did not care for most of the food, I consumed quite a few olives.

The next day was the most depressing yet most significant day of the trip. We started off with a tour of Yad Veshem (the Holocaust museum) followed by a visit to the Theodore Herzl Military Cemetary. Seeing all the graves of soldiers MY AGE covered with pictures, flowers, poems, etc. was a huge reality check. It was the only time during the trip that I was brought to tears. Then we drove up north to have a homemade dinner with members of the Druze culture (all vegetarian by the way). For the next 3 nights we would be staying in the Ein Gev Kibbutz Guest Houses.

The next morning, we visited the Kinneret Cemetary followed by a 2 hour hike up Mount Arbel which provided us with an awesome view of the Sea of Galilee. After hiking down the mountain (which required A LOT more skill that climbing up it: rocks to grab onto and places where you just had to jump and hope for the best), we toured the mystical city of Tzfat. This is a city where many practice the Kabbalah faith, which we got to learn a little more about. We then drove to the Jordan River to do some rafting, but we were informed (after changing into our bathing suits of course) that the water level was too high to raft...major bummer. So we bumped up our trip to the Golan Heights Winery where we got a tour and enjoyed a wine-tasting experience. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. That night we went to Tiberias to lounge in the hot springs and unwind a bit.

The next day we hiked Mount Bental and got an overview of Syria. We even got to creep through an active Syrian bunker. After that, we went ATVing which was another highlight of the trip. I never really knew what it was like to have mud in your ears, eyes, and mouth. I highly suggest it. It was pouring rain and super muddy: the perfect combination.

The next day (our final day), we drove back to Tel Aviv, toured Jaffa, toured Neve Tzedek and Tumpeldor Cemetary, and had lunch on our own in the markets. Interestingly, we saw Air Force ONE flying into the airport; Bush was visiting Israel as you probably knew. For lunch, I was somehow able to find a cafe that served "pizza" (I put that cherished word in quotes for obvious reasons). Then we visited Independence Hall where history was made over 60 years ago. We heard the actual recording of Theodore Herzl declaring the statehood of Israel. Very cool. Finally, we had a farewell dinner at a restaurant called Petrozilia followed by what I heard was a killer party (I fell asleep LONG before the party even started, unfortunately).

Then back to Ben Gurion airport to fly on home. I have soooo many more wonderful details and experiences to tell you about, but I can only fit so much in a blog posting. I will tell you this much: I laughed a lot, I learned a lot, and I explored my Jewish heritage in more ways than I ever thought possible. I have all my pictures on Facebook; for those of you not Facebook-savvy, please let me know if you would like to see more photos.

Shalom to all,

Leah Marie