Israel Today Seminar, Negev Tiyul, Y-e-r-u-CH-a-m!

Sorry it's been so long again!!! These past couple of weeks have been absolutely insane.

ISRAEL TODAY SEMINAR: Feb. 1-3

Day 1: Tel Aviv
There were three different options in Tel Aviv that we could choose from, and my group focused on arts and culture. We started off the day with a small tour of Old Yaffo, and our tour guide showed us some works that were made in Tel Aviv during different periods, many of which I recognized from my art history class. We visited this Arab theatre, and then went to a Blind Museum where there are no lights and everything is pitch black, as in you never ever adjust because there is no light at all. It was so cool. There was a rain forest, a house, a boat, a grocery store (you could actually buy stuff!!), and a market. I know this because I could feel it with my hands (fruit in the market, a bed in the house, etc.). It was truly an amazing experience. Then we went to a mall for an hour to grab dinner, and then to a show called Not By Bread Alone, where the actors and actresses are deaf, blind, or both. It was very special to watch. Most of the time I forgot they couldn't see or hear. They told us their life stories. They started baking bread at the beginning, and then at the end we got to eat it! Cool!!

Day 2: Jerusalem
First we went to Meiah Shearim to learn about Haredi life, but it consisted mostly of playing with small Haredi children, and also listening to a Haredi man speak about their way of life. Then we went to the Israel Museum and then to the Science Museum.

Day 3: Givat Haviva
Givat Haviva is a place in the North that serves as a center for peace between Arabs and Jews. A man spoke to us for a really long time, and it was boring, so I unfortunately do not remember much more than that about that place. Sorry. That night we went to the light show at Migdal David about the history of Jerusalem. It was my second time seeing it, but it was still amazingly cool.


Feb. 4: PACKING DAY. We had to pack ALL of our stuff to be put on a truck down to Yerucham, plus a duffel bag for tiyul. What a balagan.


NEGEV TIYUL: Feb. 5-11

Day 1:
-Hike (every day we got to choose between hard hike and easy hike or art. I chose hard hike every day because they were the best!)
-Camel ride
-Slept at the Bedouin tent

Day 2:
-Hike
-Shabbat at Kibbutz Keturah

Day 3:
-Relaxed a lot
-Night activity: holistic healing. What a joke. It was more like an evening of trust falls. There were also the options of playing soccer with some Israelis or having a bonfire with some Israelis.
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah

Day 4:
-Hike
-Kasui sand dunes (SO MUCH FUN!!)
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah

Day 5:
-Hike
-We were supposed to go for a boat ride, but the weather was bad... instead they gave us the choice to go to a biblical themed amusement park (ha ha.. how silly) or to a place with paint-balling and an amazing ropes course. I chose the latter. It was wonderful.
-Free night in Eilat
-Slept in Eilat at the Adi Hotel

Day 6 (Israeli Election Day):
-Most amazing hike ever
-Tubing/banana boating (WHAT A THRILL)
-A bunch of friends and I got really cool hair wraps!!
-Made my own fro yo! My friend Ashley and I got to pick out fruit and operate the machine to mix it with yogurt and turn it into fro yo, because the guy who worked at the store was too lazy to get up from his chair.
-Got a fever :(
-Slept in Eilat

Day 7:
-Packed up our stuff and loaded the buses
-Went to a rest stop where we ate lunch and said bye to our friends
-Arrived in YERUCHAM!!!


Y-E-R-U-CH-A-M!!!
So far all we have done is:
a) Unpack and organize our apartments
b) Listen to people tell us about what life in Yerucham is going to be like

I signed up to volunteer in a Gan. Hopefully that works out.

I have my own apartment!!! There are two rooms. Room 1: Me, Becky, Ashley. Room 2: Kari, Beth, Misha, Kesha. It's so much fun, but weird to be living in my own apartment. Everything is coming together nicely. Tonight we had our first real meal of salad and tofu and vegetable stir fry. Right now our fridge is broken, so we have to keep certain things in our staff's fridge, but it should be fixed tomorrow. Our shower also doesn't work, so we have to go use one of the other Nativ apartments for now. Oh, Israel.

That's all for now! :)

-Sarah