Tel Aviv

May 22nd

We started the morning by driving to the middle of Tel Aviv to meet our new travel companions. The Birthright program really wants us to understand Israeli culture and life so every group gets 5-10 Israeli soldiers. Our group got seven soldiers and we broke into groups to talk and connect with the soldiers. It was amazing to sit with them and talk about the differences in our lifestyles. After high school, I went straight into college and after college, I may have a month to travel before I start my full-time job. Women soldiers serve for two years, men for three. After their service is fulfilled, they all spend some time travelling. Some hike within Israel, a lot go to South America, and some do Euro trips. Some take the SAT’s and come to school in America while others stay in Israel for school. Their careers don’t start until their late twenties. More than half of all soldiers live at home while serving. The others live on base for 10-14 days at a time and travel home on their weekends off. Since they are only paid about $125 a month, parents support the soldiers until they finish their service. It was amazing to talk with them and realize that every single one of these soldiers is younger than me. The diversity of the soldiers was surprising too. While they were all Israeli, they had very different ancestral origins; Poland, Russia, Argentina, Spain, Germany, and many more. In America, every person looks different but I thought that Israelis would have more similarities than differences. The Diaspora caused the diversification of the Jewish population and it was visible with our soldiers. I got a picture pf all of the soldiers and you will see for yourself when I upload them.

After our meet-and-greet, we learned about the square we were standing in. It was called Rabin Square after Yitzhak Rabin, a Prime Minister of Israel who was assassinated. Rabin wanted to give up some of Israel’s land to create a peace with their Arab neighbors. There was obviously some disagreement and Rabin was shot three times. There is a beautiful memorial in the exact spot he was assassinated and we had a discussion about if assassinations are ever justifiable.

After lunch we went to Independence Hall. We first learned about the history of Tel Aviv. Sixty-six families came together and raised enough money to put in the foundation for the city. Before breaking ground, the area was simply sand dunes in the desert. Tel Aviv’s planners wanted it to be a modern city, “The New York of Israel”, so they installed tap water instead of wells and had extremely wide streets. Each family had their own plot of land to build on so each house in the original Tel Aviv looks different and unique. We spent time in one of the founder’s houses that was converted into an art museum. When Israel was rectifying a constitution and becoming an official state, Jerusalem was under siege so Tel Aviv was chosen for the announcement location. This art museum was chosen as the meeting house and David Ben Gurion broadcasted Israel’s independence on May 14^th, 1948. We sat in the room where the announcement took place and heard all about this day. It was beautiful and really meaningful for me.

After Independence Hall we had free time on the beaches of Tel Aviv. We swam for an hour and really got to know the soldiers. We then dried off and drove to our new hotel about an hour south of Jerusalem. We were supposed to stay closer to the Holy City but because of the pope’s upcoming visit, we had to stay farther away. We are right on the Dead Sea and it is gorgeous! A little muggy at night but if you find a breeze it feels great. Zach and I roomed with a soldier named Matan and Josh was with another soldier named Dani. We had so many great conversations with these guys about life in the army, what the current conflicts mean to them, and what they think Israel’s future looks like. The nights with the soldiers is my favorite part so far.

Hiking and Rafting

May 21^st

 

We began the day hiking through Nahal Zavitan, a beautiful nature reserve in the Golan Heights. First, we visited Pan’s temple. Pan was a god that was brought to Israel by the Romans. They carved a huge temple into the rock for him and we walked through the ruins and remains. We then went on a two-hour hike to see a waterfall. We first passed an ancient flour mill. The rivers used to flow with more force but with consumption over time, the mill wheels went dry. As we were walking I had great conversations with our tour guide, Shiran, about the differences between Israel and America. From dating cultures to hostile negotiation tactics; we covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

After Pan’s temple, we went to the Gadot lookout. This is a mountain-top army base at the very top of Israel. From the lookout you can see the Syrian and Lebanese border. It was amazing to look at another country’s cities right across the border, especially in countries with such conflict amongst them. The peacefulness of our day was disrupted with the arrival of a UN peacekeeping unit. It turns out that the president of Fiji was visiting the Gadot memorial at the same time we were. He is not allowed in Syria and he came to Israel to thank the Fijian peacekeepers stationed in Syria. They met the president just over the border and we got a short glimpse of this interaction. It made a very enjoyable ending to the morning.

In the afternoon, we drove to the eastern border of Israel to go river rafting on the Jordan River! We had four people in our raft as we launched off and started floating. The rapids had much to live up to. Class I is a huge overstatement; think more on the level of a babbling brook. We coasted down the river for a few hours, bumping off rocks, logs, and the walls, splashing other rafts and pulling people into the water. It was very relaxing except for the bugs.

That night, we went out in Tel Aviv and experienced the Wednesday night party scene. It was less than stupendous. There was one bar that was very popular but it was a private party and we were turned away. We found another bar farther down the boardwalk that seemed great. We went in and ordered a drink. Any time you ordered a rail drink like vodka and sprite; the bartenders gave us grey goose and charged us $10 a drink. That killed the mood a bit and we decided just to smoke hookah instead. We just chatted and sat around until heading back to the hotel. The only misfortune of the night was that the hookah coal spilled on my foot and I got a small burn. I guess I can’t travel without bringing home a battle wound or two.

The North

May 20th

The day began with a delicious, fresh breakfast of hummus, veggies, eggs, and toast. The food here is simple but it fills you in a way that is somehow different way. After breakfast, we hopped on the bus for 45 minutes and drove to Merion. This mountain is one of the taller peaks in the country. We began on the trail which was marked by a specific symbol painted on rocks. If you don’t see the trail markers, you are in trouble. We found molted snakeskin and our guide warned us not to lift any rocks. She said the snake was non-poisonous but I think that was just to calm the fears. The trail we were on stretches from the northern to southern border and is very famous in Israel especially for newly released soldiers. After their mandatory military service, many soldiers walk the entire trail. They carry only what can fit in a backpack, buy food at grocery stores, and dig holes and store food along the path. They sleep under the stars and spend two or three months in nature hiking throughout their country. We met a group of six hikers who were very close to finishing their journey. It was fascinating to speak with them and hear about their trip. We finished the hike and got back on the bus for our afternoon trip.

We spent the afternoon in Tzfat (tiss-VAHT). This city is amazing for so many different reasons. First, it is one of the spiritual centers of Israel. The originator of Kabbalah lived in Tsfat and spread his message around the world. He passed away many years ago but he is still celebrated. On his birthday, over 300,000 people come to Tsfat and light bonfires and party all night. Second, Tsfat is an artistic mecca and everyone from jewelers, painters, woodworkers, and glass workers. The amount of beautiful art was astounding. Lastly, because of the spirituality and artistic essence, the whole city gives off a chill vibe. I didn’t worry about safety at all and I saw kids moving freely throughout the city. We walked around town and had schwarma for lunch. Schwarma is pretty much a chicken wrap filled with fresh veggies and it is delicious. After lunch we went through the town synagogue, learned about the town’s history, and met with a local artist who told us all about his journey. He lived in Michigan before finding out about Jewish meditation and Kabbalah. He had an amazing story and I really liked hearing about his experiences.

Travel Day

May 19th

What. A. Long. Day.

Our travel day seemed like it never ended. We left Madison at 2 am. We got to Chicago with plenty of time and our flight went just fine. We then had a seven-hour layover in the JFK Airport. We were sitting down to eat lunch and this woman asked me if I was America. After finding out that I was in fact from the country we were currently in, she walked away and sat in a different cluster of chairs. It was less than a perfect start to the day.

We met up with our group in the airport and proceeded to get our tickets. This turned out to be more of a hassle than expected and we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to talk with a representative. We finally got to our plane and then the trials of the trip really began.

My seat on the first flight was tight to say the least. My knees pushed into the chair in front of me and that was before the kid in the seat decided he needed to recline the chair to eat his meals. I ended up straddling his seat for the seven-hour flight. We had individual TV’s, which was great, but the screens stopped working half way through the flight. The meals were sub-par and almost impossible to eat with the narrow seating arrangement.

We got to Madrid and I immediately went to the Duty Free store to buy some refreshments. Coffee with Bailey’s and screwdrivers made our four-hour layover manageable. When we got to our gate, my jaw almost dropped because our next plane was even smaller. I got to my seat in the second-to-last row and couldn’t sit straight. My legs literally cramped as soon as I sat down. The flight attendant witnessed my struggle and promised to find me a roomier seat. He signaled for me to move a few minutes later and I ended up in the exit row. This was the ONLY way I would have made it through the five-hour flight. I got to my new seat and immediately passed out. I woke up a while later and we were still on the ground. I was sitting next to a Catholic priest from Miami who told me the plane before us took off just in time for a flock of birds to fly through their engine. They had to circle and do an emergency landing and all other planes had to wait. We took off and I slept almost the entire flight.

When we landed, we worked our way through the airport and got a border pass for our stay. As we were waiting for our bags, we were informed that the lobby after customs was packed and we would have to wait for a bit. The Tel Aviv professional basketball team had just arrived back after winning the European Championships. I saw a buch of tall guys with a big metal trophy walk past us into the cheering crowd. There were about 2,000 fans waiting in the lobby waving flags and singing songs. I pretended it was all for me and soaked in the glory.

We pushed our way through the crowd and found our bus. We were then informed that we had a three-hour drive to our hotel. This drive will take us from Ben Gurion Airport, just outside of Tel Aviv, to the northern border. Our hotel for the first few night is within a few miles from Syria and Lebanon. The coach bus is tight and sitting straight is not going to happen. I am writing this as we finish our drive on the winding Israeli highway system. I thought road construction was bad in Wisconsin but it is nothing compared to here! The landscape is gorgeous and there are a lot more green plants than I expected. When we finally arrive at the hotel, our travel will be complete after more than 36 hours in transit. It will be worth it in the end but at the moment this trip is nothing but tiresome.

Dinner was amazing. We had an Israeli salad with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, hummus, tahini, chicken schnitzel, seasoned green beans, sautéed peppers and mushrooms, and filo dough filled with a potato puree. They had pitchers of water and hibiscus water on the tables and then brought out some popsicles for dessert. I had a strawberry and banana one but they also had passion fruit. After dinner, we did some ice breakers. It really helped me get to know some of the members of my trip. We then got to shower which was glorious. I have never appreciated being clean as much as today. We start tomorrow at 7:45 so now it’s time for bed.

It's Here!

So, I leave tomorrow morning at 2:45 am. To be honest, I haven't really been thinking about this trip because I haven't had to do much planning as it was taken care of for me. I could get used to this.

Everyone asked me if I was nervous and even though I say I'm not, I really am. Israel is not the safest part of the world but I know I will be fine for a few reasons. First, the government isn't going to send me into a war zone, they want me to come back. Second, I'm traveling with two of my best friends and I know they have my back. Lastly, I have too much to look forward to this summer to get hurt so no bungee jumping this time.

There will be plenty of adventures along the way. I'll keep them a surprise for now but I'll post a link to my itinerary if you're curious. I will do my best to keep this updated but it's only a 10-day trip so I don't know how much I'll be able to write. Keep an eye out for pictures. If you have any special requests while I'm in the Holy Land, email or message me and I will do my best to fulfill them.


Sample Itinerary:

Israel Quest