"There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story..."

     The last week and a half in Israel was bitter sweet. Finals were coming, as well as the end of our journey, were coming to an end. The fieldtrips during the last full week were all related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Wednesday the 6^th, we went to the West Bank and met with an Israeli citizen living in a settlement in the West Bank. We heard his opinion, being that there should be a one-state solution to the conflict. If there were a two state solution, he would have to leave his settlement, as it would be come part of the Palestinian state. Next we heard from a kibbutz member who lives on the kibbutz we were staying at, Kibbutz Tzuba. He was in favor of a two state solution, but preceded to tell us what Palestinians would say if we asked them, saying that no Palestinian would recognize Israel as a state, and that was why no compromise could be made. On Thursday, we went to speak to a Palestinian man living in Jerusalem to hear his opinion. He was a businessman and believed in a two state solution as well, and even admitted to recognizing Israel as a sovereign state. He was more interested in the financial situation of the Palestinian Authority than fighting over recognition of Israel. The Palestinian Authority has no money and Palestinians have trouble finding jobs. If there was a real lasting peace, Palestinians could work in Israel and be more financially successful. While his views seemed like sensible ideas, he represented a rich minority of Palestinians, and may not have shown the views of the general population. However both days were extremely educational about a situation I knew very little about before the trip.

     That weekend was a free weekend, mostly spent studying for the finals coming Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday we left the Kibbutz for the last time and headed to Tel Aviv. On the way, we stopped in Caesarea, a town built by King Herod around 20 BC. We spent Wednesday night in a hotel about two blocks from the beach in Tel Aviv. Thursday was our last day, and we were able to sleep in. We spent some time in the mall, then walked around Jaffa and saw the flea market. Thursday night we all went to dinner before heading to the airport.

Our trip to Israel was the best experience of my life. I have never learned so much from one trip, had so much fun, or met so many amazing people. As cliché as this is, I will never forget all the experiences I had for the rest of my life. To everyone reading this, you don’t know as much as you think about Israel. Ask someone who’s been there before just believing what the news says, or better yet, go visit. L'chaim!

Masada, the dead sea, the red sea, Petra, and of course, camel rides...

     So this has been a really long weekend, but probably the best of this whole trip. On Wednesday, we went to Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the Holocaust. They had so many amazing artifacts given to them by survivors and family of survivors, which I found the most fascinating. My favorite part of the museum was all the videos set up throughout the rooms of survivors telling their stories and own accounts of what they went though. I think I sat down and watched almost every single one I could. It was just so moving to see them smiling about old times before the Holocaust, watching them tear up when talking about losing their families, and just describing what they went through and what their lives were like. The one artifact that got me was a letter from a woman to her family in the United States. She was told she was going to be brought to a place to work. She wrote to her family how excited she was to be going on a trip and that she would write soon. Underneath the letter, it said that she wasn’t going to work; she walked right into a gas chamber. It really brought tears to my eyes. We also saw a children’s memorial at Yad Vashem, where mirrors reflected 3 or 4 candles, so it looked like hundreds of thousands of candles in the room. As you walk though, a recording is reading the names of children who died because of the Holocaust. This was another very moving part of the museum.

People climbing up Masada

     On Thursday, we made our way down to Masada. When we arrived, just under half of the group decided to walk up Masada, while the rest took the cable car. (I couldn’t walk because of a medical condition, so I took the cable car for 3 minutes instead of the 45-minute walk in 100-degree weather…) Those who took the cable car waited around at the bottom to give the hikers a chance to get to the top. According to them, it was like hell, but worth it to say you did it. On our way up we saw the last three people climbing the second to last staircase. They saw us in the cable car and waved. My friend was one of them, and he told me later, “All I could think when I saw you guys in that cable car was I hope it falls, because I was so hot and tired.” When we got to the top, we walked around and saw the remains of an old Jewish town. Here, in the first century CE, the Romans attacked the Jewish people here, and they were very out numbered. The Romans advanced quickly, even up the mountain, and began to seize the castles. Rather than become slaves, they rebels killed their wives and children, and then each other. We saw the different parts of this town, like their bathhouse, synagogue, and our guide even pointed out water ducts and old Roman forts used during the siege. At the end, some people even decided to climb down as well, but most people took the cable car back down.

View of the Dead Sea from the top of Masada

     Now somewhat off topic, but a funny story, at the food court there was a McDonalds. The people who came down on the cable car had to wait a while for the walkers, and we were so hungry. As it turned out, this McDonalds was non-kosher. Many of us had been talking for weeks about getting home to be able to have a cheeseburger, so this was just so exciting. And I have to say it was pretty good. :)

     After Masada, we went swimming in the Dead Sea. This was an experience I don’t even know how to describe. Walking in it felt like normal water, it wasn’t thick or anything, just water, and very warm at that. However as soon as you waded in farther and let go of your legs, they were swung into the air with ease. We all floated around and got a group picture, although staying in one line was very hard. We found salt rocks that were made completely from hardened salt. It was sad to learn that the Dead Sea is shrinking one meter every year. While it’s still very big, in as little as 10 years, it could be completely gone. I’m just glad I got to have that experience while I still could! That night we drove to Eilat, where we would be staying for the weekend.

     Friday was a short day, at 2pm we went snorkeling in the Red Sea. The water was so beautiful and blue, and there was so much fish and coral to see. We also saw a spot covered in coral that is supposedly Moses’s tomb, which was really interesting to think about how long it must have just been sitting there.

Treasury in Petra

     I think they gave us a light day Friday to make up for Saturday. On Saturday we crossed the border into Jordan to go see one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Petra. We drove two hours from the border to get there, and began our walk. The rocks around us had to be 100 feet high. We walked for about an hour until we came to a treasury build right into the rocks. Around it were many other buildings, all carved into the rock. It was astounding, and almost seemed impossible that they had so much precision and detail. After looking around and doing a little tourist shopping, we headed back up and went back to Israel.

Riding a camel with Greg

     Sunday we left our hostel in Eilat and headed back to the Kibbutz. On the way, we visited a prison and had a tour. We learned about their system and how it’s set up. For example the prison we were at had all different levels of criminals and security. They had a high security ward for prisoners, who were a danger to themselves, whom they believed might be suicidal. Right next to it was a low security facility, where prisoners had much more freedom, more space, and were allowed to work on the prison. It was something you would never see in an American prison. After the prison we went to a Bedouin camp in the Negev. We had lunch here and learned about life in these small Arab villages. These people live in tents in the middle of the hot desert. The most shocking aspects of life for these people are that men have many wives, he can take a new one whenever he gets bored or frustrated with her, and that all the chores, like raising the kids, making dinner, milking the goats, the list goes on and on, all lay on the shoulders of the women of the tribe. So what do the men do? They sit around and make coffee, waiting for guests to come to visit at the tent. When they explained this, ever girl in the room was shaking her head, and every guy was nodding, and wishing they could live in this world. We then took a short bus ride to go ride camels! Everyone was extremely excited about this, and although it was a cool experience, it was painful! Not something I’d rush to do again.

There are only 10 days left on my trip! This weekend was the last long going away weekend, the next 10 days will be a lot lighter than they have been. I’ll try to post again soon!

Directed Independent Study, free weekend and more...

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! Internet isn't great here, but I'll catch you up...

Last Monday (5/21) after classes, I went with one of my friends, Vanessa, and two of the graduate students to the bus station. We were heading to do work on our Directed Independent Study. The TA's on the trip are doing research about Israeli feelings toward Arabs and Palestinians. To help them, we are handing out surveys at the central bus station in Jerusalem. Doing 15 hours of handing out surveys gets us 3 credits. Vanessa and I were the only ones to go on Monday, and we had a very interesting reaction to the surveys. They were in Hebrew, so we didn’t actually know what they said. At first, we had no problems; people just filled them out and gave them back. Then, one man finished the survey and came up to us and said, “Everyone here is going to answer the same way. We hate the Arabs, we are at war with them… and so are you!” After that, things continued to go downhill. One Israeli solider told us the same, that everyone’s answers would be ‘1s’ (meaning on the survey, basically saying they don’t like Arabs, want them to leave the country, etc). He also told us that his belief was that all Arabs should die… which he said multiple times in the conversation. At the end of the night, by the way, we were only there for two hours, a woman sat us down and lectured us about how it was a really hard country to be asking these questions and very inappropriate to be handing this out. She said she wanted to make sure we knew what we were getting ourselves into, and we should be careful, and really reconsider participating in this. This night was the most clarifying and intense since I’ve been here. This was the moment I really truly realized that what we see on the news and even hear about in class is not even close to the true story. I never realized how much deep seeded hate there was in this country, and how passionate people get about it. Very very good experience…

View from Hebrew University 

Wednesday, we went to the Supreme Court and Hebrew University. The Supreme Court was the most beautiful building I had ever been in. Every piece of architecture had some historical to the Jewish people. All of the lines and every design represented something important to the country and the people. It was so fascinating. We were also able to sit in on a court proceeding, and although we couldn’t understand it because it was in Hebrew, when we left our tour guide explained. I have always been interested in law and the court system, so it was amazing to see one in process, and how it differs from our Supreme Court system. After we took the bus to Hebrew University. Here we also learned about the different buildings and the history of the school. I was shocked to learn that Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud were some of the first founders of the University. We also saw some amazing views of Jerusalem.

My mom and me in the Mediterranean Sea

View from our hotel room in Tel Aviv

View from our hotel room, Tel Aviv
This weekend was a “free weekend.” We were allowed to go anywhere we wanted. My parents had come to visit, so I went with them to Tel Aviv. My friends also wanted to go to Tel Aviv, so they were looking for a hostel to stay in. They found a very cheap place, 25 shekels a night (about 6 dollars), which was described as tents on the beach, a 30-minute walk from the center of Tel Aviv. It turned out to be tents in someone’s back yard, on concrete, over an hour car ride from Tel Aviv. My three closest friends ended up only staying one night, instead of two, and found a bit more expensive place that was actually in the city. My parents and I went for the whole weekend, Wednesday to Sunday, and were right on the beach. The hotel also had a pool, and was minutes from great shopping locations. On Friday we went to a shuk (outdoor shopping market) and a craft market. Most of the other days we spent at the beach and in the pool, just having a relaxing time before I had to go back to the program, and my parents had to catch their flight home.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we're going to Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum... supposed to be very moving and emotional. Thursday we leave for the Dead Sea and Petra in Jordan. More to come about that as soon as possible… 

Arab village, the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights

After a long weekend of relaxing, taking care of my roommate, and reading textbooks, we had two days of class. All of my classes are very interesting; I’m taking Comparative Criminology, International Justice Systems, and Israeli Politics and Culture. The last one is taught by an Israeli professor, which is really a different experience.

Me in the Hijab

Wednesday, we went to Arab village just outside of Abu Gosh, called Ein Rafa. Here, a woman took us to a mosque, where we had a chance to learn about Islam from an Imam (the worship leader of a mosque) and ask him questions. To go inside, we had to be dressed very modestly; skirts down to our ankles and shirts to our wrists. We were also asked to wear a hijab, the typical Islamic head covering. Walking into the mosque, we were asked to step right foot first, a Muslim tradition whenever you walk into any room in a mosque. We also took off our shoes before going upstairs to a large room with chair set up. Sitting at the front of the room was the imam, wearing a white robe and a white head covering. He spoke no English, so the woman who was showing us around translated what he wanted to say. He told us about the Five Pillars of Islam. The first is Shahada, the acceptance of monotheism and that Muhammad was the last, and most accurate prophet. Followers of Islam believe that Abraham and Jesus were also prophets, but that they’re message was skewed by man. They believe Muhammad’s message was the undisturbed word of God. The second pillar is Salat, which is the Islamic prayer. Muslims pray five times a day. They must wash themselves ceremonially before prayer, called Wudu. When praying, people always face towards Mecca, their holy city. The third pillar is Zakat, which means you must give a portion of your wealth to charity, if you are able to do so. The forth pillar is Ramadan, or the month of fasting. Muslims do not eat or drink from dusk to dawn. The finally pillar of Islam is the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. Every Muslim is obligated to take a trip to Mecca during a certain month once in their life. These pillars are used as a sign of commitment to the faith. After the imam explained the basis of Islam to us, we had a few questions before it was time to go.

Imam and woman translating for him at a Mosque

We left the mosque and were invited to the home of the woman showing us around. We sat in her living room as she explained life in an Arab village, and how they get along with the surrounding Jewish Israeli population. The people in her village were one of the few Israeli Arabs who had citizenship of Israel. However she was actually from England and raised an unreligious Christian. She studied architecture in college and came to Israel for work. She found herself attracted to the Islamic religion, and began to convert. She met an Arab man whom she married, and was accepted into their family and their village. It was amazing to hear her story and how she chose this life. She wore a long dress and a hijab the whole time, and told us she always wears it. She said it wasn’t that hard to get used to after growing up completely different, because it was what she wanted. One thing I didn’t know was that not all Muslim women wear the headdress; there are secular Muslims too. We were given a typical Arab drink by her husband, that basically tasted like kool-aid. It was so fascinating to actually see her home and the differences, and many similarities that there are between her home and a typical home in the states. Mostly, I noticed it was pretty typical, even constructing one part of their house. Only two differences were extremely apparent; there were no pictures of people on the walls, which is against the Muslim religion, and walking outside, the back and front yards were not covered in grass or trees, but sand, since it is in the middle of a desert. My favorite part of this week was most definitely this trip. Most of it centers on Jewish and some Christian culture in Israel, but the Arab culture is really the one I know the least about.

Left to right: Nick, Vanessa, Me, Kayla
Wine tasting on Kibbutz Tzuba

After coming back from the Arab village we went on a tour of the glass factory that is on Kibbutz Tzuba, the place we had been staying. Here they make glass for cars and buses, as well as bulletproof glass. They are a large supplier of bulletproof glass for the United States Army. Also on the Kibbutz, there is a wine factory, which we also had a tour of, as well as a wine tasting. We sat, drank some really good wine, and saw an amazing view of Israel.

Boat from time of Jesus

On Thursday we packed up and left the Kibbutz where we had been staying. We went to the see of Galilee and the Golan Heights, staying at a hotel on the water. When there, we went on a hike and saw amazing views of the sea and other parts of Israel. Then we went to a museum that had a boat suspected to be from the time of Jesus. Friday we went to the house where Peter lived and a synagogue. We saw Mount Beatitudes, were Jesus gave his sermon on the mount. We headed back to the hotel, where we had a pseudo-traditional Shabbat dinner with our program leader and his family. They showed us how these dinners usually go, starting with blessing the bread and wine. After eating, we heard readings from the Torah and sang Hebrew songs. It was the greatest cultural event we have had so far, even if it was just in a hotel dining hall. We had a blast, and so did my Mom and Dad, who arrived today for a little over a week, here to experience Israel with me.

View of the Sea of Galilee

On Saturday, we went to Mount Bental in the Golan Heights, were we were able to see the borders of Syria, as well as (from a distance) army bunkers surrounding the area, since Israel and Syria do not have good relations right now. We went on a hike to see water falls on the Banias River, one of the rivers that flows into the Jordan River. From this hike we also saw some amazing views, and the forest and river were breathtaking. Next, we went kayaking down the Jordan River. Yeah, I said that right; we boated down THE Jordan River! It was so much fun and such an amazing sight. That night we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Tiberias, which was surprisingly very good Chinese food! Sunday, we went to Akko, a 5000-year-old city. There were actually two cities in Akko; one was built on top of the other. After lunch on the Mediterranean Sea, we headed back to Kibbutz Tzuba to prepared for another couple of days of classes before our free weekend… 

The Old City and the weekend...

Western Wall and

the Dome of the Rock

Day number two and up at 9am for the Old City of Jerusalem. We all dressed modestly for this day, girls in long skirts or dresses and shirts or sweaters below our elbows. Soon we realized this seemed to be a little over the top, as there were many women wearing pants and t-shirts. And I am definitely a pants girl! We still had an amazing day and saw so many interesting things. We were able to see the hill where Jesus prayed before Judas gave him up to the Romans. From the rooftops we were able to see the Dome of the Rock and learn about its history. We also saw the four parts of the Old City, one Jewish quarter, one Muslim, one Christian and one Armenian. These sections each hate each other, and many have walls and fences to block people from moving from one to another. There were security gates between the Muslim and Jewish parts when we crossed over. Only Muslims are even allowed in the Dome of the Rock, because it resides in their section, even though it is holy to the Jewish and Christian faiths as well. This is why Jewish people pray at the Western Wall. As we learned, the preferred spot to pray would be at the rock, as this is holy. However since they are not allowed in the Dome, they pray at the spot closest to the rock, this wall. I said a prayer here as well and wrote a prayer on a sticky note and put it in the wall. The wall is also split into two unequal parts, one for men and one for women. The women's side is noticeably smaller, another sign of the inferiority of women in this culture. 

Place of Christ's tomb.

We walked all around the city, but by far the most interesting part, to me, was the church built around the place were Jesus was believed to have been crucified, and where his empty tomb is. Then in the same area we saw some of the seven Stations of the Cross, and a group who was walking to all of them. All of this I had heard of and read about it books but that was nothing like seeing it in real life. We also saw the room where Jesus had his famous Last Supper, and the tomb of King David. So many of these things are just stories before someone actually sees them.

Tomb of King David

After this very long day, we went back to a different part of Jerusalem where there was a sort of scavenger hunt set up for us, to learn the city. We met up with different group leaders and different food places. We learned about the city and the Israeli army, and some fun Hebrew words (that I can’t even remember!) It was a lot of fun and very interesting.

This was Thursday. Friday thru Sunday are days off. There is not much to do because Friday and Saturday are Shabbat. Most things are closed, so I have been working on reading for my classes that start Monday.

Friday my roommate was very sick. She was very dehydrated, and had all of the symptoms, including fever and weakness. She didn’t drink enough water when we were in the old city and it was very hot. I went with her to the clinic. While I was there, I made conversation with an Israeli man. He had many questions about the American education system, like the cost of universities, what it takes for people to get in, how we are scored, and other stuff like that. When I answered all of his questions, he explained to me the differences between what I had told him and what it was like in Israel. In Israel, everyone pays the same amount for college, 10,000 shekels, which is only about $2,500. Here, colleges are considered much lower than universities. You are tested, like in America, to test you IQ almost, and that determines what school you can go too. Another interesting thing we talked about was the police in Israel. When I told him we were here studying criminal justice, and that many people I knew in my major wanted to be cops, he literally laughed out loud! In Israel, he said, it seems like cops are chosen if they have the lowest IQ. Police don’t have respect here like they do in the US. The Commander told us he wants to be a cop, and he wants to change the way it is, make the profession more respectable. Another very surprising thing the man at the clinic told me was that Jews are afraid to go to the old city now. Sure, there are some that live there, but he said the average Israeli Jew is afraid to go, because of the serious conflict with the Islamic population. He told me many people in the past few years had been stabbed when going to the city. I knew it was bad, I didn’t know it was to the point people were afraid to go to parts of their own city.

So far the first week has been pretty eventful and a great learning experience. Monday starts classes, and Wednesday we are off on another adventure…

Archeological dig and Lag B'Omer

This is the cave we went in to dig.

On our first full day in Israel, we drove 45 minutes to an archeological dig site. This was the site of a Jewish settlement over 2000 years ago. When they were kicked out by invaders (I can’t remember who, Romans? Arabs? No idea…). They threw everything in their homes into the basements. That is where we were digging, in these old basements, looking for things they left behind. We found many pieces of pottery, some hand made, some, they told us, were imported from Italy because it was made of different material. When we sifted through the smaller things, we found pieces of charcoal, and someone even found a bead, probably from a necklace. It was really interesting to think we were finding items that were just so old, and people in their homes used so long ago. Someone in our group actually found an almost complete bowl, with only a small chip missing from the side. It was so hot outside, but in the caves underground it was very cool and pleasant. The heat was basically the opposite of the heat in Tallahassee, very dry and hot, not humid. I like it a lot more than Tally weather, and I do well at night too. It gets down to about 50, and people are freezing. I love it because its like spring in Trumbull! Really not cold at all, not to me.

Pieces of pottery collected, not by us, but in the past,
that have been put together to make whole pieces.

After the digging, we went to a cave that began in one place and came out in another. People went through it, which I learned is called “spelunking.” After all of this we went back on the bus and drove to a picnic area, near an old watchtower. Our new friend, the Commander, barbecued burgers and lamb kabobs. The burgers, of course, were without cheese. Everything here is eaten with pita and hummus (but if you pronounce “hummus” wrong, people WILL glare). So our burgers were no different, they were stuffed in a pita with hummus, and a cucumber tomato salad. It was delicious, as were the lamb kabobs. Pita is not like it is in America; it is much better and so much fresher. Hummus is also better here, it’s really good and there are so many different types.

Fire Dancer at the bonfires for Lag B'Omer

This day it was also a holiday, called Lag B'Omer. To celebrate, we went to a large park in Jerusalem where the community was gathered around a dozen or so bonfires. On one side there were a bunch of bonfires where only kids were gathered, running around, singing and laughing. One thing we all noticed is how free the kids were, no parents around at all, or constantly telling them to watch the fire. Our first reaction was how crazy it was, for these parents not to care! It wasn’t that they didn’t care, it was just safer for their kids, it’s how they grew up. Parents in America these days freak out over any and every little thing, not even letting their child walk down the street to a friend’s house alone. These kids are given more responsibility at a younger age. This was just very different for us to see, definitely a culture shock. We ended up at a bonfire set up for English speakers who had moved to Israel to help them adjust and fit it. There were fire dances and roasting marshmallows, and it was a lot of fun and very interesting to see and be a part of. Then we made our way home... the next day, the Old City of Jerusalem.  

Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.

My trip to Israel didn't start when I landed on Tuesday (May 8th). It started when I got to the gate at the airport. About 50% or more of the passengers on my flight were Orthodox Hassidic Jews. Not that I hadn't seen Hassidic Jews before, but I had never seen so many in one place. It was an interesting place to people watch. I noticed how quite the women were, compared to the men who all had questions and concerns for the Delta representatives at the desk. The men were all talking like they knew each other, however their wives and daughters did not. Eventually after about twenty minutes of people watching, a man came over the loud speaker. Just the same old stuff you hear before every flight; we will be boarding shortly, if you have infants or need extra time boarding please come forward... then I heard something very unusual. "If you have water or any other drink, please make sure you keep the receipt for boarding." What? I thought that was the whole point of buying a water after security, so that I could bring one on the plane? I didn't know I needed a receipt too! I usually throw out all my receipts, so I just chugged my water and threw it out. Still confused, I began to get in line for boarding. 

When I got to the front of the line, I handed them my ticket and began to walk through two double doors, thinking it was, like any other plane, just an aisle to the jetway. But it was not the case, instead it was a small room with two rows security belts and a metal detector, the same as the first security everyone has to walk through. But everyone on this Delta flight to Israel had to go through these security measures again. I guess this made sense with the water bottle thing too, and why boarding started almost an hour and 30 minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave. So we went through security again and finally boarded the plane. This was one of the biggest planes I had ever been on, it even had a second level, like something in a movie. Once everyone had boarded, which took a while, I settled in, buckled my seat belt, expecting we would be leaving soon. However, before we could leave there were a few little glitches. About 6 different men, all Orthodox Jews, had a problem with where they were sitting. Most of them just wanted to sit by their families, hoping to trade seats with Americans or other people traveling alone. One man refused to sit down because the seat next to his was occupied by a woman. The female flight attendant seemed very offended, and it was very hard to find a spot for him that was not near a woman, and where someone was willing to switch their seat for him. Finally someone moved, and he was happy. During this commotion, tons of other men began standing up, fixing their bags, or walking around to talk to friends and family. It turned out to be difficult to get anyone to sit down, they did not want to listen to direction, which became apparent throughout the rest of the flight as well. Finally, we were able to take off. When we had finished out assent, these men again began getting up and walking around, while the fasten seat belt sign was still on, and it was still unsafe to be up. I can't even tell you how many times they came over the loud speaker telling these people to sit down, as well as how many flight attendants came up to all of them and asked them to sit. This happened whenever the fasten seat belt sign was on, every time. The same things happened when they wished to serve dinner and breakfast. As part of their religious tradition, they must pray before every meal. However different people started to pray at different times, sometimes one man started as another finished. It took a long time for people to sit down again so the flight attendants could come through the aisles and serve the meals. It made for a very long flight, and for some very crabby flight attendants when ever I asked for more water, which was a lot. 

Finally I head the words I had been waiting hours for, "we will be landing shortly." We landed at 2pm, or 7am in America, and I made my way to baggage claim, where I finally found other students from my group. From there we took a van, a cab, and a taxi to the Kibbutz where we would be staying. We checked in, settled in, and had an orientation meeting. At about 9pm, many of us decided to start our Israel experience that night. We took a large cab to Jerusalem to find a bar. We made our way down a narrow alley, not sure exactly where we were supposed to go, even with the directions from Aaron, our trip leaders son who lives in Israel. We found a small hole in the wall bar, probably a local place, because they looked shocked to see 15 young Americans walking into their pub. We drank, for me the first time legally, and began learning how to say things in Hebrew. We learned "toda" which means thank you, and "beera" which means beer, a very important one for us! Eventually we were joined by Aaron's commander from the army, who most of us call Commander. He took us to a more busy street with more bars. We found two different places that we decided would be "our" places for the next 5 weeks. I had the time of my life, and we all bonded so instantly it was almost unbelievable. We stayed out until 4am that night, even after flying all day and being jet lagged. The next day we were off to an archeological dig site...