israel rules - highschool adventure in israel
Post on 27-Mar-2016
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ISRAEL RULES !!
Day 1 - Sinking my Teeth into Israel
Dear Journal,
We Landed and are a little tired but excited. A great adventure awaits us. The team
greets us and leads us to the bus that cuts through Israel's landscape. I can't wait
to get off and explore.
We check-in to the hotel freshen up and go out to a beach at the Sea of Galilee.
A camp fire has already been prepared and that familiar BBQ smell makes my mouth
water. We hear some cool stories around the camp fire, sing a few songs as the sky
becomes darker we dip our feet into the sweet warm waters of the sea and sink our
teeth into the food roasted on
the fire. Delicious. I lay my
head against the pebbles,
stare at the stars and let my
thoughts roam.
Day 2 - A Blast from the Past
Dear Journal,
Today we saw Nazareth, believed to be the
home of Jesus. They have reconstructed the
ancient village complete with wooden huts and
people dressed the part. I feel like a time trav-
eler from "back to the future". Everybody
around us is talking Hebrew, an ancient language
that sounds a little funny. Maybe that’s the lan-
guage in which Gabriel told Mary of her role in
the coming of Christ. We saw the site of the
Annunciation, there is a beautiful Church there
now bigger than the ones back home.
On the road again. the bus just kept on climbing
and climbing. We finally got off at Mount Arbel, it’s a huge cliff where
you can see the eagles nesting on the
rocks. We continued driving through
Magdala before stopping at Capernaum.
It is so cool to walk through 2000 year
old streets. I mean, thinking about it
the Apostles were probably around my
age when they lived here and met JC.
The guide explains all about the Jewish
people living here back then – I am
learning so much.
We climb up to the Mt. of Beatitudes
– WOW! What a view. We speak about
the Sermon of the Mount, and the
guide explains how revolutionary it all
was at the time. Must have been like
hearing Churchill or Obama speak.
We embark on a boat ride, and as we sail to the middle of the Sea of
Galilee, a DJ starts playing an assortment of local
and 'foreign' music. YES A DJ ON A BOAT ! En-
gine running, music blasting, folks dancing! This is
what I call a party.
PARTY !!
Day 3 - Biker's Paradise
Dear Journal,
We start off the day driv-
ing through hardened vol-
canic lava. up the Golan
Heights. Everybody on
the bus had their heads
pressed to the window look-
ing in awe at the landscape.
When we arrive we find
ourselves in a abandoned military bunker overlooking
Jordan, Syria and Israel. Don't worry mom there isn't any
shooting going on these days here at Mount Benthal but we heard
some great heroic stories by a retired Israeli Soldier. Israel seems so
small from up here, you can see all the way to Tel-aviv.
When it was time to head down from the plateau we all got bikes, helmets and gear
and started bike riding downhill (optional). We didn't have to paddle at all to gain
speed down the winding slope. The cool wind against my face, savored of adventure
and the breathtaking scenery around me whispered freedom. Don't tell anyone but I
actually yelled YAHOO!
Later that day, we visited Beit Shean, one of the most humungous ancient cities I
have ever seen. We watched a cool sound and light show that brought the whole an-
cient city to life. So
many layers of history
in one place – I won-
dered if a thousand
years from now, our
home would be dug up
by archeologists. What
would they make of my
CD collection or Ali-G
poster on the wall?
Day – 4 Indiana Jones in the Holy Land
Dear Journal,
We woke up in the Negev Desert at first light.
I'm not one for waking up early in the morning
but watching the sun rise from the Masada
Fortress was definitely worth it. According to
the guide there were some pretty hardcore peo-
ple living here 2000 years ago.
Now to the lowest place on earth, the Dead
Sea (lowest only in terms of altitude otherwise
a great place). The sea is so dense with salt that we floated on the water effort-
lessly. The minerals are said to be good for you skin so we slapped some black mud
all over our bodies can't wait to show everyone the pics. We all looked like coal min-
ers and couldn't stop laughing.
After we rested and showered
at our hotel it was time to see
one of the most talked about
cities in the world - Jerusalem.
Just walking down the street
here is a crazy experience – no
one looks alike, Arabs, religious
Jews, priests, black, white, and
every color in between. Oriental
music mixes with rock and pop
and further down the road a
Christian choir sings gospel mu-
sic.
Suddenly I am faced with a gi-
gantic wall. The Western Wall was lit and people were
praying passionately everywhere and tucking papers with
their intimate prayers and wishes between the stones.
I felt like Indian Jones as we headed underground walking
through ancient tunnels. The show at the Tower of David
was fascinating but I couldn't shake the thought that I
haven't bought enough presents for everybody at home.
Lucky for me next stop was Mamila Boulevard, it is a shop-
ping area with an timeless look-and-feel, overlooking the old
city center. Needless to say I shopped till I dropped.
Day 5 - A Matter of Life and Death
Dear Journal,
We went to the miraculous, Pool of Bethesda,
strolled past the Stations of the Cross and saw the
site of the crucifixion at the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher.
Every stone on the pebbled streets has a story.
Executions, Prophets, excavations, divine interven-
tions, wars, revolts, miracles… These biblical and
historical stories put "Lord of the rings" to shame.
Yad Vashem is a WWII museum. It tells the story of European Jewry that was
barely saved from extermination. It is hard to put what I have experienced there in
words – ill just say it was life changing.
To shake off a heavy feeling there is nothing
better than seeing the thriving life here. So
we went to the shuk or market – YEY!
We went to Mahaneh Yehuda Market, I've
never seen anything quite so vibrant and
alive. The vendors stand behind their fresh
colorful goods, yelling for attention begging
you to smell, taste and touch. And while you
are jumping from one vendor to the other
they smile and wave. Spices, vegetables, and
souvenirs, all in one harmonious mix.
Day 6 -
Drive-by - Jerusalem style
Dear Journal,
We mounted Segways (two wheel vehicles) and
drove around modern Jerusalem. Supreme
Court, Rose Garden and parliamentary
building called the Knesset.
I may have to buy myself one of these giz-
mos when I get home.
Speaking of heading home, this is our last day.
Farewell Israel, Its been so much fun !
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