So one night in our room (81!!) we were all done with our homework and we were kind of bored. So I started putting up more candy on our closets but then we ran out of candy. What to do?? (By the way, now our candy collage fills up almost four closets!) We decided we should rewrite on our window with our special window markers. So we started erasing it. But we did not want to walk all the way to the bathroom (Next door) to get a wet paper towel. So Sofia found a pad on the floor and got it wet and wiped the window with it. It was hilarious!!!! She was so cute and she exclaimed, “It absorbs it right up!!!” J after using the pad she put it up on her wall!!! It is covered in green and blue marker it’s the weirdest thing ever! After that we were thinking of what to write on our window. So I said we should do things like adorable Ariela and stuff. Let’s just say it didn’t turn out exactly like that. Plus on our adjacent window we wrote random things like Red Hot Room 81, we “heart” core, home of the earmuffs, the candy room, and we have smiley faces, stars, and flowers. It’s really nice. J Then we took a video of us writing on our window and we were all screaming and just having fun. Plus they videoed Ariela, Cassie, and Sofia’s walls. They decorated them with pictures, ribbons, letters, boas, stars, stickers, cards, and mementos. By the way the whole time this was happening we were playing music and singing and dancing to it. It was really fun! I wish we could do it every day!
And our room is so nice and decorated, people come in all the time and compliment us. They say our room is nice, pretty, and stuff like that. Danny even said, “You guys really know how to live it up in here!” when he was inspecting our room after we cleaned.
This is a sad blog. We had to say goodbye to three people recently. Two people broke the rules and were sent home. They are now at home and might get expelled from Milken. They really mean it when they say don’t break the rules. The third person that left is Andrew. He had to go home, he was not kicked out of TIF. I’m really sad he left and we all really miss him!! I wish we could have bonded more!! It sucks that people had to leave and miss out on this great experience. Plus, now we only have 56 kids. It’s so little. L
Yam Leh Yam means sea to sea. We are all going to hike and bike from the kineret to the Mediteranean Sea.
Day 1-
I’m so excited!!!! Really. But a bit nervous too. We woke up at 6:15 and got on the buses an hour later. We drove and then came to a kibbutz on the kineret. Most people either caked on thick layers of sunscreen or took advantage of the last bathrooms we will see for a while. (For 4 days!) After that we all packed our luggage into this little truck and then we walked to the kineret for the opening ceremony. We literally stood on the water of the kineret and were told about how Abraham and Sarah walked around all of Israel and thought about their descendents at some point. I thought it was really cool that Abraham and Sarah thought of me on the path I am walking on!
So we started walking. It sucked because in the beginning I had to carry our extra water and let me tell you, it’s HEAVY!! (Plus my backpack weights a ton with the 3 liters of water we all need to have) then we kept walking through the valley. It was beautiful! We were walking next to the Nachal Amud (Amud River) and there were rocks, flowers of every color, birds, butterflies, valley sides, grass, trees, and tons of spiky plants and a river in the middle. It was so annoying!! At first I tried keeping my feet dry, but eventually when I slipped I gave up. I walked in the middle of that river! I got my feet thoroughly soaked in freezing water at least 5 times. (Just so you know, I was in the front from start to finish) The path/hike was the coolest hike I’ve ever gone on!! It was hard at times, easier at others. We passed cows, walked in water, and saw an amazing assortment of flowers and wild herbs. (Which smell amazing!!) We also walked through the thorniest grove ever!! Never ending spikes, scrapes, cuts, blood, and bites. It was horrible!! Eventually, we got to camp. The part right before camp was the hardest! Uphill and never-ending! Finally at camp we sat down, took a break, and then got up. We set up our tents (I am in a tent with Liron and Talia M.), had a nice nature pee, ate dinner, sat by a campfire, got ready for bed, and collapsed! However, it was raining, windy, warm, our mattresses were thin, cows were mooing, tent mate snoring, and basically it was a horrible night’s sleep.
Side note: Campfire. After dinner we had a bonfire, it was ok. Warm, but I was so tired! I wanted to sleep! However they gave us marshmallows which were yummy! Then I went to bed and apparently the last few guys that were awake helped put out the campfire by peeing on it. Haha!
Day 2-
Today we woke up at 6:15. It was horrible! No toilets, no sinks, no places to change, no mirrors, plus I was tired, sore, and my shoes were still wet! L We had breakfast (Which was yummy cereal!) and then left for the hike. Four people weren’t up for the hike today. It was hard. We hiked for 7 hours 30 minutes total. In the morning we went back into the valley, but it was harder and more uphill that yesterday. We saw the same scene from the day before except no field of spikes and thorns, no water in the riverbed, and it was hazy. The sky wasn’t clear and luckily it was breezy and very nice outside.
We had lunch at 1:50 and then a few minutes later we got to this little pond place. We were told we would go swimming today and this was the place. It was nice. In the middle of the forest/nowhere with trees and rocks surrounding it. However, there were like five other schools there. It was so crowded not a single one of us went swimming. And it was hot outside and there was cold water in front of us. (With about 500 eleven year olds in between) but a cool thing that happened there was a dragonfly landed on Jake’s hat. It’s so cool, there are so many animals here. Tadpoles, turtles, lizards, butterflies, dragonflies, snakes, (lots of ants and spiders), cows, dogs, and we even heard a wild boar when leaving the pond. But that was not cool, it was scary! We heard it groan and walk so we all walked very slowly and quietly. It was really scary!! After the pond we started walking, but there were like 5 groups in front of us. We passed all of them! That’s how good we are. J But it was so sad because as we were leaving in the other direction we saw tons of other spots we could have gone swimming in and there were no little kids there! Oh well, now they know for next year.
Then we got to the campsite and SURPRISE surprise!! There are bathrooms here!!! Though they aren’t that nice and they don’t flush, it’s still amazing!! Then we got the same soup as yesterday, (Onions, water, and croutons) oh well. And now I am here writing this!
(Later) After dinner we were all very cold. We got around the campfire and that’s when we first noticed the stray dog. It was very calm and friendly. It just sat next to us for warmth. Anyways, then we paired up with people to go on “dates” where we talk, ask questions, and get to know people. We even got a candle. I was paired with Amir, we had a nice talk. I really liked the activity because we all got to bond with people who are really nice but we just don’t always talk to. After that we went back to the campfire and the dog was still there. By now it was freezing and we went to bed. So I went to sleep. That had to be, without a doubt, the worst sleep of my life! I woke up six times (At 5:30 I could not fall back asleep) I was cold, cramped, and since our tent was broken on both sides my head and feet got soaked!! I was shivering all night! But I did not have the worst night. That stray dog that we saw earlier apparently went into Shaida, Ariela, and Hannah D.’s tent and spooned Shaida and barked at them. She got so scared she screamed, woke up the whole camp (practically, except for people who sleep like the dead like Hanna) and when the dog came in the second time they all slept in our madricha’s tent. But still I had a pretty bad night.
Day 3-
Today had a theme, COLD!!! In the morning it was FREEZING!! We got ready and started walking. The climb was supposed to be hard (and it was) so 3 sick guys stayed back and 2 injured girls got picked up after 1 hour. (Both Hanna(h)’s) (Not major injuries) So we started climbing and it was hard, and cold and windy. We climbed a lot and we were a bit behind schedule so we had lunch and then climbed the tallest mountain in the Galilee. It was cold!! And when I say climb, I mean we climbed rocks and it was so hard and steep at some points that we had to pull each other up! But it was super fun!! We could see Lebanon and Syria from the top. Nice view!! (And there was NO MILITARY BASE THERE!!!) Then we started hiking down. The downhill was steep!! But not as good as the morning, when we were rock climbing. (For a solid hour it was rocks and straight up!) Anyways, in the afternoon many people were tired because we had been hiking for about 8 hours. So for the last, flat, clearly marked, stretch we got to hike alone. (I was fifth) We basically got to walk alone for about an hour. There were amazing views!! And it was nice and quiet. About 50 minutes later I heard a “hey, HEY!!” behind me. It was Phil running up after me. He wanted to make it to the front because he was worried. There was no adult in front of us and he thought we would get lost or hurt. (We did not) I’m glad I was in the front because the person in back of me was the last person who got the nice relaxing walk alone. Oh well. Apparently, Phil sent us and then one girl behind us slipped and got a little bruise so Phil stopped sending people alone and ran after us but we were really ahead. Haha!
Then we got a quick bus ride to the campsite. We had a good bus driver because we were on one of those small, windy, one lane mountain paths, and there was a truck (and 2 other cars) going the other way. So we had to back up a lot! It was scary but he was a good driver. The campsite was horrible! The worst one we went to! Full of thorns and horse poop. It smelled disguising! I remember putting up my tent and seeing how the floor was two feet above the ground because it was on top of thorn bushes.
Then we had dinner which was really good, but I was jealous of the five people who stayed back because they got to go to a restaurant for lunch and eat Druze pizza. I hear they have the best food! Oh well. So we had dinner and it was cold and dark, then we had a campfire and FINALLY a little singing. Phil had brought his guitar so we sang a little, it was fun. Plus, we stuck a pot full of popcorn in the middle of the fire, (really, on top of the wood) (The wood was these wooden platforms that guys jumped on to break and burn, it was cool!) and it popped! YAY! Yummy popcorn! Then I went to sleep. I was really not in the mood to get wet that night, (Same tent that did not close on either side) so I put my bags at my feet and put on the warmest socks I had. It worked! But I did not sleep well anyways because there were thorns under me. L
Day 4-
Today is our last day!!! I’m so excited to go to the Mediterranean Sea!!!!!!! We woke up this morning at 6:00 again. This was the worst morning ever. It was freezing in the morning, I was cold, wet, (everything was damp!) hungry, and had to pee. Plus, I just did not have any motivation to get out of bed. It was bad! But I got up, got ready, took my tent down, (for the last time!) put away my mattress and sleeping bag, (for the last time! By the way, those sleeping bags were not very warm. Next year people should bring their own small sleeping bags!) and ate breakfast outside while standing in mud and horse poop. (For the last time of my life I hope!)
Then we were all ready! We started walking. About 1 hour later we came to a point when Phil thought it would be nice to take a walk alone like yesterday. But all of us would have a chance to go, and Phil would be in front. So we started walking and it was nice, but not nearly as nice as it had been the day before. Anyways about five minutes later I came to a turn and saw everyone just standing there waiting. (All the people who were in front of me) The road had changed and was very steep and downhill and Phil did not want anyone to do the path alone. So we had to wait a long time until another adult came. But every minute we just saw another kid!! We waited for about 45 minutes until an adult finally showed up! So then we started the descent which was fun. However at the bottom there was a turn that was not marked very well, so we waited a while for the rest of the people to show up because there was a huge gap. BUT no one showed for about 20 minutes so we just left a note on the rock and left. By now we were about 1 hour and 15 minutes behind schedule. And we had to walk 8 kilometers before lunch! So we started walking very quickly which was fine because now it was pretty flat. We were walking in the middle of a valley along the river.
Once we had to cross the river and there it was flat and shallow. About 1 inch of water. So I thought I would cross there instead of walking to the bridge about 20 feet away (FAR!) so I started walking and got about half way there when I slipped. What I did not know was that there was about 1 inch of slippery moss under the 1 inch of water!!! So I slipped and got soaking wet! Since I was in front and like everyone saw me fall, I was the only one who slipped and got wet. Oh well. Luckily I carried around a skirt the whole trip in case something like that every happened, so I put on the skirt over the wet shorts I was wearing. Then like two hours later we went to this place where some people went swimming, so I was not the only wet person. And I dried off eventually. However it was not that sunny or hot, lately the weather has been very cold. Anyways, by 10 am we were very behind schedule, Phil told us we would have to walk very quickly and we might make it to our lunch spot by 1 pm. So we walked!!! We were going so fast!!!! By 1:02 we (the people in the front) made it to the lunch spot!! Finally! No more hiking!
We had lunch and got on our bikes to bike until the Mediterranean. (About 10 kilometers) A few people did not know how to bike so they were bused, but I got on a helmet and got a bike. Then we started biking, at first it was rocky but flat. Then we biked on a road, and then we biked on a really rocky and bumpy path. It was funny because we had to have a whole talk about bike rules, safety, how to properly pass, and be careful on the road because Israeli drivers aren’t aware of bikers. So after about an hour (that felt like 10 minutes) we stopped. I was like “what???” but everyone got off the bikes and helmets and started walking. We were there!!! We biked 10 km in one hour and walked 8km in 6 hours!! HHHMMM, interesting. Haha, anyways yay!!!! The Mediterranean!! And no one got hurt or fell off their bikes. It was definitely a highlight of the trip. (Plus I was lucky and did not have to bike with my backpack, I gave it to a friend that was bused there. So yeah, after going to an Independence war memorial we walked to the beach and touched the water! It was so cool!! We had a little ceremony and then were bused to where we would go swimming. I did not swim because we had 30 minutes there. We had to change and go in the water, dry off and get dressed again in 30 minutes. It wasn’t worth it! So I just sat on the beach and thought about the past few days. How we bonded with people, hiked, biked, camped, and did everything that is yam leh yam.
After swimming in the Mediterranean Sea we were bused to a restaurant in Acco. It was really good food!!! Kabob! But the best part was the bathroom! It had toilets, soap, and mirrors! It was nice! After that we got on the buses (It was a girl’s bus and a boy’s bus, idk why) but like 10 minutes later both buses pulled over. Guess what? The guy’s bus had hit a car! It was a small collision with no one hurt and almost no damages to the car. However remember on Purim when the other bus (one I was not on) hit a car on the way to Tel Aviv? It was the same bus driver that hit the car again! You would think the school would not use him anymore…..oh well. Then we drove home and showered and slept!!!! I slept through the night, It WAS AMAZING!!!!!! (Pauses for dramatic affect)
Side note: Maps and ETA. We have one map we follow this whole trip. It tells us the trails, sights, stops, and just about everything. (The trails are marked periodically on rocks and stuff) it’s annoying because all the time people ask Phil, “Where are we?” “How much farther?” “How much longer?” and stuff like that. Phil usually doesn’t even know where we are on the map. Just somewhere on the trail, so he guestimates. He is sometimes wrong. He once said 2 hours and we were there 15 minutes later. Once he said the uphill stopped in 10 minutes and we were climbing for almost an hour!! oh well. I wonder what would happened if the map suddenly disappeared??….or got wet or ripped? …………….Jk!! It’s laminated!
Side note: Trip and fall. The trails we are on everyday are very bumpy, rocky, uneven, narrow, and sometimes steep!! I have slipped and fallen a ton. But it’s nothing compared to the scratches and scrapes I have from the thorns.
We went to Tzfat last weekend, it was fun!! Tzfat is a really old and holy city in Judaism. You can tell. Nowadays it’s very religious and cultural. Lots of art is sold there. So on Friday after school we got on the buses to go to Tzfat. Just to clarify, after the weekend we go straight to Yam Leh Yam (Sea to Sea). So we had to pack for both trips. We got to our youth hostel, it was nice. I was in a room with Hanna, Sofia, and Ariela. Our room in the dorms minus Cassie. Anyways on Friday night we went to services. Girls went to an all girl’s service and the guys went somewhere else. The women’s service was nice. We sang and danced a lot. It was in a really cool glass factory/store. Plus, it was really cool to sing Lecha Dodi (A prayer that welcomes the Shabbat like a bride) in the actual city it was invented in!!! You could feel the thousands of years of history there. After so many years we still sing that prayer just like it was sung when it was invented.
Following services we had dinner (At like 8!) and then went to our rooms. For like an hour we all sat on our beds while I growled and tried to teach everyone else (People in the room) how to growl. Ariela was so CUTE when she tried to growl!! She just went, “Rawr!” in her normal voice. Hanna made a pathetic attempt; she tried a few times and gave up. I kept telling them it’s not from their voice but from their throat!! Oh well. Sofia growled pretty well (for a newbie…) she even tried talking and growling like I do. (It’s a talent!) Then we went to sleep and I got a good night’s sleep!
In the morning we woke up late and had breakfast. Then we had time to explore and walk around the empty streets of Tzfat. It was really pretty!!! We saw houses, shuls, ruins of a shul, pamphlet’s (That said Tzfat had a Beit Dien. I thought those were extinct…) Jews, and the most amazing view of mountains and a valley. All we could see were mountains, grass, trees, and flowers. It was so cool! I kept thinking what our ancestors thought when they looked at what I saw. It was surreal. So pretty! There were even birds flying around to really make the scene! However after like 20 minutes we got bored and just chilled with other TIF kids. It was fun! Then we had lunch and after we walked to a park with a really nice view. Someone had brought scrabble so I played. After like two hours I won! Yay!! With a score of 153. I know, I know, it’s not that much, but I was happy!
Then we walked back to the hostile, chilled for a while, and at 7 we had dinner. (I forgot to mention that Friday night the guys went to a really old Mikvah and the girls had an activity. We sat in a circle and told funny, embarrassing, and romantic stories. It was fun!) After dinner we had havdallah at an old historical shul. However it was very crowded and there was this creepy dude who kept standing next to us. (Us being TIF kids) He was weird looking and wouldn’t talk. We just attract weird people!! During havdalah there was a lot of dancing (Guys only) and two TIF kids got to wear and dance in one of those furry black hats!!
After havdalah, we had time to walk around Tzfat. I walked around with some people and bought snacks for Yam Leh Yam (Thank God!!) and then we came across a huge crowd of men dancing in the streets. There was music, flags, banners, dancing, white robes, black suits, and bumper stickers. On one side of the street a bunch of men in white robes were going crazy and dancing. (The na Nach’s) On the other side of the street there was a larger group of men in black suits just standing there. The contrast was quite apparent. A few TIF guys danced. They really got to experience Tzfat!! I really wanted to talk to some guys and ask them why they are dancing, but when I tried to approach them they dropped their heads down and quickly shuffled away. Oh well. Jake asked them why they were dancing and they said because they were blessing the new moon. It was cool, and they handed out bumper stickers. (Which are now on our wall at the dorms) After the dancing we walked around the art district and took a ton of pictures, it was super fun!! Then we went back to the youth hostel. I think it was the first time ever that we slept in a youth hostel twice. REALLY!!! So we slept and I got the last good night’s sleep I would get for a while.
Yay!!! It’s finally Yom Ha’atzmaut!!!! Israel is 61 years old!!! J For Yom Ha’atzmaut we went to the Hod Hasharon celebration Tuesday night. Usually people say it’s really fun, but this year they lost a lot of money. So anyways, at night we all walked to this park (like 30 minutes away) however apparently we went to the family party. We showed up and saw kids everywhere!!! This huge park was filled with moon bounces, food stands, and a boring band playing on the side. So we met up with our Israeli friends and they told us we were at the wrong party!! There is a family party and teen party. So we walked to the teen party which was a band playing in this tiny park. There was pizza and ice cream and that’s it! The family party looked like more fun! Basically, it was a big disappointment. Everyone said last year was really good and this year sucks! Oh well. So me and a few friends went to the other party and bought food. Then we just hung out and watched the fireworks (which were really cool!) by then it was like 10:30, but we did not want to go back to the dorms! Our curfew wasn’t until 1 am! Take advantage of the opportunity. However, our Israeli friends got calls from their parents saying there was a bomb threat, so we left and went to a park. (A new one! I have been to like six parks in Hod Hasharon so far.) There we hung out until 12:30. At 12:30 we started walking back towards the dorms however at 12:55 we were still a few blocks away. Plus the madrichim had told us that if we were even a minute late we would have to stay home tomorrow. So we ran the rest of the way and made it back at 12:57! Yay, we are fast! J
The next day we woke up late! Then we had breakfast and got on the buses to go to our Madrich, Nitzans kibbutz. We got there and it was so nice!!! There was a huge pool, tons of grass, places to sit, a few buildings, a volleyball court, basketball court, it was like a country club. I thought kibbutzim were small and crappy. I was wrong. Then we met these kids from another group like ours called EIE. They are just like us, here for 4 months, same trips, from USA, but they live on a kibbutz. So we of course are cooler. It seems that everyone our group meets hates us because we all think we are so cool and we walk around like we are the best. And we say things that make everyone hate us. We don’t socialize with other groups very well. Plus its awkward because here are these kids we meet once in our life and will probably never see again and we are supposed to “socialize” with them and become friends. It usually doesn’t work….. So anyways we met them, and then there were activities. Volleyball and Soccer. If we were not playing we were supposed to be cheering on our team. I watched the volleyball. Our team was all girls from our Varsity volleyball team. They were good! At first our team was not cheering (We were winning the whole time) but then later Alex got up and started singing “Shake that Ass with me” and dancing. It was so funny. That’s how Milken cheers! We won all three games. I don’t know/care if we won in soccer. After soccer there was a swimming race. It was freestyle and butterfly. We had two guys from our Milken swimming team there. They were both very good. (Amir and Daniel SP.) However the other two people on our team were not that good and we lost all three races…oh well. They had fun! After we were all allowed to do whatever we wanted. Some people swam, some sunbathed. I read and sunbathed. It was nice. The perfect day! Then I read some more in the shade of a tree. It was nice and I finished my book. It was so good!!! (The wedding by Nicholas Sparks) After that we had a barbeque with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and steak!! But I did not get any steak L. Then we left and went back to the dorms. I blogged a little and then went to bed because guess what? We have school tomorrow!!! YAY!! (Not)
Today is Yom Hazicharon, which is the memorial and Remembrance Day for all the fallen soldiers of Israel. It is a lot like holocaust remembrance day, very mellow, sad, slow, and the siren goes throughout all of Israel. When the siren goes off, everything stops. Cars, people, everything just stops and people stand up and look down, remembering the fallen people. So last night we all went to the Park and watched the ceremony for the fallen soldiers of Hod Hasharon. It was very moving. We all heard the siren and then the ceremony started. A bunch of kids sang a nice song, and then some man talked a little in Hebrew. Then a slideshow played that had the names and pictures of every soldier who died from Hod Hasharon and when they died. It was heartbreaking; it just kept going and going. Hod Hasharon is very small, yet so many people sacrificed their lives for Israel. Then the ceremony was over and we all came back to campus where one of our madrichim’s friends talked to us about the army and his experience. He was in the tank unit and he told us what it was like. The tanks, the war, losing his friends, and making friends. He told us about the amazingly strong bonds that people form in the army. Lately I have been thinking about moving to Israel and maybe even working for the army. Just working for it, not joining it!!!! No fighting for me!!! But anyways he talked; it was cool but pretty random.
We also watched a movie about Michael Lavin, an American who joined the Israeli army. He had grown up in Philadelphia, gone to camp Ramah, and gone to Alexander Muss like I am right now. After high school he moved to Israel and joined the Israeli army. In 2006 in the second Lebanon war, he was killed at age 22. It was so sad, he was a person just like we are. He really sat in the classroom that I learn English in. And he was killed. In the movie everyone talked about how much they loved Michael and how great he was. So eager to help Israel. His parents had him buried on Har Herzl with other soldiers from the IDF. In the movie his parents talked about how they were afraid they would not have a minyan at the funeral because they did not know many people in Israel. In the end, over 3 thousand people showed up.
On Memorial Day we woke up late (at ten!) which was awesome! Unfortunately, breakfast was over so I had a little yogurt. Oh well. (Lately there has not been any cereal in the dining hall so I have been eating more and more yogurt.) Then I packed my stuff and wore my white shirt AGAIN (we all had to wear white shirts like four times) and left. We went to Latrun, the tank museum, for the national Yom Hazicharon ceremony. There they have all the names of every soldier that fought and died for Israel. So this year there was a ceremony honoring all of them and putting up the names of soldiers who were killed this year. It was unbearably HOT!! You have no idea how miserable it was outside! We had to sit still for 1 hour. I was sweating SO MUCH! Gross! But anyways, we were sitting in the way back so I could not see a thing! Or understand it! So basically I did not connect with or like the ceremony. One thing I did like was the fact that they gave roses to every person who personally lost someone or was mourning someone. Then you could really see how many people in Israel have lost someone in a war. It is said that over 90% of Israelis know personally someone who died in the army. Those numbers are huge! So many people have lost loved ones, it’s tragic.
After Latrun we had lunch (same as always) and then went on a hike in Yitzchak Rabin Park. It was a hike where practically the whole time we could see the Burma Road. During the Independence war, Jerusalem was under siege so Mickey Marcus, (an American) found a new path/road to Jerusalem. It was rough and through mountains but it worked and Jerusalem was saved! So we hiked near the road (which is an actual road now) and it was a hard hike! 2 hours, uphill, scorching hot, and yet I was still in front the whole way. I was first to finish (of course) however this time there were like four girls who also stayed in front the whole time. It was nice because we talked, walked, and finished first! After our hike we went back to the dorms for much needed showers. You would not believe how sweaty we all were, it was gross!! Plus our room was really hot! I remember sitting on my bed and my feet made sweat marks, haha. Ok, yeah, bye!
I forgot to mention that on our hike we passed tons of places where battles in the Independence Day war took place. They were everywhere! And there were nice memorials there. It was the perfect hike for Memorial Day and other schools thought so too. We passed like five different groups of kids. Ok, now I’m done!
Yesterday night after school we went to Jerusalem, to Har Herzl, for the rehearsal Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration. It was amazing!!!! We left school at like 5:50 and got there really late! We were supposed to be there at 7 and we got there at 7:05. It was full already!!! And we went to the security guards to ask where to sit. They asked how many of us there were, we said 60. Their jaws dropped!!! SIXTY???? How in the world are we going to find sixty seats??? So we were told to just go and find seats wherever, and then wait until after when most people were gone to find the group. So Hanna and I got seats in the third row on the right side. They were pretty good seats! The program didn’t start until 8 so we were just sitting there. I took a second to look around. Here is what I saw. A huge stage with two big screens and twelve little ones. The grave of Theodore Herzl in the middle of the stage. Twelve podiums, two cameras on the sides, one camera in back in the tech booth, 10 VIP seats, and really pretty pictures and animations on the screens. Lots of Israeli flags and tons of people and security. It was nice, but I bet it was a lot bigger last year at the sixtieth. Oh well.
Then the ceremony started. YAY!!! The army band played some music, and lots of soldiers in their uniforms started marching with flags. Then there was a speaker who spoke about stuff in Hebrew. He is some important guy in the Knesset. Then there was lots of marching by the soldiers and then there was a singer who sang to commemorate the fallen soldiers of Israel. While she was singing all the screens were filled with names of people who died fighting for Israel and fighting for the Jewish state. That really made me realize how amazing Israel is, how lucky we are to have it, how hard we have struggled for it, and how much it is worth keeping and protecting. I really love Israel and I think I will move here some day. This is such a special country.
Sorry, I should have given some background! Independence Day in Israel is one day after Memorial Day. Starting Monday night we commemorate all the fallen soldiers of Israel, and then on Tuesday night until Wednesday night, we celebrate the independence day of Israel. Memorial Day in Israel is very meaningful and a very sad day. More than 90 percent of Israeli’s know someone who has died fighting for Israel. It is such a tragedy!
Anyways, after that singer, there were more soldier performances and speakers. Then there were twelve speakers from Tel Aviv who told their life stories in like two minutes. Quite a variety. By the way, this year’s celebration was additionally dedicated to Tel Aviv and its 100th year anniversary. Tel Aviv was the first Modern Hebrew city. So there were people who fought in the original Palmach, a holocaust survivor from Aushwitz-Birkenau, and many more. They commemorated the twelve tribes of Israel. They all lit torches.
By now it was FREEZING outside!!!! We were all on top of a mountain and it was late at night, and windy!!! I was looking at those lucky people standing next to the torches and I was wishing that I was them. Then Bebe Netanyahu spoke, but it was just a recording. THEN, (I know it was really long) and bunch of cute little children did a dance, then there was another dance, then the army had a ceremony where they handed over two flags from one unit in the army to another. Then the army choir sang, they were really good!!! Then there was another dance with the children, who were good dancers. There were actually a bunch of dances, the one I liked the most was when a bunch of girls came out and danced with screens in front of them. They swayed from side to side and forward and back. Like they were a ton of faceless people we would never know. I felt like they were supposed to symbolize the soldiers, fallen in battle. We did not know they but they are forever in our hearts. Another cute dance was when the children got into formations to make shapes, like a Jewish star, the symbol for the army, symbol for Tel Aviv, and other cool things.
There were also fireworks at one point which were AWESOME!!!!!And there was just a lot of meaning to the celebration. Someone read a few pasukim from the torah. I just could not shake the thought about how in America memorial day and the fourth of July mean nothing. And here they are so amazing, important, and meaningful.
Also, there were a ton of army performances. And I saw the coolest thing ever!!!!! Women in skirts in the army!!!!! Green or white skirts that match their uniforms!!!! They were in skirts and heels in the performance. It was so cool!!! I want to join the army and wear those cool skirts and heels!!!!! No but really, I kind of want to join the army now. Not fight or anything, but work for it somehow and help the state of Israel. Seriously, no one appreciates it as much as we should, and I want to!!! But I probably will just move to Israel. However, you never know……
A few nights ago we went to an Earth Day concert in Tel Aviv. It was late at night, like 8, and they were going to conserve energy and turn off all the lights. (Street lights) plus they did not use any electricity for the concert. And since a ton of people were there, they were not at home using electricity. So we got there like two minutes before they turned off the lights. We had two hours there. We walked to the concert and I finally understood how big the concert was. There were I think thousands of people there. Really, everywhere there were people!!! So we held hands and started pushing our way through people. There was no room at all!!! We got to a place pretty far from the stage but we could see some of it. So we stayed. I was like smushed in between people. Everyone was drunk or drinking, and smoking, or dancing and stepping on people’s feet. It sucked. Someone dropped their beer bottle on my foot and a cigarette too! EW!! Not fun, and people were pushing! But the music was cool. It was some rapper who rapped in English. And the music was cool, but it was so loud the ground was actually shaking! Some guys climbed up the camera station and were dancing on top of it (it was a raised platform) and I bet they had the best view of the stage but they went forced to get down. So like 30 minutes later I had had enough. We walked around the streets, bought some food, and just hung out. It felt so good to get away from all the smoke, it was disgusting! And even from a few blocks away we could hear the music loud and clear! That is about it. It was fun, and then we went home and got back really late. I was SO TIRED!!! Because I was still a bit Jet Lagged. Oh well. They saved a lot of energy, yay!
A few days ago we went to Tel Aviv to learn about the city and how it was the first Modern Hebrew city outside Jaffa. We got on the buses in the morning and were told that we were going to have the best ice cream in Israel when we were there. The madrichim made it sound like it was going to right when we got there. But we got there, and we sat down in this courtyard and learned. We learned about how a lot of people came in the late 1800’s to Israel and there was a housing shortage. So Nevai Tzedek was made outside Yaffo. It was a small neighborhood where a ton of really famous Israeli founding fathers lived. So we learned about the town, and the first school built there, and how it expanded, and then the goal was to build the first modern Hebrew city. We learned about the Hebrew culture, why Tel Aviv was named that, and more stuff about Tel Aviv.
THEN after like hours of class we went to this little ice cream shop. It was not that good, just normal ice cream. It was way too built up. Oh well. Then we walked around Nevai Tzedek and saw the houses where famous people lived. Plus we saw the second shul there and we went to an art museum with art from that time and place. It was really weird art, kind of scary and dark. I did not find any redeeming qualities from most things. Then after the museum we went to Independence hall in Tel Aviv. We saw the place where the state of Israel was declared and we learned about the war of Independence a little more. It was so cool to be there!!! It is this little small inconspicuous building on a main street in Tel Aviv. Inside you see the actual place where people sat, the actual chairs, microphone, table, and documents used. It was so cool because Israel is such a young state they have the declaration of Independence of video, and they used microphones there!!! Plus we saw a copy of the invitation that 250 people got. It said, “On some date in 1948 the Jewish state of Israel will be declared in Tel Aviv at 4 in the afternoon. Please keep this information a secret.” Are they crazy???? Yes at that time Jerusalem was under siege, and yes they were in the middle of a war, and yes they were worried about security, but really???? For the first time in 2,000 YEARS there will be a Jewish state, and they want it kept a secret? The actual declaration was not finalized until the day it was read, so they did not have time to write it on the parchment. They had papers that were held in front of a piece of parchment and then later it was written down for real. Ben Gurion’s assistant had to deliver the papers at 4 in the afternoon on a Friday. There is usually NO TRAFFIC AT ALL then. So at like 3:50 he left, and guess what he saw? TONS OF PEOPLE FILLING THE STREET waiting to hear the state of Israel become official. He got there just in time. Really, he got there, handed Ben Gurion the paper, and then Ben Gurion started reading. Another cool thing was that the building was chosen because it is underground, it is safe!!! They were worried about a bombing. The horrible thing is that that night bombs started falling on Tel Aviv.
Then we went to a market in Tel Aviv called Shankin. It is a true Israeli market. Shops and stalls everywhere, people yelling out deals, good food, lots of piles of clothing, and much more. But we were not there to shop and tour (Though we did have time) We had to interview five different people about their Jewish identity, and what cultures and traditions they practice, and what their opinions are on a few things. It sucked!!! We had to ask people who were shopping and did not want to be interrupted. We asked an orthodox person, a soldier, a person born in Israel, a new immigrant, and an old person. The first four people were easy to find and we just videotaped them. It was like one minute of questions. But the new immigrant was HARD to find!!! We asked a ton of people how long they lived in Israel and they said 30 years, 40, 43, my whole LIFE!!!!! It was so annoying!!! But finally we found a Russian lady. By the way, did I mention that these people spoke Hebrew!!! It was so annoying!! Asking weird questions in Hebrew. After interviewing those people Hanna and I went shopping and bought matching angel wing necklaces and then got really good frozen yogurt.
Later we went to the place where Yitzchak Rabin was killed. We learned all about him and why he was killed. Plus by who. I can’t believe any Jew would kill another Jew. That is horrible. Before that Israel had been such a great country, but after that everyone was sad and shocked. Like, Israel is just like every other country, full of power hungry killers, and angry evil people. Seriously, after he was killed, Israel was in shock and was sad and depressed for weeks. Everyone was ashamed that something like that had happened. A few days after he was shot, someone graffitied next to the place the word Silicha, which means sorry. Everyone was so sorry that happened. I love how in Israel graffiti is nice and meaningful. That was and the pasuk of torah written on the southern wall in Jerusalem. The wall next to the western wall. (It’s the same thing, just southern) (Plus a fun fact, in 1967 when Israel won the six day war and got the old city of Jerusalem, that Pasuk was read by the Kotel by a rabbi!)
A few days ago we had Yom Hashoah, holocaust remembrance day. (Fun fact: Its actually called holocaust and resistance day to honor all the fighters and heroes during World War II) I was not excited for Yom Hashoah because we had already learned about the holocaust for three days straight. Plus I had gotten off the plane that afternoon. But anyways, Monday night all we did was go to a ceremony on campus. And we were supposed to hear the siren but I don’t think it went off. Whatever. I was pretty indifferent about the ceremony. Yes I was sad and remembering people, but I had already done it!
However the next day was different. We had class in the morning and then we left class to go outside during the siren. The moment it went off you could see the change. People stopped, cars stopped, all was silent. EVERYTHING was still and quiet (except for the siren) everyone had their heads down and it was just a somber feeling/moment. It was good and very appropriate. I kept thinking about how in America that would never happen. Imagine the 10 and 405 just stopping. I can’t unless I imagine rush hour, hahaha! (Funny J) Anyways the rest of the day you could sense the sadness. All music on the radio was slow and sad, and everyone walked/ drove slower with their heads down (symbolically) and in all of our classes we did something holocaust related. In core we watched clips and learned some more, in English we read holocaust poems, in Hebrew we even looked at charts of countries that said how many Jews lived there before and how many were killed. It was really truly horrifying! Poland’s numbers were so high, like skyscrapers next t the one story houses for other countries. It is just a horrible and sad day. It was nice to know that everyone felt the same way. All of Israel was experiencing the same stuff we were. It really made me feel like we will never forget…
