Big Orange Backpack

I moved into the dorms at Hebrew University yesterday, Jake and I realised when we got out of the sherut from Tel Aviv that we didn't actually know where we were going. It was all pretty unorganised, registration and all. There were no signs on campus, but I made it, and my roommate is really nice and I met some really cool people. I'm super excited to start classes and I think I'm spending the weekend on Leemore's kibbutz.

I went to the Kotel last night, it was midnight and packed and I love it there.. We were hanging out in the Old City and decided.. hey.. let's just go to the holiest place on earth? And we did. I LOVE ISRAEL.

Now, don't get me wrong. Egypt has been once in a life-time, and I've seen amazing things, and I'm so greatful. But I'm so ready to leave. Since Mike left us yesterday we've gotten as harassed on the streets of Luxor as we did in Cairo. To buy things, to take taxis, falukas... I'm so ready to walk down the street with my Star of David necklace and hebrew t-shirts, and feel safe.. as a woman.. a Jew.. a white person.

Yesterday we took a faluka ride down the Nile for four hours, which was beautiful, and we saw the sunset from it. So beautiful. I wish we could've gone swimming, the water was so warm, but it looked so dirty. Jake made this comment.. "People have been doing this for over 5,000 years." How cool is that? We stopped at "Banana Island" where they grow lots of fruit, but alas, it was all not ripe yet. We walked out of our hostel this morning after sleeping in really late, which was SO nice. We went to lunch, pizza, and now we're sitting around waiting for the noon-day sun to pass to go shopping. When we walked out of our hostel it was the midday prayers on Friday, the most important of the week, and the entire town was stopped and everyone was on the sidewalk on their knees praying. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, hundreds of people lining the sidewalks. If I could've taken a photo I would've, I wish I could've.

Oh, and yesterday, that Celine Dion song played 7 times in a row. Not so funny. Now N*Sync's "As Long as You Love Me" came on. Haha. Oh wow, now "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely". Hardcore.

So we arrived in Luxor in the morning, and the train station was crazy. We were lucky enough to run into the guys that run our hostel outside and they drove us to the hotel. We got two rooms with three beds each, they had no four bed rooms, since Keturah and Mike were still travelling with us. Both of our rooms, luckily, had A/C, although mine and Jakes worked far better. After checking in and taking a short nap we rented bikes and rode to the Karnak and Luxor Temples. The Karnak Temple was like nothing I've ever seen, it was enormous, and I can't imagine what it looked like when it had a roof and was complete. When I get back to Cairo I'll upload the photos. I've gotten so in shape since being here, I've been walking and exercising everyday, and the 2 mile bike ride there and back in the heat was nothing, compared to a similar bike ride the day after I got to Israel, which kicked my ass. Although that was a bit hilly, and the bike here was better. But it was hotter here. I'm getting used to the heat, but it's still unbelivable. It's 104, but with the humidity of the Nile and the UV index (10+) at EXTREME, it's unreal. On the way there we had to stop halfway because Mike's bike chain was broken, so we went back and got a new bike before setting out again. And then this crazy/deaf man crashed into me, it was pretty scary actually, I totally bent his front wheel with mine, but, literally, 15 people came over to help, and they all told me that he was crazy and that the accident was 100% his fault. Everyone in town knows our names, where we're staying, and when we got here. There are hardly any tourists down here, but more on why that is later. After coming back to the hostel we went to a nice restaurant with great food and fresh squeezed OJ, which I've grown very used to both here and in Israel. We came back and went to sleep at 9, because we were waking up early today, and because we had hardly slept on the train. On the train ride down we met a woman that converted to Islam, married a Sudanese man, and moved to Cairo, and she was whiter than me and from Idaho. It was really random, she helped us get off the train. Anyway, this morning we woke up at 5 and had a great breakfast at the hostel and went out to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens (two different places) as well as Hasheput temple. I can't spell it, but believe me, I was there. The tombs in the Valley of the Kings were really cool, a lot of colour remained on the walls, and even though it's officially forbidden to take photos, the guards that were supposed to be enforcing that kept asking us for a bribe to take our photos in front of the painted walls, which the flashing would eventually destroy. We passed, as the good world citizens we are. The Hasheput temple was beautiful, and it was carved into the mountain face of a cliff. On the way back I was reading our guide book about the Temple, because I forgot to before we got there, and I read that in 1997 there was an al-Queda funded attack on tourists there, and 58 people were killed. Since then tourism down here has plumited. And that might also explain the kind treatment we've recieved from everyone here, and why everyone knows we're here, because they get so few Americans. Sidenote: Everyone here tries to guess our nationality and it always goes: Australian? No. English? No. Canada? No. American? Yes. Welcome to Alaska. They always say that. It's so strange. Anyway, tonight we're taking a faluka ride on the Nile, and hopefully going back to that place we ate at last night. This afternoon Mike left to go back to Cairo before jumping a plane to Greece tonight. So now it's just Jake, Ketura, and myself. It'll feel weird travelling without him, and it'll be hard not having him to help us carry our bags.

Hehe, Israel and Egypt feels like it's on time-warp. All the songs are from around 1995. I will go on from the Titanic soundtrack, with Celine Dion just came on in the internet cafe.

I'll post photos when I get wireless in the hostel in Cairo.

We're not planning on doing much tomorrow but buying some souvenirs and hanging out. It's funny how being here a few days has changed my perceptions of some things. I'm excited at a bathroom that isn't a hole in the ground, and if it has toilet paper I'm positively giddy. And paying more than 80 cents for a 1.5 leter water will feel weird. I've never sweated or drank so much water in my life. I like Luxor, it's more small town, and I am not looking forward to going back to the craziness of Cairo.. but I can't wait to see Coptic Cairo and Ben Ezra Synagogue. Nor can I wait to get back to the Motherland. A week is far too long to be away..

http://rutgers.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048026&l=c128a&id=8818340

Last night we went out with two Canadian guys we met at the hostel to a really exotic restaurant.. TGI Fridays. But it was on the Nile, which was cool. We were watching the World Cup match outside on a big screen, which was really fun, sitting around outside, floating on the Nile and smoking hookah, cheering on Tunisia vs. Spain. We got back kind of early, and I wanted to go to sleep immediately, but I ended up talking to the guy at the hostel for almost an hour, about politics and religion, but we really skirted things after he found out that I'm Jewish. I waited a while before telling him, to make sure it was safe and that he'd be chill. He said I was the first Jewish person he'd ever met, and if they were all like me "it would be good". I guess that was a compliment.
This morning we woke up at 7, and were out by 8ish to go out to Giza, Saqqara, and Memphis. In my travel books I was told to get out early, because especially in the summer, the desert can be exhausting, which proved to be very true. We first went to Giza, which I kept calling Gaza by accident, and we rented camels to ride around for about three hours. We first went to a good picture taking mound, where my camera died and I had to buy new batteries from the guide for 30LE. He rode his horse back to get them for me, and we just hung out waiting for him, taking in the beautiful view. The pyramids were everything, and nothing like I imagined. I never believed I would actually see them in person, and I still don't believe I have. I couldn't help but think that my ancestors were slaves building them, but it made me proud that such an amazing feat was accomplished by the Jews. And I also gained much more respect for the 40 years spent in the desert after spending four hours in it. We rode around the pyramids, then walked up to them, taking photos the whole time, then over a bit to the Sphinx before it got really hot and we rode back. Our guide cornered us on the way back for tips and it took a little while to give him enough but not too much in order to get back to the cab. We ordered a cab for the day to take us around, and the next stop was Saqqara. Those pyramids there were much emptier than the famous ones, and they were older as well, the models the Egyptians used for the Great Pyramids in Giza. Haha, I just typed Gaza. We walked around in tombs, and that was amazing, the colour was still on a lot of the carvings, and unlike the Met where everything is under glass, lock and guard, here there was nobody in the rooms, and we were left to wander and touch everything we wanted to. We were starting to get tired and hungry at that point, so we then went to the museum in Memphis, which was really cool, but we rushed back fairly soon to eat and shower. When we were waiting in line to buy our tickets some guys that worked there saw that my wallet was from Israel, that it had Hebrew writing on it, and they started yelling about Israel and Jews, but I walked away and ignored it.. It reminded me of my nervousness of the day before, and looking at a giant statue of Ramses and I was again, reminded of it. We are now waiting around to take the train down to Luxor tonight for overnight. I'm liking Egypt much more than I was yesterday..

This has been, absolutely, positively, the weirdest day of my life. The bus left from Tel Aviv at 6, and the ride from Eilat to Taba (the border crossing) was fairly peaceful, I slept for two of the five hours. Then the bus company let us off at the border and we shleped our stuff over the border, which felt a bit sketchy at the time, but we were still feeling pretty jolly and taking photos. We got to know the people we were on the bus with a little bit, but it wasn't until we got to the Egyptian side that shit went south, and everyone on the bus became friends. Half the people on the bus didn't have a visa and when the rest of us got to the other side, waiting for our Egyptian connecting bus, we were greeted with crickets. We were in the middle of the Negev desert, stranded. No connecting bus. Nobody around but amused Egyptian soldiers. Everyone, however, kept in good spirits, still taking photos and laughing, trying to figure out what to do - how to get to Cairo. I met one kid from Regina, Canada that knew my friend Katherine, who I knew from Belgium. We waited, laughing, planning, talking, for two hours and then suddenly a man with a briefcase ran up and said "I AM WITH MAZADA, I AM HERE TO SERVE YOU!" He handled the kids without visas, obtaining them for them, and then put us in a bus. There was an Egyptian on the Israeli side that brought tons of shit with him, and he was already on the other side, and had packed the van up and layed himself out on the back row. So we piled in and rode across the Sinai desert for hours. We made one rest stop, and the woman's bathroom was a hole in the ground with a place to put your feet. I was so tired I didn't even care. Apparently there was a bucket for poop, which wasn't cleaned out ever so often, but I thankfully missed that in my haze. We were travelling for fourteen hours before arriving in Cairo. I brought way too much shit compared to the backpacking kids we hooked up with, a Brazilian named Mike and an American girl from Buffalo that nobody remembers her name. The decided to come with Jake and I to our hostel next to the Egypt Museum. We were led all around the city by assholes that wanted us to go to their friend's hotels, but I eventually got our hostel on the phone and they gave directions to a cab driver that got us here, finally, around noon. We settled in before going to the Egypt Museum, which was amazing and interesting, but falling apart and really quite sad. We hadn't eaten at that point in almost a day, but everywhere was closed, for lunch. Which makes about zero sense. We then grabbed some food, but it was gross and the heat totally killed my appetite. We then booked our tickets for Luxor, tomorrow night, and we're travelling with the two friends we made from the bus. The girl was on birthright, and we're thinking about coming back early and going back with her and spending a day or two on the beach in Tel Aviv before registration at Hebrew University, so we would return Sunday instead of Thursday, and skip Aswan. It's wicked hot in Cairo, I can't imagine what it'll be like down south.

I am really unsure about how I feel about Egypt. I took my star of David off at the prompting of Greg2 and Greg3, as well as the reaction I got from a border guard when he realised I'm Jewish. The traffic here is crazy, we just walk cross speeding traffic and hope for the best, and you have to argue with taxi drivers, there are no meters, well there are, but nobody uses them. The men have also noticed my friend and I with our white skin, light hair, and bright eyes, and the attention is not that welcome. The mosque announcements over loudspeakers is startling. It's so different here.. I've never experienced ANYTHING like Cairo, that's for sure.

Anyway, that's it. It's definately interesting, but I am excited to go home to Israel.

Hey all -

I changed my settings so anyone can leave a comment.

Not much new here, we're leaving tonight if everything goes according to schedule, we'll be leaving our bags in our hostel while going to Independence Hall and Rabin Square, and our bus leaves at 6 tonight. It's been so weird and cool hanging out with Jake, we've known each other since we were 10, but haven't talked since we were about 15. But fun weird, it feels like we're still 15 but we're roaming around the mideast together. I wish we could tell our 9th grade history teacher - she'd be so amused.

Anyway, hope all is well with everyone.
Much love-
Bethany

Jake arrived yesterday and we spent Shabbat on the beach.. soo much fun. We've been hanging out with my friends from birthright, Israeli and American kids. We leave for Egypt tomorrow night. Yay!!

Before I begin talking about the end of birthright a quick note on how stupid I am.

I've been using a converter that my aunt gave me to charge my computer but it hasn't been working the whole trip, only charging for fifteen seconds on and off for an hour or so. Apparently converters are only supposed to be used short term, and on top of it, my computer's adapter can handle Israeli electricity voltage - so I've been without my computer for no reason for the past two weeks.

Anyway, I was overwhelmed at finishing this blog about birthright because I didn't have a chance to keep up day-to-day, but everyone's emails and facebook messages inspired me.

I missed some stuff from the last entry - not counting the 4 line message from Jerusalem.

I'm totally off on timing, I'm reading off of the itinerary that Jamie sent me, and my days might be off on when we did what where. But ohh wells.

After Shabbos we went to an ancient park, Beit Guvrin. We dug a bit with archaeologists in a cave, I was a bit bored, I'm not sure why, it was really awesome, I think I was just discouraged because everyone around me was finding pottery and bones from 2,000 years ago and I was too lazy to look. I have some good pictures with hoes though. Haha, I meant to make that dirty. We went cave crawling through claustrophbic.. caves.. It was so scary and I was having a panic attack most of the time, but it was really cool. We then went to an absorption centre where we met a whole bunch of Ethopian kids that just moved here, but considering we don't speak Hebrew and they didn't speak English, it was a waste of time. I played soccer with them, but I'm used to being a goalie on grass, and I dove to save the ball, which I did, but I caught it with my face and scraped my knee up and bruised it really well. I felt like a badass. We then drove down into the desert, and the view was unbelievable. I have never in my life seen something that beautiful. We got out and we realised we were all sleeping together on mats in a big tent right next to each other. I called Andrew as my snuggle buddy for the night, and we went out on camels after having a very refreshing watermelon and lemonade. The camel ride was amazing, I think I may've cheated on Greg with three of them. We rode into the desert a bit and turned around, and I rode every turn and never walked - it was SO much fun. I then called Sal from the middle of the desert, which was a weird feeling - talking to him and he sounded so close, but I was so far away. We then had an AMAZING dinner, I was sitting with such fun people, and after a wonderful blessing from Joe we dug into lamb kabob and rice and humus. I tried to sleep after that, but couldn't so I jumped out of the tent and had a bit of hookah before finally crashing. Andrew came into the tent at 1ish and we spooned until 3, when we were awoken to climb Masada. I slept on the way there, and we climbed the hardest trail, the Snake Trail, and I realised how out of fucking shape I am. For the second time, (the first being the bike ride), I had a moment with G-d, begging for strength. I have no idea how I made it to the top. I was so exhausted I really didn't appreciate the view as much as I should have - but it was still SO cool being around all that history. Joe dressed up as King Herod and walked around in the outfit all day - Saar (our tour guide) gave it to him. I was so tired by that point, and starving, and breakfast at the foot of Masada was completely disapointing. We then drove to the Dead Sea, which smelled like spoiled eggs and I didn't go in. All the girls that came out said the salt water hurt their vaginas, and I had the cut from playing soccer the day before, so I layed out and talked to Joe on the sand for two hours before we left.

We then drove to Jerusalem.

Whoa.

We got there, and we stopped on an overlook that showed us the entire city. And it was the best moment of my life. There was music playing when we got off the bus on the huge porch and we all just started dancing and rejoincing and some of us (pleading the fifth) crying. We said some prayers, gave some speeches, and one thing a kid on another bus summed it up "I've loved visiting all these amazing places around Israel, but this isn't a place, this is a feeling." We danced in circles, with each other, it was totally spontanous and magical, and all the other buses joined in.

The next day we went into the Old City. I had been sleeping with Gary and Joe for the past few nights, and stayed with them half the trip, sleeping in between them. Awesome snuggling went down, however, Joe woke me up the night before the Old City coughing in my face, and he got me sick. So the Old City was not as fun as I thought it would be, and on top of it none of us caught up on sleep since the Bedoiun tent. We dragged ourselves all over the city, and on top of it it was about a million degrees. I won't lie, that day wasn't fun, despite being in the Holiest and most amazing city in the world. We went to the Kotel (aka Western/Wailing Wall), which was sort of a disapointment, but I cried when I was praying at it. But I quickly ran to the shade because I was wearing a black sweater and pants (you have to be dressed respectfully while there). I did some shopping with Joe after eating lunch with him and Gary, Diana, and the other Brooklyn College kids and I met a kid from the Upper West Side in a kabab shop. Small world. We then went to the mega event where they played music, had speakers, and a disco situation with every birthright kid there, 7000 of us. I was exhausted and bored and didn't feel like dancing so I just chilled out alone, I needed some time alone after being around people all week.

The next day (8 hours sleep in the past three days), we went to Yad Veshem, the Holocaust Museum. It didn't move me as much as the one in DC did, but walking out and seeing Jerusalem, I felt safe and at home, in the busom of Israel. We then went to Mt Hertzl where they have a military cemetary and the tomb of Theodor Hertzl. I love cemetaries, and this one was the most amazing I've ever been in. It was so amazing and inspiring and sad to see graves of people my age, and younger, who died for the State of Israel, for the safety of Jews from invading Arab armies in four wars, as well as military accidents and terrorist incidents. We then went to Hertzl's tomb, I ran ahead of the group a bit and put a rock on the marble that just read "Hertzl" in Hebrew, on the top of a hill. Then, a military band started playing, not sure why, but I had this moment alone at the tomb with this amazing inspiring music and it was magical. We then had a really nice wrap up circle on the top of a building in a theme park called "mini-Israel" before a short dinner after which birthright was over and everyone got on a plane home, but me.

The last day or two I was getting really claustrophic of not being able to chose when I could wake up, go to sleep, pee, etc. Being around people and nothing having alone time was driving me crazy. But after everyone left and Vita's cousin gave me a ride to my hostel I felt really scared and alone. This morning I woke up so overwhelmed at the fact that I could chose what I did and where I went, I couldn't even get out of my hostel until noon. I went to the Jaffa Flea Market, which we had seen while we were in Tel Aviv but weren't allowed to shop in, and bought some head scarves. The bus ride there was a nightmare, on the way there the bus driver forgot to tell me when to get off and he let me off in a suburb and I had to take a bus back towards Tel Aviv and Jaffa, but that bus driver forgot about me too! So then I had to get on a THIRD bus back towards the outer rim of the city, and this time a passenger told me where to get off and how to get to the market. I walked back into Tel Aviv, sick of the buses, and calmed down about being alone and had a lovely walk by the water, it is so beautiful here I can't take it.

That brings me up to right now, in the hotel we stayed at while we were in Tel Aviv, which is around the corner from my hostel and has free wireless access.

Tomorrow Jake comes in. We're going to go to a disco with two friends from birthright and two soldiers that were with us and the guard that came around with us, Liat. Then we'll just hang out over Shabbos before leaving Sunday night for Cairo. Apparently the bus leaves at 6pm and not 11am as promised on their website.

Phew, done. I have my photos on my facebook, and I'll put on a few here too.

Much love - thanks for the encouragement guys.

I have 55 seconds left on this machine - but I wanted to say I love Israel, I love my hot tan which makes me want to move here even more, and I just got into Jerusalem, write more later.

I love Shabbos in Israel. I've decided to be shomer while I'm here - although it didn't feel that much different except I couldn't take pictures, but it was nice having an excuse to walk up and down the stairs. I've had such a lack of alone time this past week, it's starting to drive me a bit crazy. I'm sitting alone right now in the business lounge on my laptop and it's the first time I've been alone in many days.

Before Shabbos we went down to Independence Hall where David ben Gurion declared independence after the British mandate ended and before the war of Independence. It filled me, and many others, with such feelings of pride and awe being in this small hall with the original mics and chairs, and actually hearing tape of ben Gurion's voice talking over the loudspeakers. I can't even describe the feeling, I felt at home, I felt it was the feeling that I should have had but never did when I visited the same place in Philadelphia.

We then went to Rabin Square and learned a bit about his assasination, and the impact that had on the peace process. I'm not sure if everyone grasped it, but it felt as though I was in the bosom of history that day. And I love that bosom. Sorry - it's 1am - more on why I'm awake at this hour in a moment.

We then had Shabbos and we got ready and walked over to another hotel for services and dinner. The walk was long - I don't wish to do it again. Reform services were a complete and utter disappointment. I walked out in the middle, when they started singing Carol King, and went down to Conservative. Both were devoid of emotion and umph, the umphh that I was feeling for Shabbat in Israel was apparently not felt by everyone - but the conservative service people at least knew the songs and the rituals. I met a guy in reform services that was equally disgusted with it and we walked out together. We were served last for dinner, but my table was really fun and we went around the table talking about our craziest moments and everyone's were really fun and hilarious, and it distracted me from how freaking hungry I was. When we finished dinner it was already midnight and most people were totally exhausted considering we had been up until 7 and many people (thankfully not me) had been drinking all night before that. We were supposed to have an oneg on the beach but we ended up coming back to the hotel and sleeping.

On Saturday afternoon we spent most of it at the beach before having lunch at the other hotel. We then went to shower and did havdallah. We then went to a club where I danced my ass off for two hours. It was amazing. Must sleep.

Birthright journal

Day 1 & 2

My new saviour: Dramamine. Dramamine is to today like sleeping pills were to September, at least as flights are concerned. Waiting in line (the longest line ever) to check baggage I randomly met a kid from Beacon, Jimmy Stull. He looked really familiar and I didn’t realise who he was until he brought it up. We ended up talking for almost two hours while we went through the whole process, and it again occurred to me how different I am from when I was in high school. How much more knowledgeable I am about Israel, how much I support and admire it, and how much I’ve learned and only begun to appreciate all that is being Jewish. I have Rutgers, and my friends there to thank for that, but also last summer, reading about how bitching Israel is, how much they’ve kicked ass in wars, and the such. The flight was long. I sat in between a kid from Montauk, but goes to BC, Joe, who was really awesome but slept most of the time and this kid Ben, who has tons of tattoos and is loud and.. I don’t know, I haven’t quite figured him out yet. He made a disgusting joke at the nature preserve about the Holocaust, and since then I’m disgusted with him. He was mostly partying on the plane, which is ridiculous and that’s all he seems to be concerned about. When we landed we went straight to Caesaria, about which I learned about so much in Rendsburg’s Jewish Society and Culture I class. It was really exciting to see it first hand, and I met two guys that were also in that class with me who appreciated it as much as I did. We came to the kibbutz and checked in, showered, ate dinner, and then I passed out.

Apparently last night everyone, or at least everyone that didn’t pass out, drank in the bar and got pretty wasted. I feel like that’s ridiculous – I don’t know, I didn’t come to the Holy Land to drink and party. I go to Rutgers, I can do that anytime, anywhere. I got all that out in Belgium, it’s crazy to me to see these kids who are so focused and intent on getting drunk. After breakfast we went on a bike ride in a nature preserve. I do not remember the last time I felt so miserable in my entire life. Whoever had the idea to have 40 American kids, on their first full day in Israel biking in the middle of the day two miles in 95-degree summer weather really must’ve been smoking something good. I had a moment with G-d during the last stretch. I was so tired, beyond thirsty, sore, out of breathe, overall miserable, I really didn’t think I was going to make it, and I’m not quite sure how I did. We went on the bus and the AC was my saviour. We then went to kyack in the Jordan River, which didn’t seem like it was going to be that fun, but in the middle of it, maybe a third of the way through, people started jumping out, splashing each other, and pulling people off of their boats into the river. It was so cold and refreshing. We were in the boats for about an hour, and during the last leg of it I floated down with my life vest for about twenty minutes. It was so beautiful, and I succeeded in peeing in another river ☺. We then went and got dinner at this rest stop type situation, and I ended up chatting with a store owner for a little while about fat Americans and he called me thin! We then went to learn about the ’73 war and watched a movie about a tank battalion that held off the Syrians for two days while reinforcements came in from their homes (because it was Yom Kippur most of the unit was home and fasting). It was amazing to watch this video and see actual video and audio about these tank battalions that held off an army ten times their size for two days – and so inspiring to hear their audio of the battle. We then went to the actual site of the battle and saw some bunkers as well as looked over a hill and we were practically in Syria! Towns and the UN border town were highly visible from where we were standing. I imagine it would’ve been an hour or so walk after the hill to get into Syria. He showed us the UN border town, and then this old city that the Syrians destroyed when they realised the Israelis were going to make it over their border, as well as the new city they built to replace the destroyed one after the war. We then went to the Naot sandal factory and I, of course, bought a pair, but we were unfortunately rushed out because we had to go back to the kibbutz to eat dinner at a BBQ and then listen to an Israeli performer, which I’m about to do now…
The concert was awesome, it was an apparently famous Israeli artist who was very fluent in English, and who loved the Beatles and played a meadily of their songs at the end that flowed together really well. He was a great performer and explained all of his songs that he sang in Hebrew, as well as talked about writing songs in Hebrew, and about song writing in general. I wasn’t really looking forward to it, I thought it would be an uncharismatic old guy singing a bunch of songs in Hebrew, but he was great. It was sort of annoying that people behind me kept on talking, there’s nothing I can’t stand more than rudeness sometimes, and this was one of those times.
One strange thing about Israel that I’ve noticed – I have an appetite and I don’t feel sick after eating. Maybe it’s something in American food that I’m allergic to, but I haven’t felt this healthy or felt this good, physically, in a really long time.
The thing that bothers me the most about this trip is that no-one is religious, nor do they have any desire to find it here. I had hope with a kid that had a kippah on, but he’s just as bad as the rest of them. I think it’s going to be really frustrating in Safed tomorrow, as well as during Shabbat in Tel Aviv. I figure though, I’ll have the rest of the summer to get into religion and observe Shabbat, I shouldn’t get that angry about it now. It’s just that I saw the KOACH trip here in the kipputz today, and most of them were wearing kippas, and were benching after we ate, and I really wanted to join their trip, I’d rather feel less religious and stupid (because I don’t read Hebrew) than feel like an idiot that is in the Holy Land, gasp, trying to find G-d. Not many people are interested in the history either, I’m not sure why anyone came. The only thing people seem to be concerned about is who they can hook up with, when programs are over, when they can start drinking, what they’ll drink, where they’ll do it and the crazy fun stuff they’ll do while drunk. It’s ridiculously juvinile, and I don’t understand it. I want to be well rested, awake, and feeling good when I visit Israel. Being around Israelis and being here, I so badly want to learn Hebrew, and I can’t wait to start classes in Jerusalem in July. I could see myself here, permanently. I just don’t know what I could give to this country that it would need, what I would do career-wise.
Why does everyone seem so surprised that I’m staying three months and that I have a boyfriend and we’re staying together? It’s only three months. I’m just a bit confused about that.
Being here reminds me a lot of Belgium, I keep thinking about being there… I miss it and everyone so much.


Day 3
Today we packed up from the kibbutz and got on the bus in the morning. However, after we packed the whole bus, when my bag was on the bottom, we were told that we needed to get sneakers and not flip flops like we were originally told. So we had to unpack the whole bottom of the bus and I got out my converse. We walked for a little while up to a pond and then walked through a brook and small pond, where my sneakers got totally soaked. We then started climbing up fucking waterfalls, huge really steep waterfalls. It was amazing and hard and beautiful. And then we got under it. I can't describe how beautiful and amazing it was - but I hope when I get pictures up they will explain it. Unfortuantely, on the picture front, I forgot my connector cable so I'm going to have to buy a new one.
We then went to Safed, which was so amazing because I've studied it in all of my Jewish Studies classes, and on my own. It's the centre for Jewish mysticism and has so much amazing Jewish history, because Jews stayed there during the entire history of this land, it was one of only four cities that Jews stayed in. I bought things for people, I won't post what because they're surprises, but I bought myself a new beautiful star which I'm really excited about. And after the waterfall my sunscreen wore off so I am finally tanning after using SPF 50 this whole trip.
The people I'm on the trip with are all really fun, there were practically no ice breakers but there's no real cliques going on, and everyone's really nice and chill, and we hang out with the Israeli soldiers, and I'm learning so much. I've been talking to so many people, and the quote I keep hearing most, and what I agree with is "I feel at home here."

I recieved an email from the housing coordinator in New York for Hebrew University and it seems that I'm #1 on the wait list for the July program, and have housing in August on campus which is confirmed. So hopefully someone drops housing in the next month or I think I'll be staying in a hostel for a month. Pooh.

Hello all,

In the beauty that is El Al airlines, I am writing from halfway over the Atlantic, via wireless internet on the plane. I've been flying four hours and have over six to go. I've met some kids from my trip in the airport shuffle, and they all (almost) seem really cool, and I'm going to have a great time with them over the next ten days. I've got centre seat to some really cool guys. My trip seems like most of the people know very little about Judaism or Israel, but at least it's not JAPpy - so I can't complain too much. I wish this trip were with more religious people - and not ones that are planning on treating this like a 10 day Spring Break style vacation. I'm also so happy that Lori has turned me onto a lifesaver, Dramamine. I took it before we took off, and I've never felt so good on a flight before. I just started feeling a bit sick, so I took another, but this is an amazing invention and I would like to buy stock. I randomly met a kid from Beacon waiting in line to check my baggage, we talked for an hour and a half while we waited in line. He's unfortunately on the Kesher trip, so I probably won't see him again while I'm in Israel. How addicted am I: I facebooked him while waiting in line via wireless while we were still talking.

I got to the airport well over three hours early, and I thought it was ridiculous that Jamie, our tour leader from Rutgers told us to get there four hours early. But I understood when I got there - I've never seen bigger lines. I had very little downtime in the 3 and a half hours I had before my flight in the airport.

I also didn't get yelled at or charged for my ridiculously overweight bag - I was so surprised. I barely was able to lift it onto the scale and she didn't say a word, she just put a bag tag and rolled it through.

I hear my access to internet during birthright is few and far between - so until I write again..

I'M GOING TO ERETZ ISRAEL!!

My fortune cookie tonight read: "You long to see the great pyramids of Egypt." How very true - but not for long.

I've been running around the past few days getting ready - I feel like I'm missing things, but as long as I have my passport I think I'll survive.

Today was the Salute to Israel parade in NYC - it was so cool to see so much Jewish and Israeli pride, the day before I depart. All I kept hearing about was the famed cash only underwear store. I hear about that store more than I hear about every cultural part of my visit (Pyramids, Western Wall, Dome of the Rock..).

I'm off to get my last Milano cookies of the summer - I don't know how I'll survive without them. Midnight runs to the deli on Fulton and Gold end after tonight.. :(