By Tommy Ben Ishai, NFTY in Israel Mechanech
What a day! Some of the teens arrived and they were very sleepy, but excited. They burst out into the arrive area and the fun began. We went to the ATM, American SIM card guy, and off we went. We started off the day with a pizur and they had their first Israeli food!! There were typical Israeli dishes: falafel, shawarma, and such. We chilled for a little bit and walked around, soaking up the sun.
From there we drove off to the Tel Aviv port, one of the most beautiful places in Tel Aviv. There were so many people walking around between all the restaurants and nice shops. The chanichim (participants) had some time to walk around and discover Tel Aviv for the first time while watching the beautiful sunset. We also hung out at the playground and all the teens got to swing like the good old days as little kids. Finally, we drove to the hotel in Jaffa where we had dinner and checked into our rooms. The best part is Backlawa was served for desert!!! Afterwards, we had a small chat with Dan (Dolph as we like to call him), the Unit Supervisor (or head of adventure as we like to say) and played a fun name game led by the madrichim, Jake, Yair, and Yaheli.
Now, some of the madrichim are at the airport to welcome the other half of the group that is scheduled to land at midnight (Israeli time). Once they arrive, we will drive quickly to the hotel to get a good night rest before our first real day in Israel!
