By Eden Hebron, Bus 1 Participant
It’s been 6 days in this country and we’ve already traveled across half of it. Today is June 24th and we’ve been living in the Negev desert for 4 days. It’s dry, hot, and dehydrating, but rewarding with a feeling of accomplishment and pride. The first days were hard here; as we were all inexperienced with desert hiking. The dehydration, peeling skin, and aching bodies are signs of an unusual environment for NFTY in Israel participants. It took a lot to get used to 8 hour hiking days and running from place to place all day. However, we were all grateful for this intense 4-day adventure. Our time in the desert in Israel is going to be something we will remember forever. Especially the living conditions; no sinks, toilets, or air conditioning. But, with the excitement of our trip, unusual living conditions failed to get in the way of our Negev experience. This experience sparked new and old friendships, with opportunity to build and strengthen them. We also learned a lot of gratuity for everyday resources. In addition, on our very last hike, our hiking guide Mayan led us into a 7-minute self-reflective meditation overlooking one of the nicest views. Our group was completely silent, observing the desert’s quiet and peaceful atmosphere. Our time in the desert came to a close with a fun, easy time in the sand dunes. None of us expected the sand dunes in the desert to be such an adrenaline rush. It was a great way to end our trip in the Negev. Listening to everyone’s highs and lows, I notice that the environment of beautiful mountains and sunsets is going to set a very high bar for the rest of our time in Israel. We are very excited!
