By: Jenna, Eden, and Rylie
Boker tov from Israel! Over the past few days, we’ve all been having a blast! We are so lucky to be here and we want to tell you all about it!
Tuesday: Once we got off the plane and through customs, we were enthusiastically greeted by our new Israeli friends and counselor team. We got to know each other through games, snacks and introductions. After the airport, we took the bus to the Jaffa port city in Tel Aviv. On our walking tour, we saw many different parts of Jaffa, including the clock tower. We split into small groups for dinners of various fresh Israeli food. After that, we checked out our new rooms in the youth village of Kfar Hayarok and settled down for the night with our roommates.
Wednesday: We woke up bright and early to enjoy our first meal in the village dining hall. After that, we took the bus to our first volunteering activity at Save A Child’s Heart. There, we engaged with the children who were staying in the building before and after their heart surgeries. The kids were more than happy to give out many fist bumps, steal our nametags, play blocks, and have meaningful conversations with us. Following that, we ate a delicious lunch, falafel laffas. Then Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the URJ, gave us a thought provoking speech about the state of our world. We proceeded to explore the ANU museum, which featured the timeline of Jewish history. At the end of the museum, campers enjoyed refreshments at Aroma, an Israeli Cafe. Finally, we returned to the Youth Village for a nice dinner and some rest.
We started our day by packing up to leave the village. We took a long bus trip over to Ben Guvrin National Park for an archaeological dig. There, we traveled underground to uncover artifacts from two thousand years ago. Then, we explored massive caves to understand how people lived thousands of years ago. Next, we tried some authentic Ethiopian cuisine of various platters on top of unique Ethiopian grain. We are now on the road, excited to experience what our future has to offer.
