Monday 6/30

Alright. So Saturday, we had a pretty open day here at the kibbutz, with Shabbat services in the morning, and then at night, we went to do Havdallah in Jerusalem, and then went shopping on Ben Yehuda street. I didn't buy anything, but we had some AMAZING Pizza for dinner. Sunday was pretty cool. We had our first day of Hebrew classes, and as usual, we had Jewish History. In the afternoon, we left the Kibbutz for a tiyul to Tel Gezer. A Tel is a hill from a long time ago that is built up from the many civilizations that have lived there before and died. This place was over 2000 years old. We got to walk around and learn all about it. On the way back, we had dinner at a small local mall. At this mall, they have a Kosher McDonalds. We then came back to the Kibbutz, had a little surprise party for Ilana, and then some free time before rooms in at 11. Today, we had classes, and later today, we are going on a tiyul to Neot Kedumim. I have no idea what Neot Kedumim is. This country is amazing. It's pretty hot, and the weather is very nice. I am having a great time and the kids are all pretty cool. Got to go, break is over.

Ben

Friday, 6/27

Today was awesome. We woke up, ate breakfast, and then got on the bus for our first tiyul(trip). We went to these caves/ruins from the second temple period and the byzantine periods. We got to be archaeologists, and dig for artifacts. We found a lot of pottery, and a few pieces of bone, most likely animal. It was really cool. We got to go in these tombs (which have been emptied) and through the escape tunnels from the time of the bar kochba revolt. It was truly amazing to see what these people were able to do so long ago. We then returned to the kibbutz for lunch and some free time in the afternoon. Around 5, we left to go to the old city in Jerusalem, and we had an evening Shabbat service at the Kotel (western wall). I am head songleader for the trip, and part of the tfilah(services) committee. The old city was amazing, and we saw so many Chasidic and Orthodox Jews in their suits and interesting hats. It was an amazing experience. After we came back, we had dinner at the dining hall, and then we had free time until 1AM. I hung out with a bunch of friends and we met a few Israeli teens who live here on the kibbutz. It was a lot of fun. Now, I am writing this here at 1:40 AM, so I am going to go to bed. Tomorrow, we go back to Jerusalem.
Laila Tov
Ben

Day 1

This morning (June 24) I woke up at 10 AM, had breakfast, and hung around for the day in New York. Around 8PM, I left for the airport. Everything went smoothly, and I found the kids with my group. We waited around at the airport forever, and then then finally boarded the plane around 12:40AM. The plane took off and thus began the 11 hour plane ride from JFK to Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The group of kids is really cool and I knew two kids already. The plane ride was a lot of fun, and we got to talk with each other a lot, but it was just really long. I tried to sleep and just couldn't. We arrived safely in Israel, and the time was 6:50PM Israel (11:50AM Boston). We went through passport control, and then to baggage claim. We boarded a bus to Kibbutz Tzuba in the Judean Hills, our home for the next six weeks. We found our rooms and then met for a dinner of pizza and Israeli salad. I actually tried the Israeli salad and it was not terrible. After dinner, we went back to our rooms, and got ready for bed. I have a pretty cool room and the view is going to be great when it is light outside. I can't wait for tomorrow, it should be a lot of fun.

More details tomorrow
Ben

Pre Trip Post

Less than 20 days until I leave for Israel. I'm getting my packing started, and making sure I have everything I need. While in Israel, I will try to post as often as I can. Every day is not going to happen. Every 2 or 3 days is much more likely. If there are any questions you personally have while I am away, feel free to email me and ask directly at bwarsh91@mac.com I will be checking that as often as I can. The other option is to leave a comment on a post, but email is the best way. When I can, I will be posting pictures to the blog. Have a great summer everyone.