Day Two!

We got up early this morning and headed to Masada. Originally a fortress built by King Herod, a group of Jews rebelling against the Romans hid there until they were surrounded.After hiking up the trail, we explored different areas on the top of the mountain—including a synagogue, bath house, and mikveh. After a brief game of Capture the Flag, we headed down the mountain. We shopped and ate lunch, then boarded the bus for our next stop—Ein Gedi, a beautiful hike ending in a spring, where we frolicked in the falls and washed off all of our Masada dirt to prepare for...The Dead Sea. At the Dead Sea, we covered ourselves in mud and jumped in, then floated and relaxed together. It was the perfect end to our day.

But wait! It's not over! We headed out to Ashkelon, where we had dinner and prepared for tomorrow's activities--an all-day sports tournament with all the other Birthrights in the country--and one of the highlights of our trip, the arrival of the Israeli soldiers. We drew posters to depict different Israeli/American stereotypes and then reflected on our favorite moments so far. 

Today we found out why they call it the 10 day adrenaline rush.  It was a jam-packed day, and though everyone is exhausted, we are ready to hit the ground running tomorrow.

Day One

We made it! After our long flight from New York (and action-packed drive from College Park)we finally arrived in Israel! We had a brief orientation to our program and met our Israeli staff;  then we ate lunch, boarded our patriotic blue and white bus, and headed South. Our first stop--Sde Boker, where Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel is buried, alongside his wife.We posed for pictures and admired the stunning views while discussing Ben-Gurion's dream for building the desert.

 We drove through the beautiful countryside to the Bedouin tents, where we were treated to a delicious traditional feast, sitting on colorful mats and displaying excellent table manners. (Who needs utensils anyways?) We then got up close and personal with the night's main attraction, the camels. We rode off into the sunset and explored the desert, and then learned all about the Bedouin culture from one of the locals, complete with tea and music.Now it's off to bed for a jam-packed day tomorrow. Stay tuned for guest posts by our amazing participants in the days to come!