Major Catch Up! And Birthright!

Long time, long long long long long time and no blog. This is not how I intended my blog to be, but life really got in the way! A short synopsis before I dive into catching up, since I last blogged I have gotten engaged, been in a wedding, been on 2 international trips and nearly lost my mind with being so busy. Projects have all been put on hold until we move (2 weeks) and then I will have a whole long list of things to do.

So without further ado I will dive in...


In July I went on a trip to Israel through the Taglit Birthright organization. The organization offers a free trip to Israel, hitting all the hot spots, for Jewish youth 18-26. Last winter I had this very vivid dream about going to Israel, applied a few days after (and asking my boss) and was accepted. My trip departed and returned to LAX and all I had to fund was my ticket from SeaTac to LAX, and spending money. The birthright trips take you to all the Jewish/Israeli places to see. We went to the Western Wall, swam in Dead Sea, stayed on a few kitbbutzim, rode camels in the desert, and had a great time doing it. Every day was jam packed with activities and better than the day before. I truly loved it. I was expecting to me more religious than it was and was a little let down that it was not a more spiritually focused trip, but I traveled with a reform Judaism group called URJ Kesher, so it was exactly how they had described it would be. We did shabbat together and some people on the trip had never done shabbat before and had no idea or the prayers or songs, so it was special to be there when they experience it for the first time.

Here is a quick overview. I made wonderful friends, had a wonderful time, and enjoyed every second. If you are thinking about going on  birthright, do it! Do not listen to the propaganda out there about how it is so dangerous, how it is a zionist religious brainwash trip, any of that nonsense. Go, experience, enjoy and take it at face value, after you leave what is important will sink in and the rest won't matter. If you want to see the trip as a politically pushed cattle shoot, then see it that way. If you want to see the trip as a fun, guided trip where you just go with the flow and not worry about making decisions you will LOVE it. I am serious. Birth right was incredible and I wish I could go back. The friends and memories I made are truly some that are very near and dear to my heart.

I was in archaeological heaven in Israel. EVERYWHERE we went was something important, old, and part of my religious history, it was so cool to see things I learned about growing up at Sunday school in real life with my own eyes. 

This is at the Bedouin camp, the second hottest I have ever been in my life. It was well over 100 degrees F and everyone was soaked in sweat. Literally soaked. The next day we went hiking and that was the first hottest.

Riding camels in the desert, sweating uncontrollably

Camels were not amused by tourists. 

Dead sea mud, it was very grainy and the water tingled. 

More mud

This is the Ein Gedi nature reserve. This place looked like it was out of a movie, a gorgeous oasis in the middle of the desert. There were so many people there all cooling off in the many pools and waterfalls. 

Some of the group at the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Kinneret

I ate a lot of delicious food. Falafel, shawarma, hummus, salads., soda made with real sugar, pastries, chocolate milk, the dairy products were so incredible. Just yum, and I am still losing weight I gained in Israel haha

Group before river rafting

A pool felt so good on Shabbat, our kibbutz pool became PACKED by lunch time with everyone getting out of the heat

Cute juice stand

Typical market fare

Top of Masada (note the nose ring instead of my typical stud, I was trying out being a gypsy...it didn't last)

More masada..

Masada at sunrise

River rafting, pretty sure we were all laughing the entire time, we were splashing and singing and cracking jokes, waving at the locals on the bank and calling out to them.

More lunch, this is our medic that traveled with us named Sharon.  He was good at giving out bandaids.

Dark, but sunrise at Masada. 

Jaffa port

Water break. We would drink immense amounts of water and sweat it all out, the heat was so intense.  Want to know hot weather? Go to the middle east in the middle of July during a heat wave. 

Waterfalling

Western Wall. Here it was important to be covered up and modest. I had clothes to put on over my outfit, but women who do not have proper attire are given things to wrap around their body and cover up. 

There were so many notes here. Being in a place where so many people pour their heart out to God was amazing. I left a handful of notes for the people in my life, if there is a place God can really here you, it is here. 

Some girls at the Western Wall. Men and women are separated here which is custom with orthodoxy in many religions. The men had 3/4 of the wall to use and women had 1/4 of the wall to use.



That is a summation of my trip, I have SO many more photos and stories and memories, but this is just one blog post. If there is an opportunity to take a trip there, do it. Whether Jewish or not I think going somewhere that is the rock of so many religions is incredible. The mix of Jewish, Christian, and Islam there was not at all how I expected it to be and was refreshing. What we see on the news and what is actually going on there are different as day and night.