Chovek and the week after

Every year, the mechina does a 2-week trip at the beginning of the last month of the program as a kind of everything-we've-missed-this-year trip. It's called the Chovek. This is the longest trip we've done, and we actually went all over Israel! We started with a 2-day backpacking trip in the Galil area (north), in which we jumped into many springs and had our last night together sleeping outside. Afterwards, we spent a day in Tzfat, which is the center of Kabbalah-very interesting to learn about. Everyone said that they felt like they weren't in Israel due to the amount of English we heard on the streets! There were so many Birthright trips-even the store owners would speak to us in English. I visited the candle store that we all fell in love with on EIE-they make candle models of everything!!! It is beautiful.

Me and Yoella in the ma'ayan (spring) in the Galil!

After Tzfat, we spent a few hours in the Tel-Aviv area, where we visited a lobster ranch-this guy cross-breeds lobsters and sends them overseas for lots of money. We were in the place where they breed-it is so hot in there! It's a little controversial because 1. lobsters aren't kosher so there was a little debate about if what he is doing is even legal, and 2. the guy hires immigrants from Thailand to work in the ranch because no Israeli is willing to do the physically challenging work in such heat. It was interesting, though.

We moved on to Jerusalem, where we went up to the Temple Mount (!!!), visited The Holy Sepluchre,vvisited an Armenian church, and met with a Muslim man at the police station. This was probably one of the best days on the chovek-it was so interesting. The next morning, I left the group to stay at my grandparents for the day because I was invited by Masa to a dinner with a Chicago delegation coming to Israel with Senator Mark Kirk. I was one of the 6 representatives of Masa, and we each sat at our own table with 5 businessmen. It was a delicious dinner, and cool to meet these people, who would later be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and flying by helicopter all around the country, as well as to Jordan to meet with the king and queen there. Craaaazy!

We spent a day at Ba'ad 1, the army base where officers are trained, and participated in a run there with 12,000 Israeli soldiers. Afterwards, we drove to Tel-Aviv and went to the Bamba factory (a popular Israeli snack food), and stood on the roof of the Azraeli Towers, skyscrapers in Tel-Aviv (49 stories haha). We finished at one of the kids in my programs' house with a barbeque and comedy night. It was a great trip, even though it flew by too fast!

At the top of the towers!

The week after we got back was our week of all-nighters. On Sunday we met in Jerusalem and had a tour until 2 am in which we walked the same path that the paratroopers walked in the Six Day War (1967) when Jerusalem was reunited. Two days afterwards was Shavuot, the Jewish holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah, in which it is a custom to stay up all night learning Torah. Therefore, we stayed up until 5 am. (Sidenote: we were the first group ever in Nachshon to stay for a holiday! Pretty awesome.) 2 days after that, the head of our mechina told us the story of a battle he fought in during the 6 Day War from 6:30 pm until 3:30 am. Word is that this is the only war story that takes longer than the battle itself!

It is customary to wear white on Shavout!

I am back at the mechina now for our final 2 weeks...so sad! We are preparing for 2 things mostly right now-our end of the year ceremony with a huuuuuge play and the logistics of cleaning up the mechina for next year. I am also giving a lesson on Friday which switched topics about a million times in the past 2 days. From friendship, to Hinduism, to spirituality, to economics of religion, to finally...cosmetic surgery. Hope it goes well!