Student Journal: Monday

[written by trip participant Amanda R.]

Boker Tov! It's 11 o'clock on Monday morning and we are on the bus heading south! This morning we went to a bird observatory and learned that almost all birds travel through Israel while migrating to other countries. We watched the staff at the observatory measure the wing length of the bird, weigh and number them so they can be identified. And of course all the birds were set free! We also planted trees at the observatory which was a lot of fun.

I am so happy to be in Israel and experience the culture and see the cities I have only learned about in a textbook for so many years. I love being in a country where mostly everyone is Jewish and the streets are basically empty on Shabbat, something I will never expect to see in New Jersey! The old city of Jerusalem was breathtaking and I really felt like part of history by getting to be there on Shabbat and getting to put a note in the Western Wall.

In Jerusalem we also visited Yad VaShem, the Holocaust Memorial and Mt. Herzl, where many soldiers are buried. The most emotional part of the day for me was when we went to the newest part of the Mt. Herzl Memorial which was created in 2006. We then sat down in an empty area and our tour guide, Michael, reminded us that the area we were peacefully sitting in today would probably not be vacant for long since Israeli soldiers die every day.

Although sightseeing is amazing, I feel that our trip is really punctuated by getting to share this experience with her Israeli soldiers. I love getting to talk to them about the similarities and differences in our cultures while knowing that no matter how different our lifestyles are, we do have a shared Jewish identity.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to come to Israel. And having a great time and looking forward to the next six days, especially climbing Masada tomorrow and going to Tel Aviv later in the week! I know that when I come home I will have lots of stories to share with my friends and family as well as pictures and Bamba! I also know that the memories I am making will last a lifetime!