Kivu-Birthday

Sunday FUNDAY, 

October 27th

Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes! I am so appreciative for all my friends, family, and educators out there who support me in everything I do! I have a lot to learn from all of you, and I am so glad you are all in my life!

I have to admit that my birthday was like a fairytale and I couldn't have asked for more! Everyone on Kivunim made my 18th birthday experience so memorable, and I truly thank you for that! In case you're wondering why my birthday was so enjoyable, I did many things I am passionate about all in one day! Let me break it down for you (these are approximate times):

12 AM (remember, I'm on Israel time....plus, it was daylight savings time in Israel last night so I got an extra hour's worth of sleep....and a 25 hour birthday):
KIVU-Dance Party in my room...everyone knows that I love to dance.

7 AM: Woke up bright and early to get ready to leave at 8 for the weekly KIVU- Sunday Field trip, which was fine by me because I had more time to have fun!! Kivu students made our own healthy picnic lunches!

8 AM: Departed from Beit Shmuel, my lovely hostel...looked out a window during the bus ride and saw the magic found outside in nature and civilization.  We were going east towards Jordan(specifically the Judean desert.  From Jerusalem to the desert, there is a steep topographical drop which is a consequence (or positively, a beautiful natural phenomenon) of past volcanic eruptions. The region changes from the hard limestone that makes up Jerusalem to a chalk-like sandstone in the desert.   There are many wadis in the desert, which is natural water that runs through a valley.  Over time the water has worn away at the stone, hence the chalk like floor of the valley.  We also were near the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on Earth.  It is 395 meters below sea level.

8:45 AM: Arrived Qasr Al-Yehud baptismal site (We saw the Jordan River which is much thinner than people would think it to be, and on the other side of the river is Jordan)! We saw people on the Jordan side bathing in the water to purify themselves (to repent for their sins), which is a ritual they partake in when they make a pilgrimage to the baptismal site.  The holy water here parallels the Ganghis River in India, which is an spiritual site for Buddhism.  Learning about other cultures and religions is a passion of mine.

9:30 AM: Arrived at Dir Hajla (aka St. Gerasimos) Monastery. Here we went into the Greek Orthodox monastery to see beautiful icons and depictions of church symbols and influential people in Christianity. The church is near an earthquake fault line, so due to earthquakes the church is rebuilt when necessary.

10:30 AM: Arrived at St George Lookout where we saw this beautiful view of a holy site fitted into the valley wall perfectly, and showing how nature and man-made constructions can complement one another beautifully. Here monks would come to pray and would become hermits temporarily to find their inner selves and become closer to G-d.  By disconnecting from society, monks were able to look inwards which gave them hope to find spiritual purification.

A bedouin man who lives around the St. George Monastery.

12:00 PM: Arrived at Ein Fara: hiked a circular trail with beautiful caves and walked in Wadi Qelt (a wadi is when water flows in a valley, and you get this cool stream; here the stream beds move from west to east towards the Jordan River)! We ate our picnic lunches, bonded, and swam in a man-made natural spring...there were fishies in the water who liked to nibble at our feet....which is actually effective at exfoliating feet and you come out of the water with smooth feet for free! Then some of us felt adventurous enough to hike around more and frolic in the wadi.

See the similarities?!?!

 
 

















3:30 PM: Departed Ein Fara - drove to Ein prat Leadership Academy. Here we met with Israeli high school graduates who chose to participate in a gap year program between their secondary education and their time serving in the Israeli army. They learn leadership skills in an intensive program that prepares them for a fulfilling life as an Israeli citizen. Fulfilling not only for them, but most importantly for the Israeli community at large, and to the whole world in general. In a way their program is a lot like Kivunim because our program prepares us to become mature world citizens as well.

8:30 PM: Skyped with my older brother who is a role model of mine, and it was of course nice to catch up with him!

10:00 PM: My wonderful Kivunim family surprised me with a cupcake, ice cream, and whipped cream...YUM (It's good I ate healthy today besides this)! Thank you so much for making my birthday so memorable! Love you all!