- Left farm early around 6:30 and traveled to Tel Aviv
- I stayed in a hostel with Ariel(le)s for the night (Ariel's friend Arielle came from home to visit today)
- I went to sleep after exploring Tel Aviv with the girls and meeting Ariel's Israeli friend because I wanted to be as awake and present as possible for my reunion with Kasey. I thought Kasey was coming on Friday, December 27th, but her plane got delayed from Hartford to Newark, so she uncontrollably missed her flight to Tel Aviv. The airport gave her a stipend for food and put her in a hotel for the night.
- In the morning, I went to a delicious vegetarian hipster-hippie place called XOHO and ate there with the girls. Then we said goodbye, and I went to a nice hostel on Tel Aviv's Mediterranean coast called Beachfront.
- I posted my farm blog and worked on my Perspectives on the Middle East final paper! 'twas a productive evening.
- I went up to the hostel roof and enjoyed the beautiful golden sunset on the water.
- Kasey came this morning and was scheduled to land at 9:20. She even ended up getting here early. Can you imagine how happy I was to see this:
- We had lunch on the beach. The sand was so soft and felt nice between my toes.
- Then I began reading all my friends' journal entries-- it was beautiful to read through their college experiences from the other side of the world. (For those of you who do not know, 9 of my high school friends and I started a "Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal" to help us stay connected and updated on each other's lives throughout college! Each girl gets the journal for a week, and can write or put whatever she pleases to in it (whether it's a day-by-day summary or intellectual revelations-- there are no boundaries!), and then the girl will send the journal off on its merry way to the next lucky contestant who will have the opportunity with the bountiful piece of art and time capsule.
- Once Shabbat ended we took an Egged bus to Jerusalem and went to a lovely soup place for dinner. We went to a Belgian waffle place for dessert!
- This was our first night sleeping at my Kivunim hostel, Beit Shmuel. We slept in a room next to my old one-- how nostalgic!
Sunday, December 29, 2013
- Today we went to the Ein Gedi/Bokek area to climb Masada (via the snake path), and to have Kasey experience floating in the highly salt-concentrated Dead Sea. We saw my Kivunim friend Jana, her mother, and her grandmother at Masasa, which was of course a nice surprise!
- In the last 10 minutes of the bus ride coming home, Kasey and I met a really nice Israeli mother and daughter! The mother lived up north and the daughter lived in Jerusalem, so they wanted a nice vacation to reunite! The daughter just recently finished her studies in Middle Eastern/ Arab studies. This was inspiring for me to know that a young Israeli knew that in order to create peace in the Middle East, it helps to profoundly understand the other sides culture. That's why I am so happy to be taking Arabic language this year, and learning about Islamic, Arabic, and Middle Eastern culture. By being educated and more informed, we can help change the world!
- When we returned home, we went to Mahane Yehuda (the Jerusalem shuk) and we explored the wonderful maze of vendors.
- We woke up at 6 and walked through the Old City of Jerusalem so that we could see the sunrise at 6:39 AM happening over the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall. It was a tad bit foggy at first but it ended up being beautiful. When I first experienced a sunrise tour of the Old City, Kivunim's artist-in-residence, Tobi Kahn, took us out extra early to see the royal blue color of the night sky and how the color changed the way the flourescent lights reflected on the Old City Jerusalem walls. Going early also allowed us to see the progression of the night into the morning sky, and it is incredible how each moment yields different shadows and new treasures that are presented to the human eye.
- Kasey and I went back to our hostel to eat breakfast and then we went back to the Old City to explore the Christian Quarter
- We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and I could tell that Kasey got a lot out of the experience-- I was so happy she did!
- After, we went through the Christian Quarter to look at goods, and Kasey bought a red/burgundy/purple elephant-patterned tapestry for her her sister's room!
- On our way back home, Kasey spotted this beautiful global art exhibit that promotes ways to save the world.
- Later that day we saw more Kivunim people, Josh and Evan, at Beit Shmuel.
- Later that night we met up with more Kivunim friends for dinner-- the Ariel(le)s, Jonah, and Ben were present.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
- We woke up and went on a run around Jerusalem. I took Kasey to the old train tracks and through the park.
- Then we walked to a Muslim Art Museum. It was nice that we explored the three monotheistic religions while in Jerusalem. I think that is a necessary component to understand the religious diversity of a holy city.
- We eventually got our belongings from Beit Shmuel, and met up with Jana to take a sheirut (shared taxi) to Tel Aviv!
- It was also New Year’s…Yayy!! We would be bringing in the
New Year 7 hours before New York. Our initial plan was to stay up for the 7 hours between the two different
time zones…but we ended up going to sleep at
around 3:30 AM. Nonetheless, we had a splendid New Years on a Tel Aviv beach.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
- Kasey and I woke up around 9:30, and went to XOHO for breakfast.
- It was a calm day. We ran for 15 minutes along the beach,
and then I journaled on a pier.
- For dinner we went out with the intention to find the Argentinean restaurant but the bus situation was a bit confusing and we kept missing it. We were waiting for the right bus line but were on the wrong side of the street, so we decided to go to a Chinese restaurant instead because it was getting late!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
- Kasey and I woke up at 9 and went to Haifa, a diverse
Israeli port city, for the day!
- We went to the Bahai Gardens and it was amazing! I visited
the Bahai House of Worship in the small quaint town of Wilmette, Illinois
during my visit with my Chicago Jewish friend, Jessie, so it was nice to build
upon my knowledge of the Bahai religion.
- We went to the Haifa zoo to play with animals.
Friday, January 3, 2014
- We went to the Carmel Market (Tel Aviv shuk).
- We tried to rent a bike but it did not work, so we ended up walking to Jaffa Port along the Sea from our hostel and eating at a wonderful fish restaurant with 20 different salads. The place is called Old Man & the Sea. I recommend it to everyone!
- We walked around an artsy part of Tel Aviv aimlessly until we found an art fair. It is the same one I went to on March of the Living.
- We ate cheese, strawberries, and challah for Shabbat dinner on the roof!
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