My Israel
Israel. Where do I start? There are no words that can be uttered to describe this experience. This experience of a lifetime. If you don’t want all the details of my trip I suggest you don’t read this because long is an understatement! :
DAY 1: Wednesday the 27th
We arrived in Israel and I swear, you could taste the spices in the air. We were exhausted from the fourteen-hour flight, but hell, we were more excited. And that’s when we met Elad. The man that would turn our Israel trip into the most exciting packed 10 days of our lives. We all hopped on the bus and drove to Arbel Mountain. As we sat and listened to Elad explain that we would be changed after this trip, we looked out on to the land that was Israel. Tsvat to our left and another prominent city to our right. We said the Shehechianu and climbed down the mountain. Next we were off to the Kineret for a Disco Cruise! We were dying of exhaustion but as soon as they began to play the music we were up and dancing like crazy in our nasty plane clothes and no makeup to be seen! Lol it was amazing. Teaching Sippy how to belly dance, watching Dez play the Bongos, and just looking out onto the River anticipating the next ten days was amazing. Then, thoroughly exhausted still lol, We arrived at the Kibbutz Afik Guest House barely standing and lugged our suitcases to the front of the convention center. We sat in a circle and listened to Elad tell us what our expectations of this trip should be. The unofficial motto of Sachlav? “This is not a vacation, it is an experience.” With all the strength we could muster we carried our luggage to our rooms. Me, Janner, and Dez took long ass showers, and crawled into our tiny beds for our first night of restless sleep.
DAY 2: Thursday the 28th
6:00 a.m. wake up call! Dressing as fast as we could and packing our bags, we loaded the bus and ate a rushed breakfast. We drove out of the Kibbutz and arrived at Gadot. There we heard the battle stories of the land and the amazing stories of the spies that fell for Israel. Elad was amazing. He knew everything about the land, and more. Next we hiked down the mountain and drove to the Jordan River for Kayaking! The first time wearing a bathing suit, my boobs attracted a bit of attention ahahaha. We loaded our kayaks and set off! I’ve never laughed so much in my life. We were pathetic at steering a kayak and almost got tipped over atleast 5 times by the Israeli boys that cornered us, the only kayak holding 6 girls lol. Dez sustained here bruised hand that was horrible all the way through the trip ahaha we love u dez. Got completely wet and ate falafels on the side of the Jordan. Yeah. Be jealous. Ahaha. We then changed and drove to Safed (center of Jewish mysticism) to tour the unique synagogues. The stories that I heard of these synagogues were overwhelming. Or the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of overpowering pride of my heritage. We did a bit of shopping (not a lot cuz we needed to save our money lol) and we were off to Jerusalem. We arrived at the Jerusalem Gate Hotel and unloaded the bus. When we got the the rooms, we crashed.
DAY 3: Friday the 29th
6:30 a.m. wake up call! At breakfast, we noticed a table of male Israeli soldiers. A couple of them were cute, but we didn’t know that our whole trip would be changed by each and every one. As we drove around the corner from the hotel, we passed a cute and tiny girl Israeli soldier standing on the corner almost covered in bags. The bus stopped and on got Natalie, the cutest of them all. The guys flocked to the front of the bus to greet her! Lol. We were off on another adventure, this time, to tour the city of David and the Jewish quarter of the old city. When we were getting ready to trudge through the underground water tunnels of Jerusalem, two more female soldiers joined us, Mary and Ashreet. Everyone was distant, but Michella, Ashreet, and Mary were instant best friends and half an hour later, were holding hands through the underground tunnels. We still had not properly met the male soldiers but me and the girls were attracting significant stares from them all the whole time ;) . The soldiers all changed out of their uniforms and we all began our traipse through the tunnel. A soldier with tremendous B.O. was in front of me and though I was confused I was also relieved when he and the soldier in front of him traded places in the tunnel. That soldier immediately began to talk to me. His name was Gil. He changed my life. But not yet! Haha we’ll get to that later! When we emerged from the tunnel, we changed out of our wet clothing and into something more appropriate for the Kotel. Ah the Kotel. How do I explain it? When we reached the Kotel we washed our hands in the fountains and made our way through to the wall. The Wailing Wall. I always wondered why they called it that and I discovered it’s meaning that day. As we approached the wall an old lady stopped us and told us to bow our heads. And blessed us. Each and everyone of us separately, she blessed us. To have wonderful lives, husbands, and homes. And we finally got to the wall. When my hand touched the wall, I began to sob. I began to wail. I began to pray to Hashem and I had a prayer for everyone I’ve ever known and know now. If you are reading this, I probably prayed for you. For your life, your health, your well being. I’ve never cried and been so happy at the same time. I placed my note in the wall, and walked away from the wall, facing it the whole time, because you can never have your back to the wall. When we reached the outside of the wall and waited for the rest of the group to come back, I stared at the Israeli flag and began to think about my life. I know it sounds corny but my views of life and Judaism changed that day. After a short tour of the old city, humming “Yerushaleem Shel Zahav” all the way, we did a little shopping, and met up with the rest of the group. We then learned the official motto of Sachlav. “We Sachlov you!” hahaha. We then made our way to Machne Yehuda market to do some more shopping and see the Israeli’s prepare for Shabbat. Gil told us that we should buy some alcohol because that night would probably be the only night we would be able to get drunk since the next day was Shabbat and we didn’t have to wake up early. So we did ;). We drove back to the hotel and had 2 hours to get ready for Shabbat. For the first time in the whole time we had been in Israel we were able to do ourselves up and look pretty! Lol As we left our rooms and made our way down to the bus we could tell that people were staring but we didn’t care. Tonight was not dedicated to our appearances. It was dedicated to our religion, our newfound culture, and our home. Our Israel. When we got to the Kotel again we lit the Shabbat candles, and then we perused the Kotel. Let me tell you, if Shabbat in L.A. was like Shabbat at the Western Wall, I would make Shabbat every night! I was expecting people walking around praying solemnly and being quiet and respectful. What scene met my eyes was unbelievable. Thousands upon thousands of people dancing joyously running around and screaming “Shabbat Shalom! Baruch Hashem, the Sabbath is here!” kids singing songs with their parents and making dance circles with people you’ve never met before in your life. It was awe-inspiring. It was Shabbat in Yerushalaeem. After Shabbat dinner with some other Taglit groups, we walked for an hour and a half back to the hotel and though we were bushed, we changed out of our Shabbat clothes and into our leisure clothes, picked up out bottle of Israeli alcohol, and made our way to Sippy’s and Ghaz’s room. That night was hilarious and annoying at the same time. Trying to get the soldiers away from the crazy girls who kept chasing them! They wanted so much to just be with us but instead were being followed by every girl on our trip. We finally got Edan and Aner into our room and began drinking. Later on Dolav, Gil, and Yosi finally escaped and joined us. We drank to our heart’s content and crawled back to our rooms to pass out.
DAY 4: Saturday, Shabbat the 30th
10:15 wake up call! After waking up to hear amazing stories of Rabbi K’s brother and life in general we went to have lunch, tears streaming down our faces from his touching words. After lunch we joined Rabbi K again to hear more stories and ask questions about Judaism. Then we all traipsed back to our rooms to have a nice rest and get ready for our walk to a famous Israeli singer/Rabbi’s house in a tiny town in Jerusalem. In his tiny synagogue we established the theme song of the trip “eenjah layeh Maneh, Dooset Darem Halee Ziad” haha Payman is going to be famous!! We then walked back to the hotel and got ready for clubbing in Jerusalem! After a short Havdalah in the lobby, we drove to Ben Yehuda Street and did some shopping. It was beautiful. It was Jerusalem! Then we changed out of our flip-flops and into our heals and made our way to the club! We checked in our bags and then rushed straight to the bar to do shots with Elad! Israeli shots are about a shot and a half btw! We went up stairs and started to dance in that tiny tiny room! Lol it was so much fun. I went outside and had a cigarette with Gil and he made me buy him a drink because even though he had drank SO MUCH he still wasn’t drunk! Haha I sat out there forever just talking to him. He’s so amazing. Then he led me to the dance floor and we danced the night away. Still drunk out of our minds we left the club and I piggy back rided Gil all the way to the bus haha. When we got back to the hotel, I crawled to the bed and passed out!
DAY 5: 1st Sunday
8:00 a.m. wake up call! After scrambling into our clothes and packing at warp speed, we dragged our feet to breakfast and the bus to drive us to our first hike of the day. When we got there, we changed into our bathing suits and hiking clothes and followed Elad up the mountain. At the midpoint, there were two watering holes so we stripped off our clothes and jumped in. My one complaint about Israel: all of the rivers and seas don’t have dirt on the bottom only really sharp rocks! My feet are raw red! Lol neways after cooling off in the watering holes we hiked back down the mountain and changed out of our wet clothes. We hopped on the bus and arrived 10 minutes later at the Dead Sea Factory. You know those little kiosks full of pushy Israeli’s in the mall that you always have to try and get away from? I visited the factory! Hahaha but I was way too tired to shop. After a short movie about the Dead Sea products and after everyone had bought their stuff, we drove down to the Mamshit Bedouin camp. That’s when it really got emotional. Elad sat us all down on the mattresses inside our tent and told us he had something special prepared for us. He said that the whole time the soldiers had been with us we had gotten to know them as our peers and friends and people our age that are just like us but from a different country. But we had not gotten to know the other side, the side of them that had basically been their whole lives for the last three years. So the soldiers walked into the tent in their uniforms and sat down in front of us. One by one they each got up and told one story about their experience in the army. Only one story. That’s all it took for us to be sobbing by the end of it. It got to Gil an he told us about being a commander and about how he has to order his friends around and how one wrong move can end up in death. The whole time he spoke, he eyes were locked on mine. How were we supposed to react now that we actually knew these soldiers? Were we supposed to treat them differently? Were we supposed to pamper them and tell them constantly what amazing people they are? Or do they just wanted to be treated the same as always? Afterwards, when the soldiers went back to change out of their uniforms, we tried to regain some composure. We were led to another tent where the Bedouins made us tea and coffee and explained some of their rituals to us. They called this all “Bedouin hospitality.” Then came the fun part! We all ran to the stable and picked out a…CAMEL! We got to ride camels! Lol it was so much fun! Ghaz and me were terrified and the jokes were a little too risky to put on myspace but it was hilarious nonetheless. Then we made our way back to the tents to have dinner where I saw Gil and the others for the first time since their speeches. One look told me that nothing had changed, and I was happy about that. After dinner, all the girls went to get their toiletries to have a shower. That was an experience! I can’t really explain it but if you were there, you know exactly what I’m talking about! Haha. And then off to bed…but not really. None of us could sleep there was WAY too much noise going on but then my mommy called me and I had to try and find a quiet place to speak with her. I went over into the next tent and found Gil, Dolav, Yosi, and Pehjman sitting and drinking wine and smoking cigarettes. I was talking to my mom though so I didn’t really pay attention to them until Gil and Dolav called me over. I sat next to Gil and had a cigarette or two. He asked me what I thought of the presentation. I looked him straight in the eye and said “I had no idea. I’m so sorry.” But he laughed it off and gave me a hug. Then he said in ten minutes he’d come and get me from the other tent and we could “spend some time together” lol So ten minutes later I was in his tent again and we went outside to have a cig with Yosi and Dolav because Svetlana was getting mad that we were smoking in the tent. Eventually Yosi and Dolav disappeared and Gil took my hand and led me a long way away into the middle of the desert. CENSORED! Lol let’s just say it was a night I would never forget! When we got back to the tents, there were still a few people making noise but I was tired so I didn’t care. Gil kissed me goodnight and I went to bed. Unfortunately I only got about 10 minutes of sleep that night, as did we all!
DAY 6: Monday the 2nd
3:00 a.m. wake up call! Yes I said 3 a.m. lol we woke up as crabby as can be and made our way to the bathrooms to get dressed for the LONG day ahead of us. We had tea and biscuits for a little snack and then drove to Masada to see the sunrise. We ran up the mountain so as not to be late all the while listening to the Eagles music who were playing at the bottom of the mountain! Crazy huh? When we go to the top, the scene was breathtaking. We all took a quick few pictures and then watched the sunrise on Masada. I got it on video! Haha. After the sunrise we did a few hours tour of Masada and then, the longest hike EVER down the mountain. We took a different way then the way we used to come up and this way was called a “snake trail.” Our legs were shaking midway! Hardest hike we’ve ever done. But when we got down it was a great sense of accomplishment and Elad gave me a huge hug and kiss on the cheek and told me how proud he was of me! After a quick lunch we all drove over to the Dead Sea! We had quite a while there and we got to use the Dead Sea hotel’s pool as well as the actual Dead Sea! Dez and me went first for our massages (BOMB ass massages and mine was with a random Ethiopian guy who straddled me at one point hahaha) and then made our way to the beach. What a view. Amazing is all I can say. First we went into the Sea and as soon as our feet left the salt covered ground we instantly floated to the surface. It was amazing. Then we got out and spread the Dead Sea mud on our bodies and let it dry before we washed it off in the Sea. By this point we were running on ten minutes of sleep so we decided to go and sun bathe by the pool and let our selves drift off to sleep. That didn’t quite work out though considering we were in and out of the pool every 5 minutes to cool off! The sun was baking us alive! Lol Then Dez and me found a random hammock to chill in away from everyone else and slept for like an hour in the shade. It was paradise. After that I got an ice cream and a beer (random I know) and chilled by the bar with Dez, Janner, Ghaz, and Sippy. Then we had lunch. Fortunately, it was a 2 and a half hour bus ride to Eilat so we had some time to sleep in the bus. When we got to Eilat we were expecting to just eat dinner and go to sleep but Elad surprised us and said that since we had been so good, he was taking us to another club and dinner at the Eilat mall! So we rushed to our rooms and got ready quickly. I went down before everyone else and met Gil in the hallway where he informed me that I was NOT going to bed after the club, but we were all going to have a little after party in his room…who was I to say no? haha. We got to the Eilat mall and searched around for a place to buy a burger because we were so sick of the same food every night ahaha. Finally we found a McDonalds and Gil, Dolav, and Yosi were already ordering. Rather than spending 2 hours trying to communicate with the person at the register, we got Gil and Dolav to order our food and had our best dinner yet in Israel (which was kosher may I add! Lol) We wanted to shop around in the mall but our time was basically up so we met the rest of the group and did a short shopping spree down the promenade on the way to the club. Me and Jan went ahead of everyone and met Shirley at the end and had a quick heart to heart about our hookups during the trip! And when I went to buy a bottle of water from a near by vendor, I got hit on by a bunch of Israeli soldiers! Haha I love Israel! The rest of the group eventually met up with us and we finally got into the club. We all bought our drinks and hit the dance floor and danced with Elad which was the funniest part of the trip! O my gosh u guys I miss him so much! Then I decided to go smoke a cigarette outside because I was in Israel lol I sat down at the bar with Dez and asked the guy next to me for a light. Bad idea. He was kinda cute but weird too and started hitting on me and bought a me a drink. According to Yousha I owed him a dance after that! Lol but I didn’t know these weird rules so I tried to get away from him. But he kept following me! Elad came up and said “do u need help?” so I jokingly said yes and Elad went and told him off!!!! It was hilarious. The guy didn’t give up though. 5 minutes later he came back and tried to ask me to dance. This time Elad got really mad and screamed at him! Haha. I went to sit down and have some hookah with Jan Dez and Ghaz and talked to Elad about the guy and Elad lectured me. He said, “You can’t blame these guys for trying so hard. You’re one of the most beautiful and sexy girls here. Of course they ar all going to be hitting on you. But remember, I’m you’re daddy on this trip and if you ever need help, I will protect you.” I was so touched by his words that I let him in on my secret crush on Gil. He said, “Well he’s definitely a lucky guy and once you tell him of your crush he’ll be jumping for joy!” I love Elad. Then Gil and me had a short convo at the bar and as I got up the guy came up to me AGAIN and asked me to dance! I didn’t know what to say at this point but Gil saved me. He put his arm around my waist and pressed me against him saying to the guy “She’s with me, leave us alone.” I looked up at him and he looked down at me and kissed me. He smiled and said “don’t you feel lucky to have me around? I come in useful sometimes!” lol then we danced until the night was over. When we got back to the hotel, I was nowhere near tired. I was delirious. Delirious and drunk lol. So I dragged Jan, Sippy, and Ghaz to the guy’s room and we all took shots together. I sang for everyone completely drunk and told them that they might be seeing me on American Idol next season if I get lucky! Eventually everyone trickled out and said their goodnights but as I got up to leave Gil pulled me back. He placed a kiss on my neck and said, “You’re not going newhere.” CENSORED AGAIN! Lol but still, a night to remember. I got back to the room about 4 in the morning and crashed.
DAY 7: Tuesday the 3rd
7:30 wake up call! At this point we had accumulated less that 7 hours of sleep the whole trip so needless to say, we were delirious. We packed our bags, got dressed, and had a quick breakfast in the hotel before boarding the bus. We drove to the desert and had a quick geology lesson under the shade of a tree before hiking through the rocky mountains of the desert. That was fun. I had so much energy I didn’t know what to do with it! I was at the beginning o the group and almost ran up and down the mountains! We stopped in a cave of sorts and Elad put on an Arab accent and told us the story of Ali and Alila. Hilarious. Then we climbed back to the bus and drove for about a half hour to the Red Sea. Ah the Red Sea. We got into our bathing suits and jumped in! Mike let us use his snorkel for a while and seeing the reefs and coral and little fishes swimming around was amazing. Finally we got out and did some sun bathing near the sea. What a relaxing day. We all got dressed and gathered under the canopy we rented and Elad spoke to us. He told us that that night the soldiers would be leaving us and going back to the army. We were all distraught. Each of the soldiers spoke and told us what we had given them on this trip, physically and emotionally! A select few of us got up and said something to the soldiers but most of us were speechless. Gil and me were locked eye to eye the whole time. We got up and walked to the bus drearily wondering if this would be the last time we would ever see our soldiers. We got on the bus and drove to get lunch. But something happened at lunch (along with another thing) that changed our whole trip around. One of the girls (who shall remain nameless) got a terrible case of the shakes and started to get short of breath. She almost passed out. We called an ambulance and she was whisked away to the hospital. We were supposed to make our way down to Jerusalem but, needless to say, we had to wait around for her to be taken care of at the hospital. So we drove to a tiny mountain and looked over Eilat whilst Elad told us stories. That was fun. We got to spend time with Gil, Dolav, and Yosi, and as always, they made us laugh nonstop. Elad got a call from the hospital saying that she was good enough to come back with us so we boarded the bus, picked her up, and made our way down to Jerusalem. This time, Gil sat semi next to me on the bus. We wanted to talk. We wanted to take each other in and spend as much time as possible with the other before we had to drop him off in Jerusalem. But on the way, Natalie got sick. She threw up in the bus so we had to pull over for about a half an hour and give her some air. But by the time we were on our way again we had lost a significant amount of time. The soldiers were supposed to have already been in Jerusalem and we were two hours away at least. After listening to Elad talk to Gil in Hebrew for a while, Gil explained to me that he might be staying another night! We were both so excited and couldn’t compose ourselves! But after Elad talked to the officers he informed us that only the girls would be staying another night and the boys would be leaving us. It was like having him taken away from me all over again. But Elad said that the guys were welcome to join us tomorrow on the last day if they wanted. I looked at Gil. He said to me “It’s hard enough saying goodbye to u once, I don’t want to do it again” So when the bus stopped he had to gather all of his bags and we said a rushed goodbye. I watched him leave and I was too upset to even cry. When we arrived in Jerusalem we felt jetlagged after the 5 hour bus ride. We had dinner and went straight up to our rooms to crash.
DAY 8: Wednesday the 4th. Our Last day in Israel.
7:00 a.m. wake up call, our last wake up call in Israel. We were pooped and upset/relieved about the trip being over. We all got dressed this time into clothing that we looked good in because there was no hiking to be done that day. I wore my polka dotted halter dress and for once, I felt pretty. We drove over to Yad Vashem the Holocaust Memorial Museum and started a tour down memory lane. As if we weren’t depressed enough about leaving we were watching these images of our ancestors in the war. I tried to get in the right mindset but there was already too much on my mind. Half way through the tour, I was looking at one of the exhibitions of the countries affected by the Holocaust drastically, and I felt Dez’s hand grab my arm and pull me back violently, spinning me around. There in front of me stood my Gil, completely decked out in his army uniform smiling at me. My jaw dropped. “Wat are you doing here!?” he grabbed me, gave me a peck on the cheek, and whispered in my ear “I came back for you.” It was a scene out of an Audrey Hepburn movie, me standing there in his arms in my forties polka dot dress and him smiling down at me in his army uniform. You can’t get more romantic than that, can you? We walked through the rest of the museum and then went to hear a Holocaust survivor’s testimony. After the testimony we were led through the children’s memorial and down to the graveyard. We saw countless soldiers graves and said a prayer for each and everyone. We placed a rock on Theodore Hertzel’s tombstone and listened to Elad’s speeches. And then, something happened that I would remember for the rest of my life. We reached the Israeli spies’ section and buried there was Hannah Senesh. Hannah Senesh holds a special place in my heart. When my cousin Jordanna was in the annual Hero’s play in Hebrew school she played Hannah Senesh and I had to hear Senesh’s song every day while she memorized her lines. I memorized it needless to say. When Elad started to explain about Hannah’s life and the famous song that she wrote “Eli Eli,” he told us that if any of us knew the song, we should sing it now. I was the only one, and even though I knew the song in Hebrew I thought, I want to be different. There at the grave of Hannah Senesh, I sang in front of dozens of people (and a camera lol) Eli Eli in English for everyone to hear. It was the second most spiritual experience of my life, the first being the Kotel.
Eli, Eli O Lord, My G-d
She lo yigamer leolam I pray that thse things shall never end.
Hakhol ve hayam the sand and the sea
Rishrush shel hamayim the rush of the waters
Berak hashamayim the crash of the heavens
Tfilat ha'adam the prayer of man.
I think I might be the one of the only girls in the world to have an experience like that. Everyone in the group (including the leader of Sachlav) all came up to me and told me what a great voice I have and how beautiful it was but that wasn’t what was important to me. In those few moments as I sang, I shared a few brief instances with Hannah Senesh, and in a way, it was my thanks to her for all that she did for my people during the war. It was one of the single most amazing moments of my life. After a quick lunch we got on the bus and Gil sat next to me. He changed out of his uniform (while I watched haha) and we just sat and talked with each other eye-to-eye faces only centimeters away from each other the whole time. We talked and talked. I learned more about him that day then any other boy I’ve ever even dated. He was so different. So very different. When we arried in Tel Aviv we entered Independence Hall where Israel was declared a free country. We listened to the real recording of Ben Gurion’s speech and sang the Hatikva along with the recording of the people of Israel After Independence Hall, and filling out some surveys about what the Israel trip meant to us, we walked over to what Elad said was the best Schwarma place in Tel Aviv. Me and Gil walked down the streets of Tel Aviv with his arm around me, and he ordered me and Dez’s food when we got there. Elad was definitely right! That was the best Schwarma I’ve ever tasted!. Gil and I had a beer and a cigarette together and flirted on the corner of this beautiful street in Tel Aviv eventually noticing Elad staring at us and smiling. We looked over at him and he looked Gil straight in the eye and said something in Hebrew to him at which Gil looked terrified! I asked Elad what he said and he said, “I said that if he hurts you, I’ll castrate him.” LOL I love Elad. I miss him so much. We walked back to the bus hand in hand and drove to Jafa the most beautiful city I had yet seen during the nighttime. We took pictures over looking the city but Gil and me weren’t interested in that. We just wanted to talk and be as close as possible in our last moments together. We all walked down to a patch of grass next to the bus to have our final session in Israel and talk about how we had changed and how this trip had influenced us to be better Jews. All the while we laughed and cried and sang “eenjah layeh maneh,” Gil laid in my lap and rubbed my ankles as I stroked his hair. We received our group pictures from Taglit and the leader of Sachlav told us that if we were ever in Israel and needed a place to stay, his family would welcome us with open arms. As we walked back to the bus I looked around at Israel. My Israel. It had become more of a home to me in ten days than L.A. had ever been to me my whole life. The tears fell but nobody saw. Everyone was too immersed in their own grief to realize anyone else’s emotions. When we boarded, Gil told me that he wanted to say a quick goodbye to everyone so that he could spend his last few moments with Sachlav, with me. When he was done, he sat down and sighed. “Are you going to miss me?” he said. “Psh no! haha of course I’m going to miss you!” I said. “Will you think about me every day? Because, Pink (his nickname for me), I will think about you every moment of my life.” “I kissed him and said, “You’ve changed my life. I have to think about you all the time!” We kissed again and he asked me “Did I ever tell you why your nickname is pink?” I shook my head and wondered why I had never asked. I assumed it was because on the first day we met I was wearing pink but his explanation went further than that. “The first day I arrived and met the group, my eyes went straight to you. Before I even spoke a word to you, I was raving about you to Yosi and Dolav and because I didn’t know your name, the only name I could give you was pink because of the beautiful pink dress you were wearing. You will always be pink to me!” I laughed and we kissed again. Not fast pace make out kissing. Soft kisses on the lips and on the cheeks. Before we knew it we had stopped at the bus stop and he had to get off. He kissed me again and buried his face in my neck. “I’ll always remember you” he said, and he bolted up, grabbed his bag, made his way to the door, and with one last look back at me, Gil Ben Zeev walked out of my life. On the way to the airport, I was beyond crying. Crying or even sobbing could not express what I was feeling, so I didn’t waste my strength. My memories of checking in at the airport are a blur of hasty goodbye’s to the rest of the soldiers and small talk with the rest of the group that had not extended their trip as we waited to check in our bags. But I do remember one conversation. Sharone had had a little thing with Natalie (the soldier) and he spoke to me about how he had never met a girl like her before. Every thing that he told me about Natalie was what I as feeling about Gil. Israeli’s are just, different. I don’t know how to explain it, but they are. We said our goodbye’s to Elad and he gave me an extra big hug and kiss and said “your’e always smiling no matter what. I want you to promise me that you’ll keep your million dollar smile with you wherever you go for the rest of your life.” He hugged me again and I left Elad in Israel. After a little bit of snack shopping in the airport we boarded the plane. As I looked through the tiny airplane window I said goodbye to my Israel. I was so exhausted emotionally and physically, that I fell asleep before the plane even took off. Me and Janner slept for ten hours straight and woke up only when the lights turned on. I stayed awake for about two hours and slept for the remaining two until the plane landed.
DAY9: Back in L.A.
When we got back to L.A. it was like Israel had been a dream. Even now it doesn’t seem real to me. Over breakfast with Dez at IHOP we talked about Gil and the whole trip and I wanted so badly to cry but I knew I had to be strong. Crying wouldn’t solve anything. It would just make it seem like I was sad that it happened.
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”
That quote defines my Israel experience. Even now I can’t believe that everything that I experienced in the last ten days is half a world away from me. It’s hard to believe that a trip that I found so defining only lasted ten days. I want every Jew out there to promise me that they will experience birthright. You will go as one person and come back as another. A better person. A person more knowledgeable of their heritage, as I am now.
And now a Few Thankyou’s:
Jan Jan: It wouldn’t have been the same without you. You’re hilarious remarks, you’re face while watching the fire people, your enthusiasm for getting CRUNK! You’re sighs and shakes of your head when the exhaustion was getting to you. Most of my laughter on this trip came from you. Unlike anyone else, you’re blood runs through my veins and that connection can never be and will never be broken. Thank you for making this experience ten times better for me. I love you.
Dez: All I can say is “Wakey Wakey!” haha o Dez ur face every time we heard that familiar “Mi***m” or “Are we in the Kotel?” joke was priceless. And of course in the Bedouin tent “If you guys are awake can you at least go outside or something? Have some fucking respect!” haha that is something that no one will ever forget. Just laying in the hammock for an hour or getting a massage in the same room as you made my trip ten times better and I thank you for putting up with me for ten days! Haha I love you.
Ghaz: hahahaha Ghaz every time I looked at you during this trip you were laughing either because something was funny or (most of the time) because you were too delirious to function! Haha on the second to last day when we were waiting for you know who to be done in the hospital and we were on the top of that hill looking over at Eilat I just kept looking over at you and you couldn’t stop laughing. You’re hilarious! And of course, who could forget the camel ride? “I’m getting practice Ghaz!” “NO! it’s not like this bitch it’s way more enjoyable!” haha I love you too Ghaz.
Sippy: oh Sippy Sippy Sippy! This trip wouldn’t have been the same without you! From your contagious laughter to your ridiculous Sippy remarks like “It’s just peace out right? Just Peace Out?” hahaha Your soul is so beautiful and innocent and your face is what lit up my day ever morning at breakfast. Your insecurities are not backed by anything Sippy, and I just want to tell you that you are a beautiful amazing person and don’t let neone tell you otherwise! I hope you’re having fun in Israel and I wish I had extened my trip to be with you! I love you as well Sippy.
Elad: Elad Elad Elad! Without your knowledge and humor this trip would not have been the experience of a lifetime. And even though you were tough on us at times you always knew how to cheer us up or let loose with us on the dance floor! You were both my mother and my father for ten days and your rose to the occasion magnificently! Even though I knew you for only a short period of time I still do love you as much as anyone else I’ve known forever. Thank you Elad.
Gil: Last, but definitely not least. You made me realize that not all guys are the same. That somewhere out there is a guy that will treat me like the princess I deserve to be treated like. Someone who doesn’t treat me like “a piece of meat” (in your own words haha) and someone who, like you, makes me feel worthwhile. You’re amazing, astounding, and what you do for your country every day just makes you that much better of a person. And yes, I love you too! haha
As I said before there are no words to describe such an experience as this, but I did try! What I wrote in the last ten pages can not even come close to what this trip has done for my soul. I hope that every Jew out there visits our homeland whether it is with birthright or not. I love you Israel. I love you my homeland.
Kol od balevav p'nimah כל עוד בלבב פנימה
Nefesh Yehudi homiyah נפש יהודי הומיה
Ulfa'atey mizrach kadimah ולפאתי מזרח קדימה
Ayin l'tzion tzofiyah עין לציון צופיה
Od lo avdah tikvatenu עוד לא אבדה תקותנו
Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim התקוה בת שנות אלפים
L'hiyot am chofshi b'artzenu להיות עם חופשי בארצנו
Eretz Tzion v'Yerushalayim ארץ ציון וירושלים
End Rant.
DAY 1: Wednesday the 27th
We arrived in Israel and I swear, you could taste the spices in the air. We were exhausted from the fourteen-hour flight, but hell, we were more excited. And that’s when we met Elad. The man that would turn our Israel trip into the most exciting packed 10 days of our lives. We all hopped on the bus and drove to Arbel Mountain. As we sat and listened to Elad explain that we would be changed after this trip, we looked out on to the land that was Israel. Tsvat to our left and another prominent city to our right. We said the Shehechianu and climbed down the mountain. Next we were off to the Kineret for a Disco Cruise! We were dying of exhaustion but as soon as they began to play the music we were up and dancing like crazy in our nasty plane clothes and no makeup to be seen! Lol it was amazing. Teaching Sippy how to belly dance, watching Dez play the Bongos, and just looking out onto the River anticipating the next ten days was amazing. Then, thoroughly exhausted still lol, We arrived at the Kibbutz Afik Guest House barely standing and lugged our suitcases to the front of the convention center. We sat in a circle and listened to Elad tell us what our expectations of this trip should be. The unofficial motto of Sachlav? “This is not a vacation, it is an experience.” With all the strength we could muster we carried our luggage to our rooms. Me, Janner, and Dez took long ass showers, and crawled into our tiny beds for our first night of restless sleep.
DAY 2: Thursday the 28th
6:00 a.m. wake up call! Dressing as fast as we could and packing our bags, we loaded the bus and ate a rushed breakfast. We drove out of the Kibbutz and arrived at Gadot. There we heard the battle stories of the land and the amazing stories of the spies that fell for Israel. Elad was amazing. He knew everything about the land, and more. Next we hiked down the mountain and drove to the Jordan River for Kayaking! The first time wearing a bathing suit, my boobs attracted a bit of attention ahahaha. We loaded our kayaks and set off! I’ve never laughed so much in my life. We were pathetic at steering a kayak and almost got tipped over atleast 5 times by the Israeli boys that cornered us, the only kayak holding 6 girls lol. Dez sustained here bruised hand that was horrible all the way through the trip ahaha we love u dez. Got completely wet and ate falafels on the side of the Jordan. Yeah. Be jealous. Ahaha. We then changed and drove to Safed (center of Jewish mysticism) to tour the unique synagogues. The stories that I heard of these synagogues were overwhelming. Or the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of overpowering pride of my heritage. We did a bit of shopping (not a lot cuz we needed to save our money lol) and we were off to Jerusalem. We arrived at the Jerusalem Gate Hotel and unloaded the bus. When we got the the rooms, we crashed.
DAY 3: Friday the 29th
6:30 a.m. wake up call! At breakfast, we noticed a table of male Israeli soldiers. A couple of them were cute, but we didn’t know that our whole trip would be changed by each and every one. As we drove around the corner from the hotel, we passed a cute and tiny girl Israeli soldier standing on the corner almost covered in bags. The bus stopped and on got Natalie, the cutest of them all. The guys flocked to the front of the bus to greet her! Lol. We were off on another adventure, this time, to tour the city of David and the Jewish quarter of the old city. When we were getting ready to trudge through the underground water tunnels of Jerusalem, two more female soldiers joined us, Mary and Ashreet. Everyone was distant, but Michella, Ashreet, and Mary were instant best friends and half an hour later, were holding hands through the underground tunnels. We still had not properly met the male soldiers but me and the girls were attracting significant stares from them all the whole time ;) . The soldiers all changed out of their uniforms and we all began our traipse through the tunnel. A soldier with tremendous B.O. was in front of me and though I was confused I was also relieved when he and the soldier in front of him traded places in the tunnel. That soldier immediately began to talk to me. His name was Gil. He changed my life. But not yet! Haha we’ll get to that later! When we emerged from the tunnel, we changed out of our wet clothing and into something more appropriate for the Kotel. Ah the Kotel. How do I explain it? When we reached the Kotel we washed our hands in the fountains and made our way through to the wall. The Wailing Wall. I always wondered why they called it that and I discovered it’s meaning that day. As we approached the wall an old lady stopped us and told us to bow our heads. And blessed us. Each and everyone of us separately, she blessed us. To have wonderful lives, husbands, and homes. And we finally got to the wall. When my hand touched the wall, I began to sob. I began to wail. I began to pray to Hashem and I had a prayer for everyone I’ve ever known and know now. If you are reading this, I probably prayed for you. For your life, your health, your well being. I’ve never cried and been so happy at the same time. I placed my note in the wall, and walked away from the wall, facing it the whole time, because you can never have your back to the wall. When we reached the outside of the wall and waited for the rest of the group to come back, I stared at the Israeli flag and began to think about my life. I know it sounds corny but my views of life and Judaism changed that day. After a short tour of the old city, humming “Yerushaleem Shel Zahav” all the way, we did a little shopping, and met up with the rest of the group. We then learned the official motto of Sachlav. “We Sachlov you!” hahaha. We then made our way to Machne Yehuda market to do some more shopping and see the Israeli’s prepare for Shabbat. Gil told us that we should buy some alcohol because that night would probably be the only night we would be able to get drunk since the next day was Shabbat and we didn’t have to wake up early. So we did ;). We drove back to the hotel and had 2 hours to get ready for Shabbat. For the first time in the whole time we had been in Israel we were able to do ourselves up and look pretty! Lol As we left our rooms and made our way down to the bus we could tell that people were staring but we didn’t care. Tonight was not dedicated to our appearances. It was dedicated to our religion, our newfound culture, and our home. Our Israel. When we got to the Kotel again we lit the Shabbat candles, and then we perused the Kotel. Let me tell you, if Shabbat in L.A. was like Shabbat at the Western Wall, I would make Shabbat every night! I was expecting people walking around praying solemnly and being quiet and respectful. What scene met my eyes was unbelievable. Thousands upon thousands of people dancing joyously running around and screaming “Shabbat Shalom! Baruch Hashem, the Sabbath is here!” kids singing songs with their parents and making dance circles with people you’ve never met before in your life. It was awe-inspiring. It was Shabbat in Yerushalaeem. After Shabbat dinner with some other Taglit groups, we walked for an hour and a half back to the hotel and though we were bushed, we changed out of our Shabbat clothes and into our leisure clothes, picked up out bottle of Israeli alcohol, and made our way to Sippy’s and Ghaz’s room. That night was hilarious and annoying at the same time. Trying to get the soldiers away from the crazy girls who kept chasing them! They wanted so much to just be with us but instead were being followed by every girl on our trip. We finally got Edan and Aner into our room and began drinking. Later on Dolav, Gil, and Yosi finally escaped and joined us. We drank to our heart’s content and crawled back to our rooms to pass out.
DAY 4: Saturday, Shabbat the 30th
10:15 wake up call! After waking up to hear amazing stories of Rabbi K’s brother and life in general we went to have lunch, tears streaming down our faces from his touching words. After lunch we joined Rabbi K again to hear more stories and ask questions about Judaism. Then we all traipsed back to our rooms to have a nice rest and get ready for our walk to a famous Israeli singer/Rabbi’s house in a tiny town in Jerusalem. In his tiny synagogue we established the theme song of the trip “eenjah layeh Maneh, Dooset Darem Halee Ziad” haha Payman is going to be famous!! We then walked back to the hotel and got ready for clubbing in Jerusalem! After a short Havdalah in the lobby, we drove to Ben Yehuda Street and did some shopping. It was beautiful. It was Jerusalem! Then we changed out of our flip-flops and into our heals and made our way to the club! We checked in our bags and then rushed straight to the bar to do shots with Elad! Israeli shots are about a shot and a half btw! We went up stairs and started to dance in that tiny tiny room! Lol it was so much fun. I went outside and had a cigarette with Gil and he made me buy him a drink because even though he had drank SO MUCH he still wasn’t drunk! Haha I sat out there forever just talking to him. He’s so amazing. Then he led me to the dance floor and we danced the night away. Still drunk out of our minds we left the club and I piggy back rided Gil all the way to the bus haha. When we got back to the hotel, I crawled to the bed and passed out!
DAY 5: 1st Sunday
8:00 a.m. wake up call! After scrambling into our clothes and packing at warp speed, we dragged our feet to breakfast and the bus to drive us to our first hike of the day. When we got there, we changed into our bathing suits and hiking clothes and followed Elad up the mountain. At the midpoint, there were two watering holes so we stripped off our clothes and jumped in. My one complaint about Israel: all of the rivers and seas don’t have dirt on the bottom only really sharp rocks! My feet are raw red! Lol neways after cooling off in the watering holes we hiked back down the mountain and changed out of our wet clothes. We hopped on the bus and arrived 10 minutes later at the Dead Sea Factory. You know those little kiosks full of pushy Israeli’s in the mall that you always have to try and get away from? I visited the factory! Hahaha but I was way too tired to shop. After a short movie about the Dead Sea products and after everyone had bought their stuff, we drove down to the Mamshit Bedouin camp. That’s when it really got emotional. Elad sat us all down on the mattresses inside our tent and told us he had something special prepared for us. He said that the whole time the soldiers had been with us we had gotten to know them as our peers and friends and people our age that are just like us but from a different country. But we had not gotten to know the other side, the side of them that had basically been their whole lives for the last three years. So the soldiers walked into the tent in their uniforms and sat down in front of us. One by one they each got up and told one story about their experience in the army. Only one story. That’s all it took for us to be sobbing by the end of it. It got to Gil an he told us about being a commander and about how he has to order his friends around and how one wrong move can end up in death. The whole time he spoke, he eyes were locked on mine. How were we supposed to react now that we actually knew these soldiers? Were we supposed to treat them differently? Were we supposed to pamper them and tell them constantly what amazing people they are? Or do they just wanted to be treated the same as always? Afterwards, when the soldiers went back to change out of their uniforms, we tried to regain some composure. We were led to another tent where the Bedouins made us tea and coffee and explained some of their rituals to us. They called this all “Bedouin hospitality.” Then came the fun part! We all ran to the stable and picked out a…CAMEL! We got to ride camels! Lol it was so much fun! Ghaz and me were terrified and the jokes were a little too risky to put on myspace but it was hilarious nonetheless. Then we made our way back to the tents to have dinner where I saw Gil and the others for the first time since their speeches. One look told me that nothing had changed, and I was happy about that. After dinner, all the girls went to get their toiletries to have a shower. That was an experience! I can’t really explain it but if you were there, you know exactly what I’m talking about! Haha. And then off to bed…but not really. None of us could sleep there was WAY too much noise going on but then my mommy called me and I had to try and find a quiet place to speak with her. I went over into the next tent and found Gil, Dolav, Yosi, and Pehjman sitting and drinking wine and smoking cigarettes. I was talking to my mom though so I didn’t really pay attention to them until Gil and Dolav called me over. I sat next to Gil and had a cigarette or two. He asked me what I thought of the presentation. I looked him straight in the eye and said “I had no idea. I’m so sorry.” But he laughed it off and gave me a hug. Then he said in ten minutes he’d come and get me from the other tent and we could “spend some time together” lol So ten minutes later I was in his tent again and we went outside to have a cig with Yosi and Dolav because Svetlana was getting mad that we were smoking in the tent. Eventually Yosi and Dolav disappeared and Gil took my hand and led me a long way away into the middle of the desert. CENSORED! Lol let’s just say it was a night I would never forget! When we got back to the tents, there were still a few people making noise but I was tired so I didn’t care. Gil kissed me goodnight and I went to bed. Unfortunately I only got about 10 minutes of sleep that night, as did we all!
DAY 6: Monday the 2nd
3:00 a.m. wake up call! Yes I said 3 a.m. lol we woke up as crabby as can be and made our way to the bathrooms to get dressed for the LONG day ahead of us. We had tea and biscuits for a little snack and then drove to Masada to see the sunrise. We ran up the mountain so as not to be late all the while listening to the Eagles music who were playing at the bottom of the mountain! Crazy huh? When we go to the top, the scene was breathtaking. We all took a quick few pictures and then watched the sunrise on Masada. I got it on video! Haha. After the sunrise we did a few hours tour of Masada and then, the longest hike EVER down the mountain. We took a different way then the way we used to come up and this way was called a “snake trail.” Our legs were shaking midway! Hardest hike we’ve ever done. But when we got down it was a great sense of accomplishment and Elad gave me a huge hug and kiss on the cheek and told me how proud he was of me! After a quick lunch we all drove over to the Dead Sea! We had quite a while there and we got to use the Dead Sea hotel’s pool as well as the actual Dead Sea! Dez and me went first for our massages (BOMB ass massages and mine was with a random Ethiopian guy who straddled me at one point hahaha) and then made our way to the beach. What a view. Amazing is all I can say. First we went into the Sea and as soon as our feet left the salt covered ground we instantly floated to the surface. It was amazing. Then we got out and spread the Dead Sea mud on our bodies and let it dry before we washed it off in the Sea. By this point we were running on ten minutes of sleep so we decided to go and sun bathe by the pool and let our selves drift off to sleep. That didn’t quite work out though considering we were in and out of the pool every 5 minutes to cool off! The sun was baking us alive! Lol Then Dez and me found a random hammock to chill in away from everyone else and slept for like an hour in the shade. It was paradise. After that I got an ice cream and a beer (random I know) and chilled by the bar with Dez, Janner, Ghaz, and Sippy. Then we had lunch. Fortunately, it was a 2 and a half hour bus ride to Eilat so we had some time to sleep in the bus. When we got to Eilat we were expecting to just eat dinner and go to sleep but Elad surprised us and said that since we had been so good, he was taking us to another club and dinner at the Eilat mall! So we rushed to our rooms and got ready quickly. I went down before everyone else and met Gil in the hallway where he informed me that I was NOT going to bed after the club, but we were all going to have a little after party in his room…who was I to say no? haha. We got to the Eilat mall and searched around for a place to buy a burger because we were so sick of the same food every night ahaha. Finally we found a McDonalds and Gil, Dolav, and Yosi were already ordering. Rather than spending 2 hours trying to communicate with the person at the register, we got Gil and Dolav to order our food and had our best dinner yet in Israel (which was kosher may I add! Lol) We wanted to shop around in the mall but our time was basically up so we met the rest of the group and did a short shopping spree down the promenade on the way to the club. Me and Jan went ahead of everyone and met Shirley at the end and had a quick heart to heart about our hookups during the trip! And when I went to buy a bottle of water from a near by vendor, I got hit on by a bunch of Israeli soldiers! Haha I love Israel! The rest of the group eventually met up with us and we finally got into the club. We all bought our drinks and hit the dance floor and danced with Elad which was the funniest part of the trip! O my gosh u guys I miss him so much! Then I decided to go smoke a cigarette outside because I was in Israel lol I sat down at the bar with Dez and asked the guy next to me for a light. Bad idea. He was kinda cute but weird too and started hitting on me and bought a me a drink. According to Yousha I owed him a dance after that! Lol but I didn’t know these weird rules so I tried to get away from him. But he kept following me! Elad came up and said “do u need help?” so I jokingly said yes and Elad went and told him off!!!! It was hilarious. The guy didn’t give up though. 5 minutes later he came back and tried to ask me to dance. This time Elad got really mad and screamed at him! Haha. I went to sit down and have some hookah with Jan Dez and Ghaz and talked to Elad about the guy and Elad lectured me. He said, “You can’t blame these guys for trying so hard. You’re one of the most beautiful and sexy girls here. Of course they ar all going to be hitting on you. But remember, I’m you’re daddy on this trip and if you ever need help, I will protect you.” I was so touched by his words that I let him in on my secret crush on Gil. He said, “Well he’s definitely a lucky guy and once you tell him of your crush he’ll be jumping for joy!” I love Elad. Then Gil and me had a short convo at the bar and as I got up the guy came up to me AGAIN and asked me to dance! I didn’t know what to say at this point but Gil saved me. He put his arm around my waist and pressed me against him saying to the guy “She’s with me, leave us alone.” I looked up at him and he looked down at me and kissed me. He smiled and said “don’t you feel lucky to have me around? I come in useful sometimes!” lol then we danced until the night was over. When we got back to the hotel, I was nowhere near tired. I was delirious. Delirious and drunk lol. So I dragged Jan, Sippy, and Ghaz to the guy’s room and we all took shots together. I sang for everyone completely drunk and told them that they might be seeing me on American Idol next season if I get lucky! Eventually everyone trickled out and said their goodnights but as I got up to leave Gil pulled me back. He placed a kiss on my neck and said, “You’re not going newhere.” CENSORED AGAIN! Lol but still, a night to remember. I got back to the room about 4 in the morning and crashed.
DAY 7: Tuesday the 3rd
7:30 wake up call! At this point we had accumulated less that 7 hours of sleep the whole trip so needless to say, we were delirious. We packed our bags, got dressed, and had a quick breakfast in the hotel before boarding the bus. We drove to the desert and had a quick geology lesson under the shade of a tree before hiking through the rocky mountains of the desert. That was fun. I had so much energy I didn’t know what to do with it! I was at the beginning o the group and almost ran up and down the mountains! We stopped in a cave of sorts and Elad put on an Arab accent and told us the story of Ali and Alila. Hilarious. Then we climbed back to the bus and drove for about a half hour to the Red Sea. Ah the Red Sea. We got into our bathing suits and jumped in! Mike let us use his snorkel for a while and seeing the reefs and coral and little fishes swimming around was amazing. Finally we got out and did some sun bathing near the sea. What a relaxing day. We all got dressed and gathered under the canopy we rented and Elad spoke to us. He told us that that night the soldiers would be leaving us and going back to the army. We were all distraught. Each of the soldiers spoke and told us what we had given them on this trip, physically and emotionally! A select few of us got up and said something to the soldiers but most of us were speechless. Gil and me were locked eye to eye the whole time. We got up and walked to the bus drearily wondering if this would be the last time we would ever see our soldiers. We got on the bus and drove to get lunch. But something happened at lunch (along with another thing) that changed our whole trip around. One of the girls (who shall remain nameless) got a terrible case of the shakes and started to get short of breath. She almost passed out. We called an ambulance and she was whisked away to the hospital. We were supposed to make our way down to Jerusalem but, needless to say, we had to wait around for her to be taken care of at the hospital. So we drove to a tiny mountain and looked over Eilat whilst Elad told us stories. That was fun. We got to spend time with Gil, Dolav, and Yosi, and as always, they made us laugh nonstop. Elad got a call from the hospital saying that she was good enough to come back with us so we boarded the bus, picked her up, and made our way down to Jerusalem. This time, Gil sat semi next to me on the bus. We wanted to talk. We wanted to take each other in and spend as much time as possible with the other before we had to drop him off in Jerusalem. But on the way, Natalie got sick. She threw up in the bus so we had to pull over for about a half an hour and give her some air. But by the time we were on our way again we had lost a significant amount of time. The soldiers were supposed to have already been in Jerusalem and we were two hours away at least. After listening to Elad talk to Gil in Hebrew for a while, Gil explained to me that he might be staying another night! We were both so excited and couldn’t compose ourselves! But after Elad talked to the officers he informed us that only the girls would be staying another night and the boys would be leaving us. It was like having him taken away from me all over again. But Elad said that the guys were welcome to join us tomorrow on the last day if they wanted. I looked at Gil. He said to me “It’s hard enough saying goodbye to u once, I don’t want to do it again” So when the bus stopped he had to gather all of his bags and we said a rushed goodbye. I watched him leave and I was too upset to even cry. When we arrived in Jerusalem we felt jetlagged after the 5 hour bus ride. We had dinner and went straight up to our rooms to crash.
DAY 8: Wednesday the 4th. Our Last day in Israel.
7:00 a.m. wake up call, our last wake up call in Israel. We were pooped and upset/relieved about the trip being over. We all got dressed this time into clothing that we looked good in because there was no hiking to be done that day. I wore my polka dotted halter dress and for once, I felt pretty. We drove over to Yad Vashem the Holocaust Memorial Museum and started a tour down memory lane. As if we weren’t depressed enough about leaving we were watching these images of our ancestors in the war. I tried to get in the right mindset but there was already too much on my mind. Half way through the tour, I was looking at one of the exhibitions of the countries affected by the Holocaust drastically, and I felt Dez’s hand grab my arm and pull me back violently, spinning me around. There in front of me stood my Gil, completely decked out in his army uniform smiling at me. My jaw dropped. “Wat are you doing here!?” he grabbed me, gave me a peck on the cheek, and whispered in my ear “I came back for you.” It was a scene out of an Audrey Hepburn movie, me standing there in his arms in my forties polka dot dress and him smiling down at me in his army uniform. You can’t get more romantic than that, can you? We walked through the rest of the museum and then went to hear a Holocaust survivor’s testimony. After the testimony we were led through the children’s memorial and down to the graveyard. We saw countless soldiers graves and said a prayer for each and everyone. We placed a rock on Theodore Hertzel’s tombstone and listened to Elad’s speeches. And then, something happened that I would remember for the rest of my life. We reached the Israeli spies’ section and buried there was Hannah Senesh. Hannah Senesh holds a special place in my heart. When my cousin Jordanna was in the annual Hero’s play in Hebrew school she played Hannah Senesh and I had to hear Senesh’s song every day while she memorized her lines. I memorized it needless to say. When Elad started to explain about Hannah’s life and the famous song that she wrote “Eli Eli,” he told us that if any of us knew the song, we should sing it now. I was the only one, and even though I knew the song in Hebrew I thought, I want to be different. There at the grave of Hannah Senesh, I sang in front of dozens of people (and a camera lol) Eli Eli in English for everyone to hear. It was the second most spiritual experience of my life, the first being the Kotel.
Eli, Eli O Lord, My G-d
She lo yigamer leolam I pray that thse things shall never end.
Hakhol ve hayam the sand and the sea
Rishrush shel hamayim the rush of the waters
Berak hashamayim the crash of the heavens
Tfilat ha'adam the prayer of man.
I think I might be the one of the only girls in the world to have an experience like that. Everyone in the group (including the leader of Sachlav) all came up to me and told me what a great voice I have and how beautiful it was but that wasn’t what was important to me. In those few moments as I sang, I shared a few brief instances with Hannah Senesh, and in a way, it was my thanks to her for all that she did for my people during the war. It was one of the single most amazing moments of my life. After a quick lunch we got on the bus and Gil sat next to me. He changed out of his uniform (while I watched haha) and we just sat and talked with each other eye-to-eye faces only centimeters away from each other the whole time. We talked and talked. I learned more about him that day then any other boy I’ve ever even dated. He was so different. So very different. When we arried in Tel Aviv we entered Independence Hall where Israel was declared a free country. We listened to the real recording of Ben Gurion’s speech and sang the Hatikva along with the recording of the people of Israel After Independence Hall, and filling out some surveys about what the Israel trip meant to us, we walked over to what Elad said was the best Schwarma place in Tel Aviv. Me and Gil walked down the streets of Tel Aviv with his arm around me, and he ordered me and Dez’s food when we got there. Elad was definitely right! That was the best Schwarma I’ve ever tasted!. Gil and I had a beer and a cigarette together and flirted on the corner of this beautiful street in Tel Aviv eventually noticing Elad staring at us and smiling. We looked over at him and he looked Gil straight in the eye and said something in Hebrew to him at which Gil looked terrified! I asked Elad what he said and he said, “I said that if he hurts you, I’ll castrate him.” LOL I love Elad. I miss him so much. We walked back to the bus hand in hand and drove to Jafa the most beautiful city I had yet seen during the nighttime. We took pictures over looking the city but Gil and me weren’t interested in that. We just wanted to talk and be as close as possible in our last moments together. We all walked down to a patch of grass next to the bus to have our final session in Israel and talk about how we had changed and how this trip had influenced us to be better Jews. All the while we laughed and cried and sang “eenjah layeh maneh,” Gil laid in my lap and rubbed my ankles as I stroked his hair. We received our group pictures from Taglit and the leader of Sachlav told us that if we were ever in Israel and needed a place to stay, his family would welcome us with open arms. As we walked back to the bus I looked around at Israel. My Israel. It had become more of a home to me in ten days than L.A. had ever been to me my whole life. The tears fell but nobody saw. Everyone was too immersed in their own grief to realize anyone else’s emotions. When we boarded, Gil told me that he wanted to say a quick goodbye to everyone so that he could spend his last few moments with Sachlav, with me. When he was done, he sat down and sighed. “Are you going to miss me?” he said. “Psh no! haha of course I’m going to miss you!” I said. “Will you think about me every day? Because, Pink (his nickname for me), I will think about you every moment of my life.” “I kissed him and said, “You’ve changed my life. I have to think about you all the time!” We kissed again and he asked me “Did I ever tell you why your nickname is pink?” I shook my head and wondered why I had never asked. I assumed it was because on the first day we met I was wearing pink but his explanation went further than that. “The first day I arrived and met the group, my eyes went straight to you. Before I even spoke a word to you, I was raving about you to Yosi and Dolav and because I didn’t know your name, the only name I could give you was pink because of the beautiful pink dress you were wearing. You will always be pink to me!” I laughed and we kissed again. Not fast pace make out kissing. Soft kisses on the lips and on the cheeks. Before we knew it we had stopped at the bus stop and he had to get off. He kissed me again and buried his face in my neck. “I’ll always remember you” he said, and he bolted up, grabbed his bag, made his way to the door, and with one last look back at me, Gil Ben Zeev walked out of my life. On the way to the airport, I was beyond crying. Crying or even sobbing could not express what I was feeling, so I didn’t waste my strength. My memories of checking in at the airport are a blur of hasty goodbye’s to the rest of the soldiers and small talk with the rest of the group that had not extended their trip as we waited to check in our bags. But I do remember one conversation. Sharone had had a little thing with Natalie (the soldier) and he spoke to me about how he had never met a girl like her before. Every thing that he told me about Natalie was what I as feeling about Gil. Israeli’s are just, different. I don’t know how to explain it, but they are. We said our goodbye’s to Elad and he gave me an extra big hug and kiss and said “your’e always smiling no matter what. I want you to promise me that you’ll keep your million dollar smile with you wherever you go for the rest of your life.” He hugged me again and I left Elad in Israel. After a little bit of snack shopping in the airport we boarded the plane. As I looked through the tiny airplane window I said goodbye to my Israel. I was so exhausted emotionally and physically, that I fell asleep before the plane even took off. Me and Janner slept for ten hours straight and woke up only when the lights turned on. I stayed awake for about two hours and slept for the remaining two until the plane landed.
DAY9: Back in L.A.
When we got back to L.A. it was like Israel had been a dream. Even now it doesn’t seem real to me. Over breakfast with Dez at IHOP we talked about Gil and the whole trip and I wanted so badly to cry but I knew I had to be strong. Crying wouldn’t solve anything. It would just make it seem like I was sad that it happened.
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”
That quote defines my Israel experience. Even now I can’t believe that everything that I experienced in the last ten days is half a world away from me. It’s hard to believe that a trip that I found so defining only lasted ten days. I want every Jew out there to promise me that they will experience birthright. You will go as one person and come back as another. A better person. A person more knowledgeable of their heritage, as I am now.
And now a Few Thankyou’s:
Jan Jan: It wouldn’t have been the same without you. You’re hilarious remarks, you’re face while watching the fire people, your enthusiasm for getting CRUNK! You’re sighs and shakes of your head when the exhaustion was getting to you. Most of my laughter on this trip came from you. Unlike anyone else, you’re blood runs through my veins and that connection can never be and will never be broken. Thank you for making this experience ten times better for me. I love you.
Dez: All I can say is “Wakey Wakey!” haha o Dez ur face every time we heard that familiar “Mi***m” or “Are we in the Kotel?” joke was priceless. And of course in the Bedouin tent “If you guys are awake can you at least go outside or something? Have some fucking respect!” haha that is something that no one will ever forget. Just laying in the hammock for an hour or getting a massage in the same room as you made my trip ten times better and I thank you for putting up with me for ten days! Haha I love you.
Ghaz: hahahaha Ghaz every time I looked at you during this trip you were laughing either because something was funny or (most of the time) because you were too delirious to function! Haha on the second to last day when we were waiting for you know who to be done in the hospital and we were on the top of that hill looking over at Eilat I just kept looking over at you and you couldn’t stop laughing. You’re hilarious! And of course, who could forget the camel ride? “I’m getting practice Ghaz!” “NO! it’s not like this bitch it’s way more enjoyable!” haha I love you too Ghaz.
Sippy: oh Sippy Sippy Sippy! This trip wouldn’t have been the same without you! From your contagious laughter to your ridiculous Sippy remarks like “It’s just peace out right? Just Peace Out?” hahaha Your soul is so beautiful and innocent and your face is what lit up my day ever morning at breakfast. Your insecurities are not backed by anything Sippy, and I just want to tell you that you are a beautiful amazing person and don’t let neone tell you otherwise! I hope you’re having fun in Israel and I wish I had extened my trip to be with you! I love you as well Sippy.
Elad: Elad Elad Elad! Without your knowledge and humor this trip would not have been the experience of a lifetime. And even though you were tough on us at times you always knew how to cheer us up or let loose with us on the dance floor! You were both my mother and my father for ten days and your rose to the occasion magnificently! Even though I knew you for only a short period of time I still do love you as much as anyone else I’ve known forever. Thank you Elad.
Gil: Last, but definitely not least. You made me realize that not all guys are the same. That somewhere out there is a guy that will treat me like the princess I deserve to be treated like. Someone who doesn’t treat me like “a piece of meat” (in your own words haha) and someone who, like you, makes me feel worthwhile. You’re amazing, astounding, and what you do for your country every day just makes you that much better of a person. And yes, I love you too! haha
As I said before there are no words to describe such an experience as this, but I did try! What I wrote in the last ten pages can not even come close to what this trip has done for my soul. I hope that every Jew out there visits our homeland whether it is with birthright or not. I love you Israel. I love you my homeland.
Kol od balevav p'nimah כל עוד בלבב פנימה
Nefesh Yehudi homiyah נפש יהודי הומיה
Ulfa'atey mizrach kadimah ולפאתי מזרח קדימה
Ayin l'tzion tzofiyah עין לציון צופיה
Od lo avdah tikvatenu עוד לא אבדה תקותנו
Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim התקוה בת שנות אלפים
L'hiyot am chofshi b'artzenu להיות עם חופשי בארצנו
Eretz Tzion v'Yerushalayim ארץ ציון וירושלים
End Rant.