Tiyul!
Back from a couple days in the desert. I'm full of mosquito bites and a bit sun-burned, but otherwise had a relly good time. The first day drove south and went to Maktesh Katan, or the Small Maktesh. There we did a little 15 minute hike and saw a nice view and heard some stories from our guide, then we went back to the bus and went to a hike right outside the Maktesh, which really turned out to be far more of an obstacle course than a hike. It was 5-hours of trying to avoid these two Orthodox groups, the girls behind us and the boys in front, while climbing down ropes and ledges and stopping every 15 minutes so that everyone could finish it. It definitely gets frustrating hiking with people who have never hiked before or are really out of shape. Anyways, we managed to laugh off most of the day and at the end of the hike Russell, Ami, and I decided to run the last mile, so we set off and finished the mile only to look back and see that we'd run in entirely the wrong direction. So we then made a beeline for where everyone else was through the hills and valleys and still managed to get there early. We then set up camp and relaxed, which is always one of the best parts of our Tiyuls. KT, Russell, and I practiced the hip-hop choreography we'd been learning in class this week to many whoops and catcalls from the group, and then we had a nice hot meal. Then the Madrichim decided to do this ridiculously stupid game and they had us all grab hands and blindfold ourselves and they led us off into the desert, not dignifying the fact that most of us were wearing flip-flops and the terrain was extremely rocky. Then we topped this hill and we took off our blindfolds and individually screamed at the desert as some sort of primal thing, which turned into a big joke, and then we did an Om-circle, which also turned into a big joke. Then Ami played a song, which made everybody happier and we went down and lit the campfire and played music for everybody. Ami played for a while, then KT and I played 8 or 9 songs, and then we were exhausted so we went to bed under the stars for a very cold and uncomfortable night of sleep.
We awoke freezing cold around 5:30am and got up to go stand by the fire to stop the shivering. Fortunately, I managed to feel pretty rested, so I put away all my gear, had breakfast, and just hung out until about 8am, when we all boarded the bus and headed for Ein Bokek, where we did another stupid 30 minute hike to a spring where we were supposed to do story-painting or something, but I opted to join a group of guys who thought it far more productive to clean up the trash near the spring and make it more beautiful. Then we left the spring and walked back to the bus and drove to a beach on the Dead Sea, where we all got in. As always, it was awesome to be in the Dead Sea and it made any badness go away. Then we had a nice lunch, boarded the bus and came back to Arad for Shabbat. KT and I slept for about 3 hours, then I went to Shabbat dinner, and then we went to bed again around 9:30. Now I'm feeling very rested, and very sore, so KT, Russell, and I going for a swim.
We awoke freezing cold around 5:30am and got up to go stand by the fire to stop the shivering. Fortunately, I managed to feel pretty rested, so I put away all my gear, had breakfast, and just hung out until about 8am, when we all boarded the bus and headed for Ein Bokek, where we did another stupid 30 minute hike to a spring where we were supposed to do story-painting or something, but I opted to join a group of guys who thought it far more productive to clean up the trash near the spring and make it more beautiful. Then we left the spring and walked back to the bus and drove to a beach on the Dead Sea, where we all got in. As always, it was awesome to be in the Dead Sea and it made any badness go away. Then we had a nice lunch, boarded the bus and came back to Arad for Shabbat. KT and I slept for about 3 hours, then I went to Shabbat dinner, and then we went to bed again around 9:30. Now I'm feeling very rested, and very sore, so KT, Russell, and I going for a swim.