6 DAYS LEFT UNTIL JAPAN!!! Here is a quick catch up of some recent things 🙂
I made dinner with madre- I was on Kale Salad duty of course, my specialty. I washed, cut and massaged the kale with a simple dressing I made. I used olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and some Himalayan Sea Salt and blended it real quick in the Magic Bullet! I added in red onions, sliced almonds, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, and hearts of palm! NOM.
Homemade turkey burgers, marinated mushrooms, steamed asparagus and kale salad I made!We used the spices I bought my parents from the Dead Sea on the turkey burgers… NOMDad has been helping with the packing he RULES
Last night I met up with some friends from Birthright at the same Thai place I went to with Molly and Chelcie. IT’S SO GOOD
KHUN THAI PANO ayoThai Spring Rolls… that sauce was out of this worldTuna Spring RollsWe shared family style- Green Curry Salmon dish, Red Curry dish with chicken, Pad Thai with chicken, Lard Nar (LOL at that name) with shrimp. We didn’t leave a morsel of food left I can promise you that.BRETT WHO CAME TO SURPRISE ME!!!! 🙂 Happiest/luckiest friend in da worldJust a few from my Birthright fam ❤
After dinner we walked down to this amazing ice cream place called Emack and Bolio’s. I had never heard of it but it was SOOO good!
MUD PIE!!!!! Coffee ice cream with oreos and chocolate chips!Selfies are a must obvs
We had a really hard time saying goodbye… we walked back towards our cars at Khun Thai and stood outside for an hour. We kept trying to say bye then kept talking, laughing, taking pictures, and then this happened…
Keith, the human thumb … a man of many talents🙂CARLSSSSS MY LOVE
I was really sad to leave them 😦 BUT I know we will keep in touch and there will be more reunions when I get back! Until next time friends!!
Today I got my haircut weeeee! Back to the short look
Keratin anddddd haircut! All set for a new look for Japan 🙂
Came home to this on my bed… how precious?
I’m going to miss these sleepy pups on my bed 😦
Off to the city for the last and final check-up from my ankle surgery. Then running errands with mommy for last final items and dinner with my grandparents tonight and the one and only Veggie Heaven 🙂
The whirlwind/craziness/anxiety/excitement hit REAL hard not too long after landing back in Newark, NJ. I leave for Japan a week from tomorrow!!!!! WHAT.
Before I forget here are some pictures from our last day at the hotel!
look how…BIG HE IS!bye bye pool 😦rocking my new cover up I got 🙂last biggggg salad!! Gonna miss theseand of course sushi nomnomnom
The first thing that started to really make me stress was the baggage issue. I called up the airline to reserve bags (or so I thought) and to confirm the pricing for extra baggage. On my ticket it said $100/extra bag and I will be reimbursed for $250 from the school. Which is why I was planning on bringing three extra bags. I know that sounds crazy but if you think about it I will be gone for a year and you need a lot of stuff!!
Apparently I was wrong about the pricing. They charge $100 more per extra bag. So the 1st is free obviously, 2nd is $100, 3rd is $200… etc. But shipping really isn’t much better because 13 lb or so is $85 when I could pay for a suitcase for 50 lbs…
Dad, Mom and I went to WORK last night. I took everything out that I had already put aside in the suit cases. I tried to eliminate what I could and then we vacuum sealed everything!!! I have never used those bags before but it seriously sucked the air out COMPLETELY it was wild. So as of now I have 2 bags stuffed to the gills and I still have one more suitcase to tackle as well as my little carry on suitcase. When something was too big/heavy my dad started teasing me by saying “Just wear it on the plane!” Yeah okay Dad let me show up in my hiking shoes, sweatpants, and parka- no big deal right?
The second panic freak out came from the last minuteness of my visa. I got kinda screwed with timing because of UD. Since our school gets out so late, I didn’t receive my transcript/diploma until early July. That combined with me being away, and the time it takes for them to start the process in Japan, I didn’t receive the necessary items until I just came home from Costa Rica on Saturday. Thankfully the rest of this process doesn’t seem too bad. But I still had to go into the Consulate of Japan in the city to hand in all of the items today and then go back on Thursday to pick it up. (I have an extreme love/hate relationship with the city…) I was nervous it wouldn’t be ready in time and I kept having this vision they wouldn’t let me on the plane… AHHHH
While I was waiting for my number to be called for the visa application, I was looking around the room with everything in Japanese and people speaking Japanese around me. My eyes widened and I thought “Holy shit. What have I gotten myself into?” As excited as I am, I am still nervous to be diving head first into a whole new culture, language, and part of the world I’ve never been to before. But as I said, I keep telling myself to just breathe, it will all work out 🙂
Tonight, I’m going to try and tackle the last bag/figure out what over the counter medications I can bring.
Hola mis amigos!! I can’t believe today is our last full day. I feel like I can’t really talk because this summer has been like no other summer for me. I haven’t worked at all and I’ve just been bopping around traveling. I couldn’t be more grateful for how incredible of an experience it has been. The part I will miss most about this trip is it really is nice to have the 5 of us together, in the same place and just being away as a family 🙂 I’m cherishing every last little moment.
The days have started to smush together so I will do my best to update you on the past few days.
We have been seeing a LOT of lizards and Iguanas. Say hi to this little guy! We might a GIGANTIC one today. Last night when I was in the bathroom there was one in my stall and not gonna lie I screamed like a girl… whoops.
Our second excursion was SCUBA DIVING!!!! Mommy doesn’t like to scuba so it was just the boys and I. I swear I had been before but clearly I was hallucinating… I had not. It was almost an all day production. We watched a 30 minute video, practiced the skills in the pool and then headed out on a boat to go into the real ocean water! We learned how to clean your mask underwater, what you do if you run out of air, how to signal, etc. In the pool we all felt pretty confident but once we got out by the water we were all a little nervous. Alex held onto his regulator (mouth piece for air) like his life depended on it. That was probably for the better because I by accidentally almost wacked it out of his mouth but his tight grip held onto it haha. Our guides name was Moses so the running joke of the day was JUST FOLLOW MOSES!!
My main problem was going down my ears were NOT a fan, I had a really hard time equalizing my ears so the pressure really hurt. To my advantage (even though I wish it didn’t happen) Brett’s tank ran out early we aren’t sure if he was using too much air or maybe they didn’t fill it all the way up so we had to go up early.
BUT we saw lots of cool things!! A starfish, a turtle, a trumpet fish, snakes, lots of different kinds of fish that I don’t even know their names. It was really an awesome experience!
Once we got back I nommed on this beautiful salad with grilled pineapple on the side, pesto pasta, and I’ve been eating lots of ginger here… yes I know I’m weird. Kira and Bex if you’re reading this, I know you guys understand.
We hung out by the pool because we were pretty wiped. The boys had a reservation at the Steakhouse and mom and I went to the regular buffet style place. We both got this Aztec soup that was FANTASTIC. Not sure what the broth was made out of but you could put avocado in and these thin tortilla chips. Even though I was sweating it was so good I loved it. After the soup my belly didn’t feel so hot and I believe I was dehydrated. I made this plate but really didn’t eat much of it… headed to bed and passed out before 9. I’M A GRANDMA.For our last excursion we went white water rafting! Unfortunately this was another long day of driving. About 2 hours to get to the place and then another 30-40 mins to get to the river. I don’t have any pictures yet because I haven’t uploaded the CD we got but it was awesome! We saw some more monkeys and hit a 12 foot drop! Our tour guide (Lalo) was a jokes yet and flipped us twice which was only scary on that big drop because you start flying down the river and I banged my shin on a rock… ouchies. But overall it was really cool and a great experience! After we finished they served us lunch! I loveeeee these cooked plantains, seriously so yummy. The tilapia here in Costa Rica is also out of this world I’m not sure if they serve this ice cream for just Americans or what because it’s also at the hotel but it’s like a Cookies and Cream flavor and it’s boss. Last night we really enjoyed the sunset and being outside! Check it out… After some yoga, pictures and watching the sunset we headed inside to get ready for dinner.
Dinner tonight was pretty fab. Probably my 2nd favorite after that Fusion restaurant. They prepared this simple salad with tomatoes and mozz cheese (?) on the side. They had beet gazpacho again!!! Mommy and I’s favorite. The beet taste isn’t too strong, even a little creamy… SO good Then I got some grilled asparagus (cooked to perfection) and salmon. They had a pasta bar where you picked the pasta you wanted with veggies and any sauce. We got the colorful swirly noodles with mushrooms, broccoli, onions, red peppers, zucchini, cooked in pesto, topped with fresh parmesan. I don’t eat pasta regularly but holy cow was this good…How cute are my parents? I can’t handle it ❤ ❤ ❤ We watched the entertainment of the night which was a Michael Jackson show (forgot to take pics) that was really good! The rents headed up to bed and as for the kiddos we went to the bar. We’ve been lame-o’s going to bed early every night so we figured we had to make it to the DiscoTeque ONE night. My tummy still hurt so I stuck with this drink which didn’t seem to bother it. It’s called a Grasshopper it’s essentially mint liqour and milk I believe.
We headed over to the Disco (I feel like I’m in the 80’s saying that) around 11. There weren’t too many people at first so we got the dance floor going. It was all spanish music (my fav) and we salsa danced our booties off until I was drenched with sweat and my ankle had enough. Brett piggy backed me to the elevator and we hit the hay around 1:30! Hasta manana!
Hola, coma esta!? The days are flying by here and I’m really not happy about it 😦 I’m really enjoying catching up on sleep, not having an insane schedule like on Birthright (even though I miss them and constantly am thinking of them), and just being outside relaxing but also fun activities!
Speaking of fun activities, yesterday we made the trek to go ziplining. My main complaint about this resort is the overwhelming feeling of being bombarded by different tourist agencies. It reminds me of a type of market or like Canal Street in NYC where everyone is trying to make you buy things and shout different prices like LEAVE ME ALONE … end rant
We finally picked a place and woke up bright and early to be greeted by room service… it’s unlimited at this place and any time. I had high expectations and this was probably the worst and only bad meal I’ll eat here.
We thought we were playing it safe with fruit, hard boiled eggs, and toast and jam but no… the fruit wasn’t bad, the eggs tasted like they were soaked in vinegar or something? So gross. Even the toast was bad, like how do you have bad toast? Anyways I forced myself to eat some of the fruit and a piece of toast just so I had something. Oh and coffee, 2 cups to be precise 😉 Costa Rican coffee is BOSS.
Then we went down to the lobby at 7:00 to head into the van for our 3 1/2-4 hour drive to Arenal! That is the famous volcano where we would be doing the ziplining. It was the 5 of us and then another woman named Trish who we adopted to the Irwin clan.
We stopped along the way to check out this view. Our tour guide, Hugo joked around that we may not see the volcano because sometimes he is wearing his “pants” (aka the fog). Mommy and I were immature and kept telling the volcano to take his pants off… he didn’t listen.
classic windy fam pic
Second pit stop to pee was this Cafe Macadamia which was AMAZING. If you are ever in Costa Rica you must go. They have coffee plants outside that they grow and literally pick to use for their coffee. Fun fact: coffee beans aren’t naturally black. They start out green and then once they are ripe they are red and it actually tastes more sweet. Light roast has more caffeine than dark roast!
Since we all had pretty poopy breakfasts we figured we would get something to eat. It said Breakfast Plate so we said why not and ordered 5. Little did we know but the mamacitas themselves were cooking a huge feast and made with love no joke. I gave my sausage to Brett but everything was SOOOO GOOD. Eggs with rice and beans and avocado is heaven on earth. That bread was also so mushy and tasty I was in heaven. I wish I liked papaya but I still haven’t found a liking for that, along with pears… maybe in 7 years when my taste buds change.
After some more driving, we finally made it! The sun was still out and we were pretty happy. We each got our equipment and hopped on this cart being pulled by a tractor. We were going so slow but it felt like we were off roading it was that bumpy.. Hugo told us it was a free back massage haha
The main thing that I really was surprised about was what the rainforest would look like. I had this glorious vision of greenery, different exotic plants/flowers, and animals galore. Silly me, but I was expecting monkeys to be boppin’ around, chirping toucans, lizards maybe even snakes crawling… you get the point. Let me tell you, it looked nothing like that. We did stop our van on the way to Arenal when Hugo spotted some monkeys sleeping in a tree and then he saw some Toucans. It was really high up in the tree so the pictures didn’t come out so hot. Hugo also told us you don’t see them once you are in the rainforest because they don’t like the noise so they don’t come close. Makes complete sense I just never thought that one through. We did see cows and horses though!
Once we made it we got going! We did 7 ziplines total and about halfway through it started POURING. I didn’t mind it except for the fact that while on the zipline it was impossible to see… even with my new 20/20 vision. The wind whipped the rain in your face and you were pretty much blinded which made it hard to know when to brake. The fog also didn’t help either. Here are some fun pics from the day:
Alex tried shielding us with this huge leaf. You also may notice it looks like we are muddy… Hugo thought it was funny to tell us it was monkey poop hahah I sure hope it comes out of our clothes!
We finished late afternoon and had definitely worked up an appetite with the hiking in between and what not. We were delighted with another nomtastic lunch. Some simple fish, rice, beans, simple salad, cheese (literally no idea what kind but wasn’t a fan), and sweet plantains that were soo good!
Then they brought a mini dessert of ice cream that kinda melted with strawberries I believe
Next was the second to best part we went to this place that had hot springs. The water comes from off the Arenal Volcano. This place was so built up this little picture doesn’t even begin to capture it. We had so much fun bopping around from each little spring. They also had a slide into a little pool with a swim up bar. We hung out there and relaxed for about an hour and a half 🙂
The car ride back was pretty rough we were tired of sitting and it was really hard to get comfy. We somehow made it through and changed to go straight for dinna!
After dinner the kiddos hit up the bar, tried to get into the Disco here (I’m not kidding) sadly it was closed. So we stumbled to the other Riu resort next door and found this Latin Soul performance that was actually really cool. I love watching anything dance related so I was a happy camper 🙂
Then we went to the beach and enjoyed the stars on the beach and hit the hay 🙂
Dia numero cuatro:
late rise and shine of being goofy 😉real smiles 🙂ICE COFFEEEE from the Cappuccino bar! Here you have to say coffee over ice just like in Israel because otherwise they will give you a frappacino hahacheck out that view!my first REAL coconut water!!! Sooo tasty especially since it was so hot.the lovely parentals 🙂LUNCH!fruit for dessert 🙂vinooooobrothas!the cool place mattuna something, beet gazpacho, and a peanut butter crunchy thing— AMAZING. especially the gazpacho!!veggie spring rolls!grouper with onions and sweet potato… perfect size and super tastyapple pie with ice cream… nomtastic
This restaurant had perfect sizes and sooo delicious. We headed straight to bed because tomorrow is scuba diving!
I’m not going to lie it’s been a bit of an adjustment bouncing around between three languages. Between learning Japanese on Rosetta Stone before I left for Israel, to speaking hebrew on Birthright, and now trying to recall Spanish in Costa Rica is making me loopy!! But I definitely think that once you start learning/speaking a language it triggers that part of your brain and helps it come back. Like I think learning Japanese made it easier for me to recall Hebrew. But now I keep going to say Hebrew words instead of Spanish haha… I will get it eventually!
ANYWHO… We made it to Costa Rica!!
pre-plane selfie 🙂how gorgeous are these views!?
Unfortunately once we got there we had a bit of a hiccup because Dad’s luggage never made it on the plane. Real talk though, it wouldn’t be an Irwin vacation without something going wrong- you think I’m kidding but it’s totally true. It arrived later that night so noooo worries! We missed our transfer so we hopped on another bus with a big group of rowdy humans. I wish I could describe them better but I don’t really know how to except for middle aged people crackin jokes like it ain’t nobody’s business.
Our tour guide on the bus (Jose I believe?) told us more about Costa Rica itself like how their taxes go to healthcare and education mainly. They don’t have an army. Their biggest field of income is computer chips (technology based), second is agriculture (bananas, coffee beans, pineapple, etc.), and third is tourism. Neat stuff!
We finally got to the hotel and it is hayuge. I got lost already.. not surprised about that though
The first thing I see when coming into our room is this huge bath tub… right next to the bed. None of us have ventured in for a bubble bath but we shall see.
The next surprise was this lovely cabinet of unlimited alcohol dispensers.. literally a teenagers dream hahaha. We have yet to pop those babies open as well. These resorts blow my mind, unlimited food/drinks, room service, more drinks, more food… it’s INSANE
We were all pooped but dad insisted on a quick tour so I got to snap some pics.
Outside leading out to the pools and then behind all of the pools is the beachpano view of the outside of the Riu Palace
After the tour and walking around this massive place we decided a nap was in store. A nap turned into a hibernation. We passed out at 5 PM and I woke up to a call from my mom asking if we were ready for dinner (I was still in a food coma from lunch) so I said nah. Then apparently 2 hours later Alex came in to try to wake us, and I stood up and growled at him and was speaking alien language or something… I have no recollection of this.
Brett and I slept until 5 AM!!! Much needed though. It made me feel better that most my friends from Birthright have been doing the same since they got home. First of all it’s a very tiring trip as it is but on top of that I’m a grandma and need 8 hours haha… so I don’t think I’m caught up all the way yet.
Onto dia numero dos!
Brett and I started much earlier and hit the buffet at 7 on the dot as soon as it opened… no shame.
Yummy omlette with lots of veggies and a side of rice and beans, guac, pico de gallo (the best I’ve ever had) and lox!Brett went for the bloody mary (I’m not a fan) and I said why not and had a mimosa
Check out this juice bar:
The food here really is amazing and like I said soooo much of it. I always do a lap before I pick to make sure I make a good choice and get to try a bit of everything 🙂 But since we are eating like kings (it’s really hard not to here) it’s important to be as active as possible…
Brett and I were the first of the Irwin clan to hit the beach, played around with his go pro and I did some beach yoga. I got my headstand with my hands behind my head for the first time!!!
Then mom, Alex and I did a yoga class which felt great to stretch and relax 🙂 Being outside was so nice with a nice breeze and the relaxing music:
yay I did it!
Then mom and I took a Zumba class without shoes (DUMB- hurt a lot and I got a yucky huge blister). Butttt it was the first time I’ve done Zumba in so long and I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it. Dancing in general brings me such joy just to move and be free. I even stalked back last night to my freshmen year Zumba pics when I started the Zumba club… Taking that class gave me some hope that one day I’ll be back in action teaching Zumba classes again 🙂
Then mom and I chilled in the pool and went to the swim up bar and shared these smoothies and relaxed for a little bit:
nomnomnom
Next we met the whole fam for lunch and yet another meal in the books:
fresh salad !!with a side of Sushi 🙂
Yet another food coma I decided to just chill by the pool at the other resort. Since they are both Riu Palaces, the other one is Riu Ganacaste (the name of the town we are in in Costa Rica) so it had a bit of a different feel which was cool. I read some more of my book, Divergent it is soo good!
Around 4:30 we hit the gym for some foot/ankle mobility, bike, ab exercises on the ball (we tried following my mom she’s a BEAST I couldn’t keep up), leg raises and push-ups.
Last but not least we went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I probs shouldn’t have had more sushi but I couldn’t not eat sushi…
Sushi appetizerTuna with some chip thing and bean sprouts and guac !Salad with a ginger dressing! xGrouper with rice and veggies.. I was so full I couldn’t finish it but everything was fabulous.
I had a nice glass of Chardonnay at dinner and so did mom. Then we all had some kind of fruity sake? And mom got plastered off of just that. She is convinced she was drugged but it’s debatable. Twas quite entertaining nonetheless. I fell asleep by the pool at 8:30 while the boys went on the beach to look at the stars… maybe I can make it past 9 tomorrow night 😉
I missed these seats and crammed spaces and suitcases I had to come back right? SICKE I am about to take off to embark on a family vacation with the Irwin Clan to Costa Rica!!
As promised, here is a glimpse of all of the yummy foods I enjoyed in Israel:
the biggest tuna “salad” known to man kindpure yumminessSHNITZELLLLLThe best schwarma I ate on the ENTIRE trip. Such good flavorsmy share-er, Carly 🙂 Enjoying some gelato togetherCarly and I sharing one falafel and one shwarma!VEGGIESSSSso colorful 🙂dessert of champions… yolo
AROMA- my happy placeprobably the most boring meal I ate in all of Israel, I thought it was going to be chopped oh wellIsraeli fro-yo!!! You pick mix-ins like frozen fruit, chocolate, different nuts, etc. and they blend it in… soooo fresh and deliciousBREAKFASTBest cappuccino I had the whole trip
Check out that waffle….My friend Brett’s masterpiece hahayes, this is breakfast and yes that is a saladSCHWARMAbreakfast!!! I actually really started to love salad for breakfastthis is a random concoction but don’t question itgrillin da chicken… this trip was the most meat I ate in one time period in a really long time but I don’t regret it at allthere is never enough iced coffeeBedouin tent feast!!!check that outIsraeli pizza that tastes the same haha
YUMMMMMMMour last meal 😦Best Israeli chocolate EVER.
Final day is here!!! We were all most definitely in denial. We ate a quick breakfast and headed onto the bus to head over to Masada! Two girls overslept so we ended up leaving like 20-30 minutes later… whoooops
We got to Masada and the plan changed pretty quickly. We were planning on taking the cable car up and then hiking down. Since we left so late and it was soooo hot, I am taking about 105 degrees we ended up also taking the cable car down. I waws not complaining it was so stinkin hot out I think I would’ve passed out.
We had some time to get lunch, shop around and change into our bathing suits for the next “hike”. There was soo many Dead Sea products I was too overwhelmed so I settled for a cool cooking gift for the rents it’s a secret for now just in case mom is reading hehe
I say “hike” because we went to Ein Gedi which is about a 10 minute walk and then you hit this mini spring and you can continue walking and find these springs along the way. We only stayed at the first one and it was beautifulllll. I appreciated the cool water considering I was melting into a puddle even from that small window of 10 minutes outside… Yes, I sweat like a man.
After splish splashing for a while we headed back to the bus to head towards the Dead Sea. You may call me lame but I decided to sit out on the Dead Sea this time. In my opinion, it is a little overrated. Definitely something you need to do once but it gets old real fast. It can hurt (like REALLYYYY hurt) any cuts you might have slash it makes your skin dry double slash you must avoid any splashs that could get it in your eyes or nose or ears. Sounds fun right?! It is definitely cool to experience your first time how easy it is to float though for sure.
I hung out with the staff and Brett and we got smoothies (you can’t really go anywhere in Israel without getting one of these frozen beverages in the summer) and hung out in the shade. Then Daniella, Brett and I headed down to check out the Dead Sea. It really was beautiful.
I lasted in that heat for maybeeee 20 minutes and decided to shower up before we left for Jerusalem. This was probably the worst experience of the whole trip no joke. Let me remind you it’s about 105 degrees outside… The showers only had hot water no cold water, the opposite of what you usually want. Oh but the things I would have done for cold water. So even once I turned the water off I was immediately sweating. Not like a little drip, I was drenched. Oh and it gets better, I have NO TOWEL. It was wet and yucky. Lovely friends let me share theirs but I was so sweaty there was no drying being accomplished. I was sweating so much I couldn’t pull my exercise top down and needed assistance of two pull… The question is still up in the air if I was dirtier before or after this shower. I will let you decide.
After the shower horror, we headed up to Jerusalem. Blasting Hebrew music all the way there and trying to distract ourselves from the fact that we would all be leaving each other and going our separate ways in a matter of a few hours. We got to dinner and it was typical Israeli style dinner with massive amounts of hummus, pita, veggies, shnitzel/grilled chicken, etc.
We stuffed our faces (no shame) and the staff gave a few words about the trip and I announced superlatives that we came up with for every person in the group 🙂 We headed to the airport and got off the bus and saw one of our soldiers! Then we start to walk inside and this person in a mascot costume is waving looks like they are trying to greet people with hugs. It was pretty creep to I avoided it. They kept trying so I started yelling to get away from me. Then they were kinda coming after me so I started running away. We were pretty confused but just kept walking. All of a sudden I hear screams and turn back and see that the head part of the mascot costumes are off and it was 2 of our soldiers that came to surprise us!! Seriously still have no idea how the got those but they killed it.
Since we took a lot of time to say goodbye to people extending in Israel and our soldiers we got through security and everything with just about 30 minutes to spare. I bought a bag of Bissli (last opportunity to get some Israeli snacks hehe) and an Aroma coffee that I will miss lots. The plane ride was okayyy. Most people slept but I had a hard time sleeping and then I got throbbing knee pain. Which apparently my PT says is tendonitis stemming from my ankle (stupid ankle). But I am home and now running around with appointments/laundry/re-packing for Costa Rica tomorrow!
I will try to do a post later with all pics 🙂
Thinking of Israel at this hard time now that war has begun in Gaza, missing my 196 crew, but also glad to be reunited with my family!
You might be wondering why I keep starting off each post with that so it’s because every morning on the bus our tour guide when say b-b-b-boker tov le (to) ____. He would do the bus driver, Daniella (our coordinator), Eliyahu (the rabbi), me, and then koolam (everyone)! Great way to start the day.
Last night was actually a fantastic sleep. Fingers crossed I didn’t get contaminated by any diseases in that tent but nonetheless I am alive. We packed up (still no shower and being queen of the Stanky club) and had a quick breakfast and then headed to camel riding.
Brett (my new best friend) and I named our camel Jamal until we found out Jamal is actually a girl… whooooops. Anyways it was pretty fun even though I have done it before. We were also joking about how camels are the animal versions of prostitutes because their day job is that they get ridden every day… food for thought
After camel riding we went to this farm nearby in the desert so that we could see how they are able to have a farm in such drastic weather conditions. I am not going to lie about 2 things: 1. I was wiped. Along with my other coordinator staff, Daniella (the best human ever) there was no way that we would be able to last. 2. I like animals don’t get me wrong… ESPECIALLY dogs if you haven’t been able to tell I am quite obsessed. But like goats, horses, roosters…sorry but that ain’t my thang.
First everyone was watching the sheep in this one pen where the male sheep just kept riding all the female sheep and then they would all huddle together and then run around. All of the noises on the plane were just a littttle too much to handle plus Daniella and I were wiped so we snuck away and PASSED out on the bus… much needed.
Then we had lunch at this small like rest stop place and the lines were sooo long and the salads looked yucky and plain so we had pizza. Nothing crazy. Then we did the Ein Ovdat hike which about an hour hike that goes SUPER far up. It reminded me of the national parks in Utah- the color/height were very similar. What is cool about this hike is that even though we were technically in the desert there were random spots of water. Not nice enough to swim in but still very cool. You go alllll they way up to the tippy top and the bus wasa there. Let me tell you, my quads/glutes were feelin pretty fine after this.
We drove to the next place where we would be staying in a hostel in Ein Gedi. It is debatable which was more clean this or the Bedouin tent. There were ants crawling around and stains on the blankets… YUCK
We had dinner and then did a few different types of activities. First we did a tie-in session where we split up into 4 groups just to reconnect in an open space about everything that has happened since we last had a tie-in session in Tiberius. I really wanted people to dig deep and vocalize what they were feeling in terms of any changes/realizations they have noticed about themselves and/or more specifically as a Jew.
After that I led two activities I loveeee. First we did this one that I don’t really have a name for but it’s like a complimenting activity where you pull a group of people at a time and the rest of the group sits in a circle with their eyes closed. I read a statement like “Someone who made an impact on you during this trip” then the standing select group of people go around and gently tap the other people in the circle. It is essentially silent recognition and it is always an amazing feeling to know that people think those things about you and to see the smiles that spread across peoples faces when they are tapped. So each group got to tap people for a few things and then I pulled a new group and they sat down. This is a great activity for groups!
Lastly, to bring the energy up a bit we played the post-it game “Who Am I?” where everyone gets a post-it note with a different person and they stick it on their head. It could be anyone from Miley Cyrus to Scooby Doo. My favorites were this one tough guy Harrison on my trip had Barbie which could not have been more ironic.
People stayed up for a while and watched the stars before our last and final day 😦
Today was quiteeeee the struggle. After last night I maybe got about 4 hours of sleep. For the grandma that I am, that is most definitely not enough. So the day was really good for our well-being after the chaos the previous night.
We headed to the beach close by and hung out there for a few hours in the morning. The water was GORGEOUS. I took pictures but I feel like it doesn’t capture how beautiful it actually was. it was the Red Sea and it was soo clear and it had an ombre. Like it went from light blue to a darker blue. Some of us swam all the way out to the buoy which was the furthest we were allowed to swim to. I love swimming it is such a good workout and always frees my mind 🙂 Plus I don’t think that anything could have been more refreshing than to swim when it was over 100 degrees out… casual
I played with my friend Leah and did some beach yoga. Since it was so hot I was having a hard time sitting still and tanning so we attempted to go on a beach walk but there were wayyyyy too many rocks it hurt so much I just couldn’t do it.
Then we went to get lunch and I paid like $25-30 for like half a plate of rice and 3 huge pics of grilled chicken breast and some sides of salad and a water… quite the rip off whoops. I have been bad about wearing my staff name tag because I’ve learned that if you wear it some places will give you some money off or it free… now I know for next time.
After lunch we went snorkeling!!! We briefly learned about the fish and the coral before we went in the water. Like i said this water was BEAUUUUTIFUL and the fish were so cool. We saw Nemo (clownfish) and Dori fish. Lots of others too!! My only complaint was that it was very rushed and I am not sure if it was a language barrier or if our lady was just a straight up betch. She kept yelling at us to come and go faster. We were just enjoying the beautiful water and looking at the fishies!!! Either way it was an amazing experience and I think my whole trip can agree it made up for the panic and chaos the night before.
Then we drove to the bedouin tent which is quite the experience. As we were unloading a siren went off and since the tents are outside the only concrete safe place was in the bathroom. I didn’t even hear the sirens but we just ran. Since the rocket when off everyone has been feeling pretty sensitive and reacting to every single little sound. Apparently a rocket went off at a nearby city but nearby in the desert is pretty relative. So that means it was really not that close at all and it was more of a precautionary measure and also to check that we knew where to go.
We continued to set up our beds where we sleep in a pretty wide tent with some mini divider between the two sides for girls and boys. They have these mattresses that they re-use and you put on the ground. The amount of dust, dirt, and bugs was too much to think about. This time I was more prepared with a bed sack that I slept in to hopefully avoid any possible lice or seriously who knows what else. I didn’t even shower because I knew within approximately 5 seconds I would be dirtay and stinkay fo sho. So I just embraced the experience and decided to be queen of the Stanky club.
Next one of the people who is a Bedouin talked to the group about his lifestyle and how they serve those who are traveling and are loyal to where they live. We had a dinner which was BOMB… I am talking serious food coma. I remembered this from my last birthright trip. We sat on the floor with a big plate full of food that we shared with 4 other people. There was this huge bowl/plate of rice, chicken… I think? seriously I don’t know, cooked onions and tomatoes. There were also sides of tahini, hummus, pickles, Israeli salad, and this AMAZING pita bread. It was reaaaaaally good pita bread no joke. Go to a bedouin tent for the experience next time you go to Israel.
I laid horizontally for as long as possible to digest because I was quite full. Then we went outside by our bonfire for some activities. During the day I had assigned each person a name of someone on the trip a name and they wrote them a special note about something they really appreciate about them, a favorite experience with them or maybe something about how they wish they had gotten to know them better. So we opened it up around fire for whoever wanted to share with the group what they had written for that person. I love activities like this. It was simply incredible to hear the thoughtful things people were saying to one another. After a while people started to open it up by saying things about the group instead of specific people. This moment really made me happy to be here on this trip and feel that I had a part in bringing these people together and creating the tight bonds they feel now to one another.
Today was the first day I had started to really lose my voice so I decided I needed to be a grandma and went to bed around 11:30. I put on my eye mask from the airplane, headphones, crawled into my bed sack and passed out like a baby.
This was written a few days ago but just back in America now and catching up on posts…
Shalom ma hamatzav!? (that means hey whatsup)
So like I said before these trips go by so fast that I just had to ask someone what we did yesterday… these days are so jam packed it is wiiiiild
We started off yesterday with this program teaching some hebrew. The guy talked in a heavy Israeli accent for about 15 minutes and then was like “Nah just kidding you don’t want to listen to me talk in t his accent… I’m from New York!” I had to run in and out to wake up some participants on the trip that totally slept through the morning (lolz) and make sure they got downstairs
Then we headed to the city and got there around 11… I love walking on the cobble stone roads (minus ankie aka my ankle that is swollen and is not too happy with me) and looking out on the beautiful scenery. We walked around for a bit and then this boy who was having a bar mitzvah came through with his whole crew and I have never seen a celebration like this. There was someone playing a tuba or somethingggg like that. They had something that looked like a chupa (what you use at a wedding over the bride and groom) and the Bar Mitzvah boy was wearing this long robe and hat that was very colorful and festive. His whole family was following him like a parade and they stopped by our group and obvs we joined in. We danced around in circles and some of the soldiers lifted them up. It is moments like this in Israel how people are so open to whatever that make me love the people and this country even more.
We had some time to walk around and shop and grab some lunch. Not gonna lie I am pretty over shopping because I did most of my shopping in Tzfat and have spent so much money on food, coffee and water no joke everything is pretty expensive and those are the necessities. I am definitely not used to not always being able to fill up my water bottle. My water bottle is essentially my best friend I don’t like to not have it with me and it always makes me happy (I am not kidding). For lunch I went balls to the wall with lafa schwarma and as weird as it sounds I still think my favorite schwarma was the one I had at that mall in the beginning of the trip. That one had the most flavor and spices it was foodgasmical. This place had really good toppings though like their eggplant, israeli salad, I tried a few french fries and he gave me one falafel ball to try which was boss.
After lunch and shopping it was time to say goodbye to our soldiers :(. Our coordinator opened it up for everyone to say something one at a time. The participants expressed their thanks that they were able to spend their time with us and how they added so much more to the experience. They also thanked them for their service and how brave they are in our eyes. The soldiers told us how they think we are the ones that are brave and heroes because we came here when most people told us we shouldn’t. I said it is crazy because I thought the soldiers were the ish on my Birthright trip but the soldiers on this trip really were phenomenal. They were so down to have fun but also join in when we would do reflections or anything more serious. They obviously have a different viewpoint than we do and can inform us more on their experience in the army and just growing up in Israel in general.
I didn’t start crying until I said goodbye to this one soldier Ben. It had finally hit me that he was the one that gave us an overall moral for our trip. He really empowered us to be more proud about Judaism. That is one of the best things about Israel in my opinion is that as a Jew I could not feel more at home. I don’t feel like a minority it is more the contrary of what I feel when I am at home. So this was the point where the water works began… twas bound to happen. I am going to miss them all very much and it all ready feels weird without them. Butttt I am looking forward to keeping in touch and seeing them the next time I am back 🙂
Then we headed to Eilat for a 4 plus hour drive ate a quick dinner and headed out on da town! Eilat is similar to Atlantic City or a mini Las Vegas. There was a walking strip with all these lights and bumping clubs with music. We went out to this club that had some pretty bumpin musica however the drinks were so expensive so I gave up on drinking pretty quickly. I just shook my groove thang all night and loved it. My ultimate favorite moment was doing Beyonce’s dance to her song “Move Ya Body” with my two friends (Leah and Daniella) and let me tell you, we broke it downnnnn. Naturally I was shvitzing (sweating) like cray afterwards… solid workout of the day.
So we came back and I passed out pretty quickly like around 1:00, I woke up to someone shaking me really hard and I had no idea what was going on. I finally open my eyes and I realize I hear sirens and see people running in the halls. I bolted for the staircase but was still half asleep so I had no idea what had actually happened. Up until this point the sirens went off twice during our stay in Jerusalem but nothing had really happened so we hadn’t been scared at all. As we start moving down the stairwells I hear rumors of people hearing a bomb, people hearing the sirens, screams nearby, etc. I immediately went into mom mode to start comforting those who were panicking. People were hyperventilating having anxiety attacks, someone threw up and lots of people were hysterically crying. First we stayed in this small room that was designated as a bomb shelter but we couldn’t all fit. This hotel is way smaller than the other one. So we moved down all the way to the basement in the parking lot. During the next two hours we received news that two rockets hit in Eilat. One was very very close to where our hotel was. It was actually right where we walked to/from to get to the club that we went out in. Thank g-d that we came home early because if we had stayed out just 45 minutes later, we could have been injured. I really can’t believe it.
Anywho we are okay it was definitely traumatizing for a lot of people considering it was so close to us but it also made the situation more real for people. I think because I was half asleep I didn’t really comprehend what was going on. But I also think I knew I had to take care of all my participants so I felt I needed to be strong to set a good role model.
I showered up after at a nice 4 AM because I didn’t grab my shoes and it was DISGUSTING in the parking lot so my feet, butt and hands were black. We continued our sched today and I could not be more grateful to be alive and well.
More updates later!
Tipallelu lesalam (pray for peace) ❤ Am Israel Chai (People of Israel live)
The Traveling Teacher 