I have returned!
I just returned from 2 1/2 wonderful weeks in Israel. It was my fifth time there, and I still saw many new things and went to cities I'd never been to. I visited Tzfat (Safed), the Dead Sea, Eilat, and went on tours in Jerusalem that were fantastic. I did the Tunnel Tours and the Southern Wall Excavation Tours. The tunnel tours were pretty good, and the Southern Wall tour was amazing! I have many pictures, but they're not on the web yet. I'll make sure to note what the URL is when they're up.
I laid on the beach and shopped in Tel Aviv, saw the ruins and mosaics in Tzippori, and of course, prayed at the Wall. While I was there, I saw a bride getting ready for her wedding, and adorable children running through the open street, buying things for their parents. I scuba'd and snorkeled in Eilat, just north of Taba, Egypt, and saw amazing florescent and neon fish and beautiful coral reefs. I visited gravesites of Moshe Dayan and Ilan Ramon in Nahalal and planted trees with kids in a moshav in the Galilee. I visited friends and walked on the promenade of Tel Aviv, sipped on drinks while walking on the sand. I conversed with Israelis, and played (shesh besh) backgammon while enjoying breakfast in an outside cafe.
There's nothing like it in the world. There's something in the air. You can taste it in the food, the freshest anywhere. Fruits that drip from being so juicy, vegetables so crisp, breads freshly baked so that the smell wafts out into the street. The sounds of life bustling around you, the silence of people chilling out. Israel covers everything - all the senses. It's Life.
I went with YAD (the Young Adult Division) of Federation. They subsidized the trip, and 108 young adults traveled to Israel. The Detroit contingent was huge, 25 people, but I still didn't know anyone when I started out. Everyone is going to Israel for relatively the same reason, so it was pretty easy to make connections.
I made some great friends while I was there, and I've already met up with them for lunch since I returned. I had so much fun with them, there were times we stayed up until 3am just talking. Pretty soon, everyone had a group they hung out with. Erica and I were inseparable, hanging out with several people, some from Detroit, some from LA, some from NY. It was fabulous. We would run out during a bus/bathroom stop, and quickly buy Naot (the best shoes on the planet) since they were less expensive over there. We drank together at the winery and toasted friendship. And we cried when she had to return to the US. Already we've emailed and plan on getting together soon. Jen and I were roommates at the end of the trip and had midnight dinners (sushi!) several nights. We talked about everything and took many photos with Brian and Ed. I had a great time and the people on our trip were so great, so friendly, so funny! We're even having a picture party next Sunday to share our photos with each other - people are coming in from Chicago and NY just to see each other again. How great is that!
While I was over there, we traveled around on our own busses with security guards the whole time. I felt extremely safe, and never once questioned what we were doing there. All the Israelis kept thanking us for coming over. The economy in Israel is in terrible shape, and they need all the help we can provide.
If you ever have a chance to travel to Israel, especially on an organized trip, do so! It's quite an experience, an enormous amount of fun, and you meet great people. It's very safe and there's nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Not only that, but it will allow you to help them out, and it feels great to be over there. I got to spend almost three weeks in the sunshine, warm weather, and on the beach. When it's not a resort country, it's historical. It covers all the bases. It's amazing.