Well, everyone, this is it; this is my last post.

That above picture is our group shirt, lovingly designed by Raelle and adored by the rest of us.

So.  May 29th.  The day we all got on Delta flight 153 (yes, I knew the number off the top of my head, so sue me) non-stop service to Atlanta, Georgia.  It wasn’t all just a plane flight, though – they kept us quite busy our last day in the holy land.

We woke up in the morning and scrambled to get our rooms spotless.  Menashe Maintainence Head then came by with a white glove and checked every nook and cranny of the room (read: walked in and said “alright” and walked out).  Afterward we got out bags and, with a little trouble, dragged them all to the bus and filled the entire underneath with luggage.  Needless to say the bus was a little more sluggish than usual, and by no fault of Watid the driver.  Our first stop was to be tree planting.  Isreal, as many of you know, is in need of trees.  In order to do our part of tzedakah, many of us paid to plant a tree in Irael.  The plot in which we planted our trees was all HSI people, and I’m happy to say it looked pretty full

We got a last minute stop at Ben Yehuda Street to eat lunch and buy some last gifts before heading to the Hertzl museum.  We learned there about Hertzl and how he began the process which would eventually lead to the creation of the State of Israel.  It was an interesting museum with lots of video and short enough that it kept our interest.

Directly after the museum we walked around Israel’s national and military cemetaries, both also located on Mt. Hertzl.  We stopped in front of Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s grave and learned about the differing views of Israelis in establishing and fighting for a Jewish state.  We then walked to Hertzl’s grave, gave him a quick thank you or hello, and continued to the graves of Rabin, Golda Meir, and Levi Eshkol.  After some quick time to ourselved we went to the military museum.  The first grave we stopped in front of was that of Yoni Netanyahu.  Yoni, the brother of Benjamine, former Prime Minister, was a great war hero and very talented writer.  Yoni wrote letters about Israel, about how he believed people should behave and act, and eventually gave his life saving others in the name of Israel.  We sat among the graves and Yossi read us some excerpts of his writing.  It was very moving, and directly after we made our way to the grave of Michael Levin.  Michael Levin was an American who attended HSI a few years ago and soon after made Aliyah to join the IDF and a close friend of Yossi’s.  Last year during the war with Lebanon he fell in battle.  He was 22 years old.  We visited his grave and had a very emotional conversation before slowly leaving the cemetary.

We met Mrs. Zebrak on the way out and all got on the bus.  It was now dinner time and we headed straight to the resturaunt at which we would have our final meal in Israel.  The dinner was okay, and we had lots of appetizers and some kebabs.  Warm pitas are so good.

Anyway, after dinner it was time to go to the airport.  The ride there was full of singing and dancing.  We played a cd of a lot of the songs that were related to our trip, whether planned or just something that came up a lot of times.  Our madrichim gave us gifts and candy; I miss them so much.  The bus ride was so much fun.

Our next stop was our last in Israel.  We got of the bus, lugged our stuff out from underneath, and all gave Yossi a huge hug as he would not be accompanying us into the airport.  Yossi, you’re amazing!  We walked into the airport, went through the first round of security, and said a very teary goodbye to our madrichim.  They were so sweet and brought out a tray of nut brownies and sparklers for my birthday (despite it being the day before), which was a big and really meaningful surprise for me.  With a lot of looking back we walked through security.  It was a little while before our flight, so we all went and bought candy in the duty free shops.  Finally, it was time to board.

The flight this time around was full again of trivia for me.  We watch movies (Pan’s Labyrinth is pretty good) and I even functioned as a pillow for both Noah and David.  At one point I woke up after being slumped over the tray table to find two heads on my back.  They were cute.

We landed.  There was a monstrous cheer from our section of the plane.  No one could wait any longer to get off and see our families.  The way our of the airport went pretty quick, and when we boarded the escalator I can safely say that every single person was excited.  When we got to the top a cheer erupted from our families.  We all ran to get hugs and more hugs and some kisses.  I can’t even describe how much I missed my family and friends.

The rest of my day was filled with present giving, shopping, and being with my parents and Rachael Mendel.  I refused to go to bed until bedtime, and by 9:00pm I was already falling asleep in the car.  So, I went to bed at 9:30 in my own bed, possibly one of the most exciting experiences in a long time.

Now I am here, at my own computer with a large monitor, writing my final post to all of you.  My final post – quite the birthday present.

Israel was an amazing experience.  I’ve changed from it, and I can say that without any doubt.  I wouldn’t say I changed spiritually from the experience – I’m still the same Jewish I was beforehand – but the change was definitely internal.  I’m more independent than I was, and my outlook on things is just different.  I guess being away from home causes a quick kickstart in the maturing process, because, as immature as I still am, I think I’m now ready for college.  Right now I’m in a bit of a haze; it feels weird to be home, and nothing is quite registering.  Right now I’m just kind of going with the flow, sitting in the passenger’s seat of the car, letting people take me where they feel like going, eating whatever food they’re in the mood for.  I missed home, and I love home so much; in fact, I think I spoke to my parents more than anyone else on the program, but there’s still something that I miss about Israel.  I don’t know if it’s that it’s all Jews there, or maybe just that Israeli informality, but walking down the streets of Hod HaSharon and walking down the streets of Atlanta are COMPLETELY different experiences.  I can’t even describe it, which means that for those of you who haven’t been to Israel, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go for yourself to figure it out.  Anyway, I know I’m probably rambling, and I’m currently having trouble finding any more words to say, so I think I’ll end this.

Living in Israel for three months with all of my friends is an experience I am so thankful for and one I will never forget.  It was truly lifechanging.

This is my last update to this particular blog.  While I may continue to blog in the future, it will not be here or on this subject.  Thank you all for sticking with me and taking the time to read this.  I appreciate it so much, because when I came to Israel I expected that this would be more of a personal journal with a few readers; it turned out to be a bit more than that.  So again, thank you all, whoever and however many you are.  Next year in Jerusalem.

-Jamie

Today is May 28th.  Tomorrow is May 29th.  May 29th is the day we leave Israel.

Thursday night our grade got a special treat.  We finally got some Israeli culture and went to Mayumana, which is basically the Israeli version of Stomp.  It was so much fun, and the cast was incredibly talented.  One of the guys even did Capoeira, but not the kind you might have seen at school.  This was super-fast awesomely cool acrobatic thing.  I guess you had to be there.  Anyway, after the show everyone was ranting about how fun it was while we got on the bus and went back to campus.

Friday morning we got up early for a day of fun in Tel Aviv.  We went to Meir Dizengoff’s house and learned about the founding of Israel and Tel Aviv.  After a morning of learning it was time for some shopping – we went to Nachalat Benyamin and Shenkin Street.  Not to give anything away, but I’ll venture a guess and say almost everyone bought a gift.

Friday afternoon means getting ready for Shabbat.  This Shabbat, other than being the last we would spend in Israel, was special.  We had a guest, Rabbi Akiva Gersh and wife and son, stay with us.  Although not the most dazzling Shabbat I’ve had, it was certainly spiritual and very fun.  We sang songs, heard many good stories, and had a really fun Havdalah.  Not only that, but May 26th was Rebecca Greenhaulgh’s 18th birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Becca’s mom was so generous and got us a Henna tattoo stand and pizzas to enjoy – I think nearly everyone got a tattoo that they’ll be more than happy to show off to you once we get home (although you might have to ask Noah to show you his in private).  After a nice shabbos it was time for a party!  We all sat at a giant table, ate delicious desserts (including fondue), watched a slideshow of us on the trip, and even heard a song written by a few of the guys.  After dessert we headed into the basement for a fortune telling.  Our madrichim dressed as fortune tellers and told us our futures.  Apparently I’m to be the future Mrs. Micah Chervin, but after that marriage doesn’t work out he will divorce me for model Bar Refaeli while I marry Joel and we start a modeling magazine.  That’s okay – Jared’s going to be a kindergarten teacher who follows the Shining Happiness teachings of Jeremy Cherson.  Oh, and Matt’s involved in multiple catastrophic events.  I guess I have it good.

Anyway, after Shabbat we all started really packing our bags and getting ready for an overnight tiyul – Sunday morning we headed out to the Golan. In the morning we went to several sites and learned about Eli Cohen, one of the greatest spies to exist.  He successfully infiltrated the Syrian government and nearly became their next President before he was discovered, tortured, and eventually executed.  His efforts, however, allowed Israel to win the Six Day War.  Quite amazing, actually.  After learning about Israel’s own Internation Man of Mystery we headed to the Jordan River for a little kayaking.  Apparently we all have some pent up frustration toward one another, because the entire hour we had a giant war on the river.  We were split into two’s – each pair had a raft, and instead of going down the river nice a slow-like we were boarding each other’s crafts and splashing like no other.  At one point Amanda and I even beached our boat in order to wait for the slowpokes so we could ambush them.  It was a lot of fun and the river was beautiful.  Once done with out aquatic adventure we made our way to an army outpost up north.  There we learned about APCs and even looked over the border at Hezbollah trucks.  It was at that point that I realized how truly close danger is to Israel, and it was scary.

After our action-packed day we retired to Kibbutz Yahel, which has the most amazing meals.  We ate a delicious dinner and I played with some kittens before going to bed.  This morning we awoke to eat an almost as delicious breakfast.  We went first to Oaz 77 – the memorial site for Avigdor Kahalani’s tank battalion that single handedly fended off the entire Syrian army during the Six Day War.  Toward the end of the battle all seemed lost; only 8 Israeli tanks remained to face Syria’s 750.  8 tanks meant 40 shells, and even though it seemed like suicide to even try and stand against this massive force, Kahalani talked his soldiers into going forward.  The tanks fired 40 shots and hit 40 Syrian tanks.  Syrian tank 41, seeing 40 direct hits, turned and began to run.  As a result, the remainder of the army followed suit.  After discussing the battle at the site at which it took place, we headed to a nearby kibbutz to watch a movie on the subject.  After the film Yossi sat us outside and we discussed what we gained from this three month experience.  The consensus seemed to be a great love for the Jewish homeland.

Now we are here, back on campus.  I have yet to begin packing.  Tomorrow we go to Jerusalem then head to the airport for our 11:40 flight to Atlanta.  Wow.  My next and final post will be Wednesday or Thursday.  It is then that I will discuss the program overall and share some more intimate feelings and ideas with you all.

I look forward to seeing everyone, and I really truly greatly appreciate everyone who’s taken the time to read this for three months.

-Jamie

Wow it’s been a while since I posted last.

I will now tell you about our fun time in Eilat.

Last Wednesday we woke up early for an early bus ride. We began our day Kibbutz Revivim – where former Prime Minister David Ben Gurion once lived. We learned about Ben Gurion’s love for the Negev and kibbutz life and spoke about Israel and Zionism. We discussed Ben Gurion’s philosophy on Zionism – the only way to be a true Zionist is to move to Israel and take matters into your own hands; you can be an Israel supporter, as most of us are, but true Zionists, accordion to Ben Gurion, must make aliyah. After our discussion we visited Ben Gurion’s grave and there we spoke about what heroes that we’ve learned about this trip have made the biggest impression on us.

We continued our day with a hike through a beautiful canyon. The view was breathtaking, and the hike a lot of fun – we had to climb small stairs and even ladders to get to the top. It was exhausting but worth it.

Next we made our way to a Bedouin tent where we would ride camels and spend the night. We split into partners and were led to our camels–Ofir and I named our Furious; he had anger issues and a few times tried to eat Max. Noah was slobbered on, and more than a few of us were nearly peed or pooped on. My partner was Ofir, and during the ride we sand Disney songs–me in English, him in Hebrew. The translations are amazing for the songs, actually. Overall camels are smelly, fun to be sitting on when they get up or sit down, and a big pain if you’re of the male gender. That night we ate an amazing chicken and rice dinner sitting on carpets surrounding giant trays of food. Dinner was fantastic, and afterward we sat and learned about the Bedouin lifestyle over coffee, tea, and baklava. The Bedouins are Israeli citizens and join the army. The Bedouin we spoke to was a tracker by trade, had two wives, a son in the army, and also ran the camp at which we stayed. After our chat we had free time; most of us stayed up late, gazed at stars, and spoke to some very…happy…Birthright kids, one of which angrily adorned me with the nickname “Casper.” Hey, just because I don’t like to look line a tan peasant doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings! Anyway, after an interesting night’s sleep it was early to rise and onto a Jeep ride!

We got into Jeeps and went for a nice ride around a huge crater. This crater, unlike those, say, on the Moon, was formed by water over millions of years. You could see on the crater sides all the different colors of sediment. Although we didn’t go too fast and the ride was a little bumpy, it was pretty fun–but nothing compared to repelling of the side of a cliff, which we did next. We each got a turn to go (some of us twice), and we all slowly descended off the top of the crater. The decent wasn’t that long; you started at the top, yes, but landed on a ledge not too far down. We were strapped in pretty tight, but for me at least it was still scary and exhilarating.

On the way to the kibbutz we went for a short hike through some really cool rock formations. We shot a few pictures and enjoyed the fun hike and headed once again to the bus. In the middle of our ride this time we stopped in the middle of nowhere. Yossi told us to get up and bring your water and hat. We walked through the desert for about 30 minutes until we finally reached our destination; a sand dune! After an extremely difficult climb up the mountain of sand some of us rolled or slid down. It was so much fun I decided to go twice! My pockets and shoes had mini dunes inside after we were done, and my mouth was completely filled with sand. The dune even decided to take a hostage that day…it swallowed up poor Micah’s flipflop never to return it again despite our long rescue effort. Oh well.

After our dune adventure tiredly got on the bus and went to Kibbutz Yahel, a Reform kibbutz where we would be stayed the next few days. We napped, showered, and relaxed until bed time. Ahh, television.

The next morning we got up fairly late and went off to the city of Eilat. Our first stop was the Eilat stone factory where they sell lots of stone jewelery. After the factory we all got free gifts (a cute little Eilat stone ready to be put on a necklace) and then made our way to the tayelet, or promenade. We walked around and looked at all the stalls there on the beach; many of us shopped, others sunbathed, and most people tried to find refuge from the heat in the mall at one point or another. I even got myself a henna tattoo of a certain friendly ghost! At about three we left the beach to go back to the kibbutz for a nice, quiet shabbat.

The next day was filled with swimming and relaxing on Kibbutz Yahel. After shabbos was over we again went back to the tayelet, which seems completely different in the night time. This time everyone shopped and walked around, and finally, late at night, everyone exhaustedly piled onto to the bus to get back and sleep.

The next morning was earlier than usual. We had a 5:45am wakeup so we could begin our hike early. This time we were hiking up a mountain, where, at the top, you could see four countries; Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi-Arabia. The hike was difficult at times, but overall fun. It’s nice to be getting exercise again…I’d never thought I’d miss hiking this much! After our hike we went…SNORKELING. I love snorkeling. It was a pretty short snorkel session, but pretty good too. We poked jellyfish, swam into schools, and even watched some tuna-like fish attack a reef right under us! The fish were gorgeous; I could have spent all day there.

After snorkeling and hiking we headed back to Muss…but not before stopping at ANOTHER MALL. This mall, though, has the nicest bathrooms in the world, no joke. We ate and finally got back to Muss, where we relaxed for the rest of the day.

This morning was time for a tikun olam project. We went to a nearby strawberry field to pick berries. Whatever we picked would be donated to families in need. We ended up picking 150 containers of strawberries, even with the amount we ate while doing so. The berries were amazing and it was a nice way to begin our Shavuot holiday.

For the holiday most of us are staying on campus, and very soon is a nice dinner planned for us.

I shall blog again this weekend most likely. We’re reaching the final stretch here, folks; just 7 days left.

-Jamie

Ah, our last free weekend and a few tiyulim.

It’s nice to be active again.

This past Friday and Saturday was our last free weekend.  Surprisingly, most of us stayed on campus.  I went for many walks and got to see Spider-Man 3.  I liked it a lot, despite the insane amount of screaming, popcorn throwing children in the theater.

After our weekend we had a tiyul.  We woke up early Sunday, had core class, then headed to the old city of Jerusalem.  Before we arrived at our destination, we again stopped at the begallah stand to purchase some oh-so-fresh-and-delicious pitas.  Yum.  While munching on our breakfast, we walked to the Beit Ziebenberg museum.  This museum is unique in that it’s the basement of someone’s house.  The Ziebenbergs decided to excavate under their home over 30 years ago in order to find artifacts from ancient times.  They were successful in their excavation, finding pillars, arrowheads, pots, and even a gun from the Independence War.  We watched a presentation and got a tour of the museum then headed to some old Sephardi synagogues, one of which claimed to be host to Elijah on one occasion.  On the way we passed some kids practicing for Yom Yerushalayim – they were doing a fun dance with Israeli flags, waving them in a certain order, going in circles and lines, all while being screamed at by their teacher.

We soon left the old city and arrived at Emek Refaim street.  There was much jewlery shopping to be had (I bought to awesome necklaces) as well as some good eats.  Emek Refaim is the location of Norman’s, home of the Sumo Burger.  The Sumo Burger is a 1 kilo patty on top of a giant bun.  Only one of our crew was man enough for the challenge, and that was Brandon.  Yes, he was able to eat the entire 2.2 pound burger.  He got a t-shirt to prove it.  Our next stop was Ammunition Hill.  Yossi told us stories of the battle that took place there, taught us how trench warfare works, and revealed to us the story behind many of the pictures in their museum.  We all got some nap time in, too, during the film they showed us at the museum.  Hey, it was a productive use of time, trust me!

The next day was classes for those who were still in school (Ha ha!).  AP Biology and Physics students took their AP exams, which, as far as I know, went well.  That night our madrichim threw us a small celebration.  They called us up for our regular 10:30pm meeting and told us to wait.  We waited impatiently for Ofir to return, and when he did he was with Nurit and bearing a cake.  They sang “happy done with high school to you! Happy done with high school to youuu!” and even included sparklers.  I love our madrichim.

With the entire grade in a pretty good mood we headed to bed.  They had managed to plan a last-minute tiyul for us on Yom Yerushalayim – yay!   We woke up this morning and had core class at 9:00am.  After core we got on the bus and drove to Yaffo.  We shopped at the shuk (market), bargained a whole lot, and made some pretty interesting purchases.  I hear tell that Amanda was one of the star bargainers, but I think everyone did pretty well.  After the market Yossi took us to the tayelet – the Tel Aviv beach!  There we ate, tanned, swam, and even wrestled.  The day was so fun and tiring that I’m on the verge of sleep as I write this – hence why it’s a bit more boring than usual.

Tomorrow we head off to Eilat until Monday.  Our tiyul will be full of rock-repelling, dune buggies, snorkeling, and camel riding.  Keep an eye out for a fun post coming Monday or Tuesday!

Till then.

-Jamie

Alright – don’t kill me, but I only have half the pictures for this post.

Deal with it.

Classes, classes, yada, yada, yada. To be truthful I don’t remember much of Sunday day. That night we had a Lag BaOmer celebration (aka Israeli Pyromaniac Palooza!). When it was dark out we all went out to the gravel parking lot and built a HUGE bonfire using old wood and…drawers? As the fire burned we pretended to push people in and have epic battles before it – a fun time was had by all. Then Ofir brought out marshmallows, chocolate, and biscuits (they don’t have graham crackers in this country) for us to make s’mores in the GIANT INFERNO that raged before us. Well, being the silly teens we are we braved it. Don’t worry, no one got hurt and I’m pretty sure I didn’t see any balls of fire with arms and legs running around screaming.

The next day you walked outside and you couldn’t see very much – there was smoke everywhere and the smell of smoke filled the air. So much for the rain we had a few days before. Anyway, Monday we had a tiyul for the first time in a very long time. Tibi wasn’t our driver (Tibi is our bus driver and far superior to any other in this country), but it was okay…I guess. We went to Caeseria, which is basically a privately owned city. It’s insanely nice and expensive looking; clean, nice, state-of-the-art. It seemed a little too theme-park like for my tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I love theme parks, but this place had no roller coasters.  The pamphlet looked like something you’d find at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas, actually – a view of the back of some people in lounge chairs on the beach, one of them Spartan soldier. Anyway, we took a tour and spoke to figures from history on these really cool holograph things. It was pretty hot, but overall enjoyable. The tiyul was short, and we were home in time for lunch and afternoon classes. Woo hoo.

Tuesday was classes again. AP Statistics got up early to take their AP exam. According to Brandon the exam “went fine.” There you have it! AP Calculus had their very last class ever that day, too. Exciting, no?

Wednesday began for me at 7:00am. I woke up and went to eat, butterflies in my stomach and all – I don’t really know why I was nervous for the silly test; I guess I just was. Anyway, the AP Calculus exam went alright…I guess. I’m not supposed to discuss it or the College Board Police will not only arrest me on the spot but it could also “jeopardize my scores” – something I’m convinced is a euphemism for “murder you in your sleep.” Wait, you didn’t know the College Board is the mafia of the educational world?

That night we had quite the activity planned for us: Girl’s Night In, Boy’s Night Out. The boys went with Ofir to the beach and grilled mass amounts of meat, swam, and played football. How manly, right? The girls went to the supermarket and bought fixings for a huge salad and pasta. Me, Carly, and Becca G went to buy the veggies and fruits while the rest went to the supermarket to get the rest. After we shopped (fruits and veggies are SO CHEAP here), we went back to the dorms and began to prepare an amazing home-cooked meal. Nurit told us to wait and led us into her room. Inside was a white table cloth on the ground and on the couches, and strewn all over the room were candles and rose petals. It was so sweet. We went to the cloth on the floor and on it were aprons with our names on it. Each one had a drawing made with us in mind – mine had fishies (I have no idea how she knew I loved underwater themes), Raelle’s has roses, and Carly’s had stars, for instance. We chopped up the salad fixings, listened to music, and made garlic bread and sauces for the pasta. Carly made a delicious marinara sauce and I made a pretty damn good alfredo sauce, if I do say so myself. We ate until we nearly puked (well, until some of us nearly did, anyway), and for dessert we had…chocolate fondue! We dipped strawberries, bananas, kiwi, green apple, and even cookies into the stuff. It was amazing. Mmm…Girl’s night was quite the success, and definitely made us feel a lot less homesick. It was nice to have a home-cooked meal for once and be comfortable sitting and eating with just a few friends. I now realize how much I miss cooking, though.

Another day meant another AP exam, and this morning (Thursday) I again woke up early to take an exam. This one was AP English Literature, and it went really well. After the test I promptly got up and exclaimed “I’M DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL!” and ran out of the room skipping. You see, this was my last exam. I don’t have any more classes to go to here. Ever. YAY! I’m free! I mean, not that I don’t love school, but it’s just the weirdest feeling to have very little obligation and stress. Plus I suppose I get to start it all over again come this August. But enough about that – most others will finish their high school careers sometime this week, with the last of us done on Monday, when AP Physics and Biology take place.

After the exam we went on a tiyul. At 1:45 we piled on the bus (TIBI WAS BACK! Yay!) and headed for the Druze village. On the way we watched “My Blue Heaven,” a pretty bad movie starring Rick Moranis as an FBI agent whose watching over Steve Martin who’s a mobster in the witness protection program. Anyway, for those of you who don’t know much about the Druze, they are a religious minority here in Israel. There are about 1.5 million Druze worldwide, 200,000 of which live in Israel. The Druze are faithful Israeli citizens, fight in the Israeli army, but practice their own, secret religion. You cannot convert into being a Druze, you must be born into it. If you marry out, you’re excommunicated. The religion, or what we could be told about it from the Druze man we got to speak to, sounds very interesting. They believe in serving the world, and very much respect their family life and religion. People of the Druze faith, whether secular or religious, all respect each other. The religion is monotheistic and is a combination of the other three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Anyway, we spoke with a Druze man and learned what we could about the religion, then had some time to walk around and shop in the market. I bought myself a really cool purse and a skirt, while others got tee-shirts, pants, and even dresses for themselves. For dinner we ate d.o.t.s. at a mall, and then we came back here, where I sit down and write.

I’ll write again Monday most likely – we have a tiyul on Sunday to Jerusalem. Woo-hoo!

-Jamie

Right.

So.

I haven’t updated in a long time.  Be nice to me.  Nothing has happened.  Seriously, nothing.  I have no pictures, and very little to tell you.

And, with that incentive, please feel free to read the rest of the post.

So, I didn’t go to Sar-El.  In my defense, neither did Matty.  We stayed back because we were both feeling a little under the weather.  Basically, we sat around, played cards, and plugged our ears while our dorm was stormed by 13-year-old girls.  I wasn’t aware that 8th grade girls just randomly screamed for no reason at all for two hours straight.  Huh.

Anyway, the rest of the group finally came back, and from Sar-El we recieved dog tags, t-shirts, diplomas, and hats.  Woo-hoo   They’re actually pretty cool.

The rest of the week was filled with learning.  We went into town, went to classes, played cards, colored in coloring books, played gameboy, you name it.  In short: we’re bored.  That should pass once AP exams are over, thank goodness.

Today is part of a free weekend, and most of us stayed back.  Today some people went to the beach, which, when asked if it was fun, Carly responded “yeah, it was pretty fun.”  To fill the time I went on a cleaning spree of my room, colored some postcards I plan to send to my best friend as part of her super-belated birthday present, and did a bunch o’ math homework in preparation for the AP exam on Wednesday.

Alright, I warned you all.  That’s it.  That’s all I’ve got.

Tomorrow we have classes and a Lag Ba’Omer celebration – so there should be something to post about

-Jamie

Hooray pictures! Everybody cheer! My computer decided to fix itself – that, or it really likes Tomer and decided it would work only if he booted it up. Either way, I’m happy.

So, I shall begin my post once again with…A PICTURE!

We went back to Sar-El and worked – same ol’ same ol’, nothing exciting…until that evening. For our evening activity we were told to meet at the picnic tables in full uniform. Once there, Shelah, one of our Sar-El madrichot, started putting some war paint on our faces and telling us to each grab a gun (aka stick), and we gathered close in a huddle. Ofir walked up, clad in full army gear – boots, uniform, vest, hat; Shelah and Inbal, our other madrichah, were dressed in the same fashion. “Alright soldiers – our goal is to conquer this hill,” Ofir pointed at a hand-drawn map to a blob with some circles inside of it. He then showed us our routes. Apparently we were to go up the shakey line to the red X’s, then cross over the sideways green V’s, and finally get to some black squiggly lines. Apparently this means go up the occupied road to the checkpoint, through a British airfield, and finally storm the hill at the Jordanian border. On the way we needed to keep watch and pick up supplies. We were divided into two groups; the first has two commanders, Ofir and Inbal, while the second had one, Shelah. I was in the latter, and volunteered to be second in command. This meant that when Shelah pounded her fists on her head I was to run up to the front of the line and go next to her, she would tell me exactly what to tell everyone else, and I would turn around and repeat. Truly I had a lot of responsibility. Anyway, we began by training – this is where Gadnah came in handy. We learned how to pazazta yet again, how to crawl, and how to walk in a line and do a sweep of the area. Finally we were on our way. First we covertly ran across the road, when suddenly Shelah fell into a pazazta. The group followed their commander, and we lied there, watchful. She motioned to me and told me that, two at a time, we would enter the airfield ahead. As we entered enemy fire broke out, but we had to get supplies. We got into pazazta and returned fire, covering the two who ran to the helicopter shell (the enemy fire, in case you were wondering, is fake – but the helicopter shell was actually there). When they didn’t return, two more went in after. They came back with the supplies, but yelled something about an injury. After eliminating the enemies, we ran to the helicopter to find Jared wounded, nearly dead. Upon further inspection of the wounded’s weight and the realization that he would have to be carried, Jared was magically healed and suddenly Amanda collapsed, wounded, and was carried by Max. We continued on our way, and finally reached a field where our goal was in sight. After a motion from the other unit, we stormed the hill, throwing grenades and shooting. Finally the hill was captured and the village below safe. Tired from the trials of war, we made our way to some benches to learn a little bit about the Israeli War of Independence. What we had just done was a simulation of that war…no fair, they tricked us into learning. Oh well. I got a glow stick and a bunch of cuts out of the deal, too! I still have some of those battle wounds, actually. Anyway, after that not much happened. We worked again the next day and found some new-born kittens (well, Brandon and his boss did) and then came back to campus.

Well, apparently the sickness that’s been going around our grade decided it’d have some fun and join the party that is my blood stream. That night I got a vicious cold from which I am still recovering. Maybe it was pity sickness – Raelle and Matty have been sick for a while and I guess I felt bad. Anyway, sick or not, I was still going on my free weekend – I got to go to the Shiller house with Raelle, Daniel, and Tomer. We played in the pool for a little and then went inside to watch some tee-vee. After spending the rest of the afternoon in a catatonic state on their couch watching the dance movie “Step Up” and some tv shows, it was finally evening. I guess the adrenaline kicked in, because both Raelle and I were able to go out with them. We went bowling (I came in second with an 81, Daniel in first with an 87 – in our defense, the lane was crooked, the balls dented, and there was no slippery stuff on the lane) and walked around the mall, then finally retired back to the house. Today was much more laid back. We sat around, watched some movies (the end of Batman Begins, Sin City, and most of Tron), and ate…that’s about it. Now I am back at Muss, my computer works, and I’m uploading photos – hoorah!

Well, that’s it for now. Tomorrow we go back to Sar-El. Poop.

And just for you guys, I’ll post a bunch of pictures to make up for the ones you didn’t get to see

-Jamie

Okay, let me first address the issue of pictures. See, folks, my laptop decided it no longer could deal with the life it was blessed with and…well…blue screened on me. So, I am in the process of commissioning a friendly JDSer to fix it for me In the mean time, however, I am not uploading any pictures. Hopefully soon they will be up and happy. I will also soon post the links to some of the albums where my pictures are.

Anyway, post time.

This weekend was a free weekend. We sat around being lazy, went to the beach where it was SUPER WINDY, and some of us even slept the whole time due to feeling under the weather. The waves on the beach are insane.

So, after our weekend we headed to Sar-El again on Sunday. We spend the second half of the day doing our volunteer work and then in the evening went to a Yom HaZikaron ceremony. The mood was definitely sombre all around, a mood which I believe was amplified due to us being surrounded by an entire army base. We arrived at a memorial dedicated to fallen soldiers and were told to get in lines of three and form and giant chet with the rest of the base. We were immersed with the other soldiers as we raised and lowered the flag, heard poetry and songs, and read off the names of all the members of the base who had fallen in battle. A few of the soldiers even had to leave the formation in order to shed tears for their friends. It was quiet and still all around for the siren that pierced the air. Cars stopped, everyone stood, silent, statue-esque, no one spoke a word. An entire nation of people, for that minute, was silent. It was pretty amazing. After the ceremony we went back to the base, had our free time, and went to bed.

The next morning there was no work. Instead we went to another ceremony which was very similar to the one the night before. It was the middle of the day and extremely hot – several soldiers fainted, and I had to sit aside in the shade so the same fate would not befall me. This ceremony was also very meaningful, and as I sat next to my madrich I couldn’t help watching for his reactions during the ceremony. It amazed me that during moments of silence even the people who were standing out of eyesight from the formation and horse-playing during the ceremony stood completely quiet and still. During Hatikvah our entire group sang, and there was a pretty strong feeling of unity all around. After this ceremony we went back to the base, had lunch, and headed home to the Hod.

Once we arrived in Hod HaSharon it was clear the mood of the day was already shifting. Once night fell it was time for Yom HaAtzmaut – Independence Day! As we drove into town there were streamers everywhere waving in the wind. A group of us walked into town to get some food and at all the kiosks you could see giant spitsof shwarma, much larger than usual, beginning to cook – in the back another giant spit was being packed, getting ready to roast. Fresh pitas were baking, candy was being put out, and more people than usual were wearing blue and white. That evening we went to a giant festival in the center of town. After a 30 minute walk, complete with singing and dancing and almost being hit by a car (don’t worry, my cat-like reflexes saved me), we arrived at the festival. On the street corners they were selling head antennas, blinking necklaces, squeaky inflatable hammers, and annoying shaving cream spray that every 13-year-old just loves to buy. Once inside the actual festival it was quite overwhelming. Swarms of people everywhere all around you, yelling in Hebrew and dancing. There was a band playing in the center and food stands all around – some people enjoyed a hot dog that had far too much bun, and I treated myself to a slushi. There were even churros there, just like at home! Unfortunately, no funnel cake was to be found, although the candied apples and cotton candy were plentiful. We sat and talked and walked, and toward the end of a night a band called Synergia played – they’re pretty popular here, although I think the consensus of the grade was that they…well, sucked. Not only that, but they yelled “Happy 58th year of independence!” when, as the GIANT SIGN behind them read “YEAR 59!” Oh well, silly them, I guess We walked around and finally decided to walk back to campus at about 1:00am. All of us sprinted the last few yards as our bladders were near explosion, and Jeremy kept mentioning something about “shilshul.” You figure it out. We went to bed, extremely exhausted, ready for a fun day when we woke up.

Today was a late wake up, 10:00am – yay! We woke up and went straight to the beach, where we tanned and played in the ocean. The waves this time were CRAZY. The current was pulling and the waves were bullying and I was being tossed all over the place. Daniel and Jared successfully angered a life guared when they kept ignoring his whistles, and Jeremy and I enjoyed an amazing pint of Ben & Jerry’s sorbet. Mmmm. Finally we came back to Hod HaSharon, showered, napped, did all of those wonderful things, and at 6:00 it was time for a Bar-B-Que! The food was pretty good, with burgers and dogs and chicken and fries. We ate and chatted and then at 6:30 a group of us went to have a nice phone call with the school. Hi guys! We sat in a room and answered questions and got to talk to Simcha We miss you guys!

And now I have about five minutes to go and pack before I head back to Sar-El for a few days. I’ll see what I can do about those pictures, and I’ll post upon my return.

-Jamie

Wow, crazy, it’s been so long since I’ve been able to post.

In my defense, however, it’s been the same amount of time that I’ve been unable to reach a computer.

I shall now tell you about our adventures in Yokniam and Sar-El.

Yokniam, for those of you who’ve never heard of the small town in Israel, is Atlanta’s sister city. Weber has an exchange program with one of the schools there, and a few weeks ago their kids were hosted in Atlanta. Last week we got to visit them, and it was so much fun. Seriously, it was incredible. I stayed with Jacob and Carly at Hila’s house. We got to sleep in, go to shuks, and even have a party where the whole gang got to come together. I’ve gotta say, I really enjoy the Coke at home much more than the Coke here – corn syrup might be more gross than sugar, but it’s just not real Coke without it. The food in Yokniam was also amazing. It was so nice to eat home cooked meals in a foreign country. We got many delicious middle-eastern num-nums and had such a great time there’s a big group of us who wants to go back for their free weekend. We said a very sad goodbye on Saturday night, and went back to Muss – tomorrow we would have classes and immediately be back on the bus and on our way to Mara, part of an army base where we would do a little community service.

So, we woke up, had an excruciating day of classes, and then immediately got on the bus to go to Sar-El. See, I had planned to post after class, which is why I didn’t blog about Yokniam while I was in Yokniam…whatever, doesn’t matter anymore, does it? So, we get to Sar-El, and are immediately comforted when Inbal and Sheilah, our madrichot, tell us this is not Gadnah, and it will not be like Gadnah. Thank goodness. So, we got off the bus, got our rooms, and then got our uniforms. Unlike Gadnah, we got the uniforms that were made for doing work in – they’re pretty nice and comfy. Everything’s much cleaner at Sar-El than it was at Gadnah…Okay, from this point forward I shall not mention the G word again. Immediately we were given a tour and then assigned to a job. I went with a group of 8 to the “Emergency Warehouse” which was neither very warehouse-y nor emergency-like. We sat around and waited for the guy in charge to open a storage thing and then moved cardboard shooting targets in the shape of soldiers out of the storage and into a pile. Whatever, it kept us busy until dinner. The food at Sar-El is…good! The shnitzel was awesome, and today we had some really great rolls (made by Carly, Becca E, and Jeremy). Too bad half of it’s deep-fried…So anyway, the second day I worked at Emergency again (well, slept through it, really), and that night we had an evening activity of trivia (our grade, for the record, should NOT have competitions with one another…) and a very fun match of soccer. The final score was 7-6, my team winning of course. That night we were woken up at 2:30am to a loud knocking on our door. “GET ON YOUR UNIFORMS AND GET OUTSIDE! YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES!” After tears and whining we finally got everyone out, and definitely not happily. We stood and got our tags to wear on the shoulders of our uniforms…and then went back to bed. We were so tired. So, then next day we switched up our jobs. I went to the parachute building (we’re staying on a paratrooper base – the only one where they train how to parachute) and pulled up parachutes, shook them out, and swept the building. We also got to watch some of the trainings – people jumping off of platforms, others on zip lines pulling out their emergency chutes, and still more jumping out of doorways. Our evening activity was more trivia, but not as bad. See, they were personal questions and when we got one right we got to shove a piece of gum into Daniel’s or Noah’s mouth – it depended on which team you were on. After a lot of laughing and fun we had free time for the night. Today when we awoke we went to the same jobs and for the most part had a lot of free time. We ate lunch, packed up, cleaned up, and finally came back here to Muss until Sunday when we leave again.

I hope this post wasn’t too terrible – sorry for the lack of pictures and details. I have another whole week and a half of Sar-El to report to you all, so worry not, the next should hopefully be better.

-Jamie

Jamie has trusted me with the task of  letting you all know that she will not be able to post the next entry until Thursday or Friday.   The army has stripped her of internet access!  She is looking forward to getting back to blog duty soon.

-The bloggers mom