Hello Edina! Sorry it’s been so long, but I’ve been booked solid here in the Holy Land. I left you all the day before I left the country and now it’s been just around three weeks! The first week I was with one of my best friends from my summer camp, Julia. She lives in Zichron Ya’akov (Zee-krone Ya-cove), which is up north. It was amazing to be able to have that week of vacation with her, and we even did some educational things! We went to Caesarea, which is full of Roman ruins and shops intermingled together. The mixture of time periods is the coolest thing. Later in the week we went to the beach, which starts in on my theme of tall things to climb that scare me! Julia’s daring Israeli friends wanted to rock climb this huge rock in the middle of a tide pool surrounded by some very slippery rocks. One wrong step not in the shallow end, and you’re ten feet down. So as reassuring as that was, when in Israel do as the Israelis do, and so I did it! And in flipflops no less. During this trip I am trying to make a pact with myself to do things that scare me and not to hold back. Embrace my inner Nike and “Just do it”.

The following week was a week of firsts as well, also including tall and scary things! The first few days on my new campus were strange and yet already comfortable. Being surrounded by new people is one thing, but being surrounded with new people all in the same exact position of not knowing anyone makes the whole thing a little less intimidating. By the end of the week we had already started getting really close.

The first trip we took was a pretty relaxed one to some ancient city called Tel Gezer, where we spent the day learning and walking and learning. It was also really funny because it was around 60 degrees, and so I was in shorts and a shirt. The Californians however were in winter coats and Uggs! Perks of being a Midwestern.

The trip after however, I was not equipped for in the slightest. The staff told us to wear our hiking boots for a bit of an uphill climb. When we got to the site, the reality was not in fact a hill, but a vertical climb. Down. We were meant to climb down the face of Mt. Gilboa with our backpacks and any previous climbing experience. Given that I had none of that, I butt-scooched my way down. While yes, it was challenging, and I was sore for the following week, the feeling of accomplishment was outstanding.

Many more mountains later, with varying heights, difficulty, and success, I can still say that with every climb (or butt-scooch), I still feel an amazing rush knowing that little me from the Bubble can also climb in the deserts of Israel.

Word of the week: Mountain.  הר

Pronounced: Har