Winter Break

Over the winter break, I went around Israel with my parents, hiking, and exploring all parts of the country. I met them at the airport, with Lauren, who coincidently I sat next to on the plane here in August. We waited together for our families, as we played Israeli/American game (trying to figure by the people’s appearance if they were American or Israeli) and then even further if they were from NY or on a connecting flight. Finally they came and it was very exciting, I was so happy to see them after not seeing them for quite a while. We went up north from the airport and went to the Carmel winery and ATVing in the mountains, where the fire had taken place. That night everyone was exhausted, so it was an early night.

         The next day we went to Akko and explored the old city and the crusader castles. Then we went up north to explore some sea caves, and ended our day in Haifa, shopping, having a nice dinner and relaxing at Aroma, using the Internet, so my mom could update her blog. The next day we went hiking in Mount Merion, which was beautiful and perfect weather, then we went to a pomegranate wine, and tasted wines and sampled jams. That night we went to Beit Shean to have dinner with my host family. It was a really nice night, everyone got along, and I was a good translator, with the help of Nissim back and forth between everyone. There was a lot of good food, and it was really nice that my parents got to meet some real Israelis and see me interact with all my Hebrew skills.

 The next morning we got up very early to go hot ballooning, we had a bit of difficulty getting there as our guide got lost and had a meltdown, where his Parkinson’s flared. It was a scary car ride, but we made it there safely and right on time (well actually we were late but they waited for us). When we finally got there it was very nice and the views were really great. Afterwards, we went a nice bike ride through the hulu valley where we saw the birds migrating for the winter. We ended the day saying goodbye to our guide, since he was pretty crazy and not meant to be guiding anymore and relaxed in our amazing hotel. We stayed at the Mitzpe Haymim, which was really beautiful and the food was delicious. This was my favorite hotel of the trip; I loved the atmosphere, and everything about it.

         The next day we went to Jerusalem with our new guide Sarah, who was great! We saw the City of David and the Hezekiah Tunnels, went to the Israeli museum and lastly to the shuk so my parents could get an authentic taste of Israel.  At night we walked around Ben Yeuhda, the old city, and had a nice dinner. After Jerusalem, we headed into the Negev and crawled through the caves in Bar Kochba and hiked in Ein Avdat. I always like the hikes in the south, with all the canyons and everything. We ended the day eating with Bedouins and riding camels. The next day we started off the morning repelling down the Ramon crater, then we rolled down some sand dunes legit in the middle of nowhere, and then my favorite hike-- red canyon. Red canyon was so cool—my 10-year-old self loved climbing through the cracks, playing on the rocks and exploring the canyon- I would definitely like to go back there. We then made our way to Eliat. Which unfortunately was rainy the day we were there, but we just walked around, ate, and relaxed for a day, resting from our packed schedule we had the rest of the trip.

         From Eilat we went to Jordan for 2 days—I was impressed with Petra, but not so much with Jordan. Israel is so much better. It’s weird to me that Jordan is a kingdom, seeing the picture of their king hung in every building is a bit to idolish for me—I don’t know, I just didn’t feel the same comfort I do in Israel. Plus, the food in Israel was much better. Petra was cool though, and I would recommend people go see it, but you don’t need to stay an extra day- go back to Eilat. 

         Our last couple days were in Tel Aviv over Shabbat and new years. I showed my parents around a Tel Aviv- a city I can actually get around, and took them to my favorite café to eat, play cards, and relax. I explained to my parents that this was a usual thing to do on Shabbat, and had a discussion about what Shabbat means for all kinds of people in Israel. In the US, with exception of super religious people, Shabbat is not observed, but in Israel because things are closed everyone kinda has to observe it in some way. I like that you can’t run errands on Saturdays, and that you’re a forced to relax a bit and spend time with your family and friends. Overall the trip was wonderful and it was a great bonding time for me with my parents. I impressed them with my Hebrew skills and shared my knowledge of all things Israeli, as well as exploring new fun things with them. Thanks mom and dad!