Dinner was fun - on the bus, our guide Mike told us about the bus driver's son who recently opened a restaurant not too far from the hotel we were staying in. So Matt, Karen, Ilona, Aaron, Paul, and I all walked to Uri's son's restaurant and had really yummy shwarma. That was fun - and it was particularly great telling Uri about it the next day!
This morning we woke up to yet another fantastic breakfast. For the first time, we got a newspaper and got to read about what was going on in the world. Afterwards, we went to a lecture called "Israel's Political Reality" by Dr. Reuvan Hazan. It was an interesting and animated discussion about the Gaza Strip and the upcoming disengagement. Dr. Hazan stated that the future of Israel depends on them pulling out of Gaza and ultimately the West Bank. His reasoning is that by doing so, the Arab population won't surpass the Jewish population in the Israeli-governed territory and thus allow the Arabs to take advantage of the existing democratic process to come into power and dismantle Israel and the Jewish State. I'm not doing his argument justice, but that's the gist. It was a very passionate and personal discussion.
Then it was on to Yad Vashem - the Jewish National Holocaust Museum. Here's where being on a tour really puts you at a disadvantage. We had 1.75 hours to see the museum when we really needed an entire day to read and absorb all of the information they presented. It was so moving and emotional. Hundreds of thousands of pictures, stories, artifacts, memories. It was so touching. And we had to rush through it and could really see everything. I'm glad we went, even if we were hurried through and it was really difficult emotionally. I signed my name in the visitor's guest book to commemorate my visit.
We stopped off at a mall for lunch. The reason I mention it is because this mall contains the first Kosher McDonald's established in Israel - so of course we ate there! Paul and I shared a Big Mac value meal and you'll be happy to know that the effects of "Super Size Me" have not yet reached Israel as you can still Super Size your meal! One big difference - they include caloric and nutritional (if you can call the food they serve you at McD's nutrition) info on the french fry containers and in a pamphlet they give you with your meal.
The coolest part of today was by and far the archeological dig we took part in at the Beit Guvrin caves. We dug through the dirt finding shards of pottery, bones, and even a piece of glass jewelry! Then we sifted the dirt to find smaller objects we may have missed. After that, we went spelunking (cave exploring). That was the best! We had to crawl and shimmy our way through various holes, drops, and openings in this subterranean portion of the caves. There were some really tight spots and all of us commented on the obvious birth analogy. It was a very cool experience.
We're now back at the hotel and we have a little break before we have to get ready for services tonight. I think I'll read for a while since I finished the latest Harry Potter.
| previous | home | next |