Shabbat

The trip has been so busy that I didn't have the chance to write last night. Yesterday morning we went on an "archeological dig". Basically we went to an excavation site and just walked around and took a tour of what has been dug up, we didn't get to actually dig ourselves because we left early since it was about 100 degrees. Then we went to the Sea of Galilee and swam and cooled off. We ordered pizza and ate outside. It was really nice. After that we went back to the dorms to get ready and relax. I took a much needed nap and then got ready to get picked up by our host families. Zach and I were paired up to go to the Reuveni's home. Ben, the son, picked us up and took us to his house. His family was great. The mom and dad were so nice and the dad took Zach and I to the top of the mountain that Jesus apparently jumped off of. We also drove through Nazareth and saw the Arab part of the city, the Reuveni's live in Nazarath Illit which is the Jewish part of the city. For dinner we had A TON of food. We had chicken, fish, two kinds of rice, two kinds of potatoes, this dip that I didn't try, hummus, fresh challah, two kinds of melons, chocolate cake, and like 10 kinds of drinks. I'm sure I'm missing something. The Reuveni's have 4 kids, Nirit is 30 and is SO sweet, we got along really well. Ben is 27, Ido is 22, and Eden is 15 and was in Specialty last summer! After dessert we went into the little smoke room where we watched Fight Club and smoked a hookah. Then Ben drove Zach and I to the bar to meet up with the rest of the group. While we were driving Ben mentioned to me that Matan Sageev was going to be there and that apparently he knew me from Tamarack. The name sounded familiar but I couldn't picture him. I was really thinking back only a few years and it just didn't ring a bell. The minute I saw him I remembered him. Matan and I were friends 5 years ago at Tamarack and haven't seen or spoken to each other since. It was an incredible reunion, we freaked out and spent the evening catching up. He is now an officer in the Army and I met him before he had even started the Army. Matan and I were very close friends and I remember crying when we had to say goodbye to each other so long ago. I can't even explain how incredible it was for us to see each other. All the Israeli's that hosted our group are coming to Detroit in September. That will be so fun! Ben's girlfriend Gal was also at the bar, she is so sweet and we had a good time together. Israeli bars don't close until 5:30 in the morning!!!! We didn't get back to our dorms until 4:00 am. I slept until 3 in the afternoon today and then got up and walked to the Afula Country Club. I ate lunch there and swam and laid out, it was fabulous. A great way to spend Shabbat. Tonight we are going to dinner and then we'll probably go to sleep early because we have to get up early for camp tomorrow morning.

Pictures:

1. from left: Hannah, Larry, Lauren, James

2. from left: Ben, Me, Zach, Eden

3. from left: Me, Matan