L'Tiyul!!

They say that Tel Aviv is the city that never sleeps which may very well be true but it does not go for its inhabitants. Right now some close friends of mine from LA(Benji Davis, Micah Saeger, Arya Donay) are all living in TA together having a blast. I called them up in the morning to let them know I was coming and wanted to see them but of course they were asleep. I had no time to wait for them so I made my way over there bright and early. Simone was able to meet me on the beach with some of her friends and we just lied out and enjoyed the beautiful beach. It was so relaxing and really made me think of the amazing beached back in sunny Cali that I cannot wait to come back to. After dropping my stuff of at simone’s aunts beach apartment(SO SICK!!) we went to yoga and by we I mean she went and I walked there. I actually went to go meet up with the boys who had finally decided to wake up. We all made dinner together and surprisingly it was delicious. We made some special Persian(Tina Donay recipe) rice along with some meat and potatoes. It was great just being able to kick it with the guys since I rarely get to see them and I really like hanging out with them. After our little man time, I made my way back to simone’s place so we could get to sleep early. She decided that our wakeup call would be at 6:00 (didn’t know that still existed).

The next day’s travel was packed with adventure. We started out by leaving TA early to get up to Nachal Amud (natural valley made from water). It is roughly 13 kilometers north of the Kinneret and beautiful. We got off the bus where the driver told us to and began walking. At first we got slightly lost and started wandering through farmland and hills. It was in the right direction since it was always towards the sea. Eventually after our slight detour, we made it to Shvi Israel (a trial that goes from the north of Israel to the south). We met some nice soldiers that were off for a week and decided to travel and thought they would be nice company. They provided us with food, water, and a map (2 essentials on any hike). We made it after a half days walk to the kinneret and dived in head first. It was a beautiful blue that just calmed every muscle of my body. I got more color than I thought possible and was famished from not eating. We took a bus into Tiberias, the closest city, and looked for some grub. I received a call from David Abraham who invited me to come stay on his kibbutz that night and of course I could not reuse. We took a bus to a nearby junction, tremped(hitched) a ride to get us to the city, and then once more to get us to his kibbutz exactly. When I arrived there, the real party began.

David Abraham is a great friend of mine from back home. He original is from New Mexico, was involved in USY, and graduated from U of A. He is now a commander in a tank unit for the Israeli Army. He lives on Kibbutz Ha’zorea with a couple other people I know(Mike Dolinka, Danny Fleischer, Sivan Ron, Maor Winstein). To my surprise, Benji and Arya also came up to hang out for the night. We started with a concert at the kibbutz that was chill and relaxing. Afterwards we went to a neighboring kibbutz where they have a weekly party. It was a pretty big rager with tons of people my age that are in the army but off for the weekend. I met all of David’s Garin friends and they were all very nice. It was so much fun to go out with the guys and just let loose. I felt all the pressures of school and daily life float away to another time and place. I was enjoying myself and spending time with great company. The night lasted forever and I feel as though we didn’t get back until 6 in the morning. It was one of those nights that I will never forget and always appreciate. The next day David and I drove back to Jerusalem together and spend some long overdue quality time. I could not have asked for a better pesach break.