Monday, November 3-4
The journey begins with the longest day ever. To add to my
anxiety, our departing flight was at the end of daylight savings. I can never
for the life of me remember if my computer/phone etc. automatically changes the
time or not, and am always worried about the possibility that it will do the
wrong thing – as many iPhones did a few years ago causing a pandemic of
lateness-to-work. So I got up an hour earlier than needed just to make sure I
wasn’t late. I headed to the airport to arrive 4 hours before our flights
departure, and meet the rest of the group. There was no clear sign at the
airport for our group specifically, so I just approached a couple of younger
people hanging out and found out I was in the right place. Later on, we made
the introductions and met our Canadian group leader Alana.
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| Elementary School in Bat Yam |
Check in was intense. Before I even reached the check-in
counter, security asked me a million questions about my intentions in Israel,
how I found out about Birthright, my level of Jewish practice and upbringing. I
couldn’t help but feel guilty for how Jewish I didn’t feel at that time – but
not to worry because that’s certainly changed now. I finally passed the verbal
and was checked in successfully.
Twelve hours later, our group landed in Tel Aviv, where we
received yet another interrogation at immigration. Then the real fun began.
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| Our fellow IDF travellers |
Arriving into the terminal, we were greeted in song by the
Israelis that were joining us for our 10 day adventure. All of a sudden I had
dropped my luggage and was dancing in the airport with my new friends. We did a
brief introduction, got all our items together and some of us changed clothes
and collected our rental phones. Then we received chocolates, sandwiches and
water on our way to the bus.
Our first stop was Bat Yam, a town just outside of Tel Aviv,
where we visited a primary school for a cultural exchange. This probably wouldn't be considered a tourist attraction although the town does have a nice beach - but so does Tel Aviv. It was such a
culture shock, coming from the daily grind of Canadian life and being thrown into the juvenile playground
at recess. All the children ran up to us and started speaking Hebrew to
us, then just grabbed some toys and played basketball, skipping games, and all
sorts of other games that I didn’t quite catch or understand. As quickly as the
pandemonium began, suddenly the bell rang and the children disappeared again
into their classrooms.
We had a crafts session with some of the kids, making a gift
to pass on to the children at the hospital nearby. After this, our group was
surprised to find out we were actually going to the hospital to deliver our
gifts in person. It was a beautiful thing to see the children’s faces light up
when a stranger walked in and handed them a small bag of goodies, and some of
our group even got to stay a while to show the children how to use the toys.
There was a major communication barrier here, many of the families in this
hospital didn’t speak English or Hebrew, but it was irrelevant when the
appreciation for this small spark in their day was so palpable. We learned that
the hospital is involved in an international aid program, where children
with congenital heart defects are transported to Israel, receive life-saving
surgery, and then once recovered are transported back home.
After this intense introduction to Israel’s future
generation, we feasted on something I will never get sick of - fresh hummus and pita! Then we received some relaxation time at the beach. Even in November,
with the sun low in the sky, the ambient and water temperatures were just
perfect. We got to know our fellow Canadians and Israelis, or took a well
needed nap on the beach.
Then, and this will be a common theme, back on the bus!
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| The beach at Bat Yam |
We
returned to the airport, it’s all over. I joke. We did return to the airport,
but that’s because this was a special trip. There was
another group joining us, arriving from Washington D.C. that evening. Waiting at the airport, we played
some games and learned some songs while awaiting the arrival of the Americans,
and then we graced them with the same energetic welcome that we had received
from our Israeli peers. And probably freaked out a whole lot of people in the
airport in the process.
Finally, we could relax… after another 3 hours in the bus to
our overnight accommodations in Kibbutz Afik near the Golan Heights. Arriving
after 9pm, we received a quick dinner and introductory talk, before finally
catching some ZZZ’s after over 36 hours of transport and activity. So sets the
pace for the next 10 days…
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