(A)live from the Middle East! Back from Israel!

Back from Israel! It was a beautiful and unreal experience. For being such a small country, the history which it holds is mind boggling. At the end of each day, I was brain dead from information overload. Israel is more than desert and camels!

I was in Israel for 2.5 wks. The first 10 days were part of Birthright with 37 other travelers. Ranging from age 18 to 26, coming from different lifestyles and from all over America, it was interesting how well everyone bonded. Everyone I met are people I will contact when I'm in their town.

For the second half of the trip, I stayed outside of Tel Aviv, in Ramat HaSharon, with my grandfather.

From this trip, my favorite places include: the Old City in Jerusalem and Sderot.

Whether you are Christian, Jewish or Islamic, the Old City is the mecca of religion. All the major religions in the world have a connection to this area which is smaller than a square mile. To fully understand the Old City, I think one would need "The Old City for Dummies" (if it exists.)

Sderot is a city in the Negev which is known for being hit with Qassam rockets. It's the bomb shelter capitol of the world and has the only bomb proof movie theater in the world. Every bus stop in the city is a shelter. I found is fascinating how people adapted to a lifestyle of always being on guard.

Here is a video which Noah Alloy from the trip recorded. It includes interesting insight to Sderot.

I have notes I wrote about Sderot which I will post soon.

While on Birthright, not only did we see the country and learn the history, but we had the honor of spending half the trip with eight Israeli Defense Force (IDF) solders to help us understand the culture. One of the things everyone noticed with the solders is their sense level of pride for their country.

In America, we fear the idea of a draft, but the Israelis take pride in being in the IDF.

It was strange waking up the morning after Birthright ended. Although it was only 10 days, you become close with the people on the trip. It was strange waking up in my grandfather's house and being the only person in the room.

Although my daily routine was less strenuous while staying with family, we managed to enjoy museums in Tel Aviv and visited Haifa, Akko and Nazareth.
Israeli hospitality is great

I wanted to explore the Old City more before returning to Florida, so I spent the last night in a hostel within the walls of the Old City.

Here are DigitalGreg's fun facts about Israel:

• It's NOT a good idea to try to enter the Western Wall Plaza when looking like a terrorist. You will end up playing a game of 20 questions. 
• All new buildings and extensively remodeled buildings are required to have a bomb shelter.
• Everything in Israel is backwards - including the signs for crossing the street.
• American's will be amused with the Israeli version of being opening 24/7.

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