It was an extremely successful first day on Bus 221. Waking up at the Kibbutz was an unforgettable experience in itself. We quickly discovered that we shared the space with families, our Israeli peers and to our surprise, tons of cats and dogs. Before we got the chance to see the whole place, we left for our morning hike.

We  ended the day with the most fun activity, kayaking on the Jordan River. Now we are about to celebrate our first Shabbat in Israel and we could not be more excited to experience it.

I'm learning so much about Israeli culture from the Israelis on our trip.

It is my first time in Israel and I am loving every minute of this trip! It definitely feels as though we had known each other for more than just two days! :)

The hike to the waterfall was my favorite part of today. There were so many canopies full of more flowers than I had ever seen at once protecting streams beneath that were so captivatingly beautiful, it was hard to keep moving at times; all I wanted to do was stare and stare and stare. It's hard to think of a more blissful moment I've felt than floating underneath that waterfall, hearing only my breath and the sound of pouring water. I was with a group of people who took their time getting to the waterfall, but although we may have held up the group a bit, it was worth it. I have never shared more laughs or felt so inexplicably happy.

We spent a magnificent hour singing, splashing, and heading down the waterfall. Just when we thought the day couldn't get any more eventful, it was time to dance. An evening filled with laughter, dancing, and most importantly schvitzing, we had successfully learned 4 dances of our Jewish heritage whereby the majority of us made it out unscathed (one of us got a bit overly excited and hit the deck). 

There are certain things in life that when you finally reach the pot at the end of the rainbow, you know the journey was worth it, and this was one of those things. Words just can't truly describe the waterfall and my attemps to describe it will not do it justice, but I felt so lucky watching my new and old friends dive in to refresh in one of nature's amazing gifts. It was honestly a perfect afternoon. 

Our group is filled with enthusiasm to explore and learn. This openness to new adventures has helped us learn and experience so much already, even though the trip has just begun.