The water was refreshing, and most of our group's boats united and floated for a while as a giant flotilla.
We shabbated really hard, learning the prayers for wine, challah, and washing of the hands. We were told that we would be at the kibbutz for the next 25 hours relaxing and enjoying each other's company and the simpler things in life.
After wrapping up surf lessons, history lessons and conversations about faith on Sunday, we began one of our most active and enriching days of the trip on Monday morning with a hike through the historic Golan Heights. Driving from Kibbutz Gadot through winding roads along the Jordan and Syrian borders, we received a history lesson on the Yom Kippur war and saw the signs warning passerbys of the 100 million anti-tank land mines dotting the historic landscape.
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.
Hiking and swimming was my favorite part of today; the water was cold, but refreshing. It was such a blast!
Today, we hiked and swam in a waterfall, went to see the lookout at Mount Bental, ate great lunch, and went rafting on the Jordan River.
Today was a very special and relaxing day filled with Judaism and exploration, but we wouldn't be doing our trip justice if we didn't describe our first full day of Birthright to you.
Our tour guide gave us a summary of the area's history and encouraged us to conduct our own research as well so that we could form our own opinions. We talked a little about the Syrian refugee crisis and learned that Israel has a policy of treating any refugees in need of medical attention.
But there, with my new American friends, I suddenly felt something different that I can't yet put in words. Luckily, I have another 9 days to find my way here.