What an Experience!

When I first heard about the Bedouin tents I wasn't sure what to expect. Honestly, I was concerned about sharing one sleeping space with 46 strangers I just met a week ago.

Boy was I wrong! What an experience!

The Israeli air was a refreshing change from our typical, air conditioned rooms. It's hard to go to sleep at a reasonable time when you're having great conversations with great people.

We woke up at 4 a.m in order to start the hike to the top of Masada to watch the sun rise. The hike to the top was not an easy one, but the view was well worth it! Looking off into the distance to watch the sun rise was such a beautiful experience. It was a great start to an unforgetable day, especially for me.

This day, myself and 5 other people celebrated a Bnai Mitzvah ceremony with an amazing view. Josh, Anastasia, Angela, Justin, Chelsea, and myself can now brag about having our Bar Mitzvah's at the top of such an important landmark: Masada. Being able to have my Bat Mitzvah was a way to honor this life changing trip, and to honor my father. 

After an exhausting hike down Masada, while functioning on about 3 hours of sleep, it was finally time to relax! What better way to wind down then floating in The Dead Sea. We completely covered ourselves in the infamous mud and spent the next hour experiencing the floating phenomenon. 

After feeling refreshed and relaxed, we took some time to visit the grave site of Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and his wife in the Negev Desert. We learned so many interesting facts about him and his lifestyle. Did you know his favorite activity was to do head stands?

We finished the day at the Kibbutz Mashabei Sadeh. After a great dinner we had a lively activity talking and learning more about each other and our beliefs. It has been an incredible day filled with a variety of tasks, from hiking, to floating, to talking about Israeli politics. We all walked away with new perspectives on not only ourselves, but on each other and our beautiful surroundings.

Photo Credits: Header Image-@skolshotzphotography, Image 1-@anastasiapage, Image 2-@skolshotzphotography, Image 3-@malfeinstein, Image 4-@cbtobin_1, Image 5@skolshotzphotography, Image 6-@katie_samuels, Image 7-@tackness, Image 8-@spmeyers17, Image 9-@k_weintraub, Image 10-@chelseco,