A marvelous smorgasbord of traditional Bedouin food was presented to each of the groups.

We were then presented with the most delicious dinner a Mediterranean-loving vegetation could desire. After dinner, I was in 'The Secret of Herbs and their Uses' workshop and the most kind-hearted, adorable man shared his expertise on growing herbs and the distinct benefit that each herb can have on a human's health.

There truly is nothing like waking up at 3am for a seriously difficult hike up a mountain for the sunrise. We cheered each other on as we conquered what felt like thousands of winding stairs to reach the ancient fortress of Masada, the site of a famous Jewish rebellion against the Romans. We took a tour and a history lesson before climbing down in the heat of the day.
 

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.

How many people can say they celebrated their 22nd birthday hiking in northern Israel and touring Tsfat? I don't think that's what Taylor Swift sings about...

Our Shabbat service this evening was very pretty. It was nice to sing prayers I hadn't sang in years and to find that I still remembered them. After the service and the lovely kibbutz dinner, we split into groups and learned about each other's backgrounds, then played a game based on remembering people's names that had me paralyzed with laughter. 

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). 

After breakfast, we got together and played the speed dating game to get to know each other. It gave us time to meet each and get to know each person on the trip more individually. During our break before lunch, we all hung out, throwing around a frisbee or football, listening to music and playing with the dogs that were around the kibbutz. Many of us walked around exploring the kibbutz together. Some of us found a small garden with fresh fruit and an avocado tree. We also found a free outdoor gym. It was very cool to explore.

Holding the pigeons was my favorite part of the day so far because it was something I have never done and was also very meaningful. As our guide, Owen, taught us about these birds and their homing capabilities, it was quite the experience to be able to release them with our whole group. After we released them, the sprinklers turned on and sprayed us all as we laughed and ran out of them. It was a blast!