All the kinks seem to be settling out, now that we are two weeks in. There are still some bumps, but everyone is amazing and so is the entire environment. We went on our first overnight trip this week. We started the trip by going to Tel Azeka were there was a beautiful overlook and we continued to read from the Tanakh and learn the history of our ancestors. After going to the Tel we pulled over to an area on the side of the highway where David beat Goliath in the most famous battle in history. Since we were learning about the philistines, we went to a museum about the history of the philistines. We saw parts of their culture through pieces of pottery and art. I also learned that the philistines used opium and nutmeg for euphoric effects.

Then we went on probably my favorite part of the trip, the stalactite caves. As we were leaving Tel, there was a beautiful rainbow from the quick sprinkle of rain we had. They were absolutely beautiful. The world’s natural beauty always astonishes and mesmerizes me. After another hour long drive, we were all blindfolded and paraded around with no idea of our surroundings only to take our blindfolds off to overlook the beautiful city of Jerusalem glowing in the moonlight. We huddled around and sang “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav.” We then proceeded to our last destination of the day, a youth hostel where we spent the night.

After dinner we split into Zman mishpacha(family time). That evening we had a change in roommates which allowed me to bond with girls who I don’t normally see. The next day we woke up bright and early. We went to an area in Jerusalem that still practices ancient terrace farming called Sataf. The trees were beautiful, and we saw many different kinds of trees such as almond and olive trees. We also went into the water cave where there is spring water used to water the crops. In the cave we turned off all our headlamps off and stood in a circle in the pitch black and chanted songs.

Later in the day we went to the remains of King David’s palace. We also hiked through an underground water tunnel in the dark as well. The tunnel was super cool and the water wasn’t too cold, but the dark tight space was pretty scary. After drying off some, we hopped back on the bus for the fifth time and headed to the kotel. It was my first time ever going to the kotel and it was moving in a way I have never felt before. The moment of putting my note into the wall was something unreal I never could have imagined. I used to imagine the day where I would get to put my very own note into the wall. Also in the cracks of the wall there was a dove resting, a symbol of peace. Straight after the kotel we had D.O.T.S.(dinner on the streets) in Ben Yehuda, and I bought gifts for some of my friends back home. I also bought some really cool pop art. The whole week was amazing, and I also had my first Shabbat on campus during a free weekend. I had lots of free time to rest and enjoy the company of some the other students.