Last Blog. Saying goodbyes.

This last week on year course has been a blur of many lasts, goodbyes, reflections and cries. It has been a time for me to ruminate on this past year- the friendships I’ve made, the things I have learned, the experiences that I have gained, the places I have gone, and a part of myself that was discovered and shown in a new light. A passion for life within me has blossomed and flourished and my curiosity for things like people, places, and knowledge in general, have sparked into such a bright, craving light that it pushes me to adventure and learn to my full capacity.

After bawling my eyes out and giving everyone hugs goodbye at the New York airport, I continue the journey by myself- just me, my blue hiking backpack that has shared all my adventures this year, and my passport that will lead me back to home (well, one of my homes).  A little girl with braids and flowers in her hair was restlessly rocking back and forth on her heels to her toes and when she looked at me, I complimented her Barbie backpack and made some small talk with her. Her parents eventually joined in on the conversation and although I was exhausted, worn down from crying, and still extremely sad, I realized that my adventure through the world is not over. In fact, it has just begun. It occurred to me that a true traveler can find adventures anywhere.. I don’t need to be in a country filled with mountains and deserts that have guarded and witnessed religious history over thousands of years to find exciting escapades. You don’t need money or planes or train tickets to have a stimulating journey, all you need is a flexible attitude, an open mind, and a strong curiosity that will motivate you to ask questions about yourself, others, and the world. The true adventure comes from within. Wherever you are, you can explore yourself while also learning about the world and although I am extremely sad to have to go back into a Westernized world filled with responsibilities, work, and possibly extreme boredom, I know that my experiences this year have added to my collective knowledge, insight, and love of this world and love of myself. My mindset and priorities will not change and my love for Israel, Zionism, and Judaism will only strengthen from here.

When did Israel become my home? Was it the first time I unloaded my luggage in my apartment or the first time I was able to give directions to a tourist? Maybe it was when I was able to take busses and travel around by myself or when the cashier at the grocery store recognized and acknowledged me. It takes time for a foreign place to become home and sometimes you don’t realize how comfortable you feel in a place until you are forced to leave it.  Israel is my home now. My strong bond with her has been embedded deeper and deeper into my soul as I hiked through her winding trails, celebrated Shabbat on her most peaceful day, picked and ate from her gardens, drank from her near empty water pipes, drew designs in her sand, prayed at her holy sights, and fought and loved her children. I have been robbed by her very own, but also have been welcomed and gracefully cared for by many. I have seen hate and anger thrown around like pebbles in a child’s sandbox but although I have seen them act like children, I have also seen them love so deeply that it pervades and spreads through the entire country like wild fire.

 Israel, I want to thank you for showing me your true self. Not just your Zionist side or your religious side but also exposing your weaknesses, your troubles, and your potential to me. I have seen Israel in the eyes of many- the Sudanese, the Ethiopians, the Haredim, secular Israelis, jappy Americans, displeased Arabs, and young soldiers. Israel, just like everyone else created in the image of god, you’re hot headed at times, selfish, unfair, and childish but if someone is willing to get to know you, they will find out that you have a good heart and have good intentions. You want peace. And if it helps at all, I believe in you!

I have fallen in love with a place filled with falafal and zatar, crazy taxi drivers, hurried top hatters, soldiers and security barriers, mountains and malowa, ponds and purim, Haredim and Hannukah, alchohol and Jews, deserts and tourists, and most importantly, all my friends. Every person I met this year has proven to be completely amazing and wonderful. I have had a unique connection with everybody and believe that I learned from each one of them. They helped me through the year, challenged me, and inspired me. Some of the friends I’ve met will surely stay close to me my entire life

My visit to Hebron in the West Bank!!!!

 

Today was our last , but in my mind, most important, siyur (field trip) of the year. When I told my dad that our last trip was to Hebron, a city in the West Bank, he freaked out and said, “Are you crazy! You can’t go there!” That’s when I knew I had to go. Hebron is South of Jerusalem and is the known as “The City of the Patriarchs” because that’s where all of our ancestors were born, lived and are currently buried. 165,000 Palestinians live there and a concentrated 500 Jews do, also, but with much difficulty.

 When we first arrived, we went to the place where Abraham purchased his first plot of land for 400 Shekels. This is not only preached in the bible, but also archeologist’s excavations have proved this to be true and the evidence lies behind a backyard and playground of a Jewish household. As we learned about Abrahams covenant, little Jewish boys with kippot on their heads rode their bicycle around and played in the sand nearby. All Jewish neighborhoods have thick security fences and soldiers guarding them for protection. The interactions between Muslims and Jews are basically nonexistent in this city and their lives are completely divided, socially and politically. There’s even a law that restricts Palestinians from collaborating with Jews. If an Arab is caught selling a house to a Jew, he will be arrested! Right away, my mind was taken back to pre-holocaust times when the Nuremburg laws declared these same things against the Jews. The stress that these Jewish families have to go through is unbelievable and as proof, we saw dozens of bullet holes pierced into the Jews’ cheap houses (mostly trailer homes). My respect for these relentless Jews who are making a strong statement just by living there, are extremely high. The inherent connection that Jews have to this place is so strong and unyielding that no bullet holes or  rocks thrown at their windows will turn them away. In fact, one of Judaism’s main laws is to return something that is lost. For instance, in biblical times, if your neighbor’s cow was to run off, it was a law to return it to them. In this case, Arabs were throwing rocks at their houses and the Jews made sure to return every single rock that was thrown back to the Arab households in order to demonstrate their desire for peace.

Next, we went to a viewpoint to view the Cave of the Patriarchs. We weren’t allowed to go into it because it’s only open to Jews 10 days a year but from afar we saw where Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are all buried. Afterwards, we went to the Hebron Massacre museum. In 1929, 67 Jews were murdered by Arabs, 59 died during the riots, and 8 died after from brutal wounds. Synagogues and homes were ransacked and the survivors of the massacre were ordered by the British Authorities to leave Hebron. In 1931, many Jews illegally returned and started settling and rebuilding their lives. We met a tour guide named David Wilder who is the spokesperson for the Jewish community in Hebron and he spoke to us about the conflict between Arabs and Jews. His view, predictably, was awfully biased and it was hard listening to him because his extreme viewpoints detracted from the logic and knowledge that he presented. Being on a Zionist program has really taught me to look at the background and history of the source that I’m getting my information from instead of blindly accepting what a speaker or article is telling me because even if they are extremely educated on the matter, if someone has a narrow mindset towards the issue, they will only present you one side of the evidence which is a strong form of manipulation. My goal has been to understand all sides of the conflict and to realize that because it’s a complicated issue, there is no right side and wrong side but instead, many different truths and viewpoints. David Wilder’s solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is this: all Jews in the world must make Aliya to strengthen our numbers, to me, the most ridiculous statement I’ve yet to hear about the issue. He also claimed that there’s “no such thing as Palestinian people” which is not only completely false, but also offensive.

After his lecture, we walked down a street in the Jewish neighborhood that used to be a lively, vibrant Arab shuk(market) but got shut down by the Israeli military because of violence that took place there. That order resulted in a lot of loss of jobs, ownership, and property on the Arab’s side. The road was empty, deserted, and the only remnants left are Arabic writing over the uninhabited shops. At the start of the road, there are Israeli soldiers with guns that only allow Jews to come in. If you are Arab, you have to take steep stairs up and around the whole street, which is a route three times longer. A mother with a baby or an old woman may not be able to walk this arduous journey and the wrongness of the scene was awful to witness, especially seeing Israeli soldiers enforce it. And then, we walked down the street more and saw around 15 soldiers patrolling different parts of the area and powerlessly, I felt a little anger towards the soldiers. While seeing these uniformed men with hard faces and guns at their side direct Arab children up the long staircase, I realized why many Arabs grow up hating Jews. The only Jews they might ever see in their lives are these soldiers that yell and make their life difficult!

And then I walked a bit further and one of the soldiers smiled at me, flashing green braces. It hit me then that these soldiers are as young as 17, younger than me, with the weight of the Jewish people on their shoulders. Every day, they have to make difficult, gruesome decisions and follow orders that sometimes don’t seam morally correct to them. Just like me, their opinions differ and they may have to enforce laws that are completely disgusting to them. They sit there for hours and hours, patrolling the area, knowing that the surrounding neighbors hate their guts. They get cursed at and have rocks thrown at them daily. We have to remember that they are just young kids and the anger and cruelty that they sometimes portray to the Arabs do not reflect the Jewish people, but moreover imitate childish behavior.

Near an old grocery store stood a sign that in big red letters read,  “THIS LAND WAS STOLEN BY ARABS. WE WANT JUSTICE. GIVE US OUR LAND BACK!” And it occurred to me that maybe all the conflict in Hebron isn’t worth it. If it’s creating so much anger and strife in the area, it defeats the purpose of living as a Jew in the second holiest city in the world. It’s not what Abraham would have wanted. But at the same time, the Jews living in Hebron are making a strong assertion that we, as Jews, belong there and will remain there. The question still lingers in my mind, if we go too far preserving our “holy” land, therefore acting impious; we are degrading what the place initially represents to the Jewish people.

After the Siyur, we went back to our campus and had a seminar with a group called “Heartbeat”. This is an organization that brings Palestinian and Jewish youth from all over the country together to create music and connect through song. This group gives kids the opportunity to meet with people they would normally never know or talk to. One of the biggest threats to Israel’s future is the children on both sides of the conflict growing up hating each other because of their upbringing. Most fear comes from the unknown, and if an Arab only knows Jews by what they hear from others, they wont be able to formulate their own opinion. Layer by layer, these kids are getting to know each other, bonding, and becoming friends. They have an interfaith dialogue together to hear others’ opinions about the conflict and understand more what the “other side” feels and encounters on their day-to-day life. Of course, the conversations sometimes get very heated but with music, they learn to express their feelings in a healthy, productive way.

Last day in Greece

Today I woke up earlier than everyone else and read my book outside in the sun while drinking tea and talking to Frenchy. I made sandwiches for everyone and woke them up, rushing them to pack so we would get to the bus stop on time. I left before them and they just barely made it in time.. the bus was just beginning to leave as they rushed on. We finally got to our next stop: Heraklion, and left our bags at the bus station and then went to go explore. Our ferry was leaving seven hours later so we had the whole day to wander. We walked around town, sat on the beach for a while, and ate our last Greek meal. We went to a church nearby and saw a bunch of kids break dancing and singing. As the end of the trip is almost near, I ask myself, what did I gain or learn from this trip? Besides learning more tips on backpacking such as what type of people I want to go with in the future (or maybe go by myself) and what type of planning and supplies I need, what is worth remembering? I’d probably say that the biggest thing is meeting new people and learning from them. Every new person I meet opens up a whole new world and perspective to me. The people I met on the way have showed me so much character, kindness, and generosity. I find that I enjoy meeting the locals and being apart of small communities way more than taking the “touristy route”. Every new experience I have augments my understanding and knowledge of the world at large.

Another awesome day in Greece!

Today was wonderful! The small community in Greece (about thirty people) holds all of their community events at the lending library, a one room building with benches outside at the bottom of the mountain. We were invited to an Easter lunch/auction which was only about a three minute walk from our hostel because the town is so small. We walked down a dirt path and through some forest to get there. Everyone that lives there is either retired or over 50 years old so we were the youngest people there but they welcomed us graciously and the offered us food for free from the buffet and bar. There was a raffle to win all sorts of prizes that every family brought in, mostly wine and liquor (unfortunately I didn’t win anything). All of the money that the library makes goes to feeding the stray cats around the town. It’s such a sweet, genuine community who live in a simple, more primitive way of life without electricity or unnecessary desirables.  Afterall, why would you need television if you live by a river in the mountains ten minutes away from the beach? After the lunch, we started our hike to the waterfall. It was unbelievable beautiful and and I walked for a couple hours barefoot through the river and up huge, heavy boulders that led straight up to the top of the mountain. We got to many clear, fresh springs and swam in them although it was icy cold. After about three hours, we arrived at the top of the mountain and admired the awesome view of the entire city and ocean. We took a dirt trail back down to the hostel and I got back, completely worn out and starving. 

After planning our travel arrangements for the last couple of days, we walked to the beach arguing about where we wanted to go for dinner. I realized that the hungrier a person gets, the more stubborn they get as well so as we walked down the road quarrelling about our dinner plans for about forty five minutes, then everyone eventually gave into their bellies and we ended up at the same restaurant as the night before. I ordered the vegetarian plate and of course, our table got saganaki followed by free Raqi shots at the end of the meal. The drinks were nauseating but it’s rude to decline so I drank it anyway. When we got back to the hostel, all the people I met at the hostel sat around and we played cards and drank together long into the night. I had a great time and ended up meeting a girl from San Fransisco that’s going to the same music festival as me this summer called Outside Lands! One of the boys I met is 20 and from Boston and went to Ohio State for college, and another girl is 26 years old and just got back from Tanzania where she taught English for a year. I would love to do something like that after colloge and I talked to her for a long time about her experience and I also told her about my journey in Rwanda. 

I love meeting interesting , curious people that have a drive for knowledge and a passion for growing and learning more and more about the world. I’m excited to meet these types of people at Madison next year! Traveling makes me so open to new cultures and exposes me to so many different types of people. Frenchy moved homes every couple of months when he was young and now travels alone all over the world selling his jewelry. I was wondering to myself, is it a bad thing that he’s so used to meeting friends and people and then leaving and most likely never seeing any of them again? I know it’s life to move on and start anew, but there’s something very nice and comforting about having a specific community and home to call yours. His home changes every couple of months! One reason I love being Jewish is because the Jewish community surpasses any types of borders so that wherever I am in the world, I will find that community that makes me feel at home and closer to my family.

One Rock Beach in Greece!

Rummage sale jacket

Today was one of the first extremely warm and sunny days out so we packed sandwiches with cream cheese and cucumbers and headed out to the beach. A family from Holland drove us to the public beach nearby but we wanted to find a more isolated spot so we walked around the mountain more and got to a beach called “One Rock Beach” that was completely secluded surrounded by caves. There were only about 20 people there, most of them naked, just drinking beers and chillen in the sun. I’ve never been to a nudist beach before and even though I still had my bathing suit on, the environment felt very free and relaxed. Walking by the water was so refreshing because nature sends me such eccentric vibes and energizes and boosts my soul. The three Americans from our hostel came as well and we all climbed up the mountain and jumped off the cliff!!!! It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life and the freezing water was an absolute shock that numbed my entire body and it was completely nuts .. but I Loved it. It made me feel completely whole and alive and the adrenaline that rushed through me pierced my veins and woke up every tired cell and neuron in my body! We layed on the beach for a while and fell asleep. The water was glistening and the wind was creating wild, white waves. After spending the day there, we walked back to the hostel and went to a rummage sale at the town’s lending library. I bought an old grandma’s jacket with crazy flowers and shoulder pads but ripped out the shoulder pads and fixed it up a little.(I get compliments on it all the time now!) Two ladies at the sale told me about how sad they are that tourism is blossoming there because buildings and roads have been rapidly sprouting, ruining the natural, old fashioned feel of Plakias. “Don’t tell any of your friends about this place or next thing you know, they’ll plop down a Hilton Hotel on the mountain!”

Easter in Greece!

We caught the bus this morning and drove through the beautiful, mountainous landscape and I could see the snowy mountains in the distance. We arrived at a new town on the beach side and with my heavy backpack weighing down my shoulders, and another backpack over my stomach, I painfully trudged through the town. We walked past all the hotels, restaurants and tourty places, and made a sharp turn and eventually walked into the mountains. We followed a dirt path to a pink hostel surrounded by a river and green everywhere! It was a dream! The owner was out still so we had a couple hours to kill. We walked down a path with Frenchy and towards the river. In sandals, I trekked across slippery rocks in the river, up huge boulders and through prickly, unyielding bushes. We saw an old, run down wind mill and climbed onto it and then to an ancient church carved into a rock. I walked through the river barefoot and took lots of pictures. 

hostel

old windmill

Church at night

We walked back to the hostel with hungry, gaping stomachs and moved into our bungalow style huts. I met some awesome old people in the hostel and then went to the town’s favorite, locally run restaurant called Mousa. It was a really cheap Greek restaurant with the biggest menu I’ve ever seen in my life! There was ongoing pages, one after the other, filled with the strangest types of food. I ordered white wine, saganaki, and vegetarian Mousakka (a greek vegetable dish that sort of tastes like a sponge!) A forty year old couple we met at the hostel recommended this restaurant to us and they ended up coming with us. They are originally from Canada but are traveling the world together and liked Crete so much that they ended up staying an extra month, living in old abandoned library with no electricity and broken windows. They are definitely two quite strange people. The dad left his two kids who are only 16 and 14 at home so he could travel with his new girlfriend and hasn’t been home in years. He complained to me that his kids “still haven’t forgiven him for leaving but there’s not enough time left in his life to stay put!” I feel terrible for his kids and think that eventually, he’ll regret leaving his kids and missing their childhood. He started talking about religion and said that it’s all “bullshit,” and I ended up arguing with him for the rest of dinner. After dinner, we all drank too much Raqi (which didn’t help the friendliness of our religion argument), and chased them with little cakes that they gave us for free. The dinner ended with me defending Israel about the Palestinian “occupation”.

On Easter, the little town that we were at has a tradition of walking up to the of the mountain at midnight to a church. Everyone brings candles and fireworks go off the whole night and after some time of praying, everyone comes down the mountain together to party and eat. The pitch blackness along with the Raqi shots made it hard for me to follow the narrow path up the mountain, and although I was exhausted and out of breath from the steepness of the hill, we finally made it to the top.  “Beware of the boys on the roof” was a warning we had originally gotten from our hostel owner. We didn’t know what he meant, but when I finally got up there and saw the boys throwing things at people from the roofs, I was well prepared and stayed away. Piercing fireworks went off for about fifteen minutes and then the priest came out, and everyone was silent. He said a prayer and rang the church bell, and then everyone started descending the hill. On the way down, a couple American kids I had met from the hostel and I layed down and stargazed because the sky view was ridiculous! It was pitch black and I could see the entire sky.

Chill day in Greece

Today was beautiful day! Filled with sunshine and special vibes in the air. This morning, I made eggs with onions and tomatoes for breakfast for my roommates. Ben and I went to rent a car and we drove around aimlessly on the shoreline for hours and then went South down the highway. On the right was the Mediteranean sea, on the left was the vast mountains, and straight ahead in the distance were white capped snowy mountains! It was a breathtaking drive. We stopped at a deserted beach with a church on it, I got a vegetarian guiro (their most popular dish) and eventually drove back to our hostel. I sat on the porch with Frenchy, writing in my journal and drawing in my sketchbook. I even wrote this poem: 

My Guardian Angel, you direct me through a clear, pure path

My spiritual guide, when there’s a ripple in the tide, you’re there by my side,

Pushing me forward towards the light, even in the night,

My trust resides in you

because if I tune it, you’ll give me that clue.

The one that brings me back to my breath,

To build up my power until death

With you, I’m never alone.

Your energy circulates within me,

Connect me to the trees, the sky, the sea.

The rock in which I sit, I feel the vibrations, the soul

Together with this earth, I feel whole.

The force passes on its vibrant vibes,

I finally feel alive. It lifts me off my feet so I can get up and jive,

Like a red wine dance through my veins , everything around me becomes insane

And like a tree’s roots that secretly bind underground,

Humans, too, have invisible connectors that don’t make a sound,

but if you pat attention closer, they intertwine between souls and people

and angels and earth,

and lucky you, you’re bound within this beautiful force right at birth.

 

Then we drove far down South to another town for dinner at a family tavern and we feasted! I got stuffed tomatoes, saganaki (fried cheese) and of course, free shots of Raqi. We stayed there for a couple hours and then I instantly fell asleep when we got back.