May 2, 2022
Jacob: Yesterday, we visited Mount Herzl the national military cemetery. This site is very symbolic for the State of Israel. On Mount Herzl, Herzl’s body itself is buried along with many members of his family. Many bodies are buried along that mountain, so much so that it seems all of the Israeli citizens know someone buried there. We visited many different graves, from the highest commanding officer, to a 9 1/2 year old who was somehow the youngest soldier to die. All of these soldiers were buried on the same mountain, represented as one because the graves don’t show anyone’s rank.
Lucas: It’s amazing to see with our own eyes in the places where biblical stories happened. At the top of Tel Azeka, we could see the Elah Valley where David fought Goliath. I looked at the valley and imagined them fighting. It truly came to life.
Jacob: The Bar Kochva tunnels are a series of intricate tunnel systems consisting of many different pathways to help the resident citizens escape the opposing armies and into safe hiding during the Bar Kochva revolt against the Romans. Now, these tunnels are quite narrow, so most of the time, we had to crawl on our hands and knees. In my case, I had to slither along the bottom.
Lior: Atachlit Farm showed me a piece of Ethiopian culture that is usually lost in Israel. We learned about their dance, saw the farms, saw how the different pieces work together. Most interesting to me, I learned about the Buna coffee ceremony and tasted it. It was very cool to see this Ethiopian heritage that could be lost to assimilation.
Sam: When we got to the Bedouin tent, we set up things and went to dinner. I have serious allergies, and every time I go anywhere to eat, I have to check to make sure that the food is safe for me. We were told that one item would be okay for me, but it turned out to not be okay. So then I ate an orange and food like I had on the airplane. When we talked to the director of the trip, he ordered me a really nice Pizza Hut pizza and I ate five of the pieces in one sitting. I ate the other three pieces the next day. Part of the adventure of traveling is new food experiences. Even though I had eaten Pizza Hut pizza before, the pizza I ate tonight will be one of the pizzas I most remember.
Here are pictures from Day 6!