Izzy, Sarah, and Zev
DAY 2 – 2022 Children’s Village Teen Volunteer Program
Today the children in the village left for home visits and we got on our bus to start touring the country. First, we went to the Mayor of Karmiel’s office. He answered our already prepared questions about the demographics of the population, economy, and infrastructure of Karmiel. He also had really good pretzel chips in his office.
Then we visited the Museum at the Sea of Galilee. We saw a boat that was recently excavated from the sea that is believed to have belonged to Jesus.
Additionally, we were able to see the Magdala Stone, which comes from one of the ancient synagogues of Jerusalem. It is inscribed with biblical imagery, such as the six candle menorah and an illustration of the first synagogue.
Then we went to the date store. It was a family run business that profited extremely off of the expansion of date palm planting in Israel. We were allowed to taste two different types of dates, and the overwhelming majority liked the first ones better.
Then we went to the mall and had some of the best pizza we’ve ever had. This was a really good bonding moment for us as a group because it allowed us to eat together for a meal that isn’t dinner. Bonding as a house has gone really well and lunches like these really help strengthen our connection even though some of us just met three days ago.
After lunch, we headed up Galboa mountain, which was the site of battles between King David and Jonathan against the Menonites. Jonathan and David both died at the site, Jonathan in battle, David by his own sword.
When we reached the peak of the mountain, the view down below was gorgeous. Rinnie and Izzy had several titanic moments, while Remmie girdied on the top of the mountain.
At the end of the day, we tried Hamantaschen, which are traditional pastries eaten on Purim, which resemble Haman’s hat. Overall, it was a day to remember!