Wednesday March 19, 2014
It’s been a very eventful couple of days! Yesterday we spent the morning in Haifa, a beautiful coastal city on a hill that is home to two of the top universities in Israel. We saw the Baha’i Gardens where one of the founders of the religion is buried. The beautiful formal gardens cascade down the hill on a series of perfectly manicured terraces overlooking the Bay of Haifa. We followed that with a walking tour of an Arab neighborhood, including our first taste of falafel. The little hole-in-the-wall falafel stand we went to has repeatedly been voted the best falafel in Israel, much to the chagrin of the competitor’s shop just across the alley. We also visited an Arab bakery that displays an absolutely enormous collection of bite sized pastries and cookies. We were stunned to learn that they turn over twice that amount of inventory every week. That’s a lot of pastries!
In the afternoon, we finally met our families, the real purpose for our being here. With our videographer capturing every moment, each teen was introduced to his or her michpaton. You could tell the houses that had Jacob and Katie, our repeat visitors, by the excited squeals echoing out the open windows! The teens were tossed into happy chaos, because each family was in the middle of getting ready for the Village’s Purim party, including a family costume contest. Imagine getting a family of 12-15 wound-up kids ready for trick or treating, and you’ll understand the energy level! It was a perfect introduction, though, as our kids dove right in to assembling costumes, applying make-up, and being an extra hand for the little ones. The costume contest was held outdoors around the basketball court – crazy and loud and fun. Of course, we understood very little of what was actually said, but everyone was all smiles the whole time anyway. The evening was a street festival atmosphere at the Village as the party continued. Local businesses and community members joined with the Village to provide booths, games, activities and prizes for the kids. Our teens joined right in, alternating between helping the little kids and hanging out with kids closer to their age. You would never have guessed that any of them had been nervous or unsure only hours ago!
This morning we got an early start and went to visit the local public high school. We joined a class for a two-way Q&A session about our respective countries and lifestyles. Many of the questions focused on this transitional stage of life as kids become adults and move out into the world. The Israeli teens explained about their mandatory army service, which generally begins as soon as they graduate high school. Our kids were impressed by the level of patriotism and service to country that was expressed by their peers. The Israelis marveled at the fact we go to university at only 18 years old. After the class, several students gave us a tour of the school and chatted informally with us. It was so much fun to see the quality and comfort level of the conversations. Topics ranged from questions of national and religious identity, to racism, to favorite TV shows and the fact that Netflix is blocked in Israel (although being teens, of course they’ve figured out a way around that). By the time we left, the kids were exchanging hugs and Facebook addresses.
The afternoon was spent sightseeing. We visited Rosh HaNiqra, a gorgeous natural grotto right on the border of Israel and Lebanon. We took a cable car down to the bottom of the white chalk cliffs, walked through the caves, and saw a film about the history of the spot. It was a trade route and a path used by invading armies for thousands of years, and in modern times the Cairo-Istanbul railway ran through tunnels blasted in the rock. The railway was shut down during the hostilities in 1948 and never reopened. In honor of Allie’s heritage, Tomer took us right up to the border fence and let us peer through the camo netting to the Lebanese side (that sounds intense, but there were tourists happily lunching in a diner 15 feet behind us -no one seems too impressed that the border is right there). We then went to Akko, also known as Acre, which is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. We strolled through the Arab market in the Old City and had lunch of hummus and falafel. We capped the afternoon with a quick boat ride out into the harbor to view Akko from the water. We had the boat to ourselves, so Rachel and Allie entertained us by dancing to the Middle Eastern music that was playing. Allie enjoyed the music so much that Tomer bought the CD from the boat driver and gave it to her!
This evening will be spent having more relaxed time with our families. Some kids are planning to present their gifts tonight (we’ve held off because of the excitement about Purim). Tomorrow, we will get another early start and visit Nazareth while the michpaton children are in school.
You should all be really proud of your kids – they are doing a wonderful job. This trip is definitely NOT about staying within your comfort zone, in so many ways… But they have all been cheerful, adventurous, brave, and enthusiastic. They are really fabulous kids.
Take care,
Jerilyn
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