Yeahpppo
i'm back in jerusalem after a brief but beautiful stint in the North with my program. I realized I forgot to post about Yom Ha'Zikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut...Israeli Soldier Remembrance Day and Israel Independence Day respectively. Yom Ha'Zikaron was observed properly. I was on the bus with Naftali when the morning siren went off. The engine was humming, the bus just paused mid-traffic. We were both unaware it was sounding, so we were caught off guard. It was bizarre seeing a whole street of people and cars momentarily stagnant in the mid-morning bustle of Jerusalem. That night our group attended a memorial service on Ammunition Hill. The Masa event was complete with a live orchestra, multimedia effects, and fancy lighting. Quite impressive.
The next day was Yom Ha'Atzmaut. The streets of Jerusalem turned into one big street party. Major intersections were blocked off, and there were live performances in front of Ben Yehuda and the shuk. Teenagers sprayed eachother with silly string and shaving cream. Vendors sold hot corn, kubbe soup, burgers, and falafels with cheap beer and mixed drinks. We saw fireworks shoot up and crackle over the Leonardo Hotel. It was wild and at times overwhelming.
A couple days passed by and I left for the north Thursday morning at 6:30 AM. The bus ride was long, but we stopped at a beautiful overlook, at the northernmost kibbutz in israel. That afternoon, we arrived at our campsite, dropped off our bags, and drove to where we would be hiking. The hike was gorgeous, complete with freshwater springs (my feet got soaked) and a small pool which we spontaneously went swimming in. After our refreshing 6 or 7 km trek, we arrived at the campsite. We began preparing dinner, which tasted like....camping. We made a decent-sized fire and the Rimon musicians played music long into the night. I set up my sleeping bag outside, except the stars were obstructed by rainclouds. I woke at 4 AM to the tickle of drizzle on my face. I moved my sack to the warm fire, and slept until sunrise.
In the morning we ate a campside breakfast, rolled up our tents, and boarded the bus for Tsfat and repelling down a mountain.
We arrived at some nature reserve where the view was incredible and would have been much more extensive if it wasn't so cloudy. As I clipped my harness to the pulley that would lower me down the cliff, I caught a whiff of organic animal detritus, A.K.A Goat shit. No biggie, I thought, the scenery is breathtaking so there would be no need to inhale the sweet stench. I repelled down the mountain slightly clumsily, and the sight of everyone smiling at me from above and below was something i had never experienced before. Even though the actual repelling lasted only a minute or so, I was so glad I didn't wimp out; my heart rate barely increased. As I neared closer to the bottom of the cliff, I noticed the entire bottom was covered in pellets similar to Cocoa pebbles. I braced a blanket of goat crap which came up to my ankles. Apparently, the nature reserve is home to mountain goats, which for some odd reason see the bottom of this cliff as a giant toilet bowl. Maybe it is to spite all the tourists that repel down and land there. As I waited at the bottom of the cliff for my comrades to join me, it began to rain...pour, actually. The instructors quickly packed up their ropes and my friends at the top of the mountain were forced to seek shelter in the bus. Meanwhile, me and seven others were left at the bottom. The only way to the bus was by a 40-minute hike over slippery rocks and....you guessed it, goat shit. As we gathered up the courage to hike, the first rolls of thunder bellowed, and the rain quickly turned the dried feces into a shit slurry. Along the hike, lighting and thunder shook the dense clouds. At points in the hike, the only way to continue on the path was to slide on our butts, and consequently, my pants were completely crap-caked. I had goosebumps not only from the cold rain, but also from the jaw-droppingly beautiful view from the edge of the mountain. At the last stretch of our hike, there was only six inches of ground for footing, and we had to climb by putting our belly towards the mountain and grabbing onto metal cables drilled into the rock as railings. A couple girls were paralyzed by fear. Was this the most miserable moment of my life? No. It was thrilling. I felt pretty close to death, and I could have shit my pants (thankfully, the goats already did that for me!) but I felt a little buddy-buddy with God. I peeled off my dirty, wet clothes on the bus, and sat in the dry warmth of my towel. I felt a little more seasoned than my friends who were slouching in their seats, already dry and comfortable.
We arrived at our hostel in Tsfat in dire need of showers. The skies cleared. After we freshened up, we visited the ancient cemetery where many famous Kabbalists were buried. At the end of the cemetery, an acoustic, middle eastern band gave us a private concert. We watched the sun set over the lush hills of Tsfat. It was stunning.
That night we went to Shabbat services and ate in Ascent...I was so paranoid that I would bump into Justin Beiber girl.
I slept late. Woke up and had a very boring synagogue tour of Tsfat. After Havdallah, we drove to this woman's private art gallery/vineyard. We had a wine tasting, talked about the architecture of the home, gawked at the rows of grapevines and art-lined walls. Je suis sophistique? I think so....
Sunday morning we went to Israel's oldest kibbutz, Deganya, where there is also a chocolate factory. We decorated pralines like pros. Mostly, I gluttonously spooned the melted chocolate into my open mouth. Then we went rafting in the Jordan river. I had already done this before with Bronfman, but it was still GREAT! The water was high because it was spring, and i didn't get hit by the river reeds too much. We had dinner on the grass and then went home. Back to the kfar. I started classes again today. It went fine. I realized how much work I have to do and I realized how unmotivated I am to do it. I have an appointment with a kiln tomorrow. Hopefully I will FINALLY have some finished ceramics to bring home. I'm really tired from typing all this and reliving the North. I made some sweet potato oven fries. okay!
