Final Days and Hours

The final week of the dig arrives! As I write this, it's already Saturday, August 4th but I will try to recall as much detail as I can. Sunday and Monday (July 29th & 30th) were normal excavation days, except for the initial hour each morning that's spent clearing weeds and rocks from all around the area. I found my last unique artifact on Sunday, which was a small bronze piece, possibly part of a pin - it was quite pretty, being an inch-and-a-half long with a curved bit at the end. I had been articulating a wall at the time, exposing the rocks as much as possible, and found the piece on the outside of it.
Monday was the day that the Curse of H continued. This curse is where something unique and amazing is found on the last day or week of the dig. In this case, it was sort of a mystery item in one of the other squares. It looked like wood but that would be impossible, because wood would long ago have decomposed, or else it's found as charcoal. Nonetheless, the exact colour looks like fresh wood chips. It was about a foot long and half as wide, and approximately two millimetres thick. No one has any idea as to what it could be. Ivory is the next suggestion but nobody's seen ivory, especially so fragile and easily-splintered, like this.

Tuesday is the day we started cleaning up the area. We would finish straightening the sides of the squares, start sweeping each square clear of loose dirt and taking out tools, the recording table, chairs and anything else that we keep in the area and outside. We start taking these things down to the storage area where they get packed into containers. We clear four feet around the area of dirt, garbage and large rocks. This is all done so that photos can be taken. The large shade that covers the area will later be taken down as well.
I was working on straightening a section when Eran (the area supervisor) comes and tells me I'm to move to the area with the Mystery Thingy and help another student, Elon, with the cleaning in there. He said I'm going in there because he knows I am "very careful" and will be helpful there. What we have to do is clean the rocks around it (it's very unclear what those rocks were - either rubble or remnants of walls; it's a bit messy) and get it looking good enough for detailed photographs and total station points to be taken. It actually looks as though there's a circle of stones around the Thingy, but again, we can't discern the purpose.
Once we clean it up, Adam (an assistant supervisor) takes photographs from every angle, and attaches the camera to a pole so he can also get higher bird's-eye-view pictures. After that, I help him take the total station points of the stones that are around the Thingy.
Once that's done, we can excavate a little more deeply. We remove the circle of stones as carefully as we can and once that's done, it's easier to level the area around the Thingy (I know I keep using this term, but that's honestly what Eran kept calling it.) Time's counting down now until the shade gets removed but we have more work to do first. We have to make preparations to remove the item from the square. We have to carve out a circle of dirt and undercut some inches underneath that so it looks like a small moat. We then have to get gypsum (plaster) and fill that space. Mario, the supervisor of another area, comes to give some advice because he's done this several times before. Once it looks good enough, the gypsum is mixed with water; Eran and Adam fill the moat with the white plaster. It will take a few hours to harden. Eran covers it up with plastic sheeting, an empty sandbag and cardboard so it doesn't get exposed to any disturbances or sun. Some men will return later in the evening to take it out.
Now we can take down the giant shade. We go from the front end to the back, cutting the ropes attached to the poles and gradually fold it up as we go. There are people on either side holding onto the shade and making sure it doesn't collapse. Once at the top, it gets folded, all ropes and poles are collected and the area is now exposed, and ready for photos. There's not much to do left now but clear the area further of tools and debris.

Wednesday is really our last time to be in Area H. We do a final sweep of the the area, each square, all the sandbags and balks. While there's enough shade, the photographer comes by. He walks around attached by steel rope to a medium-sized blimp that has a camera hanging from it. He has a pulley attached to his side so he can make the balloon as high or low as he wants. There is another person who carries the other end of the rope. The photographer also has a screen attached to him so he can see what the camera sees. We find spots to sit some places away from the area so it's cleared of people, though some photos will have people inside the area itself for scale.
We don't have much to do except take down the remainder of tools, buckets and other items to the storage containers, and then it's time for breakfast. After eating, we return to the area and find that we've been Iced. Icing is something that's taken place all season - it's where one hides a bottle of Smirnoff Ice to be discovered by the object of the prank; once the surprise is found, that person then has to drink the bottle on the spot. Adam's been the victim of it a few times, and it's happened many other times in other area. This particular occasion was set up by two girls in the area, and I was half-expecting it to come because one of them mentioned her intention a couple of weeks beforehand. It was actually kind of sweet how this one was done: The bottles were all lined up on a balk and each had a name-tag for the individuals working there. Many photos were taken of people with their bottles, and one group shot of everyone chugging or sipping their drinks. For the record, I chugged mine because that's the rule.
After this, there was nothing left to do in Area H. So we were told to go to other areas and help them with their cleaning. I helped with the sweeping in Area Q, but eventually they had too many people cleaning, so I went to Area K with some others. Here, we helped take down their shade. This area is quite wider than H, so it took some more people and effort. Once that was done, there was no need for extra help, so we wandered back over to H for any final removal of items/garbage and the day was done.
Back at the kibbutz, at 4:00, we helped take items, chairs, tables and boxes to storage containers next to the parking lot.That evening was the wrap-up party, because it was the last night that everyone would be at the kibbutz together. The next day, we would board buses and leave for Tel Aviv. We met up at the pub at 8:00 where there were free bottles of beer (though these went fast, of course.) I actually stayed there for a few hours and finally ended up in bed by 11:30, though the next day we would still wake at 4:30 am as usual.

Thursday would be a shorter day because there's so little left to do. I went to K to help with their final sweeping before their photos were to be taken. I also stood along the edge for scale during the picture-taking. I then went to Area S to help with their backfilling efforts. At breakfast, we learned the day would be over at 11:00. Because H and Q were basically finished with their areas, we were told to go help with S and K. I got sent back to S to help them some more. Some trenches in their area had to be backfilled for security reasons because these particular squares were right inside a main gateway and nobody wanted people walking through or taking anything there. My main job here was to dispense the buckets to people who were using hoes to fill them. There would be another person to collect buckets and take them to the bucket line - the person at the end of the line would dump the bucket into the square. It took a long time and, because there was no shade, it was very hot work. We would take short water breaks to keep hydrated and then get right back to work. The people collecting dirt and in bucket lines would occasionally switch jobs so one wouldn't be doing back-breaking work for too long.
At the kibbutz, there were some final items and boxes to take to the containers and then we were basically done. I had to shower and pack everything. The bus came at 3:00 and everyone boarded it. Some finally goodbyes were said to the people who had their own transport. I shook the hand of Israel Finkelstein, one of the directors of the dig, to thank him and say goodbye. I worked with his daughter in Area H as well, and said goodbye to her. The bus would go first to Ben Gurion airport and drop people off there, then it would go to a bus station in Tel Aviv proper. I took a taxi to my hotel (and couldn't share with anyone else because my location was a little further off but it wasn't very costly anyway.)

I selected the Diaghilev Hotel near the cross-section of main streets Allenby and Rothschild. I wanted a place to myself, because I'd been sharing rooms and bathrooms with people for two months. The hotel was very nice, and when I checked in, they gave me a free glass of champagne and candy because it was the Israeli Valentine's Day (Tu B'Av). My suite(!) had a living room, kitchenette, very nice bathroom and small bedroom. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the accomodations. The staff there are really friendly and welcoming as well.
As soon as I dropped off my luggage, I took a sherut to a restaurant called Mexicana and met up with other Megiddo folks. It's always nice to have food that's not standard kibbutz/cafeteria offerings and this Mexican restaurant was pretty good. I was at a separate table with five others and when the bill came, there was some confusion because the amount collected from people was less than the amount on the bill but it all seemed correct. After about forty minutes of counting our individual totals and recounting the money, we realized they had charged for an extra drink and this was throwing us off. We alerted the waitress to the error and was brought back a new bill, only this one's total was way less than it should be! This caused further confusion and we spent more time discussing what to do. In the end, we sort of figured it out and paid the amount on the new bill. We left the room and stood with others outside who were finishing off their drinks (because tables inside were reserved and had to be cleared). The waitress again came out and told us we had to pay more. It was really annoying to have to pay twice for someone else's mistake. I'm certain I ended up paying just for my own meal and tip but because three of the group had left early, the remaining people paid extra. Anyway, it ended up being a good night. I took a short walk on the beach with Monica and Chelsea before parting ways and returning to my hotel.

Friday, August 3rd now. I had intended to wake early and be productive with my morning but the bed was so comfortable I stayed in and relaxed. I met up with another Megiddo-ite for breakfast/lunch at a placed called Benedict. It has 24/7 breakfast and I selected the French toast, which came with maple syrup and blackcurrant compote and was delicious. We walked up to the beach and met with a few others. I wasn't wearing my swimsuit but I soaked up as much sun as I could. After a little bit of time there, I went back to the hotel room, showered and got ready for dinner that night. I was going to meet up with the same people for dinner at FU, a sushi restaurant that was supposed to have really good food. Two girls, Jen and Inbar, raved about it so we all met there. It was actually really good, and the fish was fresh. We went to an ice cream place across the way for dessert. I ate a cup with scoops of cookies-n-cream and chocolate, and that was a nice way to end the night. When I got back to my hotel room, there was a bottle of sparkling wine waiting on the table with a note thanking me for staying there and to enjoy the treat. Obviously, I couldn't drink the whole thing but I had a glass while watching the Olympics before I went to bed.

Today, Saturday, August 4th, I didn't do much at all. It's Shabbat and not much would be open, so I slept in as much as I could before having to check out. I took a nice shower and repacked my things so it would fit in as few bags as possible. I went for lunch at Cafe Hillel and had a mushroom pizza with way too few mushrooms on it, but it still tasted decent. I went back to the hotel and have been hanging out there. I'm about to head out for dinner and following that, I will take a taxi to the airport and that will end my time in Israel!

It's been an amazing two months here, and I would love to return someday. Between the rigid schedules of Birthright and the work at Megiddo, I didn't get much free time for travelling, so next time I come, I will make sure to have time to see as much as possible.
It will be nice to return home and see my friends and family. Thus ends my fifth year of excavation and overseas travel. Edit: Currently in a taxi that has wifi access (which is a definite first for me) and now I am en route to the airport. My flight boards at 12:50 am so hopefully I can sleep a bit on the plane. Then twelve hours later, I shall be back on Canadian soil.

Second-last Week & Akko

We're getting down to the end here at Megiddo. Another week of excavation has brought most of my area to the Late Bronze Age but we seem to be finding less material this week. It may have to do with the transition between periods or maybe it's the period itself - I don't really know. In any case, for three days I was in a square that yielded me some finds. Monday was a whole tusk (probably boar) that was pretty cool but I made the mistake of giving it to someone who is less than delicate and he broke it. I was so annoyed but it was perfect and pretty for all of five minutes. Tuesday was a flint knife, about 2.5 inches long and an inch in diametre, which was also interesting. Wednesday was a round bronze chunk but I don't know what it used to be. All in all, it was a successful week. Thursday I got moved to a different square and I knew I wouldn't find anything because not even pottery sherds have been coming up with any frequency there. We'll see what next week brings.
We've also had to adjust our bucket lines for Wednesday and Thursday. We had three temporary workers, that is, volunteers who were there for only a week, and they left last week. There was also a soccer game on Tuesday that left a guy injured (just a pulled muscle, I think) so he didn't come down the next two days. (Tangent on the Megiddo Cup: Area H made it to the finals but sadly lost in overtime.) So all this meant that we were short of people and the new method was to bucket line the dirt down the stairs where three wheelbarrows would be waiting, each with an attendant. Someone would be designated to dump the buckets into a wheelbarrow and that would get run to the edge and the next wheelbarrow would get pushed to the front. So that's something a little different.

This weekend's main trip was Masada and Dead Sea, but I opted not to do those since I'd already done that on Birthright, added to which it was already insanely hot on Masada back in June when I went, so that was another reason not to go. Instead, on Friday, I went to Akko.
The Old City of Akko is a really pretty place, great for strolling and it's small enough that you can see most everything without exerting yourself. I decided to spend a night there so I wouldn't be rushing to get back to the kibbutz before Shabbat, and I could take my time. I had some initial difficult trying to figure out how I would get there. I figured I'd have to get to Yokneam and take a bus to Haifa and then another bus or train to Akko. I ended up discovering that there's a bus that stops at the kibbutz and goes to Haifa (albeit by a circuitous route; it took forty minutes to get to Yokneam which is normally a fifteen minute ride). I arrived at Haifa an hour and a half later, and transferred to another bus that got me to Akko. A taxi took me to the hostel where I was staying. By noon I was exploring the Old City.
My first stop was tourist information where I discovered there was a set of tickets I could buy that would get me into six places and it would be cheaper than going to each one individually. So I got to visit the Citadel, Knights' Hall, Templar Tunnel, Turkish Bathhouse, Okashi (art) Museum, and Treasures in the Wall (ethnography museum). These kept me busy for a few hours and was a great way to discover the city.
The Citadel is on top of the Knights' Hall. The former is an Ottoman fortress and the latter was found beneath the citadel; it is the remains of the Hospitaller Knights' citadel. The citadel was also used as a prison during the British Mandate period; members of the underground resistance movement were kept there, and some were executed as well. There is an Underground Prisoners Museum as well but I never made it there.
Templar Tunnel is pretty simple, it was just a tunnel built and used by the Templars and runs underneath the city. It's not a very long walk but it was a neat set-up. They displayed some finds and pictures of finds in glass cases set in the floor, and had video projectors lined along the walkway. One was a short history of of Templars in Akko. Others showed old art depicting the Templars and making them come to life. I quite liked it, moreso that it was a good deal cooler down there than it was above!
The Turkish Bathhouse was another quick visit since the complex isn't very large. Each visitor received an audio guide that spoke about the life of the bathhouse in its heyday. There are statues and pictures throughout showing various activities that people did in each room.
Treasures in the Wall wasn't anything exciting but it showed little exhibits with tools of various trades, like leathermaker, goldsmith, shoemaker, pharmacist, etc. It was interesting to see all the tools and materials laid out in each small space. The museum is inside a section of the fortifications, so I walked along those and read up on Napoleon's failed invasion of Akko. He attempted to besiege the city but was repelled by Ottoman forces led by Jezzar Pasha, who was the ruler of the city, and his right-hand man, a Jew named Haim Farhi.
The Okashi museum is the most modern stop included on the ticket. It houses art, mostly by the titular Avshalom Okashi, who lived half his life in Akko and painted many scenes of the city. The museum also has changing exhibits; this current one had paintings of Israeli poets, and the caption next to it would have one of their poems - I think the artist intended to connect the selected poem with the painting of the artist. It was kind of neat.
After that I returned to the hostel to figure out my next steps. I met a girl in my dorm room named Valerie who was doing the same thing. We decided to find dinner and after some walking, ended up at a portside restaurant. I opted for a fish dish, which wasn't very good, unfortunately. But it was a good scene by the water and a nice night. I marvelled at the clouds rolling by since they're so rarely seen except in the mornings at Megiddo. Walking back to our hostel, we passed an Arab bakery and picked up some sweets. I saw honeyballs and instantly decided I needed some. The woman who worked there was so sweet to us and gave an extra pastry for to each of us for free.

The next day I woke early for breakfast in the hostel and packed up since the check-out time was 10:30. I thought of doing the Underground Prisoners Museum but that was when I discovered it was closed on Saturday (though many other tourist spots remain open on Shabbat.) I'd also been told that the Or Torah Synagogue would be open as well but nope, that was closed too. It was a shame because that was the site I was most looking forward to see. It's a synagogue that is entirely covered, inside and out, in mosaic scenes. At least I got to see the outside of it. Thwarted, I returned to the hostel to regroup and cool off.
I decided to venture outside the Old City and see if I could find Caparelli's Tomb. He was a general in Napoleon's army; though he lost a leg in an earlier battle in Europe, he was still a valued fighter. He was shot during the siege and he lost an arm; but the wound didn't heal well and he died due to gangrene. The French government holds an anniversary ceremony there each year. However, on my walk I couldn't really find the place and ended up returning to the Old City by sherut (shared taxi, it often takes the same route as a bus but can be quicker). It was still a good walk and I did get to see Akko City Hall. Yay?
I picked up my things at the hostel and set off to catch another sherut that would take me to Haifa. From there, I took a bus to Yokneam (for the initial bus I took to Haifa only runs twice a day). The restaurants in the bus station/mall were still open though other stores were closed. Instead of waiting for the basic dinner at the kibbutz I went to Bergus Burger Bar for a tasty meal (burger with mushrooms and a lemonade. Yum!)

So that's how the week went. I watched a little bit of the Olympics today (judo, men's gymnastics, swimming) and am getting ready for bed now. I'm hoping this last week will be more fruitful and fun.

Another Weekend Gone

Last post I mentioned the rising heat and we did indeed have shorter work days this past week. On Wednesday we ended a whole hour earlier, and Thursday ended a half hour earlier. So, that was a nice way to end the work week, though the weekend was also quite hot.

I took a day trip to Caesarea with 18 others on Friday, July 20th. Caesarea is an ancient port town built by King Herod and named for Augustus Caesar. It later because a Crusader fortress and there are some remains left to be seen of that as well. It has a theatre, which still functions today for performances, a circus, remains of many houses and buildings and lots of preserved floors - mosaic and tile - which are always interesting to see. The original intention was to tour the site and go snorkelling in the waters (the dive club is actually within the walls) but we were told that conditions weren't favourable. The water was too sandy and murky to be able to see much of anything, so it would be a waste of money. We did spend a small amount of time on the tiny stretch of beach but it was rather dirty, and there were rocks on the bottom. We also saw a jellyfish and decided it was a good thing we couldn't go snorkelling anyway. We went for some delicious ice cream and then left the grounds to walk to the aqueduct which is a few kilometres north of the port. We returned to the main area and shared two pizzas for lunch.
Later that night, back at the kibbutz, there was a barbecue and a pool party afterward. So it was a nice night of socializing and drinking together. This night was a tad cooler than it had been during the week so I didn't go into the water but instead sat with others on waterproof carpet and around candles next to the pool.

Today was another nice, lazy day. I resolved to sleep in and managed an impressive 10:00 am wake-up call. I did actually wake up a couple of times around 6:30 and 8:00 but refused to get out of bed. And it was glorious.
When I did get up, I did a much-needed full load of laundry so I should be set for the week, though I might do another load during the week for other stuff that didn't make it in. The rest of the day was pretty lazy. I read another borrowed book, The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff; the book teaches a bit about Taoism by relating it to the characters found in Winnie the Pooh. It was short and easy but interesting. Before that, over the the week, I read Ruth Rendell's The Vault, which is a murder mystery and not a bad read.

It's hard to believe I only have two weeks left before I'm back in Canada, but I'll try to make the most of it! Still trying to figure out my remaining weekends though. Whatever happens, it's sure to be fun.

Short and Quick Update

The morning buses came late, so it happened that we got to the site about half an hour later than usual. And at breakfast, we got a surprise announcement that, due to the heat (about 37 degrees) we would be ending work half an hour earlier. So we got a nice and short work day. People, myself included, were very pleased that they would actually get to shower before lunch. This whole week is supposed to be very hot - I heard at least one day will get to around 40 degrees.

Today was a cleaning day because my current square (yes, I got moved again) is to be photographed from several angles, so I straightened the wall profiles and did a deep sweeping of the rocks and walls around. It'll have to be brushed down again tomorrow morning but then I think we may take up the pavement that's in the square, or else I'll continue levelling down next to pavement - I don't know but we'll see how it goes.
I got to change things up a bit in the afternoons. I had spoken with Julye, one of the assistant supervisors, and she suggested that I try sorting through the micro-materials because I'm so good at finding the small things. Sometimes random buckets will be taken down to the pottery office and sifted through a mesh bag or screen, then it gets looked through with tweezers for any small bones, shell, pottery or artifacts that may pop up. I did one bag today and it was kind of interesting. I found a bead, a bit bigger than the one I'd found but a dark brown colour.

Currently I'm wondering what to do with my remaining weekends. I have two left while the excavation's still going, and a last one before my flight home. I've been looking at maybe doing a trip to the Ramon Crater, a naturally-formed crater in the Negev Desert - it would be a longer trip and seems it may require more planning so I'm not sure I'll pull it off but it'd be nice if I could. It's supposed to be a beautiful location. Otherwise, I may just see what people are planning and go on one of those since it's a bit easier.

Yerushelaiyim

This weekend, I went to Jerusalem on a private bus much like we did for Tel Aviv, only there were more of us this time so it was a larger vehicle. We left the kibbutz at 4:00 and arrived at the Jaffa gate a couple of hours later. I stayed with a small group at the Austrian Hospice, which is a pretty nice hostel but a little out of the way - in the future I'd go for something more central (though the Old City is small enough that it didn't matter too much.) The first night, we were too tired to do much more than dinner, so we went to Jaffa Road, a sort of main street, and found an Italian place there to dine. Thence to the hostel for much-needed sleep. On Friday, I went to the City of David (and saw the Western Wall again on the way). The main purpose of the trip there was to visit Hezekiah's Water Tunnel, which came highly recommended to me by friends. Hezekiah's Tunnel is a waterway that was constructed in the 8th century BCE as a protected water source for Jerusalem - in case of siege (which was impending), the city wouldn't go without water.
I went down and immediately got stuck behind a Birthright group, but it was moving so slowly in the shaft descent that precedes the tunnel itself. I actually left via the very narrow Canaanite tunnel and went around to wait a bit. I ended up running into my kibbutz roommate, Alex, and we went through together. This time it was moving much more quickly. There is a sign, right before entering the tunnel, of a man standing with a child and it shows the water level, which was currently 70 centimetres. The tunnel is dark and you are told to carry a flashlight; if only a few people have them though, it provides enough light for the surrounding people (and I did have one myself.) The pathway is wide enough only for a line of people walking single file, and not too narrow though that's easy for me to say, haha.
Part of the tunnel did get a little deeper, and the water did reach up to 70 cms which reached to my thighs but most of the time, the water only went past the ankles. It took about 45 minutes to get through but it was a fascinating walk. Alex and I were both really glad we took the time to go through it.
At the end of the walk, we saw the little Siloam Pool, which was much larger in the old days. There were a couple options for getting back to the start: one could take the a winding path back or a tunnel that led most of the way back but was a little longer. We took the tunnel and it turned out to be a really eerie choice. The tunnel wasn't very wide, and the ceilings became low in some points. We were walking over mud and old sandbags. And we were the only ones in there! It was only 500 metres long, so it wasn't a big deal, but it was a strange way to end the visit.

Alex and I then walked back to the Old City and out of it again to Jaffa Road because things were starting to close up for Shabbat and we wanted to find someplace that was still open. I went to a place called Holy Bagel and had a pretty decent cucumber & lox bagel sandwich. I picked up some pastries next door and we went our separate ways to our different hostels. I took the longer path back to my hostel through the Jewish quarter and past the Hurva Synagogue.
Back the hotel I took a rather long nap and by the time I woke up, I wasn't sure what there was to do at night in the city. I decided to relax and eat my pastries and hang out there for the night.

Today (Saturday, July 14), I met with a large group at the Jaffa gate and we shared taxis to the Israel Museum. I spent over a third of my time in the archaeology wing, which was rather extensive and very interesting to wander through. After I'd decided it was enough, I made my way to the Shrine of the Book, which holds the Dead Sea Scrolls. I'd actually already seen the scrolls when they made a rare visit to the ROM in Toronto, but it was nice to see them in their home space. The visit begins with small exhibits on items found in Khirbet Qumran, where the Scrolls were discovered, and the exhibits explained a bit on the life of the people who lived their lives according to the Scrolls. After the exhibits, the hallway opens up into a dome that holds pieces of the scroll and a picture of the Isaiah Scroll, which was the longest, most intact piece (the scroll itself is apparently too fragile to keep out for display but they rotate pieces of other copies found in an case in the room). Below the scrolls is another room that the Aleppo Codex and information about it. The Codex is a medieval copy of the Bible and is considered a definitive example of the Hebrew text of the Bible.
I also visited the complete model of Jerusalem in the time of the Second Temple, which lays out how the Old City would have looked in that time. Another short walk was made to the Art Garden and the Museum Shop before I met up with the rest of the group for the return to the Old City.

I had lunch with a few others and returned to my hostel to collect my luggage. I walked with the others who had stayed there to spot just outside the Jaffa Gate where the bus would collect everybody at 4:00. However, the bus was 20 minutes late and people were wondering why. As it turns out, the bus had been sitting in the parking lot just across the street for who knows how long. After calling them, the bus came out to meet us. It should have been called early, but the benefit of the doubt was given and probably won't be again!
We returned to the kibbutz in time for dinner and that ends the weekend.

New Session

On Friday, Monica, Chelsea, James and I decided to share a taxi to the nearby city of Yokne'am. The main objective was to eat a meal that was not located on or provided for by the kibbutz, so we sat at an Italian joint and had some small pizzas, which were decent. The restaurant was in a small mall, so we stayed there for about three hours, just to take money out of the ATM, look at the stores and make some purchases. I bought a book, The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter because I'd already read through the four books I brought along (O What a Paradise it Seems by John Cheever; Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner; The Bay of Love and Sorrows by David Adams Richards; and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, which I'd read in Grade 7 and wanted to read again before the movie came out.) So far, I'm more than halfway through and it's pretty good. We stopped at the pharmacy since we all seemed to need something from there; I picked up a hot compress for my neck (which was already feeling better by that morning) and sunscreen since I'd run out.

Saturday was sort of a lazy day. It wasn't totally unproductive - I did a load of laundry (by washing in buckets and putting on a rack to dry) and then I went to the pool with my new roommate, Katherine. She's actually in my area but was one of several who had to move rooms in order to accommodate the new arrivals coming later that evening. Nick joined us at the pool and we took a couple of dips in the water, and a couple of drying sessions. Later on, I was hanging out with the Yokne'am crew and we had some beers while we waited for the buses to bring the new people. Katherine and I received two new roommates, which makes for a slightly tighter squeeze than when I shared it with only two others, but so far, we seem okay.

Today (Sunday) was the first day of the new session. We were told the previous day at dinner that we had to board the bus fifteen minutes later because when we get up to the Tel at 5:00 to work, it's still too dark to see anything, so the extra time will give us more sunlight. The upshot is we get to sleep in a tad later; it's only fifteen minutes but it means so much!
I was given a new square to work in and was told to level it down so we could better see the walls, and see if we could find the bottom of it yet or if it kept going. I only got down one layer because I kept finding small bird bones which slowed me up a little bit (very interesting though - I found six whole vertebrae pieces and 1-centimetre-long complete bones). As I was straightening the profiles of the trench sides (which seemed to have been done a bit shoddily by the previous workers there last session! The walls were flat but not straight down to the ground) I found a faience bead and small broken piece of bronze within five minutes of each other. Lucky day, and a great way to begin the new session. Hopefully I get to keep up with this trench a bit longer and not get moved around quite so much, but we shall see.

Megiddo & Tel Aviv

I am currently at Megiddo, almost done my third week of excavating! It's been an intense workout on some days, especially the first week when I have to get used to the schedule and the physical activity!

But first, the day's layout:
4:10 am - Wake up! It's still dark outside, but this is the time for a snack and preparation.
4:45 am - The bus leaves for Tel Megiddo, about a 15 minute drive away.
5:00 am - The day's work begins; digging and digging.
8:30 am - Breakfast time; salad, cereals, hardboiled eggs provided in the picnic area.
11:00 am - Water break; work stops for fifteen minutes while we rehydrate.
1:00 pm - The day's work ends, we take buckets of pottery with us on the bus and, at the kibbutz, fill them up with water to prep them for cleaning later.
1:30 pm - Lunch.
4:00 pm - Pottery and bone washing.
5:00 pm - Not every day, but we have occasional pottery reading sessions with our dig supervisors, who look over pottery we wash and look for the diagnostic shards, the ones that have information to give (dates, periods and such).
7:30 or 8:15 pm - There are lectures for people taking the course for credit, but anyone can sit in on them.


And that's pretty much how the day goes, Sunday to Thursday. Thursdays are free days, where there's no work after lunch, so people often go away on weekends, or relax at the kibbutz.

There are four areas of the Tel to work in, and I'm in H. It's a smaller area than others, but pretty deep. We're working in the 12th layer of human activity, trying to uncover the period between Early Iron and Late Bronze ages.
I haven't had a consistent square to work in, as they keep moving me around to different spots. But I've had various jobs - pickaxing, troweling, cleaning of profiles (straightening the walls of the trench so they are easier to interpret) and use of the handpick. We also have a bucket line for the dumping of our buckets. Because our area is up a handmade staircase, we need a way to get it to the cliff's edge and empty our dirt there. First we collect all the full buckets - about a hundred - in one area at the opening of the area. Then everyone stands in a line that does to the edge, and passes each bucket along until it goes to the end and gets dumped. Depending on the work's activity, this means 4 - 6 bucket lines occur in a day, plus a small one at the end for the clean-up and tools. So in the short time I've been here, I'm already getting quite strong! I can't imagine how I'll be at the end of my six weeks here.

Last weekend (Thurs. June 28th to Sat. June 30th) I went with a group of people to Tel Aviv. I had gone initially to try and meet up with the few remaining Birthright people still in Israel - but it was difficult to coordinate so I ended up spending most of the time with the Megiddo folks. I had a really nice time with them; we went to a bar one night, and then the beach for a few hours the next day. The water is so nice but the waves could be tall if you weren't careful to go past the breaking point. We went to a nice restaurant another night, and they gave us free shots, "For Shabbat!" I ended up meeting with two Birthright guys for an hour that night, so I was glad I could manage one meet-up, and actually, I ended up running into two more on the street home from the beach - coincidence! On the Saturday before departure, some of us went to the Tel Aviv Museum. It's a really good museum and I enjoyed the time we spent there. Most people left early, but I hung back with Will, Kanayo and Brad. The Museum actually has a small excavation on its grounds, and visitors are able to wander about it a little bit. At 4:00 pm, we met the bus that would take us back to the kibbutz near Megiddo.

Today (July 4th) I woke up with an awful pain in the side of my neck. I must have slept funny and injured myself somehow, because it was incredibly stiff and I couldn't move it on that side. So I skipped the day's work and tried to rest up. I imagine I'll have to miss another day but at least I have the weekend to recover and hopefully, I can get back to work on Sunday. Here's hoping!

Final Days of Birthright

Tuesday, June 19

3:30 am wake-up call! It's dark outside and we gather in the lobby of our hotel where coffee, cake and cookies await us. We munch our food, trying to get more awake. At 4:00, we board the bus and are taken to the base of Mount Tzefachot. We start making our way up, passing what looks like army personnel and a military vehicle - these were the search and rescue team who are posted here to get any hikers out of trouble. Ami tells us there is a huge hike that one can do in Israel that takes a period of nine days to do and the path we're taking is the very last stretch of that hike.
So we make our way up. Compared to previous hikes, it's very easy. It only takes about an hour before we reach the top. The sky is lighter now but the reason for this hike is so we can watch the sunrise coming up over the mountains on the other side. Ami points out that we can see Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia from our location. It's very warm in Eilat and there's an occasional nice breeze on the mountain, so we hang out, take pictures and wait for the sun. In short time, it does come up and more pictures are taken. It was a nice scene to take in before we made the walk down to the bus.

Back the hotel, we have our breakfast and head out once more. We go to a school for the underprivileged and learn a little bit about the school. This is the P2G Tikun Olam Program - an organization whose overall mission is to connect Jewish people with Israel. In this case, we are spending time with children, playing games with them and getting to be a part of their lives for a couple of hours.

We have lunch and proceed to Almog Beach where we have a snorkelling session. We get an employee - Kelly - who will take us out and around the coral and spots of fish. It was amazing to see some of the vibrant colours on these fish, and there were schools of these teeny tiny blue fish. It was an awesome experience. I'd never done snorkelling before except in a pool lesson once, so this was far more fun. We had a little time to relax on the beach afterward and rest up.

Then back to the hotel and that basically concluded the day. It was, overall, a much easier day that others we'd had.


Wednesday, June 20

We check out of our hotel and prepare for the five-hour drive back to Tel Aviv. I'm feeling under the weather, since the cold I could sort of feel coming on had finally hit me. So when the bus stopped for the trip to the graves of David and Paula Ben Gurion (the first prime minister of Israel and his wife) I stayed on the bus and rested up. I was a little upset to miss the program but I wasn't feeling up for it.

Once in Tel Aviv, we make a quick visit to Rabin Square, which is the site where Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. There is a memorial sculpture piece on the ground that contains cracked, uneven stones and is made to look like the ground after an earthquake, and it represents the resulting political instability and the emotions felt after Rabin's death. On the ground also are small circular plaques that display the location of Rabin, his guards and the assassin. Ami tells us about the murder, about Rabin himself and the reactions felt. Rabin had in his pocket a sheet of paper that, when pulled out, was stained with his blood - this was the lyrics to the Song for Peace, and Rabin was a strong promoter of peace but was killed for it.

Back on the bus, we are taken to Carmel Market, a large flea market that also contains food stalls (much the same as Machane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem, but larger and with more clothing/souvenirs/bags/etc.) We are given time to shop and eat lunch.
We then take a walk to a building where Lone Soldiers are allowed to come and rest. Lone Soldiers are those members of the Israel Defense Forces who do not have family in Israel. We have a group summary there with Shira, a representative from CIE Birthright. Our guide and staff are sent out of the room and we are allowed to speak frankly on our experiences with them and with the program as a whole. We talk about the good and the bad; Shira notes any criticisms and positives and can use them in planning future programs. When our guide/staff return, we all share in our memorable highlights, which were funny and happy and made us all remember each moment.

Then we walked to Independence Hall, where the State of Israel was created. We watched a video on Tel Aviv's creation and expansion.
After the video, we moved to the room that sat the actual panel of men who signed the Declaration of Independence. The room preserved the long table, microphones and seats as they were in 1948. We listened to a speech about the Independence and state of Israel at that time.

We returned to Bat Yam, a city just south of Tel Aviv, and checked into our hotel there for our last night as a group. We have another group summary where Jared and Jill have their own speeches because they didn't have time to do so earlier. They gave out some joke gifts to people, and we presented them with signed t-shirts and notebooks containing our gratitude. A few of the soldiers we'd parted with days earlier showed up and surprised us and it was great to see them again.

People went out to a bar afterward, but I was still feeling unwell. Thankfully, Erica - one of the participants - had some leftover medication from when she had her cold in the first days, and gave me a few. It helped immensely. That night, though, I stayed at the hotel and went to bed early.


Thursday, June 21

The final breakfast! We eat our last meal as a group and start saying our goodbyes. A lot of people extended the trip but there were quite a few who were leaving for the airport that day. It was a bit sad to hug these people goodbye but I'm certain I'll see them again in Toronto.

A group of us who were to be in Tel Aviv for that night moved out of the hotel and to the Chef hostel. There were eight of us altogether in that place, though there was another small group staying at a different hostel. I was only there for a night but the others would stay at least a couple days.

That evening, we had some difficulty coordinating the group, and Mike was getting a bit exasperated. But we eventually just hung out together at a restaurant called Little Prague, which has good food. I didn't eat there, opting for sushi earlier (which was actually decent).

So that's the end of Birthright! The next day I would head up to Megiddo, and I'll write about that next time.

Bedouin Tents, Masada & Ein Gedi

Sunday, June 17

After breakfast and checking out of Leondardo Inn in Jerusalem, we went to Yad Vashem, which is the Holocaust Museum. The first thing we did was watch a video on one of the Holocaust survivors from a small community in Greece - Yad Vashem has a project where they would interview various survivors and take them back through their old hometowns, to the camps and other locations relevant to their personal journeys; it was a touching film, seeing this man describe how he lost his community, and met his future wife in the camps, and the family he was able to build.
Following that, we had a guided tour of the museum, stopping at notable information spots. The tour included a visit to the Children's Memorial, which was a dark hallway with five candles and mirrored walls so it looked like hundreds of stars were surrounding you. It was a lovely illusion. The trip ended with a visit to the Hall of Names, which has a conical ceiling containing photographs of Holocaust victims and bits from pages of testimony. The hall is surrounded by books which contain all the known names of the victims along with their pages of testimony.
I would have liked to have more time there, because there's so much more than the little bit we saw. But we had to leave - though should I ever return to Israel, I'll be sure to make another stop here.

After lunch, we visited went to Mount Herzl and the National Military Cemetary (which is actually across the woods from Yad Vashem). The soldiers travelling with us were dressed in their uniforms out of respect. Mount Herzl is named for Theodor Herzl, who was the founder of Zionism and advocated the need for a Jewish state (in fact, he died at age 44, 44 years before Israel became an independent state) - he is buried in his own special location near the entrance.
The cemetery houses the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Israel, as well as Knesset (parliament) speakers. We were told about Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin (a Prime Minister who was assassinated, and so he has a more unique gravestone as well). The Military Cemetary is another segment of Mount Herzl. We visited the grave of Michael Levin, an American who moved to Israel to fight in the Paratroopers Brigade in the Israel Defense Forces. He was a charismatic, friendly and outgoing guy who had a deep love of Israel and really wanted to be a part of the army. He was killed in action in Lebanon, which was a great loss to his friends, the army, and his family. Hundreds of people attended his funeral.
We also visited another grave, one that belonged to one of our soldiers - Ehood. I wish I could remember the name of the man, but Ehood grew up with him and told us his story. It was incredibly touching, and it really allowed us to connect with Ehood and the other soldiers.

We had a long bus drive south to the Judean Desert where we would camp for the night in Bedouin tents. We dropped off our bags and went back out to the front where there were a few lines of camels waiting for us (that is, about five to each line and they were tied together by ropes). Two people each got on a camel and we rode them for about ten minutes. It was actually a really fun experience.
Then we were ushered into a tent and Ami was up front with one of the owners of the area. Ami translated for this man who told us about Bedouin culture and hospitality. Following that, we had dinner in sort of a communal style. We had meat, rice, pitas and salad. It was really good.
We went back to our tent for a little music and conversation. The soldiers set up some improv games for us to do, which turned out to be hilarious.
There was an unexpected program, one not planned by Birthright. One of the Birthright participants, Evan, actually works for NASA and he offered to do a stargazing lecture. A good deal of people followed him out to the desert, all carrying spare mattresses from the tent. We lay down, watching the stars and listened to Evan talk about stars, suns and galaxies. It was another special moment for our group and we all really appreciated it.
Sleeping in the tents was surprisingly comfortable. We had plenty of mattresses and sleeping bags (though I had to make do with my towel and sweater to use as a pillow). The night was so warm, though I kept hearing about how chilly it could get.


Monday, June 18

First thing, we went to Masada. I was especially looking forward to this day. Masada is an ancient fortress that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is best known for the Jewish revolt in the Jewish-Roman War in the first century CE; the Romans had besieged about a thousand Jewish people there. The story goes that when the Romans finally broke through, they found all the buildings on fire and the inhabitants dead as a result of mass suicide.
Legacy aside, it was a really interesting place to tour. We climbed up first by the Roman Ramp, which was an easy walk and took about twenty minutes. Ami took us around, telling us about each room we visited, including the bathhouses (which has preserved paint on the walls), the synagogue and the rebels' final location. At the end, we walked down by the Snake Path, which took forty minutes and was a brutal walk in the heat of the sun. Downhill tends to be easier but this was just a long, plodding walk with only two shaded areas: one past the middle and the other at the bottom. We did get a recovery break at the lunch hall and gift shop, where we could sit and rest in a nice air-conditioned building.

We then went to the Ein Gedi spa where we could enjoy the Dead Sea. But before we did that, we had a Mifgash Summary. This is where we said goodbye to our soldiers (though they stayed long enough to enjoy the Sea with us) and some people said some really nice parting words for the soldiers. They also received gifts that we brought and Canadian flags that we all signed.
We ate lunch at the Spa (which was really boring cafeteria food - some people, including myself, were a little bitter that we hadn't eaten at the Masada food court instead, which had much better selection! We were told we had coupons to use at Ein Gedi, so we did that instead.) There was an option to dunk in the pool or take the shuttlebus to the Dead Sea (though the pool contained Dead Sea water as well.) I and a few others opted to go straight to the Sea. We took flip-flops and water shoes to wear because the sea floor is pure salt and very rough - it would be the worst place in the world to get a scrape!
The Dead Sea is 33% salt content, and about eight times saltier than normal ocean. It inhabits the lowest elevation on earth, being 423 metres below sea level. The high levels of salt makes it uninhabitable for any sea/animal life, hence the name.
It was kind of funny to float in there; I was just bobbing around most of the time. We did a quick black mud scrub (the mud sits in boxes, which you rub on yourself and then wash off with the nearby showers - supposed to be great for your skin.) Then we headed back to the bus and said goodbye once more to the soldiers.

We headed all the way to Eilat, Israel's southernmost city. We checked in at the Arcadia Hotel for the night. I went to bed early as I could, because we had a really early wake-up call the next morning - another hike! I will write about that in the next entry.

Shabbat in Jerusalem

Friday, June 15

The day begins with a trip to Neot Kedumim, a biblical nature reserve located halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It's a large park where they use inspiration from the Bible to recreate physical aspects of the book. For example, the Seven Species are listed in the Bible as food products that are unique to the holy land; so wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olive and dates are all to be found on the reserve. We had a tour guide who told us a little about the creation of the reserve and showed us a little of the place. We planted almond seeds and ground ezob herbs (aka hyssop, a relative of oregano).

We returned to Jerusalem for lunch in the Machane Yehuda market. It's a sort of long alleyway in which there are various stalls that sell fruits and vegetables, baked goods, fish, meats, cheeses and spices. You can also find jewellery, clothes and souvenirs there, but mostly it's known for the food. We wandered around there, picking up little bits to eat for a meal. I got some pastries and tasty nectarines.

Back at the hotel, we got ready for Shabbat. We were to take a trip to the Western Wall and so we wanted to dress up a little and look nice for the evening. Our bus driver took us to the Old City and drove home for the weekend; it was his day off so at the end of the evening, we would have to walk back to the hotel. Ami took us on a path through the city, describing some aspects of the remaining fortress walls, or the underground segment that preserved a sort of forum. He also took us to a rooftop where we could view various domes of the religious orders of the city (Al'Aqsa Mosque's black dome, Dome of the Rock has a gold dome and Hurva Synagogue has a white dome).

We were taken to the Hurva Synagogue. This building was destroyed in the 1948 war and only rebuilt within the last few years. After Ami gave a speech on the synagogue, he told us we had a surprise waiting for us. So we were led on a walk and told to go into a house. Ehood, one of the soldiers travelling with us, had his family invite us in for drinks and snacks. They also has an amazing rooftop patio where we could take photos and enjoy our food. We also took the opportunity to do a Shabbat service there. Jill led us in singing a song called Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu, "Peace will come upon us", so we sang that for a bit.

We were then taken to the Western Wall. This is a minor remnant of the original Second Temple (or actually, the remaining section of the wall that surrounded the courtyard of the Temple). It faces a large plaza and there is a dividing gate in the middle. The men are designated to the left section and the women go to the right. It was a fascinating experience. We each wrote notes expressing hopes and wishes and went to the wall to find a space for the notes. There were women who had placed chairs directly in front of the wall; they would sit there, presumably for hours, and they do this every Shabbat. It's obviously a deeply spiritual place for many Jews. I felt more lucky to be able to visit this place on Shabbat and to merge my love of ancient history with my Jewish background.

After visiting the Kotel, we embarked on our long walk back to the hotel. It's not necessarily that it's a great distance but getting a group of 50 people back to one spot takes some time. It took an hour to amble back, but it was a nice walk. It was made especially interesting when we passed the Machane Yehuda market, a place that was so crowded and busy during the day but shuts down completely for Shabbat, so it was silent. We also took to walking on the streets because there would be no cars or streetcars out that night.

Once at the hotel, we went immediately to the dining hall. A few people were designated to doing the Shabbat prayers over the bread and wine before the meal began. It was, overall, a really nice day and night. We were also told by Jill and Jared that we would be allowed to sleep in the next day! After a week of having to wake at 6:30-7:00, this was a welcome notice.

Saturday, June 16

We had a program set for 11:00 where we would discuss our visit to Yad Vashem (the Holocaust museum) the next day. There were pictures relating to the Holocaust set out around the floor. These included pictures of propaganda, the gate to Auschwitz, people waiting for the trains to the camps, etc. We had to pick the picture that spoke to us, and then discuss it with other people who were in the same group. A spokesperson from that group would summarize the discussion for the other groups.

We broke until lunchtime at 1:00. Then we had another program, a Kol Voice seminar. Kol Voice is an organization that seeks to educate and promote Jewish identity. Our speaker was a well-spoken British man who talked about Israel and the various issues currently occurring in the country. He only had an hour-and-a-half, so it was difficult to get in as much information as he did, but he did a really good job of explaining the conflicts and problems, and talked about various sides of the issues.

Then there was some free time until the evening, when we did the Havdallah, which is the closing service of Shabbat. We all stood round in a circle and listened to the prayers said. You are meant to use all five senses for the service: to hear the service, smell the spices (that were passed around), taste the wine, see the candle (that is multi-wicked) and feel its heat.

After the service, we were driven to Ben Yehuda street for dinner. This is a pedestrian walk and tourist destination. It has food stores and many clothing/souvenir shops. We had over an hour there and returned to the hotel for the night. There we had to pack our things and get ready to check out the following morning.

Much-delayed update...

I know it's been a while since my last post, so I apologize. But I'll try to get you caught up. Tuesday, June 12 We went to Nachal Kziv, a nature reserve and went on a 3-mile, 4-hour hike. We started by going downward and the final stretch would go upward. We would cross several streams in between. Climbing down was really hard on the thighs and the last climb was difficult and slow-going, but on the whole it was a lot of fun. Afterward we had a much-welcome trip to Sokolov Beach. We spent about an hour-and-a-half in warm waters with huge waves. It was great to be able to relax and just not move for a while. Nearby was the Grottos of Rosh Hanikra. These are natural caves created by tremors which opened up pre-existing cracks in the stone. The sea water would erode and open them up further. They offered some really pretty scenery. After the small walk around, we watched a short film about the place and it came with special effects. Any mention of splashing water, we would get droplets of water falling onto us; any mention of wind, the fans turned on; the one explosion was accompanied by bright lights at the back of the room. It was a cheesy movie but funny. Wednesday, June 13 The first stop today was Tzefat, the centre of Jewish mysticism: Kabbalah. We went to a Kabbalah art gallery and listened to a speech by the artist there. His name is Robert (but he goes by Avrahim, his Hebrew name) and he was a really amusing guy. He grew up American but was inspired by a book of Jewish Mysticism and decided to move to Israel to follow his spiritual calling. His art is entirely centred around Kabbalah and its teachings; it was all really pretty, with bright and solid colours. We visited a shop that sold handmade candles and learned a little bit about the various multi-stemmed candles (e.g., 12 candles twisted together represented the 12 tribes of Israel, 18 is Chai, etc.) We could continue to shop there or browse the nearby stalls. We also stopped in at a small synagogue and and then to a seating area to listen to two men play classical Israeli music on unique instruments. Another bus ride later, we went to a place called Misgav Am. It provides a lookout toward southern Lebanon. Our guide Ami spoke about his military experiences there so we were able to learn a little bit about the border there. Thence to the Jordan River for rafting. I was in the boat with Goose (our medic), Sarah, Adam, Brandon and Gary. About five minutes in, the rope on the boat got caught on a tree trunk and we were stuck for a good five minutes more. Two boats passed us before we were able to tug ourselves free. About three minutes after that, we lost one of our two oars! We had to spend the next hour and more without a paddle. It turned out okay in the end, though. There was a lot of bouncing off rocks and riverbanks, many repeated thrashings by low branches and some bumpiness when the river sped up or dipped down. When the boat was more calm, it was a really lovely ride. Overall, it was a fantastic and hilarious time. Thursday, June 14 Another hike! This time in the Jilabun Canyon. Again it was a walk-down, climb-up sort of walk, but this was far less intense than the first hike, being only two-hours long. There were a couple of streams and one member of the group, Guy, kindly got into the water to help people across the trickier parts. There was a group of obnoxious Israeli boys behind us. The adults with them made more effort to keep them in line. They kept crowding us and trying to rush past. We finally let them pass and the walk became much more pleasant. We drove to Mount Bental in the Golan Heights. From the top we could see Mount Hebron, the Valley of Tears (a major battle site in Israel) and Syria. The place we stood in was a former Syrian bunker taken over and closed down by Israel and converted into a tourist attraction. Then we drove to a shopping centre. There we met the eight soldiers for the 'Mifgash' (encounter), which means they would travel with us for five days so we get to experience each others' culture. We split into eight groups and each took one soldier. The activity was to learn information about our soldier and present it to everyone else and the soldier had to do the same for us. My group had Nadav, a 22-year-old man with two months to go in his service. After the activity, we had forty minutes to eat in the food court but the line-ups were so slow that we ended up rushing in our meals. After lunch, we took a seven-minute walk to the Golan Winery. We learned a little bit about the winery itself, winemaking in Israel and saw the storeroom with many hundreds of barrels. This room was kept cold and, it being a very hot day, it was nice to stand in there for a few minutes. Then we had a small wine-tasting where we sampled a riesling, a cabernet sauvignon and a muscat. The riesling was really nice and smooth; the cabernet was pretty heavy but would have been great with a nice steak; and the muscat was a dessert wine so it was sweeter and tasty. We were also taught a little on how to best drink wine and use our senses to make it more enjoyable. That was followed by a three-hour bus ride to Jerusalem. Getting into the actual city was quite the reveal: we were in a long tunnel and when we came out the other side, we were greeted with a fantastic view of the Old City. You couldn't help but become enamoured. We made a short stop at a spot on Mount Scopus near the Hebrew University campus. Ami explained a few of the major landmarks here like the Dome of the Rock. We went to check in at the hotel Leonardo Inn and ate a buffet dinner there that was far better and had more variety than the kibbutz. Many people went to the lobby that night with their newly-purchased wines and hung out there. There was some good conversation and Mike G. played his guitar but I left after a few songs. I'm going to end this here because Shabbat should get its own entry and then there’ll be another for the rest of the trip.

Day One in Israel

The adventure for 2012 is slated to have a ten-day Birthright Israel trip followed by six weeks of excavation at Megiddo. I have just finished the first day of Birthright and I'm feeling very tired. The day began back in Toronto at 9:00am. After the group was all gathered we checked in, which involved a mini question series so they can make sure you're Jewish and that you're not bringing anything in that will be harmful (physical or ideological). At least four people made a misstep due to nervousness and had to do a secondary question session but they all made it through fine. By the time we get through security, we have about twenty minutes to get food or shop for last minute necessities. I buy a watch because I left my timepiece at home, and a sandwich because I missed breakfast in the rush to finish packing. The flight itself was really good - takeoff and landing are both smooth; often I have pain in my ears from pressure build-up but that was minimal this time. I actually managed to sleep about four hours, and tried to nap the rest of the tine. The meals were pretty decent. I watched a good French film called Untouchables (with subtitles); it was the only film of four that I watched. Everything gets done as a group. Upon landing in Tel Aviv, we get off the plane and meet in one spot. Then we go through customs, pick up our bags and gather once more. There was a small speech made by a representative of CIE (Canada Israel Experience, the Canadian organizer in Birthright) and then we left for the bus. The first stop was Jaffa. To be more specific, we made a small tour of the Old Port there. We ate lunch on our own (one meal per day will be paid for by ourselves, and we are restricted to a particular area) and wandered the flea markets. After that was an hour-and-a-half ride up to Haifa. We are taken to a high point called the Louis Promenade. You can see much of Haifa from up there, including Haifa Bay. The Baha'i Garden is there as well. Most of it was closed off but tourists were allowed into the first level. Then we were taken to the kibbutz where we will be sleeping for three nights. As soon as this post is published, I'm going to get ready for tomorrow and get some much-needed sleep.