Off and Rolling

Tuesday was an exciting and action-packed day for the seniors. Taking advantage of our early morning start, we climbed up a mountain that overlooked much of the surrounding area. We all had to take a few minutes to relax after reaching the top of the mountain, as the climb up the steep mountain was quite steep. However, the view was great and it helped us paint a picture of where we are in the Negev. Seeing Jordanian hills right across the border was very cool, as it showed us just how close we were to a neighboring country. After davenning Shacharit, we headed back down the mountain to eat breakfast at the kibbutz.

Another highlight of the day was visiting some of the solar panel fields that are in the area. It was especially interesting for me to learn that the Israeli solar panel company that builds many of the solar panels we saw is planning to sell panels to other countries in order to better the environment all around the world. The detail that I found to be most inspiring about these visits was that people who live in the Negev, the hottest and most isolated part of Israel which has never been thought to be completely worth investing in, are the ones taking the initiative to find more sources of energy. It was empowering to see that people who do not live in some of Israel's spotlight cities (Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, etc.) are fighting to make a change and are actually succeeding.
Later on, we headed to Kasui Dunes. Running around and diving in the sand was both fun and extremely tiring. The whole grade really seemed to enjoy running around and then cooling down with conversations on what I think is the softest sand on Earth.What followed was the day's most meaningful activity, in my opinion. Each person (student, teacher, and counselor) was instructed to find his or her own place to sit and think. After settling in my spot, perched up on a peak of a mini-mountain, I could not look away from the sunset until the sun had finally set. The time we spent by ourselves allowed us all to think about various topics, such as our connection to Israel, the satisfaction of completing the first semester of our senior year, our expectations for the two-and-a-half weeks that lie ahead, and many other interesting things.

Today was definitely a stuffed and exciting day, and we all can't wait to experience the rest of this great trip!    

Posted by Adam Schrag