Over the weekend we went to Golan Heights and being on a trip with Jews we of course had to eat every hour. It took us about two hours to get there, but once we were there we went on a hike through the mountains. We stopped at two waterfalls which were so cold. I only went swimming in one of the waterfalls because I didn't want to hike too long being wet. We then went to Avital and Tal overlooks where we got to see Syria and our tour guide explained how Israel got the land in 1967. For the night we went to a religious Moshav and made dinner, had Shabbat services, and hung out before going to sleep in the tent. The next morning, we went on a five hour hike down (and back up) more mountains and more waterfalls. At the end of the trail, which happened to be behind the Golan winery, was an ice cream truck and, well, the dude manning the truck made a ton of money. After we got back, there was an Israeli movie, Bonjour Monseiur Shlomi, which was really good especially since there was food type substances.
This week we had no classes, hence procrastination of homework. For Rosh HaShanah, I went to my cousin's house near Tel Aviv. I never met her before, but my mom and she had talked over the summer a few times. For dinner Monday night, we went to her husband's house for dinner where none of the family memebers spoke any English, but I could understand about half of what everyone was saying. Tuesday was just a hang out day so I read my book for most of the day and I went home on Wednesday.
At first, I wasn't really sure what to make of my experience. It felt like I was doing something wrong. Usually, I go to services and then we have a big lunch at home and see relatives on both days. But we didn't do that. When I think about it, Rosh HaShanah isn't just about going to services and eating (although it is a lot of eating). Maybe it's just about contemplating about the pros and cons of the previous year and deciding how you can make yourself a better person for the next year. Maybe it is welcoming whatever may come and forgetting about the bad things that happened. Or maybe it's just a day of reflection. Like on the last day of school when you think about the first day and all the days that accumulated to form the experience of the last day, maybe Rosh HaShanah is just a day where you think about your year and all the events that build up to determine the day of reflection and that in turn determines the occurrences of the next year. I am still not sure of what to make of my absence from services, but I did do some reflection and I think that really is part of what the holiday is about. (I can't put into words what I am/was feeling and I'm just blabbering trying to make sense)
Anyway, so when I got back to Haifa on Wednesday, I just hung out, but on Thursday, me and a friend went hiking. Except that we got lost. There is a national park literally two minutes from the University so we found the trail and walked down and halfway down decided it would be awesome if we could make it to the bottom and as a motivator didn't want to walk up. (As a reference, it's a 25 minute bus ride down the hill). We ended up at a cow stable and found where the trail broke off and then continued to the bottom. We then walked for about an hour to the Haifa Mall (where all the buses are) and found out that we originally ended up in Tirat Carmel. Once at the mall, we took a taxi back and then I showered and went to dinner with some other friends. Today I had another hard day of going to the beach. The water was really warm because unlike the Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea is above 50 degrees. The beach itself was really nice. The sand was perfect and there were these really big wooden umbrella type things for shade, which was good for us fair-skinned people. After getting back to Haifa, it was almost time for shabbat so I showered and went to services and then went to a potluck dinner. Now I'm going to bed to get ready for another day at the beach. (Don't worry mom, I put sunscreen on and didn't get burned too badly)
Shabbat Shalom!
I've put pictures up!
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