World Travel Bug

New Tumblr!

Hey everyone! I made a new tumblr for my trip to Alaska. Check it out!

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Home Sweet Home

Sorry for the delay of this post, but I’ve been so busy and I also got a cold somewhere between the plane rides home and now.

Obviously I’m back in the states, considering I’ve been talking non-stop about how much fun being in Israel was. And for those of you who don’t know, I’m going to Alaska on Tuesday with my family! We’re going on a land tour first and then a cruise. I’m super excited and will hopefully have internet somewhere so I can make a new blog for my trip to Alaska.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally miss every single friend I made while in Israel. I’m happy some of them live close (in Michigan) so it’s not too difficult to visit. However, for those who don’t live in the states or who live on the other side of the country or in Canada, it will be a bit harder to visit. :(

Finals week, please kill me

It doesn’t sound as bad as it seems. Finals week here is different than finals week back at OU, and here’s why: I only have two finals, and one of them is an essay that’s due before I return to the states. My other final is essays, as well, but it’s only essays. I have to be prepared to answer 3 or 4 out of I don’t know how many essay questions. Hopefully it won’t take very long, because I would like to have as much time as possible on Thursday preparing for my departure back to the states. But to make sure it won’t take me that long, I plan on studying my butt off for this final! Wish me luck! I’ll need all the luck I can get.

Oh dear Darla… Thank G-D for awesome parents!

Last night…oh boy. Where do I start? First off, it was too much. I had absolutely no energy today. Days like today really make me realize how much having two parents who love me is a prized possession I would absolutely hate to lose. It’s not even that when I get home from Israel, I’m getting a car and then when I get home from Alaska I’m getting a new phone. It’s so much more than that. Yes, I might seem like a JAP (Jewish American Princess) because of the number of USY summer programs I went on, coming to Israel this summer, my graduation trip, and many other family vacations, plus everything I have in my bedroom at home. However, the USY summer programs were educational and have shaped the kind of Jew I am today. I have no fear in getting on a bimah and leading a service, reading from the Torah, or reciting the Haftarah. And having been to Israel many times has also been educational. I feel that I now have a knowledge about this amazing country that some feel they possess. I also have a knowledge about the people that live here, and I’m not just talking about the Jews. And if I was as big of a JAP that I might seem to be, I most likely wouldn’t be at Ohio University. Instead, I would probably be at Northern Kentucky University and not have to worry about paying the extra money for the out of state fee. My parents mean the world to me. I can never thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me, everything they’ve given me, and everything they’ll do and give me in the future. l love you!

Procrastination since going Tzafon

Got back from the north trip Saturday night and have been putting this post off since then, which I apologize for. It’s just that I’ve been pretty tired and have been trying to catch up on sleep. Anyway, here’s an overview on what happened on this trip tzafon. (Tzafon means north in Hebrew.)

Thursday:

-hiked in the “Majrase” stream (Don’t let the word stream fool you. The water got up to my hips! It was a fun hike, though. I, as did some of the guys, YOLO’d by going under the water and getting full out soaked. After i YOLO’d, I kept falling on my butt, and we didn’t even move out of the area where I YOLO’d! It was fine, though. Didn’t get hurt at all, and just chilled in the water before trying to get up. And hey, at least I could laugh at myself!)

-visited the Artists Village “Aniam” (Wasn’t the artists village I was hoping for (the one in Safed) but it was still really interesting. Bought myself a ring and a necklace. The necklace says (translated) I have found my soulmate. Don’t get any ideas, I haven’t yet. I found out it means that AFTER I bought the necklace. I only bought it because it has a real Australian opal and opal is my birthstone and Australian opal is my favorite kind of opal.)

-went swimming in the pool at the Kibbutz (The pool was the biggest I’ve seen on a kibbutz! It was so relaxing.)

-went to a bonfire at Merkavot Hayarden (We roasted some marshmallows, made some pita, sang along to a duo. It was a lot of fun! I even went up and sang a small set. And Aaron got some pictures, as well as made a video of me singing. Still waiting to see that video.)

Friday:

-hiked along the Hatzbani stream (This one seemed more like a stream when it came to walking through water. My feet got wet, but that’s about it.)

-went to Mount Bental and saw the lookout point of Syria (It felt really good to go back there. Our tour guide talked to us about why the bunkers were up there and how they weren’t used for the war they were being built for. After our little history lesson, we had free time to go through the bunkers, chill out in the cafe, take pictures, do whatever. I decided to return to the bunkers, but it was more of a quest for the underground bunker area with the graffiti room. Forgot how creepy and sketchy it feels when going through it.)

-swam in the pool at the kibbutz again (It was so hot I needed to relax in some water. Wasn’t really in the mood for a nap.)

-went to a bar (Here’s where I had the most fun of the day. I may or may not have gotten a little tipsy that night…)

Saturday:

-hiked along the Banyas Stream (Didn’t get wet on this hike. Saw this giant waterfall and our tour guide taught us this really cool optical illusion trick. We were told to stare at a part of the stream with heavy water flow (where the water looked white) for 30 seconds and then to look up at a tree and see what happens. If it worked, the tree was supposed to look like it was moving. It didn’t work for me until the 3rd or 4th try, but it was so cool!)

-rafted in the Jordan River (In the e-mail with the itinerary, it said “Yarden” which I knew meant Jordan. Lucky for me, I’ve gone rafting in the Jordan River before. But this time, I didn’t row. Went with “Mom” Jeremy, Sarah, and Alon. “Mom” and Alon did the rowing, Alon more than “Mom,” while Sarah and I relaxed in the raft. It was a relaxing ride, other than running into the sides constantly.

That’s pretty much everything that happened that weekend. I’ll put up another post about what happened in Jerusalem on Sunday later, something separate from the pictures and more information on getting hit on by 5 different men.