T-minus 8 days!

So it's been awhile since I last posted so I thought I would make sure everyone was still excited about my trip, are you?


Well I am.  Graduation activities have ended, and I have all of my flights booked--I'm ready!  First stop on the long journey to Tel Aviv is Chicago where I'll fly on to New York and await my 11:50p.m. departure from JFK.  It will take me roughly 10 hours to travel from JFK to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv so that will put me arriving around 5:15p.m.  (For those of you who don't know, Tel Aviv is 8 hours ahead of all my avid followers in the Midwest).


It appears that my first destination will be Jerusalem, although I am still a bit unsure because I am going on the special BioEthics trip.  But, I think that I will be doing most of the same things as other groups.  Ok, so I'm really looking forward to Jerusalem.  Known as the "holy city," I'm expecting quite a spiritual experience as I hike to the top of hill (I will surely tell you the name of that hill top after conquering it) and look at the stunningly beautiful landscape.  As if that is not enough, I think my next stop will be the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Old City, and then of course out to dinner somewhere in Jerusalem.  This all should be truly fantastic.  It also seems like I will be spending most of my nights in hotel rooms, with a trip to a Kibbutz thrown in.  Also, I will be partaking in a traditional Shabbat dinner, which should be very interesting.  For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a very religious person, but I am surely open to absorbing everything I can while on this trip-and its not everyday you get to say the Shabbat blessings and eat Shabbat dinner in Israel.  If nothing else, I'm looking forward to the spiritual aspect of this dinner.  Aside from the serious spiritual stuff, I think there will be snorkeling in the Mediterranean or Dead Sea, a camel ride, a visit to an Israeli Army base, and many other wonderful adventures.  


Now with all that being said, I'm sure you are thinking, why is Alex blogging about sites and experiences she hasn't been to or experienced yet?  It's called a "teaser."  I have to get you all excited about my trip and ready to read and peruse the pictures.  I should tell you I finally got my own camera so if you are a visual person like myself, you will surely be able to follow along with me on my many journeys over the next 3 months.


Ok, that is all for now!  I'm not exactly sure when I will have a chance to blog during my time on the Birthright trip, but can't wait to update you all once I find a coffee shop with internet.  

First part of my trip-back to the homeland.

Hello everyone,


So here goes nothing...


I thought the best place to start would be to tell you where I'll be heading on the first leg of my crazy summer adventure. Lucky me, I will be going on a 12 day, all expenses paid trip to Israel  How'd I swing that you ask?  Well, I'm Jewish, duh.  Birthright, if you haven't heard of it, is an organization that allows Jews to take a free trip back to their homeland.  You can chose from a bunch of different "trip sponsors" that offer a variety of different experiences some very active, outdoorsy type trips and others very spiritual.  I have opted to take a special trip offered by Israel on the House called the BioEthics trip.  This trip is only offered to people who are studying law, medicine, biology, or philosophy.  In addition to exploring the beaches, hiking, riding camels, visiting many spiritual places, and going out to restaurants around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, I'll be making pitstops to talk with doctors in the Israeli Army or with members of the Knesset-Israel's legislative body.


In looking at the proposed itinerary for my trip, I am really looking forward to spending time on a kibbutz.  Kibbutzim have been around for many years, starting as Jews made aliyah (journey back to the homeland).  In the beginning, Kibbutzim were communities based on sharing production responsibilities and ownership of production materials and shared consumption of everything that was produced.  Since then, some kibbutzim have been split up amongst individuals who now have private interests in the kibbutz operation.  Also, its common for kibbutz members to actually work off the kibbutz.  While the make-up of the community has changed, I am still really looking forward to exploring how the members still involved with the agricultural operations farm the land.  I also can't wait to help cook the communal meal and sample the local food! 


I leave June 1st for this awesome trip, so as more details start to come together I'll be sure to post!