On Monday and Tuesday, we went to Jerusalem - just the Americans, with Ofra and Lior. We were really busy when we were there. We went to all the big places - the Old City, the Shuk (market), Yad Veshem - the Holocaust museum, the Western Wall...and we also did some things that I hadn't done before in Jerusalem. We got to explore/go on a tour of the tunnels at the Western Wall (what I would call a "behind-the-scenes tour" of the Western Wall) - which included the "holiest of holy" part of the old temple. We also went to the old city of David, and got to go in the water tunnels, which was really cool. Thousands of years ago, there was this whole underground tunnel system in Jerusalem that they used to transport water...and we got to walk through these caves/tunnels. We basically walked for 45 minutes straight in the dark in narrow tunnels in water that came up to our knees! We had small flashlights but that's it. It was definitely a cool experience! We also went to the Israel museum and got to see the Dead Sea scrolls...the Israel museum has been closed for renovations for the last 3 years or so and only opened two days before we got there. We had some nice meals in Jerusalem and definitely had a good time!
We got back to Arad late Tuesday night, and we were all so happy to be back. As much as we all really like the other cities in Israel, Arad really felt like home to us. The weather at night in Arad is amazing..and also, the stars are always really bright and great. Wednesday was our last full day in Arad - we went out to lunch at Tamuz and then went to the pool for the day. At night, we had one last gathering at our house and just hung out with everyone together. Thursday was our last day - we ate lunch with everyone, including Ofra, Lior, and another woman who works for the Jewish Agency - Nili. Other than that, we mostly just cleaned up, packed up, and did some last minute things in Arad. We left Arad around 7:30 Thursday night, and we were all so sad to leave. A lot of friends and other people we met came out to say goodbye to us as we were leaving. Our flight left Israel around midnight Thursday - and 12 hours later, we arrived at Newark Airport - where it was really only 5:30am in America.
The whole way to the airport, on the plane, and in Newark, we couldn't believe that we had to leave. We all had such an amazing time in Israel and will miss it so much! I knew that I would have a good time in Arad...but I didn't realize how good exactly. I definitely learned a lot while I was there, and there will be so much that I will miss. I really could go on and on about my trip and how great Israel is...I'm already thinking about when I can go back..
Thank you all for reading the blog! Hope you enjoyed it! :)
