Jerusalem and Tel Aviv!

1/19 - pov lilly

Today was another field trip with all of the GTL students, this time to Jerusalem!! Sam, Josh, Jessica, Kayla, Marie, and I all left the hostel around 6AM, which super difficult because the beds at the hostel were so comfortable. I don’t know why, but it was like a warm cloud after being out on the boat all afternoon and then traveling and not eating. I slept like a rock. We headed to the bus station and met up with more GTL people before driving t Jerusalem. I slept the entire way on the bus, so when I woke up we had made it to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust remembrance museum in Jerusalem. After the last few GTL students showed up, we divided up into two groups, got headsets, and started walking with our tour guide. The museum was hard to see but very moving. It was thoughtfully made, and everything from the architecture to the individual artifacts on display had a reason for being the way the they were. I think that it had a different impact on each of us, but after reflecting on it with a group discussion afterwards, we all felt that it was worth seeing and learning so that we can continue to learn about more difficult topics as we travel other places.

Then we had lunch, after which we got back on the bus and headed towards the old city of Jerusalem. Our tour started in the City of David, where we walked up to a viewpoint and could see out over all of the city. It was absolutely gorgeous, and about halfway through our time up there, the mid-afternoon prayer started. Five times a day, the Muslim prayer is played over all of the city. I could never imagine a town in the US doing this, but it was cool to know that anyone practicing the religion that could hear it was taking the time out of their day to pray.

After the City of David, we headed up to the Western Wall. This is going to sound pretty cheesy but I have these things in my life that I call “full circle moments,” which are usually when I do something cool for a second time and think back to where I was the first time I did it and how life has changed. The Western Wall was definitely a full circle moment for me. Even though this was my first time there, I thought about a group project that I did my sophomore year of high school in AP World that was all about Judaism, and part of the project focused on the significance of the Western Wall. To think that four years later, in my sophomore year of college, I am actually in Jerusalem with my hand on the Western Wall is just crazy. It made me reflect a lot about how grateful I am to be traveling and how the people I did that project with and the people I am now traveling with have shaped my experiences. Even though I wouldn’t consider myself to be very religious, I think seeing the Western Wall is an experience I will never forget.

After the Western Wall, we headed through the local market. Kayla and I got smoothies that were really good!! We continued along the path that Jesus took when he carried his cross to be crucified, and up to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where he was crucified and laid to rest. The church was crowded, but they said it’s always like this and thats part of how significant it is to so many religions.

Once we were done at the church, we took a bus back to Tel Aviv for the alumni event. We had dinner there and chatted with other MIT alumni from Israel or living in Tel Aviv. We listened to two presentations, one from Assaf Wand, who talked about his many different startups and their ideation processes, and then another from Ernest Fraenkel, a professor at MIT working to cure ALS. The presentations were awesome, and we had more time afterwards to socialize with people.

Eventually we got back to the hostel, where we played pool and hung out with other GTL students for the rest of the night!

1/20 - pov lilly

So it’s Friday, our first day in Tel Aviv and we had until about 3:30 PM to get out and explore before the markets closed for shabbat. I woke up around 10AM, Jessica and Josh had just left for a walking tour of Jaffa and Sam was out for breakfast with his parents, so I’m just waiting for Marie and Kayla. Eventually Kayla woke up around 11:30 and we went to get some breakfast, thinking Marie was tired and not wanting to wake her up before we go. We headed the Max Brenner Chocolate Lab, which I had walked by a few times and knew I needed to go to. We both ordered crepes, Kayla got the Lotus Cookie one (like the same as a biscoff cookie) and I ordered the cheesecake crepe. Except when I ordered I must’ve never communicated that I wanted the cheesecake crepe and not just a slice of cheesecake, so when the waiter came out 20 minutes later with a slice of cheesecake the size of a brick, I was a bit shocked. And don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love cheesecake, but for my first meal of the day, maybe not so much. Anyways, he took it back and my crepe was out soon. It was amazing. 10/10. Definitely a place to try if you’re ever in Tel Aviv.

After food we headed to Carmel Market to meet Sam, and I text Marie to let her know where we’re headed. The market was super fun, we started a bit outside of it and looked at some cute artists tables with amazing things on them. Then we headed into the market, which smelled soooo good. We walked around for about an hour, looking at all of the knock-off nike clothing, checking out every t-shirt store for funny ones, and potential gifts to bring home with us.

Eventually we met up with Josh and Jessica, who immediately asked where Marie is. At this point it’s almost 3pm, and Marie still hadn’t responded to the text I sent at 1 pm. I texted her a second time just to check in again and then we headed to the beach, where we sat in the sand and watched another gorgeous sunset.

Once the sun set around 5pm, we went back to the hostel. On the way back we met up with another GTL student, who asked if we had heard from Marie. Nobody had. At this point it was a bit concerning. Where was Marie?? Why hadn’t she texted anyone back?? Was her phone ok?? Was she ok?? We hurried back to the room to find her laying in the same exact position that she was when we left. I went over to wake her up, because at this point it was literally 6pm. I'm genuinely impressed that she was able to sleep for so long.

After Marie got up, we headed out for an awesome dinner and even better ice cream.

We then headed back to the hostel to play more pool (which we are actually so good at) and hang out with everyone for the rest of the evening!

1/21 - pov marie

Once again, waking up was quite difficult. I swear these hostel beds are magical. The duvet might have been the softest thing I’ve ever felt; it was perfectly weighted, stayed perfectly cool but still kept you warm somehow?? Straight magic. Regardless, we got ready for the day, packed up our stuff and checked out of the hostel.

We then went on a walking tour of Old Jaffa. On our way from the hostel to Old Jaffa with our group, Swathi, Lilly, Kayla and I made a quick detour breakfast. Once we all got our sandwiches and drinks, we realized that the group was actually very far away. Fortunately, we made it on time and enjoyed our cold chais and our brie, pear, arugula, and fig sandwiches.

The tour was fun, we got to see a lot of Old Jaffa, some stunning panoramic views and some really cool historical sites. We also somehow ran into everyone and their fathers. First we ran into Jacob, then Sam and his parents and uncle and aunt, then Daniel and his wife and his father, and then Jacob again, and then Sam again…

Once the tour was over, we were hungry (again) and decided to sit down in a random restaurant for late lunch. We ended up getting Italian and it was *delicious*. We got parmesan focaccia which was scrumpdiliumptious and then Lilly and I both got pistachio and ricotta ravioli in a sweet potato sauce. I cannot describe how good it was. Just be jealous.

After food, we walked through Florentin, the artsy neighborhood of Tel Aviv, and then got gelato from Anita’s (after running into Brooke). I got espresso white chocolate and Lilly got macadamia cream and cookies and white chocolate. Once again, delicious.

We watched a beautiful sunset by the beach and then exhausted, we walked back to the hostel to sit in some couches. After that quite break, we had to leave to catch our bus to go back to school. We got a quick dinner and left for the bus station. Unfortunately, it did not go as smoothly as intended since protests in the city blocked most of the streets and interrupted the bus routes. We also ran into Sari lol. After a while, we finally gave up and got a taxi. We were happy to be back but definitely missed the hostel beds…

Overall, great city weekend!

PS. I would just like to note that I don't think I've ever slept from night until early evening... I, fortunately, was not dead - I think I just needed some beauty sleep. I was a little sad that I had to miss the fun day in Tel Aviv with the others, but at least I have already seen the Carmel Market and the beach my first week.