Upon arrival...

Lilly: After several days of packing, countless trips to target, and one stressful weigh-in to see if my checked bag was under 50lbs, I’m so excited to finally be in Israel! My redeye flight made it easy to sleep, but the seven hour time difference definitely threw me off when I got here. Even though almost everyone on my plane was speaking Hebrew, I was a bit thrown off by how many signs were in Hebrew when I arrived. As I would soon find out, a lot of things aren’t translated unless you’re in the city, so I had to adjust quick. After getting my bags, Marie and I met up to drive to Karine’s house for Shabbat Dinner.

Marie: I arrived in Israel a few days earlier, staying in Jerusalem at the GTL MEET students' apartment. In the airport, I began hearing more and more Hebrew - I listened intently to try and understand, despite only knowing ~20 words. Whilst boarding, I heard a couple say ‘esser’ and I was so excited when I realized I knew they were going to sit on the 10th row.

Once in Jerusalem, I wandered around the streets, explored the bazaars of the Old City and visited the gorgeous religious sites, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall and the Mount Temple. It was crazy to see how such a small city could contain so much historic, religious and cultural wealth. However, I will say that my favorite part was the amount of falafel, humus and pita I consumed over last 2 days.

On Friday, I made my way back to Tel Aviv. The 30 minute train ride between these two cities felt like time traveling - I was suddenly back in a world I recognized with youngsters, billboards and bars. I packed my few hours there by wandering around the streets, discovering the Carmel Market and sitting by the beach. Once I met up with Lilly at the airport, we drove to Karine's house for Shabbat dinner.

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Karine is one of the teachers at our school and she has basically adopted us. We spent a lovely evening with her and her family on Friday, eating a delicious Shabbat dinner, playing Rummikub and discussing the youth village we were going to be living in for the next month. She told us that, in addition to classes, the kids participate in 'practicals', such as snorkeling and scuba diving which allows them hands-on experience to discover the local marine wildlife. Additionally, their afternoons are spent wind surfing, kayaking, sailing, paddle-boarding, etc. Lilly and I were shocked. We had never heard of a school that provided such amazing opportunities and experiences to their kids (especially not a free one)! We went to bed, excited and curious to see what the month ahead of us was going to hold.

The next day we walked around the school and took in the beautiful views. We attempted to get a coffee from the coffee shop, but unfortunately we were somehow gated in. Logically, instead of asking the security guard, we decided to hop the fence. This has become our main technique for exiting the school... The coffee shop was on the white sand beach and had cute little tables and good coffee. Great vibes.

After that, we walked along the beach to Karine's part of the beach, where her and her son taught us about the little critters that lived in the rocks in the sea. We went back to her house, had lunch and played some more Rummikub.

Later in the day, we decided to go get dinner at the mall nearby. It is a 5 min drive, but a 45 minute walk sandwiched between sand dunes and the highway. We went to Pancake House (not 'The Original Pancake House', which is down the street) and got good food.

We are so excited for the month to come and if you want to hear about our adventures, keep checking for updates!