Birthright Trip to Israel

Remember when I said I had a list of things I need to do over break? One of those things was to FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY put together an iMovie video of my trip to Israel! You guys....I probably spent eight hours putting this video together. Honestly there are hundreds of pictures I could've included in this iMovie as well, but it would've taken forever to do and this video is already about half an hour long! No matter if I included all my pictures/videos or not, this iMovie could never be enough to show how many more experiences actually happened unless I recorded the entire trip. 

Birthright is basically an entitlement to a free trip for Jewish people to visit their homeland of Israel between the ages of 18-26 years old. It is something I looked forward to ever since I heard about it several years ago. I'm the only one in my immediate family alive who is of Jewish decent, so this trip was an opportunity for me to experience that side of me. If you think you may be eligible and are interested in going on this trip, go visit Santa Barbara Hillel, a Jewish temple right in the middle of Isla Vista. They're the ones who helped organize these trips with Taglit. Currently registration is open and you can apply to go as soon as this summer! If you're not of Jewish decent, don't worry! There are plenty of other group trips you can go on.

This was my very first trip out of the country! It was a 14-16 hour flight depending on which direction we were flying. There were an incredible amount of experiences and I wish I could share them with you all. Instead, I will share with you my five favorite experiences.

Sunrise in the Desert

One night, my entire birthright group of about 40 people slept under one big tent in the middle of the desert with a bunch of other birthright groups from around the nation. You can imagine how it might've been difficult to sleep. I woke up at 4 a.m while everyone was still asleep with the realization that this may possibly be my one time to spend some time in Israel to myself. I had never woken up early to specifically watch the sunrise and that's what I did (next to the camels). I have never felt so at one with the world.

                                                                          The Western Wall

One of the last things we did in Israel was visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. This was one of the things I looked forward to most because I had recently figured out for myself what it is I believe in spiritually. I don't practice any religion in particular and that used to bother me. As I've gotten older I've become wiser in realizing that that is okay because I'm content enough with simply being a good person and loving everybody. I shouldn't go into too much detail (as this is a school blog), but I felt I made a higher connection, found peace, and took my hand off that wall walking away with guidance.

International Best Friend

When Ronnie first walked onto our bus along with the other Israeli soldiers, I didn't know we were about to be best friends. Within a couple days, I realized that we would always be. It was amazing to connect with someone from a different country so well. Turns out, we were very similar despite the extremely different parts of the world we live in.

Dead Sea

There is no other place like the dead sea. It is at the lowest point on Earth. I call its beach the "desert beach." The sand leading up to it is a dark, burnt orange color. As I walked into the water, I noticed how warm it was, along with the sand. It was so hot in fact, I had to bring my flip flops into the water. A few feet in, I noticed the entire bottom layer where sand would usually be is all salt. It had a slight pink color to it. We were told not to shave for at least a few days before the Dead Sea because it BURNS. I had a tiny cut on my ankle and boy, it did not feel like a tiny cut while in that water. However, I didn't notice it too much once I began to float without any effort. It was one of those moments where I realized that there is no other place in the world like this and I'm here.

Bat Mitzvah

I finally had a Bat Mitzvah and it was right in the middle of Jerusalem!!! How special is that??? I went from feeling a little sad that I never had one, to feeling like this was the absolute perfect time for it to happen. One of the things I learned from Hillel and going on this trip is that being Jewish comes from your family ancestry and it is not just a religion, but a culture as well. One of the things we had to acknowledge is why we wanted to take the opportunity now to have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. I explained that it was something I always wanted to do to feel closer to my mom and her side of the family. Growing up without her, I wasn't able to experience this part of me from her side of the family and there was no better time and place than to have it during my birthright trip in the heart of Israel! It was short, sweet, and with a group of other people who finally had the chance to have one too.