Finding beauty in unlikely places...

Blog #5

July 21, 2013

Written by: Hannah Sopher and Corey Gold

To whom it may concern (*cough* parents *cough*),

You may have received an email and failed to notify us Baltimore Diller fellows about certain changes to our schedule for today...

Really?!

We began our final day in Jerusalem by visiting Yad Lakashish, Lifeline for the Old.  Yad Lakashish serves the elderly immigrant population of Jerusalem by providing senior citizens a creative outlet and support during their later years.  After learning about this incredible project, we toured the different workshops and had the opportunity to try out our Hebrew, French, Spanish, and Russian language skills to connect with the participants.  We then had the chance to support the organization by purchasing the seniors' creations at the gift shop.  Expect lovely Judaica present from your children!

Then, we said goodbye to Jerusalem and began our trip to the Negev.  We arrived at the Ein Gedi Reserve and took a breathtakingly beautiful hike toward a waterfall--in the middle of the desert. Along the way we had the chance to swim in the smaller pools, so look out for pictures that capture the candid joyful moments in the water.

(Caption from Megan: the teens wanted to pretend they were floating in the Dead Sea.... Little did they know that around an hour later they would be......)

Once we reached the top of our hike, we turned around and began heading back the bus to eat lunch and "visit the ancient ruins of a synagogue" (wink wink). Although this was the plan published on the itinerary, as you all know, Megan, Rachel, and Reid took us on an surprise visit to the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea.  All of us were thrilled, especially those of us who had never experienced the strange sensation of floating in body of water of 33% salt content.

Considerably cleaner after showering the salt from all over our bodies, we boarded the bus once more to drive to Arad.  Thankfully, the bus ride didn't drag on for too long, and everyone had time to scrub themselves down and prepare for dinner once we made it to our youth hostel.

After dinner, we discussed the coming community week in Ashkelon. We shed our concerns, shared our hopes, and prepared for the shift of pace that living with our Israeli teens would bring about.  And then we began a program called "Feedback."  Although it was simply designed and doesn't sound too powerful, all of us left changed for the better.

Even if you ask us when we're back in Baltimore in two and a half weeks why our time in Israel was so impactful and memorable, we won't be able to explain it.  Israel is a special place, and Diller is a one-of-a-kind program.

We miss you all,

Hannah and Corey