Some Reflections On Our Trip So Far - and a Few Pictures

We just got back from the desert and found Wi-Fi. Here are some students' reflections and a few pictures. More to come when we get back tonight.

Justin C:

I thought that it was so cool to see the mixture of modern and old buildings in Tel Aviv. The majority of them were new, but it was fun to learn about the older ones and how they were made. The newer buildings had lots of cool technology like jumbo trons and lights and intricate designs. The buildings show complexity and it really shows how time and technology changes over the decades and (in Yaffo) centuries. 

Nick:

I thought the graffiti tour was the highlight of Tel Aviv and the trip so far. I really loved how artistic and thoughtful each piece of graffiti was and how there was so much meaning to it. It wasn’t just vandalism; it was artwork. My favorite artist was Dede who included bandaids in all his art. They symbolized the patching up of Israel. In every piece of graffiti he made there was a bandaid hidden Every single one was like a puzzle. 

Matt:

I really enjoyed the day we walked to Jaffa because it was an experience I had never had in Brooklyn or in the USA. It was amazing to be able to walk by the ports and see all the architecture. I was able to see things I had only seen in textbooks. It helped me learn things about my ancestors like how people lived long ago in the Yaffo. It was so cool to have an old city like Yaffo only a short distance away from a new city like Tel Aviv.

Julia:

My highlight of the trip so far was stargazing with my friends in the Negev. It was a really good opportunity to take a step back from always holding hands and gave me the ability to be by myself and think about the experiences and opportunities we’ve been given. When I was out there, I noticed there was a presence that I couldn’t see or hear but I felt there something there that I could think toward and would recognize my thoughts. Stargazing makes me want to be in nature more because I realize it is very peaceful and it helps me recognize things about myself I have never seen before.

Alex:

One of my favorite parts of the trip so far was lunch at a women’s house in Yerucham. She was an immigrant from Morocco who came here when she was a young girl. From her whole talk, I specifically held on to and found most interesting her and her families struggle. In the 1950s, when she came to Israel, she thought she would settle in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv but was placed in the middle of the desert because she wasn’t Ashkenazi (from Eastern Europe). Besides the delicious meal, I got a new appreciation for immigrants and the difficulties that come up when they leave a place they know so well and need to start over again in a new home.

Some pictures: