Independence Day -Yom Haatzmaut

April 20

Yesterday we started the day in Akko at the Weitzman School. We went into a few classrooms and met the 6th and 7th grade penpals. I went into a class from every grade and delivered the beautiful Independence Day Cards that the kindergarten through 6th grade from our school had sent with us. The children in Israel were so excited and the teachers were delighted!!We joined the students outside for recess, and then they performed their Memorial Day program for us. We also did a project with the penpals in their classrrom and then we had falafel together.While we were doing the project the memorial siren went off at 11:00 and we all stood for two minutes of serious silence in memory of the fallen soldiers of Israel. At 12:00 school got out early and we were picked up by our driver.

Our next stop up north were the beautiful grottos at Rosh Hanikra. What a magnificent view of the Mediterranean coast and the grottos. From there we went to the city of Tzefat, best known for being the place where Kabbalah and Mystical Judaism first developed. We visited some famous sunagogues, did some Jewish meditations lead by our guide, Tuviah, and di some shopping in some very stores with Jewish art and gifts. Tzefat is also known for its Artist Colony.

At night we joined in with the festivities for Israel's 62nd year of Independence with at least half of the families from Tiberias at a big outdoor park with a concert and fireworks. It was festive like a carnival and we had a really good time.

This morning we drove up to Kfar Giladi to learn about Hashomer, the early guards and defenders of the land of Israel before the State was declared. The highlight of the day was the awesome kayaking we did on a tributary leading to the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. The kayak was really a large inflatable boat/raft, so there were six of us in a boat. We had fun floating with the current, getting stuck, splashing, slipping out of the boat to get wet, and doing a terrible job steering the boat with our oars:) The kayaking is always one of my favorite parts of the trip. We ended Yom Haatzmaut with another boating experience- the "Disco Boat." The music was way too loud for this old teacher, but most of the students seemed to love it!

Tomorrow we go up in the Golan Heights and learn about battles and security. We have a challenging hike planned in the Golan to a waterfall.

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