How was it?

The last two nights have sprung forth some intuitive, articulate discussion about this land and this trip. Throughout the trip, we've tried to gauge the thoughts of the students and get a grasp on what they're taking away from the experience through discussions and round tables. We've had games and seminars and programs and were still kind of wondering. Yesterday we got our first glimpse of the actual impact of the program and it was explosive.

The activity was to examine different conceptions of the map of Israel. I included some examples below. Mettannah talked about how the first one represented how rich the country is in history and culture, as outlined by comparing the North to Rome and the breadth of historical significance there. It shows Tel Aviv as Los Angeles, showing it's modern and vibrant. The second one shows how Israel is a shwarma. Take a look at the third one, maybe you can talk to them about what it means when they are home. There were about 25 of these different drawings. The students talked about how Israel is connected to the Jewish world, how it's a small country with massive significance, how it is Holy but modern, it thrives under threat, and all of those characteristics that we hoped were being impressed upon them.

After that illuminating discussion sort of ended Yom HaAtzmaut, we headed over to Azrieli Mall to do some last minute shopping and eating. That is not what ended up happening, though! The mall was almost completely shut down! We learned from this that after a big celebration, the country takes a little nap except for the hard working employees of McDonald's and Burger Ranch. At least we got a good photo. And don't worry, I took a little stroll after dark and made sure I got myself a nice shwarma on behalf of the kids.

This morning we visited the "Save a Child's Heart" home. This is an organization that brings third-world and Palestinian children with congenital heart defects to Israel for heart surgeries, flies doctors to third-world countries to perform surgeries there, and trains doctors from third-world countries on performing heart surgeries.

Our kids learned about the organization and visited with some of the children currently staying at the home either awaiting for or recovering from heart surgeries. It was quite powerful and showed a side of Israel that shows their citizens go beyond the conflicts to do good in this world.

Next we headed over to Beit Guvrin to dig for treasure. Sam tried to find it in the trees but all he found were carobs. The kids were actually pretty good treasure hunters. They found a really big spider, a complete perfume container (ca. 100 BCE), and many many sizable rocks. They really enjoyed it, though, and found the experience meaningful. They even said so.

We came back from Beit Guvrin filthy so there was about an hour til the final summary program. Dafna recited the entire itinerary as memories flooded back from the past 20 days. And then we talked about the question we'll be facing when we get off the plane tomorrow: how was it?

I was almost in tears. They spoke so eloquently, so honestly, and so maturely. They used the term "this experience" as opposed to "this trip." They said it was "meaningful" instead of "fun." And hey, fun's not a bad thing! We had fun!!!! And we remember it fondly. The throwing of dead fish, the trip to the hospital, the flaming cans of tuna, Chen's delusional near-death experience in Hezekiah's tunnel, the illusion of attendance at the school-wide movie screening at Emek HaHula. You don't know what I'm talking about but that's fine. It was fun.

But they had more than a fun trip. They had a meaningful experience. They talked about how the experience put love of Israel at the forefront of their Jewish identities. They said they want to join the army and work on Kibbutzim. They want to visit their penpals. Soon. They talked about how it forged a bond between tomorrow's leaders of Albertan Jewry (my words, but they did say "it was nice getting to spend time with the Calgarians").

The sophistication and eloquence with which they spoke was beyond their years. That is paraphrased from what Dafna said about them being really smart and considerate for their age.

In the first blog entry, I joked that I had dreamed about smuggling bread into Israel and being barred entry due to Pesach restrictions. I'm so glad this blog could go beyond jokes and funny stories. I'm thrilled that the students can talk about this as more than a vacation or a graduation trip. I'm overwhelmed by the support I've received from the parents and staff back at home, and I'm sorry that the trip is over, but I couldn't have asked for a better experience for the kids or for myself.

Finally, we enjoyed some final meat-on-a-stick, pita, humus, and ice cream. Everybody's finishing up their packing and heading to sleep. See you at home everybody!