Our 10 day trip

2-28-16

During our 10 day trip away we did many things. Our hike up  Masada was defiantly hard , but the sunset was well worth it. I found it really interesting how Harid was such a crazy builder and had all those ideas to build on top of Masada. His mind was far ahead of anyone's. After this we went to Gadna. Gadna  is a week simulation for teens in the army . It was really hard the first day because of the rain and the fast pace. Each day kept getting better and better, not in the way I would think though. Although there were many physical challenges and mental I learned a lot about myself and Israel. When we learned to shoot a gun, they took it extremely seriously during their training. We learned how to respect the weapon and how to shoot properly. This is something that I highly appreciated because , I feel if we treated something with such power with more care in the United States, we would not have as many problems with violence. Shooting this weapon did not feel real till we made it to the gun range. It felt like something out of a movie. The gun was laying there, staring at me and my heart pounding. Shooting the gun and being at Gadna really taught me a lot about how Israel values their country, with respect and they are willing to fight for it. Throughout this experience I really appreciated how the IDF valued the aspect of friendship and working together. By trying to all work together it made the experience a lot more meaningful. In the end of Gadna I will always cherish it  , but I was glad the experience was over  ( lets just say the bathrooms were not the best!) After Gadna we spent time in Eilat. It had beautiful weather every day and we were lucky enough to shop and spend days at the beach. This whole trip gave me a opportunity to appreciate not only the physical beauty of Israel, but the way it is perceived.