TL-41-253 Update 1

Hi!

We arrived in Israel at 2pm on Monday afternoon, and spent the next few hours traveling to Tiberias. Even though everyone was tired from the long journey, the group was in great spirits. We had our second ice breaker of the day, where each of the participants told an unbelievable fact about themselves. After we got a good night’s sleep, we woke up, had breakfast, and drove to the first stop of the day, where we learned about the changing map of Israel prior to the  67 war, and the current map of Israel. The weather at this point seemed to change for our benefit, and it was a beautiful rainless day. We continued for our next spot – the Banias Waterfall. It is a beautiful 2 mile hike along the strong flowing Banias river and waterfalls. Next, we stopped for a lunch break followed by another stunning overview of Mt. Bental, where we could see the border with Syria. The final activity of the day was going to the Golan Heights Winery, where we had a tour and a tasting session. We ended the day with a nice BIG dinner at the Pagoda restaurant in Tiberias.

Today we will be going to Tzfat- the mystical (Kabbalah) city of Israel, where we will tour the city, meet local artists, have a political seminar, and most importantly, eat some more Israeli food.  Though the group may be tired, they are eager to learn more about each other, excited to be in Israel, and seem to love and enjoy all we are doing!