Today was our first official day in Israel! Despite our terrible lack of sleep on the plane, the day could not have started off any better. We were not expecting to see our Israeli Dillers for at least another week and catching up with them briefly did really put us all in a bright mood and only added to our excitement to see the rest of the country. After a breakfast of surprisingly delicious sandwiches, we head out to Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve. As one of the leaders of the day, Hannah and I were the only ones aware of our special activity beforehand. Our surprise activity took place on a beautiful landscape, kept the same way as it was 3,000 years ago from the time of the Bible. 
Our activity was a hands on leadership exercise of sheep/goat herding!!! It was a lot of fun watching the group guess the activity and the look on their face when they finally learned what we were doing was priceless. The activity challenged us to think outside of the box, because we had to move the goats the same way the ancient leaders of the past did as shepherds. It was a really interesting experience and it was hilarious to watch the different methods that we all tried to accomplish our goals.
After our sheep herding extravaganza, we head out on a long ride to Kibbutz Sde Boker and Ben Gurion's grave. On our way we stopped for some aroma coffee (Israel's equivalence to Dunkin Donuts). As someone that really does not care for coffee at all, I can honestly say that I really did enjoy a nice iced coffee from Aroma...delish!!! When we finally got to Sde Boker, we watched a film about David Ben Gurion and the difficulties that a leader faces. We also visited his grave and had an absolutely gorgeous view of the mountains and hills of the desert in the Negev. It was truly an incredible sight and I know that I won't soon forget it.
We ended the day with a visit to Ayalim - a special community for young adults who are passionate about rebuilding the Negev (southern region of Israel) and other peripheral communities throughout the country. It was amazing to see people only a few years older then us making such a difference throughout the entire country and was really inspiring to meet such passionate young people.
We ended the day with a visit to Ayalim - a special community for young adults who are passionate about rebuilding the Negev (southern region of Israel) and other peripheral communities throughout the country. It was amazing to see people only a few years older then us making such a difference throughout the entire country and was really inspiring to meet such passionate young people.
All of our activities today linked together with the theme of leadership, adapting skills and values used from historical leaders, and the importance of motivating yourself and others and believing in your goals. Altogether, today was the perfect start to an amazing journey. As much as we all want to stay up and chat about our excitement, I'm sure you'd all rather us fall asleep now. We love and miss you and we're having the time of our lives!!
PS- There are probably many grammar or spelling mistakes...sorry but this keyboard is ridiculously hard to type on!
PSS- I love you mom you're the best xoxoxooxxooxo oh and please wish Ari the best of luck on his surgery and that if he stays kind I'll consider getting him pop rocks chocolate....
-Juliet Felsen
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