Greetings from Galilee

So you'll be getting backlogs from Galilee for the next few days. If these interest you, feel free to continue jumping back as they're posted, otherwise you can just ignore them. :-) Basically the trip was awesome, but as always, it's really good to be back home. No more funny smelling Kibbutz soap or sack lunches with mystery meat, thank goodness. But we'll start from the beginning I suppose...

First, we began our trek north with stops at sites like Casarea Megiddo where we saw some (gasp) mroancient Roman ruins. The excitement over such a thing begins to wear off after the tenth time or so, but bless our teachers for trying to instill some historical appreciation in us. On our way out we got to make a quick stop by the Mediterranean Sea and dip our toes in the water. Those few precious moments in the sand made the day of bus ride worth it.

Kara, me, and Chelsea (now called Rainbow because of her communion with nature) at the Med Sea...literally jumping for joy

After that we went to Nazareth where we got to sit and sing inside the synagogue where it's probable that Christ taught in. There was a really awesome feeling, and all the locals around were so nice. The people here are seriously so amazing. Anyways, after that we finally rolled into our kibbutz at Ein Gev. While there were initial setbacks, like a lack of hammocks, clogged shower drains, and algae green water, we eventually got over it and grew to love the kibbutz life. The room I slept in was probably smaller than the average walk-in closet and I slept in the top bunk, but it made for good memories. Let's be honest, I got to stay on the beach of the sea of Galilee...I'm not really complaining. That night we had a rousing game of kissing rugby (don't worry, we play kiss on the cheek rugby) before retiring to our bungalows. Don't worry...I have videos for later.

A view of just one of the many killer sunsets over Galilee

The next day was our boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, and luckily a nice little tempest whipped up just in time for us. I got to sing Master the Tempest is Raging, on the Sea of Galilee, in the middle of a (albeit small) rainstorm. It was INCREDIBLE! Then we visited the remains of an ancient boat before heading to the Mt. of Beatitudes. The grounds were gorgeous and again, the spirit and peace of the place was spectacular. After lunch we went to St. Peter's Primacy and Capernaum. The weather was beautiful and there were brilliant colors and flowers everywhere. It was one of my favorite field trip days for sure.

Me, Alisha, and Aubri on our boat ride

Moon and I overlooking our "tempest on the sea"

Chelsea, Kara, and I oustide St. Peter's Primacy by the heart shaped rock

By Wednesday it was time to hit the classes, so we spent the whole day on the kibbutz. Of course it's not really a hard life or anything when you get taught on the beach. Not to mention we were fed pretty well too. Pita bread and hummus are quickly becoming a staple food. Worked on my tan, which turned out quite nicely...I am now brown almost beyond recognition with a stylish watch tan-line to boot.

Our next field trip was to Gamla and Qazrin. At Gamla we saw 'the city on a hill' and some of the most striking flower fields I have ever seen. Later at Qazrin we had the enjoyment of a '4-D' movie that was definitely oscar worthy. Mostly I just remember the narrator saying "Scandalous!" and thinking back to the Ashley's from the cartoon 'Recess'. I'm a simple mind I know.

Kara, me, and Miriam rockin our sunglasses outside of the waterfalls at Gamla

A group of us posing GQ on some ancient ruins in Qazrin...as usual

Once we got back from that, spent some more time on the beach playing ultimate frisbee. Oh and at some point I learned that I am not physically capable of throwing a football. So there you have it...at least part of it. More to come later.