TEL AVIV Field Trip

After four extremely long days in Jordan, we spent a hot winter day in Tel Aviv visiting the Diaspora Museum, Independence Hall, and Old Joppa. Our tour guide at the Diaspora Museum was so cute and had such a wonderful spirit about her. We learned about the different kinds of synagogues established around the world as Jews began to flee Israel and the lands of Europe to escape the brutality of the various nations that had ruled their land over the course of its existence. The diaspora or dispersal of the Jewish people to America has caused many to establish their own way of life in the different corners of the world. How amazing it is to me that amongst so much persecution in the Jewish nation, they have stayed strong as one nation to create a unified religion. We visited the Independence Hall next which was way cool since it would be like touring Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Honestly I have no more to say about this building since I was dozing off through the entire introductory movie and the informative seminar about that marvelous day on May 14, 1948 when Israel finally became its own sovereign country. Our teachers let us lose after that and we were giving the choice to explore the Flea Market, the Sukk (Jewish Market), or go to the beach. You’ll never guess where everyone rushed off to...the MEDITERRANEAN SEA!! It was so funny to me to watch as everyone sprinted off to take a dip in the ocean as I was strolling along and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Thank you parents for raising me in Southern California!! After 10 minutes of skipping rocks and taking some pictures, I convinced some people to come explore the Flea Market. After finally figuring out what direction we were supposed to go, we were all so exhausted and sweaty from walking around so much that we found a Smoothie/Ice Cream Shop instead. It was an incredible experience and definitely became the highlight of my day. We met up with our teachers once again in Old Joppa to see the gulf of Jaffa, the oldest port in the world, where Jonah fled from the Lord and where historians think he may have been swallowed by the whale. Tel Aviv was quite the adventure and after many hours spent in the draining sun, I was ready for some peace and quiet.