A week ago today, I arrived (painfully jet-lagged) back home after spending 10 days in Israel on my Birthright trip. Birthright, for those of you reading who are not Jewish, is an opportunity for every Jewish person between the age of 18 and 24 to travel to Israel for a 10 day experience.
On my trip with Shorashim, Bus 50, we traveled all over the country. There were 52 of us total: 40 Americans, 7 Israeli soldiers, Hila and Ralph (our group leaders), Yonatan (our tour guide), Alex (our driver), and Micky (our medic/security/God only knows what his actual job is other than yelling “SHUT YOUR FACE.”) We started as complete strangers in the Golan Heights in the north, and by the time we ended our trip in Jerusalem, we were unexpectedly close. We barely slept, and were constantly exhausted and frustrated, but I think it’s safe to say that if you asked any of Bus 50 if they’d do this trip again, we’d all say yes.
Sure, the trip had some bad moments. Spraining my ankle in Tzfat three days into the trip was definitely not a fun experience I’d care to repeat. Climbing a literal mountain only four days later at 4 in the morning was probably not the wisest decision I’ve ever made. Sleeping crammed together in a goat-hair tent in the Negev desert was also not the most fun any of us have ever had (though it did lead to some interesting moments.) There were moments where we were all so tired that we couldn’t stay awake through presentations (my apologies to the people at the Israeli Independence Museum, I swear we care about what you were saying, we were just exhausted from our night out.) Sometimes cramming 47 young adults into a bus for a 3-4 hour drive is just a really bad idea.
But these moments brought us closer. Thanks to my sprained ankle, I got to know some of the coolest people on the trip, because I had to pitifully ask for their help with everything. People offered to carry up Masada, and though I ened up climbing up the mountain myself, when I reached the top everyone was seriously impressed. Some of the most fun we had was on the bus, singing “Golden Boy” and “Tel Aviv” at the top of our lungs even though we didn’t know most of the words.
Most of the time the trip was a ridiculous and wonderful experience. We were just Goldstar and Tubi 60 loving college students and soldiers, riding around on a tour bus and trying and failing to count to 47. We laughed together, cried together, and sang #Dubigal more times than I can count. We got lost a lot (thanks Ralph), climbed mountains in spite of Yonatan’s unrealistic illustrations, and rode camels in the desert. In those few spare moments that we didn’t have anything planned, we shared our deepest secrets, craziest experiences, and life stories.
People told me that the people that I went on Birthright, I would have friends for life. Needless to say, I didn’t believe them. But I was wrong. After sharing an experience as surreal, insane, and irreplaceable as this, I can safely say that I have friends for life.
Stay Schwifty, Bus 50.
