I joined this program when my friend Barak and I were approached by Amnon asking us if we wanted to participate in icnext. We knew very little about the program but agreed to join in after talking with our friends who have participated in the past couple of years. Walking into the first year sessions I had no idea what to expect and to be honest I was kinda bored. The many 8 hour sessions of lectures and learning to take good pictures didn’t have me the most excited for Israel. But my viewpoint would soon change after we got to Israel.
The first thing we did when we arrived at Tel Aviv airport was to board our bus. We quickly found our seats and I immediately started playing music for everyone to hear through some speakers. This was my favorite part when we had nothing to do, and we as a group spent time together just having fun. On our second night in Israel we met the new Shinshinim. Was I skeptical? Yes! How could you match up with last year’s Shinshinim? But within about 5 minutes of meeting them, it was as if we had known these new friends for years. That night I was one of the last of our group, along with the Shinshinim, to go to bed at about 3 in the morning. We had all stayed up talking, getting to know each other and having a good time just sitting in the lobby of our hostel. This was one of my favorites nights of the trip.
This trip was very different from any other trip I’ve ever been on or heard of. Instead of climbing Masada we visited sewage treatment plants; instead of spending a day swimming in the salt water of the Dead Sea we toured and learned about a water desalination plant. We spent a lot of time listening to speakers and learning about Israel’s role as an innovator in water conservation.
A lot of people have been asking me which of the places we went to was my favorite. Tel Aviv was beautiful and the beach was amazing. Jerusalem was great and visiting the Temple Mount was incredible. But by far my favorite was going to Beit Shean. There were a lot of comments about what people did with their host families and how much sleep they didn’t get, but I personally loved spending time with Bar, my host, and his family.
Walking into the trip I thought it would be Me and Barak making our own fun, and that it would just be the two of us. I am very glad to admit that I was VERY wrong. Everyone on this trip surprised me at one point or another, and everyone contributed to the fun that we had as a group. I would like to thank all of them for helping me have a great trip and adding to the fun.
CAN’T WAIT for year 2!!!!!!
Let’s Go Cavs (I’m still “All In”)
Mifgash Forever
Keeva Raphael Schneider