Today was “Sababa” (which means awesome in Hebrew)!

We left the hotel in Tiberius and traveled to Kibbutz Malkiya on the Israeli/Lebanon border. Eitan, the man in charge of security at the kibbutz, introduced us to “the boys,” Israeli soldiers who are stationed near the kibbutz at the border. The best part about meeting them was the one-on-one conversations. I (Sam) talked to one of the soldiers, a 20-year-old commander named Don. It was very interesting to see someone my age leading a remarkably different life. I (Jasmine) met Sam, a Kiwi from Zealand. I got his email address in order to send him pictures of our experience in Israel.

Following the one-on-ones, we (Sam & Jasmine) were the only students selected to plant Kiwi bushes in celebration of our upcoming birthdays. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I (Jasmine) had hopes of planting a tree in Israel ever since I was a little girl. It was the best birthday present ever imaginable. I (Sam) plan to come back in 3-4 years to see how the plant has grown.

Next we traveled for 3 hours to the marvelous, spiritual, beautiful, holy city of Jerusalem. We unpacked at the hotel and traveled to the Taglit-Birthright mega event. This event only happens once a winter season for all the Birthright trips to come together for one huge celebration. There we got a powerful speech in person from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu, met other Birthright groups from all around the world (Brazil, Argentina, Russia, Canada, England, Chile), and jammed out to some rockin’ Israeli tunes.

Today was Sababa!!

-Sam Sperling RU’13

-Jasmine Love RU’12