DAY 10/11- LAST GOODBYE NOAH

Hi family and friends, everything has been going well here. Yesterday for Shabbat we all went to the beach with our hosts. For many of us, it was the first time seeing the Mediterranean Sea and it certainly did not fail to impress. With water as blue as the sky and sand as white as the clouds, we had never seen anything like the beaches of Caesarea. While the girls played volleyball, the men chose to spend their time playing full-contact American football on the beach. Needless to say, the Americans dominated (it wasn't even really fair; it's not their sport). The Israelis did, however, overwhelm the Americans at both soccer and not getting sunburned. Despite the tight competition between both nations, all enjoyed spending time in the water with each other. Later that night, many of us chose to meet up at the bowling alley. In addition to two rousing games of bowling, many also enjoyed the arcade games, such as broken pinball, broken air hockey, and punching a fake punching bag with no sensible scoring device (but Cam did get the new high score). While Brian knocked down strike after strike, Barry and Yaniv suffered the pain of pushups after agreeing to put their bodies on the line for each strike or spare scored.
The next day was our last day with the Israelis. We woke up early to go to a hospital to volunteer as construction workers in building a concrete lizard with the hopes of beautifying the area in front of the Children's Wing. We all helped to construct the giant, concrete lizard, with several workers laying cement while the others carefully placed the bricks. After finishing the volunteer work (Tikun Olam- the continuing perfection of the world), we each participated in a friendship circle where both Americans and Israelis alike shared their emotions upon leaving each other. We then took a short bus ride to a memorial dedicated to members of the Nahal and Educational Corps. Then, we enjoyed a Moroccan lunch with excellent pita, chicken, shwarma, and various livers. We then returned to the high school where we had first encountered our Israeli hosts and said our meloncholy farewells to all the life-long friends we had made. Many tears were shed among members of both nations.
Off to the Druze we went after our farewells. Found in the mountains to the North, the Druze are a very welcoming people dedicated to Israel, their warrior traditions, and their clandestine religion of which little is known. After enjoying a passionate conversation with a member of the Druze, tradtional tea and dessert were enjoyed by all. Afterwards, we took a long bus ride to Kibbutz Gadot near the Golan and the Jordan River. After enjoying dinner, we had an intense match of soccer followed by a moving session of meditation. All in all, it was a very eventful two days (enjoyed by all, of course).
On a slightly more tragic note, we are all mourning the loss of our close pal Noah who unfortunately abandoned us to return to the U.S. to his native land of Pennsylvania in order to participate in a Native American camp. In a moving ceremony, his number of 11 was retired for good. Each time we count off, we fondly remember his divine visage upon reaching his number.
More to come tomorrow. Yallah bye!
Love,
Sydney, Barry, Noah's ghost, and Brian (but only sorta)