Today I got out of bed at 6:15. fml. (haha i just realized that all of my posts begin the same way fmylife begins their posts!) I had some cereal and was ready to go by 6:45ish. We got on the bus and everyone passed out. I was listening to my ipod and it was great. We were up in the Golan Heights and we stopped at an old Syrian base. Our guide talked for WAY too long. The majority of us already knew everything he told us...we discussed the land we won in the 6 day war and we talked about the positives and negatives about giving back the land to Syria for peace. We finally got back on the bus after such a longgg time and we had 40 minutes until we got to our water hike called marsale maybe? It was really chill...we just walked through dirty water up to our knees (sometimes higher) for an hour. It was so hot out so the water felt pretty good. It was rocky, but since the water was dirty, it was impossible to see the rocks. I wasnt wearing close toed sandals, but luckily i didnt stub my toe. I brought my camera and took one picture and then gave my camera to one of the madrichs to hold in his dry sack.

After the hike we changed back into our clothes. (i changed into my bathing suit bottom on the bus...it was very difficult and nauseating). Then while i ate my lunch our tour guide started talking about the water in israel. I couldnt really hear him well. It is a problem how I am interested in those facts but am always grouchy on tours and never can focus and listen to what the tour guide is saying. I NEED to work on that asap! We then got onto the bus and headed for tiberias!

When we got to tiberias we were given more than an hour of free time! All of the other buses were there too so we met up with people from the other buses. rach and i really had to pee and instead of going to the mall which had "a 5 star bathroom" (i am quoting the information lady), we walked down to the plaza and went into a mcdonalds. It was a HUGE mcdonalds and we go to the 2nd level to the bathroom. In the hallway that leads to the bathrooms there is puke splattered on the floor that is a little chunky. Rachel and I turn around, but because we really have to go pee we walk past it! Luckily, it was not smelly. We go pee and then meet up with people. We walk around for a little and then some people decide to get fro-yo or smoothies. I wasnt hungry, so i didnt get! I am trying to only eat when i am hungry...not because i really like the taste! Then a big group of us watched people go banana boating. While they were out, some people took their clothes and brought it back to where everyone was sitting. They left their shoes though, it was so similar to the movie "The Parent Trap." Although none of the people were naked, only the girls had bathing suits on, the guys were just in their boxer briefs. It was so funny to see their reaction, but they found it funny/didnt care. I think it is a european thing for guys to feel comfortable to go swimming or get wet in their boxers.

We then went to another bathroom where i almost gagged because it smelled so bad. When we got back to the bus, Shevet and others who wanted to do Tashlich by the sea of galilee. We just said the prayers and that was it! I was hoping we would have bread crumbs to throw in, but apparently, it is not necessary and some people actually look down upon doing that. The reason why we do Tashlich (translation: "casting our sins into the depths of the sea") and it involves water because water is the symbol of life, of the Torah, and of continuity. There were some other things that we learned that was also interesting.

After Tashlich we got back on the bus and got back around 6:30ish. Today Rachel and I had bathroom duty, so rachel cleaned the toilets and floors. I watched her and cleaned the mirrors, sinks, and our foyer...if you can even call the entrance a foyer. People made dinner for us...it was so yummy. We then cleaned out room! I took a picture. i think ill upload pictures tomorrow. We then showered and watched some of gossip girl. I found out how much i really like rice cakes. they are so good! anyways, I am going to bed early tonight because i have been sneezing and my nose is stuffy. uh-oh. tomorrow i have to do laundry and my homework. i gotta get in the groove!

oh, and i forgot to say in my last blog that on my way back to jerusalem, we drove next to the security fence l and i thought that the number of terrorist attacks had just decreased immensely. Shlomo told me that there had been NO terrorist attacks since the fence was built. crazy.