last post?

So, this may be my last post depending on how much more free time I have so I will try to put some "end of trip thoughts". We just got back from a two day trip to the Golan Heights where we went to the Naot shoe factory, kyaking, hiking and generally learning about the Yom Kippur War and the importance of the Golan. It was quite a fun trip - and I got some really nice shoes. Today we went on a four hour hike- it was optional - which involved some rock climbing and swimming and a water fall. It was great. Definetly a good way to end the trip which has been filled with hikes and walks. Whats great about the Golan is that its such a contrast to the Negev. In a country smaller than New Jersey - its about the size of Massachusettes - there is a desert and a fertile mountain area. I cant think of another place which has such an extreme change in so little space. Thats why the hiking is fun, becuase you can see first hand how the land of Israel changes. And the land is whats important - its what all the fighting is for, so its important that we see it. You need to see the land in order to know why we have to defend it.
Other than that today we had a final class discussion where we talked about how the trip has changed us. I, possibly for the first time, did not say anything. Mainly becuase it was hot and there were bugs and we wanted to make the disucssion short, but also because I didnt really know how to answer. Most people said standard things like its shown me how important Israel is, or its made me think about Judaism in a new way. Those are true for me, but there is a lot more, most of which will probably not hit me until I return to the states. I will say that at this point I do not plan on making aliyah. The trip has made me want to return, but its also shown me how important the diaspora is - which I'm pretty sure I talked about last time so I wont expand on that.
In addition to all that I think there was a bit of a reality shock on this trip. I met and talked to a lot of people with extreme views and with thoughts and opinions that scare me. There was the very right wing American and the soldier who I sad next to on the bus (hes the sort of security guard) who told me about his experiance in the Second Lebanon War and how quickly he got used to fighitng and war. I dont think I was just naive and didnt know that there were people out there with extreme views or terrible stories, I'd just never really talked to them one on one before. Its upsetting, but also important.
Oh - something I almost forgot - we spent a day meeting with a man from the David Project which is a group that helps teach kids - especially college students - how to advocate for Israel. We spent about three hours looking at anti-Israel outbursts on college campuses and then discussed ways to counter arguments and debate. I had mixed feelings because while its certainly important and the public speaking tips were useful - and I saw clips of anti Israel protestors that I didnt know about and scared me - my problem was that they assumed there was one answer to the questions. For instance, when someone says the problem will end if Israel just gives up the occupied territories, they told us a line to use about how terrorism has been about in Israel for a hundred years or something like that. They didnt explore the idea that we may have different opinions or maybe not even agree with all the answers.

So this is getting a little long - though there is more I could write I will save it for when I get home and we can talk in person. Tomorrow we are going to Jerusalem for the day, and then we leave on Sunday very early in the morning.

I will see you all soon