Day 2 - Wednesday, May 9th

The first morning arrived with my Israeli roommate clapping his hands to wake us up. It was 7:35 in the morning and we had to be ready for breakfast in ten minutes. The first thing he said in his Israeli accent was, “You know you are the loudest snorer I have ever heard in my entire life!” After a breakfast of eggs and bread we boarded the bus to Tel Dan. Tel Dan is on the tip of the ‘thumb’ of Israel overlooking the Israel-Lebanon border. We hiked on a path that took us over rivers and arrived at the site of some ancient ruins from biblical times. After Tel Dan we arrived at Golan Heights. There we learned about the Israeli-Syrian Border Conflict and got to voyage into the tunnels of the bunker. We learned that if Syria decided to attack Israel again the Golan Heights would be ready with drafted soldiers in roughly 36 hours. After Golan Heights we stopped for lunch where I had a falafel pita sandwich. After lunch we had a brief stop at a memorial for those who lost their lives in some of Israel’s major wars. Then we traveled to the Jordan River where we rafted down and then zip lined into the water! After a lovely dinner we had a great group discussion about Jewish values. This place is awesome and I am absolutely exhausted back at the Kibbutz. Had I been back in East Lansing right now I would just be sitting down to lunch…it’s time for bed!!

Say hi to my mother for me,

Matt Marks & The Bus 990 Crew

Striking a pose while learning about the history of Tal Dan

Taking in the scenery at the top of Mt. Bental in the Golan Heights 

Some casual rafting down the Mighty Jordan

Mentally preparing for some Zip Lining!

Zip Lining into the Mighty Jordan

Day One:
After ten and a half teasing hours on the plane, bus 989 arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel. Following the plane ride, we made our way to Caesara for breakfast on the beach. We heard interesting stories about the reasoning behind why Israeli's were not allowed to go to the circus, and saw an amazing ancient theatre. Every Israeli celebritiy dies to perform at the theatere on the Caesarea beach. After breakfast at the beach, our tour guide, Muki, introduced us to the village and let us roam the city for lunch and shopping on our own. Recollecting at the bus, we rode to the Kibbutz to make our way into our rooms and settle in to our rooms for the next few days.We had time to relax and organize our rooms before dinner. We then did some fun orientation games in order to get to know our fellow group members and break the ice to end the night.

Day Two:
It all started with a hike. Israel's highest mountain, Mt. Meron, brought rocky and tree stump covered paths for the crew to travel across. A couple group team bonding games were played as we made our way through the heat. The views consisted of mountains on top of mountains. Even Israel's neighbor Syria could be seen from one point. Heading into the village, we went to a synagogue and experienced a sauna heat packed group of Israli's swaying flags and dancing. Next, we followed the cobblestone pathway to the glass blower. Watching her as she told her unique story of life and showed us how she makes her pomegranate glass holdings. Continuing, we made our way down several flights of stairs to work on taking trash to a dumpster from a bomb shelter. In order to do this, every person lined up where we passed the trash from person to person down to the dumpster. A nice Israli lady offered us pretzels as we jammed on the grass to some guitar. After helping out the community we went back into the village and visited a synagogue. At this point the tour guide told a historic story about a bomb hitting the temple and cracking it. Despite the bombing, luckily, no one got hurt. Next, we witnessed some candle making where one of the group members received two candles twisted together for her upcoming birthday. There was every animal imagined displayed as wax, along with Noahs arc and even the simple duck. The adventure packed day was continued with some wandering and shopping for lunch. Hopping back into the bus, we went into the beatiful and industrialized town we've been to yet, Tiberias. In Tiberias we did some shopping and caught a little dinner before ending our night.

Day 1 - Tuesday, May 8th

Greetings from Israel Parents:

After two long flights and spending over a day traveling we are all safe and sound at the kibbutz. On our way from the airport to the kibbutz we stopped at an Aqueduct and it was truly amazing. This was our first stop on the trip and right away we all felt at home. Tonight we are all very exhausted but incredibly excited about kayaking in the Jordan River tomorrow. We are all getting along famously and can’t wait to get the trip under way. Felix and Sam are great trip leaders and we couldn’t be happier, and tired. We can’t wait to tell you about our day tomorrow but for now we need some sleep. Miss you all.

Best,

Marc & The Bus 990 crew.  

A warm welcome to the Holy Land

Touring the Aqueducts of Cizaria 

Getting a crash course on the biblical history of Israel

East Lansing to New Orleans with TEVA

I recently traveled back from an Alternative Spring Break trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. We drove 17 hours down south in a car full of people I did not really know. I was equal parts nervous and excited, not knowing what to expect. Little did I know this was going to be an experience of a lifetime. As a dietetics major, I was ecstatic to work where our food comes from and integrate what I learned into my daily life. The first day of volunteering, we worked on an urban farm called Hollygrove Market. Not only did I enjoy the experience weeding, composting and gardening, but I learned so much to bring back and share. I learned about sustainability on a much deeper level and desired to practice what volunteering taught me. I plan to implement these concepts into my daily life. Not only did I learn about food at the garden, but the church we stayed at had wonderful chefs who prepared us gourmet meals using vegetables from Hollygrove Market. The chefs made us homemade Jambalaya the first night. I had never tasted anything like this! It was very awakening to see that they too were implementing composting and the use of fresh vegetables into their meals for everyone staying with us. The second day of work was a little more challenging. We volunteered at ARNO (Animal Rescue New Orleans). As an animal lover, I knew this was going to be difficult because I would want to adopt all the cute animals. At ARNO, they maintained a great environment for the animals, keeping them safe, healthy and clean. We sanitized the cages, food and water bowls and walked and played with the dogs. I saw how much work really goes into keeping the animals well nourished and happy. It was very sad to see how afraid of people some of the animals were. I’m used to seeing little kids run away from big dogs, but at ARNO it was the other way around. As we finished up there, we ran to the French Quarters of New Orleans and explored the city. This was my first time in NOLA and there was so much to see! From beignets, to magicians on the street, to live music everywhere, to the southern culture: the city was bumping! It was very cool to see all the love everyone had for this city. I too felt the love that night when we got to see the Grammy-winning band, Rebirth live. The brassy band lifted everyone’s spirits and helped us all connect to something important to New Orleans and ourselves- music. Music helped us introduce ourselves from the car ride on. We all learned a little from each other by our eclectic music libraries. Thanks to our friend Tony from the Magellan Community Garden, we also got to see George Clinton live at the House of Blues. This whole trip was an unbelievable experience with amazing people who were full of an undefined energy. We are all so fortunate to have been able to connect and relate so well to each other. This was my first spring break out of town in college and I look forward to experiencing new adventures for years to come. 

~Shayna Danto

You Must Be the Change You Wish to See in the World

How do I begin to summarize such an incredible week? When I got to LAX last Sunday, I had no idea what exactly was in store for the week. Our first day at Woodcrest Elementary School was nerve-wracking. I worked in a Lansing school last year and had that impression in my head as we walked through the courtyard of this school. The kids in Lansing had been disrespectful to me and other staff members, and also didn’t seem to care about learning in the classroom. After my first day at the school I could already see that these kids were surrounded by a positive support system of faculty and staff members along with their passion and positivity to learn new things. Our first day at the school, our group started a Civil Rights Mural in the middle of the blacktop area. I painted the words “You Must Be the Change You Wish to see in the World” – Gandhi.  A quote I had heard several times, but never really let the words sink in. As we painted, recess was going on and the kids all crowded around our work area asking us about what we were doing and giving us motivation to keep going! Their interest and encouragement continued all week long. The changes we made to this school to make it a better learning environment will have a lasting impact on this school. If these kids read the words of Gandhi and take it to heart, they have the possibility to do so much. As a camp counselor, I never really thought much about my campers being the ‘future generation’, the ones who will continue after us. Working with these kids, I began to realize how important it is to encourage education. All week long, we listened to various speakers and saw videos that informed us of the educational problems going on around the United States. Coming from the suburbs of Chicago, I knew of some of the problems in inner-city schools, but not to the extent of which I learned about. One our last day at the school, one of the staff members began to tear up thanking us for all the work we did.  Between that moment where I really saw that our work was going to make a difference and saying goodbye to all the students who I had interacted with over the few days, I felt thankful and fortunate to have a part in such an experience. That Gandhi quote will be important for this school and these kids as they continue on with their education, but it also important for our group and this program. A bunch of college students who decided to head to LA for a an Alternative Spring Break are walking away with much more than just good times, we are leaving seeing the impact of change.

~Jordyn Malkin 

Reflections On A Week of Service in Los Angeles

Alternative Spring Break to Los Angeles was a very meaningful, fun, and inspiring experience.   Coming from the West Bloomfield “bubble” in Southeast Michigan I have rarely seen the poverty and struggles that the students of Woodcrest Elementary go through each and everyday.  Looking back upon the beautification and gardening projects we completed for this school I feel that we as a group absolutely made an impact on these students and community.  As a Pre-med major this trip means little for my career path; however, that is not to say that it did not change me and effect me.  Social justice is an important issue that must be worked towards in any way possible, and I’m happy this trip gave me the opportunity to give back.  I hope the passion for community service and social justice that I now feel burns just as feverishly within me as it does with the other 53 participants.  This trip has changed my life and I’m grateful that I’ve had this experience. 

~Andy Sonenberg

New Friends

Over the past few days volunteering at the elementary school, I met a wonderful little girl, Jennifer. My after school group was assigned to help out with the kindergarten class. However, Jennifer was in second grade. She was in the classroom because she was helping out her grandmother, Miss. Cruz. The first day I decided to help her with her homework. After that we just clicked. For the next three days volunteering in the classroom we were side by side. Everyday we were so excited to see each other. We drew pictures for each other, I helped her with her homework, and she even helped me with my Spanish.  One of the drawings she drew for me said, BFF (Best Friends forever). I am so impressed with myself of how much I impacted her life. On the last day she was so upset that I was leaving. When we were saying our goodbyes, she fake cried, but then when her mom came to pick her up she burst out in tears. Her mom said, “¿Que pasó? (What happened?), “ and Jennifer responded with “She’s leaving.” Her grandmother came up to me on the last day and told me that the night before Jennifer was crying to her mother asking her if she could have my phone number. So I gave her my phone number and email address and I got her home address. Hopefully we can keep in touch because she made my week tens times better and I won’t forget the powerful impact I had on her and all of the other kids.  

~Fran Wanetick