What the shmuck am I doing

Dearest family, friends, acquaintances, Facebook friends and etc.,

I have decided to create this weblog, or 'blog,' to keep everyone updated on what I am doing whilst away over the next 3.5 weeks.  This way people can read about all the things that are happening in my life, without the bother of having to hear about what is happening in yours. I hope you come back to read it often and will update it as frequently as I possibly can.  Since Israel does have internet and world wide web capabilities, I hope to every day.  I will give a brief overview of the trip and then post the itinerary that I have that is subject to change.

The first 11 days is being organized by the Jewish Federation of Ottawa and was opened to people from other cities; it is a Social Action Mission.  The project this year is to help make some upgrades to a school in the North (I don't know exactly where) that serves a lot of mentally and physically handicapped children.  We will spend three days building them an area for outdoor recreation, refreshing a few classrooms and painting a mural (of me presumably).  Check out the school for yourselves here http://www.shechafim.org.il/  (it is in Hebrew but Google Chrome has a translation option).  The remainder of the 11 days will be spent travelling around the North and the last two days will be in Jerusalem.  When the group heads back to Canada on Day 11, I will remain in Israel for a further 2 weeks.

In Tel Aviv I will spend a few days relaxing and will celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) on May 10.  I will head south to Eilat and hang out on the beach before I head into Jordan.  There I will visit Petra, and tour down to Aqaba to do some scuba diving.  I plan to head back into Israel around May 15/16 giving me a few days to decide what I want to do with the last few days before my flight departs in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday May 22.

Some other places I hope to visit include the Weizmann Institute,
http://www.weizmann.ac.il/pages/
the beach,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach
and if I can find any renewable energy projects to visit I certainly will.

Here is the itinerary that was given to me for the Federation trip:

Day 1 – Travel from Canada

Day 2 – Arrival in Israel and travel to the North (Kibbutz Stay)

Day 3 – Tour the region and become familiar with some of the projects each of our communities are sponsoring in the Galilee Panhandle (Kibbutz Stay)

Day 4 – Shabbat on the Kibbutz – We will be joined by a tour guide and educator and will have a chance for some R&R and Jet Lag recovery (Kibbutz Stay)

Day 5 – Meet with our Israeli hosts and attend a Yom HaShoah Ceremony (Home Hospitality)
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/yomhashoah.html

Day 6 – Yom HaShoah – Visit the Holocaust Museum in the North and have a large group dinner with our Israeli hosts (Home Hospitality)

Day 7 – Project Building and free evening (Home Hospitality)

Day 7 – Project Building until 3 pm then volunteering in a program in Kiryat Shemona (Home Hospitality)

Day 8 – Project Building and Evening Social Program (Home Hospitality)

Day 9 – Unveiling of project and ceremony then drive to Jerusalem, Shabbat at the Western Wall and Dinner (Hotel)

Day 10 – Tour of Jerusalem and free night (Hotel)

Day 11 – Travel Back to Canada (Sad)


Thank you all for reading this, and please come back daily for updates, especially in the first 11 days where i will tell you all about the trip I am on and the project as it gets completed.


Sincerely,


Elliot