Our break from school felt very short because of the seminar. School started back up again on Monday (December 17th) and things basically went back to normal.

However, the following weekend I went to Jerusalem by myself. I have never traveled alone before in another country and I was a little nervous about it but I ended up having an incredible time. Two of my friends from back home were in Jerusalem at the same time so I really wanted to see them.

I stayed at a hostel called the Heritage House, which is less like a hostel and more of a family-style situation. There is one live-in Madricha and some Madrichot who are on duty on weekends. It is a women's hostel inside the Old City. I made it to the hostel Thursday at 11pm because I had a late day at work, so it was quite the process. It was cold and of course, because I am directionally challenged, I got lost walking from the light rail stop into the Old City. No worries though, I eventually found my way. Literally as I walked into the 'hostel' they were braiding Challah and invited me to jump right in. I didn't even check in right away! I just set my bags down, washed my hands, and began braiding Challah. The Madricha, other travelers and I spent the night talking, laughing, and just getting to know each other.

The next morning I left early and just aimlessly roamed around the Old City. It was cold and rainy but I had no destination for a few hours so I could leisurely walk or sit in a café. At one point it was raining hard and I was extremely cold so I just sat at a bakery by myself for a while drinking coffee. Once I got a call from Idit (my Israel fellow who works at USF but was leading a birthright trip), I made my way to the Kotel to meet her. It was so nice seeing a familiar face! I basically joined her birthright group for the afternoon. When she introduced me, I spoke for a little bit and told them they could ask me any questions they wanted. We walked to an area with some cafes where everyone could eat whatever they wanted. They just had to meet at a specific time. Idit and I went to get food and sit down and catch up. As we were eating, my other friend in Jerusalem at the time, Brian (who knows Idit as well), happened to be walking by! Him and his new friend joined us for lunch and it was such a great time! I was so happy to see them both and just catch up. Brian, his friend and I joined the birthright group for a walking tour of the Old City. It was nice to just hang out for a bit with no real obligations.

After the tour, Idit and her group were headed out of the Old City so we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I stayed with Brian and his friend and right where we said goodbye there happened to be an open drum circle outside of Jaffa gate. We gathered around and watched for a bit before getting an invite to join in! Of course, who in their right mind would decline an open drum circle in Jerusalem? I definitely got out of my comfort zone and just let go. It was a blast. Toward the end of our jam session it started to rain again so we decided to call it quits. The boys walked me back to my hostel and we ran into a guy looking to find the Zion gate (which is where the boys were headed after). He ended up being a musician (Max Jared - you can look him up). After I got home, I just relaxed a little and got ready for Shabbat.

Around 4:30pm everyone at the hostel walked over to the Kotel to wait for Jeff Seidel to set us up with host families for dinner. I ended up going to an older Swiss couple's house with two of the other girls. It was an interesting night and definitely a new experience since I am not really familiar with Orthodox traditions. There was a lot of good food though and they were very nice people.

The following day we were set up with host families again for Shabbat lunch. This time we were at an English family's house. There were 11 of us total and it was a really good time. The families are definitely interesting and I like to learn about them, even if it isn't the lifestyle that I've chosen.

After Shabbat, a few girls from the hostel and I went to a free concert called Harmony in the Holy Land. It was a peace concert with people of every religion sponsored by the Elijah Interfaith Institute. It was probably one of the most unique events I've ever been to. The night started with introductions and a guy on the flute. A little bit after that there was 30 minutes of pure meditation. There were instrumentals in the background but everyone just meditated and hummed. This was really an amazing experience because when you shut your eyes you could hear and feel the vibrations from the humming. After the meditation, there were some speakers and more musicians and bands that played. This concert was live streamed all over the world too. Here is a little blurb about the event:

Harmony in the Holy Land is inspired by a global movement synchronizing thousands of prayer, meditation and music events worldwide. It will feature Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Druze spiritual leaders and musicians from the Abrahamic faiths offering prayers, inspirational messages and sacred music, LIVE from Jerusalem.

-http://www.harmonyintheholyland.org/#!about/aboutPage

We had to leave the event early because our hostel had a curfew but we stayed for almost 3 ½ hours. It was one of my favorite parts of the weekend because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience from Jerusalem and it was so unique. I will try to post some videos of the event later.

I left Jerusalem the next morning because I had Ulpan Hebrew lessons at night in Netanya. I had an incredible weekend though and am already planning another trip back.