We are almost done with our trip but there is still so much more left to come! Israel has been so amazing up to this point as I’m sure you’ve heard thus far. To recap, on Sunday we started off our day at a non profit organization called pantry packers. We had the privilege of packing boxes in a factory to help feed families in need. Here I discovered hair nets are not my best look. It was a rewarding experience nonetheless. When we finished, we headed to the great city of Tel Aviv. Our first stop here was the innovation center. We saw inventions like creating water from air, learned about the iron dome, and apps that were all created in Israel. I was amazed by all of the inventions in this center. We headed to another market for lunch and shopping. A bunch of us ate shakshuka, my favorite! Tzvi took us on a tour of Jaffa by the port and the beach. We stopped in one area to celebrate Erin’s birthday and say goodbye to our soldiers. The trip is not the same without them. We will miss them but so thankful we spent time together. Then we made our way to our 5-Star hotel in Tel Aviv. A few of us went in the pool before we had a delicious dinner accompanied by fancy desserts. At night, we went out to a club in the port of Tel Aviv and had a great time hanging with each other and another Mayanot group. On Monday we woke up and headed to the beach where the water was crystal clear and the jellyfish enjoyed stinging. Bradley and Dan were gentlemen and escorted Shiri in a cab ride to the beach. Afterwards we went to Carmel market for yummy food and even more shopping. We made our way to independence hall where Ben Gurion declared Israel a state and the nation gained their independence. It was a unique experience sitting in the room where it all happened and I learned a lot about the history of the nation through this activity. Then we went to Neve Tzedek where we engaged in discussions about Israel and watched a video about its history. This was right after we filmed our live Facebook video so if you haven’t seen it I recommend watching. We made our way to the original train station in the country which had some shops but even more brides. Finally we arrived at the Kibbutz in Kramim at the northern part of the Negev. We ate dinner, played games, and reflected on the highs and lows of our trip up to this point. It is beautiful here (and the stray cats are adorable in my opinion) but we will be on the move again tomorrow for many more memorable adventures.