I am legitimately lost for words. As I sit here and attempt
to summarise my feelings about my 5 months in Israel on Aviv I struggle to find
adequate vocabulary to quantify the number of great memories I have accrued,
friendships I have made as well as positive changes in my character I have
undergone. Israel is a very special place which means a lot of things to a lot
of people, to me, the past 5 months have led me to believe that it represents
hope for the Jewish people and without it we are significantly less rich as a
people. Leaving Israel has brought me seriously mixed feelings; on one hand, I am
very ready to move on, have a great time in Europe with new and old friends and
eventually return home to Sydney and continue with daily life. On the other
hand, Israel has been great to me and I leave behind some of my very best
friends and in addition to this, I depart at an exceedingly volatile time
following the discovery of the corpses of the 3 Israeli teens who were
kidnapped whilst hitchhiking in the West Bank. I sincerely hope the situation does
not escalate into yet another war in Israel, where there quite simply will be
no victor thanks to mutual loss of life.
Aviv ended rather anti-climactically, after a final few days
which included many introspective style programs as well as reflection on various
relationships established, culminated in a farewell to the madrichim, a
receiving of our Aviv jumpers, a slideshow of our time in Israel and a tear-jerking
final goodbye session, I headed off to the airport still without a real
comprehension that it had already been 5 months since I headed overseas. I sat
at the airport for a full 6 hours waiting to checkin for my flight, which I
passed by doing various quizzes online, before I boarded my flight from Tel
Aviv to Munich, I flight which I slept the entirety of… including take-off. I
then completed the final 2 legs of my poorly planned flight with a few hours
spent waiting at each airport, Munich to Berlin and Berlin to Barcelona… yes I
did go backwards to go forwards.
I finally arrived in Barca suitably exhausted, I collected
my bags after my fears that the typically rude El Al staff had lost were
thankfully not confirmed. I then attempted to head off to my accommodation only
to be informed that the cab drivers were on strike today, using my newfound
independence I hopped on a bus and headed for the city centre, arrived and then
headed down to the metro station and hopped on a train, thinking how easy this
travelling thing is and how soon I would be reclining in my accommodation. How
wrong I was… soon after I realised I had boarded a train going the opposite
direction that which I desired, and so promptly hopped off and headed in the correct
way before missing my stop, opting to walk and getting lost in the winding
labyrinth which are the streets of Barcelona. I did eventually arrive, and was
shown to my quarters by the owner of the apartment; I sat down on the bed after
over 12 hours in transit, let out a great sigh and thought “what have I gotten
myself into?!” I was soon put at ease as I met up with Sam, Eli, Robbie,
Robbie, Haim, Stevie, Ari, Jordan and Hannah, all people who I spent the much
of my schooling life with, a good ol’ fashion reunion which really overwhelmed
me. We soon headed off to the Park Guell, where we marvelled at a beautiful
view of the entire city of Barcelona… also a dog slobbered on me. I soon
retired home for a much needed rest.
The next day I awoke and ate some breakfast before heading
off to the Camp Nou, home ground of the world famous FC Barcelona with Jordan,
Eli and Sam. It was a truly wonderful tour, we saw the stadium inside and out,
gazed at the museum and history of the club as well as some of its most
captivating plays and players. I was truly able to comprehend where I was and I
sure loved it! It was the perfect welcome to Europe! We soon headed back to our
accommodation.
It truly was a whirlwind end to Israel and beginning to
Europe, I sincerely hope I can make as many connections, new memories and cool
experiences in Europe as I did in Israel. I am so excited to continue my
travels for the next month and I hope that you can live the next two months
vicariously through me via this blog!
Love from Barcelona!
Jake
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