Wake up, check out, load the bus, board the bus, drive. We've gotten good at this routine. Our first stop today is an elementary school. I duck under a doorway clearly made for the second graders we're here to see and take a seat on the floor. The principal explains our activity or the morning: decorate the wrapping paper for care packages en route to IDF soldiers. She opens the door we had just enter through and in flood hoards of children. The first one through slides half the length of the floor to settle beside Jon and me.
Our brown wrapping paper is immediately filled with Magen Davids, and a landscape of flowers, maple leaves and airplanes. We slap stickers over the paper and I draw a 3x3 grid in a corner and add an "X" to the center square. One of the kids nearby immediately adds his own "O" to the corner. After an intense battle I lose the match and my opponent graciously accepts my high-five.
A couple games later and recess is called. The kids grab a beaten, foam ball and pick teams for an all-out soccer match. We quickly lose track of the score and enjoy running around, none of us acting our age.
Before recess ends I find one of my drawing partners and raise him up onto my shoulders. He's excited by the vantage point and giggles happily as I run him around the schoolyard. I put him down and another boy jumps on my back. I run him around and when I reach the starting point I notice. Line has formed. I take each one around in turn, all of them loving the experience. As I'm heading for the gate I feel a lat tug on my shirt and look down to see the first child hoping to get another turn. I oblige and run around another lap. When I crouch down to let him off he refuses to let go. Unable to resist his happy grin I run him around another lap. And another.
We continue like this until I'm on the verge of collapsing. His teacher comes to the rescue and pulls him inside. One last high-five and I board the bus. The kids had exhausted me and I fall right asleep.
I wake up as we pull into Rabin Square. We can see the eight soldiers that will soon be a part of our group waiting for us on the benches. When the bus stops everybody rushes to greet them. We play our ice breakers, get a lesson on the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, relive the birth of Israel at Independene Hall and head to lunch at the Carmel Market.
One satisfying falafel later and we drive south for several hours. As usual, I sleep through most of the drive and wake up to find the landscape drastically different from the one we left. The palm trees are replaced ith mountains and the grass with red sand as we go through the heart of the Negev Desert. We drive off road and reach our Bedouin Camp.
We're led to an area where two women are handing out tea and coffee. I take a cup of each and take a big gulp of the tea. Its sweetness surprises me but I love it and down the cup quickly. Moving onto the coffee, I drink about half the cup before I realize there's nothing but grinds left. These Beouins like their coffee strong!
Just outside the camp there are a group of camels and donkeys. I'm a little too slow as the last camel is taken just before I reach it. I hop on top of a donkey and let my feet dangle comically close to the ground. We ride out a couple hundred meters before the guide halts our rides and tells us to dismount. It's finally time. The camels have dropped onto their knees and I hop on top of the one in front. I feel a jolt as it raises to it legs and starts the walk back to camp. The camel's taller than I expected but I lie the ride nonetheless. We get back to camp and I slide off.
Dinner is a feast. We sit on the floor in groups of four as dish after dish is brought to us. Mounds of couscous and beef later we're all stuffed. We play games in our tent of 50 and sit around the fire. This is by far one of the best camping experiences I've ever had. One of the soldiers, Shaul, plays songs for us on guitar. He knows all our requests and I start shouting out tunes from the piano bar I love back in Toronto.
When the fire dies, everyone retires to the tent. I grab my sleeping bag and lie on a bench outside, staring at the stars. Their natural light makes me realize how far from my big city home I am. But I don't care. I think about how much I love it the exact moment I'm in and fall fast asleep until dawn.
Hebrew word of the day, happy: שםח (sa-may-ach)
Well, David, you write very well. You've always been a big kid so I can see how the little ones liked you so much. However, it's hard to believe you were beaten at tic tac toe. I never made it to the desert but it gives me a good reason to go back. Sounds just lovely. Enjoy Eilat!
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