Last Day in Israel

By Aleeza Schoenberg Wednesday, our last day in Israel, Boston was alone. To use a cliche: it was bittersweet. We were sad to be leaving and we also missed our Haifa friends, but were also glad to spend one more day in Israel together as a group. During time at a water park, we went on rides and went swimming. For the majority of that time, however, many of us sat around in the shade talking and bonding. Next we walked to the children's museum, where we were guided through and experiential exhibit on deafness. Not able to talk or hear, we communicated through body language, facial expression, and hand movement. At the end our tour guide, in sign language, answered our questions. Before our departure, we had one last stop. We went to the blackout restaurant. There, in pitch darkness, we experienced blindness. The skilled waiters guided us and served us delicious food. Just like how in silence we connected visually, in darkness we connected through words. Many of us formed our own visualization of the restaurant without ever seeing it. Learning about blindness and deafness gave us a better understanding of communication and of people who are blind or deaf. Finally, it was time to leave. We said tearful goodbyes to our JCs Arianna and Kineret, and to Avi, Shachar, and Noah. Then we boarded our flight and slept.