On that Northern Grind

"This is the most adventurous thing I think I've ever done", I said to my two friends as we climbed aboard the All-terrain vehicle (ATV) in the Golan Heights. The wind was blowing in our face and the engine was revved up, ready to go. Was I ready? That I was a little unsure about. This past weekend, I went on a Shabbaton to the Golan Heights, an area in the North of Israel. I only knew what I read on the itinerary which was short, sweet, but left the details out. Anyway, my time in Israel is scarce and I want to be able to do everything and anything provided, to live out the experience to the fullest...but before we go to far, I put the limit at driving the ATV, I only wanted to be a passenger. Me + driving an ATV = 2much2handle. Boy what a freaking ride. It was the most amazing, scary, exhilarating, crazy and definitely most adventurous thing I've ever done. We stopped halfway to see the view at the Ramot Naftali lookout - a view of the Hula Valley, the Golan Heights, Mt. Hermon and southern Lebanon. Wow. What a view!!

After we ATVed, we ventured to the Galil Winery, where we swished our cups and took in the grapey smells of the wine. If I'm going to be honest though, the wine wasn't that good...not that I'm a connoisseur of any type, but I like my wine White and bubbly (Moscato is my fave). After that, we took the bus to our Hotel up north. I use the term hotel very lightly, as that was what it was explained to us on the itinerary, but a hotel....not so much. We had the pleasure of staying in hostel-like quarters in the Keshet Moshav in the Golan heights. We learned, once outside the Moshav, which is a cooperative community of famers, we were about 4 kilometers from Syria...kewl. We celebrated Shabbat dinner in the חדר אוכל (dining room) of the Moshav and then slept a respective 11 and a half hours, even with the semi-icky bed conditions, we passed out immediately. It was a long weekend, but full of new experiences. I met some new people on my program and bonded with them, which was great. I'm happy to be back "home" in Tel Aviv or Ramat Aviv, whatever you want to call it, and our last week of Ulpan starts tomorrow. ברוך השם (thank God), not that I don't enjoy Ulpan, I just don't enjoy waking up for it. On a good note, I'm fluent in Hebrew on the DL (down-low)....okay, fluent might be a stretch, but I am definitely rocking it out in the real world. It's really a great feeling being able to understand a once "foreign" language, which is now becoming extremely familiar.