Hey folks,
I'm coming off the high of an incredible weekend, preceded by a pretty fantastic week, despite being burdened by a head cold. Although I was sick, I got a lot done for my upcoming travels, including bookings, immunizations, medical purchases, and mental preparation. With the mental preparation part, I'm not sure if I will ever be completely prepared for the journey I'm about to make or my departure from Israel. I just have to trust that everything will work out and throw myself into the experience.
This past week was definitely full of new experiences. I had my first opportunity to do some karaoke in Israel on Tuesday night. It was one of our Group Monthly Fun activities and it was a blast. I have missed doing karaoke in Vancouver, and although I am usually aided in my confidence by a few beers, this time I did not have a single drink (due to being sick) and still had the time of my life. I sang "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles, "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers and "A Whole New World" from the Aladdin soundtrack, and overall did a pretty good job despite a sore throat and rusty vocal cords. There was a little awards ceremony for the top performers at the end of the night and I was honoured with heart-shaped chocolate lollipop, post-Valentine's Day.
But the best new experience of the week was the trip I just made this past weekend. Myself and four others rented a car and drove down to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve on Friday afternoon. We stopped for some spectacular views, checked out an area called the Flour Caves, and camped out next to the Dead Sea on Friday night. Although we didn't find the Flour Caves, we did stop at a cool wadi, a dried-out riverbed that we drove to after bumping up and down a rocky road for 20 minutes on what resembled the surface of the moon. We then decided to go to bed early in preparation for Saturday morning and our early wake-up. At 6AM, we woke up and went and registered for our 10K race at Ein Gedi. This is the 29th Ein Gedi race in Israel and there were about 3000 participants ready to run at 830 in the morning. We were supplied with timer chips and cool jerseys and drank lots of water to avoid dehydration. It was about 28 degrees Celcius outside at the start of the race and I felt so hot at some points along the track that it was tough to see through the sweat dripping into my eyes, but I completed the race in a great time of 1:05. My goal was to complete the race in an hour, but after a week of no training due to illness, I was very pleased with my time. Compared to the last 10K race I did in Vancouver, when I was super out of shape and walked a lot of it, I improved my time by 24 minutes! This race motivated me to stay in shape and keep running on a regular basis. It also motivated me to start a training regimen when I return home so that I can possibly have a half-marathon in my future.
We followed up the race with a trip to the Ein Gedi spa, which was free for all racers. We tried going in the hot springs, but were all impeded by blisters and cuts on our feet and different sorts of chafing that made the sulfurous water burn immensely. Instead, we chilled by the pool, and went down to the beach to cover ourselves in mud and have a little photoshoot. It was a fantastic way to follow up our accomplishment and a great day, one of my best in a long time! I watched out my window on the 2-hour drive home, amazed by the views and sad to know that two weeks from now, I don't exactly know the next time I will see them again. One thing is for certain: this will not be my last time in Israel!
I'm now entering my last week of school, my last visit with my family here, my last tiyul to Eilat this upcoming weekend, my last of everything! It is so crazy to think that five months has already passed and I know the pace won't slow down anytime soon once I am without a home base. All I can do is make the most out of every experience and hold onto the memories. I have started a Flickr account for photos in SEA and will post the address to my facebook account if any of you are interested. Otherwise, keep reading the blog if you want to be updated on my adventures and keep updating me on your lives. I haven't forgotten about you all and would love to know how you're doing!
Ciao for now,
Max
P.S. Don't forget to guess the song my blog title is derived from!
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