"Israelis are just like the pigeons in Rabin Square. We are very in your face."

Rabin Square was an interesting insight into the assassination that changed the course of the country, especially in terms of how government officials behave in public. After seeing the memorial, we saw a guy's car break down in the square. Not uncommon, says Ariel, so we help him. When he got the car started the whole square applauded. We met a representative from Mayanot NEXT!, which was cool.

We took a drive to Yafo for some history and some shopping. The city was beautiful, right along the Mediterranean. We heard a little history about the ruins that exist from the Roman times. I went to eat with Alon, Josh and Sarah. He says it's my turn to order only in Hebrew, so I tried my best, and got pretty far. The schwarma was incredible and gigantic. After we tried to eat, we made it to the flea market. I overheard a shopkeeper try to rip off another Taglit student, so I decide I'll go in speaking Hebrew. It went surprisingly well. I bought two necklaces, both of which were talked down substantially. We left Yafo after another tie-in session for the Bedouin tents in the Judean desert.

On the way we stopped at a rest stop, I met a soldier who had made Aliyah from West Orange, New Jersey. He was maybe 19 or 20 and headed to Gaza the following morning. He looked scared out of his mind, and frankly I don't blame him.

The bedouin tent was like Disneyland. Nothing near authentic, but a lot of fun. We heard a guy play ud, which was cool. We had a delicious dinner and some tea, and got set for a long night by the campfire. Max and I played guitar, people traded off on djembe, and the whole group had a camp-song session. It was really cool. After a while, a bunch of our bus marched into the desert and got a 'taste of the Israeli Army.' I never liked stuff like that, but why not? It's another adventure. Afterwards, we took a chance to meditate on our lives and enjoy the silence of the desert. It was beautiful after all.

I abandoned the group for a while to think and get a little alone time. I ran into an AEPi brother at Chicago by the camel pen. We talked for a while until we noticed that two of the camels were having sex before our very eyes. Believe me when I say that camel sex is some of the funniest sex ever. We returned to the fire, which was dying out at this point, and I grabbed Chele and took her to the camels. It was pretty cool, and she and I got to talk about a lot of deep stuff. The other Taglit students would disagree, but I saw a different side of her then. We returned and smoked hookah with Eric, Alon and Nadav. I think we went to bed around 4 but I honestly don't know.