Day 4: Part 2

Seaside Trek through Jaffa and Community Planning

Today we went to the beautiful, ancient, Ottoman influenced city called Jaffa. With its winding cobblestone roads, mosaic doors, arcs, and thousands of years of history behind us, this city was truly magical. Jon gave us a background on how the traveling men used to enter the old city, and we then stopped to have lunch while overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. During this time, we had another organizational session to further discuss ideas about the people we would like to get involved with JHP and how we should approach recruitment.

- Carly Gordon

Tel Aviv Surf Club

After touring Jaffa, we took a short bus ride to the Tel Aviv Surf Club on the Mediterranean Sea, a truly beautiful sight.  Everyone had the option of surfing, kayaking or relaxing on the beach. The waves were calm so a bunch of us put on a wetsuit, grabbed a board, and got a very quick lesson from our instructor Johnny. Within 5 minutes we were in the water trying to surf. Some of us were better than others, but it was definitely a great experience I will never forget.  I heard the kayaks were really relaxing and peaceful. With the calm waves, everyone was allowed to float to the rocks and enjoy the beautiful scenery that surrounded them. Towards the end of our time at the Tel Aviv Surf Club, we enjoyed being beach bums and shopping at the surf shop… a wonderful way to end this afternoon activity.

- Traci Bloom

Nagala’at Center Blackout

Wow…where do I begin?  This was without a doubt one of the most unique experiences I could say all of us have probably ever had.  When we first arrived, we had a brief introduction from one of the employees at “Blackout,” when he explained a little more about the center and what to expect of the evening. He also went through all of the food options we could choose from, including salmon, gnocchi, Thai noodles with vegetables, white fish, or “surprise.”  We also got to choose a dessert, such as ice cream, dark chocolate mousse, white mousse, or “surprise.”  Before going inside, we gave our orders to one of the people who worked there. Then, we all split into groups, since a few different blind waiters and waitresses were assigned per table of 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8. After waiting for each table to get ready, the waiter or waitress greeted us at the door and led us through a completely dark room, where you could only hear everyone around you but not see a thing.  The waiter or waitress helped us get seated and served us bread and mint water to “calm” us down a bit (it was a very strange feeling to not be able to see anything at all!).  We were then served our meals and desserts, being as careful as possible to not spill anything—luckily, they made us all put bibs on before going inside the pitch black!  This was an eye opening experience to be able to “feel” the world of a blind individual and make us appreciate what we have even more.

- Carly Gordon

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