(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

By Emily Goldstein

Last Updated 1/14/2022 at 8:30 AM

Somewhere in the Arava– So this Taglit trip has been A-Ma-Zing! I can’t believe they let us into the country finally! We’ve seen EVERYTHING! And our bus is so fun!

Also, the IDF guys on our bus are so down to earth and chill!  This one guy Danny is something called a “Lone Soldier“? He’s pretty cool, but is it weird that he eats all the food off our plates when we’re full? Or when we get up to go to the bathroom? Is that like an Israeli custom? Anyways, they’re all great. This other guy named Itzhik was in the Navy, and get this: He’s a dolphin! Can I say that? Is that racist?

Anyway, Itzhik is so cool! He just got back from Gaza and I guess he did some crazy stuff there. So it gets even crazier!  Every time we get back on the bus, Itzhik brings me a small present!  Yesterday he brought me a piece of string. Today he brought me a small mackerel!  Is this like an Israeli thing that I don’t know about? Is he flirting with me?

So tonight we’re going to stay at a Guest House on the edge of this giant crater in the Negev!  How cool is that? And guess who wants to show me a special spot where you can see all the stars!  Itzhik!  Wait, is this moving too fast?

OK, this is bullshit. As we were getting ready to leave the Ecological Desert Kibbutz, I ran into Jessica from Boston and she was talking about how tonight Itzhik promised to show her “a special spot where you can see all the stars.“

I hate Israeli dolphins.