Tel Aviv

We were heading back to Jerusalem in the evening, and we still had a lot to see and do in Tel Aviv. I was not particularly excited about waking up so early - having been up late enjoying the first few hours of 2008. Our first stop was a university - the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), where we heard lectures titled Encroaching Islam, and Counter-terrorism.

From there we learned about IsraAID - an Israeli organziation that is committed to humanitarian aid around the world. We also heard about Save A Child's Heart - which is an organization that performs life saving heart operations on children from 3rd world countries. They bring the child and their family to live in Israel while the doctors perform the necessary operations and give treatment. Following the introduction, we went to the house where the children and their families were living. We came with balloons and candy for the children. This was a great experience to be able to meet these kids. Communication was difficult because the families were from all over Africa, and the Middle East; Neither English nor Hebrew seemed to be a middle ground for conversation. What we did learn from the families was that none of them knew much about Israel, and if it were not for Save A Child's Heart, their children would definitely have died due to their heart conditions.

After the visit, and the long day we headed back to Jerusalem. Due to our previous horrible accomodations (having 10 people crammed into a room with one bathroom) we got upgraded to a hotel with 3 people per room - which was a major upgrade. The hotel even served a great breakfast, which in itself is much better than our previous Jerusalem accommodations.