Negev Tiyul

For two and a half days this week I (Rina) was on a Pardes Tiyul in the Negev. I was a little apprehensive about going especially because Jon was ditching me and not coming, but it ended up being a lot of fun. We stayed in this place in the Negev called Hatzeva Village. It is a little enclosed area with 95% of the population being Thai. The Thai people are there for cheap farming labour. In the middle of this Thai area this Israeli guy opened what he calls an Israeli version of a Bedouin Tent. It was really cute. It is basically a large area partially enclosed with a bamboo roof. The place was decorated with mats and tapestries, colourful mattresses and hammocks, and a jacuzzi. There were some rooms off to the side for people who did not want to sleep outside. They even had the delicious mint tea and turkish type coffee. It was great and the food was delicious (there was steak at a Pardes event!). One of the nights I went with a few people star gazing, which was very pretty. During the days we hiked. The first day I was there we went on a hike called Nahal Gav which involved a 6 hour hike with ropes and ladders. It was awesome! The second day we went on a hike in the Machtesh Ramon which was also very beautiful. I definitely have a new-found appreciation for the desert and realize that everything in the desert really does look significantly different.
Overall, the tiyul was really fun and gave me an opportunity to really get to know some of the people, which I have not really made an effort to do yet. It was also fun to have a girl slumber party, which is very foreign once you get married.