This morning we got up, did the final packing of our stuff, and took all the luggage down to the bus.
After breakfast, we didn't hop on the bus and go anywhere. No, today was our last day, and things were a bit different. We went down to the room where we'd partied the night before, and had our "sikkum", or evaluation, with Tal.
We went through every single day of the trip, and gave our feedback about each activity. We also talked about accommodation, food, transport, and - of course - the madrichim. Basically, the sikkum was a 2-hour long bitching and complaining session: people had things to whine about for every little activity, they left out not a single fault, and gave very little praise.
We also filled out an evaluation form, where I gave primarily good feedback about the trip. I gave particularly strong praise to Shabbat in Tzfat, which was my favourite thing on the trip. I think the sikkum helped Tal in terms of improving Academy for future years; however it would have been more useful if people hadn't been so pedantic.
Following the sikkum, we went back to our rooms for the last time, to clean them up. It was quite sad, after being in so many different hotel rooms all over Israel, to leave Hotel Ariel knowing there would be no more. The rooms were a bit messy from partying last night, but we got them cleaned up; and then we said goodbye to Hotel Ariel and got on the bus.
Luckily, the weather today was very good, so none of our activities (all of them being outdoors) were spoilt. Our first stop today was a final visit to the kotel. As we've now done many times, we entered the Old City through the Zion gate, walked through the Armenian quarter, and from there got to the kotel.
We didn't have much time: so as soon as we were past security and in the kotel plaza, I went straight to the wall itself. I asked the Bocherim there for a pair of Tefillin (left-handed), and put them on. One of the guys there made me completely unwrap the arm strap, because he reckoned I had to wrap it around the arm box as part of the 'Shin'.
With my Tefillin on, I went up to the wall, and davened Shacharit as quickly as I could. I kissed the wall, and wished the kotel goodbye; and after a mere 20 mins, it was time to go.
Not only were we saying goodbye to the kotel, we were also saying goodbye to Jerusalem; for as soon as we got back on the bus, we drove straight out. I was so sad, I got Simon to put on "Always look on the bright side of life". The whole day, most of us were very quiet and solemn (whether because of sadness, hangover, fatigue, or a combination, I'm not sure).
The JNF (KKL) tree plantation, between Jerusalem and Tel AvivWe drove west, down the tall hills of Jerusalem, down into the coastal plain. We went to a big forest, 90% of which was planted by JNF. Our activity: to plant some more trees of our own. It was quite remarkable, to actually witness the product of our blue-box collecting labours back home. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that JNF had sone so much to beautify the land of Israel.
Academy 2 with a bunch of hoesEach of us was given a tree, and there were "several hoes to go around" (all the old jokes returned!); and then we started planting. We had to wear plastic bags over our shoes, so we wouldn't bring mud onto the bus or get our shoes dirty. I planted my tree in a little hole, with everyone else's: I can now say that I've planted my first tree in Israel! Also a very fitting time, since Tu Bish'vat is only a week away.
Getting down and dirty with my tree plantationBefore we left the KKL forest, we said goodbye to Emma and Alana, who were picked up by family at the forest, in order to be on time for their flight to London. There were many hugs and kisses (especially with Emma and Lanzer!), and then we went off and had lunch.
Lunch was at an almond grove a bit further west. The food was nice, and we also had a little tour of the grove. This was our last meal as a group, and it was another very sad occasion. It was also the first time we saw Academy 1 in their bright red jumpers, which - despite their brightness - are nothing compared to ours. We have a map of Israel with cartoons, and all they have is their nicknames! (Of course, we never even considered putting nicknames on our jumpers... did we?).
After lunch, where we had a little ceremony where we got certificates from Taglit (and other stuff), our last stop - EVER - was the Israeli miniature park. This place was awesome! It's got miniature (but still pretty huge) models of almost every landmark in Israel. The model of the Kotel and Dome of the Rock was beautiful; and some of them, like the chairlift on the Hermon, even had moving parts!
Model of Masada at the miniature parkI took heaps of photos of the miniatures, because they just look so realistic, not to mention stunning. It's the perfect way to end the trip: seeing all the places we'd visited, in one little park. Lots of people hired buggies, to drive round the park in: there were some psycho drivers around, let me tell ya.
We stayed at the park much longer than we needed to (both Academy groups). We hung around in the restaurant and had coffee, and many of the guys played with a bouncy ball outside (very fun). We were all feeling sad that it was coming to an end; but we were also relieved to finally be going home.
Avi, 'the decent one' (our favourite bus driver!)The last bus ride to the airport was probably the most emotional ride I've ever been on. We were hugging each other the whole way there, and we said a big farewell to Avi, the bus driver that actually drove safely (unlike Ronnie). We also got back our passports and tickets, which had been kept in a safe for the past six weeks.
And then we finally got to the airport, and took off our luggage; and for the people staying in Israel, it really was the last goodbye. I said a big goodbye to heaps of people; but biggest of all I gave to Asher [who's staying in Israel for a whole year]. We went in to the terminal, and we didn't see them again.
Checking in at the airport took ages. Each person was questioned by security; and all our luggage was x-rayed before we even got to the El Al counter. The bag with all my souvenirs was emptied, and a security girl checked each item by hand. It took forever.
Baggage check-in didn't take quite as long; and customs was very quick (surprisingly). After that, it was just a question of waiting for about 3 hours. We occupied ourselves by eating dinner, and by shopping a bit.
We boarded at about 9:30pm. As I looked out the window, I saw the lights of Israel for the last time. Then we took off, and the plane left Israeli soil; and the cityscape of Tel Aviv faded behind us, and was gone.