After breakfast in Jerusalem, we drove to Tel Aviv to participate in “Tel Aviv Day.” This day we were given two unique activities which we had chosen previously with a period of free time in between. For these activities, the entire birthright group was split into four smaller groups of twelve people each. The activities that the groups chose included a co-existence seminar, beach time, a cooking seminar, a percussion activity, and a DJ seminar.
Once we arrived in Tel Aviv, each group was dropped off at the location of their first activity. My group had beach time for our first activity in which we were able to play volleyball, matkot (a popular paddle ball game in Israel similar to beach tennis), and sunbathing. We also were provided with a Zumba class on the beach, along with great music and free watermelon. After a few hours at the beach, we were given some free time in which we had to stay as a group. As a group we decided to walk to Shuk HaCarmel, which is the biggest market in Tel Aviv, for lunch and to explore the market.
After our free time was over, we headed to the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv in which we had our percussion activity. In the auditorium, we went to sit down in the audience, and there were instruments placed on each seat. Each section of seating had a different instrument – some had sticks, some had flippers, and some just used their hands and feet. There were instructors on the stage that showed us how to play our instruments to the same beat. They went one instrument at a time, showing us how to play our instrument with the beat. At the end, each instrument had their own beat, but when everyone played together they formed a beautiful song using only simple objects.
After the percussion activity, we all got on the bus, picked up everyone from the other activities, and went to our new hotel in Tel Aviv on Ben Yehuda Street. At the hotel, we only stored our stuff, and then got ready to go out to Jaffa and Tel Aviv. We headed to the old city of Jaffa to an outdoor concert venue where the old clock tower was. We took some photos with the Tel Aviv coastline in the background, and then headed into the concert venue. At the concert venue, we were given sandwiches, water, and popsicles to eat for dinner. After eating, we went down to get seats at the stage, where we enjoyed an awesome concert by the great Israeli rap group Hatikva 6. Before the concert however, we were given a short speech by the CEO of Birthright, Gidi Mark.
After the concert, we headed to Tel Aviv night life, in which we enjoyed various bars and food. We were first taken to a very nice outdoor bar, in which we could go on our own for a few hours afterwards.
After our time out in Tel Aviv, we headed back to the hotel, had rooms assigned and called it a night to prepare for day eight!