Shalom, Today was so hot that we went for a swim in the Dead Sea. We were totally weightless!! The Dead Sea is 99% salt so you will never sink! It is called the Dead Sea because nothing can live in it. It is 1,300 feet below sea level, the lowest point on earth. We had fun doggie paddling in the water. We quickly learned that you should not go into the water with a cut. Ouch! Bazooka accidently got water in his mouth and it tasted bitter and oily-gross! After swimming we covered ourselves with mud. It’s not like digging in the dirt at home. The mud here is full of minerals and good for you skin. When he was covered in mud, Bamba was as dark as me. Across from the Dead Sea there is a park called Ein Gedi. You can see lots of wild animals there. The symbol of Ein Gedi is the ibex. See you later, Bazooka and Bamba ,'b d¨zi¦M l¤W mi¦cEn¨g mi¦ci¦n§lz ¨ i¦M K¨M `x¨w¦ § p g©l¤nd© m¨i .m¨lFr©A KEn¨p i¦kd© mFw¨nd© d¤f .g©l¤nd© m¨i§l FhF`§A E§cx¨ ©i Epg© § p£` .cF`§n a¥`FM d¤f ,r¨vR ¤ m¦r g©l¤nd© m¨i§l Eq§pM¨ z l©` .g©l¤n 99%§e m¦in¨ wx© ,FA mi¦ig ¨ oi¥` dt¨ ¤ i mFw¨n d¤f .i¦cb¤ oi¥r§l Ep§k©l¨d m©b !s¥M d¤fi¥` .sEv©l wx© ,g©l¤nd© m¨iA§ rFw§W¦l x¨Wt¤ § ` i¦` .zFl£r©i d¤Ax© § d m¨W W¥i .cF`§n ,ad¨ ,ad¨ d¨An§ A¨§e dwEf¨ ¨ A
Dear Totally Awesome 3rd Grade, We just got off the Egged bus in Jerusalem. Right now we are heading to the Old City to visit the Western Wall (the Kotel). We can’t wait to see the only wall remaining from the second Temple (Beit HaMikdash). It is hard to believe that the stones in the wall have been there for 2,000 years. At the Kotel, we will see the Dome of the Rock which is a Muslim mosque. Did you guys know that Jerusalem is important to three different religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We are here! People are praying and putting little notes in the cracks between the stones. They believe that their messages will go straight to G-d. We have a special wish so we added our own little message to The Wall. By now we are sooooo... hungry so we are going to the Shuk (market place) for lunch and shopping. We ate kibbles with a side of falafel. The food was doglicious! After lunch we bargained for collars with stars of David on them. Our time in the Old City ended with a very bumpy ride on very feisty camel.
Next we left the Old City and we headed to Hadassah Hospital (not as patients) to see the famous Chagall stained glass windows. Each window represents one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. They were very colorful. From there we visited the Knesset, the center of Israel government. Bamba insisted on posing in front of the huge Menorah outside of the Knesset. Woof, woof, Bazooka and Bamba ,dx¨w§ ¨ id© 'b d¨zi¦M l¤zFM©dn¥ .i¦ax£ ¨rn¨ d© l¤zFM©l mi¦k§lFd Epg© § p£` e©Wk§ r¨ .m¦i©l¨WEx§iA¦ 'c¤b`¤ ' qEAFhF`¥n Ep§cx¨ § i Epg© § p£` ?zFz¨c WFl¨W§l d¨aEW¨g m¦i©l¨yEx§iW¤ mi¦rc§ Fi m¤z`¨ .r¨lq© ¤ d zRi¦ ¨ M c¨bq¦ § n z¤` zF`x¦l x¨Wt¤ §` l¤zFMd ixg` ¥ .l¤zFM©A mi¦pa £ `¨ A© mi¦nU¨§e w¤zR¤ mi¦az § FM Ep§g©p£` .m¨lqi¦ § `§e zEx§v¨p ,zEc©d¨i ..zq¤ ¤ pM§ A© §e wEW©A'dq£ ¨ cd¨ ' mi¦lFgd zi¥aA§ xw¨ ¥ a§l mi¦vFx Epg© § p£` d¨An§ A¨§e dwEf¨ ¨ A ,a¨d ad¨
Hello 3rd Grade, We are having a great time and feeling ‘woofy’ good. We are very lucky because we didn’t get any fleas yet (well maybe one or two). Today we went to Tiberias. Tiberias was once a great center for Jewish learning. Many great rabbis taught there and they were the first to use vowels with the Hebrew alef-bet. Next we went to see the Sea of Galilee. I pushed my brother in first but he managed to hold on to me and we both fell into the cold refreshing water. The Sea of Galilee (Kineret) is the largest fresh water lake in Israel. It is 13 miles long and 10 miles wide. There are a lot of fish to fish in the Kineret. We were so hungry after all that swimming. For lunch we ate falafel, salat, and doggie bones for dessert. See you soon, Bazooka and Bamba ,'b d¨zi¦M i¥ci¦n§lz ¨ .zx¤ ¤pM¦ d© z¤` zF`x¦ § l Ep§k©l¨d x¨aM§ .e©Wk§ r¨ d¨ix¤ § ah§ A§ mi¦`¨vn§ ¦p Epg© § p£` .o¨iEv§n mi¦Wi¦bx¨ § n Epg© § p£` `Ed l¨a` £ m¦in¨ ©l i¦g`¨ z¤` i¦zt© § gc¨ i¦p` £ .zx¤ ¤pM¦ A© mi¦bc¨ d¤Ax§ d¨ W¥i .d¨lFc§b§e dt¨ ¨ i zx¤ ¤pM¦ d© .mix¦w© ¨ d m¦in¨ A© zFg§U¦l s¥M d¨id¨ .c¨g¨i Ep§vt © w§ ¨ e i¦zF` q©tz ¨ ,ad¨ ad¨ §e zF`¨xz § d¦ §l d¨An§ A¨§e dwEf¨ ¨ A
Dear Chaverim, We took the train to beautiful Haifa. It is very pretty at night. Did you know that Haifa has twin towers? Haifa is the 3rd largest city in Israel. We took a taxi to the beach and played fetch with each other. We also rode our bikes and ran along the beach. It’s really cool here! Haifa is Israel’s main port. From the beach we saw ships from all over the world that bring things Israel doesn’t have. Then the ships load up with delicious Jaffa oranges and grapefruit to sell all over the world. We wanted to learn more about Israel so we went to Haifa University. After that we went to Carmel National Park where we went hiking through the Carmel mountains. From your mascots, Bazooka and Bamba ,mi¦¨xw§ ¨ id© 'b d¨zi¦M i¥ci¦n§lz ¨ xir d¨ti¥g .d¨ti¥g§l z¤aM¤ x© ¨A Ep§rq © ¨p Epg© § p£` d¨lc§ Fb§A zi¦Wi¦lW§ d© xi¦rd© `i¦d .cF`§n dt¨ ¨i ,xEc¨MA Epw¨ § gU¦ dti¥ ¨ g sFg§A .l¥`x§ ¨U¦iA§ d¨id¨ d¤f .lFgd l©r Epvx§¨e m¦i©ptF` ¨ l©r Ep§ak© x¨ .dti¥ ¨ gA§ `Ed l¨`x§ ¨U¦iA lFc¨b i¦kd© l¨n¨pd© .s¥M l¨Mn¦ zFlFc§b zFpit ¦ q§ m¨W Epi`x¨ Epg© § p£` l©r cFr cFn§l¦l Epi¦vx¨ d¤f ix© ¥g` £ .m¨lFr©d zhiq ¦ x¤ § ai¦pE` z¤` xw¨ ¥ a§l Ep§k©l¨d f¨` ,l¥`x§ ¨U¦i .dti¥ ¨g ,m¤k¨lW¤ mix¥ ¦ ag ¨ d© d¨An§ A¨§e dwEf¨ ¨ A
Shalom yeladim, We are fine. This morning we arrived in Eilat by plane, errr, by parachute. Eilat is a resort city located in the southernmost tip of Israel. First we went diving in the Gulf of Eilat. You can’t believe how many varieties of fish there are. They are beautiful! We also saw brightly colored coral. Most exciting was diving with real live dolphins! Our next stop was the Coral World Marine Park which includes aquariums, an underwater observatory, and rides on a glass bottom boat. Guess what happened during our boat ride? Bazooka wanted to catch a fish so he ran and dove... right into the glass! Luckily only the tip of his nose got hurt. Silly bazooka! For lunch we ate, what else but, grilled fish in a fish restaurant. We liked it a lot. Can we have fish for lunch at school? We miss you, Bamba and (pug-nose) Bazooka ,'b d¨zi¦M l¤W mi¦¨xw§ ¨ i mi¦ci¦n§lz ¨ l©r l¥`x§ ¨U¦i mFx§cA¦ xi¦r `i¦d z¨li¥` .z¨li¥`§l qFh¨nA§ Epr¨bd¦ Epg© § p£` xwFA© ¤ A .x¤cq§ ¤ A Epg© § p£` lFk¤`§l mi¦vFx Epg© § p£` .mi¦rh¨ d¨id¨ d¤f§e d¨cr¨ q¦ § nA mi¦bc¨ Ep§lk© `¨ Epg© § p£` ..z¨li¥` l¤W slEb©d c¨i .d¨zi¦MA© m¨b mi¦bc¨ d¨An§ A¨§e dwEf¨ ¨ A ,zF`¨xz § d¦ §l
Dear Totally Cool Third Grade, We are O.K. Right now we are exploring Tel Aviv. It is a very loud and busy city. Tel Aviv became a city in 1909 and it’s first mayor was Meir Dizengoff. Today 3/4 of all Israelis live here. To get around Tel Aviv everyone rides either the ‘Eged’ or ‘Dan’, which are the names of the buses here. Tel Aviv restaurants serve everything from eastern European to Middle Eastern food. We tasted hummus, shish kabob, tahina, and falafel in pita bread. Many people drink Turkish coffee with desserts like baklava, a yummy pastry. The Diamond District is amazing! Did you know that half of the polished diamonds in the world come from Tel Aviv? Some other main attractions here are the Tel Aviv Museum, Beit Hatefutsot, the Independence Hall, and old Jaffa. The Shalom Tower is the tallest building in Israel. We went up the glass elevator to the 32nd floor and saw the Mediterranean Sea. Tel Aviv was fun. See you soon, Bazooka and Bamba ,mi¦¨xw§ ¨ i dx§ ¤ag ¤ R W¥i .l¥`x§ ¨U¦iA d¨lFc§b i¦kd© xi¦rd© `i¦d ai¦a`¨ l¤z . .ai¦a`¨ l¤zA§ mFi©d mi¦l§ih¨ n§ Epg© § p£` m¨lFr©A mi¦Wh¨ El¥nd© mi¦nFl£d¨id© n¥ i¦vg £ W¤ mi¦rc§ Fi m¤z`¨ .m¨lFr©d l¨Mn¦ l¤kF` m¦r zFc¨rq¦ § n d¤Ax§ d¨ l¤W zi¦lr£ n© A© Epi¦lr¨ Epg© § p£` .ai¦a`¨ l¥zA§ `¨vn§ ¦p l¥`x§ ¨U¦iA§ dFa¨b i¦kd© o¨i§pa¦ d© .ai¦a`¨ l¥zn¦ md¤ d¨An§ A¨§e dwEf¨ ¨ A ,zF`¨xz § d¦ §l .mFlW o¨i§pA¦
Dear Third Grade Students, Please do not be sad or worried! We are fine. After we arrived at the airport, we decided that we liked Israel so much we wanted to return So we hopped back on the El-Al airplane and here we are. We are calling this additional trip our “Israel Canine Experience�. We promise to write everyday as we explore new places in beautiful Israel. Lehitraot, Bamba and Bazooka
LAST LETTER Shalom Bamba and Bazooka, How are you? I already miss you guys so much. Traveling through Israel with you was awesome! Did you third grade chaverim enjoy all the pictures I took during your “Israel Canine Experience”? I am sending one more photo, a picture of myself so you won’t forget me. XOXOXO, Your Israeli friend, Bisly P.S. Guess what you guys? Soon your Israeli friend will be coming to Jacksonville, Florida. I can’t wait! Lehitraot