July 16th, 2015
Dear Diary,
So today I was leader of the day which was very exciting because it was my first time being able to really take responsibility. We started off the day at 6h30 and by 9h30 we had arrived in Holon at Save a Child's Heart children's home. A nice lady named Chelsea welcomed us and told us about the organization and what it does. In a nutshell, it is an organization that treats children from developing countries who suffer from congenital heart disease. SACH brings these children to Israel so that they can receive the required treatments/surgeries.
We had bubbles that we could blow and art works that we made with them. It was incredible and inspiring to see the joy, hope and overall positivity in these children's eyes, whether they were before or after their treatment. After seeing these young children whose lives are being saved by SACH almost everyday for the past 20 years, it actually made me want to get involved with this organization in the future (either by volunteering, creating awareness or fundraising).
After that we headed to the Ayalon Institute in the Rehovot area. This is a cool secret underground bullet factory that has been preserved since the 1940's when it was used. The guide showed us the machines that were used as well as the bullet parts made and some other facilities. The most amazing of all was a little room with a UV lamp which the workers used to tan and get vitamin D so that no one would know they were actually working underground all day. This little room is considered as the first tanning salon ever in Israel. It also shows how the Jewish settlers thought of everything and worked extremely hard to ultimately be able to establish a state. After the tour we had lunch outside and then left towards the beach.
We had some time to enjoy the sun and have fun! Unfortunately I got a small jellyfish sting but it was a new experience for me and it's really not as bad as I thought. By the time we got to the children's museum in Holon I didn't even feel the sting anymore. In the museum we had the opportunity to experience the typical day of a visually impaired person by walking around in complete darkness. Even though it was my second time doing this, I still had a hard time using my other senses and getting around. Following the experience we had a short ma'agal where almost everyone mentioned how hard it was to lose your vision and I think this made us all appreciate the fact that we can see. We then got to the hotel, had dinner and then had a ma'agal Laila which was actually a fun ma'agal. Everyone participated and it left us in a light mood.
As leader of the day, I passed the flag on to the leader of the next day and gave her advice. What I learned as a leader is that you always need to be on top of things and know what's going on. Being leader of the day for the first time also taught me to take responsibility over a group. Whether it is to make sure everyone's there or make sure they all stay hydrated, it takes responsibility and awareness. Overall this day was packed and tiring yet quite amazing! I'm looking forward to being leader of the day again and I'm excited for another full day in Jerusalem tomorrow!
Goodnight, love,
Maya
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