Day 1 - Flora's Thoughts

So today is our first full day here in Israel and it is so BEAUTIFUL! We stayed at the homes of families last night and mine is so nice, I'm staying with a girl named Mira and she has two sisters and an adorable dog named Lucky and extremely kind parents. Then this morning we had a guest speaker come to talk about the difficulties that Palestinians have to face on an everyday basis with their citizenship as well as their identity. It was really interesting and really saddening at the same time, and he talked about how the way the Palestinians are treated is really based from racism which is both really true and really horrible to hear. Then we bonded with the kids over games of ping pong, billiards and foozball. After having a good time just talking and playing games we sat down to watch a movie about how during 1948 the Palestinian villages were destroyed and the women really worked to help their people, the stories that we heard really gave me a new perspective because everything they lived through is something that I can't ever imagine happening to me or even ever in the US. Later today we will be going to the beach! I can't wait!
-Flora