The dinner took place at local restaurant, Cherry. Ironically no cherries were actually served at the meal, but it was thoroughly enjoyed none the less. A three course meal consisted of an assortment of salads, potato dishes, delectable pastas, and vanilla ice cream to conclude. Sami claims the vanilla ice cream was delicious. It was certainly the perfect opportunity for the group to bond. The dinner provided for good conversations, but the majority of the bonding occurred at a neighboring location; the bar. Parents, we are a group of 18-22 year olds… but don’t you worry, we only played Monopoly. I was the thimble.
Group 389 danced at “Big Ben” Bar (We’re in Israel not the UK right?). I don’t know if the bar name is a technique to lure in English speaking tourists, or if the bar owners are just London fans, but regardless we all flocked there. Excluding our group’s Israeli guard Rafael, the Big Ben demographic was an extremely narrow one: Taglit-Birthright Mayanot members. The added treat was the company of another Mayanot group! So we were not only fortunate to dance among the 389-ers, but also other Americans that were granted the gift of Birthright. We were in good company. According to our guard Rafael, the Big Ben drink prices were standard for Israel bars, but none of us were expecting to pay for $15 drinks. Oh well, we did. At around 11:30 pm, or 23:30 as the call it here, a number of short-bus like cabs picked us up from the downtown area to bring us home. Some went to bed, but for many the night was far from over. Well, “Far” is an overstatement. We all had to prepare for another early morning.
Without going into further detail about the night, I am sure you can all conclude that 389’s first “night out” was a successful one. Our second one cannot come soon enough!