The first day of getting here was long but joyful. I hadn't even gotten to Israel, and I already had a warm welcome from the Israelis on the flight. Most of them were more grateful than amazed that I'm flying to Israel in a time like this to help out. I think that is when I started to realize the amazing thing that I am doing here.

“You are putting your regular life on pause and turning it upside down to help my people thousands of miles away, and for that, I am grateful,” the man in the seat next to me said when I told him I am a humanitarian volunteer for 6 weeks.

As the flight continued, I met more people and got to know their stories. Some volunteers, some world travelers, and the staff were amazingly fun. The flight attendants were really nice and gave me a lot of wine, which really brought my nerves down. As breakfast started, they went back to work, and I went back to my seat, pulled out "Animal Farm" (my reading at the time), and read about half the book before we landed.

The airport was interesting. After the El Al pat-downs at Miami airport, I thought I would go through the same, but they saw me, wished me luck volunteering, and sent me on my way.

The cab driver was really nice; he did not overcharge me and actually explained the Tel Aviv-Yafo highway system to me, which was really nice of him. Not that I plan on riding anything else but scooters while I’m here, but it is still nice knowledge. Then he left me exactly at the apartments, wished me luck, and left. All Israelis have been really nice like that.

The apartments were easy to get into. I had the codes, and everything was smooth but the elevator. The machine from 1980-something had been one of the scariest things I’ve done all trip. I promised myself only to use it when totally needed, like hauling luggage. So probably 2 times all trip.

In the apartment, I met Mike from California, and he was very helpful. He knows Hebrew, so he helped me get supplies and showed me around the street until our other two roommates arrived, Eitan from Mexico, and Avishai from the US also. So, there was one Mexican, two gringos, and a Tico in the apartment. Ironically enough, the Mexican and the Tico ended up with their own room and made the Americans share the bunker.

“We’re safe in the bunker” (Avishai)

After that, we went out for food and walked all over the Levinsky market areas. Multiple blocks down to the SW, we found an amazing Mexican place with an Israeli twist on the food, which was amazing.

After that, we got Tide Pods as responsible adults but no food or drink and went back to the apartment. Then we realized one fun fact.

Hanukkah is a couple of days around, and we all thought someone else would bring a menorah, so now we are building one out of wine and beer bottles.

At one time during the day, we had our first bombs and rockets, and they were actually not that far from our area. My roommate decided to stay out of the bunker and record, which was stupid. I went immediately inside and told the people I love what happened and that I was okay. A warming welcome from Hamas…

On Thursday of the first week, we had the opportunity to volunteer for the first time as a group. The location was a farm near Kiryat Gat, south of Tel Aviv. We were welcomed by what was described to me as the typical Israeli farmer—a grumpy-looking but loving old man always ripping darts. He was chain-smoking them back-to-back; he might have gone through 2 and a half packs by the time we left at 14:00. Anyway, he separated us into two groups and assigned tasks for the day.

My group, composed mostly of older volunteers, was in charge of picking lemons. The group included 30-year-olds like Eduardo and Carolina from Brazil, Zach from Miami, Yehuda from New York, Lou from France, and Edian and Miria from the US. We all got along so well; it felt like we were brothers. The rest of the volunteers were assigned to crop tomatoes; I'll have Sophie from Canada write a short paragraph about that experience since I couldn't be a part of it.

We picked lemons for about 4 hours until it was 12:00, and we had completed the rows the farmer wanted us to pick. We must have picked about a thousand lemons, if not more. Zack, being the biggest guy with the best carrying capacity, was taken in the truck by the farmer to carry around and load up the truck. The rest of us were in charge of picking big, yellow, or big and green lemons but no small ones. About 1 hour in, the Israeli volunteers joined us. I got to meet people from the south and north of Tel Aviv, Israelis, and others who all came together not only to support a nation but also to support a community under attack.

After finishing with the lemons, we were taken to a pomegranate field where we cleaned the trees' roots for them to grow healthy. Each one had a row to do until the end. Some trees were easy, some were full of spines. Thankfully, the pants I bought for myself back in Costa Rica were thick, and I did not cut myself when I fell into a bush of them. After finishing our rows, we were getting back, and the farmer had set up a table with all kinds of food—bread, tuna, vegetables, hummus, Greek yogurt, and cottage cheese. It looked delicious. Funny enough, when we attempted to call the others, he said, “No no, only my group,” which made us think that the other group had another table set up. But not. Twenty minutes later, they got called and offered whatever was left, which made my group feel a little bad. We treated it like an all-you-can-eat buffet; we thought it was all for 10 people, as the farmer signaled. But in the end, thankfully, everyone had their food.

After that, we hopped on the bus and were ready to go back home. It was the first night of Hanukkah, and there was a party at the Masa building for all the volunteers and interns to get to know one another.

When we left the apartment, the guys from apartment 1 and I walked together and arrived in time for the party. I had a final that night at 21:00 and I thought the party at 19:00 would only be for the candle lighting, but there were activities and games which I had to leave behind to do the final. Also, I said a joke that did not go well with some people but impressively enough did well with most afterward, so I decided to leave. You can ask me about the “Hanukkah too soon, man” story anytime.

Aside from that, I got to meet some great people like Benji from London and Leo from Italy. I also had the time to experience real menorah lighting in Israel; it was my first time singing the full song in Hebrew, but we did it, and it was fun. After that and a couple of team activities—volunteers vs. interns—I left to take my final at home. I got home just in time for my final and took it.

Afterward, Yehuda came over and saw me build my menorah out of 2 beer bottles and some plastic bags and was amazed by it. He said I had engineer potential. I opened the gift my friend gave me back home and was so happy I could not stop talking for about 2 hours. We spent those two hours having beers at a bar by the apartment. At 23:00 or 00:00, we both went home.

Afterward, I was tired; I talked to my friend on the phone for a while and went to bed.

On my first Friday in Israel, I knew I wanted challah. I woke up early in the morning, went out, and got a fresh challah, then came back home to cook breakfast. It was amazing; I love this bread. Funny enough, a couple of hours later, our coordinator Noeli brought us challah from the same bakery for Shabbat night; she also brought us wine.

During the day, I was out with Yehuda. We walked the main shuk for my first time, not the one by the house, and it was awesome. He described it as a kid in a candy store, and my face showed it. I had a full seven-course meal before I bought a single thing. Everyone was giving me samples and big portions. The food here is amazing. I had shawarma, falafel, babka, and so many other things that I just can't spell but want to keep eating.

At 14:00 everything closed because they all prepare for Shabbat, and by then, I was so full I did not mind it. Also, I ended up buying so much bread and babka at the end that I did not need to go looking. Yehuda is orthodox and practices Shabbat, so he was about to leave for his family's, and he was just going to spend the night at the apartment. When I got back at 14:30, I was going to go out for a jog, and suddenly the alarms rang. We had to go into the bunker, and all of Tel Aviv was being bombed; thankfully, the Iron Dome worked perfectly. Afterwards, it was safe to go out. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach, and it was really neat; there was no person inside. Everyone was out doing something, even after missiles. After a couple of hours, we were hungry and had Shabbat dinner at Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was finger-lickin' good, and it was also the only thing open on Shabbat.

When I got home around 17:45, I saw the bar on the corner was opened, which is why I wanted to go have an Israeli draft beer like last night. They are good, but I could not. At 17:59, we had to go back to the bunker because there were missiles again. After a while, we were back to safety, stepped out, and started Shabbat.

That night, Avishai and I stayed in and had wine and challah for Shabbat. After a bottle of wine, I could finally add a bottle to my menorah, and so I did. We did the candles all together and kept drinking wine. After another half a bottle, I decided to stop because we started talking politics, and that’s how some friendships end sometimes, so I decided to hear him out and immediately changed the subject, which thankfully worked. After an hour or so, I went to bed. I have been told that if no phones had been used, it would have been a regular Israeli night.

On Shabbat, I decided to take a break and do nothing for anyone but focus on self-productivity. I had a very self-productive morning, cleaning my room and the apartment while everyone else was asleep. I also did laundry. After that, I stayed at the apartment, read, and slept all day. It felt almost like a real Shabbat. Later in the night, we all went out to celebrate Carolina's birthday.

We spent the night at their apartment, drinking wine, having cake, and later went out clubbing. It was interesting walking around Tel Aviv at night. We started at the tender, ordered pizza and drinks, and stayed there for a while until an unexpected event occurred. Two benches, occupied by Zach, Eduardo, and Yehuda, suddenly crumbled to the floor. The entire tender burst into laughter and applause.

After that incident, we left for another club. As we were walking there in, a table of 12 Israeli women waved at me. I instinctively went to say hello, assuming my single friends were behind me. However, in the middle of introducing myself, I realized I was alone and surrounded by a group of Israeli single women. I immediately mentioned my friend back home and made it clear I was off-limits. Fortunately, the girls from apartment 1 showed up unexpectedly, providing me the perfect opportunity to exit and leave them talking among themselves.

Afterward, I walked home with Sophie, Becca, Lily, and I think Eidan, who called a friend for a while and then went to bed.

My first Sunday in Israel turned out to be a realization that Sundays here are like Mondays back home; it marks the beginning of the week for about 90% of the people, and they go back to work as usual.

I woke up at 6:00 after leaving my blinds open the previous night when I arrived at the club. The morning light was bright, and it was worth it. I noticed the amazing view I have from my window of the sunrise, a view I hadn't fully appreciated with my jet lag. The moon was big in the middle of the sky, and just at the horizon line, the sun started to rise. The closing colors and cold climate made it perfect—a heartwarming feeling that opens you up with hope.

About 40 minutes later, we were all downstairs ready to go on the bus for our first extracurricular trip with the group. The bus ride was an absolute trip. We were joined by students from another program, witnessing the first lighting of Hanukkah. We also met a new member, Gaby from South Africa, who turned out to be quite the character. As she told us a couple of stories on our way there, we realized the bus pulled over, and we were about to get out. I do not know if I should be impressed or ashamed. We stopped for a halfway cigarette and coffee break. It was a 1 hour 30 minutes bus ride, but we took advantage of it, had coffee, and stepped outside for a stretch. After 15 minutes or so, we got back on the bus, and the journey continued. Gaby's stories made the bus ride pass quickly; she has a lot to say, lol.

As we arrived at our destination, I found out we were at the Carmel Winery, the biggest and oldest winery in Israel. It was a great tour of how the wine is made and how it tastes. They showed us how they make everything kosher, and most of it was in Hebrew, so unfortunately, the most I understood was “No touching barrels.” We continued the tour from the kosher barrels to the old side of the winery that has all the fermentation barrels and machines that help them nowadays create the wine. As this went on, they told us how the building was made and why it was made in such a way with such material—it was all for the wine. As he finished, he showed us to the basement where we had enough chairs and glasses for everyone, and we pulled out about 35 bottles of 3 different wines. As he showed us the new 2023 version of the company and how they are expanding to social media, his coworker opened the wines and left them to breathe. Then they started pouring glasses for us, and it was great wine. I ended up buying two bottles of wine from the winery to have with a friend back home.

After the tasting was over at 11:00, the group, with empty stomachs, was kind of drunk and decided to step outside and rip some darts. Then we were guided to walk to the nearest town where we found food. I had schnitzel and chips, which was amazing. The best part was when I got offered salad. I did not want any and I told the vendor that. He looked at me with a face saying, “You insulted my whole family, F you,” and proceeded to give me the chicken and chips and continued to work, forgetting about me. After that, I went across the street and had one of the best puff pastries I’ve had in a while; it had a wine jelly filling that was good.

After that, I met up with the group, and apparently, we were on our way to a Druze Village in the area. The Druze were people who came into the area and settled in the high mountains. Mostly always families and tribes had strict rules about who was a Druze; therefore, most of the time, the families were large and intermarried. One of the elders from the village, who had amazing English, gave us a tour of the village and explained a lot about what it is to be a Druze. If it is hard for me to be a Jew, I think that would be even harder. They have stricter rules than Orthodox Jews.

At the end of the tour, they took us to a nice outpost where we could see the border with Lebanon. We had a small party with coffee and cookies where the Druze elders played a lot of instruments and showed us dances from their past. I took some pictures of the view and of myself that was pretty good, and as we finished, the elder gave remarks and sent us on our way home. The bus was waiting for us, and we left to go home.

The bus ride back took us 2 hours and 30 minutes compared to the way there, and it felt long. I fell asleep most of the way there, and it was awesome; time passed so fast until I woke up, and then it did not. I sat back and talked to Yehuda and the others that were up, but we were not many.

After the bus ride, I arrived home and made dinner. I ate something and went to bed. The day has been pretty great; it's a good place to end it.

Already a week in Israel, and we are now headed to a second farm for agricultural work. Our destination is Qadima-Zoran, just north of the city, to the strawberry fields. It's surprising to learn that strawberries also grow here. I always thought you needed very cold and humid weather, but Israel has it too. It turns out that Israel has been trying to grow as much agriculture as possible in the country to reduce dependence on other nations, which makes sense considering not every country is friendly toward Israel.

The bus ride is fun and not as long this time. We are by ourselves, with no coordinator or another group with us, which is nice. It allows us to bond and also get to know the new girl in the group. Once we reach the strawberry field, I'm amazed by its sheer size. We walked over to the middle of the field and got instructions on what to work on. As soon as the farmer said go, we started picking strawberries. The farmer insisted on only picking the red ones, the juiciest, and apparently, the farm works daily. This means they pack and send out strawberries every day to the cities, so they always want the best strawberries.

After a couple of hours in the sun, I've received enough of a tan and decided to put on some sunblock, much to the amusement of my fellow volunteers. The UV isn't strong enough to get sunburned, but I still did. About another hour goes by, and we finish the first half of the strawberry field, taking advantage of the assistance of the Taiwanese and Filipino workforce still left in the country. Before the war, all the workers were either Taiwanese or Filipino, but after October 7, more than 80% of them left the country to protect their families. This, coupled with the agricultural crisis, for which I am mainly here to help, started when the war threatened to cripple the country.

Returning to the field, some people in the group are already complaining about the work and wanting to leave the sun. The farmer separates us into two groups: those complaining and those not. The complainers are taken to a warehouse on the other side of the farm. The rest of us pick the other half of the strawberry field with the help of the remaining workers. I can confidently say they picked about 70% of the strawberries on that half field. They can work fast to the point where we would get signals to move on to another lane and allow them to continue where they are. These people are essentially professional fruit pickers; they are quick with it.

After that field is done, the bus is waiting for us, and we come to it. Eduardo, the Brazilian, has received enough strawberries for all of us. It's really sweet of the farmer to give us so many strawberries, especially since we were told that many of the ones we picked initially had been discarded for early picking, which they do not sell.

As the bus arrives at Levisnki, where we are staying, I get off and immediately get rushed by some other volunteers to join them at the beach, but I want to get back to the apartment and eat first. I tell them to go ahead of me and send me a Live Location so that we can follow each other and go eat. Afterward, I am too full to walk 25 minutes to the beach, but I am okay with taking a Lime. I had already taken one with Sophie but not by myself, so I treated it like I would in any city in the US. Step one: look at the map and where I am going. Step 2: memorize some streets and then Step 3: hop on the Lime and move. Every couple of red lights, check the map. In less than 5 minutes, I am on the straight-shot bike path that takes me to the beach and I make it there in another 5 or less. The entire ride is about 3 American dollars. The bike path it took me on is beautiful, filled with hole-in-the-wall coffee houses that just serve coffee and maybe some pastries. They are full of people having coffee and smoking cigarettes. In the middle of the path, what impresses me the most is a big post with an arrow that says, “We have a Shelter,” showing how Israel and the Jewish community will always pull together everyone into safety. It is just amazing to see that a random house in the middle of the path is willing to share its shelter whenever there is a Rocket alert.

At the end of the path, there is a train station that you could take around Tel Aviv and even Jerusalem. I continue driving and jump on another path that takes me straight to the beach. I drive along the sea; what beautiful scenery as I drive north on Tel Aviv’s shoreline. After a couple of minutes, I realize I need to park my Lime, so I do and walk the last bit of the way. As the day ends, we spend the rest of it at the beach. It is such a beautiful time; the other volunteers and I have so much fun just spending time in the water, it is relaxing and calming after the day we had in the strawberry field. After that, we walk through the Carmel Shook (market) and get food, for we are starving. Becca and I have a lot of little food from everywhere. I found some Milka cookies that look amazing. And then we proceed to leave.

As we exit the shook, the stars are already out, and the public Hanukah lighting is about to start for the fifth night of Hanukah. As we join in a gathering with a lot of strangers, we all sing Hanukah songs, not Adam Sandler’s, and see the Orthodox community light them up. Afterward, they start singing in Hebrew and stay in the plaza, and I join in. I do not know the songs, but I dance my Jewish heart away.

After that, some of the organizers came around to give donuts filled with jelly, and I got to talk to two of them and introduce myself and the other volunteers. They are so impressed with everything that we have been doing in just one week. They both bless us and send us on our way. Afterward, we all go back to the apartments and rest for the night.

As I now lay in my apartment, I am planning some of my schedule for the day that comes. Tomorrow, the Homeland awaits. Yehuda and I were supposed to start volunteering today, but there was a mix-up with our program, and we had nothing to do for the day. I am about to log off to sleep, but I’ll talk on the phone for a while before I go to bed.

The day begins around 9:00. Yehuda and I set out around 10:00. We decide to head to the Carmel Shook to get a necklace before leaving to support the hostages. However, our navigation skills aren't top-notch, despite eight days in the city, I'm still not completely familiar with it. As we realize we're lost, Yehuda pulls out Google Maps, and we discover we're closer to the train station than the shook. Opting for efficiency, we head straight there and take the train to Jerusalem.

At the train station, there's a TSA-like security check, though we get to keep our shoes on. After passing through, we board the train, sitting on the second floor next to an interesting-looking man. He turns out to be a reporter, capturing the actual situation in Israel. It's fascinating hearing some of his stories. We part ways upon reaching Jerusalem, and Yehuda and I venture into the city. The Kippah Nerds hit Jerusalem.

Hungry by the time we arrive around noon, we find a shawarma place just outside the bus station at the shook. I've never had shawarma before, and Yehuda insists I try it. The generous plate of shawarma meat and chips is a revelation. The restaurant owner is excited to have volunteers helping out during these times and invites me into the kitchen to take a picture with the meat.

After the shawarma experience, we explore the shook, sampling a variety of goods. I end up buying an abundance of spices from a shop, unintentionally spending $150. Despite the upsell, I figure 6 kg of spice should last me a couple of years.

Originally planning to head straight to the Kippah store, we end up going too far on the bus and find ourselves at the Kotel. My first time in the Old City is amazing. We decide to take a straight shot through the Arab market, enjoying the sights. Intercepted by an IDF soldier, we're guided to a safe passage as the market ends. The sight of the Western Wall is powerful, and I'm drawn to it. I'm offered Tefillin, something I've recently learned about but never done. After the prayer, I kiss the wall, a meaningful experience in the homeland of my people.

Exiting the Kotel, we decide to complete the loop of the city through the Jewish quarters. A man gives us prayers as we're leaving the Old City, blessing us as volunteers.

As we walk out of the Old City, Yehuda receives a phone call. He's going on the news for an interview on volunteering, and now he's rushing me out of Jerusalem so he can prepare. We head to Me’a She’arim to get my first kippah, experiencing a very religious and orthodox side of town. I find two kippahs—one for casual wear and one for formal wear. I'm ready to get back to Tel Aviv.

The train ride back is fast with beautiful scenery. We sit on the first floor this time, enjoying the view. Yehuda drops me off at my apartment, and he heads to his apartment to prepare for his TV appearance. It's amusing to see him so excited, representing all the volunteers.

As I get home, Becca, Sophie, and Lilly are going out for dinner so I go out for dinner with them. As we walk out of the apartments Becca, the one who knows the city, recommends some great spots but the other girls decide to look at the map and just walk. After 1 hour of walking, we ended up at the place Becca first recommended. It was so funny to see her get mad, so much Chutzpa.

After dinner, we just went home and then lit Hanukkah candles, wearing my newly acquired kippah. It feels empowering.

After making some phone calls and enduring some laughter for being upsold on spices, I finally go to bed.

Today, I wake up, and like any other farming day, we are leaving early in the morning. So, I need to be on the bus by 6:30 am. As we got down to the bus, we saw a very big bus pull up, which made me instantly know that we were going with the same group as the winery. We get on the bus, and as the route starts, I see Yehuda pull out his Tefillin and start putting it on. He did not have time to do so at his apartment. He asked me if I wanted to do it, but I don’t know the prayer, yet. As he was putting it away, Benjy, one of the other guys, hopped on the bus, and as he saw the Tefillin, he was relieved. He had no time to apply his either and forgot his, so he could not do it until late at night when we got back. Once Yehuda lent him his, he applied it and continued with his regular day. It was very interesting to see an interaction like that. In Israel, I guess that is common, but in Costa Rica not really, no.

Talking about uncommon things to me, I met another Costa Rican today. I did not understand if she was a volunteer or an intern volunteering for the day, but still, it was pretty cool to meet another young Jewish person from my home country out here helping.

As we get to the farm, I see that we are at the same farm they took us first. I see the same farmer ripping the same number of darts, back-to-back. This time he is not taking us to the lemons and tomatoes but to the other side. He has greenhouses about 100 meters long. The first one was full of baby cucumbers. It looked so nice seeing all the stacks of plants in a confined space. As the farmer shows us how to pick the baby cucumbers, we start picking two in a row. Some from the back to the front, and me and some others from the front to the back. We are all supposed to meet in the middle and finish that one, then move to the next.

As we started picking baby cucumbers, the jokes just wrote themselves. All of the volunteers, including me, were throwing jokes and laughing hard. Some are explicit, and some are a bit dark. All that is to stay in the baby cucumber field. What I can say is that we danced and sang Taylor Swift songs, which was a pretty cool thing to do.

After we finish the baby cucumber field, the farmer takes us to the next one where he is growing the next batch. Not having workers to oversee the greenhouse, was covered with weed. He instructed us to take the grass crabs out, and so we started. And he left. About an hour later, he came back, and he had finished a large portion of the new greenhouse.

As we finish picking out about half of the weeds from the next one that is growing, the farmer brings out lunch for everyone. This time he gets food for everyone. A lot of bread, tuna, cheese, and a lot a lot a lot of vegetables. Just as we finished, the other farmer arrived with tables, which was funny because we all just used them to sit, talk, and smoke cigarettes after lunch.

As we stood up, some wanted to get back to work but more wanted to leave, therefore, we left back to Tel Aviv, but overall, we put in enough work. I took some great pictures of the captain and Noeli working. Also, some great pictures of Yehuda with a Winnie-the-Pooh smile while waiting for the bus.

The bus ride back to the apartments was pretty chill; mostly everyone was tired and sleeping. Myself included.

When we got back to Tel Aviv, we went straight to the beach. It was a beautiful afternoon. Such a nice sky I decided to climb the rock and walk them to the peak where a pole with the Israeli Flag stands tall. The high tide got me soaking wet but it was beautiful and worth it. I ended up calling a friend back home just to show her the view live.

After that, we saw the sunset and went back into the heart of the city towards Carmel Shook. After a short but windy walk, we got to the market and found ourselves with a lot of food options but little time as it was closing. I ended up having a sausage wrapped around a potato, which was intriguing. I had seen it last time but it was too big to try. I liked it but would not have it again.

After that, we Lime back to the apartment and got there in 2 minutes. Compared to the 15-minute walk, it was windier, but also more fun. Once we are home, my roommates and I start to talk and suddenly we see Avishai focused on the computer. He shows us, and he creates a meme about me and my Hebrew-speaking abilities. It was hilarious and an impressive amount of bonding between roommates. It’s not a crime to laugh at me; my Hebrew is not the best.

After a while of sharing the meme and laughing at my abilities, I decided to go into my room and take a rest. It’s been a long day and I’m about ready for the next one.

After a week and a half in Tel Aviv, my main volunteering program was yet to be ready, so I woke up early and made my way to another volunteering organization for the day. I heard of a kitchen a couple of blocks away that needed help prepping and cooking food for soldiers, so I took a short walk and introduced myself. The kitchen's name is Citrus & Salt; they cook meals for soldiers based on the number of orders each military base does. After meeting the main chef, he tasked me with a couple of things, and I quickly got to it.

As I started with my first task, it was very interesting to see how differently they work in a kitchen here compared to CR or the US. It's very similar with slight touch-ups that make the food kosher, I guess. After he showed me some new tricks, I kept applying them as I worked for the next hour. Today, Thursday, there were only 13 orders for one base, which is why it only took an hour to prepare, cook, and clean everything. The chef asked me to come back tomorrow. There are over 500 food boxes that need to be packaged and delivered before 1 pm to 6 different bases around Tel Aviv, and they need help. So, I am planning on showing up early in the morning. By 11 am today, I was out of the kitchen and had nothing to do for the day. Yehuda was with me. We are volunteering in the same organization, giving logistics and back-end office support. We call ourselves the Kippah Nerds, or at least we will once we can start doing office work. Until then, we are looking for other volunteering organizations to be part of on our days off.

In the kitchen, I got to know a lot of people from all around the world: France, South Africa, Argentina, and Israel mostly but most impressively two more Ticos. Two brothers, one of them knows my dad. It was interesting and enriching to see other Ticos out here helping in times of need. He gave me the great idea to write messages for the soldiers in Spanish with Costa Rica quotes; they are mostly Hope, Peace, and Love-oriented, so it was an amazing idea. I placed a couple of them along with the Hebrew messages that Yehuda was writing and even asked him to translate some to the best he could.

As we left the kitchen, Yehuda and I looked up only to see a beautiful sky and hear both of our stomachs growl. Can you guess what happens next?

We hit the nearest shawarma spot and then hit the beach walking. I already fell in love with the Challah here; now shawarma is winning me over.

We stayed the rest of the day at the beach. Being a 25-minute walk from the apartments, it's very easy to go there when there is good weather, and once you are there, you don’t want to leave until you are cold or it's dark. And even in the dark, it is beautiful if you have warm clothes.

Yehuda and Lou, who joined later, went in and out of the water as I stayed in the sand taking care of our stuff and reading Animal Farm, which is what I have been reading recently. It's a short book but with everything going on, I haven't had the chance to finish it. Probably should before New Year’s…

About another 2 hours had gone by, and I had already stopped reading by now I just had music on and was lying, looking at the sunset, reflecting on some stuff when suddenly a huge beautiful white dog came, jumped towards me, and started playing around on top of my head. It was a very wholesome moment. Tel Aviv is full of dogs, and they are treated very well. You can feel their vibes. They are never aggressive, even the mean-looking ones.

After the sunset, we started to head home as it was the last night of Hanukkah and we wanted to light up the candles and get on with the night. We have to be down in Jaffa soon for an art exhibition that is just on for tonight. It is a free exhibit to commemorate the hostages and the victims of October 7. Therefore, we need to get going.

After getting back home, I see a wine shop and decide to grab a couple of bottles for the bunker. We are getting missiles once or twice a week; we might have food or at least drink in the shelter. After getting ready, we all meet up at the bus stop to head over there together. Funny enough, the bus leaves just as we arrive at the stop, and we have to wait another 20 minutes for another one; therefore, we get a cab. After a 10-minute ride, we arrive at the gallery in Jaffa, and wow…

The art exhibit was empty; it had started two hours ago, and we read the times wrong, but we still got to go in and see everything. It was better without so many people; you could focus.

The art was heavy stuff. Some might even say some paintings were borderline or over-graphic, but I would say on point and necessary. The art portrayed many of the real-life scenarios Israeli citizens went through on October 7: the deaths, the beatings, the rapes, and all some of what came after for Israel and its citizens. For example, there was a picture very graphic that I did not want to take a picture of but can describe it very well as it was imprinted on my brain. I warn you the next part can be graphic.

From a simple glance, a dark-skinned woman has fallen face down to the ground. When you look at it closer, you can see that it is a muddied and dirty light-skinned woman lying belly but legs spread and the left one broken. You can see hair around her and what appears to be blood wipes on her hair as if someone used it to clean their hands after they were done with her.

After looking at the rest of the exhibition and hugging some of the crying volunteers who were more affected by it, we started walking. The affected volunteers decided to take a cab back home, and the others, including me, stayed back in Jaffa to walk around the Old City of Jaffa. It was a very beautiful place. The stone city had narrow passages and a lot of little shops all closed, as it was already 20:00. After walking through the old city, we got to the trendy side of Jaffa full of bars and open shops. Noeli decided to take us to a pub that had a good-looking menu and better Israeli beer. After having a couple of drinks and discussing the whole art situation, we decided to get going. Noeli was tired, so were some of the other guys, and Yehuda and I had some plans to go out but nothing sure yet.

After talking some limes back and racing through Tel Aviv, we get back to Yehuda’s apartment and meet up with the group that is already leaving and heading out to the bars. They are only a few blocks away; therefore, the plan is to walk there. After an hour or so of pub crawling, the group finally decides that the best thing is to separate. Fifteen people won't get a table, but three groups of five will. We ended up splattering around the bar and drinking at different tables. It was funny because everyone kept switching tables as soon as they would get FOMO. Even I switched around a little bit. After 60 minutes or so, some of the girls had enough of the bar and decided that the move was to go dancing. And what a move it was. We ended up in Kuli Alma dancing for the rest of the night.

Once in Kuli Alma, Becca introduced me to Tubi. A local drink, I think. We became good friends that night. That night showed me one thing, Israelis are strong. Not because of the Tubi, but because of how full the bar was, how they sang and danced, the people's resilience, and most importantly, all the anti-Hamas posters everywhere. I got to know the bartenders and had some shots with them in honor of the strength of the nation and all the volunteers who are aiding now. He said a prayer in Hebrew, and we drank. I ended up getting back to the apartment around 3 am. Israelis can party.

Another Friday in Tel Aviv, and this one I am waking up with a hangover. I don’t know how friendly Tubi and I are going to be from now on. Ignoring my alarms and waking up at 8:30 in the morning, I knew I was already late for the kitchen; therefore, I immediately got up and got going. I have to be there by 9 am, and it's only a couple of blocks away, but being Friday, I needed to get challah and food for that night since everything closes early for Shabbat. By the time I had gotten everything on my list, dropped everything at the apartments, and headed to the kitchen, it was already 9:30 am.

Once in the kitchen, the chef was grateful to see me, even if I was late. They needed a lot of help today. I talked to him, got my assignments, and started working immediately. My tasks for the day included prepping and cutting for a bit, then food packaging, and at the end, I did 6 buffet trays of different food, including tomato pasta and Lo Mein noodles. Around noon, the first group of soldiers came to pick up one of the food orders for their base. At that time, I decided to go out and meet them. I told them I come from a country with no military presence and it's not normal for me to see armed people around, but I also told him how that makes me feel very safe. After he asked some other questions, I decided to ask him some questions about the current situation. He was a 65-year-old soldier who used to be part of the IDF in his 20s. He came back to the IDF the day after the October 7 attacks. It was impressive to hear that he was not the only senior citizen that came back. He told me about all his old IDF buddies and how they are reuniting the gang again after 40 years of not serving. It was very inspiring.

About another hour goes by and I finish all of my tasks. I talked to the chef, and he told me to take a rest, since I hadn’t eaten anything, I took off to my apartment to have lunch. The kitchen only had a couple more tasks to do before cleaning and closing up. Therefore, I promised to be fast to come back and clean. Having kitchen experience, I know no one likes to clean, and since I was late, I think it is fair that I help with the cleaning. I barely helped in the prepping. Around 14:30, we were all done in the kitchen; we had packed and organized all the shelves and also scrubbed the floors. There were only 1 or 2 things to be done by the time the chef told me to please leave, “you’ve done enough for the day,” he said. He was very generous to me; he gave me a bag full of little challah buns that were left over. The bakery that donates the bread always donates extra challahs so that the volunteers and cooks can have some. It's very nice of them to do that.

After leaving the kitchen, there was not much to do in the city. It's almost 15:00, and everything is closed; Shabbat starts soon. I decided to take those challah rolls with me and stay the rest of the day at Zack’s and Yehuda’s apartment. It was a very chill night. Yehuda is away with his family for Shabbat; he keeps Shabbat, so he takes it a little more seriously than us. Started to drink wine and as the first stars started to appear in the night sky, the other roommates joined us as we took out the challah, and the candles, and broke the challah to begin Shabbat. Notice that until this point of the night, I’ve kept a very Kosher day.

Around 19:00, our South African friend, Gabby, came over and joined the group at the apartment. Zack and I popped open another bottle of wine and started drinking some more. After 2 hours of talking, Zack and I were beginning to get very hungry and Gabby was getting picked up soon by her situation; therefore, Zack and I started to look online for food spots around us that were open. Just a block away, we find a place called Pimpinella. When a place is open on Shabbat, it's automatically not kosher, and a seafood place open on Shabbat even more. Seeing the menu online, it only took us a minute to get going. Shrimp, calamari, squid, oysters, crab legs, and more. Now you might think we are rich, but the fact is everything was 1/3 of the price it would be in Costa Rica or the US, therefore Zack and I had a blast. He said to me “Chef it up, man” and allowed me to choose 3 dishes for us to share. “The shrimp, the grilled calamari, and the oysters, please,” I said to the waiter. After having one of, if not the, best non-shawarma meals on the whole trip, we were both tired, therefore, we decided to part ways. My apartment is two blocks from the restaurant in the opposite direction from Zack’s, and he is only one block away. Funny enough he has no sense of direction so not only did I have to signal him what direction he needed to walk into but also made sure he got home safe. Thankfully he did.

The second Saturday of the trip, I'm gradually adapting to the fact that 95% of businesses are closed, leaving little to do until nightfall. I rise around 9 am, prepare breakfast, and decide to head to the beach alone. I crave the tranquility needed to document the journey so far. More importantly, I yearn for peace of mind, something I haven't had in a while. I opt to leave the apartment before my roommates awaken and perhaps decide to join me. I allow Sophie to accompany me since she's good at keeping to herself while I work.

We reach the beach around 10:30, and as soon as I begin typing, I manage to stay focused on my work until around 13:00. At that point, Bella, Sophie's friend, joins us. I take my headphones out to listen to the conversation while continuing to type. Another 30 minutes or so pass, and Zack shows up. That's when I decided to wrap up my work for the day and join the social group forming next to me.

By 14:00, we're all quite hungry, so we decide to walk to the next beach where we know there are restaurants open through Shabbat. Once there, we all grab food, and two more join our cause: Yosef and Mike. After finding peace of mind in the morning, my social battery is back at 100%, and I'm ready to spend the next couple of days with people until another recharge is needed.

After eating, we return to the beach and play volleyball for a couple of hours. It's really fun, but I suspect I'll pull sand out of my nose and eyes for the next few days. After a while, fatigue sets in. As we take some rest, an Israeli man arrives, claiming he has reserved the court for that time. He has a match scheduled, and we need to clear the court. So, we head back to the sea and sit in the sand for the rest of the afternoon, deciding to play with the sand. Sophie draws a whale, Yosef builds a small castle, and Mike digs a hole—deep enough to fit his whole body. He accomplished this impressive feat with hands alone, no shovels or instruments.

As the sun begins to set, we all gaze at the beautiful sunset above us when suddenly, we notice the most Israeli thing possible. A soldier on the beach with trunks, his dog, and his gun. It's simultaneously aggressive and peaceful, something different from what I'm accustomed to back home.

As the sun descends, we decide to head back to the apartments. Nights can get windy in Tel Aviv, and none of us brought a sweater. We take Limes back to the apartment where Avishai awaits me with dinner, or at least the cooking process. He's preparing Chicken curry, and I arrive just in time to assist him in finishing and fixing a minor mistake. Other than that, he did a great job. The curry sauce is spot-on for his limited spices, and the pasta is cooked to perfection. We end up sitting across from each other, having a little bro date. Afterward, we conclude the night by going down to apartment 1 to play Catan. It turns out to be a pretty chill Shabbat. 

Sunday arrives in Israel, and if you haven’t noticed yet, it's like Monday in the rest of the world—work as usual. Yehuda and I are yet to start in the nonprofit we are volunteering at, so we signed up for a supply-gathering mission in the city. Unit 107 is a group that brings donations and supplies from the states, distributing them to soldiers here. Recently, they opened an Amazon-style service, allowing soldiers to customize their supply boxes online. This means more items to bring and more detailed work, and with no one to do it, we step in to help.

We begin by separating and counting all the bags—over 25 supply bags containing items such as wristwatches, headlamps, tourniquets, neck warmers, sweaters, pants, and other thermal and combat-quality clothing. After a couple of hours, all the counting is done, so we grab lunch, thinking that the task was completed. On our way back, we're directed to a different apartment a block or two away where, to our surprise, we find even more bags to sort, count, and organize. There's nothing to do but to dive in. After so many bags, my brain is tired of numbers, especially since I have to memorize some of them until it's my turn to enter them into the computer. We take turns using the lone computer to record the information. Interestingly, when we returned to the first apartment, we left it memorizing the numbers, and it came in handy when rapidly entering them upon our return.

After finishing in the second apartment, we leave everything there (with the computer) and return to the first place to take custom orders from soldiers and put them together. Despite already having the inventory, when we realized we left the computer, we decided to head back with shopping carts and bring everything we could. We end up bringing every supply bag and loose item with us. As we return, we start assembling the supplies and get to meet the families of some soldiers who come to pick up the orders. I fall three times on the way to the apartments, but seeing everything come together a couple of hours later is very gratifying.

We leave just in time to hit the beach and witness an amazing sunset. While walking through the building, we saw the sky bleeding red, but when we reached the beach, it was even more breathtaking. Coming from a country like Costa Rica, I've never seen such red density in a sunset. Unfortunately, cameras couldn't fully capture the eyes' image, but with new technologies, it's not that far off. After the sun sets, we take a bus home, and two stops before getting home, it breaks down. Good days like this always have a slight inconvenience, and that's the fun of it—it always balances things out.

After that, I spend some time at Yehuda’s, have dinner, and head back to my place. We have a long and green day ahead of us. I'm shutting down.