During the morning there was a blood drive by Magen David Adom. I was anxious to give, but no donors "of advanced age" were allowed to become donors.
At 11:00 we went to the dorm to finish packing and I strung a clothesline in our room and we all washed our laundry by hand in the bathroom sinks. We left the window open a bit and hope it all dries by the time we return on Sunday. Then we schlepped our bags down two flights and then up two steep flights of stairs to the work building and left them on the first floor while we went up to lunch.
Lunch was promised early at noon and the bus was to pick us up at 1:00. By Israeli time we ate at 12:30 and the bus arrived at 2:15. Now we all climbed on the bus and were left off at different bus stops on the main road. We were with the Haifa group including our madricha and another gal from another base. While we were waiting a taxi pulled up and tried to get us to use him instead of waiting.
Jeff and I decided to go with him instead of going into Haifa and then switching buses. Price he quoted was almost the same as using the bus. One madricha came in the cab also. Of course the driver decided that we needed to pay more once we were driving and we negotiated. It was pleasant and quick and then he wanted a tip! Jeff gave him 10 shekels ($3.50) and he asked for 10 more. We told him he already got it by charging more and just left. What chutzpah!
So now we are sitting outside a cafe and waiting for Shulamit and Hannoch to meet us at the theatre which is next door. They will be here at 7:00 so we will have dinner nearby and wait some more as it is only 5:00 now. While waiting I had an ice cream cone and Jeff had a snack. Recycling is big in Israel and every community has a recycling center.
We walked to a nearby park and sat for a while. Around six we went to a tiny place next to the theare where they had falafel and schwarma. It was all mediocre, but we sat at a counter and used their WiFi. A 15 year old made the food and he was sweet to put in the internet code for me. Afterwards we went to the theatre and sat in their lobby cafe. Finally they arrived and we went in to our seats.
The show was Man of La Mancha, presented in English by a volunteer group that travels all over Israel with a production each year. This was the closing performance. Everything about the show was wonderful. The sets, lighting, costumes and everything technical was superb. The talented cast were great and so much enthusiasm. We thoroughly enjoyed the show. Afterwards we talked with Hannoch's friend who heads up the sets and we met a costumer who comes from Savannah. Small World!
It was almost midnight when we began our drive north to our weekend retreat. Along the way we got into hilly country and saw villages on hillsides sparkling against the night sky. We arrived at our place and it is incredibly beautiful. A two bedroom condo on the second floor with sweeping views from the large back porch. Inside is a modern, spacious apartment with great lighting and amenities. They have lots of toilet paper and it is clean. Cannot wait to see this place in the daylight.
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