Story

As an Australian, I was grateful that I was in Israel for a week already. To think, some of the guys around me got off a plane and joined this group straight away, hard stuff. How lucky was I to be in Israel, to be part of this program and to experience Israel.

I feel awesome that I had already spent a week in one of the best cities in the word, Tel Aviv. A city with a wide beautiful beach, a city that lets you ride on flat roads and flat bike paths, a city that has the most sensational restaurants. A city that has so much vibrancy, that is full of life. Before even commencing this trip, I felt great but not awesome…a word that reverberated from the last speech of the night, by a bloke named Charlie Harari whose veins pulsated when he spoke and whose passion was immense.

Day 1 really commenced on an army base, seeing my friends attempt Krav Maga, doing pushups and taking it all in, and then listening to our instructor do some Opera, wow…now, that was awesome.

It was also awesome to meet some people from our Israeli army, our army, an army that I felt so proud of. I along with everyone else around me was delighted to share a meal with our army, the army that looks after our people. This experience will stay with me…and it was awesome.

Everyone who attended the final session of the night, the speeches by Lori and Charlie, witnessed two motivated impassioned speakers, we all knew that. But what rang true was a simple message: We should be grateful for what we have and we should strive for greatness in our lives.

I felt great (not yet awesome) and grateful to be part of this program and to be in Israel at this time.