post-birthright update/first night in yeshiva

So today was the tenth and last day of my birthright trip and it was AMAZING. I learned so much about Jewish identity, Israeli culture, society, and people; made some awesome friends, saw some incredibly holy and cool sites, and had the time of my life. My group grew incredibly close with each other; I thought that it was very unexpected how tight-knit everyone became by the end of the trip and I took something from each relationship that I formed. I also learned a tremendous amount about myself and how I "work".

The trip itself was beyond anything I could've imagined. The first three days were spent in the northern part of Israeli in amazingly beautiful geographic locations (mountains, valleys, beaches, etc.) After spending time in the north, we went to the city of Tzfat, one of the four holy cities. I went to the synagogue of a mystic from the 16th century, as well as to his grave; I was incredibly moved, almost to tears. Afterwards, we went to Jerusalem where we had an awesome Shabbat. On day seven we went to Tel Aviv, which although it wasn't quite my scene (parties, clubs, etc.) it was still pretty nice. We spent the eighth night at a bedouin camp and hiked masada/went to the dead sea on the ninth day. Last night there was a huge party and I only got three hours of sleep, so needless to say, I'm incredibly tired.

However, now I'm at Mayanot yeshiva where I will spend the next month studying. Afterwards, I'll go to another program in Jerusalem, then I'll spend a couple of months in tzfat. Come the fall, I'll officially be enrolled at Mayanot yeshiva for the year. I'm really excited to learn here; it seems to be an incredibly open-minded yeshiva. I believe that I'll be able to be as creative here as I want to (i.e. composing, creative writing) I have no idea what will be, but I think that not knowing is atleast half the fun. Although right now I feel pretty tired and sad about my birthright trip ending, I know that once I spend this Shabbat at the yeshiva, I'll be ready to dive into the experience.
Thinking of you all,
Zach