Lifetree Adventures

This is one page (of 72) of a travel brochure I wrote for Lifetree Adventures of Loveland, CO, a client of Hampton Creative who contracted me for the project.


Israel
Trip and Service Description

Shalom from the Holy Land! Welcome to the most beautiful place on earth—a land richly steeped in history, tradition, culture and wonder. Seven days is a short time to take in a few thousands of years of information!

If you have the impression that Israel is predominately arid, the cool breezes of the Sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights and of Mount Hermon will pleasantly surprise you. You’ll enjoy floating in the salty waters of the Dead Sea—the lowest spot on earth—and feeling rejuvenated by this natural skin therapy experience.

You will have the opportunity to stand in the place where Jesus Christ gave his famous Sermon on the Mount, and make a brief stop in Bethlehem, the place of his birth. Other famous locations you’ll see are the upper room of the last supper and the Garden of Gethsemane. And, for a very unique viewing experience, you’ll take a cable car tour over the famed archaeological site of King Herod’s Palace.

Jerusalem is an unforgettable city. Climb Mount Scopus to take in the magnificent views, visit King David’s tomb, reverently pause at the Western Wall, and decompress from all of this with fun shopping in some of Jerusalem’s most colorful bazaars.

After eight glorious days in the Holy Land, you will have the opportunity to serve alongside an indigenous nonprofit group with a vision to end hunger in their homeland. Currently, 22% of Israelis are food insecure and rely on emergency food programs to meet their basic nutritional needs. You’ll spend your remaining days in Israel picking fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers and distributing them to nonprofit organizations tackling hunger. You’ll also make delicious sandwiches for school children attending class in 70 schools in central and northern Israel.

This will be a dream tour of the Holy Land that you won’t want to miss!


A Few Tips to Help You Strike Up an Interesting Conversation in Israel:

• Could you explain to me the rules of Shabbat (Sabbath or day of rest)?
• What happened on your Bar Mitzvah (celebration of coming of age)?
• How do you count down the Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)?
• Where’s the mechabeh esh (literally: a fire putter outer) in case I need one?
• Is it kosher (meet the Jewish dietary standard/law) to eat chicken wings?
• Do you think we can find a place to buy a yarmelkeh (prayer hat)?
• What do I do if someone is honkin' me a chinick (bothering me)?
• Instead of monkfish, are you able to eat rabbifish? (bad joke!)
• Let’s have a toast to our zei gesund (health)! Mazel tov (good luck)!

Lost in Translation:

• Pa’am shlishi glida, the way we say "third time is a charm" in Hebrew, is translated literally as “third time is ice cream!”

• Wanting just a few bites of comfort food from home? Ask for Doritos and you’ll receive a bag of chips. Wanting cereal for breakfast? Ask for cornflakes because it stands for ALL cereal. Just looking for a simple bagel? Be prepared to chew on a soft pretzel instead. In the mood for chips and salsa? Order nachos. BUT, don’t be surprised when the waiter brings you a plate of chips without one shred of cheese and smothered in ketchup.

• When you see a policeman, shmooz (chat with) him by saying, “I like your chakalaka!” He’ll love that you’ve complimented the revolving light/siren on to of his cop car.

• "Ani lo mevin klum…tess-em-ess li" is translated literally as “I don’t understand anything…send me an SMS!”

• If you’re eating at a restuarant and the waiter asks you if everything’s ok, tell him “hakol bechedder”. In other words, “Everything’s perfectly cheddar!”