Michelle Bowman, ARC/GNY Assistant Director of Training and Logistics, writes about her historic trip to Israel to work as an MDA Ambulance Responder.

I think the true test of team dynamics is how well the team operates under pressure. Based on this measurement, our team is a success.

On the last day of our training program, the coordinator of the MDA Overseas Volunteer Program came in to speak to our class about the importance of taking the time to see Israel. She reminded us that one major purpose of our visit to Israel was to experience the country, and in order to do this we had to leave our base town. The ARC/GNY delegation had every intention of taking her advice, and we planned our first weekend trip to visit the Galilee and the Golan Heights. Unfortunately, our solid plans were plagued by unexpected surprises.

Everything started off well when Francis and I woke up early on Thursday morning to rent the car. We had no problem renting a miniscule vehicle , and even found our way back to the hotel (only getting lost once or twice). Then I ran upstairs to grab the others while Francis drove around the block a few times due to the lack of parking.

Ten minutes later Paul, Kathryn, and I waited in front of the hotel for Francis to circle around. And waited. And waited. As the wait grew longer, we started to discuss various scenarios, imagining everything from the likely (Francis got lost) to the unlikely (Francis was in a car accident). Finally, we remembered that we had emergency cell phones and decided to give him a call. That was when I looked down and realized that I had missed three phone calls from Francis in the last fifteen minutes.

The team overcomes adversity and changes a flat before heading out of Jerusalem for weekend exploration of Northern Israel.

Fortunately (depending on how you look at it), Francis only had a flat tire. We found him less than a quarter of a mile away, looking very frustrated by the side of the road. With a remarkably positive attitude, and far more automotive skills than I personally had, Francis and Paul quickly changed the tire, and we were on our way…but now we had to find a replacement tire. We managed to find a tire shop, only to discover that tire shop employees don't see a lot of foreign tourists, and thus do not speak English. After some fumbling with the Hebrew/English phrasebook, we bought a used tire and we were ready to hit the road—only three hours late.

The drive was consistently beautiful as we passed through numerous climates, from the harsh desert (we actually passed wandering camels) to the lush, temperate fields of northern Israel. We took a brief detour to look at the Jordanian border, and we glanced at the surprisingly diminutive Jordan River. Unfortunately, around 2pm it started to rain. And then, it seemed like we were driving directly into the rain. We had decided to head all the way north of the Sea of Galilee to the to artists" village Tzafed, which was also the stronghold of Kaballah and Jewish mysticism. Yet by the time we reached the Sea of Galilee, the beautiful landscape was nearly obliterated by dark clouds. Still we forged on, and Francis skillfully navigated the winding mountain rains through the downpour. Finally, around 3pm, we made it to Tzafed.

After about an hour of driving around, lost, we finally found the hotel, checked in, and set out to see Tzafed. The village was stunning, a small mountain town perched on the edge of a mountain overlooking the land of milk and honey. We spent some time wandering around the small winding streets of the artists’ village, but we hadn’t eaten a real meal all day, so we soon stopped for "dinner” at a delicious restaurant where we could watch the sun set over the hills.

Full and content, we set out on foot again after dinner. Unfortunately, we forgot that we were no longer in the bustling metropolis of Jerusalem, but a small mountain village. All of the sights were closed. In fact, almost everything was closed; still we decided to wander around for awhile. After all, it was only about 6pm. Then it started to pour. I silently berated myself for forgetting my scarf, my hat, my umbrella, and my hood at the hotel in Jerusalem. We were drenched within five minutes. By 7pm we were back in our tiny guesthouse, cold and wet with nothing to do. Our first day had been an adventure in ways we didn’t predict, but we still had fun. We also managed to make the most of a few somewhat unfortunate situations. Still feeling positive, we made plans for the rest of our trip and went to bed early.

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