A Poem on the Occasion of our Farewell Dinner

November 7-19, 2012

How swiftly thirteen days have flown,
While seeing sites we’ve always known
From Bible stories often read,
And pictured vaguely in our head.

We’ve sailed the Sea of Galilee,
And seen a real acacia tree,
We’ve tasted many a hot falafel,
Which, by the seventh time, was awful.

The rainy weather seemed quite serious
As we drove out to see Tiberius,
But as the days at length progressed,
By sunshine we were also blessed.

Our learned leader, Gila Yudnik,
Taught us words like “tel” and “nudnik”.
To 38 she daily counted
When on the bus we all were mounted.

Who can forget “eh, OK folks”
Or her delightful tales and jokes?
And, while great facts she was conveying,
She often quipped “do you know what I’m saying?”

And how we valued our Rafik,
Who drove us through some tight traffique,
Around sharp corners took the bus,
And never once let out a cuss!

Our visits to the holy places
Put us through our Bible paces,
From Gilead to Jericho
There’s so much more that we now know!

Our thanks to Heather, Peter too,
Who kept track of our motley crew,
No detail was to them too small
We really loved our wake-up call.

So Gila, Rafik, Peter, Heather,
Who soldiered on in any weather,
Thanks for all the work and fun
And may God bless you every one.