A Continuation of Orientation

In order to limit the extensiveness of one post, and to not make it drag on and on, I figured I split up orientation into at least a few posts.
Okay, so the last one left off with arriving at Stay Boker in the later evening.

Still Day 3: We walked to Ben Gurion's grave for the sunset and we could literally see the moon rise, it was an amazing site. Also Stay Boker, or our rooms at Stay Boker were on the edge of this enormous canyon, that we later hiked, so there was a fantastic view.
the view from Stay Boker

the sunset from Ben Gurion's Grave

Day 4: This day was pretty low key, we hiked the canyon that we overlooked in the morning/early afternoon. I ended up slipping and falling twice, and I have a couple bruises to show for it. But the hike was beautiful, even though it was really really hot. The rest of the day was just hanging out at Stay Boker with the group and our staff.

Day 5: In the morning we went to Israel's first solar energy field, and met Professor David Faiman who is an expert on solar energy. So we toured the plant, and learned some about the ideas and technology behind it.
the energy plant

Then we went on another hike. The hikes prior to this one had been more like walks, but this one was a bit more intense, with some climbing and steep hills involved. The good news though; I didn't fall. Later that day after lunch we went to the city of Dimona where a group of African American Hebrews live. This was a group of people who identified themselves as the 13th tribe of Israel, and believed they were fulfilling Dr. King's ideals by settling in Israel. Most of them had come from the states (the older generation) while a lot of the younger people had been born in the community. These people were incredibly interesting; as I said they consider themselves Jews but not Jewish, and they abide strictly by the Torah. Which means they are on a raw vegan diet, they fast every Saturday, they do not ingest salt with their foods every other day, as well as many other things. Other interesting facts about their beliefs is that they believe in polygamy, are against drugs and alcohol, as well as anti-abortion and anti-gay. These last two point angered me and a few fellow students. They do not believe in pre-marital sex, so the anti-abortion idea doesn't exactly apply, but the anti-gay attitude is certainly applicable in their society. They expressed homosexuality as a choice or a decision, I believe they used the example, "if someone choose that path" as opposed to something that is instinctual (which is my belief). But aside from that, they were truly a fascinating community. There is no violence or crime within Dimona, and they are known as the city of peace.
Day 6: This was our last morning at Kibbutz Stay Boker, so in the morning we packed up and headed to Kibbutz Ketura; an approx. three hour drive.