Editor's note: This is the second e-mail dispatch from our beloved former staffer   Hinda Mandell from her recent birthright israel trip. To read part one, click HERE.

I am back. Today we were brutally woken up at 4am in order to climb Massada before the sun appeared on the scene to do its nasty business. No one went to bed earlier than 2am due to a combo of jet lag and shmoozing. The people in my group (#:35) are all extremely kind and friendly. Not a single snob among the bunch. The group is also an interesting mix politically. I would say that we are pretty much equally divided in terms of our political beliefs when it comes to Israel. The climb up Massada was much more difficult than I expected. When our counselors told us about the hike, they sold it as a piece of cake: it will take you 20-50 minutes, they said.

OK, I thought. I walk fairly regularly and I have also done a little bit of hiking (well, very minimal). I guess the "hike" to and from the Harvard business school everyday (where I park) gave me an inflated head. And it didn't do much to get me in shape. My god the hike was so hard! I truly sympathized with the Romans. I would not be happy to have angry Jews (Zealots, as the Massada Jews are referred to) roll chair sized rocks down the mountain. One of the kids in the group said that climbing Massada was so tough because "it's like waking up at 4 in the morning and heading straight for the stair master." The sunrise was truly impressive and so were my frequent stops to the bathroom. I drank three liters of water today (and yesterday).

At Masada, I found the "room" where I was first bat-mitzvahed in 1992. In the room were two orthodox Jews praying. I took a picture of this room because I wanted to compare the 2003 picture to the one a decade earlier. The two dudes, immersed, in their prayers, were very upset that I interrupted their business. I felt really bad, thinking that maybe I did something illegal according to Jewish law so I booked out of there before I could get myself into trouble.

For a few days, we are traveling with seven Israeli soldiers. While most of them are 19, they totally look/behave much older. There is one soldier named Ginat and she looks like a combo of Britney Spears and Cristina Auilera. She is a total knock-out and when everyone in my group first met her, silence totally descended on the room. Anyhow, the funny thing is that I randomly got paired up with her during an icebreaker. So I am chatting with her (in Hebrew, mom!) and literally, a line of boys is forming behind me.

The boys in my program seriously said to me, "Hinda, can we please switch partners?!" I felt quite privileged to talk to the Israeli Britney.

Yesterday we went to an excavation site in the south of Israel. On the way we stopped at a road-side dive to get some lunch. And at that point, I had my first contentious run-in with an Israeli. I knew that it was bound to happen. I bought schnitzel and I told the cashier-woman to "keep the change" (which was worth a great 30 cents). She got extremely insulted that I thought of her as a charity case. So we were both screaming at each other (in Hebrew, mom).

I experienced minor drama at the excavation site. We crawled and stooped our way through caves where the Jews hung out during the time of Hanukah (167 BC). Anyhow, I left my regular glasses in the bus and only had my prescription sunglasses with me because I thought we would be digging outside and getting heat stroke. I had no idea that my brief archaeological tenure would be in pitch dark caves lit with candles (that I thought would burn the place down). Anyhow, as you can imagine, finding your way through a cave is tough enough. But doing it in sunglasses truly sucks. I almost had a panic attack but somehow I managed to get myself together.

Oh yeah, during the excavation, I found a 2000-year-old sea shell. Apparently, they used those things to make plaster. I wanted to pocket it but I also wanted to stay good with the Israeli authorities so I handed it over. So now I am now an archaeologist!

Interesting fact: according to one of the Israeli soldiers accompanying our group, the two Arabic phrases that soldiers are taught in the army are: show me your id card and stop or I will shoot.

We went to a Bedouin tent today for some hospitality and I said "shukran" (thanks) to the guy who served me some tea but he was not impressed. I don't think that the camel that I rode liked me very much either.

One last thing, we are traveling with two guards. One of them takes the business totally seriously and is always picking up the rear and asking us how we are doing. The other dude, though, (named Shai) is a total slacker. He is one of those very quiet, smiley and twinkley types who hates all violence and likes the serenity of silence. So I was chatting with him and it turns out that he belongs to the church of scientology (he is a wayward type). I felt really bad because I expressed shock/total surprise when he told me this. He said that I should not fear scientologists. I did not mean to offend his religion (I guess that's my knack). In the army he was profiled to be a driver (clearly not prestigious) but then they had enough drivers so he was slated to work in the intelligence. After that brief experience he worked as a baker in the army.

Tonight we hang out with Ariel Sharon. He is presenting an award to the guy who funds this trip and there will be a few thousand people at the ceremony. I wonder if he is an unattractive in real life as he is on TV. According to someone in my group, Jon Stewart once said that Sharon looks like he swallowed Alfred Hitchcock.

I still can't believe that I am in Israel. We head to Jerusalem tomorrow.

I hope you are all well!

Love, Hinda.

Hinda Mandell is a former staffer at JVibe.