My semester in Israel has come to an end. It is a bitter sweet ending. I will miss my roommate terribly, and the freedom that goes with studying abroad. It will be culture shock in the Fall at Penn when I can't negotiate class and test times, and when suggesting a weekend hike or beach trip would be a joke.
Of course there are positive and negatives to every experience. But I want to remember the happy stuff when I look back on this. It is hard to remember what I found different about Israel at the beginning, because I am so used to it now. But I will try to end this segment of life with little tidbits about Israel.
1) Cats are Israel's equivalent to squirrels in the US
2) Your bag will be checked whenever you enter a building
3) Soldiers with guns are everywhere
4) All toilets have a half flush and a full flush - way to conserve water!
5) Sheruts - shared taxis
6) Should negotiate a price before you get in a cab
7) Speaking Hebrew at the shuk will get you lower prices
8) Marzipan rugula is the best ooey gooey pastry ever
9) Jerusalem lives to pray
10) Tel Aviv lives to play
11) You can easily barter down to 1/2 and less of the asking price at the Arab shuk
12) Lines don't exist
13) Pushing is perfectly acceptable
14) The dollar declining in value makes Israel pretty expensive
and finally:
15) Toilet paper comes in bulk - and is used for everything
Next stop for me: a month in Greece! I leave tomorrow!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Cable Car?
We don't need no stinking Cable Car. Actually, we really didn't want to pay for one. You are allowed to hike up Masada before 10am, however the first bus did not get us there until 10:30. People were still on their way up the path when we bypassed the ticket booth and went to the trail head. Nope, there was a guard. They would not let us hike up the desert mountain because it was "too hot." Well...through a little complaining and stating that we don't have money for the cable car, the manager quickly decided to give us free passes for the cable car. Score. We would have still rather hiked it, but if we can't, we'll take it.
We spent a good 2.5 hours on top of Masada, walking to the different breathtaking view points, the echo point where we sang "I like fishes cause they are so delicious," and meandered through the fortress.
We hiked down the path to the bottom where a plethora of snack/drink stands awaited our business. We passed by the 20 shekel drinks to a booth with a bored teenage boy, who decided that he would give us free iced coffees. Fabulous.
Caught a bus to the Ein Gedi Spa at the Dead Sea near by. This was going to be our reward for a semester of hard work. The staff must have thought we were a part of one of the many tour groups, because they let us walk right through without paying. Perfect. I mean really, all we did was use their spot on the beach. Salty float, natural mud, and sulfur pool plunge later, and we were on our way back to Jerusalem.
While we were waiting for the bus, a sherut (a 15 seat shared taxi) pulled up and we were able to barter with the driver down to 25 shekels each - cheaper than the bus! What an amazing, lucky, day. All we had to pay for was transportation.
We spent a good 2.5 hours on top of Masada, walking to the different breathtaking view points, the echo point where we sang "I like fishes cause they are so delicious," and meandered through the fortress.
We hiked down the path to the bottom where a plethora of snack/drink stands awaited our business. We passed by the 20 shekel drinks to a booth with a bored teenage boy, who decided that he would give us free iced coffees. Fabulous.Caught a bus to the Ein Gedi Spa at the Dead Sea near by. This was going to be our reward for a semester of hard work. The staff must have thought we were a part of one of the many tour groups, because they let us walk right through without paying. Perfect. I mean really, all we did was use their spot on the beach. Salty float, natural mud, and sulfur pool plunge later, and we were on our way back to Jerusalem.
While we were waiting for the bus, a sherut (a 15 seat shared taxi) pulled up and we were able to barter with the driver down to 25 shekels each - cheaper than the bus! What an amazing, lucky, day. All we had to pay for was transportation.
The Zoo
I forgot to mention my trip to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo a couple of weeks ago. It is by far the best zoo I have ever been to. The scenery was gorgeous, the animals happy, active, playful, and came right up to us.
My favorite part was the big open safari area where the giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and rhinoceroses roamed together next to a lake overlooking the mountains in the distance. As my friend remarked "If the big giraffes can live with the little zebras happily, why can't we all live in harmony?
My favorite part was the big open safari area where the giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and rhinoceroses roamed together next to a lake overlooking the mountains in the distance. As my friend remarked "If the big giraffes can live with the little zebras happily, why can't we all live in harmony?
Frolicking in Gardens...or not
Last week in Israel, I needed to see everything I hadn't yet. This being impossible, we chose to go to Haifa, Israel one of the days, to visit the Baha'i Gardens. This is a very interesting religion, who claim to believe in all religions. Which in reality means they believe in all of the different prophets of the religions. The have a shrine/temple in Haifa with gardens that encompass an entire hillside, with over 200 gardeners to keep it beautiful.
We got off the bus at the bottom of the hill:
We were only able to climb to the first gate before we had to come back down. All after my friend had to layer on her sweats, because her tank top and shorts were to scandalous for a holy place. We were hoping to be able to climb the steps all the way up, but instead we had to take a bus to the top to another viewpoint.
This was torturous. We could look down at the gardens, but were not allowed to go in them. The guards smiled at us as they unlocked the gate for select other people. Denied. All I wanted to do was to skip around and frolic in the gardens.
We walked down the hill (along a side road) to the middle, shrine level, and came across a sculpture garden. We actually were able to play around and pose with the sculptures here.
The Gardens were built like the Champs de Elysses in Paris, so when you looked down, the main street leads to the Mediterranean Sea. We could easily walk there! So we did - but not so easily. The street lead to the Port. It was another hour or more walk to the beach. We finally got to a somewhat secluded beach and we passed out on the sand. Best nap ever - minus a little sunburn.
We got off the bus at the bottom of the hill:
We were only able to climb to the first gate before we had to come back down. All after my friend had to layer on her sweats, because her tank top and shorts were to scandalous for a holy place. We were hoping to be able to climb the steps all the way up, but instead we had to take a bus to the top to another viewpoint.
This was torturous. We could look down at the gardens, but were not allowed to go in them. The guards smiled at us as they unlocked the gate for select other people. Denied. All I wanted to do was to skip around and frolic in the gardens.We walked down the hill (along a side road) to the middle, shrine level, and came across a sculpture garden. We actually were able to play around and pose with the sculptures here.
The Gardens were built like the Champs de Elysses in Paris, so when you looked down, the main street leads to the Mediterranean Sea. We could easily walk there! So we did - but not so easily. The street lead to the Port. It was another hour or more walk to the beach. We finally got to a somewhat secluded beach and we passed out on the sand. Best nap ever - minus a little sunburn.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Baby Therapy
Today I held a baby and attempted to feed him with a bottle. He was not a good feeder, and ended up just falling asleep in my arms. It was probably the highlight of my past week. It's been rough lately. Babies are amazing.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Red Sand
Jordan. Red desert. Bedouins. Camels. Petra.
Such a wide away of amazing experiences.
Friday (May 2nd) morning we made the trek to Eilat to the border crossing, and into Jordan. We had a general plan of what we wanted to do, with advice from friends who had already ventured that way.
Our taxi driver was very friendly, but sketchily so. When we told him our plans he took that to mean that he would organize our trip for us. This created a lot of confusion, frustration, and distrust as he arranged for rides we didn't ask for, but had to pay for, etc.
Anyhow, we asked to be taken to an authentic Bedouin Camp in the Wadi Rum Desert to spend the night. What we were told would be 5 Jordanian Dinar for the night, dinner, and breakfast, turned into 25 Dinar as we were taken to a tourist "Bedouin camp." While not exactly what we expected as our Bedouin experience, we made the most of it and had a great time. We sat and relaxed while drinking tea for the afternoon. I got to ride a camel - much like riding a horse. My camel was a rare white, wise, and gentle camel...while the others were feisty, and even kicked the boy leading us in the leg. While the boy recovered, we saw the sunset over the desert mountains.
Night gave way a huge party of dancing around the bonfire with Jordanian students. It should be noted that only the boys (and the 4 of us Americans) were dancing, putting on quite the show for the women. And man, they could shimmy 100 times better than I ever could. Dinner was taken out of the ground - chicken that had been cooking under the sand for 2 days. Who needs a grill when you are in the desert? de.li.cious. I then slept out under the stars after being maliciously attacked by bugs in the tent.
We headed to Petra bright and early the next morning. Honestly, it was everything I expected it to be. I heard stories, and saw pictures of little people in front of huge structures (note me sitting in the Monastery in the above picture). Nevertheless, it was beautiful. The red rocks that the buildings were carved into gave it a little extra something. The walkway was lined with souvenir stands - a little annoying if you ask me. Two of the group stopped to have tea with a couple of Bedouins, while the other two of us continued the long climb up to the Monastery. There was the option of taking a "taxi" (a mule) up, but we decided to use our feet. The view once we got there was amazing, and the shop at the cliff viewpoint was playing Bob Marley - which was amazing and obviously called for a dance session.
We hurried down the mountain, taking the obligatory silly photos, in order to catch a cab to cross the border before it closed. I never thought I would be so happy to be crossing back into Israel. It was a mix of amazing sites, and being taken advantage of as a tourist. But we enjoyed it, and made it back in time to see the sunset over the Red Sea in Eilat.
Such a wide away of amazing experiences.
Friday (May 2nd) morning we made the trek to Eilat to the border crossing, and into Jordan. We had a general plan of what we wanted to do, with advice from friends who had already ventured that way.
Our taxi driver was very friendly, but sketchily so. When we told him our plans he took that to mean that he would organize our trip for us. This created a lot of confusion, frustration, and distrust as he arranged for rides we didn't ask for, but had to pay for, etc.
Anyhow, we asked to be taken to an authentic Bedouin Camp in the Wadi Rum Desert to spend the night. What we were told would be 5 Jordanian Dinar for the night, dinner, and breakfast, turned into 25 Dinar as we were taken to a tourist "Bedouin camp." While not exactly what we expected as our Bedouin experience, we made the most of it and had a great time. We sat and relaxed while drinking tea for the afternoon. I got to ride a camel - much like riding a horse. My camel was a rare white, wise, and gentle camel...while the others were feisty, and even kicked the boy leading us in the leg. While the boy recovered, we saw the sunset over the desert mountains.Night gave way a huge party of dancing around the bonfire with Jordanian students. It should be noted that only the boys (and the 4 of us Americans) were dancing, putting on quite the show for the women. And man, they could shimmy 100 times better than I ever could. Dinner was taken out of the ground - chicken that had been cooking under the sand for 2 days. Who needs a grill when you are in the desert? de.li.cious. I then slept out under the stars after being maliciously attacked by bugs in the tent.
We headed to Petra bright and early the next morning. Honestly, it was everything I expected it to be. I heard stories, and saw pictures of little people in front of huge structures (note me sitting in the Monastery in the above picture). Nevertheless, it was beautiful. The red rocks that the buildings were carved into gave it a little extra something. The walkway was lined with souvenir stands - a little annoying if you ask me. Two of the group stopped to have tea with a couple of Bedouins, while the other two of us continued the long climb up to the Monastery. There was the option of taking a "taxi" (a mule) up, but we decided to use our feet. The view once we got there was amazing, and the shop at the cliff viewpoint was playing Bob Marley - which was amazing and obviously called for a dance session.We hurried down the mountain, taking the obligatory silly photos, in order to catch a cab to cross the border before it closed. I never thought I would be so happy to be crossing back into Israel. It was a mix of amazing sites, and being taken advantage of as a tourist. But we enjoyed it, and made it back in time to see the sunset over the Red Sea in Eilat.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Yom HaShoah
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. I read an article about righteous gentiles to share with my class. It reminded me of a poem that hung on my Dad's office wall for as long as I can remember. I would sit there reading it over and over while I waited for computer pages to load. I find it extremely powerful, and it has influenced my beliefs today.
- First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -
- because I was not a Socialist.
- Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -
- because I was not a Trade Unionist.
- Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -
- because I was not a Jew.
- Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.
- Martin Niemoller
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