72 יום

I finally got to go to my internship on Sunday. Just a little background, the organization is called Youth Renewal Fund (YRF) and they provide tutoring services for students in underprivileged schools in Israel. Three other students and I have been working on tutoring at a school in Lod, which is a town about 25 minutes from tel Aviv by car. It has been such a pain trying to set everything up. First off, everything here happens after the holidays. You can't start anything within two weeks of Rosh Hashanah because everyone will just tell you after the holidays aka a month from now. Even once that's over, Israelis don't plan ahead, so when you do get in touch, it takes another month to coordinate schedules and even once we arrived on Sunday, they still had to rearrange when they want us to come. All in all, we realized that we have about 5 more weeks we can go because of Fall break, our trip to the Galilee, and us leaving mid-December. We'll go twice a week, but only for about 2 hours each day. Now, not a big deal: except it costs 35 shekels ($10) to get there and back plus an hour when you use public transport. Needless to say, we were rather annoyed to arrive, have already had issues and still not be able to teach classes right away. Turns out the 8th graders have a big test coming up and their parents don't went them out of class, so instead of doing both classes during the day and the afterschool program, we're just doing the afterschool thing.

Now, all of this would be a hell of a lot more frustrating if it didn't turn out that we have the coolest kids ever!!! When we finally got to the classroom of kids, they seemed hesitant, but curious at the same time. We took 4 girls and split 2 and 2. Abby (who luckily speaks fluent Hebrew) and I got 2 girls who are 11 years old, speak pretty good English, and are the most charming, adorable girls you're ever met. It was so much fun just talking about our families, favorite food, book, movie, music, where we've been in Israel and around the world. Sometimes they had to translate what we said to them for each other, but then they always responded in English. I was really impressed. An hour passed really fast and we had to switch, even though none of us wanted to. Abby and I took a 13 year old boy who unfortunately, didn't speak such good English. He said yes or no to a lot of questions that weren't yes or no questions. But, Abby would translate and try to get him to repeat in English so he could make the associations. I'm not sure how much it helped, but I now know he loves cookies and really wants to come to New York to see the snow. Despite that, we could tell he really wanted to learn, but he was very shy and wouldn't say much. Eventually it was time to go and we basically walked out with the whole class, those we taught and those we didn't. They all wanted to talk to us even if it was "Hi, What's your name?" or "I'm going home now". It was so cool to see them that excited. It really made all the frustrations unimportant. Now I'm really excited too. I really can't wait to go back, but unfortunately, we have to wait until after we come back from Istanbul!!! O my gosh, I can't wait; I've wanted to go for so long! Gotta pack tonight, because The flight leaves at 4 AM so I want to leave class, which ends at 8 pm, eat and go right to sleep, although it's obviously not gonna happen. Either way, it'll be good for me to prepare in advance for once.

69 יומ

Ok, so I'm gonna start now with this writing more often thing. It works so well that one of the most interesting days I've had coincides with my goal to update more often.

So after writing my last post, I went out with Abby and Sruti around midnight. We went to central Tel Aviv near the intersection of Rothschild and Allenby. We haven't gone out here much, so we figured we'd do something different. Unfortunately, when we got there, lots of places didn't want to let us in because we're all 20. This whole 25+ thing is weird. I would've never thought age would be an issue here. Luckily, we went back to Lima Lima and after giving my scouts honor that I'm 25 and an Israeli vouching for us, we were let in. So much fun. Great music and we got to dance again. I've decided that I really love dancing. As great as bars are, I love dancing. Anyways, we had a great time and left around 4.

Three hours later, we woke up to take a day trip to Jerusalem. Sritu and Abby were planning on going and I decided to tag along. So painful, but ended up being so worth it. We started off at the shouk which I always love. Everything looks so delicious and smells great.

From there, we went down Ben Yehuda Street,which is a mojor street in Jerusalem. We found our first bagel shop in Israel (They were ok) and a whole store just for Kippots. I almost got a new one, but they were kind of expensive. I would come to regret this decision later. We then went into the old city through past the Kotel (Western Wall) to the Mount of Olives. It was a tiring walk, but it was interesting to see all these (supposed) sites I grew up reading about. Gethsemane is there and some churches on the top. I've decided that the religious stuff isn't as aggravating when it's not so hot out. IT was interesting because Sruti and Abby aren't Christian, so Laura and I had to explain the significance of places. While we were at Gethsemane, I tried to explain the atonement to Sruti. It was such an interesting expereince to try and explain the concept to someone who's never grown up with it. It seems a lot less intuitive when you haven't always been taught it. I in fact had to stop and think about how exactly it's supposed to work. Definitely something I'm glad I had to do.

From there we went into the Muslim Quarter and got some lunch (Mmm kebab :) We then walked around and found a sweets shop with lots of little Arab pastries. Sooooo good! At one point we came to an intersection. All of a sudden, it went from everyone being Arab to A mob of Hassidic Jews on their way to the Kotel for Shabbat. It was like some magical line was between the two sides of the street dividing the two communities. We decided to go to the Kotel with them and see what Shabbat is like there. There were so many people (mainly very religious people). I stuck out like a sore thumb in shorts carrying souvenirs. The crowd was full of everything: tourists, pilgrims of varying religiosity, and soldiers who wanted to celebrate Shabbat carrying their rifles. I've never seen anything like it. People were dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. It was like a party to usher in Shabbat. I even got to dance in a circle with them. At the end, we happened to run into the American friends from Jeruslaem we had met at the Port last weekend. They were waiting to go to a hosted Shabbat dinner. As they were leaving, the program director asked if we needed dinner. we decided to let Abby ask since she's the only Jew. They said ok, so we followed them to a religious neighborhood in West Jerusalem. We walked with a group of very religious kids, most of whom are studying in seminary. I talked with a kid named Israel who was telling me that the fact that Jews have lasted this long with relatively little change proves that God exists, delivered the Torah, and that the word of the Torah and it's interpretation in the Talmud must be correct. I really didn't know how to have this conversation, but I liked hearing what he had to say. I'll have to think about it some more. When we got there, we waited for a while and met some of the people there. In that time, about 150 people showed up, mainly very religious people. Turns out that this rabbi who was hosting us does this for every meal of Shabbat (Friday evening, Saturday morning and late afternoon) and literally anyone who wants to come, can. I met some really nice girls, but when we got in, I couldn't sit with them or anyone in my group because tables were divided by sex. I felt kind of uncomfortable as my presence seemed to also make those at my table uncomfortable. Maybe I was just being paranoid. Luckily, I talked to a really nice guy sitting next to me from Canada. He's here for his undergrad in Talmudic studies. The night was so crazy. I've never been to a more orthodox Shabbat- or as crowded of one. All those people fit into a relatively normal size living and dining room. We were quite squished, especially as we tried to pass around buckets for hand washing and trays of food started going back and forth. They kind of would just plop everything down on the table where there was room even if it was on top of other things and get it out to everyone as quickly as possible. A lot of it was like what I've seen. Kiddush, hand washing, bless the bread, and eat. However, there were also lessons and lots of singing in between courses. The rabbi gave a nice talk for this weeks Torah portion, which is the story when Abraham is at his tent, looks up and sees 3 holy visitors and invites them in. He connected that to how there is a blessing to say before performing every mitzvah (good deed) in Judaism, except for ones that are acts of interpersonal kindness live visiting the sick and mourners and acts of charity. He said that the reason for that is that there is often no time to be lost when helping our fellow man and so we help them first and bless the act afterwards. He interprets the scripture as telling us that there is always someone to help if we are looking for it. Just as Abraham we looking up, we should also for the opportunity to serve our fellow man. It was a beautiful message. The ones after I didn't really get. some people kind of just got up and said things about the portion that didn't really seem to have any significance, but I liked the first one.

Finally, we washed our hands again and said the closing blessing and left. I got so much out of that in terms of how I see Israel. I decided that Jerusalem is a Jewish city (you know what I mean) and Tel Aviv is an Israeli city. For the most part, people who make aliyah for religious reasons (which is most) move to Jerusalem and those who just like Israel move to Tel Aviv. Obviously this is a generalization, but I think it captures the essence of each city. I am sure if I were to move to Israel, it would be to Tel Aviv. When I was talking to Abby about it afterwards, she said she would move to Jerusalem because if she were to make Aliyah, it would be with a family for religious reasons to a place with a strong American community, which is exactly what Jerusalem provides. I would want to opposite. I would leave America to leave America and become a part of another country and culture rather than religion (although obviously to at least some degree, Judaism and Israeli culture are inseparable). Plus, Tel Aviv's more fun :)

This 24 hour period really highlighted a lot about Israel, its diversity, and some of the problems. In the Jewish State of Israel, what does it mean to be Jewish and what does it mean to be Israeli and what's the difference? As they say, ask 2 Jews, get 3 answers (AKA it gets really complicated really fast and leaves a lot of questions, especially when you consider the relationship of Jews outside of Israel and non-Jews, or even secular Jews, in Israel). Studying this country is like studying philosophy: just when you think you've figured something out, you find 10 more questions than what you started with. Luckily, I study both. At least I'll never  be bored.

67 יומ

So I officially only have two months left here. I am going through a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions as I am here and realizing that and more specifically, all I have yet to learn and experience. I've spent so much time just trying to get to know this city, country, and language that I haven't spent enough time meeting people and getting to know the human side of Tel Aviv and Israel. I've started to meet some more people through Guys' friends. They're all really cool, but I wish I spoke Hebrew to really be able to get to know them better. Don't get me wrong, most of them speak fantastic English, but obviously, it's not the default in large groups of Israelis. I am teaching myself Hebrew here, but it moves much slower than learning Spanish or Italian. I did just take my first quiz and I got an 84. I'm not thrilled, but I try to remind myself that I'm teaching myself, where as everyone else who took it is actually enrolled in the class. Arabic here is also moving slowly. Actually, even more slowly. I think it's a combination of my professor not pushing us fast enough and bothering to do every exercise plus study abroad is not very motivating. In fact, it is just the opposite. Schoolwork is about the last thing anyone wants to do. While this is evidently not much  different than in NY, the professors here don't really push to hard in general plus there is a time constraint to do everything you want to before leaving. Money also becomes an issue. This city is at least as expensive as NY if not more. Also, I've not been unemployed since I was 15. I A) don't know how to use this time B)work usually forces me to take advantage of time and schedule life better and C) obviously allows me to feel better about going out and doing things. I'm finally going to my first day of an internship teaching English on Sunday, but at this point there's not much time left, especially since next weekend is fall break and in a few weeks we're going to Galilee on a group trip. Plus, the internship is not in Tel Aviv so it's tough to find days I can commute with my school schedule. The whole September not existing kind of made this whole thing difficult. I guess what it comes down to is that things are not going as I expected. This should be a Duh kind of realization, but somehow I didn't think it'd be so hard to make friends (Israeli friends), get to know Tel Aviv, visit around the country (which is tiny and easy to navigate), get an internship, maybe do a research paper, all on the money that I saved up to come here.

One good thing I have to look forward to for sure is my trip to Istanbul over Fall Break. I'm flying out at 4 am next Thursday and will come back early the next Tuesday. I've been wanting to go there for sooooo long and it looks so beautiful. Unfortunately, Lebanon's out of the picture because my friend who was gonna come with decided not to go. I then also realized that it will save me money not to go and that I couldn't really have a Lebanese experience in 3 days. I'm also trying to tell myself that if I decide I want to go in the future that I can make it happen. That's realistic right? Even without that though, I'm sure Turkey is going to be amazing and I'm trying to let my excitement for that overtake all this . . . whatever they are. Concerns, frustrations, disappointments. I don't know. I'm also gonna try and take a trip to Haifa, back to Jerusalem, Ramallah, and a wine tour before going home. We'll see what happens . . .

So to stop kivetching and update you what's been going on. So, I've probably forgotten a lot since I fail at writing journals (I forgot this about myself), but I'll put up what my pictures and memory piece together. So when I went out with Guys' friends two weekends ago, they first cooked for me (in exchange for me bringing wine). O MY GOD IT WAS AMAZING!!! They made this great breaded chicken with a kind of sweet jelly sauce, potatoes with a parmigiano onion cream sauce, and a salad with cheese, apple slices, and a red wine dressing. I miss real food so bad. It really made me so happy. After hanging out for a while eating and talking, we went out to this club called Comfort 13 for a 90's party. Jay and Becky also went but with some Israeli friends of theirs. It was a lot of fun. It's been too long since I went dancing and of course the reminiscence was entertaining as always. At the same time, a lot of the music was what was famous in Israel in the 90's which made it so I probably actually new only about a fourth of the music. Regardless, it was fun to just go out and dance. We left around 4:30 and walked back towards a main street to grab a cab. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a cab to go to my part of town, so Josh (not talking about myself in 3rd person, he's a new friend) let me sleep over at his place since his roommate was gone for the weekend. The next day we hung out and talked. That was exactly what I wanted. I somehow need to make this happen more often. I got to talk to him about everything from the conflict to whether aliens exist and have visited Earth. He's an interesting guy with some interesting (for lack for another word) ideas.

I totally lost track of time and ended up staying til almost 8pm when I realized I needed to get back for the Israel-Croatia EuroCup qualifier match we had gotten tickets for. I ran back, changed into my Israel colors and quickly had my face painted (we got really into it) and headed out. The game sucked in the end. Israel didn't play very well at all (although apparently, there was a penalty they should have gotten?? Don't ask me) and most people left 15 minuted before the game even ended. However, it was so cool to see what soccer is like there. Everyone was wearing blue and white, even if it was actually an Argentina jersey (very common), although I was much more Israel-ed out that pretty much everyone. They were all into it and had some cool chants (at least I think considering they were all and Hebrew and I don't really know). I also had never heard HaTikva (the national Anthem meaning the hope) sung by so many people and right after, they left off a bunch of balloons and confetti. Everyone was into the game although not as crazily as Americans at the Super Bowl or Argentines at the World Cup. Good experience, fun, but I'm definitely not a sports guy. At least not for how much those tickets cost.

This is where things get fuzzy. Sunday night, I'm pretty sure I went to a neighborhood called Florentin to do a photo assignment for our core class. It's a very cool neighborhood. It's the newly gentrified neighborhood and reminds me a lot of NY. There was some great graffiti. I need to wander more with a camera. It forced me to notice a lot more than I would usually. I'm not very good with details in general. I know it finally rained at some point. That sounds trivial, but it was really a funny experience. It's the only time I've seen rain here and it lasted 5 maybe 10 minutes. It's still gorgeous weather here. It's 81 degrees and doesn't look like it's gonna change much any time soon. I love it, although many Americans here want Fall. I will say though that we apparently are in a weird year and it's supposed to be cooler by now. What a shame! I can't think of anything else except I guess I've been spending lots of time in cafes. Cafe culture is big here. Like, I really wonder if anyone works because it likes like they're just always in cafes. Apparently it's because work life is more creative and flexible here, so a lot of people work from the cafes. I haven't asked at the cafes, just after, but I'm thinking of taking a poll. Coffee here is great by the way. At least at cafes. At home they drink lots of instant, which is awful. They don't really understand what brewed is for better or worse. 

So I guess I'll skip to last weekend. Thursday night, we went out to a club on to port. This area is right on the beach and the more popular, mainstream place to go (loved by some, reviled by others). We had such a great night! After a while of haggling and being annoying Americans, we got in for free instead of 50 shekels each. The music was so good. We knew every song either because it was American or great Israeli pop music. It was just really good, fun get down music :) I was the only boy in the group, so I also had the pleasure of defending the girls from the rather aggressive and relentless Israeli men. At the same time, I managed to hook my friend Laura up with one of these American boys we met from Jerusalem. I'm rather proud of myself. It was a great night for free. My favorite kind! That is until 2 of the girls made us take a cab home (they were in heels) and we paid 45 shekels instead of 15/20 because no cab driver would go that close for anything less. Whatever, it didn't end up being much and it was totally worth it! Friday, I went out with Josh and Amit (Guy's friends) again. We hung out for a while at Josh's place (had a great discussion about American food, which they find revolting for the most part) and then went our to another friend, Adit's birthday party. It was on the beach and they had a bonfire. So gorgeous. Looking to one side was the old port of Jaffa and on the other the skyscrapers of Tel Aviv. That with some roasted kosher marshmallows (not as good as regular) and we had a great night. Saturday night, I went out with Jay and two of his friends to Comfort 13, this time for a British invasion party, which was even better than the last one. I new a lot more this time. A mix of Lily Allen, the Cure, Spice Girls, Chumbawumba and a bunch of other British favorites. Plus, again, this party was free (the last one was 60 shekels)! Sunday, I spent the afternoon in Jaffa. Looking at it from the beach reminded me that I needed to go back. We got some good schwarma and walked around the old city. The views or Tel Aviv, the feeling of times of old, and the beautiful art everywhere made it such a great night. I really love Jaffa. It reminds me that yes, I am in the Middle East. That night, I went with Abby and Max to Mike's Place. Now I've been once before so I don't know how I didn't mention it. It's the American bar next to the embassy that serves American food while playing all the football games. If you know me, you know I only went to hang out with Max and Abby. I figured, why not give it a try. This place managed to very my desire to leave America in one night. I really just don't care about football and don't know how do talk to people who do when they're watching it. I hate being represented by dumb American teenagers drinking beer straight from the pitcher, wearing Abercrombie, while eating Pizza and wings, especially when they bothered to travel 7000 miles to a country with such great good and entertainment of their own. Now, fair enough. NY is largely not like that and I haven't been around the US enough to know what I could find elsewhere. Israel too probably has people like that. But, o well, so I'm ignorant and judgmental. I know. But hey, I like it here, so why fight it? And if nothing else, I can be sure I don't like that America.

Tuesday night, we went to a commemoration of Yitzhak Rabin (if you forgot, he's the one who was assassinated for making peace in the Oslo Accords). This year marks 15 years and this evening was its anniversary in the Hebrew calender. The ceremony was hosted by the scouts and was pretty much all scouts. We didn't understand much, but it was cool seeing their version of something I grew up doing. Scouts is for both boys and girls although I'm not sure of the troops themselves are mixed. Apparently, they're more like little army units according to guy. Not as in actually fighting, but as in how they are organized. I know, let the jokes commence. It's apparently non-partisan and doesn't discriminate, but of course it tries to build a love for Israel, as of course it should. The big ceremony will be on November 4 and that will apparently be packed with lots of big guests and performers.

(Bad picture I know, but just to give you an idea)

Ok, so that's all for now. Wow, I feel a lot better. Thanks for listening (reading) me vent. I really should write more often.

47 יומ

September 26 – October 3 I spent wandering the desert. This is quite amusing to have done on the particular days because it was Sukkot. For all the Gentiles out there, Sukkot commemorates the Jews wandering the desert for 40 years. It lasts 8 days and for that time, you eat all your meals in a Sukkah, which is a little hut/temporary building usually in your backyard. In Israel, neighborhoods build Sukkahs for those who cannot do so in their homes due to space constraints and most restaurants do so also. The first and last 2 days are the most strictly observed. On these days, everything is that would be closed on Shabbat is closed. The in between days are pretty normal. In the 10 days I was travelling, I managed to imitate the Israelites exile, return and wandering in between – albeit I’m pretty sure I had a lot more fun without the manna or slave labor.

So we begin in Jerusalem. We started at the Herzl Museum, which exposed us to Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism. It was very cheesy, but rather informative. In so many ways, I can sympathize with Zionism especially as it arose during a time of intense anti-Semitism. At the same time, from the very beginning, there seems to have been a complete disregard of the Palestinians. From there, we went to Mt Herzl, which is like the Arlington Cemetery of Israel. All soldiers killed during their service are buried there and so are Presidents and Prime Ministers. It’s a very different experience going there than Arlington though in the sense that pretty much every Israeli knows at least one person buried there. It’s much more personal in that sense. It really was an eye opener to a part of the Israeli experience that is completely different from mine. For them, death and danger are the status quo rather than the exception to the point where there seems to be a disregard of it for the most part – at least in Tel Aviv, which is kind of removed from threat in a way that many other places are not. I’m not sure if that’s the attitude most Israelis have. After that, we went to Yad Vashem (Hand of God), which is their Holocaust Museum. It was very similar to the DC museum, but more straight-forward whereas DC has several exhibitions along with the main Holocaust history. Also an interesting difference is that the end of the Museum is with the establishment of the Israeli state and a view over the hills of Judea. There is an interesting implication –I think-- that Israel is the salvation of the Jewish people; it is what finally allowed for an end of the atrocities of the Holocaust as the Jewish people now have their own land. After that we went to the hostel changed and some of us attended Shabbat services, but at a feminist, Orthodox synagogue. To most Jews or those who know much about Orthodox Judaism in particular, the concept is not only foreign, it is an oxymoron. However, their explanation of the idea is very interesting and makes sense to me. So a quick background, In Judaism, there is the Torah (which contains Jewish law as delivered to Moses on Mt Sinai from God), there is the Mishneh Torah (which is the writing down of oral law), and the Talmud (which is a discussion of several rabbis as to how the law should be interpreted). What the congregation we met is trying to do is to preserve God’s law while recognizing that much of what is practiced is culture and interpretation and is therefore subject to change with time, in particular with regards to the role of women. The specifics are complicated and we didn’t have time to get into them, but that’s the general idea. Also interesting, they do not have a rabbi. Instead they make communal decisions and interpretations through committees on which both men and women sit. I think they’re doing something awesome and really want to know more about how their synagogue runs.

Day two was more what you were probably imaging one would do in Jerusalem. We started off walking along the old city walls to get a good picture of what the city looks like. We got about half way around, passing the Armenian, Christian, and Muslim quarters. We did get some good views of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, but to be honest, it was just too hot, which made it not so fun for me at least. Finally we descended into the city and made our way to lunch. On the way, we entered some churches along la Via Dolorosa, which is the path one takes to visit the 14 Stations of the Cross. Each one represents a step along Christ’s path to crucifixion. There were soooooooo many people along the way from all around the world. I really couldn’t stand it. It’s not just the fact that I don’t believe in it and I therefore think it’s . . . well, you know. It’s that is felt so superficial. The mobs of tourists and all the ceremony of it really took away from the significance of the sites, or at least that’s how I felt. That might just be because I’ve never wanted to go to the touristy places much. What I really had fun doing was going off through the market while our lunch was being made through all the narrow streets seeing the vendors, their wares, and all the people going about their everyday lives. In a lot of ways, it was how you’d imagine a Middle Eastern market to be. Crowded streets, narrow alleyways going who knows where, people dressed in traditional Palestinian clothes (although plenty of men wear jeans and shirts), lots of dust and people calling out to you, and very hot. I walked down a bit with my friend Kerra and then stopped in a Kafiyya store, which is the typical Arab headscarf. I really wanted to get a Palestinian-style one. There are many now being made in China very cheaply, but I insisted on one handmade in Palestine. I definitely paid the price for it. The gentleman started at a price of 250 Shekels, which is like $70. I would never have guessed he would start there. I went for 100 Shekels. Through a long process of bartering and Kerra being adorable and helping me get discounts, we got it down to 160 shekels which is about $43. I still definitely overpaid. My tour guide wouldn’t tell me be how much and said it’s better not to know after the fact. But it’s one of the 3 things I have to have before coming back – that and an Israeli and a Palestinian flag. From there we had lunch and then went to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Church felt like the other sites I mentioned. The Wall, not so much, but that’s probably because it’s open and you don’t feel so choked by tourists. After the tour was over, Sruti and I went to visit a friend’s grandparents who live in Jerusalem. They were incredibly sweet and hospitable. We had an amazing evening talking about Israel, the US, Islam, and the world all while looking over and listening to Jerusalem. The sounds were really an experience on their own. We heard church bells on top of Islamic calls to prayer and the IDF doing practice drills along with fireworks and music from an Arab wedding. It was unbelievable and unlike anything I have experienced or can describe. This was the background to a great discussion in which the Kuvins gave me some good perspective from the eyes of Americans who have been in Israel much longer than I and have a lot to make me aware of – with a side of the best iced coffee you’ve ever had in your life (it had a scoop of ice cream in it). If you know me, you know this is exactly what I wanted out of my time here. When we got back, Kerra and I grabbed dinner (actually just me and she came along) and then we joined everyone at a hooka bar in what was clearly the American district. It was completely packed. My aversion to touristy places led me to wander and get lost in Jerusalem with my friend Ashley. Around midnight, we called it a night.

Sunday, we started off with one of the founders of the Black Panthers who told us about the Katamon area of Jerusalem. The Black Panthers is a group that was established to advocate for Arab Jews (Mizrachim) who immigrated to Israel. They found themselves very poor when they arrived and pushed into this neighborhood of projects essentially. There was also a stigma against them from the Ashkenazim (Eastern European Jews) that made progress difficult. He gave us an idea of the problems that have been faced and some of the lingering issues, which turn out to still be the basics of education, housing, and employment. We then said “Shalom” to Jerusalem and when to the sweet water springs of Ein Gedi to hike, floated on the Dead Sea, and then arrived in the Bedouin village we would be staying at that night. During some free time, I got a chance to wander by myself to a real village nearby (ours was very touristy). I really want to learn more about the Bedouins. The way they live is so simple. They have livestock and live in shacks made of metal scraps and still keep their culture and language (Arabic) despite existing in Israel. As I was walking around, 2 boys (I imagine 10 and 8) came up to me and introduced themselves. They were so friendly; they just walked right up to me, stuck their hands out and said “Hi! My name is (sadly I forgot).” Unfortunately, we could say little to each other as their English was limited and my Arabic is even more. I went back and we went to the tent and we went to dinner. The restaurant was covered in soccer paraphernalia and reminded me of an American sports restaurant – until the food came out. We had hommos, baba ganoush (an eggplant spread), pita, Israeli salad, lamb and chicken kebab, and French fries (a hint of America). THE BEST SPORTS BAR FOOD EVER!!!!!! We then went back and did a short night hike. The more we walked around the desert, the more I came to love it. There is this overwhelming feeling of freedom and this connection to nature that embraced me and overtook me. If there was anywhere I felt God this trip, it was in this vast expanse of His creation. Maybe God doesn’t like gaggles of tourists either.

The next day, we got up at 4 am to hike up Masada and see the sunrise. Except it was too dusty to really see the sun. O well. From there we stopped at Ben-Gurion’s burial site and then stopped for one last hike. This was the best one though. It was more like rock climbing with ropes and ladders up steep inclines. I wish my brothers had been there. They would have loved it. We stopped at a mall in Dimona for lunch/break and then went to the kibbutz we were going to stay at that night. It was a dance kibbutz specifically for people who are older and want to start to dance (by older, I mean teenagers and up). We had a movement lesson that was a lot of fun and then had dinner and then I went out to be in the desert for a while again. That night, I went with Guy, Max, and Caitlin to a small jazz bar for jam night and watched Max join the band, which was surprisingly fun. I was actually impressed. It was the weirdest group of Rastas and hobos that just wanted to make music and they did a great job once they got a feel for each other.

The next day we did a jeep tour of the desert which was cool, but the best part was going to an unrecognized Bedouin village. They made us lunch, a sort of arroz con pavo, and I ate with my hands while sitting on the floor. They then gave us a lecture on the town and told us how the Israeli government has tried to uproot and contain Bedouin villages and refuses to recognize many that don’t comply. It was very interesting and made me want to get even more involved with Bedouins.

From there, 10 of us were dropped off in Beer Sheva to embark on our journey to Cairo!!!Our bus went to Eilat and we then took cabs to the Taba border crossing. Luckily, we had chartered a bus to wait for us and take us to Cairo and they were very helpful in getting us through the border. The drive through Sinai was long and bumpy, but by 5ish am, we had made it to our hostel. We had to wait for our rooms to be prepared, but took the time to nap and shower. From there we got breakfast. Coffee, a bottle of water, and kosher (this rice, macaroni, chickpea dish) cost about 10 pounds or $2. We then went to the Egyptian Museum, which has King Tut’s burial mask, many ancient Egyptian ruins, and many real mummies. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed. By this time, about 7 people had already mistaken me for Egyptian, so at this point I decided to start counting. I then went and got shish kebab and took a nap. Luckily, behind our hostel was an Egyptian neighborhood, so everything was really cheap. That night we went on a dinner cruise down the Nile. They had musicians, a belly dancer, and some guys in funny costumes that danced too, but the real amazing part was just looking out over Cairo and thinking of where I was. I was floating down the Nile in one of the world’s oldest cities. I finally accomplished my dream of travelling to the Arab Middle East. I was in Africa! Tired from the journey, we passed out early that night.

Charged and ready to go, the next day, we did a tour of the Citadel (built by Saladin in the 12 century) with all its amazing mosques, Old Cairo full of Coptic churches and even an old synagogue, and the marketplace. I got a chance to buy an Egyptian flag (I buy the flag of every country I visit) and some gifts. Haggling is a must and was fun (but I’m too nice). The gentlemen I bought from even brought me tea (Egyptian hospitality) and I got to ask him about Egyptian perspectives on politics. He said his number one priority for Egypt is changing the president (Mubarak’s been around for about 30 yrs), that the US is hypocritical for letting Israel have nukes but not Iran, that he has mixed feelings about the Afghanistan War, and was against Iraq (according to him, the divisions in society needed a strong leader like Saddam). Also, they all LOVE Obama. I was so embarrassed when he asked what Americans think of Mubarak that I had to say most of us don’t know who he is. This conversation is exactly what I wanted and he was excited too for me to bring back Egyptian views to America. We went back to the hostel, took a quick nap, and then headed out to a shisha (hooka) bar. These are everywhere is Egypt. All day long, men of all ages are in cafes smoking and drinking tea or coffee. We went with one of the guys from the hotel (they were all really nice and we became friends) who took us to a place to get dinner and a popular pastry shop (OMG THE BEST DESSERTS EVER, O and 12 cookies for 9.50 pounds or $2). We got a chance to talk to him about Egypt and America and life and politics. On the way back, I started to feel really tired, but I just thought I was hungry since I hadn’t eaten yet. I got back and ate most of my food, but eventually couldn’t finish and had to lay down. Jay went out for a while and when he got back, he found me tired, sick to my stomach, and achy. He touched my forehead and told me I was really hot. He got some friends and luckily one of the hostel people’s friends there was a 6 yr med student. He felt my head and sent someone to get some medicines and a thermometer. My temperature turned out to be 39.2 C or 102.4 F. Luckily, in Egypt, you don’t really need a prescription so I got a strong analgesic, amoxicillin, and a digestive cleanser. He thought it was something I ate. Luckily, with these strong meds and sleep, my temperature came down to 37.9 or 100ish by the next morning.

I still wasn’t in great shape, but it was our day to see the pyramids and I wasn’t about to miss that. So I went, but my version was kind of like “Hi pyramids”, snap, “Bye pyramids”. Same for Sakkara which has the first pyramids in Egypt. The sun was way too much for me and I felt nauseous the whole time, so I didn’t ride a camel and decided to sleep the rest of the day. I was really mad at this. I got to see the sites I wanted, but that night everyone got to go out and see Cairo as an everyday experience and made Egyptian friends, which is really what excited me so much more than seeing the sites. O well. Unfortunately, the sickness made me want to be back in my bed in Tel Aviv and ideally my mom to come take care of me (yes, it turned me into a 6 yr old).

Our last day, I spent mostly in the hostel. I was mostly better by now, but my stomach wasn’t great. I walked around near our hostel for a while with Becky and Jay and found a cheap pair of sandals to replace the one’s a broke in the Bedouin tent. When I got hungry, I broke down, I needed something familiar. I went for the golden arches. I know, it didn’t sound like a good idea to me either, but it was all I wanted. It’s really cheap there. A Big Mac meal is 15 pounds or $3. Oddly, I guess my stomach just felt weird, because I didn’t react badly at all. The fries were so comforting. That night, we met up with Nitya and Jaya, who had been staying with some friends of theirs. We went to this mall that was so crazy. It had everything from Puma and Zara to Burger King and Cinnabon, TGI Fridays, and Macaroni Grill, O and several veil boutiques. Women wore everything from short shorts to Niqab. We ate at On the Border (most people miss American food a lot more than I do. I know “American”). The chips were fantastic, but other than that, it wasn’t so great. We got back packed and at midnight, we said Ma’salaam to Cairo and met our bus to get back to Taba. The journey took 17 hrs from Cairo to Tel Aviv due to distance, plus waiting for the bus in Cairo and waiting for a bus in Eilat. Oddly, it was when we were leaving that I was feeling well enough that I really wanted to go out and have those experiences I had been looking forward to instead of going back to Tel Aviv. Don’t you love irony? O and by the way, by the end of the trip, around 25 people had mistaken me for Egyptian (some of them even insisting I must be or at least my parents).

Wow, so that was my desert adventure. This week we have been chilling and recovering from it all. I did get to hang out with Guy's friends again this weekend, which was great. I'm really excited to hang out with more Israelis. I’m finally pretty much all better. Luckily, I don’t have to recover financially. I set aside way too much for this trip, which is a very welcome surprise. I really want to go back and can’t wait to go to Lebanon now so I can try out more of the Arab world. Hopefully, they’ll let me in. There are so many pictures from this, so if you’re interested, I’ve put them all up on Facebook. Right now, the internet is being dumb so I can't get more onto this, but I'll try adding more later.