Phew, I made it!
Our airport experience fell right in line with everything else about Israel. As we drove up to the airport, our bus was stopped and searched for bombs (at gun point), as all automobiles are stopped and searched for bombs (at gun point). We arrived to find out that there was a fire in the airport, so we couldn't enter. We could however, check out the toughest-looking firetrucks that I've ever seen. They were like battle tanks with hoses! Only in Israel. Once we finally were let in (it was madness, there are no such things as lines in Israel), we were subjected to several minutes of intense questioning to see if we were terrorists. As it turns out, we weren't. We then had to place all of our bags into a heavy-duty x-ray machine, whose technicians actually looked at the screen. Homeland Security, please take note. Another round of questioning, and we were finally allowed up to the ticket counter to check in. And all this before we even went through security! But as much as I joke about the ridiculously long security process, the fact of the matter is that I made it home safely from a country that receives far more that it's share of terror attacks. If you don't believe me, just turn on the news.
Every time that I return from a trip, I notice one more thing that I love about the United States. This time, I've realized how much I value not being searched by a heavily armed guard just to buy some groceries. It's something that I think most of us take for granted.
Well, I'm going to wrap up this installment, but I'm already planning the next adventure. We'll pick this up soon enough! Until then, all the best.
Myles
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
Goodnight moon
Hi everybody,
I know that I said that I wouldn't check in again until the US, but I had too much fun last night not to share it. Most of us are pretty wiped out by this point in the trip, so the bars and clubs don't have much appeal anymore. Instead, one of the local staff members took us up a semi-secret staircase to the roofs of the Jewish and Muslim quarters. In the middle of the night, from that vantage point, things looked downright peaceful. Judge for yourself.
Maybe peace does have a chance, as long as everyone's sleeping. All the best.
M
I know that I said that I wouldn't check in again until the US, but I had too much fun last night not to share it. Most of us are pretty wiped out by this point in the trip, so the bars and clubs don't have much appeal anymore. Instead, one of the local staff members took us up a semi-secret staircase to the roofs of the Jewish and Muslim quarters. In the middle of the night, from that vantage point, things looked downright peaceful. Judge for yourself.
Maybe peace does have a chance, as long as everyone's sleeping. All the best.
M
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Home stretch
Hi there,
If you didn't assume this from all the typos, I put up the last post in a rush. Most internet cafés charge in 15 minute intervals, and I was about to roll over into another one, and the internet's expensive here!
In my haste, I forgot to tell you all that my sister and I spent Friday morning kayaking down the Jordan river. You'd think I'd learn by now (we've been kayaking before), but all I saw for the hour-long trip was the water spraying off her paddle into my face. She thinks she's sooo funny.
Shabbat was more of the same good stuff, but with a little twist this time. The neighborhood we stayed in was a suburb on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and in the distance we heard loud blasts in the Palestine territories. One of the rabbis identified it as tank fire. Of course, we were plenty safe, but it was definitely one of those classic Israel moments. Good times.
I spent today going a bit deeper into the Arab quarter. I never felt at all in danger; there were plenty of tourists looking through the same market as me, but I did see plenty of rugs, drums and antique lamps. It was pretty cool stuff. I knew exploring it was a bit more dangerous than staying cooped up in my dorm, but you just can't find opportunities like this everywhere.
Alright, I'm off to pack up (I leave tomorrow night), but I'll check in again from the US.
M
If you didn't assume this from all the typos, I put up the last post in a rush. Most internet cafés charge in 15 minute intervals, and I was about to roll over into another one, and the internet's expensive here!
In my haste, I forgot to tell you all that my sister and I spent Friday morning kayaking down the Jordan river. You'd think I'd learn by now (we've been kayaking before), but all I saw for the hour-long trip was the water spraying off her paddle into my face. She thinks she's sooo funny.
Shabbat was more of the same good stuff, but with a little twist this time. The neighborhood we stayed in was a suburb on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and in the distance we heard loud blasts in the Palestine territories. One of the rabbis identified it as tank fire. Of course, we were plenty safe, but it was definitely one of those classic Israel moments. Good times.
I spent today going a bit deeper into the Arab quarter. I never felt at all in danger; there were plenty of tourists looking through the same market as me, but I did see plenty of rugs, drums and antique lamps. It was pretty cool stuff. I knew exploring it was a bit more dangerous than staying cooped up in my dorm, but you just can't find opportunities like this everywhere.
Alright, I'm off to pack up (I leave tomorrow night), but I'll check in again from the US.
M
Friday, July 07, 2006
Back in Jerusalem
It's been a while, sorry. In the last few days, we've gone to a winery, Tel Aviv, and spent the night on a kibbutz. Forgive me for not getting to a computer.
Ok, so the winery was located in the West Bank. Yes, that West Bank, the second most dangerous place in Israel (the first being the Gaza strip). The city we went to was right on the border with Jerusalem proper, so it wasn't particularly nasty, but we took a bulletproof bus just to be safe.
Alright, bulletproof busses are one of those terrible ideas that actually appears like a good one. Yes, it's smart to be protected in a turbulent area, but a much better idea might be to simply avoid such places that warrent a bus with plate glass windows. But that's just my opinion. Nonetheless, we really weren't placed in too much danger, because we were surrounded by--and I'm quoting our tour guide, here--"The good Arabs." In other words, people who just want to go about their day.
Here's a pic of the winery owner giving us a tour of his production facility.
Now look a bit closer, and you'll see that he's probably the only wine maker in the world that has a pistol strapped to his belt.
The rest of the day was spent hiking (with armed escorts) through the Jewish settlements in the region. The settlement issue is a complicated one, and warrants at least it's own posting, but I'll sum up the basic points. Ok, so Israel and Palestine are not exactly two equal states, the Palastinian territories (Gaza, West Bank, and a few others) are somewhat autonomous, but tecnically under Israeli control. Within them are Jewish outposts that are actually part of Israel, even though they may be surrounded by Palestine territories on all sides. They may not even be bigger than a single neighborhood, but are still part of the main state. Many were "settled" in a furious midnight land grab the day Israeli's prime minister signed an agreement halting all new territorial constuction (by Jews), so the residences are often no more than mobile homes or shanties placed on strategic hill top locations. But technically, Israel now has full control over the small areas, since its citizens own the land.
Personally, I think this whole issue (and the rest of the conflict, for that matter) is absolutely ridiculous. It's the type of juvenile behaviour that we had in grade school. Except that this game of King of the Hill costs peoples' lives. Arab land, Jewish land, who cares? There are bigger things to worry about than territorial claims.
Sigh.
On a brighter note, the next day was spent in Tel Aviv. We toured a tank museum run by the Israeli army, which was just what it sounds like. I did learn that women are allowed in the tank core, but only as instructors. Apparently the higher ups thought that beautiful Israeli women carrying M-16s might hold a guy's attention. I think that they were right.
The evening was spent downtown. If Jerusalem is God's city, Tel Aviv is the Devil's. All night parties, amazing beaches, alcohol that flows like water, and some of the most beautiful people that I've ever seen. How come we're only here for a day? There's not much more to say about an evening spent on the beach drinking beer and watching the World Cup on a giant projection screen, other than that it was one of those moments that really makes you love life.
We just got back from an overnight trip to the north, touring the holy cities of Tiberia and Svat. Tiberia was a quick stop, but we spent most of the afternoon in Svat, known as the birthplace of Kaballa. You know, Madonna's mysticism. The main attraction is a super-important Mikvah, a bath tub for the soul. Now, squeezing into a 1 meter pool with three other naked dudes wasn't exactly my cup o' tea, so I spent the day visiting a candle factory and rebuffing the intense barrage of tourist hawkers. ("My friend, my friend, I have good deal for you.")
Here's a pic of a fully intact mosaic floor from a 6th century synagogue.
And here's one of the top of our hike over the Sea of Gallilee.
Last night was spent on a summer camp-like kibbutz. It wasn't too much in the way of good blogging, but it was a nice relaxing evening of informal sports, good food and good company.
Alright, now I've got to rest up for Shabbat, I don't know if I'm ready for it yet. I'll check in after the weekend. All the best.
M
Ok, so the winery was located in the West Bank. Yes, that West Bank, the second most dangerous place in Israel (the first being the Gaza strip). The city we went to was right on the border with Jerusalem proper, so it wasn't particularly nasty, but we took a bulletproof bus just to be safe.
Alright, bulletproof busses are one of those terrible ideas that actually appears like a good one. Yes, it's smart to be protected in a turbulent area, but a much better idea might be to simply avoid such places that warrent a bus with plate glass windows. But that's just my opinion. Nonetheless, we really weren't placed in too much danger, because we were surrounded by--and I'm quoting our tour guide, here--"The good Arabs." In other words, people who just want to go about their day.
Here's a pic of the winery owner giving us a tour of his production facility.
Now look a bit closer, and you'll see that he's probably the only wine maker in the world that has a pistol strapped to his belt.
The rest of the day was spent hiking (with armed escorts) through the Jewish settlements in the region. The settlement issue is a complicated one, and warrants at least it's own posting, but I'll sum up the basic points. Ok, so Israel and Palestine are not exactly two equal states, the Palastinian territories (Gaza, West Bank, and a few others) are somewhat autonomous, but tecnically under Israeli control. Within them are Jewish outposts that are actually part of Israel, even though they may be surrounded by Palestine territories on all sides. They may not even be bigger than a single neighborhood, but are still part of the main state. Many were "settled" in a furious midnight land grab the day Israeli's prime minister signed an agreement halting all new territorial constuction (by Jews), so the residences are often no more than mobile homes or shanties placed on strategic hill top locations. But technically, Israel now has full control over the small areas, since its citizens own the land.
Personally, I think this whole issue (and the rest of the conflict, for that matter) is absolutely ridiculous. It's the type of juvenile behaviour that we had in grade school. Except that this game of King of the Hill costs peoples' lives. Arab land, Jewish land, who cares? There are bigger things to worry about than territorial claims.
Sigh.
On a brighter note, the next day was spent in Tel Aviv. We toured a tank museum run by the Israeli army, which was just what it sounds like. I did learn that women are allowed in the tank core, but only as instructors. Apparently the higher ups thought that beautiful Israeli women carrying M-16s might hold a guy's attention. I think that they were right.
The evening was spent downtown. If Jerusalem is God's city, Tel Aviv is the Devil's. All night parties, amazing beaches, alcohol that flows like water, and some of the most beautiful people that I've ever seen. How come we're only here for a day? There's not much more to say about an evening spent on the beach drinking beer and watching the World Cup on a giant projection screen, other than that it was one of those moments that really makes you love life.
We just got back from an overnight trip to the north, touring the holy cities of Tiberia and Svat. Tiberia was a quick stop, but we spent most of the afternoon in Svat, known as the birthplace of Kaballa. You know, Madonna's mysticism. The main attraction is a super-important Mikvah, a bath tub for the soul. Now, squeezing into a 1 meter pool with three other naked dudes wasn't exactly my cup o' tea, so I spent the day visiting a candle factory and rebuffing the intense barrage of tourist hawkers. ("My friend, my friend, I have good deal for you.")
Here's a pic of a fully intact mosaic floor from a 6th century synagogue.
And here's one of the top of our hike over the Sea of Gallilee.
Last night was spent on a summer camp-like kibbutz. It wasn't too much in the way of good blogging, but it was a nice relaxing evening of informal sports, good food and good company.
Alright, now I've got to rest up for Shabbat, I don't know if I'm ready for it yet. I'll check in after the weekend. All the best.
M
Monday, July 03, 2006
Another photo
Hi there,
Nothing much has happened in the last couple of days (a good thing in Israel), but I did find another photo from Masada, the mountain fort that I went to last week.
M
Nothing much has happened in the last couple of days (a good thing in Israel), but I did find another photo from Masada, the mountain fort that I went to last week.
M
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Camels, mountains, weddings and rabbis
Six months ago, if you told me that I would be spending Shabbat at a rabbi's house in the middle of Jerusalem, I would have asked if you were crazy. Or I would have asked if he had a hot daughter. But here I am, in the middle of Jerusalem, digesting three huge meals eaten in the home of a rabbi, who coincidentally has two gorgeous daughters--both married. But don't worry, I haven't had a spiritual upheaval, I met this rabbi through the trip. One or two of us students are paired with a local rabbi to chat for an hour a day. It's supposed to be a Jew & A about religious issues, but for me it's really more of a game of "stump the rabbi." I couldn't. Nonetheless, we hit it off and he invited me over to his house for the weekend. Just like the last Shabbat, I ate, I slept, I ate, I pooped. That's about it. As an aside, the cab driver on the way over tried to pimp some 16 year old girls to me. Sometimes I forget that I'm in the middle east, and then shit like that happens.
But I get ahead of myself, over the last few days, I've ridden a camel, climbed a mountain, drank with the trip rabbis (alcohol is ok with the Jews, sex too), toured nature preserves, floated in the dead sea and crashed a wedding.
So, the camel was an adventure. After my horseback experience in Argentina, I'm not quite back to trusting quadripeds, but I gave it a shot. The "saddle" amounted to little more than a sheet of leather (no stir-ups), and the beast was, well, a beast. Stubborn, unpredictable, and surly. Woo hoo.
Believe me, those smiles went away very quickly.
Jewish weddings are quite a phenomenon. A friend of one of the trip rabbis got married, and we were all invited to the ceremony. You're all familiar with the glass breaking, the garter removing and the dancing, but seeing it in person was something else. The first thing that struck me was the segregation. Look at the pic, there's a divider on the dance floor separating the girls from the guys.
This is one of those situations where so many jokes rush out of my brain that they bottleneck before my fingers and nothing comes out. You can add your own commentary.
Another difference between an orthodox wedding and others is that the guests are supposed to entertain the couple, not the other way around. This was done in the form of various dances, parlor tricks, flame throwers, and beat-boxing. Yes, even Snoop Jewey Jew got in on the mix, and he was actually pretty good. Bonus: I got to see all of my teachers (local rabbis) absolutely smashed. The next day's classes were a little awkward.
Speaking of Jews and booze, a few other students and I took the head rabbi out to a Hooka bar. For those of you who don't know what a Hooka is, it's like a bong with tobacco in place of weed (not that I've ever used either). If any religion has a chance of flying with me, there are certain prerequisites that must be met, and this is definitely one of them.
Yesterday, we were woken up at 2 am to drive to an ancient mountain fort in the south of Israel. Sunrise is a popular time to climb the mountain (for good reason), and was well worth the wake up call. Take a look:
I've climbed mountains a few times before, but never in 100 degrees of serious humidity. Needless to say, I stunk like a homeless man running a marathon. To de-funk, we took a dip in the Dead sea. For someone who has never been able to float before (being skinny has a price), this was quite a religious experience. That is, until the extreme salinity devoured every opening on my body: cuts, mouth, eyes, and others that I don't need to elaborate on. But suffice it to say, I've never enjoyed a shower quite as much as the one that I took when I got out.
Afterwards, we headed to a nearby nature preserve. I snapped a few pics. Enjoy.
Ok, I think that brings us up to date. I've got a few more big days coming up, so I'll try to check in soon.
Myles
But I get ahead of myself, over the last few days, I've ridden a camel, climbed a mountain, drank with the trip rabbis (alcohol is ok with the Jews, sex too), toured nature preserves, floated in the dead sea and crashed a wedding.
So, the camel was an adventure. After my horseback experience in Argentina, I'm not quite back to trusting quadripeds, but I gave it a shot. The "saddle" amounted to little more than a sheet of leather (no stir-ups), and the beast was, well, a beast. Stubborn, unpredictable, and surly. Woo hoo.
Believe me, those smiles went away very quickly.
Jewish weddings are quite a phenomenon. A friend of one of the trip rabbis got married, and we were all invited to the ceremony. You're all familiar with the glass breaking, the garter removing and the dancing, but seeing it in person was something else. The first thing that struck me was the segregation. Look at the pic, there's a divider on the dance floor separating the girls from the guys.
This is one of those situations where so many jokes rush out of my brain that they bottleneck before my fingers and nothing comes out. You can add your own commentary.
Another difference between an orthodox wedding and others is that the guests are supposed to entertain the couple, not the other way around. This was done in the form of various dances, parlor tricks, flame throwers, and beat-boxing. Yes, even Snoop Jewey Jew got in on the mix, and he was actually pretty good. Bonus: I got to see all of my teachers (local rabbis) absolutely smashed. The next day's classes were a little awkward.
Speaking of Jews and booze, a few other students and I took the head rabbi out to a Hooka bar. For those of you who don't know what a Hooka is, it's like a bong with tobacco in place of weed (not that I've ever used either). If any religion has a chance of flying with me, there are certain prerequisites that must be met, and this is definitely one of them.
Yesterday, we were woken up at 2 am to drive to an ancient mountain fort in the south of Israel. Sunrise is a popular time to climb the mountain (for good reason), and was well worth the wake up call. Take a look:
I've climbed mountains a few times before, but never in 100 degrees of serious humidity. Needless to say, I stunk like a homeless man running a marathon. To de-funk, we took a dip in the Dead sea. For someone who has never been able to float before (being skinny has a price), this was quite a religious experience. That is, until the extreme salinity devoured every opening on my body: cuts, mouth, eyes, and others that I don't need to elaborate on. But suffice it to say, I've never enjoyed a shower quite as much as the one that I took when I got out.
Afterwards, we headed to a nearby nature preserve. I snapped a few pics. Enjoy.
Ok, I think that brings us up to date. I've got a few more big days coming up, so I'll try to check in soon.
Myles