Yesterday I arrived in the beautiful city of Haifa. Haifa is like a dream. Everything is amazingly green and full of life. The green is sprinkled with bits of yellow and pink and blue and behind it there is a back drop of a crystal blue sea. I always forget just how gorgeous the Mediterranean is. Beautiful.
Israel is currently experiencing a warm front – unlike Europe and the US. Today I went to the beach and walked around for an hour. I plan on going running later. It’s beautiful.
While here I’m staying with my friend Amir’s parents – Haim and Janet. I swear they are trying to kill me with food. Last night I had a feast. Salad and bread followed by an ENTIRE FISH (Muts). I thought that was it. Then came the chicken. Then the green beans. Then the rice. Then the noodles. Then we walked to the rabbi’s house where there was fruit and cake and tea. Seriously. WAY TOO MUCH FOOD! It was so good.
Then today they were kind enough to let me sleep instead of waking me up to shlep to synagogue. I’m sorry, but here’s the thing… going to synagogue before dawn – that’s crazy. lol. So yeah, I slept. When I woke up we had ANOTHER huge meal. I had corn flakes that was immediately followed by Chamin. Do you know Chamin? In Yiddish I think it’s called Cholent. It’s chic peas and meet and eggs and potatoes – really anything. It’s because you’re not allowed to cook on Shabbat. So, you put it all in a pot on low heat and by the next day it’s ready for lunch. It’s on of my favorite meals. Every time I finished she gave me another plate. I went running after and threw up because I had so much food. lol.
They’ve also made me real tea with mint leaves and keep giving me cookies. I swear, Israel is spoiling me. I love this country and all its Jewish mothers. lol. Other than the fact that my mommy is not here – it’s a perfect country. Speaking of my mom… Each family keeps demanding that I call her. I keep telling them that she calls me. However, they’re like, “Call her! She’ll worry! She misses you! She’s your mom!” HAHA! cute.
Let’s see – what have I not written yet? On the last day in beersheva I decided to head to J’lem. It’s 2 hours by bus and 3 hours by train. I love how everyone in Israel feels like family. Everyone is so tough and jaded… but in the end they’re family. It was Thursday, so many soldiers were going home for the weekend. The bus was so crowded that I had to sit on the floor. The floor was FULL of people. It was a two-hour ride. So, we literally all laid on top of each other and slept. Could you imagine that in the United States? I’d never sleep on a stranger. Here, nobody even asked. We were all tired. So, we all laid on top of each other. No big deal. Sababa. (For those of you who don’t know, Sababa is Hebrew for “cool”).
We got there, saw the wall… I wrote a note to G-d. I don’t really believe in it, but it’s a fun tradition. Then we walked through the Arab market where I bought 2 nargilot (1 for me and 1 for Bekster, for her bday). I’m pretty excited about them. I already used mine. I got us some shitty tobacco… mint flavor… but also some REALLY good Arab double apple tobacco in a tub. So, excited.
We missed our bus on the way back, had to catch the train, and then had to grab a taxi from the train station to the house. The taxi was outrageous. First, the guy said 100NIS. I argued with him and demanded he use the meter. Even with the meter it was outrageous. Lior’s house is probably 15km (about 9 miles) from the train station – I’d guess. It was 80NIS. Whatevs though. I will really miss Lior. He’s such a good guy. Plus, I love Beer Sheva. As beautiful as Haifa is with her gardens and beaches… the desert will always be my favorite. There’s really something beautiful about it. After all, two major religions were born from the desert (Judaism and Islam). It’s a barren wasteland and yet things have adapted over millions of years to live there. I also love that everyone thinks the desert is a bunch of sand. In fact, it’s not. The desert is mostly rock. There is nothing but rocks everywhere. It’s hard to explain. If you’ve never been you need to go. Just sit there at night with good friends and a nargilah, gazing at the stars. It’s great. I love S. Israel.
So, tomorrow is my last day in Haifa. Then I go to Bethlehem and then Tel Aviv again. Then I go to London to see Leah and Peter.
I hope you all are braving the cold well. I’m NOT looking forward to it. lol. Especially not after this beautiful weather.
Shabbat Shalom my friends!
