phew

well hello hello dear friends.

i know this email has been a some-time coming, but this trip has been so go-go-go that i haven’t had any real time to sit down and do it justice. and how, you may ask, have i found the time on this beautiful sunny day? easy, i would reply—i just made the executive decision to skip the morning wrap-up classes and treat myself to some freedom.

 so. where to even start? so far, so good. i have been up and down the country, watching the desert roll by from the window of a nauseating bus, and i still can’t quite put my finger on the pulse of this place. it is indescribable. i have spent most of the time in jerusalem (and mainly the old city), which has been claustrophobic and chaotic. there is a sweet rotting smell that seems to seep out of the stones, and on especially hot days it can be oppressive and sickening. also the place is infested with cats, they’re like squirrels in north america, but more dangerous because they’re so gosh darn cute and it’s disarming because the instant urge is to coddle and feed them. but it’s not all bad here; besides, i’m biased because i can’t stand bustling cities to begin with. the shuk (marketplace) is an experience in itself, hundreds of people shouting and squeezing through the narrow “halls”, and the smells of fresh fruits, spices, vegetables, candy, fish…well it’s amazing. like a strange dream that never ends (you can walk around for days, although it’s nothing compared to the arab shuk off the old city—that one is more nightmarish, however..dark and damp and equally as crowded, but with less space and more alleyways to get lost down). i prefer the city at night, the heat burns off and a cool wind almost calls for a sweater. i have spent a LOT of time wandering around, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone, and i always find something new and interesting. i have yet to feel the pressure of the politics; all arabs i have encountered have either been almost friendly, or simply ignored me. the israelis are hilarious, they always seem to be yelling rudely at you, but once you get over it you realize that’s just the way they talk, and it makes sense, everything is so hot and loud, of course their blood is boiling.   

we spent some time in the desert, visited a bedouin camp and rode around on camels…i picked a camel that was as sweet-natured as you could call a camel, and i thought i had chosen well until the camel tied in tandem right behind me (and literally within snapping distance) turned out to be the group psychopath and threatened me with angry snarls and groans the ENTIRE ride. i took video footage with my camera, it’s quality youtube stuff. julian i don’t know how you did it in the gobi for so long, the expanse of clay-coloured rock and dirt (not as refined as sand; would love to see a real sand desert now, to compare) left me feeling dried out on a deep level. the best remedy for that was a trip to the mediterranean, where we spent a day in netanya on the beach and splashed in the water as we gazed onto the blue horizon. absolutely beautiful. i think for the next week or so, i am going to go back with a group of girls and just hang out on the beach, relax a bit and enjoy the end of summer before i start getting “serious” in school programs.

oh, another highlight—the dead sea. i didn’t think it would be as incredible as it was. honestly, telling someone ‘oh yeah, it’s great, you really float’ means absolutely nothing to anyone who hasn’t actually walked in and been bounced right out. no wonder they thought jesus walked on water. 

so other than that, we have done the usual rounds of tourist activities, hiked ein gedi (nice waterfalls there), went up to tsfat in the north (which i intend to revisit, because there are a lot of artist galleries and not-scary alleys to explore…the whole city is built vertically up a mountain, it’s awesome, and the air is so clear and fresh up there—they say it is one of the 4 holy cities of israel, and that it’s element is Air…anywhere you look out beyond the houses and buildings, you just see mountains. there is a lot of mysticism buried in that place, and i want to get my hands in it!!). we went to yad vashem, the holocaust museum, and had a talk with a survivor—it laid a heavy feeling into my chest, and whenever i think about it, it is quick to be revived. somehow it became so much more real than all the images and movies we consume. i spent a weekend with yossi at his friend nir’s house, which is on a moshav (a kind of settlement, like a kibbutz, but less socialist), and it was gorgeous. we walked through “his” fields of fig trees, grape ‘vineyards’, sunflowers, helping ourselves to the fruit of the land as we climbed to a hilltop and saw 360 degrees of endlessness. for such a tiny little country, it sure feels gigantic.