Israel

Israel is a small country that leaves a big impression. I’ve been trying to figure out how to convey everything without writing a book. Someone asked me how long I was going to be in Israel and I said three to four weeks. They wondered what I would do for so long in such a little country where it takes six hours to go North to South and one hour to go East to West. Who would have ever thought that this tiny country of eight million people, practically an island with its high, razor-wire fences at all borders, would capture my heart. My second favorite country!

For many that come here it has immense religious significance. This was made disturbingly clear as I watched a man at a piece of the Mount where Jesus supposedly stood, kiss and caress it so much that he was practically making out with it. I'm not a religious person but I have great respect for the entire history of this country and definitely believe that the work of a higher power, along with all the Jews, is protecting this sacred land. In Jerusalem you can feel an energy. It’s not something that I can articulate but it`s almost tangible. Plus, Jerusalem at night is magical!

For years I’ve said I could easily be Jewish. I love the food, the way the Judaism is less of a religion and more a way of life, the cerebralness of the Jewish people I know in The States. As I traveled and met Israelis I became more and more eager to visit their country: the land with the highest concentration of hot guys! However I never expected Israel to be so wonderful.

It is a place of contrasts. A haven for vegetarians and vegans alike yet kebab stands are everywhere. Israelis (and when I say Israelis I’m referring to the Jewish population) really just want peace. They would like to live their lives without concerns of their neighbors shooting or bombing them yet they are always alert, aware and prepared. There are areas in their country that they can't walk through yet there are cities where Jews and Arabs live together in peace, even working with one another. Despite their small numbers and need for solidarity, the Jews discriminate against other Jews. Yet a helping is readily given when needed. At a glance, the people appear unapproachable but if you do talk with them they are incredibly warm, helpful and generous. And it's not just me. Every foreigner I’ve talked with uses the same adjectives. Then there is the diversity of the land: in 20,770 sq. km (8,019 sq. miles, slightly larger than Massachusetts) you will find vast desert, sea, waterfalls, rivers, lakes and tree-covered mountains. Did you know that, at 420m below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on land?

I hate to admit it but Egypt really did a number on me. Despite the normal-ness of Dahab, it took me several days to decompress and let my hackles down. I walked the one kilometer across the border from Egypt into Eilat. The harassment continued right up to the end. The border control officer teasingly refused to return my passport as he asked me if I wanted an Egyptian husband and telling me how beautiful I am. I was not amused. I need to learn how to lie so I can tell these predators YES when they ask me if I'm married. In contrast, Israel border control officers couldn't care less about my marital status. I passed through six different check points and they were all very official with a no-nonsense air about them. Yet I still managed to invoke curiosity and the hint of a smile from one of the female agents that was interrogating me about where I was going, what I was doing, etc.

You have no idea how wonderful it was to see that "Welcome to Israel" sign! Signs of western civilization were immediately recognizable: toilet paper in the bathrooms, clean, walkable sidewalks and nice cars. It was Passover week and the entire country was on holiday. Eilat is a lovely beach town and I’d just been two weeks in an oppressive, harassing, dirty, dilapidated, crowded, chaotic, nearly third-world country. So, as I walked on the sidewalk parallel to the Red Sea, I breathed a sigh of happiness to see so many beautiful men and women in swimsuits, music playing, lots of fun being had. Not one car horn beeped, not one comment or harassing word made toward me. Nobody asked where I was from, if I needed help or pressured me to visit their business. The civility of the country brought me to tears. It may sound A bit dramatic but it's not an uncommon reaction for single women upon returning to westernized countries after long periods of time in North African ones.

Hitchhiking in Israel is really easy and safe so I did a lot of it. Never have I had such an epic experience as I did from Eilat to Tel Aviv. After about three minutes of standing there with my sign, two young ladies stopped said they were going my way but making some stops along the way and it would be evening before we arrived. I was welcome to join them or they could drop me off at another point. I hopped in and decided to join them.

The first stop was a ``swimming pool somebody told them about and had shown them `the location on a map. There is nothing but desert between Eilat and Tel Aviv although when the road splits we took the one that goes to Jerusalem. About 45 minutes into our drive we turned onto some dirt path and drove a couple bumpy kilometers around the barren, brown mountains until we arrived at the "pool". I couldn't believe my eyes! A large, reedy lake in the middle of the desert! Fewer than a dozen people were there, swimming, canoeing and picnicking. We changed into our swimwear and jumped in. Then one of the guys invited me to go canoeing. So there I was, paddling around a lake in the middle of the desert! What a special moment! When I woke up that morning I thought I would be taking the bus to Tel Aviv. Never did I imagine that my day would turn out like this. How lucky was I that these girls picked me up?!

Our next stop was the Dead Sea. It is truly one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had! I won't even begin to describe it; I don't want to spoil it for you. I will say, if you haven't been yet, put it at the top of your list!

It was dark when they dropped me off in Tel Aviv and my friend Tomer, whom I'd met in Chile, picked me up and off we went with a couple of his friends to a Mimouna. It was the end of Passover and Moroccan Jews have a tradition of throwing a Mimouna, a celebration where they eat all kinds of sweets, beer and other non-kosher foods. There is music, (a d.j. in this case,) dancing and at this huge home, easily a couple hundred people were at the party. Again, feeling incredibly fortunate.

Tomer's apartment was in the center of the city and as such, it was the hang-out hub for all his and his roommates friends. Sleep could not be gotten before 2:00 but it was good fun, especially the sleep over when eight people fit in the two bedroom flat. Sleeping bags, mattress and couch, five of us covered the entire living room floor! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and hanging out with all these lovely, young people.

Despite it being one of the most expensive countries I've been to, it was immediately clear to me that I wanted to stay in Israel. I went north to Tiberias and the Kineret, aka the Sea of Galilee, where I volunteered at a hostel for three weeks. Not the best place for me people-wise as it is filled with the ultra religious, both Orthodox Jews and Christian tourists. But it is a lovely area and I met some nice people and enjoyed the surrounding area. And the hostel organized trips to the Jordan River were incredible. What a stunning place. The blue-green river is lined with eucalyptus trees and date palms. There were rope swings and a big tree that hung over the river which we easily walked up and jumped off. It was a really special place.

For once I had good timing. While I was here I also got to experience: Holocost Rememberence Day, Memorial Day and Israel Independence Day. The first was just a two minute siren that sounded throughout the country. When it goes off you stop what you are doing, even if driving on the highway, and stand in silence. The second is also a solem day, not just an excuse to party. When the alarm sounds in the evening pretty much everything is shut down until 11:00 the following morning, where you once again stop and stand in silence for a minute until the siren has ended. Then Indepencence Day begins and that is a PARTAY!

Although Tiberias isn't my favorite place in Israel, it felt good to be planted for a bit. On a couple of my days off I went to the far north--Odem where I picked cherries and raspberries in the only place in Israel where they grow, hiked around and found myself less than a kilometer from the Syria border. I went to Jerusalem where I stayed with a kind and generous woman I’d met in the hostel in Eilat. She even invited me back to stay a week if I could. (I did go back but only for a few more days.) In Haifa I stayed with a woman whom I met briefly at Tomer's apartment. We had a lot of fun together in this cool beach town. These people (Tomer included) had barely met me and invited me in their homes, fed me, gave me keys and trusted me while they were off working or out of town. Just an example of the kindness and generosity of the Israeli people. Whenever I get settled some place I truly hope they will visit so I may return the hospitality. Actually that goes for everyone I’ve met along the way and even before my travels.

I couldn't stay in Israel forever but I wasn't ready to leave either. The longer I stayed, the less time I’d have in Turkey. After Egypt though, I wasn’t too upset about not having more time in another Muslim country. So I went off to the middle of nowhere in the West Bank to volunteer on a date farm. Even though they aren't ripe until August, there is still plenty of work to be done. The two men who run it, along with a grape farm, are the nicest people I've ever worked for. Always with a smile on their face, making sure we drank enough water (it was desert after all and it would get to 46 degrees by 11:00 in the morning!) and if we wanted to do something else than what we were doing, we just had to say so. We started work at either 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning and were usually finished by around noon, before it got really hot. It was very physical work but very fun. Trimming date trees, gathering a flat bed of rocks to put around a small swimming pool, pulling weeds and pruning the grapevines, building a warehouse, mixing concrete, loading and unloading a truck full of steel poles and, unloading three flatbeds of volcanic dirt--one five gallon bucket at a time. By the time I left I was bruised and scraped from head to toe but it was the best work experience I’ve ever had. My body enjoyed the workout and I enjoyed seeing the daily results of my labor. I felt rejuvenated!

There is so much more to say about my experiences and the people I met but I've already written so much. Still, even after six weeks, there was so much I hadn't done, so many places left to see and hikes to do. Unfortunately late spring is not the time to be hiking in the desert. I didn't want to leave but I did want to see Turkey so it was time to go. But first another stop in Tel Aviv to spend a couple days ogling all the hot guys on the beach that was alive with people playing paddle ball, swimming and surfing.

Consider yourself forewarned Israel, I will be back!