Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 137

Well, we made it safely to Jerusalem. First, the Ben Gurion airport is stunning. There is a beautiful water sculpture in the middle of the lobby. The drive by Sharout to Jerusalem was a bit of an eye opener. We travelled with some Israeli's and they pointed out the various check points and the narrow corridor of undisputed land that links Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (basically, just the highway). The large wall separating Palestinian settlements from Isreal comes right up to the road at times. We are staying at Allenby #2, right near the central bus station. It is a very warm place to stay. The owner, Dani, is a great host and others staying here are from Guam, the Netherlands and New Jersey. A map on the wall shows where people have come from all ... read more

אז זהו זה ....הרגע לו חיכיתי כבר 5 שנים הגיע.... סיימתי את התואר הראשון שלי ברוקחות ועוד ארבעה וחצי ימים אני טסה לחילופי סטודנטים בארה"ב (: וואוו!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! אני כ"כ עסוקה בסידורים והכנות לנסיעה הזו שעוד לא ממש יצא לי לשבת עם עצמי ולעכל מה שקורה לי. אני טסה לבד פעם ראשונה בחיים בעקבות מה שנקרא ה"חלום האמריקאי" שלי. אני הולכת לטוס במשך 13 שעות ולמרות שיש לי פחד טיסה אני יודעת שאני אצטרך לעמוד בזה כי אני חייבת לראות על מה כל המהומה בלהגיע לממלכת האפשרויות הבלתי נגמרות. לעולם הגדול. למקום שבו הרוקחות בשיאה. אומרים שהמקצועיות של הרוקחים שם גבוהה, הסיפוק מהעבודה גדול, הכבוד שניתן לרוקח הוא לפחות כמו לרופא והמשכורות משמחות לבב אנוש. אז אומרים.... אבל האם "החלום האמריקאי" הזה אמיתי? האם באמת כ"כ טוב שם בארה"ב ? והאם - גם אני אוכל להגשים שם ... read more

Today was our first full day in Israel. We both slept well, however Carly's cot folded in half on her when she went to lie down to sleep. Unfortunately both of her roommates were already sleeping when she went to bed and couldn't fix the bed. She tried but to no avail. The next day Derek attempted but to no avail. By the end of the day we had a new cot put in the room. Hopefully she will have a more peaceful sleep tonight. We woke up early to an amazing extravagant breakfast. Derek's favorite breakfast items were the pickles and chocolate pudding (not together though). Carly's favorite was the smoked white fish and cheese. We all got onto the bus and headed twords Tsfat. We were soaking in the mountainous scenery from the lower ... read more

Shalom! (Peace!) I am sorry that it has taken me so long to write, but I have been busy, busy, busy! My time in the Czech Republic has ended and I made it home safely. I am now on my second big adventure in Israel! I have been here for a little over a week already and have already seen some fabulous sites. I will post pictures shortly and will describe my last days in Brno as soon as I can! ... read more

It was a sick twist of fate that my first day of kitchen duty came just a few hours after Pub Night. Pub Night, here at kibbutz Baram, is taken very seriously. The pub is open Tuesday and Friday nights and is one of few organized social activities offered to both members and volunteers. Unless you're banned from the pub for missing your pub cleaning duty, everyone shows up for Pub Night. And though I wanted to be fresh and ready for my 5:45am kitchen call, I knew that if I missed out on my first Pub Night, I risked being socially ex-communicated. I managed to stay for only one beer, but as the Pub doesn't open until 10pm, I was out later than I would have liked. I did have the good sense to leave ... read more