Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 145

It's been a while since the whole team has had input on what the update says, so here we go! Kieran aka "Keys" or "Kiwi": Hi! Having a blast round here soaking up the atmosphere and being able to cross the road without 50 million near death experiences per square cm (that might be a slight exageration...) I have been a tad sick but my health is on the ride even though I'm still coughing so hard I want to laugh at myself. :-P It's so awesome hanging out with the backpackers here in the Holy Land, to see the places where Jesus walked with them (the backpackers) and to be able to answer their questions about Christianity; I really feel useful. Oh and something super cool I forgot to mention. We went to a traditional ... read more

These sorts of signs are in every restroom at Haifa University. The translation for the top one is: “Please! The paper goes into the trash can.” The bottom one says, "Throw the paper into the trash can." We’re not really sure what to make of them. As you can see from the picture, there is a small wastebasket next to the toilet. The wastebasket is almost always empty, just like this one. On the occasions when I have seen discarded paper in the basket, the paper is never … how to say this delicately … streaked with brown. The signs are in both the men’s and the women’s restrooms, which eliminates one obvious possibility. We want to do the right thing with our paper, but we're confused. We’ve asked numerous Israelis to explain the meaning of ... read more

With Australia Day celebrations approaching in Jerusalem, I decided to take a few days off beforehand to tour the Holy Land. A few mates ended up being free as well so we piled into a hire car and headed down to Jerusalem. After a few textbook road trip moments (the highlight being driving through snow without snow chains and proving the car had ABS) we finally made it to Jerusalem. We even managed to fit in a quick snowball fight, much to the amusement of some Indian UN peacekeepers in the area. With two days free Dean, Corey and I headed into the Old City after a well earned sleep in. Though it was my second trip to the Old City it was just as impressive as the last. I cannot help but be affected by ... read more

WOAH!! Seriously what a week this has been. It has absolutely flown by and I have had an absolutely AMAZING time. Honestly, I can’t say it more than now that I LOVE MY LIFE. I was sitting on the beach the other day and had a brief few minutes by myself and started a flashbook of pictures in my head of all the places I’ve been and what I’ve seen and put on one of my stupid little smirks. I tried to do the beach thing every day. But it’s not the typical beach weather…it is still winter in Tel Aviv, so its long sleeves and pants on crisp sunny days just soaking up the warmth. Like autumn which is my favorite season. The beaches however are packed! Everyone hangs out on chairs and at the ... read more

OK, so here I am at the end of my second day in Tel Aviv, it was a wonderful day, I started out, packed up my hostel and then made for the market, I heard from something I read that there was a really nice fruit market, but really it was more like a flee market, I do not need another freakin' thing, oh my gosh... People everywhere, stuff everywhere! Oh but I can't forget to tell you that I started out my morning at a place called "My Coffee Shop," had a great cappuccino and wrote in my journal, then I made my way through the market! Finally I came upon the fresh fruits and vegetables and bread, it was lovely. I stopped for some fresh squeezed OJ which cost me about a dollar and ... read more