Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 148

Anger management and inefficiency are the tag words of these next two blogs. I have decided to write about these phenomena’s in two separate blogs, not only because it’s a pretty lengthy subject, but also to well umm…give me 2 blogs because only God knows when the next time I actually sit down and write another one will be. Hey…life happens. +++++ What never fails to amaze, amuse and horrify me at the same time is the lack of utter patience and anger management that Israelis have. It’s actually been researched and documented however that Israelis tend to be more emotionally healthy because they express their feelings (whether or not one likes it actually) and therefore do not bottle up their emotions and cause emotional distress (for themselves…other people? Not the same case). There are spectrum's ... read more

שלום! Hello!! I hope everyone is doing well. I am currently working on my final papers, presentations, and studying for exams. I just wanted to quickly and briefly update my blog and show everyone some pictures from the north of ISRAEL. I was fortunate to spend Shabbath on the 9th and 10th of November with four of my friends (Arik, Vali, Aviad, and Ben) in the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights (רמת הגולן‎) (هضبة الجولان) is in the northern part of Israel and was originally part of Syria pre-1967; this area of land borders Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. Ben (from Boston) and I traveled with three Israelis by train, van, bus, and car to the north; departing from Beer Sheva. We were even able to visit Arik's home in Kfal Vradim (village of roses) as ... read more

Jerusalem Jerusalem. I saw two sides this weekend. The Arab and the Jew. The East and the West. Salat al Jumaa and Shabbat. I arrived to Jerusalem Thursday evening. I stepped out of the bus to the cool Jerusalem streets. The air was chilly, fresh from the rain. My first sniff of winter. Baraa's cousin picked up me, Shayna, Baraa, Ehab, Sam and I in his cab. He drove us down into the heart of East Jerusalem, where we climbed the old stone steps up into Baraa's house. We were greeted with warm welcomes from Baraa's sisters, nephews, nieces, father and mother. We feasted on rice, chicken, and all sorts of delicious concoctions (alas, the names escape me). And ofcourse, tea. Sweet, sweet tea. In the evening us girls sat and talked to Baraa's sisters. Baraa's ... read more

“What’d he say?” I asked the young Jewish boy to my right. “They are going to shoot it,” he replied in his classroom English. Brushing the traditional curls out of his face, he reemphasized, “The robot will shoot the bomb.” Standing on an elevated portion of a building, Raf, Dan, and I lean against the wall, taking in the scene below us. The Israeli police have established a 50 meter perimeter around a bicycle chained to a street sign. An innocuous looking backpack hung on the rear of the bicycle. Every move cautious and calculated, a bomb disposal robot inches closer to the backpack while a somber policeman focuses on a television display, his hands resting on an array of joysticks on the side of the bomb disposal truck. A crackle of Hebrew on a megaphone, ... read more

So I'd like to apologize to the 5 of you who are subscribing to this blog for the barrage of emails..but we just got internet again and as all addicts are apt to do, we're getting as much as possible in as short a time as possible... Thailand wrapped up amazingly...Because of the King's birthday, there were about 5 days of partying all throughout the Kingdom. When I turn 80, you better believe I'm going to party for 5 days...anyway..in celebration, the people of Bangkok decorated the city with massive plywood arches decorated with gold fabric and decorations made out of blank CD's. I assume they decorate the arches with fake CD's in honor of the fact that the backbone of the Thai economy is bootleg programs and DVDs... Also because of the birthday party there ... read more