Blogs from Middle East - page 907

There are a few things people don't tell you about Israel that, as an American, I find a bit strange. First, people don't keep their dogs on a leash. Not in cities - not anywhere. As someone who lives in New York, where the average dog is 75% pit, I have simply grown cautious when it comes to strange dogs. And I love dogs, pits included. I live with a darling New York rescue mutt and he's sweet as can be. But when I'm walking down the street in a foreign city and I see a German Shepard trotting freely towards me, I'm bound to get a little bit nervous. On Traffic: People ride their bicycles on the sidewalks. I asked around to see if this is in fact legal and at best, got a shrug. ... read more

Here is more or less the itinerary of my last week or so in Israel. Thank you Katherine and Erica for organizing this! I wouldn't have remembered other wise. As you can see, it was packed to the brim. Sunday Arrive at hotel in Jerusalem Dinner and Icebreakers Monday Panoramic view of Jerusalem Tour of the Old City and Wailing Wall Short hike through arab village (name anyone?) Long bus ride up to the Golan Heights Evening at Kibbutz Gadot Night out at Kibbutz pub (bar in bomb shelter, ha.) Tuesday Half-day Canyon water hike in the Yahudia and Kazerin canyons of the Golan Heights - swimming in water falls. Rafting the Jordan River Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias Camping at Antina campsite Campfire fun Wednesday Hike in Amoud Wadi near Tsfat (forested ... read more

So on the return bus we met some guys who were studying English and asked us for help with their homework! One thing I have noticed is that a lot of Syrians aspire to marry English girls which I find puzzling but I think they see us as wealthy moneybags or some such rubbish! Got back to the hotel before going out for a meal, as we were in need of a glass of wine we went to a restaurant that was recommended in the lonely planet. Unfortunately they no longer served wine but they also had no real menu and didnt speak English. I finally decided to imitate a chicken and pointed at my plate and in the end that was what I got lots of chunks of chicken! When ordering milk the waiter imitated ... read more

So, today is not really much different than yesterday. I will say it was best to stay in most of the day, it reached about 92 degrees. I don't feel it is that bad though, there really is not much humidity as in Indiana. This morning we met with an ambassador. That was very nice, he was a very intelligent man. We were able to talk a bit about politics in Jordan and the Middle East in general. He is very prestigious, and it was really a treat to be able to talk to him! Then it was study time and lunch time. After lunch we met with the people in charge of Islamica Magazine. It is a magazine published in Jordan. That was a lot of fun! From there a few of us went to ... read more

I'm not even sure if that's the correct transliteration for the Hebrew word excuse me. There doesn't seem to be a free transliteration website. Well, I've never written a blog before. I don't even read other people's blogs. Everyone else seems to have a litany of go-to web sites, blogs, and such. I don't. When I work at a desk job I go to facebook, gmail, and maybe vogue.com. I have no idea what else is out there and frankly find it hard to get worked up enough to nose around anywhere else. So if you're reading this, you are far more internet savvy than myself. I will now stop blogging about the blog. It's too meta. I'm in Tel Aviv at the moment. I wish I had started this earlier. I've been in Israel for ... read more