As you know, my visitors live in almost-ever-amazingly-green Tuscany. they wanted to see the desert. I don't like the desert. It doesn't keep me calm and relaxed as it is for others, for me it's stressing and depressing... well... I was always a Nordic person... I'm into green. I have a good Friend who lives in the desert. We've known each other for over 20 years; I haven't met her for over 10 years, since she moved to the desert. It's not easy to explain someone why it's easier to fly to Africa or Europe than drive 3 hours to visit her. For me it's clear. She lives in ... read more

They said they are coming for a visit and I got excited. "They" are the couple I've lived with in Italy. The couple that taught me Italian (language, culture and cooking), a couple that became friends, mentors, family. Confused? Let's start from the beginning. Early 2007. I've returned to Israel after almost 2 years in east Africa. Couldn't settle back, couldn't understand the culture I've left, the country that had changed, wished to continue traveling. Not touring. Traveling. In a way one can stay in one place and learn about the culture, the people, the language, traditions, and costumes. I didn't want to head back to Africa. Not for a while. A short online research taught me all about wwoofing . I found the light. I've decided to go wwoofing in Italy. What could be more ... read more

Too long. Too long. Again. I've heard some complaints about neglecting my Travel Blog, people who don't have FaceBook accounts (you know who you are, all three people out there) not knowing what's going on with me or if I'm alive… So – before the Jordan II blog entry, let me give you a short update. I'm in Israel. I have a job. I am all back into the "I work 24/7" thing. As if I didn't know better… at the moment I live at the Carmel Market (a Hugh food and everything fake you can think of in central Tel Aviv). It deservers its own blog and I assure you - - - - it'll get one) I went to Jordan. It's my second trip to Jordan in 4 years. The last one was a ... read more

Once again I've decided to try and live in Israel. Last year, when I've decided to stay in Israel I did all the "right" things: a friend had helped me find a job that seemed like the perfect place for me to be in: a new, young company, in the area of solar energy. Only 4 people: myself and three guys. In the first week, when I was the one that complained about the heat in the office (the AC is on 25c, I'm wearing short sleeves, 3 guys in winter clothing) I've started getting the idea that there's something wrong here. In 2 month I've understood we don't speak the same language. The first thing I did was to get depressed, the second thing I did was to try and drown myself in work, thinking ... read more

Is it possible to hike in my own language? The Israel National Trail (H: Shvil Israel) is a hiking path that crosses the entire country of Israel. Its northern end is at Dan, near the Lebanese border in the far north of the country, and it extends to Eilat at the southernmost tip of Israel on the Red Sea, a length of approximately 940 km (580 mi) that's what the gods of WIKI tells us. And I've decided to go check it out: go hiking in Israel, mainly because I don't know the country or the people, as most of us, I don't know my own country. I know Tel Aviv, and I know that Tel Aviv is not Israel. I've decided to be a tourist in my own country and explore. And what's a better ... read more