Mah matzav?

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so, things are happening in israel. its pretty intense right now, but i'm taking one day at a time (as everyone is) and trying to go about things as normal as possible. see here is where me writing a blog doesn't work, because there is much i want to say, but i don't want to say it and scare people. so i'm just gonna say that if u really want to know what is going on, just ask me, but i'm going by the "too much information" philosophy here.

sooo.
today, i went to this town called Zichron Yaacov. It is a beautiful picturesque town on top of a mountain overlooking the mediterranean sea. it was founded in 1882 as one of the first modern settlements. it became a Rothschild settlement a couple years after that. For those who don't know, the Rothschild Family was one of the richest families in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, and they happened to be jewish, so they had a lot to do with settling and cultivating the land of israel. here's your history lesson: in 1882, the land known as Israel now, was under the rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, who had been ruling for 400-500 years over the entirety of the middle east. while now the area of the carmel that Zichron is in, is full of vineyards and fields and everything blooms, in 1882, it was barren land and swamps and the people could barely grow anything to survive, and many got sick or starved to death in the beginning of the settlements. fun times no? it took many years to make this area grow. now around the time of WW1, the british were trying to take over the area of israel and kick the turks out. so people in Zichron started a spy network to tell the british the secrets of the Turks. while the spy network helped tremendously, all the main leaders in the organization were eventually caught (mostly separately), tortured and killed. So enough history... haha israel is all about history, so this won't be the last thing you hear.

Anyway, so the main road through the village that existed at the beginning time of the settlement is still there, and today the area along with the original homes have been restored to mostly their original ways. it is quite a beautiful little street. there are a few musuems in the town, the original synagogue, and winery. there is also lots of artists there. this town is a major stop for tourists, with a lot of rich americans living there who have moved to israel. and it is probably one of the most expensive places i have been in israel. just falafel and a water was 26 shekels! normally its like 15 tops. 26 shekels= about $6, so its not that much by american standards, but here it is.

oh, so to get to the town, i took the train! everywhere i've been in israel, i've taken the bus, so the train was something new. it was very nice and quick and just a little more than the bus. i'd have to say it was better than amtrak for sure, mostly because its much cheaper and for you NOVA/DC people, its more like the VRE or MARC train. but its very comfortable, and all the cars are double decks. the only bad part was that it was terribly confusing for me which train to take. they would tell me to wait on a certain platform for my train, but then 2 or 3 different trains come to that platform and go different places, so it was hard to figure out which was the right train i was supposed to take, since nobody toldme the number of the train, just the town i was supposed to go to. and while they had a timetable posted in the train stations, i couldn't find a map, or a list of the routes! grrr. but i figured it out, and got there and back, so hopefully i'll know better next time.

so, i've realized, that i've done pretty much all the tourist stuff in this country there is to do. at least all the good stuff. i wouldn't say i've done absolutely everything, but i've done an awful lot, between my trip in 2000, and my 2 month stint last summer, where i did pretty much everything that i wanted to do. so, now what is there to do? well i'm finding new things. but july and august were mostly to see my family and friends in israel, and get a short term job until i start the internship program in september. so once i actually start seeing my friends (almost all are in jerusalem) things will move along i think. oh, and fyi, i got a pretty decent scholarship for my internship program, covers more than half. but it still leaves me paying $2700. but i'm still planning on doing it cuz its an amazing program and it will be worth it.

so i've talked a lot here. are u done with me? i'll try and post some pics from my trip today later.

staying safe,
love,
Leah

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Comments

[Shahril]

have a safe journey
after reading the news Lebanon-Israel... it's really intense there... so wish u u a safe journey there..