Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 142

Dutch Version: Toen ik eind januari in Israel aankwam kostte het me aardig wat moeite om uberhaupt het land binnen te komen. Ik voldeed blijkbaar aan alle opmerkelijkheden want overal werd ik er uitgepikt voor extra controle. Dat begon al op Schiphol, ondervragingen, tas leeg gehaald, tas opnieuw gescand. Op Ben Gurion was ik bij de paspoortcontrole de Sjaak. Volg die man maar even?! Ja, inderdaad, diegene die nu met je paspoort verdwijnt zonder iets te zeggen, ga daar maar ff zitten. Na een uur mocht ik dan eindelijk meekomen voor wat ondervragingen. Op zich niets aan het handje en ik ben natuurlijk een goudeerlijke gozer!!!?? Toen moest alles nog ff gedoublecheckt worden en werd Michal gebeld met allerlei vragen. Gelukkig gaf ze dezelfde antwoorden en mocht ik, na beloofd te hebben om niet naar de ... read more

Samstag, 15.03 nach Sonnenaufgang... read more

Updates, updates. Life is interesting and in the interest of not being too hippy-dippy, I'll try to keep my self in control. I'm home. Home as in Israel - not that far off place over the Atlantic ocean I used to call home. That my dear friends (by the way - 1 more new loyal reader Hey!! Hi!!) is what I used to call home. Not anymore. What's absolutly ridiculous however, is how I seem to have melded into the Israeli culture that when I went back to the states, certain things that for the first 23 years of my life were considered normal, were either completely backwards or just "foreign" to me. Take for instance American money. For the life of me I couldn't fit it in my wallet without having to fold it in ... read more

Last weekend, our program took us on a trip to the south. I love the Negev. I think the desert is absolutely breathtaking, and even after a weekend of the heat and mountains of sand and craters of sand, it was still amazing to look at by the end of the weekend. We left early Friday morning and drove down to the south, stopping for breakfast along the way. We got to our first hike, a national park that started in this valley that was created by erosion. The trail led us up a whole bunch of stairs and ladders and we ended at the top. I did this same hike on Birthright last summer, and it was significantly easier this time, mainly because I knew exactly what to expect. The view was just s amazing ... read more

HAMAS has issued new warnings abroad, from what I hear. Life continues on here for most Israelis. Some of the tourists seem preety tense, but all in all, its life as usual. I still don't feel too much tension. Maybe its because Im a native New Yorker and live in DC, or maybe Im too ignorant to realize. My first full night here, Shabat began on Friday at dusk. I assumed everything would be closed. I was starving, so Mandy and I took a walk. The only thing we could find was McDonald's. I don't even eat McDonald's at home, but since I was hungry, I had to give in to the Big Mac and 6 piece nuggets. We went back to the hotel afterwards and hung out in the lobby. We met Lee, a ... read more