Gilad Shalit

Yesterday (18 Oct 2011), an Israeli soldier named Gilad Shilit was released after over 5 years of being held prisoner in Gaza by Hamas. In exchange for his safe return, Israel agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. For a synopsis, click here.

This was huge news here in Israel. I became familiar with this story last year, and when we arrived here in June I saw signs around Tel Aviv & Jerusalem calling for his release. When the day finally came, and it was impossible not to feel the emotion.

What was so interesting to me was the general public response--which is simply enormous. Israelis have an insatiable appetite for news, especially moving stories like this one. Every person I knew was glued to the TV, the computer, and the newspaper to follow the events as they unfolded.

It all started a week ago when they announced the agreement--my friend Izzy was reading the breaking details of the deal on his smart-phone during a jazz concert in Jerusalem. I looked around and noticed that our entire row were doing the same. "This is history," he told me. Yesterday the story was everywhere. People were talking about it at the embassy warehouse, at Lydia's dance lesson, standing in line at the butcher, at our neighbors, and even at the jam session Monday night. And of course his release was covered on the news around the clock.

People followed this story as if Gilad was their own brother coming home. And the truth is, that's exactly the situation--people from all sides of the political spectrum are elated to see one of their soldiers return home, even if many are apprehensive about the potential danger--or don't agree with the terms of the deal. This is one moment when Israel feels to me like a single, tight-knit culture who's common bond emanates from a shared experience in military service, which unlike in America, is mandatory here. While there are a myriad of cultural differences at play in this tiny, complex country, yesterday the sentiment was unanimous: "Baruk HaBa" Gilad [it's like saying Welcome Home]. I'm sure that the same sentiment is shared about 1,027 times over in Palestine & Gaza as well.

One thing is for sure: there's never a dull moment over here in the Middle East.

Shalom Y'all-Stew

Ein Bokek

Following our adventure at the bedouin camp, our posse threw on some swim suits and headed East to the Dead Sea for a little Tee-ul (excursion) to Ein Bokek. At Ein Bokek, there is a small stream that winds through the desert and empties into the Dead Sea, and it is a popular spot for Israelis to do a little hiking and swimming. The scenery is gorgeous, full of trees and vegetation, and the water is refreshingly cool despite the desert heat.

This is how it works - you park your car in the desert, with no water in sight. Then you follow your friends down a rocky trail towards a few stray bushes. When you reach the bushes, sure enough you discover the slightest hint of a stream. Next, you walk on the stream and follow it as you wind up a mountain. The further you go, the deeper the water gets (only calf high at most), and the thicker the foliage grows. It is truly an oasis. I have never done anything like this before. The stream itself was our path, and we walked through the cool ankle deep water, following the spring to it's source. So fun!

However, we learned 2 important lessons:

1) Israel high holiday season is not the time to visit vacation destinations. The place was packed, as you can see from the pictures and video.

Beautiful scenery: awesome.

Beautiful scenery crowded like black friday at a mall: not so awesome.

2) What starts out as lovely and adventurous, turns tedious when you add small children into the mix.

We had a wonderful hike up to the pools, and a dreadful hike back to our cars. Once everyone hit the "I'm tired and hungry" wall, all bets were off, and the energy that seems bottomless in our 3 & 5 year old bottomed out. Will, whom we couldn't hardly keep up with on the way up, whined the whole way down.

"I'm tired."

"I can't do it."

"Why did God put all these rocks in this water? I hate rocks in water."

"I'm falling! Carry me!"

Lydia was no better, and by the time we reached the car, we were quite honestly.... done.

Just look at that face on Lydia

And do you know what lifted our spirits? Seeing the golden glow of the McDonalds arches across the highway from where we were parked. We had not partaken of any fast food, much less McDonalds since pre-move (at least 4 months ago), and for some reason those Golden Arches looked like just as much an oasis as the crisp cool water of the spring. A hallelujah chorus flooded my mind, and we all piled in the van with visions of happy meals and chocolate milk shakes.

Let me just take a moment to remind you that I have already mentioned that it is high holiday season. The outdoor activity was crowded like a full elevator. And yet, somehow it did not cross my mind that a McDonald's stop might be a disaster. I only saw familiarity and a chocolate milkshake.

Well, as you might have guessed, my tunnel vision led us astray. I was determined not to disappoint the kids or miss an opportunity for caffeine and (have I mentioned this yet?) a chocolate milkshake.

It turns out that McDonald's is the worst of American and Israeli culture combined. The ABSOLUTE worst. The food was awful. The service was terrible, and the crowd was more similar to an angry gang mob than actual humans. It was almost unbearable. Israelis (yes, vast generalization coming here, but bare with me - it's accurate, and any Israeli will concur) are entirely incapable of forming a line. So now imagine 50 people standing in front of the counter, shoving, elbowing and cutting in line. Seriously. Roughly 1+ hours later we made it out alive, and with food in hand. Oh, and did I mention that 2 happy meals, one chocolate milkshake and one diet coke added up to roughly $40.00? Yep, those golden arches don't look so good anymore. The bubble has officially been burst. Lesson learned. Note to self taken.

So, the post trip rundown is this:

Would we go to Ein Bokek again? Definitely.

Would we go to Ein Bokek again during a holiday? No.

Would we go to McDonald's again? Only if our lives depended on it. I can wait 2 years for that chocolate shake. No problem.

Shalom y'all,

E

Bedouin Camping

We must begin this post with a big thank you to Stewart's sister, Ashley, who introduced us to her friend, Aline. Ashley and Aline work for the same company, so when Ashley found out we were moving to Israel, she immediately got us connected to one another. This introduction has proved to be a wonderful friendship, and if it weren't for Aline and her family, we wouldn't have seen or experienced half of the Israeli culture we have thus far. This is the family that took us desert hiking as our first indoctrination, introduced us to amazing music (thank you Izzy!), craft fairs, beaches, and now... Bedouin camping. Here's Aline:

On the way to the camp we wound our way through the desert, following our friends to meet up with the others in our entourage at a random "forest" on the edge of the dessert (Yatir forest, we think). The topography here in the middle east is just unbelievably different from anything in the states. While we had our enjoyable picnic lunch, two gentlemen and a camel appeared out of nowhere offering camel rides. Will was first to jump at the opportunity, and as you can see for both of the kiddos, they were all smiles!

After lunch and camels, it was on to the bedouin camp.....

Kfar HaNokdim

The place is called Kfar HaNokdim, and it is literally an oasis in the middle of the desert. You must check out the link to the website to get an idea of this camp and the Bedouin community. There is also a short movie clip featured on this interactive map of Israel, www.eyeonisrael.com.

Unfortunately, one of our camera lenses broke at the beginning of the trip, so we lost full use of our camera (FAIL). However, we found this little advertisement/video on youtube that covers the experience perfectly! We stayed in the goat hair/ succoth large tent, and we brought and prepared our own food.

The view from our tent:

Our tent (part of it):

The kids just absolutely loved it and entertained themselves for hours just running around inside.

Five families with a total of 10 children (ranging from ages 1-8) all sleeping in one tent sounds like mayhem, but it worked out quite nicely. The tent was huge, and we each claimed our own corners and mats. The donkeys, which from this experience appear to be nocturnal and LOUD, were the biggest deterrent to a wonderful night's sleep. The donkeys plus the wind flapping all night reminded me of my first deployment to Qatar, but this was a far more pleasant experience.

Check out Will's sneaky-cute smile.

After we arrived and settled in, we decided to take camel rides before sunset. The air was pleasant and cool and a much better alternative to the morning heat.

Pictured above was our guide for the camel ride & below were our trusty Gamalim (camels). Will was too young to ride the camels (you had to be 5 as per their insurance), so he and Elizabeth made the trek on donkey. Lydia noticed that half-way through our trek that the guide stopped and "lit a cigarette with his own little mint leaves from his pocket." I'm not sure those were mint leaves...but surely they made the journey a little easier for those on foot:) After traveling only an hour with Lydia on a camel and seeing Will and Elizabeth together on a donkey, I have a whole new appreciation for those short verses in the Bible that recount traveling through the desert on these animals. I will never read Luke 2:4 the same way again--a pregnant teenager riding a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem would be an arduous affair indeed. Also, seeing my friend Izzy sit on a donkey where his feet almost hit the ground & the poor animal's legs looked like they might buckle made me consider just how un-dignified it was for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem on an ass (Matt 21:1-11).

The view of the desert was amazing...Will clearly agrees.

Finished, just in time for sunset.

Dinner the first night:

Breakfast the next morning:

This was a truly wonderful experience with a great bunch of folks. We are continually impressed and humbled by the warmth and patience of so many Israelis to include us in their seemingly endless adventures around the country and to humor us with our less-than-exceptional Hebrew. As for Kfar HaNokdim, it was a unique and beautiful place that we will definitely have to visit again. Who's in?

Shalom Y'all...