My final thoughts….
Our blog is filled with much adventure, every day survival in an unknown land, and some disappointment of "famous" landmarks. But over the course of the last couple of months as I have taken time to reflect, what I come away with is the memories of the the people along the way. They live in a different culture with different customs and a different language and thousands of years of history. The following are some of our experiences that we had interacting with the people.
The first people group we encountered was at the Newark airport …there were many orthodox Jewish men with their customary clothing and grouped together bobbing back and forth saying their prayers. They kept to themselves and weren't allowed to sit by females on the plane. Ed was seated next to one who was about our age and we did have a conversation with him. He lived in American, had eight children, many the same age as ours, and was going to relax and refresh himself. A very nice man with some tips and concern for our safety while we were in Israel.
Our first day was in Haifa. We set out to explore the city built on a hill and in possession of a poor map…a sure bet that we we would have difficulty in our search for ancient sites. We wondered around and found some things, but were having difficultly finding Elijah's Cave when a lady appeared and asked if she could help and she spoke english! She was a college professor and very helpful and curious to know where and why we were traveling. She even offered to take us by car to Nazareth later that day and gave us her phone number, but our plans did not fit with hers. Probably our loss as I am sure she could have shared quite a bit of information.
In Nazareth while waiting at the local bus stop, an older man stopped to talk to us…he had lived in Nazareth for 50 years since leaving Russia, had been to America and wanted to know where we were from and where we were going. He was worn, but fit and obviously had left Russia during the war to return to what he called "his country". I wanted to ask more questions, but we had a language barrier. I knew he would offer much insight to the struggles during the 2nd World War and about life.
We had contact with many Arab children, some while walking through small Arab villages, others in Jerusalem. In the villages some of the children would come out and want to touch us or if they were kicking a soccer ball they would want us to kick it. But in another small village, when we were a bit lost and needed help finding the trail, they were very leery of us as we tried ask where the trail was using a map and pointing to Arabic words in our guide. Perhaps it was our clothes (shorts) or the language barrier, but one boy actually rode his bike behind us as we left town and found the trail. The kids lived in a small village and I am sure they did not have many lost Americans stopping by, but I hope that we left them with a kind smile and thanks for the help. In Jerusalem the young boys, never girls, were always asking if you needed help finding your way and some even set up their juice stands during the day. They were very enterprising young kids, as help and juice came with a price.
Then there was the young girl on the outskirts of Jerusalem at the light rail station. I was trying to purchase a ticket at the kiosk, but my coins were going straight through the machine and coming out. She walked up and smiled and then took my coin and scratched it on the machine and then inserted it into the machine and her magic worked. She touched my hand and then took another coin and did the same and then I did it and she smiled. Soon I had my ticket. Without a word, we were able to communicate with smiles and touch.
Staying in small family hostels allowed us an opportunity to get a better picture of what life is like for a local family. One that stood out was the Nazareth Hostel run by Tony, his wife, and his extended family. We were greeted with a cold drink and a relaxing sit in their inviting courtyard. Later while I napped, Ed and Eric were invited for afternoon "arabic coffee" and cookies with the family. They were a wealth of information and in the morning fixed a breakfast of fresh vegetables, warm pitas and other local foods.
Shopping in the markets was always fun and challenging. The market in Tiberius was a memorable experience. The man at the tourist office, who spoke very good English, had given us the "inside" of where to go. Our first stop was a small opening with a large Russian woman who was working in her kitchen. Her husband, I assume, asked, using the few english words he knew, what we would like and per the information we got from the man at the tourist office, we said "chorborak". Then he sat down at a table where he was sharing a beer and conversation with some others and she when to work on our order. We weren't exactly sure what we were getting, but once we ate it we ordered another….fried dough wrapped around seasoned chopped lamb…so very good. Next came time to pay so with smiles and coins we were able to figure it out. Our next chore was to get food for the following day. We went into a small shop overflowing with many foods and a deli. Two kind ladies (neither spoke any english) were behind the counter and I was now going to try and communicate that we needed some meat and cheese. I pointed to some meat that looked like ham (and it was) and tried to explain I needed a small amount to which she said "kilo" (that is just over 2 pounds)…my response "no", as I searched my brain for metric equivalents. I was able to communicate 100 grams and she carved it for us and then wrote on a piece of paper how much I would need, but I wasn't done. We stilled wanted cheese and so the process began again. In the end we exchanged smiles and they looked pleased to have helped and we tried to show our gratitude for the help as well.
The Dead Sea area is quite an experience, so dry and hot with high plateaus, but in the middle of the Judean Desert is a small oasis called the En Gedi. Along the river bed there is foliage for about 3 kilometers, but if one plans to climbs up the plateaus there are warning to carry at least 5 liters of water. We continued up and meet an american orthodox jew and his guide. They were very friendly and helpful and we stayed with them for a short while before we decided to take a short route down as we were only carrying a bottle of water each.
There were many others that we crossed paths with along the way. Some offered an encouraging word or a bit of help with directions and we are still thankful for each one. We had some great opportunities to see and visit with the people of Israel. It is truly a mixture of ethnic groups and cultures beyond explanation. I choose to remember the good each one brought to our journey and hope that I can return that goodness to those that cross my path.
Our blog is filled with much adventure, every day survival in an unknown land, and some disappointment of "famous" landmarks. But over the course of the last couple of months as I have taken time to reflect, what I come away with is the memories of the the people along the way. They live in a different culture with different customs and a different language and thousands of years of history. The following are some of our experiences that we had interacting with the people.
The first people group we encountered was at the Newark airport …there were many orthodox Jewish men with their customary clothing and grouped together bobbing back and forth saying their prayers. They kept to themselves and weren't allowed to sit by females on the plane. Ed was seated next to one who was about our age and we did have a conversation with him. He lived in American, had eight children, many the same age as ours, and was going to relax and refresh himself. A very nice man with some tips and concern for our safety while we were in Israel.
Our first day was in Haifa. We set out to explore the city built on a hill and in possession of a poor map…a sure bet that we we would have difficulty in our search for ancient sites. We wondered around and found some things, but were having difficultly finding Elijah's Cave when a lady appeared and asked if she could help and she spoke english! She was a college professor and very helpful and curious to know where and why we were traveling. She even offered to take us by car to Nazareth later that day and gave us her phone number, but our plans did not fit with hers. Probably our loss as I am sure she could have shared quite a bit of information.
In Nazareth while waiting at the local bus stop, an older man stopped to talk to us…he had lived in Nazareth for 50 years since leaving Russia, had been to America and wanted to know where we were from and where we were going. He was worn, but fit and obviously had left Russia during the war to return to what he called "his country". I wanted to ask more questions, but we had a language barrier. I knew he would offer much insight to the struggles during the 2nd World War and about life.
We had contact with many Arab children, some while walking through small Arab villages, others in Jerusalem. In the villages some of the children would come out and want to touch us or if they were kicking a soccer ball they would want us to kick it. But in another small village, when we were a bit lost and needed help finding the trail, they were very leery of us as we tried ask where the trail was using a map and pointing to Arabic words in our guide. Perhaps it was our clothes (shorts) or the language barrier, but one boy actually rode his bike behind us as we left town and found the trail. The kids lived in a small village and I am sure they did not have many lost Americans stopping by, but I hope that we left them with a kind smile and thanks for the help. In Jerusalem the young boys, never girls, were always asking if you needed help finding your way and some even set up their juice stands during the day. They were very enterprising young kids, as help and juice came with a price.
Then there was the young girl on the outskirts of Jerusalem at the light rail station. I was trying to purchase a ticket at the kiosk, but my coins were going straight through the machine and coming out. She walked up and smiled and then took my coin and scratched it on the machine and then inserted it into the machine and her magic worked. She touched my hand and then took another coin and did the same and then I did it and she smiled. Soon I had my ticket. Without a word, we were able to communicate with smiles and touch.
Staying in small family hostels allowed us an opportunity to get a better picture of what life is like for a local family. One that stood out was the Nazareth Hostel run by Tony, his wife, and his extended family. We were greeted with a cold drink and a relaxing sit in their inviting courtyard. Later while I napped, Ed and Eric were invited for afternoon "arabic coffee" and cookies with the family. They were a wealth of information and in the morning fixed a breakfast of fresh vegetables, warm pitas and other local foods.
Shopping in the markets was always fun and challenging. The market in Tiberius was a memorable experience. The man at the tourist office, who spoke very good English, had given us the "inside" of where to go. Our first stop was a small opening with a large Russian woman who was working in her kitchen. Her husband, I assume, asked, using the few english words he knew, what we would like and per the information we got from the man at the tourist office, we said "chorborak". Then he sat down at a table where he was sharing a beer and conversation with some others and she when to work on our order. We weren't exactly sure what we were getting, but once we ate it we ordered another….fried dough wrapped around seasoned chopped lamb…so very good. Next came time to pay so with smiles and coins we were able to figure it out. Our next chore was to get food for the following day. We went into a small shop overflowing with many foods and a deli. Two kind ladies (neither spoke any english) were behind the counter and I was now going to try and communicate that we needed some meat and cheese. I pointed to some meat that looked like ham (and it was) and tried to explain I needed a small amount to which she said "kilo" (that is just over 2 pounds)…my response "no", as I searched my brain for metric equivalents. I was able to communicate 100 grams and she carved it for us and then wrote on a piece of paper how much I would need, but I wasn't done. We stilled wanted cheese and so the process began again. In the end we exchanged smiles and they looked pleased to have helped and we tried to show our gratitude for the help as well.
The Dead Sea area is quite an experience, so dry and hot with high plateaus, but in the middle of the Judean Desert is a small oasis called the En Gedi. Along the river bed there is foliage for about 3 kilometers, but if one plans to climbs up the plateaus there are warning to carry at least 5 liters of water. We continued up and meet an american orthodox jew and his guide. They were very friendly and helpful and we stayed with them for a short while before we decided to take a short route down as we were only carrying a bottle of water each.
There were many others that we crossed paths with along the way. Some offered an encouraging word or a bit of help with directions and we are still thankful for each one. We had some great opportunities to see and visit with the people of Israel. It is truly a mixture of ethnic groups and cultures beyond explanation. I choose to remember the good each one brought to our journey and hope that I can return that goodness to those that cross my path.
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