The end of our trip is here...and we, of course catch ourselves saying, "boy time flies when you're having fun." My journal/blog writting has been sparatic because adventures have filled our days and most of our evenings. The team was warned about how tired we will get, and I know we all thought, "psshhh, us tired, we're young we can handle it." Menashe Livnat our "Abba" here in Israel, and the Group Study Exchange committe chairmen said it well Friday in his speech at Israels Annual Rotary Convention; "We did the best we could, but at times, I felt how difficult it was for the visiting teams. Personally, I don't know if there are many of us who could put up with the schedule, especially waking up every morning in a different place exhausted from the previous days, and trying to find the right way to the bathroom."
Menashe was right...about the bathroom part. However, when you have adreneline running through your body you can do most anything, especially in the most Holy Place in the world!! Yes, we may have gotten a bit tired along the way, and we did look somewhat glazed over at times, but he made sure we had adequate rest days swimming at the Mediterranian Sea, or Gan Haslosha Lake. I am pretty for sure both teams would of pulled through even if we didn't have rest.
Each bit of exhaustion was worth it. Rotary District 2490 of Israel, rolled out the RED carpet for Texas District 5730, and The Netherlands District 1600. We saw Israel from top to bottom! The young vibriant, tiny country has so much to see. In 4 weeks we cover A LOT of ground, and met a lot of people. People who have become our extended family. As Fenando says "We have Abbas (fathers) and Imas (mothers) all over Israel now!" They have opened their hearts and their homes to us. I admit I was a bit skepticle about staying in other peoples homes in a different country. I prepared for it like they would have weird shampoo, or no iron, or no wash machine. I am just a person who likes to be prepared.When I got to Alon and Sari's house in La Vaheim, I sighed a breath of relief...Everything was normal, they even had Bamba the sweet bird, and Tiger the big dog. No, I didn't think I was going to a third world country, I just didn't know what to expect.
This district has gone ABOVE & BEYOND. When someone says to me "I've been to Jerusalem." I can't say, "me too, me too, and I have been to Tel Aviv-Jaffa Ashkelon, Sderot, Rehovot, Elait, Nahariya, Akko, Kibbutz Hazareim and Sde Elyahou, Nazareth, Karmiel, Haifa, Ein Hod, Benyamina, Be'er Ya'akov, Zichon Ya'acov, Caesarea, Modi'in, Lod, and Ramlah...and that beat goes on!" Not to boast or anything, I am proud and overwhelmed...in a good way. It's been a definate humbling experience as well."
I wrote an essay towards the GSE application, and I can honestly say it was quite ammature to the real deal. It's ok though, that's what the GSE is for, to enhance your knowledge on another culture so that you can grow in your lives, and be able to share your experience with others. I mentioned a few times throughout my essay, how it would "change my life," I don't think it has changed my life, but taken what I know and made it a katrillion times better. I have a better understanding of this 60-year-old country.
In my essay I also wrote about the "modern Israel" and how they have McDonalds, and that's pretty modern...HECK, this country invented Intel..how more modern can you get? It puts good ole' Micky D's to shame. We visited Tefon Industrial where "Scan Disk" was created, where the "naked/pink chickens," were thought up at the Hebrew University Agricultural Faculty for the hot climates in South Africa-WOW- I've seen and touched "a few" of the most holy and sacred sites to Major Religions...Dead Sea, Red Sea, Med Sea, the Jordan River...were I Baptized myself, the Leaping mountain, the church where Jesus taught, and the one where he wept, I've touched Adams rock, and the rock where he was laid after the took him off the cross, Church of the Beatitudes, the 12 Apostle Orthodox church, the Sea of Galiee (which is really a lake), streets with Mosques, Synagouges, and Roman Catholic churches, Greek Orhthodox Churches, and the Ba'hai Garden's and Temples that are ABSOLUTELY gorgeous..this beat goes on as well. Yesterday was the best day our adventure took us to the Old City of Jerusalem, We started our tour where Jesus is thought to have walked during his short on Earth. The walk would take us eventually to where he was crucified, buried and where he arose. Most everything I have learned or read about in the Bible I've seen with my own two eyes. UNBELIEVEABLE, it's going to take me another 4 weeks just to comprehend all the amazing places I've seen not only Religious but Vocational, and histrical as well.
It's crazy how many times I have had to remind myself that I wasn't dreaming- or maybe I was because I was so tired- LOL-
I was told by Ted Holder a Texas Rotarian and a member of the GSE board, that we would never be able to pull off this kind of trip on our own, he was correct. We have been completely submerged in the culture- staying in peoples homes, eating dinner with them, taking their children to school with them, talking and learning who they are and their different stories.
I did enhance my listening skills here-Big time- I have had to concentrate because of accents, not only that everything the people we came in touch with said, was worth listening too.
I could ramble on for days about this unforgettable experince, but I am going to end here, that way I will have 3 times as much to visit with you all about when I get home, (Monday 6/9/09 at noon)
Thank you Beth Duke, Amarillo West Rotary Club, and Rotary International, District 2409 DG Yael Lazurus, and Menashe Livnat.....for this most amazing, wonderful, life experience, word can't express this. Thank you to everyone at Krause for your support, help, and taking care of things while I am gone, I havn't worried once.
And now I'm tearing up!
Here's to John...the super calm, super chill leader, who Shirley says should be the 5th Beatle, To Aida whos warmth, captured the hearts of all she met, and her name was sang everytime it was mentioned because of the musical, to Fernando, the man of the hour, well trip, who knows a bit about everything, and to Shirley our comic relief, who had a background song for every part of the trip, dancing queen. I am very blessed this trip brought you all in to my life!
This isn't all I could say about them....I would also be here forever if I told you all that I thought about our team..District 5730 you couldn't of picked us any better...We were asked many times how long we knew each other before this trip, because we acted as if we met a lifetime ago, when really it was just in January.
To the Netherlands team, Coen, Willemin, Carolien, and Stay-Funny, I mean Stephanie, and Ed, you all have special place in my heart. I enjoyed sharing our journey with you all and getting to know you and your culture as well.
Thank you to my family and friends for the encouragement to take this epic adventure...
I miss you all very much!
Mom, Dad thanks for keeping Bug and giving me your blessing to go...I love you very much!
BROTHER...ANSWER YOUR PHONE, and WRITE me an email....
Shelby thanks for all of your funny emails and encouraging words!
Nikki thanks for helping me pack, I would of never gotten it done!
Ann Elizabeth thanks for helping me get my suitcase closed...and taking me to the Air Port...
I miss and love you all, and can't wait to see you!
Shirley said to Aida and I "You know what I'm gonna miss?"
We all waited for her "smart remark" that she is so good at.
"What?" we said..
"Each Other." Well said Shirley, well said.
La Heim (To Life)
Love, Love, Love, Love!!!
Katt
I can't wait to share the rest with you!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
6/1/09
Hey Everyone!
I feel like I have not done and adequate job with this!!
We have been resting in Benyamina! We played at Ceasearea on the beach most of the day Saturday. It was so beautiful, got to do a tad-bit of shopping. Yesterday I got to walk around the old Zichron and shop some more as well.
We are now in Lod/Romley, and I am staying with a family in Be'er Ya'kov a village near Lod of about 10,000. My host parents have 5 children 4 are at home. 16,17,22,and 24. The oldest, 30 is studying at the University of Michigan! They were quizzing me on where all I had been. It was good for the memory, not to mention they helped with a lot of pronunciations.
Today we have a big day, and I hope that I can report to you all this evening.
It's our last week here. When I return home I would like to post everything and catch up!
Love you all!
Katt
I feel like I have not done and adequate job with this!!
We have been resting in Benyamina! We played at Ceasearea on the beach most of the day Saturday. It was so beautiful, got to do a tad-bit of shopping. Yesterday I got to walk around the old Zichron and shop some more as well.
We are now in Lod/Romley, and I am staying with a family in Be'er Ya'kov a village near Lod of about 10,000. My host parents have 5 children 4 are at home. 16,17,22,and 24. The oldest, 30 is studying at the University of Michigan! They were quizzing me on where all I had been. It was good for the memory, not to mention they helped with a lot of pronunciations.
Today we have a big day, and I hope that I can report to you all this evening.
It's our last week here. When I return home I would like to post everything and catch up!
Love you all!
Katt
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
5/27/09
Today was a great day!
I will write a quick email since I have a tad bit of time...tad...really!
I visited with Daphna Greenstein. She owns her own Landscape Architect firm here in Haifa.
We had a wonderful visit! Landscape architecture here is very young. It's been around for about 40 years, but only has been taken seriously in the last 15-20. Your degrees are licensensing enough to practice. So, there are not test to become licensed in Israel. It's not a common practice the Techinon University we visited yesterday only graduates 20 a year...plus it's a female dominated practice since the pay is so low. Males steer clear of the practice here.
Dahpna's firm only works with municpalities...here is her web site...her work and projects are quite impressive. One project was the old German road that leads to the Baha'i temple. She had to make the "line" in the middle of the road lead to Akko from the Gardens. This is because the Shrine of Bahlaula is in Akko...we visited there last week.
We got to have a lengthy visit. She showed me her projects and her office, we also enjoyed dinner by the sea!
Then off to the Baha'i Gardens and the Shrine of Bab! I think I had to pick my jaw up off the ground at least 200 times, because it truly is one of THE most beautiful places I have visited. The Shrine is under construction...a 2 year rejuvinating project, cleaning etc. Our tour took us inside where Pilgrams were worshiping...WOW times 1000000000! I truly enjoyed it. We had a guided tour with Anthony from Harford Con. He was great!
We were running late from the Gardens so we only got to spend about 20 minutes at the Science Museum...which was ok because we are all tired.
Tonight, it's dinner on the beach with the whole group!
Love to all!
Katt
Yesterday was a long day! (5/26/09)
We visited the Technion Institution where a lot of technologial wonders happen, then the Hecht Museum at Haifa University...
Afterwards a Druze village, and a home of a Druze fallen soilder. His parents are Rotarian and they shared with us the story of thier son, and of another womans son who is in Rotary. They were killed minutes apart in a terriost bombing January 22, 1995. It was a heart touching story, we were all pretty emotional when we left. Our final visit was a Druze memorial for the fallen Druze over the last 60 years I believe...
Last night was relaxing.
I enjoyed a quite evening with my host mom Hanna. She is an Architect who works from home...She is so great and funny, she says " I want you to feel like home, don't be shy, you won't see me after three days!" Then it's something like..."you have to eat..."
The stay with her has been nice!
I will write a quick email since I have a tad bit of time...tad...really!
I visited with Daphna Greenstein. She owns her own Landscape Architect firm here in Haifa.
We had a wonderful visit! Landscape architecture here is very young. It's been around for about 40 years, but only has been taken seriously in the last 15-20. Your degrees are licensensing enough to practice. So, there are not test to become licensed in Israel. It's not a common practice the Techinon University we visited yesterday only graduates 20 a year...plus it's a female dominated practice since the pay is so low. Males steer clear of the practice here.
Dahpna's firm only works with municpalities...here is her web site...her work and projects are quite impressive. One project was the old German road that leads to the Baha'i temple. She had to make the "line" in the middle of the road lead to Akko from the Gardens. This is because the Shrine of Bahlaula is in Akko...we visited there last week.
We got to have a lengthy visit. She showed me her projects and her office, we also enjoyed dinner by the sea!
Then off to the Baha'i Gardens and the Shrine of Bab! I think I had to pick my jaw up off the ground at least 200 times, because it truly is one of THE most beautiful places I have visited. The Shrine is under construction...a 2 year rejuvinating project, cleaning etc. Our tour took us inside where Pilgrams were worshiping...WOW times 1000000000! I truly enjoyed it. We had a guided tour with Anthony from Harford Con. He was great!
We were running late from the Gardens so we only got to spend about 20 minutes at the Science Museum...which was ok because we are all tired.
Tonight, it's dinner on the beach with the whole group!
Love to all!
Katt
Yesterday was a long day! (5/26/09)
We visited the Technion Institution where a lot of technologial wonders happen, then the Hecht Museum at Haifa University...
Afterwards a Druze village, and a home of a Druze fallen soilder. His parents are Rotarian and they shared with us the story of thier son, and of another womans son who is in Rotary. They were killed minutes apart in a terriost bombing January 22, 1995. It was a heart touching story, we were all pretty emotional when we left. Our final visit was a Druze memorial for the fallen Druze over the last 60 years I believe...
Last night was relaxing.
I enjoyed a quite evening with my host mom Hanna. She is an Architect who works from home...She is so great and funny, she says " I want you to feel like home, don't be shy, you won't see me after three days!" Then it's something like..."you have to eat..."
The stay with her has been nice!
Monday, May 25, 2009
5/25/09
All is well here! I am having a bit of a time keeping this updated. Internet here...internet there! No time here...ha ha!
It's wonderful!
I am extremely fortunate and blessed to have this opportunity! Every host group has done so much for our teams!
We have covered a lot of tracks during the last 6 days!
I am going to summarize, hopefully quickly...this way I can get up to speed! Bare with me...it could be a long one....and or random one depending on time...gonna update as I can!
Day 2 in Nahariya has been my favorite so far...We visited the Baha'i Temple. I have heard about the Baha'i Faith, but never really had it explained. I will say one thing about this and my experience here....I LOVED IT! The gardens were absolutely beautiful. RED Geraniums for miles. The hedges were 12 + feet tall, and the "yard boys" were there trimming and tending to the garden the day we were there. I video taped the guys trimming so I could show the Krause Boys that hedges can get this tall, and that they can be trimmed straight! Ha!
The Bab Shrine was breath taking...the whole place was incredible. I look forward to learning more about the Baha'i Faith. We are in Carmel today and on Wednesday we will be visiting the Baha'i World Center on Wednesday....can't wait will report back.
****I am attaching links so you can read about each place, and better understand it. I am still collecting my thoughts, and I am afraid I will scatter them about if I try to explain them right now. We have just been so many places and seen so many things our days are starting to jumble together. *****
Our next stop was at a Kibbutz where they focused on Biotechnology. They clone plants to rid diseases in fruit crops. It was super cool they explained the whole process. This Kibbutz sets just
30 km below the mountain from the Lebanon boarder, and when Lebanon was bombing into the area the bombs would miss the Kibbutz because they were so close the the mountain. The lady that gave the tour explained to us how she knew if they hit close or far away because of how they sounded when they hit the ground....can you imagine...this was only a few years ago!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_HaNikra_(kibbutz)
Then off to Rosh Hanikra the northern tip of the Israeli coast. The view was amazing... you could see out into the Mediterranean for miles. The cave was man made on the border between Lebanon and Israel for train tracks. During the 1948 Israeli/Arab war the Israelis blew up the inside of the tunnel the train went through. Now it's a national park with caves and a visitors station. You have to ride a cable car to the bottom...We watched a short video on the history on now what the call the "train ride to peace," and then made our way through the caves.
Nahariya
Holocaust Museum, we only got to spend an hour and a half here so we didn't get to soak it all in. The only exhibit we saw was about the children. It probably was ok that we didn't spend too long here. It was getting to be an emotional visit for some of us.
Old and New Acre (Akko) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre,_Israel Akko is crazy it is cities built upon cities...Over the centuries Akko has belonged to the Greeks, Egyptians, Crusaders, Arabs, Turks and BritishThere is an underground Crusader city. We went through the underground tunnels which used to be the sewer. It's all dried up and clean now! Ha! We toured both the Old and New Akko got the full treatment; we even got to go to a few areas off the beaten path. Lunch was wonderful! Falaful! I did a bit of shopping and bought a tile that said "Shalom Ya'll" it's pretty perfect!
The National Water Carrier (they had to check our passport numbers for this visit)
A little bit of rest!!!
Israel Valley
Beit She'an Valley
Kibbutz Sde Eliyahou...I think this Kibbutz convinced me that if I lived in Israel..it would be on a Kibbutz...
Swimming in the Gan Hashlosaha lake...a natural lake..
Nazareth Elite
Sacred Christian sites...including the Synagoge where Jesus told stories, the leaping mountain where it is thought that he jumped from.
The site where the Pope recently gave Mass.
Sabbath...day of rest...
****Baptised myself in the Jordan River...WOW WOW WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWWW!!!****
Karmiel
Paul Harris Forest
Sea of Galilee!!!!
Church of Beatiudes where Jesus preached the Beatiudes..
12 Apostle Orthodox Church- Gorgeous!
Bedouin Tent
Haifa Cluster
Tefen Industrial site- Where they make Scan Disk...
Please stay posted...as I said I will explain more about each visit as I get time..
Have had awesome host families...and we have all been well fed!
Love to all!
Katt
La Heim (to life)
Read also. John Kanelis' blog on Amarillo.com. He posts on the net everyday, and has a colomn in the paper and on the net every Sunday.
It's wonderful!
I am extremely fortunate and blessed to have this opportunity! Every host group has done so much for our teams!
We have covered a lot of tracks during the last 6 days!
I am going to summarize, hopefully quickly...this way I can get up to speed! Bare with me...it could be a long one....and or random one depending on time...gonna update as I can!
Day 2 in Nahariya has been my favorite so far...We visited the Baha'i Temple. I have heard about the Baha'i Faith, but never really had it explained. I will say one thing about this and my experience here....I LOVED IT! The gardens were absolutely beautiful. RED Geraniums for miles. The hedges were 12 + feet tall, and the "yard boys" were there trimming and tending to the garden the day we were there. I video taped the guys trimming so I could show the Krause Boys that hedges can get this tall, and that they can be trimmed straight! Ha!
The Bab Shrine was breath taking...the whole place was incredible. I look forward to learning more about the Baha'i Faith. We are in Carmel today and on Wednesday we will be visiting the Baha'i World Center on Wednesday....can't wait will report back.
****I am attaching links so you can read about each place, and better understand it. I am still collecting my thoughts, and I am afraid I will scatter them about if I try to explain them right now. We have just been so many places and seen so many things our days are starting to jumble together. *****
Our next stop was at a Kibbutz where they focused on Biotechnology. They clone plants to rid diseases in fruit crops. It was super cool they explained the whole process. This Kibbutz sets just
30 km below the mountain from the Lebanon boarder, and when Lebanon was bombing into the area the bombs would miss the Kibbutz because they were so close the the mountain. The lady that gave the tour explained to us how she knew if they hit close or far away because of how they sounded when they hit the ground....can you imagine...this was only a few years ago!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_HaNikra_(kibbutz)
Then off to Rosh Hanikra the northern tip of the Israeli coast. The view was amazing... you could see out into the Mediterranean for miles. The cave was man made on the border between Lebanon and Israel for train tracks. During the 1948 Israeli/Arab war the Israelis blew up the inside of the tunnel the train went through. Now it's a national park with caves and a visitors station. You have to ride a cable car to the bottom...We watched a short video on the history on now what the call the "train ride to peace," and then made our way through the caves.
Nahariya
Holocaust Museum, we only got to spend an hour and a half here so we didn't get to soak it all in. The only exhibit we saw was about the children. It probably was ok that we didn't spend too long here. It was getting to be an emotional visit for some of us.
Old and New Acre (Akko) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre,_Israel Akko is crazy it is cities built upon cities...Over the centuries Akko has belonged to the Greeks, Egyptians, Crusaders, Arabs, Turks and BritishThere is an underground Crusader city. We went through the underground tunnels which used to be the sewer. It's all dried up and clean now! Ha! We toured both the Old and New Akko got the full treatment; we even got to go to a few areas off the beaten path. Lunch was wonderful! Falaful! I did a bit of shopping and bought a tile that said "Shalom Ya'll" it's pretty perfect!
The National Water Carrier (they had to check our passport numbers for this visit)
A little bit of rest!!!
Israel Valley
Beit She'an Valley
Kibbutz Sde Eliyahou...I think this Kibbutz convinced me that if I lived in Israel..it would be on a Kibbutz...
Swimming in the Gan Hashlosaha lake...a natural lake..
Nazareth Elite
Sacred Christian sites...including the Synagoge where Jesus told stories, the leaping mountain where it is thought that he jumped from.
The site where the Pope recently gave Mass.
Sabbath...day of rest...
****Baptised myself in the Jordan River...WOW WOW WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWWW!!!****
Karmiel
Paul Harris Forest
Sea of Galilee!!!!
Church of Beatiudes where Jesus preached the Beatiudes..
12 Apostle Orthodox Church- Gorgeous!
Bedouin Tent
Haifa Cluster
Tefen Industrial site- Where they make Scan Disk...
Please stay posted...as I said I will explain more about each visit as I get time..
Have had awesome host families...and we have all been well fed!
Love to all!
Katt
La Heim (to life)
Read also. John Kanelis' blog on Amarillo.com. He posts on the net everyday, and has a colomn in the paper and on the net every Sunday.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Day 8
Happy One week anniversary for our first full week in Israel…geeze it seems like its been 4 already. Today we started with breakfast with our house mom Sosha. She said what would you like for breakfast, I said “ Oh a piece of toast and coffee is fine.” “You want some cheese too?” she asked. “Sure.” Out comes the cheese and she begins to make…toast….well more like a grilled cheese. Her idea of cheese toast and my idea of cheese toast are two different things, but nonetheless hers was tasty!
To the train station she took us! Did I mention before her apartment was up 5 flights of stairs, and with 50lbs of luggage it was interesting. We met Yodi at the train station and off to Naharyia we went with a couple of stops in between.
Our first stop was the Weizmann Institution of science. We watched a movie there and toured Weizmann’s home. He started that institution for scientific research. Henry Ford Gave Dr. Weizmann a Ford Lincoln Cosmopaliton one of only 18 ever made. It was specially designed for Weizmann himself. It was used in all of the inaugurations of Israel’s Presidents, but now it’s too expensive to run it that one time every so often. They keep in on display now in front of his home. (http://www.weizmann.ac.il/)
Next stop was The Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. We ate lunch there. The cafeteria was completely different from ECU’s. First off, no fried food, there weren’t 390000 different kinds of food either, you couldn’t make a pizza, and they didn’t have a soda fountain. It was one main course and then a buffet of sides that included, roasted potatoes, bell pepper pasta, rice, green beans, French fries and some other casserole type dishes. There was also a salad bar, but not a salad bar where you make your own salad, like the hospital it was all sorts of vegetable salads. Don’t forget the hummus and pita bread! Also, like the hospital no one really went back for seconds.
A tour of the campus was next. We got to see a plant pathology lab where farmers and students test new crops in a controlled environment. So they don’t have to waste farmland or money planting a whole crop that won’t work. There were climate-controlled rooms where different climates could be tested on different types of plants. This is the place where they “created” the “Naked Chicken,” you know, the chicken with no hair. It was created for those who are in hot countries where chickens end up dieing because of the heat. (http://www.agri.huji.ac.il/index-eng.html) Very interesting.
A train took us from Rehovet to Naharyia. When we got to the train station in Naharyia some of our hosts were waiting on us. Mine was Rafi Heumann a retired mechanical engineer. He was kind enough to roll one of my bags, and as he was rolling it a wheel rolled off! Great ice breaker. I had to give him a hard time about it! HA!
We got to his house and we walked in to his yard, which is beautiful! All of my favorite flowers grow here!! Petunias, Geraniums, Pansies, you know, the flowers that love heat! Did I mention he lives only 200 feet from the ocean!!! The view was pretty amazing of the Mediterranean Sea.
Rafi’s parents were among the first Germans to settle in Nahariya, they helped establish the city. You could see how proud he was of the town he lives in.
My room was in their basement, my own bungalow with a kitchen. It was my first host family to have all to myself. I got settled in and Rafi’s wife Soshsauna got home! She was so sweet, she gave me house slippers! Rafi then asked “have you talked to your family?” I told him I hadn’t, and he insisted that I call home, I said to him “ you can call my dad!” …jokingly ….he said “ok, what is the number.” I gave it to him, when dad answered he said something like, “ Hi Billy, this is Rafi Heumann from Israel, you miss your daughter?” Ha! Dad said he was a bit thrown off at first, but then figured it out. Mom and dad both thought is was funny. Mom told me that that was something she could see my dad doing!
It was the first time in a week and 2 days that I had gotten to speak to my parents. It was rejuvenating to hear their voices!
Rafi had researched the Krause website so he had a few questions so I talked with him and Sosh over coffee before we had to get ready for the Rotary meeting.
Our presentations went over with flying colors! We rocked yet again!
The club was welcoming and yes, they enjoy their dessert like the Rotary does here. This was our first time to present at an official Rotary meeting since we’ve been here. It definitely helped our energy.
The day was long so after the meeting and catching up on some journal entries…im turning in for the night. Big day tomorrow, Ba’hai Gardens, and Rosh Henrikon; Lebinon boarder!
Love to you all!
Katt
Ps..still missing camera will post some soon!
Sorry it’s been so long…
Day 7
Day 7
Tel Aviv Jaffa by day/Tel Aviv Jaffa by night! Yodi was our tour guide for the day. We walked from the Jaffa side to the Tel Aviv side. We saw the history of both cities unfold with architecture. There was a market in front of the Christian church that we got to go inside of. The whole old Jaffa square is now an area for art studios and restaurants.
At the visitors center of Jaffa we visited a mini museum about Pharaoh. This is also the site for Jonah and the Whale and the Andromedas rock. All of the songs I sang at church camp when I was young are coming to life! “Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Oh baby let my people go, UH, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Sing that to the tune of “Louie, Louie.” We walked about 3 maybe 4 miles around both parts of the cities. The oceanfront is lined with huge hotels sure didn’t resemble the manger an anyway. Lets just say I will never think of “Away in a Manger,” any more when I think of Israel.
The sites I have seen and the history that has been exposed of right in front of me is overwhelming, in a good way! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I am soaking it all in!!
This evening we took a night tour of the Bahaus Architecture on Rothschild Street. It’s near the cities main street. Just amazing what has happed there in the last 60 years. For the apartments to be built as they were in the 30’s was modern. It looked like they were built in this era. Another WOW! WOW WOW WOW, we are all being made fun of for saying it all the time.
The evening ended with fellowship, coffee, and dessert at CafeCafe.
Tomorrow Leaving Tel Aviv for Naharyia
Love to you all!
Katt
Day 6
Long day on 2 buses. We did have two enjoyable stops on the way from Eilat to Tel Aviv. First stop was Sderot. This is a town that is 800 meters from the Gaza Strip. I debated on writing this on here, because I know people will worry. However, we were with the right people who are from here, and they know the “drill” if anything were to happen. I can’t recall the gentleman’s name but he showed us a neighborhood that had been struck by missiles. It was moving to see the pride this settlement has. I mean really, if the house across the street from you had a missile come through their roof; would you move? I tried to put myself in that position…I couldn’t tell you what I would do. Some there have, and some haven’t, but more people stay than go.
On top of a hill that overlooked Gaza is were we stood. We saw the land they speak about on the news. Incredible to be so close.It’s just neighborhoods with children playing and people working. I expected to see missile damage everywhere. But really it was minimal, they have cleaned up most of the mess, and the government is installing bomb shelters in every home. Their bus stops are basically bomb shelters. They have warning systems that give them 22 seconds to get to a shelter if missiles are coming. He said people who have neutral friends in Gaza sometimes call and warn their friends as well of the incoming ammo. 22 seconds. From up-top it all seemed pretty normal, hard to believe the is any animosity between the two. Two little boys were creating a memorial with flowers and a homemade plaque at the bottom of the hill where we were standing. It was for their cat. It was a precious site, because I know I have done the same thing a time of two for many of the animals I’ve had.
Off to Askelon to meet with their tiny Rotary club for lunch. We ate on the balcony of a high-rise apartment. There the gentleman who lived there showed us all the areas that the bombs fell around their home. So close…Ok for those of you in Amarillo; say you were on top of the Amarillo Club, looking down at the Civic Center. The distance from where the bombs fell were just that far away if not closer, like the parking lot of AC or the ANB building. This is For Real, and this community was functioning like always. I can’t even imagine. After a short stop in Askelon we went to Tel Aviv! The New York of Israel.
Shirley and I are staying with Sosha. The first time I met her she reminded me of my Aunt Linda. Cool short dyed RED/Maroon hair with blonde streaks. She is so cute! Her house is like home; she has all of her own artwork everywhere. Statues and paintings. She is a retired Fashion design teacher…that’s the other reason she reminded me of Aunt Linda. She has free time now so she takes classes. All my host families have been retired that I have stayed with. They retire here in their early 50s.
She made us dinner, and then we went for a night tour of the Pier. We also visited a
Tel Aviv nightclub. It was awesome, because they mostly played Hebrew dance music. Shirley Hollander a daughter of one of the Rotarians showed us the nightlife. At one point she said, “ I am sorry they aren’t playing American music, it must be all Israeli night,” I told her “It’s ok, I can listen to American music at home.” True story. We were all connected that night because we are young people from different cultures having a night on the town; we were all one.
Tomorrow a day tour of Tel Aviv –Jaffa.
Love to you all!
Katt
Ps…do do brain me left my camera on the bus between Askelon and Sedrot. Thank goodness I will be getting it back later on!!
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