I've done absolutely nothing in the past three days except for pig out on home cooking, surf the internet, watch Youtube videos, and walk around town visiting little boutique stores and galleries - glorious!
The bus from Jerusalem to Tivon (a little town about 20km outside of Haifa) took a little less than two hours and my host kindly picked me up from the local McDonalds. From then on I was fed continuously around the clock until I gained back all the weight I lost on this trip. Okay, not sure about the latter, but definitely the former. Barry and Beverly, my hosts, are American and Canadian respectively but have lived their lives in Israel for the past 50 years or so. They now divide their time between Israel and Tampa since Barry teaches in the fall semester at USF. I met him briefly in the beginning of the year since he and my dad are neighbors at work; that's when he extended an invitation to visit him in Israel. I don't think he really expected me to visit, but that's what happens when people invite me anywhere foreign!
They were such gracious hosts and showed me around their tiny town of Tivon. I was fortunate enough to catch the annual art festival so the place was packed with weekend visitors. There really isn't much to update since I just hung out and rejuvenated at home. But I will say it was nice to have a hot, CLEAN shower without having to wear shower shoes. I rediscovered some of the little joys in life and the benefits of having a base. I did laundry, made coffee in the mornings, watched movies on TV, washed dishes, etc...
Today Barry took me to the University of Haifa campus and then on to the train station in Haifa. I'm now in my new hosts' home and I think they expect another CSer later this evening from Russia. Traveling and living in Israel is NOT cheap. I thought Jordan was expensive but I can only wish for Jordan prices right now. Israel is expensive not only in comparison to Jordan but to the US as well. In absolute cost, some things are outrageous. However, in relative cost when you factor in the average Israeli salary...I don't understand how people live here. Of course, that is also the major complaint of Israelis living here. That and the political and religious tensions. Like my host said today, "You know there will be a war, you just don't know when." The Jew/Arab and Israel/Palestine conflict can be seen and felt everywhere. Neighborhoods are very divided and just a couple of days ago, Arab students threw makeshift bombs onto a city bus that carried mostly Jews. The suburbs are"Arab villages" and "Jewish villages" and the Jews who live in the Muslim quarter of the Old City need security detail around the clock. Kids can't even walk to school alone or play in the streets. Quite a sacrifice in my opinion.
Anyway, just a couple observations. I realized I have been just reporting facts in my blogs and that's probably not very interesting to many people. I'll try to do better :) I'm halfway through my journey and the Capetown to Cairo portion is obviously over. From now on, I expect the trip to take on a different tone purely because of the destinations. Africa and the Middle East offered tons of natural and historic attractions such as Vic Falls, safari, Petra, Great Pyramids, etc. I could be wrong but the latter half will probably be more general observation and just walking around cities rather than sight-seeing. We shall see...some people have said Eastern Europe is so "sterile" compared to the Middle East but I'm sure it has something special to offer.
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