Versus

While my time in Israel has so far followed a similar theme to my time in Central America (volunteering for an extended period/traveling during service work breaks, etc.), there are some poignant differences between life here compared to anywhere and anything I've experienced before.

Israel vs USA

I'll try not to spew the obvious differences (like the fact that Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey or that the official languages don't include English here), but instead delve a bit deeper into dissimilarities.

•Israel is a land of extreme differences, in every way: socially, geographically, politically.  We all know that the US is famed for the multitude of cultures/ethnicities/traditions it combines, yet Israel has all that plus some.  You've got your wealthy citizens living in high rises on the coast, while not even 20 minutes away a Bedouin camp has been erected and the nomads are out taking their goat herds to pasture.  (The juxtaposition of a Bedouin shepherd tending the flock while being immersed in a texting conversation via cellphone gets me every time.)  Then there is the less comical distinction between Israel proper and the West Bank.  The separation (physical or not) of Jews and Arabs.

Land-wise, Israel's small chunk of the world contains mountains, deserts, forests, seas, the lowest point on Earth (the Dead Sea), and both extremely habited and uninhabited land.  An impressive amount of unique ecosystems.

And lastly, the political extremes found here top probably most places in the world.  I'm not even going to get into that.

•Israel is both more forward and more backward than the US.  For example, the amount of solar energy used here far surpasses that of America.  And (though I'm not sure that this proves any sort of higher level of modernity) Israel has the largest per capita use of cellphones in the entire world.  Yet they drive here almost like the only requirement to pass their test was being able to turn on the car. And separation of church and state (a basic foundation of the US) is essentially non-existent here.  Which leads to a bunch of issues, as one can imagine... or hear on the news.

•People are extremely open.  The good kind of openness that moves complete strangers to invite you into their houses for tea or coffee and to tell you about their lives.  And the kind of open that nearly reaches the point of hostility when people discuss their political and social views, and urge you to state your opinions on the matter.

•Religion is paramount.  While levels of religiousness differ, the majority of the population attends some sort of regular services, and on days of rest (be it Friday night-Saturday for Jews or Sunday for Christians) cities and public transport completely shut down. Quite inconvenient for traveling, I'll admit.  Along those same lines, there is no such thing as a civil union here- you must be married in a religious institution (or alternatively flee to Cyprus to elope). And lastly, everyone wants to know what YOU are.  Makes for an awkward situation when I confess to an Arab my mother is Jewish... I generally follow that up by quickly saying my father is Christian and that I personally am non-religious.  Which is hard for some to understand.  (Don't get me wrong- not everyone is biased for or against one religion/nationality.  But in smaller, predominantly Arab cities like Nazareth, it's best to play it safe and not admit Jewdom unless directly questioned.)

•Guns are on display.  I'm still not used to seeing the 18, 19, 20-year olds dressed in military garb casually having their M16's slung across their bodies.  And whenever I'm overtaken by a group of them, I feel very uncomfortable.  Though if I was raised in Israel I'm sure I wouldn't think twice about it.

Israel vs Central America

Certain aspects here are surprisingly reminiscent of my time in Costa Rica/Nicaragua. Like how the guys are pretty aggressive, or how the society is relatively chauvinistic (especially out of the big cities).  And the copious amounts of stray animals (though in Israel it's cats instead of dogs) or trash in the streets.  But being in Israel does provide some novelty.

•Food is waaaayyyyyy better here.  Just look at the local fast foods of choice- hummus, falafel, or shwarma as opposed to McDonald's.  And non-fast foods are inevitably more impressive than the ubiquitous rice and beans.  The Mediterranean-infused cuisine regularly includes cucumber and tomato salads, fresh goat cheese, tabbouleh, omelets, kebabs, and baked eggplant.  And while the selection of fruit in Central America was more impressive, the amount of fresh veggies at any time here is to die for if you're a salad junkie like me.

Don't even get me started on sweets here.  Let's just say it's incredible what they can do with sesame seeds- grind them, spin them with sugar, bake 'em into cookies, the list goes on and on.  Yum.

•The culture is much less risqué here.  In Costa Rica, I literally saw people's grandmothers wearing short shorts and lace-backed tank tops.  Maybe since it was so much warmer there, the culture just moved away from conservative dress out of necessity.  But in Israel (especially the more traditional places), skirts above the knees/without tights, cleavage, and bare shoulders are a no-no.  Here's to hoping I'll get to wear the tank tops and dresses I brought in Europe....

•I'd love to say public transportation here far exceeds that of Central America, but alas I would be lying.  I guess the nicer thing is that here they have shared taxis called sheruts as an alternative to the bus system: large vans you can take to places that cost as little as the buses and don't take as long.

Israel vs Nazareth

You may be wondering about this comparison, as Nazareth is a part of Israel.  Let me explain.

•Nazareth is unlike the majority of Israeli towns.  It is a predominantly Arab city, and parts of it appear (at least to my uncultured eyes) almost indistinguishable from the West Bank.  The city doesn't shut down for Shabbat (instead, nothing is open on Sunday), Muslim call-to-prayers are heard in time with the tolling of the church bells, and the most common language spoken is Arabic (so much for my "Hebrew for Dummies" book).  You're much more likely to see a woman in a burka than a man wearing a yarmulke here.  A bit different from the rest of Israel, I'd say....

Nazareth vs Atenas

The two towns I've had as home bases are quite different, leading to very different experiences and relationships with each.

•Nazareth is a much larger city, with acclaimed restaurants, bars (sort of), a huge shopping mall, and pretty much any knick-knack you could think of.  We were able to find a guitar and a capo in one of the jumbled shops.  That would've been left for a shopping trip to San Jose in Costa Rica.

Plus, as there's more to do in town, it leads to staying out/getting to bed later, and it's harder to force yourself to get out of town.  Sort of.

•While Nazareth is no tourist hot spot akin to Jerusalem, it certainly draws more foreigners than the sleepy town of Atenas did.  So not only do you meet more travelers in day-to-day activities (working in a hostel helps that, too...), but the majority of the locals speak English.

•Nazareth's layout is way more confusing than that of Atenas.  After one day of exploration (and yes, getting lost) in Atenas, I had the geography of the town down pat.  Here, not only are the Old City streets super twisty and confusing, but once I get a bit away from the Old City I'm completely in unknown territory.  I really only venture through the Old City, the restaurant district, the path to the top of Mount of Precipice, and the part of the Jesus Trail that doubles as my running route... anything outside of that sphere, and I could be on Mars. A Mars with atmosphere and civilization....

Hostel Work vs Orphanage

I've come to the conclusion that I much prefer the volunteer work I'm doing here in the hostel in Nazareth to helping out in the children's home in Palmares.

•As the local staff I'm interacting with are adults, not only am I making new friends I can talk with, but I'm also meeting people who I can go out with, or who can introduce me to more of the local community of Nazareth.  Kids are cute, but their social lives are pretty bland.

•Along that same vein, I'm meeting just more people in general, as one of the main jobs of working in a hostel is talking with the guests.  Some you just exchange pleasantries with and answer questions, while other you find yourself talking to for hours and going out with after shifts.  I love that!  (Originally I was apprehensive about working in a hostel, as I don't immediately label myself a social butterfly.  But either my self-perception is really off, or traveling/working at the Fauzi has stretched my social ease.  I've found it pleasingly fun and easy to get into conversations with total strangers.  I feel the sociable persona is half a type of act and half genuine until you get to know someone and it's all genuine.  A major plus of this increased comfort in initiating conversations with strangers is I think I've essentially become immune to feeling socially awkward.  It's become so commonplace it barely phases me anymore, haha.)  This work is certainly doing more for my Facebook friends list ;)

Major Differences in this Trip vs the First Four Months of my Gap Year

Just some general other differences I'm too lazy to try and categorize.

•I don't at all speak the national language(s) of Israel.  The Spanish I started out with might have been basic, but it did allow for communication beyond "hello" and "thank you" (the extent of my Arabic... but I'm working on it!).

•I'm supposed to provide all my own food (though we get free breakfast, fruit, cake, and leftovers from the Fauzi, so...) instead of being provided with three home-cooked meals a day.

•There's a much more extreme time difference between the States and Israel than the US and Costa Rica.  Like, eight hours vs one.  Which makes it more difficult to communicate with people back home.

•My schedule changes daily.  No set weekly routines of knowing exactly when I'll be working and when I'll be free.  I guess for all the inconvenience that gives, it also inspires me to be more active in taking day trips and researching locations to visit.

•I'm sharing a room with the other volunteers instead of doing a home-stay.  First extended dorm room experience?

•The hostel work (while in no way difficult) is stuff I've never done before, whereas I felt pretty confident I knew how to entertain children.

•This time abroad I'll be spending equal time volunteering and actively traveling. Instead of just tacking on the traveling at the end (besides weekend trips).

•Since Israel is a bit further from Minnesota, I won't get to see my family at all for these four months. Sadface.

•Going out, getting connections through the hostel and local staff, and being a bit more into exploring the town has led me to be much more immersed in the local community of Nazareth. Which is incredibly fun.

I've loved everything I've done so far, and every place I've traveled.  This "gap year" just keeps getting better and better.

Now I'm off to learn the "Cooking by the Book" remix by Lil Jon.  A farewell request from the lovely Mike Chong.  Parental advisory suggested.

xoxo, Cleome

The Fauzi

Alright, seeing as I've been volunteering at the Fauzi Azar Inn for pretty much two weeks now (excluding the days I was in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv), I can finally, with total confidence, give you the gist of the place and my duties as Volunteer Supreme.

About the Fauzi
I know earlier I provided some background information concerning the Inn that I took directly from its website.  However, now that I've actually seen and experience the place, I can tell you about its history and characteristics with a few more details.

How the Fauzi Came to Be
The Fauzi Azar Inn was originally an extremely gorgeous mansion belonging to a wealthy Arab family, the Azars.  However, when the War of 1948 occurred and the state of Israel was created, the majority of the citizens of Nazareth fled to nearby countries- mainly Lebanon.  Fauzi Azar (the head of the Azar family and the owner of the house) was the only one in his family, as well as one of the only Arabs in town, who chose to remain in Nazareth- he couldn't bear to give up his magnificent house.

After successfully living alone for some time, one day disaster struck for Azar- fire!  In the process of saving the carpets of the mansion, Azar suffered intense burns that sent him to the hospital and eventually caused his death.  The magnificent house sat empty for many years, as the rest of the family didn't want to live there, but couldn't bear to part with it.

The Inn may very well have remained empty until it crumbled to the ground from lack of use, had a young Israeli backpacker named Maoz not happened upon it.  Maoz was a visionary who believed that not only would the house provide the perfect location for a hostel, but the city of Nazareth would be the ideal spot to begin a hiking trail he was developing with an American friend- what would later become known as the Jesus Trail.  But convincing the surviving family of Azar that opening a B&B in their old, prized home was a laborious process, so I'm told.  Maoz got in contact with the granddaughter of Azar, Suraida, and while she was not convinced by his proposal, she agreed to pass on his contact information to her mother for further discussion.  I'm not quite sure how long the issue was debated, or who finally gave in, but eventually an agreement was reached that allowed Maoz to open his hostel, with Suraida as co-owner and her grandfather's named immortalized in the name.

The hostel opened in 2005, and since then has accrued an amazing reputation. [Sorry if the next part sounds like a preachy ad- I'm just not sure how else to convey its awesomeness....]  The Fauzi consistently receives highly rated reviews on travel sites, is top pick in Lonely Planet guides, was awarded an Environmental Tourism Award in 2011, and has received TripAdvisor's "Travelers' Choice" Award for the years 2012 and 2013.  Plus, the Jesus Trail is constantly getting more and more press for being an impressive hiking trail that roughly follows Jesus's path as he performed his miracles.  Though of course non-Christian pilgrims walk it for the scenery as well. [Oh, and Tony Blair visited the Fauzi a few years ago.  How about we start a petition for Obama to come by next month....?]

What Makes the Fauzi Special?
I'd like to think after five months of staying in a wide variety of hostels, I've a pretty good idea of what a hostel is- and what makes one good or not.  Hostels span a wide spectrum, from the crazy party ones on one side to the super chill, laid-back ones on the other.  I've discovered my personal favorites tend to lie closer to the party side, but with a good dose of relaxation thrown in as well.

The Fauzi embodies all that a decent hostel should.  And then it goes a bit beyond.  Features that all hostels tend to have include:
-cheaper accommodations than hotels
-both dorms and private rooms
-shared bathrooms
-an available kitchen for guest use (some are even affiliated with a bar/cafe)
-free coffee all day and some sort of free breakfast
-a common area meant to foster meeting people
-routine activities, whether it's trivia night, Sunday afternoon BBQs, open mic night, or a pub crawl
-help in setting up tours
-a book exchange

Fauzi is special (in my opinion), thanks to:
-the unique free old city tour (purposefully leaves out the main tourist attractions, and instead focuses on the local community)
-the amazing complimentary smorgasbord breakfast (delicious, contains a wide variety of traditional Arab and Israeli foods and is cooked by staff with actually culinary skills)
-the history you can feel radiating out from the aged, muraled walls
-the most in-depth (and longest) reception shpeil I've ever witnessed [I have to learn it by heart- a daunting task]
-and finally, one thing that I personally am most impressed by, is Fauzi's ties/commitments to the local community.   Before the Fauzi, Nazareth literally had 0% gains from tourism.  The city used to just be a tour bus stop where religious tourists would get out to ogle the churches and then pile back on to hit the next site.  This day-trip tourism for solely the holy places didn't contribute at all to the local economy in Nazareth, and that may still have been the trend today had the Fauzi not opened and begun to market Nazareth as a place to stay for at least a few nights. Some absurdly large (maybe 80) percentage of businesses in the old city are recent developments that appeared only after the Fauzi began attracting tourists who came to see all of Nazareth, not just the Basilica of Annunciation (the largest church in the Middle East).  The Inn promotes local restaurants, souvenir shops, market vendors, etc. to its guests, and in gratitude most Nazareth-based businesses give discounts to guests of the Fauzi Azar as a way to say thanks for sending patrons to frequent their establishments.


Enough yapping about the Fauzi, Cleome (we can tell you're infatuated), what do you actually do?
Right, my oh-so-difficult volunteering duties....  I bake cakes.  I help with reception and answering the phone/guests' questions.  Sometimes I choose which music to play.  I take out the trash.  I do dishes and make sure there's always hot water available for tea or coffee.  I tidy up the kitchen and the lobby.  I restock the free fruit bowl.  I do whatever the staff (two bosses, four managers, a Mr. Fix-It and a handful of cookers/cleaners) ask me to.  I get to talk with guests.  I meet really interesting, varied types of people.  I play chess with the other staff/volunteers.  If nothing's really going on I'll read or write.  Or check Facebook.  Or plan my next trips out of Nazareth.

Pretty chill "work."

Now don't get me wrong- what we do as volunteers aids the Fauzi considerably.  We accomplish the menial tasks required of running a hostel day to day.  And like I said, it's not hard work, but I've had shifts where it felt like I spent the entire six or so hours rotating between washing dishes and bringing out tea trays for newly arrived guests.  Just depends on the day.

Overall I'm a huge fan of this set-up. I work roughly six hours, five days a week.  The shifts are either 7:30am-2pm, 1-7pm, or 6-11pm, so it gives you time to do stuff either earlier and/or later in the day.  Plus in your two (generally consecutive) days off, you can get a bit further out of Nazareth than just a day trip.  There's usually at least one other volunteer free to hang with, though longer trips are generally embarked upon solo.  And during your shift you tend to get free time for about half of it, so it honestly doesn't even feel like work.

Plus, the travelers that pass through the Fauzi are incredibly varied.  In the few weeks I've been here I've met families on vacation, religious tourists, school study-abroad groups, pro-Palestinian activists/documentarians/journalists, travel bloggers, avid hikers, and plain old curious backpackers that have heard of the Fauzi's amazing rep.  I've gotten to meet and talk with incredibly interesting people who've taught me a lot.  Or just had amazing conversations with the coolest people. 

I'm feeling incredibly lucky right now.

Plus, I think I've convinced Moaz to get the Inn a guitar!  Life is pretty damn good right now.

xoxo, Cleome

The Big Intro to Israel Post

Hello there!  It's been a little while since I last posted, and I've finally gotten a good chunk of time to sit down and write, so I thought I'd take advantage of it. 

I left for Israel a week from today  (though technically I've only physically been in Israel for five and a half days, thanks to an amazingly long 19.5 hours of travel time between home and here...) and have experienced a lot of newness in these past seven days.  But let's start at the very beginning.  It's a very good place to start....


Flights and Firsts
So, like I said, it took me 19.5 hours (three different flights) from taking off in Minneapolis to touch down in Israel. I left MN late morning on my first flight and arrived in Newark, NY mid-afternoon.  After waiting a few hours in the airport, I boarded the airplane that would jet me away from the US, over the Pacific, and allow me to step foot for the first time ever on another continent. <- That flight was the longest one I've ever been on- seven hours.  I flew on SAS, a Scandinavian airline, and was quite impressed by their level of service.  Not only did they show recently released movies [I got to watch Argo, what what], but they actually served MEALS on the plane.  Free of charge.  And they came in the most adorable little portion-sized containers.  I was so awed I took a picture, haha.

Although that second flight was great in many ways, it wasn't my favorite simply because
1) It was a "red eye" flight, but I couldn't sleep.
2) There was a freaky amount of turbulence as we were exactly in the middle of our trip aka over the ocean.  I won't deny that images of a watery grave briefly flitted past my eyes before I shut them out and mentally chanted think positively over and over again.
3) We changed what felt like a million time zones in those seven hours, and so by the time we arrived in Copenhagen it was 7am in Denmark, while my body still thought it was 1am.  After zooming through the cute and sleepy Copenhagen airport [they have hardwood floors, open lounge areas, inviting colors, and a little mermaid statue- how much more adorable can it get?] to find the gate for my third and final flight, I shlumped over and blearily stared at passersby through half-closed lids.  Yeah, I felt pretty gross at that point compared to all the sharp-looking European travelers.  And
4) I was located in the back of this huge airplane, in the middle row of three seats, and I just had to be put with this older guy who (even with the empty seat between us) had stinky farts.  Not very conducive for trying to sleep....

My last flight was about four hours and landed me in Tel Aviv around 2:30pm Israel time on Sunday.  Luckily the passport control guys didn't give me too much grief and I was riding in a shared taxi to Jerusalem half an hour later.  I arrived at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem- recommended to me by the GoEco project- a bit before 5pm and immediately took a shower and tried to sleep.  Key word: tried.  I was physically exhausted, having at that point slept only about four hours of the past 36, but mentally I couldn't quiet down.  I think I fell into a restless sleep around 9pm that night, but certainly woke up the next morning still feeling tired.


Orientation in the Old City
Monday was a jam-packed day. 

It began with a two hour meeting in the hostel with GoEco (the volunteer agency) representatives.  They gave myself and two other soon-to-be-volunteers [we were all leaving for different projects, however] an explanation of our volunteering projects and some basic information about Israel. Then one of them, Yan, acted as our tour guide for the rest of the day.

First, we explored and had lunch in the major Jerusalem marketplace [he managed to get us millions of free samples of cultural dishes by explaining in Hebrew to the vendors that we were foreigners and had no idea what any of the dishes were] before heading out to Jaffa Gate to take part in a free tour of the Old City.  [The term Old City in any area refers to the location where buildings, monuments and historical places built hundreds of years ago remain intact and are still used/inhabited by people today.  However, the Old City in Jerusalem is one of the most well-known as it contains many incredibly important religious sites.]

I was extremely awed on our walk through the Old City.  We hit all four quarters (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian) and our guide was quite knowledgeable about the history of each quarter and their development.  It was amazing to think that we were walking through streets and archways that had been there and seen by people for hundreds, maybe thousands of years.  And to just actually be in this place I'd heard about for so long felt incredibly unreal.  I mean, it was hard to wrap my head around the fact that I was literally standing 100 feet away from the Western Wall.  Wow. 

Since the free tour was a general overview of the Old City but didn't actually take us into buildings, once it was over Yan guided our volunteer group back to a couple of impressive sites.  We watched the sun set while standing on the top of the Austrian Hospice, taking in the scenic view of the entire Old City; we walked through the [amazingly unpopulated] Church of the Holy Sepulchre once darkness had fallen, and then window-shopped in the new mall outside the Old City on our way to dinner.  After dinner (my first authentic Israeli hummus experience!) we explored a few more buildings that had nice views (including one incredibly swanky hotel that impressed me almost as much as the Old City had, haha) and then headed back to the hostel to sleep.

Tuesday was the day I needed to catch my bus to Nazareth to actually begin volunteering, but that wasn't until 4pm, so I had a bit more time to wander around Jerusalem.  I went out with Antonia, the girl volunteer I'd hung with the day before, and we saw the Western Wall up close (I did indeed put a piece of paper with a wish on it into an unused crack in the wall).  We also walked up to the Dome of the Rock (an extremely holy Islamic site) and marveled at the detail and gorgeousness of the mosque.  Finally the time to head to the bus station rolled around, and after a bit of messing around with a temperamental ticket machine, I was on my way. 


Finding Fauzi Azar
I sat next to a very... talkative... guy on the bus who also happened to be going to the Fauzi Azar Inn.  He came in handy, though, when asking for directions [we arrived at night and the Inn is tucked away in a part of the Old City that takes some maneuvering to get to] and in making me feel a bit more secure when hiking past groups of smoking guys in black leather jackets.  But finally we found it, and I had arrived to the place I'm going to be calling home for the next two months!

[I'll be posting specifically about the Fauzi and my duties in another entry very soon!]

I met the other three volunteers that I'll be working with for the next few weeks at least (since two are leaving in a few weeks and new people may be showing up):
Pat- extremely sociable Australian guy working here for his summer break.
Jess- another girl taking a gap year!  She's from London and will spending eight months (until August) in Israel doing a variety of activities.  Once she's done volunteering at the Fauzi she's heading to a kibbutz for five months.  You can bet I'm going to be visiting her.
Mike- Canadian, eh?  ...Sorry, he's taking some time off from studying software engineering to travel and has a bunch of short-term volunteer gigs lined up in various parts of Israel. 
(Oh, and there's also a long-term volunteer lady, Linda, who gives all the guided tours.  But she's pretty much a permanent fixture as she's been here for four years.)

Pat and Jess have both been here for roughly a month and only have a few weeks left, while Mike will be leaving only two weeks before I am.  I really like them all, and the vibe is great because there's enough of us that we won't get sick of each other too soon, but not too many that it's hard to get to know everyone.  Though I do hope that when Pat and Jess leave, other volunteers show up.  I like you Mike, but some new blood potential friends would also be nice.

The night I arrived was a first-ever movie night, so I dropped my backpack off at the volunteer apartment (about 20 feet up the street) and went back to watch Life of Pi.  After the movie I went out for a late-night snack with Pat, Mike, two German guests, and a local named Fadi.  The food was good, but I was pretty much falling asleep at the table, so it was relieving to just head back to the apartment and go to bed finally at 2am.


Navigating Nazareth   
Wednesday began with free breakfast at the Fauzi and then a guided tour of the Old City.  It was a great, alternative tour that ignored the holy places (since you can do that on your own) and instead focused on getting to know the locals and the back roads of Nazareth.  It was a great introduction to this city I'm going to be based in for the next while.  I then grabbed lunch with Mike, hung out and explored the city some more with Jess, and had the most touching hospitality experience I've felt in a while. 

A local Christian Arabic family that Mike and Pat had met earlier had invited them to dinner, and since I was free, both I and a Fauzi guest Jackie were invited along.  However, when we got to the family's house after running through the winding alleyways in the pouring rain, we discovered that the electricity in their area was completely out.  No lights, no heat, no nothing.  Certainly no cooking, we surmised [<- like my word choice, Pat&Mike?].  But the family surprised us, and after an hour of sitting in the candle-lit living room exchanging broken English and Arabic talking with the daughters Ruth and Jessica, we were informed dinner was ready and we were ushered into the kitchen. 

An amazing spread of traditional Arabic food lay on the table before us.  The four of us sat down with Ruth and the dad, Adell, and had a wonderful meal highlighted by lamb, rice with a special yogurt sauce, and Italian champagne.  The food was very tasty (and they managed to magically heat it somehow- candles?), but there were about a million dishes and each was heaped onto our plates in such great quantities that I couldn't even finish half of it.  After dinner the electricity came back on (of course) and we moved back to the living room to join the rest of the family (mom, brother, Jessica and fiance) in smoking hookah (first time for me!) and listening to music.  And when we finally excused ourselves after lavishing thanks upon the family, the brother insisted I take the sweatshirt of his I'd been wearing for warmth as a parting gift.  To be honest, I'm a little wary that somehow I've bound myself to a romantic obligation... but I'll admit its oversizedness had come in handy as a makeshift tent-like changing room, as there is no real privacy in our tiny volunteer apartment.  Alla in all, I was incredibly touched by their generosity in feeding four guests (two of which had been perfect strangers before that meal) in the middle of a power outage.  And we have plans to go back soon and learn how to make authentic felafel, so yay!  Free food and good company is always something to look forward to.


Experiencing Everyday Events enjoying the alliteration of the section titles?
Thursday I was shadowing Jess on the afternoon shift, but beforehand we walked up a scenic hill named Mount Precipice and on the way to the Inn stopped by a small cafe for Qatayaf (a traditional Ramadan sweet- essentially a small pancake filled with either soft cheese or walnuts, fried, and then drizzled in syrup.  As delicious as they sound).  We were kept at the Inn for a while after our shift had technically ended, so just came back to the apartment and slept after.

Friday I attempted to find the Jesus Trail (a hiking trail that starts at the Fauzi- more on that in the next blog post!) and failed dismally- got a good run in anyway, though.  Then half slept half read in the sun, and was on evening shift with Mike.  Bed.

Today I hiked the Jesus Trail with Pat and Mike and five Fauzi guests.  Luckily we didn't get lost, as Pat is an expert Jesus Trail navigator.  The first leg takes roughly four hours to walk, and really is pretty gorgeous once you get past the highway.  We hitched back to Nazareth (a somewhat depressing only 15 minutes away by car) and grabbed a late lunch before coming back home to chill.

I can't believe I just used the word "home" so naturally.  I must really feel pretty comfortable here.

Tonight we're heading out to a local restaurant to see some sort of music.  Maybe dancing will be involved?  Whatever it is, should be interesting. 

Off to find Mike and ask him about that stir fry he's supposedly making....

xoxo, Cleome