the best chicken dinner and Sederot

Here I am again, thanks to Laurel bringing me to school with her so I could use the internet, which never seems to stay connected at her apartment long enough to write a sentence let alone a whole entry. While she is taking a Hebrew test, I am sitting in the Library feverishly typing away to share with you, my faithful readers, our most

recent adventures.

Monday night Laurel and her friend Annie were invited to dinner. The Meal was at 8pm, in the backyard of a small art store owned by an Arab who lives in the Old City. He cooked (what Laurel claims was) the most delicious chicken she has ever tasted. After one very large chicken leg she was full, though he insisted she eat 3 more! Not only that, but she didn't even think to bring any back for me. In the middle of dinner she heard sirens, saw a firetruck, police cars and an ambulance speed by the shop. Turning to the host, Annie asked him what was going on. he replied, "it is probably just another attack."

Here is a strange phenomenon. For those of you living in America, the idea of an attack of any sorts is shaking. Here in Israel attacks happen, and life goes on. A very worried Laurel and Annie left dinner at 12 midnight, to see people sitting at cafes and continuing with daily life. The attack was near the Old City where a Palestinian resident of east Jerusalem hit a group of Israeli soldiers with his car, wounding a total of 15 soldiers and four civilians. Even though it was scary, life goes on.

The next day Laurel went on a field trip to Sederot, about a mile outside Gaza. I, wanted no part of it. She invited me along, though I appreciated the gesture, I was content to sit at home. Thank you very much. Sederot is a town that has had Qassam rockets falling on it for 7 years. Though there is a cease fire with Gaza, extremist groups from just within Gaza continue to fire missiles into Israeli populated areas. The people of Sederot have to live with the ever present fear that any moment there could be an alarm signaling an attack. When an alarm goes off the citizens have 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter. A women who spoke to the WUJS group told a story of a girl who heard an alarm go off when she was in class. The whole class got up and ran to a bomb shelter. When she returned to class there was a Qassam missile in her seat. Another story was about the children who have to grow up knowing nothing but the fear of falling

missiles. It is not as though the missiles came one day while they were growing up, it is the

only life these young children have known. Every playground has been bombed, so they have build the only playground in the word made out of bomb shelters.Laurel told me after that she had butterflies in her stomach the whole time. The feeling she had for 7 hours was the only feeling the people of Sederot have known for 7 years. After the group left Sederot they drove up to the top of a hill that overlooked Gaza. The view was magnificent. There was a wind chime memorial for a fallen soldier providing soft background music, while the group stood in silence and looked out over the strip of land where so

much violence has stemmed. From the hill Laurel could see the Mediterranean, and her professor told them that Egypt was directly left of the area. If she turned her head to the right she saw Israel, and straight in front Gaza. Such a small area to fight over.
-Mo the Shalom Gnome

Laurel' left me behind, we are in a HUGE fight

Laurel went to Haifa for Shabbat and forgotme! As though I am just a thing that she could leave behind, and not a miss vital part of her experience. We are not on speaking terms, though I listened in on her conversation with her roommates so I could write about her adventures.

Thursday afternoon she and her friend Sareet took a bus from Jerusalem's central bus station to Haifa. They were lucky. Right as they got to the platform in Jerusalem the bus was about to pull away, they made on the bus just in time. An easy 2 hour bus ride brought them to Haifa, where Sareet's friend Tom met them. He drove them to a small market, where they bought groceries for the weekend. Then off to Tom's house, which overlooks the Bahai Gardens. Tom said that the gardens are too beautiful to be in Isra

el, that something so breath taking should be somewhere to travel to, not something to see everyday. I wish Laurel had considered that I might never get a chance to see them. I only have her photos to give me a shadow of what the gardens truly are.

That evening Laurel and Sareet enjoyed bamba, and more bamba. If you are unfamiliar with this Israeli treat I will enlighten you. Bamba looks like puffed cheetos, and tastes like peanut butter. I think it is disgusting. Laurel, on the other hand has not been able to shut up about it. She tried it last time she was in Israel and for some reason beyond my comprehension cannot get enough of them. She and Sareet supposedly ate mostly bamba the entire weekend. They also watched movies and just relaxed. It seems a nice way to celebrate Shabbat, just sit and relax. Also, they don't have a TV in the apartment in Jerusalem so I guess it was a luxury to sit back and veg out.

Friday they went to the beach. This I am really upset about. Sitting on a couch, watching tv, and eating bamba I can do without. Swimming in the ocean and soaking up the sun is a whole other story. She said the beach was pure white sand, dotted with cigarette butts and litter. The difference in environmental concerns is very noticeable in Israel compared to the US. Litter piles up along the streets, in the parks, and even on this beautiful beach. Even so, I can assume the water was a sparkling teal with light crashing waves. Laurel said that the Haifa beach could have used the Duluth beach sweep, which recently took place back home.

The next day they went to the market in Dahlia, a town about 30 minutes from Haifa. On the way they stopped at what Tom's friend Haguy said is their, "Dunkin Doughnuts." This was a stand on the side of the road where an elderly married couple sold passers-by crepe like pastries filled with chocolate sauce or cheese and zatar (a wonderful green spice). When they arrived at Dahlia, Laurel and Sareet bought small rugs for their very sparsely furnished rooms in Jerusalem. After bargaining they got them for 45 shekels each, which is about $12. They also bought tasty arab desserts called Knafeh, a sweet cheese with pistachios.

They left Haifa for Jerusalem on the 8pm bus, and arrived around 10:20. They got back on the 18 bus at the central station, and went the wrong way winding up at the end of the 18 bus route. They were sitting on the front of the bus, and Sareet made a comment on how nothing looked familiar. They looked around and they were the only two people on the bus, and the bus driver was asking them what they were doing. They had to go back on a different bus, back the way they came and an hour 1/2 later they were home. Back to a royally ticked off Mo. Laurel owes me big time.

- Mo the Shalom Gnome

Golan Adventures

First I want to say that I am deeply sorry for my lack of posting, Laurel's internet is not as high speed as it was in the States. Also, she hogs it when it is working to talk to friends and family. By the time I get a chance to write the connection is lost!

Last Wednesday we began our excursion, and rode off to the Golan Heights after picking up the other half of WUJS from Tel Aviv. After a few hours of bumping riding we began our hike in the boiling heat. I was afraid my paint would melt off! Especially since Laurel insisted on keeping my in bubble wrap, deep within her backpack so I wouldn't crack. When she did let me out the scene was beautiful. I saw the town of Devorah, an ancient ruin from pre-Roman period. It was in the same condition as Laurel's apartment was when we arrived to Jerusalem (slightly disheveled). As we turned a bend long the trail we were face to face with the gaping mouth of a cave. The cool shaded area was a nice relief from the sweltering heat. We shared the area with some rather unwelcoming bats who were rather upset to be woken in the middle of the afternoon. When everyone was rested we hiked down a cliff on the side of a waterfall to sit by a shaded pond. The hike down was a lot easier, and I almost had to carry Laurel back up the side of the mountain. Sweaty and tired, we trudged onto the bus to ride to our campsite.

At the site we waited until 9pm for dinner! Laurel kept eyeing me strangely and I made sure to hide for fear she would eat me. After everyone was fed we went to bed under the stars, in the heat, and on a nice bed of rocks. Laurel slept fine, though I couldn't get comfortable. Maybe it was because she had hiked all day and I had just gone along for the ride. The next morning we were woken at dawn to the buzzing of flies, and the smell of coffee. Fed and "cleaned" we returned to the bus to hike along Chatzbani River.

The trail along the Chatzbani River was much cooler than the day before and we had plenty of opportunities to get our feet wet. The trail itself went headfirst into the river a number of times and we had to jump wobbly rock to wobbly rock in order to cross to the other bank. A few people fell in, though Laurel opted to put on her sandals and wade across. Her friend Benjy (known to be a descendant of a Hobbit) jumped nimbly from rock to rock without getting one toe in! He is sitting next to me AND READING OVER MY SHOULDER, so I feel I should include him in the adventure.

Before reaching our camp for the night, we stopped at the Syrian border to see various sites from the 6 day war. It was overwhelming to stand in a bunker that once held Syrian soldiers who shot down on Israeli Kibbutzim. These same bunkers that Israeli IDF soldiers shot into as they climbed up the hill, being picked off by the Syrians overhead. Now, Israelis are debating whether or not to return the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for peace. Standing on the hill one would never know that the country across the valley was at war with Israel. The air is peaceful, and there are no obvious signs one can see with the naked eye.

That evening we camped on the Kineret, or Sea of Galilee. Even at 5pm the water was hotter than bathwater! We swam for a while, and by the time we were done dinner was ready and the heat had not subsided. Another night under the stars, though this time instead of sleeping in the company of flies we slept next to herds of stray cats.

Laurel is giving me the stink eye. I think she wants me to hurry up so she can go to class. Who goes to class? Especially when they are not even in college any more! Seriously, sometimes I just don't understand her.

Mo - the Shalom Gnome

11 1/2 hours later... We made it!

Wow! What a flight. I spend the whole flight in the overhead compartment, while Laurel got an aisle exit row seat. She was able to sleep for 1/2 the flight and read/ watched a movie the second 1/2 to stay awake. The entire flight there was a breakfast bar set up so passengers could get up and take whatever food they wanted! When we landed Laurel said she was nervous for the first time. Would there really be someone waiting for us? Would she have to take a taxi all by herself? She saw 4 people who had to be questioned at customs, and that really made her nervous! Luckily we had everything in order, and she was able to go through without a hitch. We got a cart, loaded the bags (which were a nice 49lbs and 50lbs, right under the weight limit), and with Laurel's heart beating loud enough for me to hear in her backpack we walked out to the waiting area. Yonit, the madricha (counselor) had a HUGE sign that read Welcome WUJS! What a relief for Laurel, she didn't have to shelp herself to Jerusalem. There were 5 other people from the program who were waiting at the airport, because earlier that day there was a strike and they couldn't get their bags!

We all took a bus to Jerusalem to the new apartment building. The apartments were just finished that day, and there is still sawdust on the tables and floors. Our room has three bedrooms for three girls (and me, though I guess I don't really count). We are room number 11, which is 9 flights up with no elevator. It works out though, because the other rooms on lower floors have four people for three bedrooms.

Laurel doesn't have a dresser yet, so she is still living from her bags until the rest of the furniture arrives. We spent the evening playing get-to-know-you games, and then hung out on the roof.

I was woken up by the construction and a shofar being blown for teh Arab cll to prayer at 4am. Laurel, having taken Tylanol PM was able to sleep until 7am. She isn't jetlagged so far, though I think I might be.

This was a long update, though I wanted to make sure to tell everyone that we are alive and well. Tomorrow we go off for a hike... lucky me I don't have to walk.

- Mo the Shalom Gnome