Catch-up and The Kindness of Strangers

Ok, I'm running a little behind here. Allow me to take you back. Waaay back...

One of the things that's struck me most since arriving to Israel is the overwhelming sense of community. I realize this feeling of inclusion comes easily to me, largely because I am technically Jewish (that is, when I say my mom is Jewish, people respond, "then you're Jewish!"). I've had more than one person welcome me "home" (to Israel).

Despite that welcoming spirit, I had a hard time feeling comfortable during my first few weeks here. I felt at different times restless, lonely, or just not quite sure why I was traveling in the first place. I believed, somewhere, that those feelings would ultimately sort themselves out and that if I could be open to the experiences coming my way, the purpose would eventually emerge.

Finally, in the last couple of days around Tel Aviv before Audra arrived, things started to shift. It started with a great experience "couchsurfing" in Haifa, Israel where Eve (a girl from my Birthright trip) and I stayed with an Israeli-American couple and their adorable dog, Molly. Neither of us had couchsurfed before, and seeing Haifa through the eyes of locals was such a rich way to experience the city; we went to the "best" hummus place, which was this little hole in the wall we never would have explored otherwise, attended a gallery opening with one of our hosts who is a photography student at the art school in town, and cooked together while drinking wine and talking Middle Eastern politics.

The evening we got back to Tel Aviv, we met up with a friend and headed to a rooftop concert in south Tel Aviv, which felt like it could have taken place anywhere in the US (plenty of American folk and rock music being played) except for the silhouette of the Muslim mosque in the background and the chanting/praying that filled the city when the sun finally went down (see pic at left). It was a great slice of something that felt kind of like home.

After the concert, we (myself, Eve, and Jenna, another Birthright friend) had been invited to Shabbat dinner at the home of one of the Israeli soldiers from our trip, Oran. We headed to the suburbs and arrived at one of the most incredible homes I've ever seen...think Orinda on steroids. We met Oran's family (mother, father, three sisters, boyfriend, uncle, cousin) and all sat down together for one of the most extravagant and delicious meals I've ever eaten. Two kinds of soup, two salads, three types of vegetable, fish, steak, coleslaw, wine, bread, it just kept coming and coming. It was such an authentic privilege to join this family for their weekly ritual... Shabbat dinner is definitely a practice I'd like to bring back home with me in some form. Oh, did I mention there were four kinds of dessert plus tea at the end? What a treat. Here are some pictures of the dinner table, and one of Jenna, Eve, Oran and I)

The following day, I went to grab some of my stuff from a hostel where I had been staying when a fellow traveler I'd met in the last week saw me and asked if I wanted to go sailing with him and some other travelers. I gathered a few details, thought about it for a minute (hm, sailing in the Mediterranean with fellow travelers on a beautiful sunny day in Tel Aviv? Um, yeah.) and decided to join them. I guess the guys had arranged with a local who runs sailing trips out ofthe Tel Aviv port, but there was a miscommunication about how many people could come on the boat (he thought it was 3, we ended up showing up with 6) so that fell through.

I just figured we'd take our snacks to the beach but the guys were determined to get out on the water. They disappeared for a few minutes and showed back up saying, "ok, we're joining this family on their boat". "Um, what?" I thought. So I went to chat with the woman whose boat we were supposedly just waltzing onto and she reminded me so much of mom! Middle-aged, very sweet woman, from the US who had married an Israeli. They were heading onto their boat (more like yacht) for the afternoon with their 22 year old son, his buddy from the army, a family friend and his girlfriend, and her sister. Debbie (the woman) had overheard the guys asking around about opportunities to pay for a sailboat ride and invited us to join them, free of charge. It sounds too good to be true, right?

For those of you who worry about me, I am as cautious and calculated as you hope I am, and I am not naive about the world and people's intentions. But I have also been absolutely blown away by the generosity and warmth that I've encountered here from total strangers. There is a far-reaching sense of community, family, and belonging in Israel the likes of which I've never experienced anywhere else. To summarize, we spent an amazing afternoon sailing with this family, sharing our stories, food, drinks, and space. When the afternoon ended, we exchanged contact information and Debbie said if we ever wanted to join them again, they sail every Saturday in Tel Aviv and offered us a place to stay if we ever come back to Haifa. It's incredibly refreshing and deeply affirming to remember that there are people who are willing to share what they have without expecting anything in return. It fortifies my hope and faith in the idea of global community and compassion in a way that I don't often experience at home. Here's a pic of me and one of the other Israeli soldiers who was swept up in the impromptu sailing trip.

Today, we (Eve, Audra, and I) left Tel Aviv and headed south to Eilat (Israel) where we planned to cross the border into Jordan to visit a popular tourist destination, Petra, an ancient city ofruins. We'd researched the border crossing a bit and knew ahead of time how much each taxi leg should cost, border fees, etc. I always get antsy around border crossings because there's so much shuffling of important documents, passports, money changing, people vying for your business, etc. They're usually uncomfortable transitions for me. However, we arrived at the Israel/Jordan border and were apparently just about the only people making the trip at the time. There were no lines anywhere and all the folks we dealt with were extremely helpful and friendly. When we got to the actual border, the guard commented on each of our names, telling us what they meant (if anything) in Hebrew--apparently mine means "She's cold" (I think the world for cold is something like "Carl" or "Carli") but then observed that Louise is something you put into tea, so we started joking about how my name means Cold/Hot, which inspired Eli (the guard) to break out in a stirring rendition of Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" (lyrics here: http://artists.letssingit.com/katy-perry-lyrics-hot-n-cold-bb1cbz3) which we then all joined him in as we danced on the Israeli/Jordanian border.

On the Jordanian side, things were a little more serious, but every single guard and checkpoint officer warmly welcomed us to Jordan and the guy who sent our bags through the X-ray machine gave us a quick crash-course in basic Arabic (please, thank you, good morning, excuse me, etc.) When we got out into Jordan, we had to find a cab driver and negotiate a rate from the border to our hostel about 2 hours away in Petra. Again, sometimes an uncomfortable situation given language barriers, exchange rates, etc. Eve had been given the name of a particular cabbie, recommended by our hostel (which was recommended by Eric, the guy we stayed with in Haifa) As we walked out, there was a friendly and slightly timid looking cab driver holding up homemade sign that said "Eve Fine". Apparently the hostel had arranged for this particular cab driver to meet us at the border, which made the whole thing so much easier. He was so nice, welcoming us again to Jordan and facilitating the handoff to our next driver, confirming the rate we had agreed on with the new driver, who was equally adorable in his warmth and enthusiasm for welcoming us to his country and making us feel right at home with some American jams (English radio and an Eminem CD). We stopped a few times along the way at scenic viewpoints to get out, look aruond, and take pictures. When he dropped us off at the door of our hostel, he left us with his phone number and offered to drive us back to the border when we wanted to go for a 10 Dinar discount off what we'd paid on the way there.

At the hostel we were greeted with complimentary cups of tea and paid a few dollars for an amazing home-cooked meal. As the evening went on, one of the Jordanian hostel staff pulled out an instrument called an "Oud" (as far as I can transliterate), like a guitar but decidedly Middle-Eastern sounding. Audra led the way and pretty soon we were all dancing in the lobby...travelers, hostel staff, and visitors alike.

An English guy in our hostel tonight was telling a story about a friend of his who cycled all across the world, and never got robbed until he made it to the US...where he was robbed. Twice. A few people expressed the opinion that the US was probably one of the more dangerous places to travel but observed that you wouldn't think twice about visiting. One of them then apologized, fearing he'd offended me :) Anyways, it's interesting to compare your impressions of the place you live to other people's. I do think there is a certain cynicism or suspicion that we develop living in the US, especially in the urban centers, that if someone seems to be doing something nice for you there must be an ulterior motive. I'll repeat that I'm not careless, naive, or indiscriminately trusting when it comes to interacting with people. But it's nice to remember that sometimes hospitality and kindness are just that.