Golden Beach Hotel Tel Aviv

... it was delayed by an hour and all was good. <br><br>tben when we arrived in prague our flight to amsterdam was delayed by 3 hours. then when we got on the plane to dar es salaam there was a medical emergency on the plane (some guy had stroke or heart attack) so we had to emergency land the plane in nairobi to get him to a hospital. anyhoo. we finally got to africa in one piece and it is HOT like 28 degrees at 1am. yowee. sweat city!<br>

... Nona en ik gingen zelf falafel eten, terwijl Ido ging werken, en na een (veel te lange) powernap in de airco, troffen we Ido bij zn werk, en gingen we samen met nog een vriendin uit Jerusalem bier (Goldstar) drinken in de oude wijk. Nou... oud.. Lelijk vooral.<br><br>Het verlaten van het huis was nog een verhaal apart. Koshka is een getraumatiseerde/gestoorde kat (wij concludeerden dat Ido dr vooral te veel slaat..). Maar ze is dus af en toe lief, maar af en toe bij ze bijna je ...

... br>I spent the night with my cousin. I think what binds us together more than anything is the close relationship we both had with my Safta (grandmother) who passed away a couple months before I moved back to Canada in '96. At some point or another we reminisce about the many funny things she used to say and the good times we had with her. I can only talk to her and her mother, my aunt, about my Safta like that. Only they, truly understand. I love ...

... and walkers and people sitting on benches or patronizing the handful of snack kiosks that dot the median, not overly commercial and not fully residential... And there we were, part of the lively buzz of the place. In the cab home, at 11:30 p.m., we looked at all the full cafes and restaurants, thinking what a great, lively, cosmopolitan place, and given that Sunday is a weekday in Israel--what on earth were these people all doing up so late?

... and it was pretty darn good. We sat outside again (of course), young people all around us, eating, drinking, smoking, greeting each other, as we looked around at the dilapidated apartment buildings that lined the area.<br><br>Suddenly, there were police lights, and a bullhorn announcement about evacuating the area. People around us got up to see what was happening, and residents leaned out their balconies. A policeman diverted vehicles and foot traffic ...

... innocent people. Nobody should have the right to take another life. This is my firm belief and its unwavering. Murdering people is deplorable and cannot be condoned. But why do normal people react like this? <br><br>Its too easy to play it off as "another religious nut has gone and blown himself up". This may be the case sometimes, but not all the time. But just as you wouldn't sit idly by as your friends and family are harassed and belittled, neither will ...

... of training and experience. Micah spent several years in the Israeli army, and is still a lieutenant colonel in the reserves (Michael and I have a theory that this touring job is only a front and he's really a spy -- he knows too much! Or maybe we've watched too many movies!). We also met our two co-travelers for the week -- Linda from Chicago and Michelle from New ...

I made it to Israel and it is beautiful weather. Its in the 70's and just perfect. Ahuvah met me at the airport and we went back to her new apt in Tel Aviv which is sooo nice. I will try and post pictures of it soon. Its large and spacious and amazing in the middle of a major city down the block from kikar Rabin square where he was assassinated by another Jewish person. For those who do not know he was prime minister of Israel in ...

... to enter, you come into a wide open space--no pews--but columns of red leading your eye to the altar up front. Hundreds of golden oil lamps, old glass chandeliers, sparkled in the sun streaming from the windows behind the altar. Smoke from candles and incense filled the air. It's a simple place really. Below the altar, is a small room with the magic spot where Jesus was believed to be born. Curving steps on either side of the altar lead down into a close room--we ...

Aunt Jen and I went to a village near Ramallah today called Bi'lin. In Bi'lin there have been non violent demonstrations going on for three years now against the wall that's being built, deep in the West Bank, separating the villagers from many dunams of their land. We marched on the road towards where the Separation Fence is, chanting "la la, l'jidar!" (meaning "no, no to the wall!") and "la la ihtillal! (no, no to occupation!) You know, I was ...