Walk Like an Egyptian

You see those mountains there across the Red Sea? Yeah, that's Saudi Arabia.

A few of us "woke up" to watch the sun rise.

Jerk stole my spot. I let him jump on the chair to cuddle with me but he pushed me off and then refused to let me push him off.

In the distance there, one of our lovely Bedouin hostel workers enjoying his early morning tea.

The Egyptian mountains.

Who doesn't love snorkeling under the hot sun in November.

We are all just a little tired here. And just a little cold. It's about 5 in the morning and we've just hiked to the top of Mount Sinai.

We bought these rug blanket things at the bottom of the mountain in anticipation of the cold. They served us well and I think they are rather dashing.

Walking down the 3,750 Steps of Penitence, hand-carved by monks. Also, please notice the awesome sweater I'm wearing; it belongs to an old shop owner at the base of the mountain and he let me borrow it.

Despite the dead look on my face, riding a camel is top ten coolest things I've ever done.

Aren't they cute?

Jeru-salaam

I finally made it to the Holy City - walked the Via Dolorosa (the path Jesus carried the cross on the way to his crucifixion) and ate some blow-your-mind-good hummus.

You can see the wall in the background, the one that separates the West Bank from Israel. In the foreground is part of the checkpoint we went through to enter the city. I can't imagine how people do this on a daily basis to get to work or school. We stood in one line for maybe 20 minutes before it became clear that the guards had abandoned it. We switched lines maybe three more times before standing and waiting another 30 minutes or so to be grumped at by a 20-year old boy on a power trip. It was cramped and dirty and there were bars and gates everywhere that opened and locked at the whim of the guards. Not fun.

Damascus Gate, entrance to the Old City.

Wall next to the Gate.

The Western Wall. This photo is of the men's side. The women have their own partitioned section. I wish I could say this was a spiritual experience, but I can at least say it was fascinating. I'll have to go back on Shabat when there are more people. Not sure why but you're supposed to walk backwards when leaving the wall; makes it very difficult not to bump in to chairs or other people.

Dome of the Rock. Our guidebook steered us wrong and told us the incorrect visitor hours. Luckily, the guard guys appreciated the work we are doing in Nablus and sent a kid to go take beautiful pictures of it for me.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre with I think a Crusaders flag on top. Believed by many to be the site of Gologotha - where Jesus was crucified - and also believed to be where he was buried. Next time I will visit the Garden Tomb.

So many stinking tourists. I may be a tourist but at least I don't travel in packs.

The Stone of Unction or Anointing, allegedly the spot where Jesus' body was prepared for burial. People put their hands/handkerchiefs/lips on it to absorb some of the holiness. Yes, I touched it.

Nicest kitty I've met in weeks. She sat on my lap and ate some of our food. All the other cats are so skittish. One of the locals in Nablus said it's because little boys kick them and throw rocks at them.

View from our picnic spot on the rooftops of the Old City.

Scenes from the Bible

Hayley, remember how you like the taste of the salty ocean? If you ever taste the Dead Sea and tell me you like it I'll know you were lying all along. It is so salty that the tiniest drop burns your eyes, and I'd advise against shaving for at least a week beforehand. Ouch. Despite that, it was one of the coolest sensations, floating so easily. You couldn't drown if you tried. I could sit up like I was sitting in a chair and it would hold my head well above the water. Plus, as you can see, it is beautiful.

We attempted to go to a nicer Israeli beach but our taxibus driver was Palestinian so the checkpoint guards wouldn't let us through to the Israeli side. That is, they wouldn't let us cross in that taxi with that driver. We could have walked to the other side and taken a bus.

German Yonas, one of the international volunteers.

Hollander Arwin. Pretty much everyone smokes here.

The thing to do in the dead sea - cover yourself if mud. Not only does it look cool, but it makes your skin baby smooth.

View of Jericho from a cable car up to the Mount of Temptation, where all we did was eat, but still, Jesus was there once so it's cool.

My refugee camp class. Nablus is a clean and beautiful bustling city compared to the refugee town where these kids live. On the streets there are a few shops, more children, and ridiculous amounts of garbage everywhere. But my students are great. Crazy energetic but so sweet.

My New Home

Welcome to Nablus. First day here...most terrifying day of my life (no, not because there were terrorists running around with bombs). I had to meet dozens of people in the program and got assigned a teaching schedule to start two days from then and I was tired and hungry and didn't know where or how to get food and people kept talking to me. But now I've been here for a whole week and I know where to get the best falafel and I know (kind of) how to teach a class.

My second day here we biked to a nearby olive grove to help the farmers (or "peasants" as everyone here calls them) pick their olive trees. Note how hilly the pictures of Nablus are and you'll get an idea of how easy the bike ride was. I could barely push that bike up the hill.

Dirty, half-constructed building where we stopped to eat our hummus and bread breakfast.

Local and international volunteers.

Peasant and son.

A donkey. I wish I had a picture of the people riding them up those streets. It's like right out of a movie.

The last couple pictures are from my mountain walk to a park with my local volunteer teaching assistant. There I received my first (and last?) kiss from a Palestinian. Don't worry, it was only on my head.

Tanning in Late October

Tel Aviv=The Beach

The city itself was…underwhelming. But so would any city be when it’s 90 degrees and sunny on the Mediterranean.

That's Jaffa in the distance - the old old old port city from which Tel Aviv sprang.

Political insights from a cabbie in Tel Aviv: Somehow it came about that I asked him how he feels about Obama. I promptly received a poli sci lesson on the demography and political history of Israel...Israel is very small, full of Jews, and surrounded by Muslims.

Cabbie statistics...Population of Israel: 7 million, of which 6 million are Jews and 1 million Arab. It is surrounded by five seven (57) Islam states.

Thus, Israel is in a precarious position. The U.S. has historically backed Israel, and Obama shouldn't change course.

He supports a two-state solution (as everyone does, he says) so long as it is peaceful.

Cabbie profile: middle-aged; Jewish; born in Israel; parents from Iran