The boys were fine and dandy at my parents' house during our trip and only cried when we would call on Skype (video call on the computer.) Out of sight out of mind. They were happy to see us when we came back so that's all that matters. Alejandro came running at me full force and just about leveled me. Alfonso is back in Phoenix until the end of the month while the boys and I are staying in Ohio. The move date for Israel is still March 1st.
Besides our fruitless days spent searching for a house, we were able to do a bit of sight seeing. We stayed in Tel-Aviv which is right on the Mediterranean coast. The weather was similar to Phoenix. We'd need a light jacket in the mornings and evenings but it got toasty mid-day. Monday we went up to Haifa which is an hour north of Tel Aviv, also on the coast and went to the Baha'i Shrine and Gardens. Wednesday we went to Jerusalem. Traffic was worse there than anywhere where else. The Old City is just a maze and we mistakenly thought we'd be able to navigate with just a map. We wandered around lost, forever asking for directions. If someone hadn't offered to take us to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (built around Christ's tomb) we would probably still be looking for it now.
This might be a bit long winded for some of you -- but I'm going to try to capture a bit of our experience over the next two years.
Observations, opinions, odds and ends
Language -- Contrary to everything we'd been told, everyone does not speak English. Many people know some level of English but not necessarily fluently. In most cases, there was at least one person around they could bring over to help us. The state languages are Hebrew and Arabic. In Jerusalem, we were trying to avoid being harassed by everyone trying to sell us things so we started conversing in Spanish. We made it half a block before someone came over hawking his services in Spanish.
Food -- We ate out the whole time and never had a bad meal. Of course since Intel was footing the bill, we dined at some fancy-shamsy places that we'll never set foot in again (especially with the little guys in tow.) The food is very flavorful but not spicy in the hot sense that we were accustomed to in New Mexico. We ordered burritos at one place that we labeled as spicy -- but it tasted more like a sweet bbq sauce than anything. They pickle everything! We tried pickled carrots and lemon rinds (I'm not a fan.) People raved about the pickled watermelon but we never had the opportunity to try it. We never made it to a grocery store -- so we shall see what that holds in store for us.
Traffic -- Insane. The drivers call themselves "aggressive." It's a free for all. People cut each other off like crazy, motorcycles weave in and out between lanes of traffic (if you can call them lanes -- people drive wherever they feel like it.) They park on shoulders and sidewalks and in the middle of the road if they can't find a parking spot and have a quick errand to run. Israelis live to honk their horns, not if someone cuts them off. No, usually when the traffic is stopped and there's nothing anyone can do but wait -- they just lean on the horn the whole time until traffic clears. Also, the traffic signals work a little differently. When the light is red, the yellow light comes on (while the red is still on) to let you know it's about to turn green. So if you don't start driving when the yellow comes on, they start honking. Sometimes they start honking before the yellow even comes on to let you know that it's about to turn yellow.
Smoking -- Apparently there's no Israeli surgeon general warning on all of the cigarettes because people there are smoking fiends! I foresee a huge lung cancer epidemic hitting the country in the next few decades.
Litter bugs -- Trash, trash, and more trash. People throw stuff right in front of you with absolutely no shame. There's litter everywhere. We walk out of this fancy five star restaurant and it's like walking into a dumpster. The contrast is hard to fathom. It's on the beach, parks, religious sites even (well, not the Baha'i gardens) but people have no respect for the environment. The smaller communities aren't as bad (not as many people to litter.) This is one of the hardest things for me to accept because it was such a shock to me (and I'm a neat freak -- not as bad since I've had kids but still a neat freak at heart.)
Random Encounters -- The best part of this adventure is all the people. While most Israelis appear a bit unapproachable at first, they are very warm hearted and happy to help. Everyone has a story to tell if you have the time to listen. Here are a few of the people we came across.
Mira -- When walking around in Haifa, Alfonso noticed a woman sitting in a car with a flat tire and offered to help. She looks at him and says "You are not Israeli. An Israeli man wouldn't help. He wouldn't even look at you." (Alfonso speaking english may also tipped her off to his citizenship.) She declined his offer as she'd already called for help. Later she drove by and gave us her phone number and insisted we come to her home to eat when we move next month.
Dorthy -- Met at the Baha'i gardens. She's originally from the States, her husband escaped from Poland when he was four but the rest of his family died in the concentration camps. They now live in Haifa and are activists for the occupied territories. She told a story about visiting Auschwitz and seeing the welcome sign that says "Arbeit macht frei" which means "Work liberates." While it is a nice slogan, it is a terrible thing to say when nothing could be further from the truth. She said it's the same going into Bethlehem in the West Bank there's a sign that says "Peace be with you" but the people there are living in violence, strife and no means of escape.
Zachi -- A Muslim tour guide we met inside Jaffa Gate at the Old City in Jerusalem. His cousin owns a souvenir shop on David Street. Talked about how Jews and Muslims are brothers because they both call Abraham father. "The trouble lies in Israel welcoming "foreign" Jews to come, have land, and make a living but the Palestinians whose homes were here have lost their land and can not make a living." He was very kind and very funny. After exchanging some witty banter, he turns to Alfonso and offers "a million camels for your wife."
Josh -- A photo journalist from Philadelphia that moved to Israel in 1985. He goes to the Old City daily and likes to talk to people and find out their stories. He also helps people find their way around but not for pay because he won't pay 22,000 shekels to become an official tour guide. When we met him, he was in jeans and a ball cap but he says he often dons Arab garb to go into East Jerusalem and Occupied Palestine. He told us that the ladder at the entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not there for restorations. It has been there for over 200 years when the Byzantines had control of the church and the Turks used the ladder to smuggle food into those trapped in the Church.
Levi -- His wife ran a food stand out of their garage in one of the small moshavs (farming communities) when where we were looking for houses. She had to track Levi down to help us order because no one else spoke english. He was originally from Morocco. He worked construction and had helped build one of Intel's earlier fabs. They welcome us into the home and the wife started making extra "freebies" for us to try and take with us. When he heard we were looking for a house, he started making phone calls and drove us around to see other houses he knew of for rent.
Baha'i Shrine and Gardens. Baha'i is a relatively modern religion that believes "there is only one God, that there is only one human race, and that all the world’s religions represent stages in the revelation of God’s will and purpose for humanity." Anyhow, the gardens are very impressive -- absolutely impeccable.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
We'll have to go again with a local or tour guide so we'll know what we are looking at.
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