I have heard the beaches here are amazing so I wanted to check them out.
The Mediterranean!!
You better believe I went for a dip. That means the -ed trifecta has been completed! I have now officially been in the Med the Red and the Dead! What an accomplishment!
The sand here is INCREDIBLE!!
Not sure what happened here, but I kind of like this picture haha.
I actually spent most my time walking up and down the beach checking stuff out. The people here love to smoke. They also love to use the wood paddles and hit a rubber ball back and forth. Some are incredible at it. Many soccer balls were out. I did see one football!
By far the coolest thing I witnessed was these Kite Surfers. It's like wake boarding with a long parachute attached to your torso. I watched them for probably an hour straight losing all reality of time and life. This one guy in particular was amazing! I want to do this. I took some pictures!
This guy got up!
The wind was strong so when they come on shore they were fighting it hard.
This time the dude flew straight out of my camera! This guy was doing all kinds of flips and spins. It was AWESOME!
Got two guys in this picture.
Seriously, look at this masterpiece of a picture!! My homy got so freaking high on this one! I snapped the picture right at the peak of his air and while he is upside down. Props to this guy and artist behind the picture :)
At this point I hit up the marina and had a good conversation with my parents and sister Julie who were all at Bear Lake. Love my fam!
After an awful nights sleep with no AC I hung out at my hotel watching tv and ate breakfast. Oh and I did catch the Heat and Celtics game 1 in the middle of the night. Needing to kill some time i then I headed to the local market.
Here are some pics of Tel Aviv streets on the way to the market.
The market. I wanna give markets a shout out. I can think of no better and fun way to interact with locals. I always enjoys these.
Whoa dude, that's even a lot of candy to me, and I'm one of the biggest sweet tooth's in the world.
Sweet, well I'm finally off to the airport. Im excited! Feel like ive been dragging Israel out. Took a bus that really worried me because it kept going the wrong way and then I took the train from the bus station to Ben Gurion airport.
I have expressed a lot lately I am very happy to be leaving Israel. Let me explain why.
I love Israel because it is the Holy Land and has some of the most important and enjoyable sites in the world. Israel is a very different place though with a unique culture. Let me explain a few reasons I'm anxious to move on.
First off Israeli people are not my favorite. They are cold and tough people. I completely understand why. But I am a very warm person and am very outgoing and the people here are not. They do not say hi. It is different than other cultures where others don't say hi a lot, it is deeper than that. It seems you cannot get them to be personable at all. There seems to be some kind of tension here I cannot explain or define. I would say people here are a bit dramatic and controversial. Even just watching a soccer game on the beach, they seem to be extremely critical of each other. It is also common to see someone throwing their hands up and venting in public so everyone can see it. When you cannot connect with the people it is easy to want to move on.
Many times you do something nice for someone and do not get a thank you or acknowledgment. This is common in the world but it seems even colder here. Now I'm thick skinned and don't think oh what's wrong with these people. I am just sharing my observations. I wish I could break them down but I don't sense they let outsiders in.
Israeli's are also very abrupt people. One guy at a train station in Jerusalem yelled at me because he thought I didn't answer him. I did he just didn't hear me. My friends I met at church who are living here told me they get yelled at all the time by bus drivers and people. They say after a while you realize it happens to everyone and you realize it happens even when you do nothing.
Lastly, the tension and pressure here is real. Especially in Jerusalem. The Muslim and Jewish Quarters are right next to each other and it seems neither enter the either's area. Both groups are passionate about their beliefs which doesn't help. The main problem is the land. Both feel they have a right to it. My conclusion after a million questions and speaking to both sides is simple, they are both right. Jews feel this land was promised to them and want a place where another holocaust could never hurt them again. They just want a Jewish state. The Arab's recognize the way Jews feel (that God promised them this land) but at the same time the Jews left and were not living here for hundreds of years. This was their home and the Israeli's came back and kicked them out of some places and broke their agreement as to how much of Israel Palestinians could have. I would say I am empathetic to the Israeli's but more sympathetic to the Arab's. I get the feeling they get pushed around more. I will not pick a side though. It is too complicated to really know. This much I know, both groups are a just people and believe strongly in Justice and have just claims. But it seems neither is willing to grant mercy and therefore neither can receive what is justly theirs. I don't think Israel is dangerous, but I do feel the pressure at times and that is uncomfortable AT TIMES for me personally.
For all these reasons and others I am ready to move on. It is amazing what connecting with people adds to an experience or in this case takes away. That's the bottom line.
My airport experience didnt help matters for me. I waited in line to get my boarding pass for an hour. One person working the desk for a whole flippin flight.
I then waited in the security line for 45 minutes. They put me in a unique line. I think one where they suspect people. They literally went through every item in my backpack for 20 minutes. I was beyond angry and feeling quite violated. They had everything out of my bag and messed up my whole packing job. They must have put my bag through the x ray machine 4 times. That's another thing here, constant security and military presence. Everyone here serves a 3 year term in the military right after high school, so military are EVERYWHERE and all hold a machine gun it seems. It's cool to see but also a little intimidating at times.
I do want to say I have met some amazing people! My waiter at the Red Sea beach was as cool as they come.
Shalom Israel!! Thanks for the good times.
Flying to Cairo trough Amman. Here is what I saw of Amman. seriously, so no city at all? Maybe the airport is in the Boonies.
Almost landing and still only sand...? This is Amman Jordan right?
Back in Arab dominant country. Never quite get used to it. But i am cool with it.
Africa here I come!! Life long desire about to be realized!
I'm also stoked to be meeting up with my friend Heather for the next couple weeks!
We are hitting the pyramids and then going to Kenya for 12 days to volunteer teaching and to do a safari!
AFRICA!
And right now I am rocking out to the song Africa by Toto lol.
"It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you! There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do!"
This also marks the first time since day one the blog is completely up to date! Finally! Time to celebrate!
"I blessed the rains down in Aaaaaaaaafrica!! I blessed the rains!!"
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