You Can't Always Get What You Want But You Get What You Need

So.... lemme summarize my amazing week.


My family was in town! Well, and by family: my mom, dad, and brother. They came in last Saturday, during the day. I had to work at the Holiday Bazaar a bit north of Tel Aviv, so it made it very easy for me to go to the hotel and meet them. Mother was ecstatic that I carefully planned to have her be the first one to see me (yes... I totally planned that Dad would be parking the car).

So what we did: traveled all. over. Israel. We did one day where we went from the south to the north. Luckily, Israel is small, but we spent a lot of time in the car. We had a great tour guide named Rafi, who was always willing to answer my billion and half questions. Plus, he would carry mom's purse. So I think it was a win for her too.

I could go into depth about Tel Aviv, Beit Shemesh, the Dead Sea, Massada, Golan etc. But, frankly there's too much details, and there's photos (look here for all the photos). And talk to me personally if you want to know about it. But basically: I was just happy to spend time with my family. It had been ages since I had seen them, and missed them. Family, as family should, let me feel safe, comfortable, and unself-conscious of my actions, a rare break when being abroad.

It wasn't always smiles and rainbows: we fought, they drove me crazy, and I'm sure it was mutual. I love my family: I don't always LIKE them. Still: I was surprised that I was holding back tears (not so successfully) when they left. Frankly, once they dropped me off at the train station it got easier. I no longer felt like crying, but I'm still kind of down from it. But as one of my posters says: all emotions are beautiful. And it just reminds me that no matter where I go, there's always a part of me in Fairfax Station, VA. I'm so grateful that they came at all: it was the best Thanksgiving/Channukah/Christmas present.

It drives my mother crazy, but I don't really like presents, gifts especially around this time. Because I don't need/want much. Experiences to me are far more meaningful. Studies show that experiences create more happiness over the long term because of memory. I agree wholeheartedly, and would rather spend time with people over (most) any present. There's always exceptions :-P

So now? working on all the paperwork for both 1) My work visa and 2) my application for the Peace Corps. Last night: I ran around Tel Aviv for fingerprints. Just so you know: taxi drivers can be assholes. So much money lost.... oh well. it's done, and i can send the paperwork. Now I have to
1) make an appt with the Israeli Ministry of Interior
2) get all my proper docs in order
3)FAX (who the hell FAXES anymore??). for an appt.
4) finally go to the bureau (hopefully) in Be'er Sheva.

Ugh. I hate details. Drives me crazy. Remind me never to be a boring paper pusher. It would be my version of office space. Then again, being here, and doing what I do, I don't feel like an adult. I still feel like...a kid.

Does that ever change? Even if I got an office job, an apt, and had a 9-5 routine with taxes and everything: would I feel like an adult? Or would I feel like I'm playing dress up? In Israel 22 year olds know how to shoot guns, or if you're Bedouin, probably married. They have fully embraced the mantle.

I have always been serious/mature, but what does it MEAN to be an adult? Because all of those things just change your relationship to things/other people. Does it change who you are? Perhaps I'll write more about this in another post. But I have a feeling most other just graduated Americans feel similar. Even with desk jobs, apartments, and taxes.

On the bright side: for all of this stuff I got to stay in Re'anana, a town near Tel Aviv, for a few days and sort of recover from my week with my parents. I have a new charger (!!!) and my computer is working so much better because of it (that will be a nice bday present to myself when i go home:  A NEW COMPUTER!).

So: life is getting back to normal (whatever that is). And I head back to Lakiya today. To the crazy whirlwind of life. 

Much love,
KAS

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

I thought about this quote for a lot of reasons. It began this morning as I was working out in the hotel gym. Yes, I am at a hotel, with my family, in Tel Aviv. Quite strange being a full blown tourist in Israel. but for another time.

So, I'm on the elliptical watching Russian News (shout out to Sophie Kosar) and they were discussing the Occupy Wall Street protests. America has done all of this. We have tried to ignore it, we have made fun of it, and now there is amazing police brutality from use of pepper spray, arrests, and rubber bullets (especially at the Oakland protests). It's an amazing movement, and I think is starting an important discussion. I hope that they can continue on this momentum, and that we really have a discussion in America about class, privilege, and the growing disparity. Because it IS a problem.

Later on, as we (me, my family, and Rafi our tour guide) walked through the streets of Tel Aviv, I thought of it again. A hundred years ago, Israel didn't exist. It was a backwater province of the Ottoman Empire, with a tiny fraction of Jews living there. Tel Aviv, now a major city, was handing out plots to Jews, a small suburb of Jaffa. Herzl, while inspirational, was considered a nut. While I have many issues with the Zionist narrative, and it's omission of the forcible removal of Arabs from their homes, and persecution Bedouins have faced, it is another movement that dealt with this same process.First ignored, then laughed at, and then fought. And then won.

In many ways this is an amazing and ongoing narrative, filled with so much sorrow, and loss on both sides. While, over 60 years old, these wounds live on. They live on in the stories told to the children, in the distrust on both sides, and a military legacy. While Jews won a state, we lost a chance to develop peacefully, and become part of a region. It's created a very high cost of living, a large military state, and a tired population, ready for a change. I believe that change may finally come.

People, I think, in general have a hard time imagining things that do not exist. It is not merely dreamers, but actors that change our world. And while we look back on people such as Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, and Susan B. Anthony, at the time they did not have such favorable attitudes. To affect change, you're going to face critique, dissent. People do all that Gandhi said. It takes a strong will to achieve greatness.

Then I saw this video (go to 3:45 just to see the finished piece), and began to think about the current counter-culture "hipster" aesthetic. For me, it is certainly a mixed bag. On the one hand, I make fun of the stereotype because some people are merely about the surface of it, appearing as indie as possible. That somehow the right clothes, and music somehow makes you a better person. it doesn't. It's not really critical of the current American social reality: it's just another face of consumerism and materialism.

HOWEVER. laughing at them ignores something important: the importance of your values matching your spending. This is not a luxury everyone has. Some people can't afford to buy over expensive organic cotton USA made American Apparel clothing.  While I hate Wal-Mart and all it stands for, it does help some people make ends meet, and I cannot argue with that.

However, I believe we do have a responsibility to understand what we spend and how we support different things. Whether it's the meat we eat, or the clothes we wear, when we purchase items, we support how that companies work, and treats its employees, the environment, and how it makes its products. Ignorance is not an excuse.

Still, we must do more than simply buy. Remember 9/11? We were asked to show our patriotism through SHOPPING. We live in a system that depends on us consuming more and more. It's bad for the environment, our wallets, and I think for our actual happiness. We must move away from materialism, and refocus our lives around the important things. Right now: name the 5 things that make you happy. Are any of them based around money or things? Yes, money is important and we need things such as clothes and food. But we can actively refocus our lives around what actually makes us happy instead of what we are constantly told we are supposed to. So what do you want? What do you want your life to look like? And more importantly: what can you do TODAY?

So congrats on getting to the end of this post. I'd love for this to be the beginning of a discussion. If you can't comment on this, feel free to email me, and we can continue the debate. I love a good dialogue :-)
Much Love,
KAS

The Twists and Turns of a Soulless Ginger's Mind

So. I have to be up at like 6 am tomorrow. Its 9 am now. I have a feeling i'm not gonna sleep well. probs cuz an hour ago i had coffee. WOOPS. whatever.

So... my past week. I have been working like a dog. Long hours, crazy days. Some highlights:

We did a show in Herzliyya. The EU Ambassador's wife (who is super cool) is really good to our organization. She has a gorgeous house and has hosted us before for events. This time, it was for the International Women's Club and the Diplomat Spouses Club. I walked in, and I felt like I was at a sorority open house. some things never change huh?

We started off on the wrong foot cuz we were late. People got lost, it was raining (which can be pretty intense/cause traffic around Tel Aviv). So I was rushing trying to help out, and I broke a chinese vase. It was one of those slow motion moments where you're like
No no no NOOOOOOOOO

She saw, and she had this pained look. All I could say was "I'm so sorry". Her reply "it's ok, it was mostly sentimental"

my. heart. broke. Afterward, I was far more careful. Still felt terrible. YAY GUILT! Still, the women were very receptive, and they bought a ton. We sold over 4,000 USD within 2 hours. That's a good day. 

 Since then: I went to a press conference releasing an alternative plan to the Prewar Plan. Background: the prewar plan  is a government plan to move people from unrecognized villages (over 40) into 7 recognized settlements, essentially urbanizing the Bedouins. This will move over 30,000 people, compensate them with only 50% of their original land claims. The Bedouins only claim 6% of the Negev, and much of the Negev isn't even settled. People have been on these lands for generations, and moving them would be destructive, and expensive. It's hard to believe that in Israel, land of cell phones, and cutting edge technology, some people don't have electricity, running water, or access to public transportation.


It was cool because Sidreh is at the forefront representing the women's views on these plans, and making sure to address their specific needs in the alternative. Hanan, who is our community engagement manager, even spoke, being the only Bedouin women to do so at the press conference. It's good to know that Bedouin women's issues are incorporated in this political movement. 


It's interesting to me how Feminism can be different and yet similar in Upper middle class white America and Bedouin Israel. In many ways they differ: issues of mobility, employment, and health are very different for these groups. While in America we fight for equal pay, the Bedouins fight for work, especially those that they can do in their local area. In America, we fight for the right to have an abortion, while the Bedouins fight for the right to see a doctor locally, and in Arabic. 


And yet, in some ways, they face similar issues of being seen in relation constantly to men. The first question I am always asked here is: are you married, do you have a boyfriend etc. Mostly because at 22 I am of prime marrying age in Lakiya, and EVERYONE gets married. There is a huge amount of social pressure to marry. I won't name names, but I heard a story of one woman, who nearly became a 3rd wife. She's around 30, which is old in Lakiya. She almost accepted this marriage, because one of her brothers was pushing this marriage. Women are certainly making strides, but still are seen in relationship to their husbands, and their sons. This can be seen in how you address mothers respectfully. Instead of their first name, you say Mother of x (usually her son).

This pressure to attach yourself to a man, reminds me of the States. People may not like it but in America we have a social narrative of women must marry. Mostly that something is wrong with the woman if she isn't married, and if she fixes it, then she will fall into line


-27 dresses. Neurotic woman, always a bridesmaid, finally reforms and marries.
-In Her Shoes, goes from a work aholic, to an active, happy woman who marries
-Knocked Up, neurotic, work obsessed woman, accidentally gets pregnant. Learns to let go, trust a man (and become somewhat submissive). They get together and create a nuclear family unit. 
-Crazy cat lady stereotype. Never married, all alone, with cats. It is HER fault she didn't marry, cuz she's insane and prefers cats. 


So people say: it's just the movies, it's just a story. These are stories that we tell ourselves, and resonate with us. Like fairy tales, they reinforce certain ideas in our heads. In these cases, we are reinforcing sexist ideas about women, and marriage.The vast majority of the stories we tell about women force their identities to revolve around others, specifically men. Women who don't marry are shamed into feeling abnormal because they are not in solidified relationship to a man. I say that's bullshit, and we must begin to tell stories about women that do not revolve around romance, and men. Even worse, we then make fun of women who overly focus on relationships/finding boyfriends when we create the very pressure on them to do so! This is one of the many reasons I am proud to be a feminist. 


so, that's it for today. I'm gonna leave you with a link to Khadra Elsaneh's story. She is the General Manager of Sidreh/Lakiya Negev Weaving. This is some background on her life and the beginning of Sidreh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvSZHhZO8gQ


hopefully more stories of people from Lakiya soon!
Much love,
KAS

Akko, Nazareth, and changing plans

Hello friends, family, and perhaps random strangers who stumble upon my blog

last you heard from me were my travelling tips. gotta do better on those next time. i tend to eat out too much.

so you ask...how was the rest of your trip??? what did you do? ARE YOU ALIVE?

ok. last question, not so real. it would be cool if i was a ghost and could somehow still access the internet. but i'm alive and well, and still in one full piece.

so: what you actually want to hear: my adventures.

Akko: I figured it would be a nice day trip. beautiful city, some time to myself, see some nice historic sites. and boy... what a shock.
I got off the train, wandered/found (with the help of many strangers) the old city. Historical note: Akko was the northern port town through much of the medieval/ottoman period. Haifa is a far newer city.

I arrived in the town to a HUGE party. Since most of the old city is Arab, many Muslim, they were partying for the muslim holiday (the one i described where they kill sheep). no more sheep, but music, games, food, pony rides. think carnival. It was cool to watch, and I wandered through the market, just trying to get a feel for the city.

I started looping back towards the mosque, you know, to start seeing sights. This older man with a child on his shoulders says shalom to me. I couldn't resist, and replied in Arabic (Salaam walkum). The man got super excited.
Him: You speak Arabic?!?!
Me: yes. Mostly Modern Standard (aka literary arabic)
Him: That's beautiful! The language of the Koran. Where did you study? Where are you from?

And that is how I met Walid, aka the Sufi of Akko. He then proceeded to show me around Akko the rest of the day. I didn't see a ton of sights, but I saw the mosque (for free), the port, the light house, and even met some of his friends. Akko isn't a big town, and Walid seems to know everyone. Plus we chatted about religion, humanity, etc. I didn't always understand him (since it was all in Arabic) but he was a good guy. I was blown away by his kindness. He spent 5 hours with me, invited me to dinner with him and some of his friends, and even walked me all the way back to the train station. I have now promised to return one weekend for a visit and meet more people. and actually see some sights.

I had a good time. but at the same time it was intense. When travelling, you must become very open at times. You can meet amazing people, whom you would never have met before. I feel like we are raised to be distrustful of the world. It's dangerous, people can hurt you, be on your guard. And yes, I suppose on the one hand that is true. On the other hand, when you trust people, open yourself up, amazing things can happen.By responding to shalom, I met Walid. He embraced this quality, and really cares for all people. He is 70 years old, yet he seemed so much younger and full of life.

 Being around Walid was hard, because I'm not fully like that, I have a hard time truly letting most people in. When you are in, you are in, and you stay that way for a long time. When I close the door, it's closed, and very hard to open. It comes from a very different perspective of humanity. When you are open, you are trusting in others, and letting yourself become vulnerable. When you are afraid of others, and how they can hurt you, this is terrifying, and you fear becoming hurt or being rejected.

But being truly open, means trusting others, and trusting yourself. Sometimes you may get hurt. Sometimes people won't like you. Yet whe you open yourself to the world, you allow for more people to meet you, to have more chances of acceptance, and to show to yourself how strong and resilient you are.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. ~ Maryanne Williamson

Ok: so back to my trip

Thursday I spent recovering from my intense day in Akko. I watched TV, got lunch with Itay (who I had met on Tuesday for coffee from couch surfing). We got falfalel and this dish with eggplant and eggs (yummy). I met one of his friends from the antiquities bureau. Ended up getting coffee, and discussing things from underwater archeology to the Bedouins.

Background on Itay:

He's in his early 30s, from a town near Haifa. He went to Haifa University, got a degree in Archeology, and now works for the antiquities bureau. He's studying to become a tour guide, and is a big couchsurfer. He hosts tons of people and loves to travel. He visited some of former yugoslavia through it, and I forget where else. He's a big reader (Neil Gammon, Vonnegut, Kerouac). All in all, a good guy. 

So that night.... i have no idea what i did. Wow. I think i sat around and watched more tv. yeah. 

Friday: worked out, and hung out with Saar some. It was a shame I didn't get to spend more time with him. He's pretty cool. We had some great discussions on cities, what makes serial killers different, and child prodigies amongst other things. His cat, Tigre, is super sweet, and it was nice to get to pet a cat (i miss mine! and my dog). Hopefully next time I go to Haifa we will get a drink.

So, afterwards I went to Itay's that afternoon. We ended up watching Futurama, a french movie, drinking some wine, and then just falling asleep.

Saturday: Nazareth. Turns out its not a cute little scenic town like Akko, but a big arab town with tons of traffic. Driving there was a pain. But I saw the chruch where the think Mary lived. Beautiful, and pretty new building, with mosaics from all over the world. Wandered around some of the old quarter, and Itay and I found a museum filled with local art. very nice. That night: we watched the travel channel (and I now desperately want to do the Camino pilgrimage trail), and futurama. good times. 

Sunday: woke up, and went back to Lakiya. Even was able to put in a full day of work! We had a cool group come in the afternoon, and they bought a ton of stuff. good job tourists. 

Upcoming this week: going to Herzilyya to the Eu Ambassador's place for an exhibition aaaand

MY FAMIY IS COMING TO ISRAEL ON SATURDAY!!!! very excited. should be fun.

well gotta run. off to a welcome home party for someone from the pilgrimage to mecca (you know, the usual).

Much love,

KAS

Katie's tips for travelling cheaply.

ok, so I don't have time for a full post, but to give you a flavor of how I travel

1. when you can. walk. its the cheapest form of transportation. plus, you get a way better feel for a place
2. couchsurfing. i've said it a million times: its pretty cool. Not only can you get free housing (well don't be super cheap, buy your host some sort of gift!) but you can meet some cool people, and find out about new places
3. public transportation. taxis, while easy and will get you there quickly, will suck your pockets dry. avoid them unless truly lost
4. don't eat out every meal. another temptation, and rightly so. but find grocery stores atleast for breakfast. why spend 20 dollars/meal when you can spend like 5? plus, if you focus on getting fruits and veggies, no need to cook, and its super cheap (like my pomegrante breakfast.delicious and nutrituous. and like 2 bucks). otherwise, look for cheap food stalls. local food especially: delicious, culturally appropriate, and cheaper. Mcdonalds is not always the cheapest option. seriously.
5. learn the local language, or two. even if it's just a few words, people will be far more helpful/you never know where it will take you. it has gotten me: free rides, helpful directions, interesting conversations, and the strangest day in Akko. Seriously, I just said a few words in Arabic and suddenly had a tour guid for the day, met his friends, and got a free dinner.
6. If you are student/recently were TAKE YOUR STUDENT ID CARD. i have lost so much money for forgetting that at home... sometimes, it helps just to say you're a student. this only applies if you are in your early 20s. or look like it
7. make friends. visit friends. visit friends of friends. meet new people and get free housing. its a double win.

Well...those are my tips. i'll explain my day in Acre/Akko later. much love!
KAS

HAIFA!

First: Haifa! should be the title to a musical. preferably an arab jewish romance in the late 1940s culminating in the epic 1948 war. Natalie Portman as a young zionist from Eastern Europe. and now I am going to go look up hot arab actors to find her counter part. suggestions are welcome.

Ok, but seriously: I am in Haifa! It's green! Yay!!! Haifa has been on my to do list for ages. Before, I had only been to the port of Haifa. as in, I came in on a boat, looked up onto the city...and got on a bus to stupid big youth event welcoming us to israel (youth programs....gotta love their priorities).

So: i arrived on Sunday. What a crazy day. here's what happened.
1) woke up at 630 am. to allah akbar continuously singing, calling the men to prayer. this is an unusual call because it was Eid Aladha Mubarak. This holiday celebrates the willingness of Abraham to sacrafice Ishmahel (think the almost sacrafice of Isaac, but switch Isaac with Ishmael, from whom muslims trace their connection back to Abraham).
2) cleaning the house (again)
3) Men go to the Mosque to pray
4) the sacrafice of sheep. Each family sacrafices a couple of sheep. This happens outside, near the house, back yard etc. The sons of the family taught how to kill the sheep. They hold down the sheep, cut the throat, and let the blood drain. I watched. It was freaky, I won't lie, but I wanted to see it. I needed to. And I think, that on the whole, I should avoid meat. Something about killing animals just freaks me out.
5) they skin and remove the organs of the sheep (also watched this) and prepare breakfast.
6) Eat
7) hang out with friends and family for the rest of the day. and eat sheep.

So I did this with both my first and current host family, and then rushed off to Ben Gurion University because I thought I had class. Went to the proper room and everything. no one was there. grrr. now i will have to harass the university. or cancel the request and spend the money on learning Hebrew. which would probably be more useful.

Positives:
-got a free ride to the city/got there early
-left for Haifa early
so let's focus on that instead

So, took the train up, got off at Haifa. My host picked me up and took me to his place (thank god cuz otherwise i have no idea how i would have gotten here). I was a bit of a zombie from exhaustion/sickness and went to bed early.

Saar: super nice guy. Early 30s, has an apartment up on Mt. Carmel. He has a cat named Tigre, a beautiful and nice cat. she likes to play with my scarves. plus she's warm, which is nice at night. He works a lot, so I don't see him much, but he's nice, has an amazing collection of movies and tv shows, and has been super chill about me crashing at his place. so it's a good deal.

Monday: got up and decided to just get going. why waste time. so in 8 hours I:
1) saw the Bahai Gardens/burial place of one their important figures
2) climbed the 1000 stairs. twice.
3) saw the german colony.
4) visited 3 museums
5) walked the Louis Promenade
6) walked for nearly 6 hours.
This was all by 430. My feet were killing me, so i came back, and watched tv for the rest of the day. I felt like they balanced each other out.

Today: I woke up, and realized i could have a lazier day, since I saw most of Haifa yesterday. so I chilled with Saar. We made each other watch youtube videos. He was shocked I hadn't seen Labryinth the movie, so I watched it. Then I got ready and left. I wanted to see Elijah's cave, the carmelite church, and Chagall's hosue. Instead:
1. made friends with an old lady at the bus stop waiting for the bus to go to the church
2. made friends with the bus driver going to the church.
3. Saw the church.
4. Took a cable car ride down the mountain. met an American woman travelling. She had an Ipad 2, it was sweet. She was cool, to talk with, just travelling around for a month.
5. Elijah's cave. Where Elijah supposedly fled during his time in the wilderness. It was where he finds God in the still small voice. Especially special to me because it was part of my haftorah portion* for my batmitzvah. got some free cookies too.

*For non Jews: Because of persecution, Jews could not always read the Torah. To get around this, and still have something to read for services/bar mitzvahs they paired other sections of Jewish holy writings (from the TaNaKh) with each torah portion.

6. Found out there are stairs that connect the monastary to the cave. climbed them up and down.
7. Walked along the beach. found out they have strength training machines that use your body weight.
8. Wandered through neighborhoods, passed a military base.
9. Made friends with an Israeli guy who had moved to Finland, but had come back for a few weeks to open a restaurant. Israelis.
10. Met up with someone from couch surfing to hang out for coffee. turned into an epic 6 hours of chatting, including sushi dinner and a ride home. wiiin.

Moral of the story: travelling has made me far more outgoing because being by myself all day can be crazy lonely. but now i'm wiped from hanging out with people all day. sigh.

so tomorrow: Acre (or Akko in hebrew). And probs meeting more people for drinks in the evening.

I highly enjoy this city. It's a great mix of things to see as a tourist and the laid back feeling of a town that people actually live in. It's a city that doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. I like that.

Anyways. I'm gonna go enjoy some tv. I'll catch y'all later. Love
KAS

Stories...Part 1

So I want to take some time to tell some stories of the people I have met in Lakiya and Israel. So I will start with my current host mom.

Roqiya: A single mother of 5 kids (yes 5) ranging in ages from 16-7. She was married, and I'm not sure if she still is. The husband is out of the picture. She teaches at the local high school, and loves teaching girls that age. She's full of energy and passion. After she split with her husband, she went back to school and got a degree so she could teach in the school. She doesn't speak much English, but she is patient with me, and we can sort of communicate. She isn't ostracized by the community, and she has sisters and her mother live in Lakiya.

Her kids

1) Asiil: 16 years old. She wants to be a psychologist. She has short curly hair, and loves french. Her English is ok, but we can have conversations in English, which means a lot in Lakiya. I don't think she likes Lakiya much. She likes TV and of course hates school. She wants to study in Jordan, and visit her uncles who live abroad (one in Germany, one in Canada).She takes on a lot of responsibility: helping to cook, make tea, and generally be a good hostess to help her mom

2) Milad. He's 14. Um...he doesn't talk to me. Seems that teenage boys become awkward around me. I think it's the social norms. He's the resident technological person in the house aka whenever I try to use the internet he is the one we talk to. He spends a lot of time outside the house, I guess with friends. I really can't say more about him

3) Sausen: she just turned 12 or 13 (i gave her an english book for her birthday). She's nice, and her english is decent too. She's responsible like her older sister, but plays well with Sarah.  She seems to like clothes, barbies, dora the explorer (or atleast has those playing cards).

4) Emir: He's 10 I think. Obsessed with television. Literally sits inches from the television, with it blaring. I don't know him that well, and he's only a kid, so I can't judge. I just worry for his eyes and his ears...

5) Sarah: she's 7. what a little trouble maker. loves laughing, and is quite audacious. sometimes she tries to eat sugar straight.  last night, she asked about different body parts in english and asked about some specific female areas.... *rolls eyes*. she's 7, and doesn't take hints well. then again, neither did I, and now i overread everything. still, her energy is contagious. and she's got a huge personality.

A little bit about my day
-We are on good terms with the EU ambassadors wife. She came down with a friend to show her friend Lakiya weaving. I got to talk with them, and they were great. Really amazing women. The ambassador's wife has lived all over the world including Costa Rica, Israel,and Berkeley. Her friend, grew up in Lebanon, they met in California, and I heard all about her recent trip to Syria. really cool.

-afternoon/evening with Khadra's family. also found out that my plug for my computer is becoming excessively difficult. question now becomes will i try and buy an alternate while here....

-getting excited for Haifa: Bahai gradens, the old city, the beach, GREENERY GARDENS, German colony, and perhaps a day in Akko as well :-D

- being abroad reminds me how much i LOVE meeting people. not the hi how are you, but learning about other people. it's like i thrive off their passions, their stories. looking forward to meeting more people as i travel as well.

next time: previous host family and maybe some israeli stories. yes the blog posts will be long, but you know love reading them :)
احبكم كثيرا
Much love,
KAS