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.
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
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