These are a few of my favorite things :)

So, yet another relaxing day in אשקלון.  Woke up late again this morning after an uneventful night last night (although I went for my first run EVER and did P90X!!!) and headed to the beach.  Spent a few hours at the beach instead of grocery shopping, forgetting how early the stores close on Shabbat... oops.  We are having a potluck dinner tonight with everyone who is here and I am pretty excited about that.  


On a side note, I wanted to write about a few things that have happened randomly throughout my stay here that have made me fall in love with Israel.  


1. Shawarma (שווארמה).  I can't believe that I am actually saying that, but a good שווארמה on pita with some hummus, tahina, eggplant and skhug (I think?)... YUM!  
2. הים.   The sea here may be polluted but it is so nice to be so close to the beach!  Even if you are "far" from the beach... its much closer than I am to the beach at home.  

3. גולדסתאר.  I was never a beer drinker before, but damn Goldstar has got me drinking beer.  This is not such a good thing.  
4.  Cheap clothes!
5.  TONS OF CHEESES AND SPICES!  Plus Israelis use mayo a lot, which makes me happy. Garlic mayo - the best idea EVER.  
6.  Iced coffee.  Amazing.  Especially from ארומא!!


Now some more serious things that I love about Israel:


7.  I love the contradiction of everything in Israel.  For example, when you are driving down the road near the Dead Sea, you see this stark empty landscape.  Then, all of the sudden, you see an oasis.  Back to empty landscape with nothing around and then all of the sudden tons of industry.  In the middle of nowhere.  I love the fact that everything here is such a contradiction.  


The people here are that way too.  You have this culture, that at first glance is cold and tough.  They actually are very tough, but thats besides the point.  One of the first words that I asked to learn was excuse me or I'm sorry.  The word is סליחא.  I have really never heard this word used by Israelis!  I say it all the time, but apparently American's are over polite anyways.  So, point being the people here act tough, but in reality, most people I have met here would bend over backwards to help someone.. even a stranger.  


I have had some of the most interesting conversations with people here.  I think I wrote about the woman who told me about my beautiful wedding on the beach in Ashkelon.  There is guy who was living at the absorption center with us and we had some of the best talks I have ever had with someone.  He is from France and made aliyah about 18 months ago.  We talked about how the people who have lived in Israel their whole life don't really understand why people would make aliyah.  People who have always lived in Israel don't realize how different it feels from other places.  There is an appreciation for the everyday here that there isn't at home.  Priorities are different and life is (at least sometimes) simpler.  Its also more complicated in many ways due to the political situation.  There is that contradiction that I love so much again.  In any event, we talked about why we both feel strongly about Israel and why he made aliyah.  One night he downloaded this video of the Hatikva with a translation and pictures.  At the end of it, we were both sitting there tearing up about the meaning.  Here is the Hebrew and translation.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatikvah)

כל עוד בלבב פנימה		As long as in the heart, within,
נפש יהודי הומיה,		A Jewish soul still yearns,
ולפאתי מזרח, קדימה,		And onward, towards the ends of the east,
עין לציון צופיה;		An eye still gazes toward Zion;
עוד לא אבדה תקותנו,		Our hope is not yet lost,
התקוה בת שנות אלפים,		The hope of two thousand years,
להיות עם חפשי בארצנו,		To be a free people in our land,
ארץ ציון וירושלים.	.	The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

I think the way he talked about how much it meant to him really moved me as well.  He told me about the way that the army sings it every day and how special it is to him.  All of these talks we have had are amazing... It's nice to talk to someone who feels Israel is different too.