Up Up and Away

Finally. We're on the airplane - our home for the next 10 1/2 hours. We walk past the first class seats and the business seats, but Papa and Nayna keep going. Rats! I was hoping for those seats. They look comfortable. And then, the next to the last row, Papa points to our seats in the middle of the plane. We're in the back. Nayna shoves her backpack under her seat and settles in. Papa examines his seat and finds that the earphone plug is broken. He could watch movies on the seat screen, but he wouldn't be able to hear anything. He tells an attendant, who calls in a maintenance man. Nope! It can't be fixed before we take off. "Oh well," he says. But then the attendant returns and asks us to follow her. She's found two seats a few rows up. Everything works. Papa and Nayna collect all their things. It's noisy with all the people talking.
We all settle in again and prepare for takeoff.
We're on our waaaaay.
The big plane lumbers and rocks down the runway and then heaves up into the air. We're going to Israel!
It was late, after midnight when we got into the air. After we reached our flying altitude, we were served our dinner. I've never eaten so late. But I guess my body clock is going to be all wonky for quite awhile. I crawled back into Nayna's purse and did what any self respecting bear would do...I hibernated. I needed my sleep!

We landed at 5pm Israel time. When the plane touched down, everyone clapped. It was cool. 

After we left the plane, we walked a long way to passport control. Now, we stood in a long line and waited for the lady in the booth to call us. She asked where we were going, looked at the passport pictures and then at  Papa and Nayna and stamped their passports. I stayed in Nayna's purse the whole time and peeked out. It was a little scary for me.

 After all that, we collected our suitcases and went outside to get a taxi for our ride to Tel Aviv and our hotel. Strange! People were all speaking another language. Hebrew. I didn't understand anything they said. And when I looked at all the signs, everything was in Hebrew and under that in smaller letters, English and Arabic. This is going to be interesting!
And the weather was different too. It was very warm and very humid. I'm wearing my fur coat.

 We got to our hotel and unpacked a little. We were hungry again. Nayna said we could take a sherut - a 12 passenger van (I'll tell you about those in another blog) to Frishman Street a few miles away, and eat dinner at a place called Cafe Masada. It's right across the street from the Mediterranean Sea. We sat outside. Nayna and I ate chicken schnitzel and rice. We had so much food, we took some back to the hotel. On our way back to the sherut, we stopped at a little shop and Nayna bought a star of David necklace and we used shekels instead of dollars. That's another thing I need to learn about if I'm going to do some serious shopping.

We got back to our room around 10pm, and although I snoozed through the whole trip, I was really tired and found my comfy bed.
Tomorrow is our first full day in Israel. I wonder what we're going to do.
Laila tov. That means, good night in Hebrew.

Bamboo's Adventure - The Journey Begins.

 I'm at the airport!! We have a a few hours to wait for our airplane. Our flight was to leave at 8:30pm but when Papa and Nayna looked at the departure board, it said we'd have to wait longer. So that leaves us more time to eat dinner. Turkey burger and fries for Nayna and me. I'm hungry!

 Dinner over, it's now time to wait - and wait some more. I'm kind of scared. This is my first time to fly...ever. I still don't know how a big metal tube filled with people can stay in the air. I'm glad the pilots went to school to learn how to fly.

 It's finally time to board our plane. Nayna tucks me safely in her purse. We give the attendant our ticket and walk through a long tunnel to the door of the plane. So this is what it looks like inside. We get a window seat so I can look out. The flight attendants make sure I'm safely buckled in my seat before we can fly. We amble down the runway and then...
Wow. We're in the air. This is fun!

 We fly for an hour and a half. It's getting late and my big bear eyes are getting heavy. I look out the window and see so many lights. So this is Los Angeles. Kind of makes me dizzy as we tip down towards the ground below to land.

After getting our suitcases from a big carousel, we wait outside for about a half hour. Our hotel shuttle is coming to get us. I hope he comes soon because it's very late now and way past my bed time.

 Ahhhhh. My comfy bed. 4:30am is going to come way too soon.
Good night everyone.

 Good morning! It's so early, I get to watch the sun come up as we take our shuttle back to the airport.
Once again we have to go through security. While Nayna and Papa have to pile their shoes and belts and computers and all sorts of other things in plastic bins, I hide inside Nayna's purse. I think they can see me, though when I go through a big box on a conveyor belt.
We find our gate and wait until they tell us we can board the plane.

 This time we don't get a window seat. In fact Nayna and I are in an aisle seat in the middle and Papa is in an aisle seat across from us. While Papa makes friends with the man sitting next to him and they talk, Nayna lets me read a book on her Kindle. We also take a nap because we only got 4 hour of sleep last night.


Papa lets me sit with him for awhile.

 

 5 hours later we arrive in Newark, New Jersey. Now we have 7 and 1/2 hours to explore the airport and wait for our flight to Israel. That's a loooooong time.
We look in some of the stores, take a walk outside, go back inside the airport and find a Chili's restaurant. It's dinner time and I'm as hungry as a bear. Good thing because I AM a bear! Salmon, rice and broccoli. I dig in.
After dinner we go through security AGAIN and then find our gate. We still have a long time before our flight leaves at 11:30pm.
Finally people start arriving at the lounge area at our gate. Maybe it won't be long. I'm soooo sleepy, but I don't want to miss anything, so I keep my eyes wide open.

After what seems like forever, we get to board our last plane. It's huge.
But that story is for the next time.
I'll tell you all about my next adventure soon.

Bamboo's Trip to Israel

Hi! Wanna come along with me on my trip to Israel? I'm wiggling in my skin with excitement.
It's been kinda crazy in the house with all the planning and packing. Seems there's always one more thing to do. But I think we're about ready to go.

A Sukkah in My Backyard

My backyard neighbor is no doubt rolling her eyes. From her perspective, all she sees are four colorful sheets flapping in the breeze. What's wrong with that, you say? Well, they aren't on my clothesline. They're draped around our back porch.

As I look out from my back door, however, I see something much different. I see a table and chairs, a porch swing and festive tinsel sparkling in the sunlight. My back porch has been transformed into a sukkah.
For eight nights here in the US I partake in the festival of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles. It's like a campout.
Since it's just hubby and I, and he works late during this time of year, it's a quiet affair. We eat our dinner in our sukkah. Because we share our backyard with critters - skunks, racoons, possums and such, it's not a good idea to sleep outside. I don't mind a kitty at my feet, but a pole kitty? Nope.
Now if we were in Israel, it would be a whole different story.

I love being there during this time of the year. During the day in the Old City of Jerusalem, kids are making and selling cotton candy, small bands of musicians are singing, people are dancing. Celebration is everywhere.
In cities and towns all over the land, sukkot are shining with twinkle lights, children are singing, people are carrying large pots of food to their neighbor's booths. Its considered a great blessing to share your hospitality with others, especially strangers.
I miss being part of a close knit community. Where I live, everyone keeps to themselves. Everyone is busy. No one would dare to show up unannounced at someone's house, even with a big pot of food. We just don't do that.
All that said, I am enjoying my sukkah. It's cozy and inviting. I love sitting in the glow of a small lamp, listening to the evening quiet, sharing dinner with my husband. It's simple.
My gift to you this Sukkot is a blessing and a song ~

Ba-ruch a-ta Adonai, Eh-lo-hei-nu

Meh-lech ha-olam,

she-heh-kheh-ya-nu v’kee-yeh-mah-nu
v’hee-gee-ah-nu lah-z’mahn ha-zeh.

We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the Universe, for giving us life, for sustaining us and for enabling us to reach this season.

The Tel Aviv Bank Dance

  Another day in Tel Aviv.
Because of my change of address, I needed to make a trip to the bank. I had all these shekels to deposit and then I needed to pay my rent for the new place. But, because I didn't have an account at the bank, I was only allowed to take out small increments at a time. I had to make four daily trips to accomplish my task.
So let me give you a taste of banking in Israel.
Lesson #1 - no one stands in line. And when they do, it's optional.
My first experience with this adventure occured when I was on my Israel tour. All the nice, polite, American tourist women stood in line for the bathroom. (Why is it that men never have lines!? That was retorical mind you.) And then... an Israeli woman sauntered by us all, to the front of the line and accepts her four squares of purple toilet paper from the attendent.
 Yup, you read that right - and heads on in for her business. The attendant gave her a grin as we all go ballistic that someone had the nerve to take cutsies!
Well folks, that's life in the Middle East. We're not in Kansas anymore.
I walk into the bank - after having the security guard pass his "magic wand" over my body and peek into my purse.
There is a row of chairs, maybe 5 or 6 of them. I'm not sure how this works. People are all bunched up around the chairs, sitting and standing, and I notice in front is a teller line with (and this is universal I think) two tellers available. Everyone stares at me as I walk in. So I stand there with everyone else and wait. I have no idea who the last person in "line" is until someone comes in after me. He directs a question at us and the guy I'm standing near answers. Oh! now I get it. He is asking who the last person in "line" is. They all look at me and I guess my expression gives me away. They figure I haven't a clue that I was asked a question and Mr. Nextinline points to me and says, "he", which means she in Hebrew. After awhile I catch on and find that the proper response is, "ani", or me. That will come in handy for the next three days I do the bank dance.
Okay, so once that is established, we wait, and wait. No one is there for one step banking and each transaction takes a long time. I found that if I wait long enough, I too will get to sit in a coveted chair.
Every once in awhile, I got a free show, too. Sometimes, someone would be in a hurry, wait for an opening and pounce. When a person would leave the teller, they'd dash up to take their turn, to the disgruntlement of the person who should have been next. An argument breaks out - lots of yelling. This reminds everyone that they need to be more cautious and then afterwards, Mr or Ms Nextinline hovers - oh, around breathing down the neck distance from the person with the teller. Although I gave people their space, I found standing behind the transactor gave me a fair advantage in getting my banking done within an hour.
Lession #2 - never feed an ATM when your card has been flagged as stolen.
I'll explain that one next time!

Airplanes and Hostels Part 3

I look out on the gentle waves of the Mediterranean Sea and sift sand through my toes. I'm on the other side of the world!
Here I am, sitting in a beach chair, sipping a 7-UP before lunch. Trish and I, along with two other gals I've just met are planning a retreat. This beats a stuffy room any day.
While there, Trish gets a phone call from her landlord. There just "happens" to be an apartment available...for a month...at the same price I was paying for the hostel. Time for a little rejoicing.
It's on the third floor, right across from Trish and her husband. And when I say right across, I mean her front door and my front door were about 12 feet from each other. Turns out it was a win-win for both the landlord and me. The previous renter moved out and it would be vacant until the new renter was to come -  in a month. Now it wouldn't sit empty. He was willing to give it to me for $800. The next renter (a family of 4) would be paying $2400 a month. WHA???? Yep. That's what I said. The reason is because the apartment is a block from the Sea.
But before I can have a full blown happy party, I have to cross another big hurdle. I have to convince the owner of the hostel to refund me the money I gave him for my room, minus the two days I've been there already. Impossible you say.
I was sweating bullets.
Armed with a prayer, some moxie and  a lot of chutzpah, I explain that an apartment had opened across from my dear friend Trish and she would looooovvvvve for me to be close to her. Pretty lame, actually, but because he likes her and she sends all her friends and acquaintances to him (I don't think she actually understood the condition of the place or how creepy it was beyond the lobby), he's willing to refund me all but 3 days.

Between Trish and I, we schlep my two large suitcases and backpack about a mile, and up three flights of stairs to my new digs. This is way beyond what I could have imagined.
Now instead of paying $800 for a small, hot room with one double bed, a dresser with an old TV and no bathroom or kitchen, I'm sitting - trying to catch my breath - admiring my fully furnished livingroom, kitchenette, bathroom and bedroom with 2 air conditioners. All the utilities are included.
So - does G~d give a rip when we call out to Him?
You bet He does.
And this is only the beginning of getting to know His heart better.

I'm sitting in a beach chair watching the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea. It's Shabbat. I'm in Israel, on the other side of the world. And I hear Him say, "hold on to your hat sister, there's more in store!"

Airplanes and Hostels

The picture on their website looked promising, right on the beach. The building itself - clean and inviting. My first hostel experience.
I went to Israel alone this time, staying in Tel Aviv for a month. I'd braved the 18 hour plane trip. 6 hours to New Jersey, a layover and then 12 hours to Israel. Flying was on my bucket list. No, not that bucket list. This one is the kick the bucket list. The one that includes skydiving, bungee jumping, sticking my finger in an electrical socket... you know, that one. I just have trouble breathing germmy air in a metal tube, far away from the ground for many hours. But I did it. I joined in the applause with my plane mates when we approached the Ben Gurion airport runway and my eyes teared up. I was home again.

I found a taxi, danced the language dance, negotiated the fare and began phase two of my adventure. Bless his heart (and I say that in a good way), my taxi driver asked me if I liked Kenny G. I said yes, and he popped in a CD. I guess Americans  like Kenny G. What a relaxing ride. We entered the heart of Tel Aviv and I got excited. I looked forward to hearing the gentle lapping of the Mediterranean Sea from my hostel room window.  He stopped in front of a row of slightly run down buildings. Why was he stopping here? The beach was several blocks away.
 But my driver drug my suitcases from the trunk and plunked them inside the smokey lobby, hopped back in his cab and left. Sure enough, this was indeed were I would be spending my month. Well, my friend who lived in Tel Aviv set this place up for me so it must be okay. Deep breath. Prayer for strength.

My private room was - lets just say adequate. Bed, dresser, old TV, threadbare linens. It had no air conditioning, nor fan, but it did have a rickety door which led to a small balcony. Oh, so that was the balcony in the picture.
By 8pm my body thought it was 6am and yelled at me. "Good grief, woman, I need sleep!"  Yes, it was uncomfortably warm, but I fell asleep. Until 10pm that is. Wide awake now I tossed and turned. Under me, on the street were bars and young people hopping from one establishment to another. Tel Aviv is billed as, "The city that never sleeps". It was true. I pried open the door, found a dusty plastic chair on the balcony and watched the show. By 2am I'd had enough and crawled back into my bed, pushed ear plugs into my ears and fitfully slept until around noon. I felt drugged and disoriented.
I shared a co-ed bathroom with others on my floor and I figured by noon everyone would be out and about. But on my way back to my room after a much needed shower, I met a young man, clad only in a towel making his cheery way into the bathroom. I got back to my room, sat on the bed and cried. Then I prayed. "L~rd. I'm not sure I can take a whole month of this. Help!"

Next time on Airplanes and Hostels:
Finding help in times of need.

Camel Riding in the Judean Desert

Lets go back to Israel.
I've ridden a horse, an elephant in a shopping center parking lot when I was 6, and a camel.
The ultimate tourist adventure while in the Holy Land - ride a camel. Why not!
The Genesis Land is in the heart of the Judean Desert. Tents, tables low to the ground, hyssop tea - and maybe even a visit by Abraham (or one of his friends).
But to get to this part, you have to experience the first part.
We were greeted by Eliezer, Abraham's manservant, who took us to a group of camels that were being prepared for our journey to the tent. It was either ride the camel or a long schlep around the hill on foot. How hard could it be to ride a camel groomed for carting tourists less than a mile around a wide dirt path?
I waited my turn while my camel was prepared for me. Hubby - being the cautious non adventurous type chose - with determination, to hike it. No camels for him, thank you very much. So I was paired with another gentleman.
Side story.
There were two single gals on the tour and they were going to be pared up on one camel. However one of the gals came down with sudden "I don't want to do this!!" syndrome and my valiant husband (with a prompt from the L~rd) chose to ride with her. You know - strong man to save the damsel in distress.

 But it was indeed ordered by G~d because he kept his hands on her shoulders the whole time, telling her she was okay, and she later said that is what kept her from loosing all sense of reality.
Back to my adventure.
Climbing on a camel, sitting in the front looking down the neck of this huge beast is something else. Even with a saddle, it feels like at any minute you'll slide on down that long neck and onto the dirt. And a camel on her knees hoisting herself up with a saddle and two occupants is not a smooth ride. My unhealthy back was not happy with the ordeal.

Okay, so now we're ready to cruse. Those first few steps were interesting and starting to be kind of fun. Roll, sway, roll sway...until my beastie decided she was tired of the whole thing and wanted to go down to her pen where her baby was. She saw the pen and stopped. Then she began a maneuver of sorts - I think trying to rid her back of these growths that had attached themselves to her. She lowered herself to her knees ( not fun for my sciatica). Me, being in front lurched forward. That didn't work and we stayed on her back because her leader told us to stay put. So she, with a camel noise, lumbered back up, swayed in place and with another camel noise headed back down to her knees again. Once more we were told to stay put. By then I was ready to ignore the highly trained in camel, young man, unlatch my belt and bolt. But with prayer - lots of prayer I hung on for all I could. She then pulled herself up again and started backing up. We skirted a deep ravine. My thinking - she was trying to dump her load overboard.
 Now she had two handlers holding her reins. No one said anything. They just waited and looked at her. Finally I guess the camel whispering worked and she began to amble past the pen (which was down the ravine) and on to the tent.
When we were safely delivered from our camel, I asked the handler if he was worried that she wanted to make a dash for the pen. He said yes. Her little one was down there, it was close to feeding time and she was ready to leave the party - guests and all.

I should have gotten the tee shirt. I Survived a Camel Ride in Judea!

Surrounded in His Arms

The Sea of Galilee, Yam Kinneret, Lake Tiberius - 33 miles in circumference, 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. Standing on the shore of En Gev to the east, at night, one can see the twinkling lights of Tiberius on the west shore.
Gulls play tag with the tourist boats as they skim the surface of the water. On a calm day, the shore receives gentle waves as they ebb and flow.
But without warning, contrasting air masses collide, causing thunder, lightning and large turbulent swells.
On this morning in December, the air was crisp and the sea relatively calm. Overhead, a thin layer of clouds spread like a canopy under a pale blue sky.

I boarded the boat along with my husband and twenty-three others from our tour group for a trek around the Sea of Galilee. No storms brewing. This would be fun.
Once we were near the middle of the sea, we took some time for worship and a teaching. A thought wafted through my mind. This wouldn't be a good time for one of those squalls to erupt. I put that notion away and stood to lead worship as I steadied my legs against the wooden bench for support. The boat rhythmically rocked with the motion of the swells.
"His holiness surrounds me...," we sang. I looked around. In each direction , I was surrounded by hills. A sense of peace and joy washed over me. My spirit heard the voice of G~d telling me this was like His arms. He protected Israel. I served the G~d of Israel. I could experience that same feeling any time - any place. And I would need it a few days later into the tour. (More on that in another blog.)

Each time I recall the Galilean hills surrounding the Sea, G~d reminds me that His arms circle around me. I am safe, protected with His peace, His holiness.

Back On The Bus

I'm beginning a series of travel blogs from previous visits to Israel with a takeaway message for the journey. Enjoy.

✡✡

Taking a tour of Israel is the best way to get your feet wet. Except for the occasional lunches not provided, and the extra suitcase you'll need to acquire for all the stuff you'll purchase, your trip has been paid for in advance.
You maneuver the airports as a group. You stay in nice hotels and eat great food - buffet style. You go from North to South, East to West, and depending on your tour, you stop at highlighted destinations that fulfill your interests. Your tour guide is full of information and keeps you out of unsafe areas. You meet new people and sometimes form lasting friendships.

Lets broaden this to - A Tour of Life.

Sometimes I get anxious about where I'm going in life. When I begin the mental trip, my Heavenly Abba reminds me...
Every morning I'd dress and head to the hotel dining room. There, I'd find a variety of delicious food to satisfy my hunger. I didn't have to hunt it down. Each meal was provided for me. I knew if I looked in the dining room, it would be available.
Now I was ready with new energy to board the bus.

Some days I knew exactly where we were going. Other days I had a vague idea and there were times when I'd never heard of the place. But our tour guide knew exactly where we were going. He'd been to each place before.
Some of the places we went to were a piece of cake to navigate. Other places presented a challenge with hills, rocks, stairs, weather. But I knew two things - our guide would be there to help and, my tour mates were there to help. We were in this together. We assisted each other. And our tour guide never took us to a place he knew we weren't ready for. He kept us safe.

This is how to navigate through life.
This is G~d's plan.

Day by day we need to be on the bus - energized and ready. We do this by reading and studying His Torah - His Word and instruction for us.
We enjoy the passing scenery - take in the view. Our family and friends are with us. We take our time day by day.
When we stop and get off the bus for a specific destination, we can be assured that our Tour Guide is right beside us with information, instruction and protection. Sometimes we're called to a specific task or challenge.
And if we pay attention, we'll hear when to get back on the bus. We can relax in the journey and enjoy the tour.