My Life in Israel...Today

First, let me say, that I cannot begin to imagine what life must be like in Southern Israel right now.  They are receiving regular if not constant incoming rockets, I am sure that the air raid sirens are regular and I have read most folks are just staying inside.  That for them is apparently a pretty normal life.  The Big Duck visited a southern town a couple months ago, and said it was amazing. The threat of incoming rockets is so constant, that they have an entire generation of children that have never played outside, been to the playground or kicked a soccer ball.  Additionally, over 50% of the children suffer from some form of PTSD.  They literally go from home, to a bus stop that is also a bomb shelter to bus to school, which is also a huge bunker and then repeat on the way home.  They never go outside.  This is a life I cannot imagine.  If the air raid sirens do go off, they have about 15 seconds to seek cover.  And, to be fair, Gaza is, I am sure, no picnic either.  The level of poverty is incredible and the people are pretty much fenced in everywhere.  I guess the fences went up around Gaza and the West Bank to stop the terrorist bombings in Israel. It has been effective, but has cut the Palestinians off from a lot of the things they need to live.  So, this just adds to the conflict that already exists here in Israel.

Another thing to note, is that Israel is tiny.  You can drive from the Egyptian border to the Lebanon border in a little over 3 hours.  It is 44 miles from Tel Aviv to the Gaza Strip.  Gaza itself, is about 25 miles long, and not more then 7 miles wide.  We live about 50 miles north of Gaza.  Supposedly, the longest range rockets that they have reach about 45 miles.  I am hoping we don't get to test out their maximum range, but we are ready if we do.  Truly, there is not much you can do but take cover, and be glad that the Palestinians aim is a bit haphazard.  Whereas, Israel has precision guided rockets and missiles, the Palestinians fire often "homemade" rockets from a wooden ramp, and operate on the theory of what comes up, must come down.  That is why the live news feed that we keep in touch with reads, "Air raid sirens sounded Siderot." Followed by, "two rockets land in open area" or "iron dome intercepts two rockets" or "rocket lands in garden. No injuries" and so forth.  Lucky for Israel they don't hit much.  This is of course not how it is in Gaza, and there are so many politics involved there that I cannot even pretend to understand, but I do know that when Israel is firing away at Gaza almost all night, there is very little coming our way.

So, in Central Israel, life goes on.  It is not what one watching the news would imagine it is.  Instead, it is pretty normal.  We wake up, send our kids to school, people go to work and things seem pretty much the same as they did last week at this time.  However, at the back of your mind, you are always wondering what will happen next.  I went for my walk today, but I was always listening and always looking for the best place to take cover.  I think that people who have lived here forever, don't even do that.  Everyone seems incredibly relaxed.  I am only kind of relaxed.  We always have the door open or the window cracked.  It is easier to hear the sirens that way.  Our bags are packed just in case and we have a lot of food and water in the house.  I don't worry about my kids.  They are safe at school. I don't even worry about me, I just worry about what I don't know.  What happens next?  Everyone wants to know if we will evacuate.  And I don't know. I think, I would rather stay here with my family then be separated from my husband.  Although at times, Christmas in Colorado sounds pretty nice.

A few times, we have heard the air raid sirens from Tel Aviv.  Last night, we heard the interception of one of the missiles, but didn't hear the siren.  That was freaky.  Always though, we get an email and a phone call making sure we are alright and accounted for.....which thankfully we are.

I have no idea what the next few days will hold. And, I guess that is the most difficult thing.  Yes, it seems silly to be worrying about the 5th grade Thanksgiving party, but turkeys need to be picked up and things need to be done.  I think too, that it is important for the kids to have life as normal as possible.  They know what is going on, and are handling it pretty well.  I think they are a little worried, but are glad we are together.  As the Big Duck said yesterday, "we are getting to live the full Israeli experience."  Lucky us.

I am adding a couple links that you all might find interesting. The 15 seconds video was on my Facebook Account in case you have already seen it.

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/an-open-letter-to-khalil-from-gaza/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsm-mEy38pQ&list=UUawNWlihdgaycQpO3zi-jYg

3 Weeks in Israel or What I Know So Far

It has already been 3 weeks since we arrived in Tel Aviv.  Amazing how fast it has gone.  It feels as though we have been here forever.  That being said, it has been the most boring 3 weeks of my life.  Just after we arrived, all the other Americans began returning to the U.S. for the summer.  That means no kids for the girls to play with.  On top of that, it is hot here.....really hot.  Who knew?  I was prepared for hot, just not the heat with the humidity preventing you from leaving the house between 10am and 4 pm.  And, it is even too hot to go to the beach.  The beach in the photo is the closest to our house. It is beautiful and perfect.  The sand is like silk and it is only a few minutes walk from the house.  However, between the heat and the jellyfish it is just easier to stay home.

We finally saw the jellyfish everyone has been talking about.  They are HUGE.  This is not an exaggeration. They are the size of a persons head.  In France, they were tiny, kind of pretty, little purple things.  In Israel, they are giant white blobs that break into smaller pieces on the beach.  After a few minutes of yelling at the kids to watch where they step, I just had them put their shoes back on.  The big Duck took the Ducklings in the water, and we luckily avoided any stings, but just in case, apple cider vinegar and baking soda are now normal items in my beach bag.

Away from the beach, there has been much to learn about and much to explore.  So far, this is what I know for sure.

1-Hebrew is hard.  It is hard to read, hard to speak and hard to write.  There are no vowels, just little dots and slashes that make a vowelish-like sounds.  Several letters are silent.  I still cannot figure out why an alphabet needs silent letters, but whatever.

2-The people here are really nice.  Everyone is willing to help, and many people speak or at least will try and speak English.  Handy since my Hebrew is still in its formative stage.

3-The drivers are crazy.  Crazy like they are in Naples, Italy.  If you have ever been to Naples, you know what I mean.  They honk like crazy the moment a light changes, and apparently lane lines are just a suggestion.

4-The bread is awesome.  There are all kinds of fresh yummy bread.....whole wheat, with seeds, baguette.  So, so good.  And, I say this in a whisper as I want to be allowed back in France some day, I think the bread here is better.  But, don't tell anyone I said so.

5-The most beautiful sunsets and moonrises I have ever seen.  I will try and get some photos, but trust me.....BEAUTIFUL.

6-Don't go to the beach on Saturday.....Shabbat here.  It is everyones day off, so everyone goes to the beach.  There is a saying here...."all any good jew in Tel Aviv wants is a place in Heaven and a spot on the beach on Shabbat."  I have never seen a beach as crowded as it is here on Shabbat.  On top of all the people, every restaurant is trying to lure people by playing the LOUDEST music, which competes with all the boom boxes.  Finally, there are the life guards.  All the people on the beach are corralled into marked swimming areas.  These areas are marked off by colored flags.  If you swim outside the swimming area they whistle at you.  If you don't heed the whistle, they use a giant loudspeaker to yell at you.  The result of this is all the thousands of people at the beach are sharing a 50 foot stretch of water and all the rest of the water is empty.  It is very strange.

7-The next year will be very, very fun.  How can it not be with all the action around us?

                                       The first of what, I am sure, will be many sand castles.