28.09.2009
Hello,
It was another atonement day that passed. It was easy that time to keep yourself from eating and drinking the whole day maybe because it was pretty cold. We spent it with card games (in which we all cheated of course…), walking around in the streets, sleeping, walking to Nabi Samuel and of course we broke the fast with a nice shot of alcohol :-). Everybody stands around the table, and shows their tongue. After a day of fast your tongue should be all white. After we say “Lechaim” (for life) and take the whole small glass in one shot. There is a peaceful quiet for five minutes after that in which nobody really understands what really happens until someone manage to take control of himself and go to boil some water for coffee.
I went to a hike that Saturday and that time a changed my partner to Shelie who managed to find some time to hike. We went to the Gilboa – an high mountain that stands 600 meters above the Jezreel Valley. Yes, I know that where you are, it is barley called an hill – but for us it’s a mountain. Everything is relative. The plan was to climb The Gilboa in the first day, and in the second day to walk it down and go forward to the valley of springs, laying below the Gilboa mountain. It was only after I have read the book of Mark Twain “A journey to the holy land”, that I have understand that we live in a desert. We keep saying that 66% of the country is desert, but even in the other 33% we don’t have too much rivers and the ones we have are very small. most of the springs don’t make a river, but only manage to fill a small pool.
We have climb it only half way because it was getting dark, and made our arrangements to go to sleep when we sound Arab voices. For me it didn’t make any difference but for my partner it was too much so… we packed and went down the whole to go to sleep in the in a Beit Alfa Kibbutz in the valley below.
The day after we went to the Valley of Springs below Mount Gilboa to find out that we thought right – that it was a good weekend to hike. The place was loaded with people. we went all the way to the end of it to river. Our national water company Mekorot (means sources) pump the water for settlements around but it is forced to pour back all the water that it doesn’t use. So in that place the water were all clear as crystal. You stand in the middle and let all the small fish eat your dead skin from your feet.
Nathan spent his Atonement day in the base (he went there so another soldier can go out to spent that day with his family).
Guri spent that day in his communa, in the matter of fact he came home an hour before the fast, say have a good fast and went back to his communa because “it is a one time event to fast in the communa”.
Ima and Aba kept the whole day keep reading about Uzbekistan to which they will fly tomorrow evening.
I keep looking for an apartment to rent. They have kicked me from the dorms. I found a cheap one very near to the university. I saw it Friday morning, but when I called Sunday morning after the weekend I found it was already rented…
Take care
Gad