We are now in the northern part of Israel, on a kibbutz near Kiryat Shmona. Although the bus was long (about three and a half hours), it was nowhere near as long as all the travel to get here. I'm just so glad that we're here! I mean, Emily and I have worked overall for months and months getting this trip together. Finding hosts, planning the itinerary, arranging the school credits, everything. It's all finally paid off!
The kibbutz is beautiful, much like the rest of Israel. I love it here! On our way into our hosts' house, there were fruit trees growning in the lawn. I mean huge trees full of oranges and lemons! It's so different from Vermont. It was a little cold and rainy today, but not at all too cold for us.
We've adjusted fine to the weather, but the seven hour time difference is still a little rough. I'm just hoping that it won't be as rainy tomorrow and we'll be more adjusted to the time difference, so we can go outside more. I just want to walk around the kibbutz and see it all. Everything here is new to us, and I can't wait to explore it all!
Unfortunately, we don't speak more than a couple words of Hebrew. Many people speak English here, and some just look at us and automatically switch to English. But then there are the people who may or may not be yelling something mean at you, or may simply be calling for their dog to come and you just can't tell the difference. This actually happened to us yesterday, but after a few Hebrew explanations, the woman realized that we don't have a clue what she's saying and told us in English. I guess it's not impossible to get around without knowing Hebrew, but I think knowing more words would be better, so we'll try.
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Welcome to Israel
ReplyDeleteFor you to have an esey landfall in our land the wether ia a litlle bit like back yourhome !but let's not to exagerate!
any way takeit easy and try to understand that here we are in levant where the time is something eachone give's his own interpretation!
a cousin from Jer
And don't forget to smile a lot. It helps when you don't have a clue what people are saying!
ReplyDeletekeep smiling. just don't nod your head "yes" too much. you never know what you are agreeing to! it's 24 degrees out here today. snowed last night like crazy. i drove home in it from OV at 8 p.m. couldn't see where i was on rte. 7! pick an orange for me off one of those trees! enjoy! mrs. snow
ReplyDeleteWhen I travel I try to learn a few phrases.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the really big three are “Hello”, “Thank you”, and “No thank you.”
"Excuse me/Pardon me” are also helpful and can start things off on the right foot.
“Good” and “Bad” are nice to know. “Left” and “Right” are helpful for directions.
I also like to learn to ask “How much?”, “This?” (good for learning new words), “Here”, “There”, as many numbers as possible, bathroom, and water.
I’ve also found that it is a good idea to pick up business cards, brochures, etc. of places that you want to go and especially places that you want to get back to. This way if you get lost you can always just hand it to someone safe looking (little old ladies) or a taxi driver. (Plus, you’ll have these for your artifacts.)
Safe travels,
Mr. Finley
Hey Ariel and Emily, have a great time and enjoy your adventure. You are both lucky and plucky girls, good job arranging this!!!!
ReplyDeleteJessica Doos- Merluzzi
Hi Emily and Ariel,
ReplyDeleteWe have been thinking of you and are excited that you are finally "on the road". We look forward to hearing more about your experiences. Remember "everyone smiles in the same language". Jean Marie