A New Vintage is Coming

Many of the houses here have grape vines taking over their trellises right now. It made me realize that I've never seen grapes grow. I might have to admit to being a city girl at this point. I had a similar reaction to the mango tree, avocado tree, banana trees, and the like in my yard in Tanzania.

Here, I've been able to watch apricots, figs, and now grapes grow all around me.

I might be a city girl but I truly love the more rural lifestyle. I move to Tel Aviv in a couple of days, definitely not rural, and I'll miss all the plant life that I've enjoyed here.

My View

For the last 5 months this has been the view from the house I live in:

It's a beautiful and thought provoking view, for me, especially considering that I will be studying conflict resolution and mediation at Tel Aviv University.

The village on the left is Abu Ghosh, a primarily muslim neighborhood. The village towards the right is Kiriath Jearim, a religious Jewish neighborhood. If you continue along the road that goes from Abu Ghosh to Kiriath Jearim you will come to Yad Hashmona, a neighborhood of Messianic believers (those who believe that Jesus is the promised messiah).

Here, just opposite my porch I can see an example of oft-pitted-against-each-other enemies living in peace.

I've witnessed a lot of interpersonal conflicts in my life. I've seen what happens when many people from different cultures, languages, and beliefs come together (some of it good and some of it bad). I've also lived in a relatively peaceful African country despite its being neighbors with infamously un-peaceful countries.

All of these experiences have made me very interested in what makes for peace and productivity where conflicts are frequent.

Will I bring about world peace? Probably. Having had this view for the past 5 months definitely gives me a leg up.

A Bunch of Smilies?

I will start learning Arabic in just over two weeks!!! I've been wanting to learn this language for over 10 years. I have three family members who already speak Arabic and I am keen to join their ranks.

So, I started learning the alphabet yesterday. To me, is seems like I'm still making a lot of weird smiley faces. Give it a few weeks, I'm sure it will start looking less like smiley faces. Wish me luck!

Happy Shavuot!

Shavuot is the Jewish holiday that comes 50 days after Passover. In the Christian tradition Shavuot is known as Pentecost.

The 50 days between Passover and Shavuot is the timeframe in which crops are most vulnerable. If they are not harmed by too much rain or too much heat during these 50 days, then the harvest will be a success.

Well, it was a successful 50 days. We've got some figs and apricots in our backyard which we are looking forward to eating!

Happy Shavuot and may God bless all of your harvests as well!

(It's traditional to make a flowered wreath during Shavuot. So, when in Rome...er, Israel)