Toil to Truancy

I've spent the last two months volunteering at a guest house. I've cleaned rooms, watered flowers, prepared breakfasts, swept (a lot) and performed many other tasks. Some tasks were expected (like the ones just mentioned) others were unexpected (like spending hours on a phone talking to an internet provider because the guest house owners liked using my Hebrew skills).

It was an unique experience for me to have a more physical job rather than mental and I thoroughly enjoyed the break from mental exertion, especially as I begin a masters program in three weeks!

Now, on to holiday!!! The following weeks are full of a holiday in Cyprus, a hike from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee, and a stay in Bethlehem. To start all of this holiday-ing off I decided to be a bit of truant. Sarah and I went out for mint shisha to celebrate our work at the guest house being done.

Then, I plucked a pomegranate from this tree in Cyprus. It wasn't my tree, but the pomegranate had literally burst with its ripeness and it needed someone to put it to good use.

Here's to three weeks of fun and frivolity before I become a serious person again!!!

Desert is Beautiful

Sarah and I went for a couple of days to the Judean desert along the Dead Sea. I've loved the desert for a long time but this trip made me love it even more!

It is vast and a challenge to navigate.

It is beautiful and varied.

It is a harsh environment that makes you appreciate shade (no matter how little), water, and breezes more than ever.

It is also a great place to try and take a selfie when looking straight into the sun.

And, when tired of walking in the sun, you can test out your hitchhiking skills. I got us two rides!

First Things First

We are taking it easy. We're not trying to do everything in one week but we did manage a couple of good sights this week.

When in Israel what things would you do first?

I think one of the most important would be to go to the Old City and visit the Western Wall, so that is what we did.

Then of course, you should ride a camel. This was actually my first time riding a camel too!

Evening walks and watching the sun go down was one of Sarah's and my favorite activities in Musoma, so we've also tried to do a little of that as well.

Oh the Fun to Come

My former housemate Sarah is here for the next 6 weeks!!!

We lived together in Tanzania for over 2 years and she is moving back to the States, but taking her time doing so. She has visited some friends in Europe and now is here, volunteering at the guest house with me. We'll be spending most of our time volunteering but we'll also go on some camping trips as well as take at least one trip outside of Israel. It's going to be so much fun and our adventures will probably be the focus of this blog for the next several weeks.

In the last couple of days I introduced her to foraging for figs (she added the part about puffing out the cheeks):

Our next door neighbor welcomed her with a large amount of fruit:

And we went grocery shopping for the guest house:

So, maybe not the most exciting first few days in Israel, but we're just getting warmed up! Also, it is nice having someone around who takes pictures of me doing menial work, like grocery shopping!