Winter Wonder(Holy)land

When we woke up this morning this is what we found looking out the window. We woke up really late because there was really nothing to wake us up. The street was completely silent. We were hoping that our power wouldn't go out due to a downed wire. There would have been a lot more of that if not for the warmer temperatures. We really didn't dip below 32F all day so most of the snow that fell during the night washed away. It was crazy to hear the Israeli media reporting the snow. It was as if Armageddon was arriving. The silliest thing I heard was a bulletin to let Israelis know that if they hear a "pop" in their leg while skiing they should seek medical attention. Duh!

It was raining and hailing for most of the day. Ilana actually came close to going outside to get this picture but she is under our mirpeset. The snow is definitely a nice change of pace but it is also driving us a bit stir crazy. Ilana hasn't left the building since Saturday evening. Fortunately, we have found a movie website that works well.

Yes, this is what I looked like after spending a mere 10 minutes outdoors (without winter gear). It was especially nasty because the wind was really blowing. You may be asking yourself, "why does Aaron have green shoes?" Well, if you come to Israel with no boots and there is 3-4 inches of standing water/snow in the street then one "solution" is to wrap your shoes in plastic bags. This was only effective for about 7 of the 10 minutes I was outside. 70% is good in many things but not in shoe waterproofing. I would say nothing less than 100% is acceptable.

Pics from Eilat

Tel Be'er Sheva - We got to see Abraham's well (at least according to some archeologists)


The Great Crater (There are three natural craters like this in the Negev)


We are in Israel - the mountains behind us our Egypt - it is a little hard to see, but it is a completely unprotected border - they figure the 200 foot rocky drop in between the two plateaus is enough of a deterrent.

Our Jam Packed Week

Our week began Saturday night with a speech by Dore Gold (former ambassador to the UN from Israel) discussing our importance to recognizing our claim to Jerusalem, especially appropriate with the current Bush visit. Right after that, we figured that wasn't enough for the evening so we headed up the block for a concert by Pharoah's Daughter (their first tour in Israel). The concert was GREAT - a nice, small, intimate theatre that allowed us to sit in the 4th row for only 20 shekels a pop. The percussionist and the chick playing the recorders definitely took center stage. The percussionist had bells and things attached to his ankles and was playing a old fashioned clay jug as if it was a drum. The recorder lady was switching between about 7 different recorders and when she needed multiple sounds, she just decided to play two at a time.



This was just the beginning of the week, for bright and early Monday morning we headed down to Be'er Sheva and Eilat for a couple of days. Sun, touring, good food and a nice hotel made it a great couple of days. Here is a pic or two and hopefully Aaron will fill in more soon.