Golan Heights 7/8/2009

A few minor observations before I delve into the trip that I took today. 

1) Chinese food is very very good in Israel. Not as greasy.

2) Practicing my Hebrew is difficult because if you don't speak fast enough Israeli's will start to practice their english on you instead. 

3) The dairy products...oh man...any dairy product... cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream, cheese....is far superior to what we get in North America. 

4) No salad dressing to be found anywhere, but hummus and fresh squeezed lemon is a good substitute. 

   I remember a particularly hot day in a foreign land. A tour guide with a wooden leg, which he used to help me cross a barbed wire fence. Then fence far behind me I focused on the danger of the cliffs up ahead and the strong winds that took my small body forward and backward if I didn't crouch close enough to the ground. Combating the winds took energy which was provided from sweet fresh grown melons. Then back through the fence, back into the dusty jeep, driving down from the cliffs I fell asleep. About 16 years later I finally rose to find myself in the same place. Today I re-encountered the Golan Heights, an area in the North of Israel, bordering Syria. A place that is currently considered one of the main hopes for peace in the middle east. A place where fresh figs, olives, grapes, and sabra fruit grow in abundance around you. The heights overlooking the sea of Galilee, with trails that will lead you to hidden pools and waterfalls. Why did I ever leave? 

  Hiking in Israel:

At times I found myself in a tight squeeze. Occasionally passing by abandoned syrian bomb shelters with barbed wire to my right to keep me from crossing into the mine fields. Thorny vines to my left. Cold stream water and jagged rocks beneath me. Covered in bees from time to time [my first bee sting ever was today...AWESOME] . Leaning on rocks that were scalding hot due to baking in the summer sun. A poor out of shape chinese kid who never hiked before in his life and seemed to fart an awful lot. This hike was amazing. I loved every piece of it, the hot, the cold, the sting, the burning sun, refreshing shade. Hiking, which is apparently a common pass time in Israel, really allowed me to experience the land. I didn't just recognize a place, I replanted my roots.