Friends in Israel

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Trysta

Just minutes before departing for Israel I was talking to my oldest (from the 4th grade!) and dearest friend on the phone. After telling her our plans, she asks, “Who has friends in Israel?!” With a laugh, I answer, “Joe Wall does. Of course.” We had a good chuckle over that one.

Ironically, Joe and Stew met in the United Arab Emeritus in 2006 and developed their bromance flying over the rolling vineyards of Northern California in the KC-10 together. Sounds romantic, right? Seven years later, once again in the Middle East together, the boys enjoyed a toast and declared one another their Valentines. Now that is romance!
Elizabeth (Stew’s wife) and I just sat back and watched the hilarity.

With less than 24 hours in-country, we headed right to the heart of the matter: the Israeli – Palestinian Conflict. We spent four hours visiting different sites along the barrier dividing east and west Jerusalem and learning about the political, humanitarian, and ideological conflicts that have riddled this area since the early 2000s, the Second Intifada.

The barrier

There are people who have spent and will spend their entire lives studying this conflict and working towards a solution. I will not even begin to try and explain the details of the history and politics that brought these two groups of people to the current state they are in, for fear of oversimplifying a racial, religious, and political struggle that is seeped in thousands of years of history, yet occurring in a “modern” society. The bottom line: “It’s complicated.” Only individual research will allow anyone to begin to digest this conflict at a level which is comprehensible on a personal level and through a lens that speaks to the unique beliefs or perspectives of the investigator. The following are my personal reflections and the facts that stood out to me. Hopefully, reading a few tid-bits will inspire you to begin your own investigation into the conflict and, more importantly, how your elected government chooses to respond to and manage this conflict in the interest of American democracy.

In some of the Palestinian neighborhoods, only 20% of the residences are connected to sewage and plumbing. It is hard to ignore the piles of trash that trickle (or maybe ‘pour’ is a better verb) down the hillsides. One Palestinian neighborhood in particular did not have any garbage removal from 2007 to 2010, and currently only has pick-up once a month. In addition to the tangible wall barrier, there are ‘glass borders’ between the Palestinian and Israeli neighborhoods, where not only can you see the difference in living conditions, but also feel it. The road is suddenly smooth to drive on, the quantity of trash lessens, and the overall conditions improve. Rachel’s Tomb is controlled by the Israelis, but is located outside of the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, technically within the West Bank. The road to get there is completely isolated by the wall. There are guards controlling the entrance and signs posted in several places, stating exactly who can enter and who cannot. Despite the religious importance of this site for many people, it is not accessible by all. It makes you thankful to live in the land of the free.

Road leading up to Rachel’s Tomb.

During a bathroom stop, I engaged our guide in a conversation about the stated and un-stated messages regarding the conflict. There are still sections of the wall that are un-built, but a plan is in place to continue construction. That sends a clear message. Simultaneously, there is always talk and debate about finding a solution, be it one-state or two. This sends a contradicting message. Our guide said that finding a solution wasn’t even a major talking point in recent elections, as the people are “tired” of it. Many believe that continuing the wall is the only way for these two populations to co-exist. He also told me that by the end of the day, I will have more knowledge over the conflict than the majority of the Israeli population. That is a tough pill to swallow. What’s harder to swallow is the question: Are Americans really that different in regards to certain issues within the United States? Mull it over for a while.

Towards the end of the tour, we stood on a hill overlooking Ahu’afat Refugee Camp, a Palestinian neighborhood inside the municipal boundary of Jerusalem but outside of the wall, where living conditions are worse than any other neighborhood. As gun shots rang out, I decided that this is what really matters: we were here, we tried to educate ourselves, and we continued to deepen our understanding after the experience was over.

Ahu’afat Refugee Camp

Ultimately, I (and I think I can speak for Joe here as well) am thankful for the experience. Even though I would still classify my understanding somewhere between “confused” and “highly confused”, I am thankful to have had an opportunity that only some Americans can or choose to have. Even more so, I am thankful for our friends, the Welches, who were willing to answer questions and continue the discussion from the perspective of Americans living in Israel.

NOW…ON TO THE FUN STUFF!!!

The great part about being with friends, who can also be considered “locals”, is all the things you can enjoy, that you normally wouldn’t, if alone. This by no means covers all the things we did, but the most fun things, for sure!

After watching everyone pour out of Damascus gate on Friday afternoon after prayer…

…who is in the mood for some “Street Meat”?!

We cannot confirm nor deny which organs were included in Stew’s “street meat”, but you can make your own deduction from the options below.

Jaffa – Elizabeth gave us a great tour of Jaffa, which touts itself as one of the oldest cities, dating back to 7500 BC! There are several layers of ancient cities buried beneath Jaffa, Jonah reputedly set sail from Jaffa for his fateful date with the whale, and Andromeda was tied to the rocks outside the port as a sacrifice to Poseidon’s sea monster.

All this history aside, we saw some really interesting present-day things in Jaffa: a double Eritreaian wedding, business-in-front-dreads-in-the-back hairstyle, and remarkable modeling skills from Joe that have obviously been repressed for some time now. These are all probably “I guess you had to be there” stories, right Elizabeth?!

The square in Jaffa.

We were also lucky enough to be in town while Stew had a “gig”. As a bass and guitar player and jazz-lover, Stew plays in a local band with several Israelis. It was really fun to see a friend, enjoying something he loves, in another country that he calls home, and in another language!

We thought it was a great show, but sometimes family can be a hard sell.

Stew’s wife, Elizabeth, and sleeping son, Will.

A huge thank you to our wonderful friends, the Welches. Our experiences in Israel wouldn’t have been so fun, and so rich, without you. We look forward to the next chapter of our shared journey.

Things That Are Just Funny

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Trysta

So, this post has been about 18 months in the making. It started off as just a collection of funny signs in Germany, but has expanded to unbelievable/ridiculous print media throughout Europe. I actually have a bunch more, but maybe those can fill another installment of “things that are just funny”. Enjoy!

This picture is where it all started. I actually took this picture the first week we were in Freiburg and I took it out of necessity, not because I thought it was funny. There are about 4 of these signs around our apartment building, and as the owner of a very “regular” K9, I figured I better know what our limitations were.

Speaking of dog poop, here is a good one. Just in case you forgot how to pick up excrement, the French are more than willing to remind you, with step-by-step directions.

What is that dog at the top even saying?!

Now, what happens when you see this sign outside the bathroom? I mean, is there no peeing allowed at all? No peeing standing up? No peeing in the actual toilet? No peeing small marbles? What are you supposed to do? Pee in your pants while trying to figure it out, I guess.

Here is a semi-truck, somewhere on the German Autobahn. Nothing says “Wow, I feel like eating some fruit right now” like a naked girl sitting on top of said fruit. Clearly, sanitation regulations must be more relaxed in Germany!

Check out these from Oktoberfest. Sorry vegetarians, there is no mistaking what kind of sandwich you are going to get here!

And look at this one! Sorry, no kid-vomit permitted here. Ok, not a problem. Let me just ask my kid to hold back those chunks (s)he is about to blow, while I find a more suitable locale.

Drum roll…..here’s my favorite!! I saw this one on the elevator of our hotel in Stockholm, Sweden. Apparently, the decapitation risk is high if you decide to take your trash can into the elevator with you. Good to know, good to know.

Stay tuned, who knows what else we’ll find next on this crazy continent!

That’s What Dads Are For

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Trysta

Today I dropped my Dad off at the airport after a great visit. It was filled with highs and lows, both literally and figuratively. I’ll expand on the highs, keep the lows brief, and leave everything between for him to tell!

We headed to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for my Dad’s first Alpine ski adventure. First day’s highlight was a trip down the Kandahar! Now, when he watches it on TV he can tell everyone he has skied it himself!!

The next day was even better! The weather was perfect, so we decided to head to Germany’s highest peak, the Zugspitze.

It says, “Treading on the roof area forbidden. Beware! Mortal danger”. Yeah, clearly!

It was such a great day skiing in the bowl of the Zugspitze. No clouds, no wind, shining sun, good legs. One of those days that you doze off a little on the chairlift in the warmth of the sun. God, I love those days!

Now, here comes the low. Thankfully it waited until after our great day to strike. I don’t know if it was the Frankfurter I ate at high altitude, riding backwards on a cog-wheel train from the highest peak in Germany, or some creepy bug deciding to take residence in my stomach, but within seconds of climbing off the train, everyone still aboard was gifted with a nice show of me disgorging my lunch.

If that wasn’t bad enough, it just got worse. After retch #10 I figured I better start keeping track, because something wasn’t right. Around #15 my Dad urged me to get a doctor because he was clocking me at a consistent 10-minute turn-around time. When I was in high school he used to time my splits in the 500m Freestyle. As an adult, I guess it is heave-intervals! In the middle of the night I woke up to pray to the porcelain gods and really thought I had been successful at not waking him. (Who was I kidding?) I heard him say, “Well, it’s been three and a half hours since last time. That’s a record!”

The doctor called it a “stomach infection”. After regurgitation #29 I called it “pure hell”. The following day, after finally mustering enough upchuck-control, we headed for home. When I thanked him for taking care of me and wandering into a foreign town in a foreign country late at night to pick up three prescriptions from the doctor, my Dad’s simple response was, “That’s what Dads are for.” I chocked back a few tears and hoped they wouldn’t trigger my gag reflex.

Back on the mend, we headed for the Swiss Alps. Europe’s highest peak, the Jungfrau, is located just outside Interlaken, Switzerland. We opted to skip the 175Franc (each!) price tag to take the train to Europe’s highest train station and instead enjoyed a view that included the peak.