Mediterranean Monday: The Art of Bus-Riding

If my cup of coffee in the morning doesn’t completely wake me up, then the bus rides sure will! Riding the public busses in Tel Aviv is an art form, its not for the faint-of-heart.
You might be thinking, “how difficult is it to ride a bus, come on!?!”
And let me reply, “it’s not difficult, [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Eilat (אילת)

Eilat is Israel’s southernmost city, located on the north tip of the Red Sea. It’s part of the Negev Desert, making it scorching HOT during the summer, and still warm enough to vacation during the winter.  It is definitely one of the most popular travel destinations for Israeli’s, who just want to get away for [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Lets debate!

The other day in class we were learning the new verbs: (לדון) ladoon and (לריב) lareev.  Ladoon is “to debate” and lareev is “to argue”.  My Ulpan teacher gave us an explanation that just about cracked me up, and if anyone has lived/been to Israel you will totally understand why.  
She gave this example: In [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: I ♥ The Sea of Galilee

The Galilee region is so seeped in history, its almost impossible to go anywhere that isn’t represented in the Bible and history books. There are many churches, ruins, gardens, and landmarks explaining what happened here in the past:
* The Wedding Church: where Jesus performed his first miracle of turning water into wine (they claim to [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday (ok its Wed.): It’s Jellyfish Season!

During the months of July-August, we are bombarded with the pesky creatures of the sea, aka…Jellyfish!  They come invading our Mediterranean bliss on their way up north towards Lebanon and beyond.  
We are reminded that they are not dangerous or deadly, but can cause bad burns on the skin where they touch you (try telling [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Israeli Salad

It’s back! I haven’t done a Med. Monday in quite some time and I’ve been missing it. As a special come-back post, I made a short video of me making Israeli Salad.  Yes, you heard correctly…. I am going to actually prepare it myself!!!  Take a look….

(Don’t worry, its not actually that long…after the credits [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Jewish Boy Band

As we were leaving the Old City in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, we happened across these boys who were performing in the square outside of Jaffa Gate.  I’m telling you, they are only a record deal away from being the new Jewish Backstreet Boys! They even have choreographic dance moves….awesome!

(please excuse the shaking and moving [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Ulpan

 
You might have heard me mention going to Ulpan in other segments, so today I am going to explain what it is.  Ulpan is the educational center where you go to learn Hebrew.  Just like in regular schools, there are levels in which you learn. Since I was a total beginner, I started of in [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Purim

It is holiday time here in Israel: Purim.  Purim is the holiday that celebrates the saving of the Jewish people (once again) from the Persian Empire, according to the book of Esther.  It is celebrated from the 13-15th during the month of Adar (the Jewish calendar), which is today, tomorrow and Wednesday.  If you are [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Praying toward Jerusalem

There is one thing that all Orthodox Jews have in common, no matter where they live in the word…..they pray facing Jerusalem. It doesn’t matter if its east from the US or south from Russia, it is always facing toward Jerusalem.  
I remember my first encounter with this was in the airport on my way [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: גשם Geshem (Rain)

Rain!  
It’s what we have had for the past 4 days here in Tel Aviv, and needed desperately. When I first moved to Israel, all I heard was, “Ohhhhh, how we need rain!”  I wasn’t too fond of the idea, being an anti-rain person.  All I thought of were all the inconveniences it would cause [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Mezuzah

The mezuzah (doorpost in Hebrew) is a small case with Hebrew writing on it that you will find on every door post, hallway, or even in closets in Israel (on the upper right hand side).  The cases are inscribed with Hebrew verses from the Torah, which state the Jewish prayer, Shema Yisrael.  It begins with [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Cyprus

Since I’m here in Cyprus until tomorrow, I thought I would write about it for my Med. Monday topic.  Technically, it is a Mediterranean Country, so it fits in nicely.  
From Tel Aviv to Larnaca, it is only a 50 minute flight.  Cyprus is a small island right off the coast of Israel, and it [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: The Holy Land by Lens

There is one thing that is NOT lacking in the Mediterranean, which is photographers.  I have honestly never seen or met as many professional photographers anywhere else in the world, and that is including Africa with all the National Geo guys. Everyone is a photographer here, so it seems. You cannot go anywhere without seeing [...]

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean Monday: Serving in the Army

With all thats being going on here with the war, I thought it would be appropriate to use it as a topic for Med Monday. We are all glad to know that the cease fire has taken place, and the Israeli army is beginning to pull out of Gaza.  I’m sure that Mothers and Fathers [...]

Read Full Post »