The Good, The Bad and The Weird

We have made it home to Milwaukee. We are unpacked, and settling in. While our internal clocks are still a little off, we are happy to be back and also happy for the great time we had while overseas. We have time now to reflect on our trip, and thought we would share lists of some of the best, worst and weirdest things about our life in Jerusalem. Obviously, there is so much more to process through and come to terms with, but here are a few things that stick out.


The Good:
- Arab Hospitality: you can never go hungry or thirsty when you are in an Arab home.

- Falafel, hummus and fresh bread available everywhere.

- St. George's Church.

St. George's Cathedral

- Living with Mr. and Mrs. Plant (daily yoga, mysterious juices and cards).

- Easy public transportation. Taking buses or trains made getting around simple.

First time on the bus by ourselves.

- Wandering around the old city on Sunday afternoons.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

- Being able to work on a variety of different projects with diverse groups of people.

With Christine and Rajaee at JEO.

- The faithfulness and dedication of PBS and JEO who we got to work with.

- Being such a small country, you are never that far from anywhere! An hour and a half driving will get you just about anywhere you would want to go.



The Bad:
- The garbage disposal system (throw garbage near dumpster, set on fire, repeat.)

- Checkpoints. We were lucky to not have any issues, but it generally makes life more inconvenient for us, and extremely difficult for many of our friends.

- Customer service. Either super over-bearing and pushy or couldn't be bothered to look up from their cell phones.

- Bugs. Giant mosquitoes and millipedes.

- Segregation. So many aspects of society are divided along religious and racial lines. 

- Gaza. Getting to go to Gaza was definitely a highlight of the whole trip, and met so many amazing, generous people, but the realities of Gaza are overwhelming and difficult to comprehend. Just as an example, the crowded public beaches are raw sewage dumps, and eating too much watermelon is hazardous because of the huge amounts of rat poison used to keep pests off.



The Weird:
- Arab Hospitality: it can get overwhelming and rough on the digestive system after a while.

- An SUV carrying a whole huge family down a main road in Gaza, tailgate down with about four people, including kids, hanging out.

- Sitting at a cafe watching people on Jaffa Street (a busy shopping area in Jerusalem) and we saw a young woman, probably in her 20s, with ripped jeans and a crop top, long blonde hair, and a military rifle strapped casually on her back. 

- The stark contrast between Tel Aviv and Gaza, despite only being separated by 35 miles.

Exhibit A: Tel Aviv

Exhibit B: Gaza

- Dumpsters of stray cats. You don't see many stray dogs, but you see cats in everywhere, mostly congregating at/in the dumpsters where they have a constant supply of food. 

- The Old City and the blend of modern shops and restaurants set into ancient walls, adjacent to thousands of years of history. The only way to get supplies is by weaving a tractor through the narrow paths, or by hand.

- Loose copyright laws (Stars & Bucks Coffee, Sab Way Sandwiches, Sub & Deli Sandwiches, Nutella Cafe)

- All of the tourists, representing so many countries, faiths, backgrounds and opinions.