Afternoons in Israel

Afternoons in Israel

Me with my Pita!!!!!

Most afternoons were filled with adventures in eating and speaking. My adventures in cuisine, I admit, may have been limited to mainly Pita bread but that was only because it was so delicious! I am not sure why I was so obsessed with the idea of stuffing bread full of falafel, shawarma, veggies, and humus, but for some reason I could not get enough! Almost every chance I got I would eat Pitas and Humus. There were a few times I would experiment with other types of food like soups and pastas, but none could measure up to the wonder that is Israeli Pitas!

After these adventures, we would make time for meetings with Israeli professionals. We got to talk with members of Knesset (this is like Israeli Congress), Demographic experts, Terrorism victims, city officials in the Golan, local members of Kibbutz, and military professionals. It gave us the opportunity to ask the questions our questions about the Israeli Palestinian conflict and get an answer from people who are on the front lines of the conflict. We were able to get great answers and honest perspectives from people that we learned to really respect and admire.    

One of my favorite afternoons we got the opportunity to interview the head of the Golan Heights settlements committee. The legend goes “An Israeli woman named Romona wanted a town, so her husband went out and built her one.” Although she denies it, Romona and her husband were the original settlers in the Golan Heights. We were able to discuss the importance of the people that chose to live in the Golan, and how it feels to see a city grow from the very beginning.  I probably honestly liked this meeting because of the appeal of some sort of love story, but I also felt like the people in the Golan were very unique. The members of the committee we met with were candid and personable, at no point did I feel like they tried to dodge our questions, or talk down to us because we were only students. Absolutely a unique experience… it’s like the stuff of legends ya know?

PHOTOS:

My favorite salad!

One of our meetings was held in the same room that the Jordan Israel Peace Treaty was signed.

After lunch!

Texas is a big deal... even in Israel!!! @ an Israeli Mcdonalds