Livin' on the wild side

Well...so much has happened since I last wrote that I don't even know where to start! Last time I wrote I was in Eilat, waiting to move up to Karmiel to the wonderful apartment that we found. Well, things got a little complicated after that. It all started when Ben got a phone message from the landlord in broken English, the only part of which Ben could understand was something about the apartment being closed....closed?! But we were moving in three days! Well..since Ben was on base, and as we well know does not have any free time, I had to call the landlord to figure things out. However, phone Hebrish (a mix of broken Hebrew and broken English) isn't the best way to figure out something like that....so I called a friend. Adi (the daughter of Ben's kibbutz family who is living in Irina's apartment in Beer Sheva) made many phone calls to the landlord (Haim) and found out that he was anxious about having to wait for us to come move and was showing it to another person! Many phone calls later, both from Adi and Ronit (Kibbutz family again) he agreed that if we came very soon and paid all the money for three months upfront, then he would rent it to us. This was Wednesday morning....and was when the real excitement began....

In order to get up there as quickly as possible to reserve the apartment it was going to be very difficult to wait for Ben to come all the way back down to Eilat to drive back up...and he wasn't even going to get off base until Thursday afternoon...plus, the car we reserved wasn't necessarily going to even be available when we needed it. So...instead of waiting, I decided to do something crazy, rent a car and drive all the stuff up to Karmiel myself. In order to save money and avoid having to wait for a large car I bought a bike rack and rented a small car. However, renting the car may very well have been the most complicated part of the whole ordeal...

...The first place I called didn't have any cars at all. The second place did but after figuring out all the details told me they wouldn't rent it to me because I didn't have a credit card. The third (and last) option had the same rule about credit cards but had worked around it for me last time we needed a car. After running out of minutes on my cellphone in the middle of the conversation with the car place, I ran to get more just to call back and find out that they weren't going to help me this time. NO renting to me without a credit card. Hmmmm. This is where Ronit saves the day, actually more than the day, really she saved the whole move to Karmiel! She drove all the way from Kibbutz (about a 40 min drive) to give the car rental place her credit card for the deposit! Wow...what an amazingly generous gesture! She was awesome, and so helpful through all of this.

So, I got the car, took two hours longer than I expected to pack all of our stuff into it (which miraculously fit), assemble the bike rack (which I needed help with so I drove to the bike store again) clean the apartment, return the keys, get air in the tires, and head out of town. It was after 6pm by the time I left Eilat, well after dark. I actually hate night driving and could have left in the morning instead but weighed my options and decided on the lesser of two evils....the dark was preferable to sharing the road with Israeli traffic. Only two wrong turns and six hours later I pulled into the hostel in Akko (the same one I stayed at the previous weekend), breathed a huge sigh of relief and went to bed. Wow...I never ever ever thought I would drive myself across Israel...alone, in the dark.

Anyway...this story has a wonderfully happy ending as we are now comfortably living in our new apartment, cooking with our four burner stove, sitting on our sofa, and sleeping in a different room than the kitchen! Well actually I should say I am doing all of those things as Ben is back on base most of the time. We did have Christmas together, although both of us were sick and we spent most of it just hanging around/sleeping (accept for a nice walk through the big park by our house...it's wonderful!). Oh...and we discovered a family park on the other side of the house that has free mini golf (on green cement), lawn bowling, and ping pong! We plan to test that out soon too.

Anyway, I'm off to the lawyer tomorrow morning to see if they can help me get my work visa figured out and Ben is going to meet me in Tel Aviv for an afternoon in the BIG CITY:) I don't really care what we do on weekends, they are just special because he is around...what different lives we lead right now.

It was nice to Skype with family on Christmas. I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Pictures of the apartment soon (or perhaps another video tour).

Basic Training -by Ben

I've just completed the first half of my basic training with the IDF. If you've never gone through basic training, it's pretty much what you see on TV and in the movies, but I'm doing it in Hebrew. The first few days were almost a joke and it made me second guess what I was even doing there. I started my army experience in Beer Sheva at the Beit Chayal (soldiers' house), where I checked in to wait for the bus that would eventually take us to Tel HaShohmer, the main recruitment base near Tel Aviv. At Tel HaShohmer, we were shuffled through several stations where new recruits got haircuts, shots, uniforms, some basic hygiene items, and a goodie bag filled with treats! I was having second thoughts about army until I got that goodie bag...that let me know they really care. We stayed the whole day on base and most of the time was spent waiting in line.

I got to meet a lot of people from all over the world who all joined for different reasons. Some were as excited as me to be doing this, some totally didn't want to be there. Many immigrants that come to Israel bring their kids, and when it's time for those kids to start their mandatory service they're less than stoked. I think the reason they feel this way is because, as immigrants, they've always had a hard time integrating into society here. They've never really felt Israeli, and when it's time to serve their country they just don't have the motivation.

We went into the building that morning in civilian clothes, and came out in our new uniforms! We also got to see some of the worst jobs you can get in the army. These jobs included the person who puts a mirror in your mouth and takes pictures of your teeth, the guy who pricks your finger and rubs a blood sample on a card, and the guy who takes your fingerprints. They do these jobs ALL DAY LONG for the entirety of their army service. One funny thing that happened during lunch- I sat down randomly at the table (where they told me to sit) and the dude next to me looked oddly familiar. I didn't talk much because our meal was timed, but I heard him talking to another recruit across the table. He mentioned something about his time in Santa Barbara..and it clicked! This guy, Jonathan, was my younger brother's fraternity brother! I had even played a round of beer pong with him at my brother's graduation from UCSB! What are the chances!? I also saw another guy from my kibbutz who started his army service the same day.

The day concluded with an hour and a half bus ride to my base near Karmiel. Upon arrival we were put into our first squads (tzevets, in Hebrew), and were shown our rooms.

The next day we got to know the other people in our tzevets and got to meet our Mefakedette (Commander). All the male tzevets have female mefakedettes, and the female tzevets have male Mefakeds. It was a basic introduction day around the base. They showed us around the base and introduced us to some of the other officers. During this time we were also given formation commands and time limits. Although they weren't very strict about anything. People would move out of formation or talk when they weren't supposed to and the Mefakedettes would just tell them to stop with no form of punishment. Band camp in high school was more challenging than this. Little did I know what the week ahead would bring...

My second week started at the Karmiel bus station where my Tzevet all met to catch the bus to base. One thing we did the week prior was take a Hebrew proficiency test, when we got to base we were again split into new Tzevets based on our Hebrew level. My first Tzevet was really great and it was kind of a bummer to be split up. All of us were on the same page on the importance of treating the Mefakedette with respect and doing things on time. It really was a good group of guys, and when we were placed in our new Tzevet it was obvious everybody else felt the same way. Bad moods all around.

This new Tzevet, Tzevet 5, will be my squad for the next 3 months. There are 11 of us... three from England, two from Uzbekistan, two from Russia, three from the States and one Israeli guy who we've designated the "Gomer Pyle"of our Tzevet. In case you don't know who Gomer Pyle is... Gomer Pyle is the type of individual who truly makes you believe the army will take anybody. He's the kind of person who couldn't pour water out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel, one pork chop short of a mixed grill, a few fries short of a happy meal...

After writing this I had to look up some more idioms... here are some of my favorites-

-His manual drive is stuck in reverse

-While most people drink from the fountain of knowledge, he seems to just be gargling

-He's got a fire going, but the fluke is shut

-He couldn't find his way out of a wet paper bag

-He's knitting with only one needle

-His mouth is in gear, but his brain's in neutral

-He's all crowns and no fillings

-He goes full throttle on a dry tank

-If you gave him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change

Anyway! It seems as if every Tzevet has a Gomer Pyle of their own and we have to wonder if they set it up this way intentionally. Our's is especially horrible because he's so lazy... makes us all look bad and do push ups.

So far everyday this week has gone something like this-

4:30 am- wake up, and be in formation in 30 minutes

5:00 - "Sport" running, pushups, sit-ups and stretching

6:00 - Back in formation in uniform then going over our drills and commands

7:00- Breakfast, we've got 9min 50sec to shovel as much food in as we can. The food isn't bad, but it sucks having to eat that fast

7:10- 20 minute break

7:30 - weapons training

8:30- raising the flag and national anthem

9:00 - cleaning dorms and bathroom

10:00 - drills

10:30 - classroom training

11:30 -drills again

12:00- lunch and break

12:30- running and exercise (it sucks and some people can't hold their food in)

2:00- learning something new and combining it with what we've learned so far... along with drills

6:00 p.m.- Dinner and break

6:30 -drills

7:00 - more training

9:00- PUNISHMENTS!!! (Mefakedette takes notes of our mistakes throughout the day and we pay for them with sprints...pushups...and planks

10:00- 1 hour of free time to shower, shave, brush teeth, clean boots, prepare for the next day, and it's my only time to call Lauren

11:00 - outside dorms and back in formation dressed in P.J.'s

11:30- Lights out! Rinse and repeat the next morning

I'm also required to have my rifle and water bottle with me at all times. My M16 rifle weighs about 6 and a half pounds and stays around my neck ALL THE TIME. I'm required to shower with it and dress with it ON. The only time it comes off is when I go to bed and then it stays under my pillow. Failure to comply means pushups or even not being able to go home on the weekends. It may seem harsh, but I think it's a good thing to be this anal about weapon safety. Also, EVERYTHING is in Hebrew. Our Mefakedettes and other officers will not speak to us in any other language. It's tough but I'm having a good time.

My least favorite things so far is having to carry the gun everywhere, the short eating time, and sleep depravation. I'd have to say my absolute favorite thing is when something happens that makes our Mefakedette smile or laugh and she kind of turns into a real person. Then we all start laughing and the pressure melts away a bit. The rest of the time she keeps a straight face and is a total bitch. But really, she's just a 20-22 year old girl. I'm also the oldest in Tzevet 5. There's another dude, David, from L.A. who's also 26. But the average age of the new recruits is 22. There's a lot of running involved and I do what I can with my leg. They're very fair about me not running as much as the other guys as long as I put in 110%. And they're very happy to make up my running with extra pushups and sit ups. Daniel, from England, has estimated about 400 push ups total this week by his count. O.K. I've written enough for one night, I'll try to continue next week...

Life takes a turn

Well, Ben had his appointment with the Army last Sunday, where he was given his profile score and told he would start Army on Wednesday....surprise! We knew this was a possibility, but didn't really think it would happen. Needless to say, my first day of volunteering at the school in Eilat quickly turned into my last. We spent Monday and Tuesday packing up the apartment and getting Ben supplies. We headed up to Beer Sheva Tuesday night and off he went Wednesday morning! No time to even think.

Considering Ben's current base is in the far north of Israel and Eilat is the farthest south you can get, I didn't even need to think to decide that I would move closer. So when Ben took off Wednesday morning I did too. I decided to stay in Akko at a hostel so that I could look for a place to live in Nahariya or Karmiel, both of which have Ulpan classes that are affordable and begin within the next month.

It took me two buses, the train, and a taxi to get from Beer Sheva to Akko and this time my solo travel day went very smoothly! I headed right into Nahariya to look at an apartment. The first one turned out to be a dark, smoke-filled cave without furniture. However, the most wonderful think happened after I looked at the aparment. I was headed back to the center of town on foot, in search of an internet cafe so that I could look up more apartments for rent, when I came across a purse that I liked hanging outside a store front. It was cheap, cheaper than I had seen elsewhere for the same type of bag. I passed by and then turned around when I decided it was at least worth asking about. The store didn't have anyone in it and was actually more of an office filled with bags than a store. I called up the stairs, "shalom!" to see if anyone was there. A man came down (spoke English thank goodness) and told me that they make the bags in Nahariya and I was basically at the factory office, which is why the bag was so cheap. So...I got a nice, inexpensive bag, but that's just the beginning of what I got....by the end of the day, I had met three other people who worked in the window factory behind the bag store, used their internet to look up apartments, drank the tea that they made me, had the assistance of their son Sagiv to translate the websites and call apartments with me, been treated to falafel for dinner, invited for Shabbat dinner, and driven to the bus station! It was amazing, some of the kindest and most eager to help people I have ever met! I went back to the hostel feeling very pleased with my day even though I had not found anywhere to live....I had traveled the entire country on my own and met some wonderful friends. (I didn't end up going to Shabbat dinner, but it was a crazy weekend).

Since Ben is still officially living in Eilat, which is very far from base, he got off early and joined me in Nahariya on Thurday (one night apart was enough for me anyway!). I took him to meet my new friends, where we bought him a big bag for army and he was introduced to their immense kindness! We didn't have any luck with the apartment search however.

Over the course of the weekend we did end up finding an apartment (really the last option on my list!) in Karmiel. It is wonderful! It is affordable, has two rooms, an oven/stove, and lots of light! AND...it is right across the street from a gorgeous, huge park! As soon as I have pictures of it I will post them. Karmiel is a very beautiful city in the northern mountains of Israel and it is only 20 minutes from Ben's base. I am excited to explore the city when I move up there. Currently, I am back in Eilat for the week, getting a few things finalized and waiting for Ben to come down on Thursday or Friday so that we can rent a van and move everything up to Karmiel. We do need to find a sofa and table/chairs for the livingroom/kitchen but I don't think it should be too difficult to find some used furniture.

I don't have any pictures of the apartment or Karmiel, but for those who have not yet seen, I do have some pictures of Solider Ben. And yes, maybe it is typical for a girlfriend to think this, but I can't help it...he is SO handsome in his uniform!

Work Visa Update:

No good news on this topic, never is. I called a lawyer today to see what they might suggest. Although I made an appointment to meet with them next Thursday in Tel Aviv, I am not sure what they can do for me. They even told me that it is all up to the Misrad Hapnim (Ministry of Interior). They said to try to get a new apostille that looks like what the Misrad Hapnim is asking for...I'm not even sure if that is possible, but I did email the woman who signed the documents to see what she says about it. Perhaps I will end up going to the appointment, but they better be able to help for 800 shekel! Goodness they make it hard to get things done here (especially now that coming down for an appointment takes 8 hours! Oh well, I'm still trying!

I'll post pictures of our new home next week!

This map shows the Western Galilee area up close and the star on the map below it shows where Karmiel is in relation to the rest of the country. Ben's base is about 20 km east of Karmiel.

The rest of the Haifa Trip

Sunday was the best, we got together with Hadas. If you don't know, Hadas and I were attached at the hip when we were young....as mom reminded me we were even planning to get married when we got older;) Her father lives in Israel and she came to visit so we were able to see one another. It was weird because she used to come here during the summers and I would imagine what it was like and then here we were in Israel together! It was so nice to see her and to see her dad Yossi.

Ben headed back to Beer Sheva in the afternoon and I stayed overnight with Hadas. We went into Tel Aviv the next day and even though we didn't have a lot of time it was really wonderful just being with her again. She is one of those people that no matter how long it has been since you have seen her, you still feel like old friends. One of those special friends that you can truly be yourself with. It was a great weekend.

I had my first experience traveling on my own in Israel that weekend as well. I left Hadas and got on the bus to the train station where I was to take the train to Beer Sheva and then the bus with Ben back to Eilat. However, it didn't work out that way. I got a bit confused on the bus when they didn't announce any of the stops and I didn't see the train station anywhere. Finally I asked someone where the train station was, but by that time I was in Ramat Gan (the next city over!). I got off immediately although by that time I had already missed the train that would get me to Beer Sheva for the bus on time (the next bus wouldn't be until 1 am). So instead I thought I would try something else and got on another bus to the Central Bus Station...my luck turned and I got there just in time to catch a bus all the way to Eilat. Ben took an earlier bus from Beer Sheva and all was fine. As it turned out I ended up on the same bus that I was going to take from Beer Sheva! So much for a smooth trip, but I stayed calm and it all worked out:)

Here is a picture of Hadas and I on Kibbutz Usha where her dad lives. We are in the grapefruit orchards in the picture and soon after we headed to the avocado orchards....yummy walk around the Kibbutz.

Haifa Trip (2) - Baha'i Gardens

We decided Saturday was a good day for a tour at the Baha'i Gardens considering almost everything else is usually closed on Saturdays. We took a taxi up to the top of the gardens, which begin at the top of Mount Carmel. My goodness there is a good view of Haifa from up there, although it was a bit hazy that day so the pictures aren't as clear as they could be on a clear day. The tour was in English and it was odd to be around so many English speakers in one place. It actually sounds weird to me when I hear someone speaking American English, like a little piece of home was transported here.

The gardens were beautiful. They are made up of 19 terraces (our tour was just the first half, but the terraces repeat themselves so that's ok) that are connected by many many steps that make their way down the mountain. According to the Baha'i religion, you can only go down the steps, never up, so when you get to the end of the tour you have to find your own way back to the top. Luckily for us, we didn't want back up so we just kept walking down into town. By the end of the tour though our legs felt like jello and we would have gladly accepted some uphill travel. But alas, it was all down from there.

Here are some pictures from the gardens. I think the most interesting thing about them to me was the grass. Oddly, the grass is not really on the ground, but suspended about a meter above the actual mountain by really strong netting (strong enough to hold the gardeners). Very odd to imagine...actually I still can't quite picture it myself!

After the tour, we headed down to the market and wandered a bit before meeting up with some family friends, Eli, the one who took us to Hummous Said, and his wife Rena. They gave us a tour of Mount Carmel. We saw some of the same places we had already seen earlier in the day, but we also got to go into a church on the top of the mountain. It was very pretty and when we went inside everyone in there was singing. I was looking around for the choir and thought maybe I just couldn't see them...but I was surprised to find out that the booming, beautiful voices I was hearing were coming from the people all around me... it must have been something about the acoustics in the church because there weren't that many people, it was amazing that they could produce such a sound.

We watched the sunset with Eli, Rena, and their daughter and son in law on the beach and then headed back to our hotel. We treated ourselves to some chinese food (missing the variety of the U.S. a bit) and an amazing desert consisting of a waffle, ice cream and whipped cream...oh my! With our full tummies and aching feet we taxied back to the hotel, watched a bit of our favorite channel (national geographic) and went to sleep.

Note: Soon after we left the Haifa area, a huge forest fire broke out. Here is a bit of information, although you can find much more.

Israel: Haifa forest fire extinguished

The fire lasted four days and is considered to be the worst in Israel's history

Continue reading the main story

Related stories

• Foreign fire crews to help Israel
• In pictures: Deadly fire in Israel
• Israel faces flak for forest fire response

A massive wildfire which killed 42 people in northern Israel has now been extinguished, emergency officials say.

The blaze, which broke out in forests close to the city of Haifa on Thursday, had required international firefighters and equipment to stem it.

Israel's highest ranking policewoman, Ahuva Tomer, who was caught in the fire on Thursday, has since died of her injuries, her family said.

A 14-year-old boy has been identified as the "prime suspect" in the blaze.

The police said he admitted to starting the fire accidentally, after he threw some burning coals from the water pipe he had been smoking on Thursday into an open area of the Carmel forest.

The teenager said he panicked, fled the scene and returned to school without telling anyone, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who has faced calls to resign over his handling of the disaster, has ordered a commission of inquiry.

Emergency aid

Rains fell overnight on Sunday, helping firefighters in their final efforts to contain the blaze.

The fire was the worst in Israel's 62-year history, and the government has faced criticism for not being prepared for it.Foreign firefighters were due to leave Israel late on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Firefighters ran out of flame-retardant chemicals shortly after the blaze began, and crews did not possess any firefighting planes, reports said.

A total of 24 aircraft were flown in from abroad to help, while the Palestinian Authority dispatched three fire engines and crew.

Ahuva Tomer, Haifa's deputy police chief, died after being seriously burned when her vehicle was engulfed in flames on Thursday.

She had been driving behind a bus of prison guards sent to evacuate 500 inmates from Damon Prison when both vehicles caught fire. Thirty-six trainee prison officers on board died in the incident.

The fire also killed three police officers, a fireman and a 16-year-old firefighting volunteer.

Officials say the fire has destroyed more than 12,300 acres (5,000 hectares) of land, more than five million trees and 74 buildings.

Mr Netanyahu has pledged to rebuild the damaged area quickly, and has approved an initial $16.5m ($16.57 ()m) special emergency aid package.

Most of those evacuated during the fire will now be allowed to return home, the fire department said on Sunday night.

Paws for a story

I'll get back to our Haifa trip soon, but I can't pass up a chance for a story.....

Ben and I are walking back from the tourist area one evening and are probably still about a half mile from home when we see a golden lab trying to cross the street....a busy street. Ben calls her over, trying to make her go a bit faster because a car is coming. She comes to him and they meet in the middle of the road on the grassy median. He makes sure she is safe and then crosses back over to our side of the road....so does she. We start walking up the hill towards home and the dog is right at our side...and she stays there through three more crosswalks and another block. At this point we figure she may just follow us all the way home if we don't do something. Since she doesn't have a collar and most dogs wander around town a bit, we decide to turn around and go the other way in hopes that she will just keep wandering....but as soon as we have taken five steps in the other direction we hear the pitter patter of paws on the sidewalk and realize she is right on our heels again. Over and over we try to walk away only to hear her behind us again and again. Eventually we figure we should walk her back to where we found her in case that is where her home is. We walk back down the road and she immediately turns into a gated area of an apartment building. Phew....we make a quick u-turn and walk away, hoping that she will stay there and we head home.......pitter patter, pitter patter...oh dear. Up the sidewalk she comes. After another try at the same, we start to think we will never make it home without this dog so we go to the nearest convenience store to ask if anyone knows her, of course, she comes too. Well, no one knows her, but we get lucky because one man starts talking to and calling the dog and distracts her while we make our getaway. The dog stays at the convenience store and we break free. When we haven't heard the pitter patter for what seems a safe amount of time we turn around and notice that the man who saved us did not seem to have the same magnetic effect as we did (actually to be more precise, as BEN did). We safely make our way home, dog free. I'm not sure if that deserves a smile or a frown, I do miss that pitter patter (of course I wish it could be Maybe's).

Pitter patter, pitter patter....go hug your dogs.

Haifa Trip (1)--The ZOO!

(AKKO)

So by now this was actually two weekends ago, but it is certainly worth sharing...I think it was my favorite weekend in Israel so far. We took the midnight bus Thursday night from Eilat to Haifa....that is a 5 and a half hour ride. We didn't want to waste daytime getting up there so we thought this was a good idea. Ultimately it was a good idea, but when I was squirming around trying to get comfortable on the bus I wouldn't have said that. Usually I am amazing and can sleep as soon as I sit down, but this time...no such luck. Well anyway, we made it to Haifa, took another bus to a different station where Ben's family friend Eli picked us up (7:30am). We then traveled by car to Akko, which is the next city north of Haifa (well, maybe not the very next, but it is north), where we proceeded to eat a breakfast of...Hummous. Hummous Said (pronounced who-moose Sigh-eed) is supposedly the very best in Israel, I beg to differ. I didn't even like it that much. Really the whole place had a weird feel to it...all the other hummous places I have been to are small and kind of intimate, but this place was like a diner. Super busy, mass production (they did make everything though, even the pitas), and a quick in and out meal. However, this is not what Ben experienced the first time he went there (although he agreed with me on this visit) so perhaps it was the early morning grogginess of the bus ride or the fact that we were eating it for breakfast. If I make it up to Akko again..I'll give it another try.

Anyhooo, after our breakfast we ran into someone that Eli knew and he gave us a boat tour of the beach at Akko..what a nice surprise. Actually, the surprise was this...don't look too close.

After Akko, we took a sheroot (van/bus/taxi) to our hotel back in Haifa..Hotel Eden. This hotel used to be a hostel and in reality still had the feel of one...I liked it a lot. We had a nice room with a shower and our toilet was in a little room out on the balcony. Coming from our tiny Eilat apartment most rooms we stay in feel rather large, and this one had plenty of windows. It was a pleasant place.

The big adventure for the day was the Haifa Educational Zoo. We went soon after we got to the hotel so that we couldn't get too tired before continuing the day.

Highlights/Comments from the Zoo

1. It was fairly uncrowded because it was Friday afternoon. It was an Arabic holiday so most people that were there were Arab.

2. Most people just disregarded the signs and fed the animals! Ben stopped one man from letting his kids feed the otters Bamba, basically peanut puffs filled with preservatives...it was good of him.

3. Cats can be HUGE!! Their paws are bigger than my face, yikes.

4. The bird area was enclosed but you walk through it..out the open....available...unprotected.... BAIT! Needless to say, I went through that area rather quickly. Actually there were two such areas, one much scarier than the other. The flamingos were alright and got distracted easily, but the vultures (yes again) and eagles, and big, big, (ugly) birds, just kept their eyes on you as you moved from one end of the area to the other...and unfortunately, back again. However, it was in the first area, the one I thought was safer, when we went back through to head out of the zoo, that a huge pinkish pelican swung its head around quickly in our direction and I ran...didn't even stay long enough to find out that soon after it started nipping at the hem of the woman's skirt who had been standing next to me! These things are not small creatures.

5. The lemur exhibit was rather interesting. We made sure to get to the zoo just in time for the opening of the area, when you are allowed to have the animals touch you. Not the other way around though...kind of like stripping I think (not that I would really know):) Unfortunately, the lemurs were rather lazy that day and none of them really wanted anything but the food that they were being given. They were pretty cute though. They grabbed fistfuls of food out of the bowl and then ate it out of their hands. It was very human somehow..kind of creepy and cute at the same time...hmm.

I think the pictures that Ben took can explain the rest...he did a good job and caught some animals in ridiculous positions!

Mom, now would be a good time NOT to look :) I was hesitant at first, but it really wasn't that bad!

The rest of Friday was relaxing. We made our way back to the hotel where we napped for a few hours and then wandered around Haifa for a few hours looking for food, which we finally found in the form of another hummous place (they had other things, we couldn't stand the thought of more hummous at that point, well at least I couldn't). It was a fun evening exploring on a Friday night when most people are not out on the streets.

Part 2 will be coming soon as we explore the Baha'i Gardens!