Last Day in Israel

However, this is not my last blog. I have been in a Kibbutz for the last 48 hours with no internet access. I wrote part of my blog in my windows program, and cannot export it at this time.

The Last 48 Hours

A Kibbutz is a collective group of people who live together in a huge family-like setting where all are equal. Sounds Socialistic, well it is. The first Kibbutz founders were socialist Jews who came to the Holy Land to start their own version of a Utopian society. The closest thing in America that we have to this would be the society at Walden Pond, Massachusetts. Read On Walden Pond by B.F. Skinner.

Last week, I stayed one night at Kibbutz Dargania, the oldest, and Mother of All Kibbutzim in Israel. I was with the student anthropology group. This kibbutz grows bananas. I did not have to work in the groves. My banana pictures are on my regular camera. Then I joined up with the teachers and we traveled together to Kibbutz Eilot, which makes transformers. My things were taking to my room, then my professor and I went across the border to Jordan to join the anthropolgy students for a going away dinner with the Bedouin. Unlike Israel, the Bedouin live free nomadic lives in Jordan. The royal family of Jordan is proud of their Bedouin heritage. I was not allowed to stay overnight, being a woman all. The idea was to get me exposed to several dialects of Arabic

Food at a Kibbutz is not fancy, and the Middle Eastern tradition of eating pickeled vegetables at all three meals does not go down well with North Americans. The teachers were complaining loudly. Also, there were flies everywhere. Ah, welcome to socialism! For those American conservatives screaming that Pres. Obama and the Democrats are leading us down the road to socialism - Idiots! The conservatives have no clue what they are talking about. I am liberal, and the 72 hours I spent enveloped in socialism . . . . I am too much of a capitalist to give up my creature comforts. America is in good hands, and we are not going down this road.

The next day, all groups went back into Jordan and visited the ancient city of Petra. Their are many websites, and I am sure some videos/dvds on Petra. It is hard to put into words. This is where Indiana Jones found the Holy Grail. The Jordanians really use that movie to the hilt as you can by Indiana Jones souveniers by the boatload.

Petra had some changes since my last visit, and not for the better. Extra potty stops were built into some of the tombs, and there were far too many Bedouin trying to sell things. I spent several minutes quitely bargaining in Arabic for teachers who could not get what they wanted using Israeli shekels. The Bedouin would work with me, and I used shekels, but I was not whining and acting like a spoiled tourist, which I am sure they get tired of. I really believe it was my behavior other than my Arabic skills that got me what was needed.

After we returned to Israel , a small group of us went into Eilat, the coastal party town on the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba. From the beach front you could see four countries: the town of Taba in Egypt, Aqaba in Jordan, and a small port town in Saudi Arabia which I can't remember all of the name. Starts with D, I think. Taba, Eilat, and Aqaba are party beach towns, think spring break, with Eilat being the wildest of the three. My roommate, Jayne and I, found a burger king, Kosher of course, and were happy to eat in silence and then go sit on the beach until it was time to go back to the kibbutz.

Up at the crack of dawn, both groups headed north to Masada, the last Jewish stronghold before the Romans completely ended the revolt in 72 A.D. Peter O'Toole stared in a movie about Masada, and there was a mini-series in the "80s starring Peter Strauss. For those of you with Netflix, I would look into these movies. I will be getting them when I get home. This was my second trip to Masada. It is amazing to me that these people could survive out here. The Judean Desert is a very harsh place to eak out a living.

Then we went swimming in the Dead Sea. It is very oily. But there is no oil! 33% of the water is salt and minerals. One can't accidently drown here, because as soon as you get into the water, you legs go up! You can literally float on top of the water much as a leaf floats on water.

After floating, I retired my swimming suit into the garbage. It was old, and worn with the chlorine from water arobics. I figured the Dead Sea salts would pretty much ruin it althogher.

From the Dead Sea we went to Tel Aviv to spend our last day repacking suitcases, and getting ready to leave on a July 4th midnight flight into Atlanta. Some of the group have gone off in search of stuff to to in Jaffa, but I am so tired. I will be glad to get home.