Day 16 - Galilee

This is Tuesday the 5th's account, and for the record I AM on schedule. Internet access is back and forth here, but I am blogging daily and posting when I can.

Today Today It's all or nothing. I feel like I am forgetting more and more day to day. Stuff is starting to blur together. But blogging daily will obviously help that once I get home.

This morning we traveled to the northern most part of Israel, and had a lecture right on the northernmost part of the border. Israel bordres Lebonan to the north, and we learned about Hezzebulah and how they have basically usurped Southern Lebonan, and actually just that week the Lebonese gov't recognized Hezbulah as a branch of the military. But basically S. Lebonan is entirely run byHezebulah. There has been peace though for the past couple of years, because there are "bigger fish to fry." Hezebullah is not mrerely a terrorist organization. They are, in fact, a social, politlcal, and religious group in society. Plus, in the Lebonese congress, they have enough members to have a veto power, so basically nothing is done without their consent. It also used to be a Christian country, but that has changed. The Lebonese also used to be pro-Israel, when Israel defeated Fatah's reign in Lebonan, because Fatah literallyl destroyed the landscape and people's lives. When IDF came into Lebonan, the Lebonan residents actually ratted out the enemy because they hated them so much. Terrorists change things though. Our speaker was phenominal. He lives in a Kibbutz, but Kibbutz-es don’t really exist like they use to. They aren't really self governing. They mostly are just communities or villages now. But every Kibbutz has their own militia, so when times of war come, the town is evacuated and the men defend it. It was awesome. The best quote we got from him was amazing and profound. "God makes peace. Man makes ceasefires."

A representative from IDF (Israeli Defense Force) spoke to us next. He definitely wasn't as exciting, but he took us along the border of Israel and discussed various issues. I don't really remember specifics of what he said. I know the "white line" we would see on the road was important because I think it was the old border. I also know that all the flags on the border are Hezebullah's flags, not Lebonan's. That was interesting. We also saw a village Obama visited like 3 year ago (before he declared his running for president) and the people really loved him. But I also know the Israeli people love George W. Bush, who is the most pro-Israel president we've had to date. We drove to a lot of locations, and one time we all fell asleep, and he kept talking to us over the loud speaker and no one was really paying attention…because he kept talking kiwis and how conditions in Israel are perfect for kiwi. Seriously, like 4 times, "And on your left you have kiwi." No, not grapes - kiwi. We joke about it now, and it is kind of funny because Jordan can do a killer imitation of him. But it wasn't the most interesting lecture we've had to date. It was interesting though to learn about how the military enforces our borders and how really we haven't had much agression from Lebonan in recent years.

After this, we went to Philippi Caesaria. Something like that anyway. We had the opportunity to walk around for TWO WHOLE HOURS. And there really is nothing to do in this town. It is the capital of the Kabala study. You know, the thing Madonna does. She actually has a house in town. These people at one of the Kabala centers wanted to show us a place we could stay for free if we wanted to volunteer with them. I said no thanks. We also met this CRAZY man who made these Yemen-eese pizzas. He was a Jew though. He was a little "oriental-mystical" in his thinking though. He also thought he knew pretty much everything about anything. When he asked what Mark Twain said about this place, I answered and said he detailed about it being a desert wasteland. He got very excited and gave me a high five when I answered correctly. But then we just walked around and saw artwork. Eventually, Raf, Jordan, Shawna, Esther, and I met up with Burtrand, Shamir, Lydia, and Billy. We started walking all over God's creation, and it seemed like we were going in a huge circle around the city (not to mention the landmark signs were totally wrong). Billy and I broke off and decided to go back the way we came. After a few wrong turns up some alleys and stairs, we just decided to do EXACTLY what we did, but backwards. We stopped in a grocery store for Peanut Butter and water, but ended up getting neither. Eventually we found Esohe, Sondra, and Eric. They were on a mission to find the "Citadel." We joined their quest. But after walking up a bunch of stairs (in the sweltering heat) and coming to another hill of just steps, we decided to call it quits. We made our way back to the bus, where found a majority of the group. Sondra and I ordered "soft ice" [cream] and it was very tasty. We got back on the bus and journeyed to our hotel. Since this was the last night, we didn't have to do postcards (THANK THE LORD) and just had the night free. Some people went down the beach swimming. I tried to blog and pack. And I called a few friends and contacts and got some business done that I needed to do. Which was good.

I can't think of anything else to report. Shalom. From Galilee.