Kindness of Strangers

One of the best parts of traveling alone is the opportunity to interact with locals. I actually didn't think that I would have much success in Israel because I figured I would receive the same sort of response as in Western Europe, the "yet another tourist" response. However, I was mistaken. The tremendous hospitality and generosity that I have received here has exceeded any expectations I might have had.

In Masada, I met a whole school of kids on a field trip along with their school teachers and tour guides. I had dinner with them and they gave me such a wealth of information on the history of Israel. I mentioned that I was driving north to Rosh HaniQuira to see the sea caves and Sara immediately invited me to stay with her. I later decided to take her up on her offer, but I got lost getting there and ended up at a Dutch house at the kibbutz where she lived. Eventually, I made it to her house and was overwhelmed with the spectacular views from her guesthouse and the luxurious surroundings. Her guesthouse is nicer than my apartment and nicer than anywhere I've stayed while traveling. Sara even took me out to dinner against my strong protests. She refused to let me pay. We had Lebanese food as she confessed that she doesn't restrict herself to the kosher food rules. We had such a lovely conversation as I learned about her life. What an amazing, strong and kind woman. I'm so blessed to have met her and I hope she finds a way out to San Francisco so that I may repay the kindness.

While in Bethlehem, I had difficulty finding a spot to sit in a busy restaurant and a Palestinian grandmother let me sit at her table with her granddaughter. She gave me her leftover hummus and falafel, which I thought was so sweet. I sat with them and played charades with the grandmother and tried some English with the 12 year old granddaughter. This time though, I was able to pay for the food and we hung out for the day. She showed me around and introduced me to random people. She seemed to know everyone in the city. After a few hours of charades, I was exhausted and we parted our separate ways.

In the Golan region, I showed up at a hostel expecting it to be empty and sadly it was totally booked out for the night. Unfortunately, there were no other hostels in the area. I drove around a bit and found a hotel and they wanted $150 for the night and so I drove on. I found a kibbutz that the hotel and hostel suggested I check out. Unfortunately, the reception was not available, but in the process of finding a room there, I met Shir, a 22 year old student, who graciously offered me a place to sleep in her one room studio. I had nowhere else to go and had planned to sleep in my car, but decided that her futon would be more comfortable. She and her next door neighbor, Tom, were cooking dinner and invited me to join them. They cooked kosher and we ate a wonderful vegetarian meal of hummus soup, eggplant, mixed grains, cheese, and potatoes. Ou pr dinner conversation centered around Shabbat, the military, general life in Israel. Such a wonderful cultural learning experience. Again, I was overwhelmed by the level of kindness in this country. The next day, I took Tom out to sightsee.

In Tel Aviv, I tried to drive to my hostel in the Florentine area and as usual, got lost driving in the city. I drove around for an hour trying to find my way around and found a guy on a motorcycle who offered to help me find the place. He was my scout. I followed his motorcycle around the city until we arrived at my hostel. I could not believe how much effort he put into helping me find the place.

This entire trip has been one of pleasant surprises from random strangers. I'm so impressed with the people of Israel and Bethlehem and hope to keep in touch with the friends I have made here.