So I've been back for a little over a week now...and I miss it a lot! I mainly miss being outside as often as before. I'm not under house arrest, but going out into a Raleigh subdivision is a little bit different than opening your door and seeing the Dead Sea, ibexes, mountains, or the Mediterranean. Not to mention I forgot that NC may be a bit cooler (temperature wise, mind you) than Israel, but it's significantly more humid (ick). Anyway, in this past week I've been thinking about how I've changed and what I've gained. I can't put all of it into words, but I've described the salient points below:
The nature of the program didn't really allow us to know a daily schedule until the day of. Normally I am the person who needs a plan well in advance, but that wasn't an option. I learned to go with the flow, and be prepared for anything from a hike to a swim to doing science. Life is a lot less stressful when you don't concern yourself with plans and schedules.
I discovered the tranquility of nature, and life - without technology. At first the prospect of no internet for a week was unnerving, but it's not like I could do anything but accept that, so I did. Being cut off from the world is a nice feeling; try it sometime.
I was reminded of how much I take for granted. Cold water, water in general, fruit for breakfast, etc. I appreciate the little things a lot more now.
Basically I was taken out of my comfort zone in a variety of ways (physically, intellectually, socially), and sometimes it was rough, but looking back on it, I couldn't be more thankful.
Thanks for reading my blog, and you can check out pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/shalinilc/Israel2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCKX0hqP6zOzbWQ&feat=directlink
Monday, August 9, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Desert Survival
I did it! I survived, and had a lot of fun! In summary, we went on some pretty intense hikes, saw a nature reserve (with many endemic flora and fauna), learned a lot about the Dead Sea (and floated in it), climbed Masada (religiously/historically significant mountain), toured Masada, visited a Bedouin village, and went for a camel ride :D
Random things I'd like to share:
- It was a rocky desert, not sandy like you picture it in the movies and such. 'Twas also a "fake" desert -> "real" deserts get cold at night; "fake" ones stay hot all hours.
- the most beautiful place I've ever seen
- we watched moonrise the night we were camping in the desert: The moon looked full, and seeing it come over the mountains was epic. If that wasn't epic enough, the next day we climbed Masada around 4am, so as to watch sunrise. Brilliant - make sure you check out the pictures!
- It would reach around 43 degrees Celsius around mid-afternoon in the desert. We would swim in waterholes whenever we found waterfalls while hiking, and be COMPLETELY dry within 5 minutes (I kid you not. There was literally no point in bringing a towel on hikes).
- Hiking didn't always involve a trail: i.e. the "trail" would be an arrow pointing up a cliff, and you'd just climb up the cliff...
- I'd open my door and see ibexes. That was cool
- The desert Kibbutz next to the field school had plants growing from all over the world (Mexico, Madagascar, Japan, etc). Anything is possible in the desert....
- ...except cold water. It'd take too much effort to cool the water, so showers would always be tepid. I remember when I discovered this fact after a long day of hiking -> I couldn't wait for a cold shower. Then I learned to just be thankful the water shortage wasn't so bad as to not allow for frequent showering.
In short: the experience of a lifetime. I know I never would have been to the Judean desert otherwise, and I'm really glad I had such a fantastic experience!
Link to pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/shalinilc/Israel2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCKX0hqP6zOzbWQ&feat=directlink
Random things I'd like to share:
- It was a rocky desert, not sandy like you picture it in the movies and such. 'Twas also a "fake" desert -> "real" deserts get cold at night; "fake" ones stay hot all hours.
- the most beautiful place I've ever seen
- we watched moonrise the night we were camping in the desert: The moon looked full, and seeing it come over the mountains was epic. If that wasn't epic enough, the next day we climbed Masada around 4am, so as to watch sunrise. Brilliant - make sure you check out the pictures!
- It would reach around 43 degrees Celsius around mid-afternoon in the desert. We would swim in waterholes whenever we found waterfalls while hiking, and be COMPLETELY dry within 5 minutes (I kid you not. There was literally no point in bringing a towel on hikes).
- Hiking didn't always involve a trail: i.e. the "trail" would be an arrow pointing up a cliff, and you'd just climb up the cliff...
- I'd open my door and see ibexes. That was cool
- The desert Kibbutz next to the field school had plants growing from all over the world (Mexico, Madagascar, Japan, etc). Anything is possible in the desert....
- ...except cold water. It'd take too much effort to cool the water, so showers would always be tepid. I remember when I discovered this fact after a long day of hiking -> I couldn't wait for a cold shower. Then I learned to just be thankful the water shortage wasn't so bad as to not allow for frequent showering.
In short: the experience of a lifetime. I know I never would have been to the Judean desert otherwise, and I'm really glad I had such a fantastic experience!
Link to pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/shalinilc/Israel2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCKX0hqP6zOzbWQ&feat=directlink
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Dead Sea is Dying
Seriously, it is. The first day in the desert we spent a lot of time learning about the Dead Sea - how it was formed, what people use it for now, how it's disappearing, and what the future may hold for it. This is why the Dead Sea gets its own post :).
Quick Facts:
- Dead Sea = lowest place on Earth (>420m below sea level)
- It isn't really a sea, but actually a lake (the "Sea" name comes from the Bible)
- It loses 1m a year to evaporation
- The northern part is the main "Sea" - the southern part has been reduced to evaporation pools that aren't continuous
- Israel's biggest industry is around the Dead Sea products (skin care, etc)
- Its salt concentration is 33%
- Its name comes from the fact that nothing can survive given the salinity (but a few halophilic organisms were found to survive there, making it the "Almost" Dead Sea).
The Sea is quite beautiful, because, at least from the Israel side, around you is the desert, but you look over and see the Sea and beyond it are the mountains of Jordan. We spent several hours around it, just floating around, and then learning about it. Floating in it is a most interesting sensation - you don't put any effort into it at all! You can even float in a vertical position without having to tread water! Luckily I didn't have any cuts, but for my friends who had some scratches from our morning hike...I saw them go out running after a few seconds in the water.
As for the future of the Dead Sea...the problem is that the Jordan River should flow into it, but the water shortage in Israel and Jordan means that both countries get their water from this river. Basically nothing is left to feed into the sea, hence it is evaporating at the rate of 1m a year. It was really scary to see the line marking where the sea was in 1984 (several kilometers away from the sea today. Pictures are uploading as I type). There are countless discussions going on regarding options to save it, such as making a canal from the Mediterranean or Red Sea. Both have significant drawbacks, politically, geographically, and biologically, but the problem can't be indefinitely ignored. A lot of people argue to let nature fix itself, but since humans are already involved in creating the problem (with the Dead Sea product industry), shouldn't they be involved in the solution? And it's not like the industry can be stopped - it's one of Israel's biggest. In summary, the future of the Dead Sea is between a rock and a hard place, and not just because the sea is between a desert and mountain range ;)
Quick Facts:
- Dead Sea = lowest place on Earth (>420m below sea level)
- It isn't really a sea, but actually a lake (the "Sea" name comes from the Bible)
- It loses 1m a year to evaporation
- The northern part is the main "Sea" - the southern part has been reduced to evaporation pools that aren't continuous
- Israel's biggest industry is around the Dead Sea products (skin care, etc)
- Its salt concentration is 33%
- Its name comes from the fact that nothing can survive given the salinity (but a few halophilic organisms were found to survive there, making it the "Almost" Dead Sea).
The Sea is quite beautiful, because, at least from the Israel side, around you is the desert, but you look over and see the Sea and beyond it are the mountains of Jordan. We spent several hours around it, just floating around, and then learning about it. Floating in it is a most interesting sensation - you don't put any effort into it at all! You can even float in a vertical position without having to tread water! Luckily I didn't have any cuts, but for my friends who had some scratches from our morning hike...I saw them go out running after a few seconds in the water.
As for the future of the Dead Sea...the problem is that the Jordan River should flow into it, but the water shortage in Israel and Jordan means that both countries get their water from this river. Basically nothing is left to feed into the sea, hence it is evaporating at the rate of 1m a year. It was really scary to see the line marking where the sea was in 1984 (several kilometers away from the sea today. Pictures are uploading as I type). There are countless discussions going on regarding options to save it, such as making a canal from the Mediterranean or Red Sea. Both have significant drawbacks, politically, geographically, and biologically, but the problem can't be indefinitely ignored. A lot of people argue to let nature fix itself, but since humans are already involved in creating the problem (with the Dead Sea product industry), shouldn't they be involved in the solution? And it's not like the industry can be stopped - it's one of Israel's biggest. In summary, the future of the Dead Sea is between a rock and a hard place, and not just because the sea is between a desert and mountain range ;)
On a yacht in Eilat where it's hot
Sorry for the hiatus - after all of my adventures in the last week, I didn't have time to blog, and now I'm back home and not used to spending time on the computer! This is the first of a few posts that are coming up (I will have at least one on the desert and one on my final reflections).
Back to Eilat: The reason they took us there was to relax, and become acclimatized to the heat (Eilat is in one of the southernmost parts of Israel, so it's about the same temperature as the desert). Relaxation included snorkeling in the Red Sea the first day, and a yacht on the second day.
Yes, we had a yacht to ourselves all day the second day. The top deck was open, but had a canopy so we didn't fry. The view was magnificent, and we could go banana boating or parasailing. I went banana boating, which was a blast! I only fell off when we capsized, but the water was a welcome savior from the heat. A few hours before lunch, we just sort of stopped in the middle of the sea, and we could jump out for a swim, or slide down the inflatable water slide on the side of the yacht (pretty crazy!). We had lunch on the dining room floor, and then headed back to the main port. After lunch, when most of us went back up to the main deck, someone brought out sliced watermelon, which was the perfect touch!
That brings me to another thing that I noticed - when fruit is served. I consider fruit to be something typically served with breakfast, or as a snack. Fruit is _never_ served with breakfast in Israel, but always after lunch and dinner as a dessert. That makes a lot more sense to me, and it really is a great dessert! The most commonly served fruits were melon, grapes, plums, apples, and oranges. I miss the fruit a lot. . .
The yacht was the main thing in Eilat, since we were only there for 1.5 days. It was fun, relaxing, and hot. The perfect transition to the desert...
Back to Eilat: The reason they took us there was to relax, and become acclimatized to the heat (Eilat is in one of the southernmost parts of Israel, so it's about the same temperature as the desert). Relaxation included snorkeling in the Red Sea the first day, and a yacht on the second day.
Yes, we had a yacht to ourselves all day the second day. The top deck was open, but had a canopy so we didn't fry. The view was magnificent, and we could go banana boating or parasailing. I went banana boating, which was a blast! I only fell off when we capsized, but the water was a welcome savior from the heat. A few hours before lunch, we just sort of stopped in the middle of the sea, and we could jump out for a swim, or slide down the inflatable water slide on the side of the yacht (pretty crazy!). We had lunch on the dining room floor, and then headed back to the main port. After lunch, when most of us went back up to the main deck, someone brought out sliced watermelon, which was the perfect touch!
That brings me to another thing that I noticed - when fruit is served. I consider fruit to be something typically served with breakfast, or as a snack. Fruit is _never_ served with breakfast in Israel, but always after lunch and dinner as a dessert. That makes a lot more sense to me, and it really is a great dessert! The most commonly served fruits were melon, grapes, plums, apples, and oranges. I miss the fruit a lot. . .
The yacht was the main thing in Eilat, since we were only there for 1.5 days. It was fun, relaxing, and hot. The perfect transition to the desert...
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