Day 17 - Contemplating...

I have now been here for a little over two weeks... I've learned a lot about this culture during all this time. It's amazing to realize that things that don't really matter at all could really stumble other people here in Israel. For example, we girls have been instructed to never keep eye contact with any man here. Why is that? Well, in this culture, looking at a man for a longer period of time is a sign that you are... well.. available! And another part of that is the fact that Muslim men are allowed to have 3 wives... sooooo.... it doesn't really matter if they are already married!!! Hence, it's always an adventure whenever we go out. Usually when I'm out with a large group of the students I usually get looked over by those who are staring at our group. I'm not the youngest here, but I look like I'm the youngest, so the people who don't always have nice intentions usually never go for me first. Yay! :P  I get to sit back and laugh.... :P  Haha... just kidding.

Let's see... what other little nuances are there? Hmmm...  OH!! if a woman has a tattoo here, it's usually a sign that you are a prostitue... Ahh! (thanks, Mom for never letting me get a tattoo! Haha...) (not that I ever wanted one!!!)

Ohh! Another thing, there is basically no church on Sunday here! Think about it, in Israel, their holy day is the Sabbath... Saturday. So even the Messianic churches have their services on Saturday. So Sunday has become our shopping day. So we got all of our groceries for the week this afternoon. :)   It's kind of odd to be the stranger in the land. Back home, if you see someone that is just visiting your country (or city), you instantly label them as a tourist in your mind. However, here in Israel WE are the tourists! And we get to be tourists for three months! Lol... quite different to be the odd duckling around here.

Hope that's enough cultural information for your brains tonight! If you guys have any questions that you would like me to answer about Israel or what we are up to here, I am quite open to answering those for you! :)   Hope you all have a blessed day...

Love,
V