日本人にとってRとLを区別するのが難しいと言います。

私はイスラエルに来て、ヘブライ語を勉強して始めたのです。私はヘブライ語でRとLの区別がつかないのですよ。私の先生はこれはとても不思議だと思っています。日本に長く住んで、長く勉強したせいのかな？

Third World?

This morning our housekeeper (part-time, mind you! Diplomatic life isn't THAT good) came in and informed me that there was a rather large, fresh, fragrant dog deposit on the sidewalk right in front of our house. Delightful. I said, "It's like living in the third world here! There's dog poo EVERYWHERE on the sidewalks." She agreed.

I am not joking. If you walk one block, you literally have to negotiate your way around 3-4 dog piles. Can you imagine? God forbid you will be walking around at night in the dark.

We live in the most elite area of Israel, as far as I know. It's like Beverly Hills here but with so much dog poo on the streets that you would think it's a cow pasture or something! It's absolutely disgusting. Some people actually have handwritten signs on their gates telling people that the area in front of their house is not a "toilet" for dogs.

You do see people carrying around little plastic bags, but my housekeeper said that she figures it just must be for show. I guess so!

Unfortunately, I never witness the acts themselves, otherwise I would definitely go outside and confront the person: "Excuse me, you forgot something!" and then toss it to them:-)

"Muslim Warriors"

Yesterday, I watched most of the second installment of "God's Warriors" on CNN. This one was about "Muslim Warriors." My impression after watching Part II was that it didn't really tell me anything I did not already know. I suppose I was hoping for a more analytical approach to the issues. Instead the episode seemed to focus on interviews that provided examples of the ideologies (for example, an American girl who chooses to wear a hijab), which, frankly, I've seen and read plenty about already.

The program seemed aimed toward an audience that does not already have a general knowledge of various extremist ideologies. But, if someone doesn't already have a basic knowledge of the topic, are they really going to be interested enough to sit in front of a TV for SIX hours total to educate themselves? I'm just not sure who the target audience is....

"God's Warriors"

I'm sure many of you have seen some of Christiane Amanpour's "God's Warriors" three-part series for CNN. Part II is airing today.

Last night Sweetie and I caught about 45-minutes of Part I one "Jewish Warriors." "Disturbing" was our opinion. Watching it really made us feel like things are truly hopeless in the realm of religion and peace.

I know the show focuses on extremes in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But it is precisely the concept of focusing on the extremists that engenders this hopeless feeling.

The fact is that people who take their religion to confrontational and sometimes violent extremes are in the minority. I think the key is to remember that the vast majority of people do not have these disturbing attitudes toward other peoples and other religions. Somehow, the world has to find a way to teach tolerance to more people.

This makes me think back to my experience at Neve Shalom here in Israel. If only everyone could be raised in such an environment.

時間

日本人とイスラエル人の時間のコンセプトはぜんぜん違いますね。お湯を沸かして釜をかけて待っているのにお客さんはまだ来ません。「タイミング」がもっとも大事な茶道ですよ。もし私は炭でやっていたら、もう焼けています。

こういった文化の違いのせいでイスラエルで茶道をするのはとても難しいと思います。

Yummy tea

I made some Roiboos tea the other tea. It's African Red Bush tea. Lovely stuff. I decided to ice it because it's summer and I'm in Israel and it is darn hot here. So, I put it in a kettle in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

Likewise, Sweetie and I mixed up some Pimms. For you Americans out there, Pimms is a British alcoholic mixer that is drunk in the summer. It's basically the alcoholic base for a sangria-like beverage. You chuck in all sorts of fruit, mint, etc. and add Sprite and 7-Up.

Cut to: my housekeeper. I told her I had some really nice herbal tea in the fridge that she could help herself to.

Later, she says to me, "Oh, that tea is really yummy!" Good -- I'm happy she likes it.

Then, I walk into the kitchen and see her glass. There are bits of apple and orange and mint in it.....

"Jocelyn...ummmm......that's not the tea!:

Oops. No wonder she really liked it:-)

Vegetarian Rant

I will need to be restrained if I hear another person say that they're a vegetarian, "but I eat fish" IF YOU EAT FISH, you are NOT A VEGETARIAN.

Wikipedia official definition of "vegetarianism": "Vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming the flesh of any animal (including sea animals)." Vegetarian posers: please note the "INCLUDING SEA ANIMALS" part.

It just really irks me when people say that they're a vegetarian when they are clearly not. I'm not a vegetarian activist and I don't care if people eat meat in front of me. But PUH-LEASE, if you eat sea creatures, don't call yourself a flipping vegetarian. You're a PESCETARIAN. And if you just sometimes eat meat or fish, you're neither a vegetarian nor a pescetarian. You're a FLEXITARIAN.