Taking It 1 Day at a Time

I'm still in the Holy Land but our flight leaves tomorrow night, at 11:25pm. And I'm very excited.

It's funny though, that as I prepare my mind to leave, I am finding the things that would have enabled me to feel a bit better about staying. For example, as tourists we went into the touristy part of town and ate really expensive meals. If you want more than falafel, then your places to eat are limited...Or so it seemed. There is an awesome sandwich shop that is right next door to where we are living in the city and just a couple blocks away is a take out diner with some of the best rotisserie chicken I've had in all of Israel. In fact, it's probably the only rotisserie chicken that I've had here.

Also, I've done some mundane things to make life here feel a little more sane. I went to a comedy show (the headliner was Boris who spoke 7 languages) and ate at an American food restaurant. I know that this is typically taboo for the world traveler but I needed a dose of Americana familiarity to make it through these last couple days.

But the best was today when a kid came up to me and said "Black i pees" which I interpreted as Black High Priest. I mean, I was dressed up a little, just in case I found a church or happened upon a group of worshipers in the square on Ben Yehuda. He continued with "ah ah Ahhhh. Black i pees." I finally understood: he thought that I was Will i am from Black Eyed Peas. I doubled over in laughter and enjoyed every bit of this comparison. Maybe one day I will be half as creative as him and maybe just as recognizable. But no, sorry kid. I'm not Will I Am...unless you give me 20 shekels for an autograph...

Tomorrow, I plan to go into the Old City, take the ramparts walk along the tops of the walls of the city, see the Dome of the Rock, and maybe make it to Bethlehem. Even though I'm a slightly homesick, this place is great!

Leo