September 10th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Greece | 1 Comment »
As I boarded the plane of Greece’s airline, Olympic, the smell of old rags wafted by my nose. I got a glimpse of a typical European plane – seats are obviously old as they have stains and the compartments look like as if they’re wearing away. The airplane journey sure did remind me of my flying on Air France’s airplanes. One of the biggest cultural differences I’ve noticed between the States and Europe is that the American’s definition of old is when industrial products, such as cars, sofas, and dishwashers are ten years old, and then they consider them ready to be disposed of into the garbage; On the other hand, by the European’s definition of old, when industrial products are 10 years old they are still considered new. They keep their products until the day they die. I’m sure that’s freaking some people out – the possibility of airplanes dying in the middle of the transit. I’m sure that airplanes have different rules about what it means to be “old.”
Anyway, while the plane ride from Tel Aviv to Athens was smooth, getting to my connecting flight to Thessaloniki was not so efficient. The plane parked in middle of the road, which meant taking a bus to the entrance of the airport! As I reached the customs area, everyone was squeezing into DISorganized lines. There were NO ropes to keep the lines in order. It was like people being cramped inside a tiny room. I did eventually get my passport stamped.
Now, here’s the worst part of my connecting flight experience! I want to freakin’ scream at the Greek security!!!!! They told me that I absolutely could NOT take my liquid medicine on the plane. They said that I have to check my entire bag in order to be able to take the liquid medicine. Not only I would NEVER trust checking in important stuff, but also I told them that it’s for migraine headaches and I NEED it at ALL times in case if I get one. They would NOT budge. Then, I said “Can I speak to the supervisor.” Apparently, one of them was THE supervisor and said, “NO!” So, I said, “So, you let people take 8 ounces worth of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and all the other liquids but NOT my medicine which fits perfectly inside an 8 once plastic bag? …How about you take the medicine to the gate and give it to the flight attendant?” So, they did… GEESH! I even told them that they were THE FIRST security in the WHOLE world not to allow me to take my liquid medicine.
The moral of this situation is never be afraid to speak up and be diligent and strong about meeting your needs when you travel. I also learned my lesson that I should have a letter from the doctor regarding my medicine in case I have to deal with this battle again.
In the end, I arrived in Thessaloniki safely with my medicine and met my friend.
September 10th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Israel | No Comments »
The beats of music from my cousin’s concert swirl into the air as the waves ripple the Mediterranean Sea and splash into the magnificent beach of Tel Aviv. Residents swarm through the alleys of bazaars while some employees press the button on blenders to mix the fruit. People enjoy dinner with laughter at cafes at midnight while some sleep peacefully. Life goes on…
..in Israel.
In the past week in Israel, I just enjoyed my moments there with my family and friends. Rather than experiencing the country as a tourist, I was just simply a family member visiting family and friends. It was like any other trip where I visit my grandparents and cousins. I spent every moment with them as I only see them a few times in my life. While I’m spending my time with them, I’m still fully immersed in the Israeli culture by eating pitas with hummus, hearing people speaking Hebrew, drinking smoothies, and relaxing on the beach. I appreciated every image I viewed on this trip – images that I don’t see in the news media.
September 4th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Israel | No Comments »
In the past two weeks, I’ve been on a scavenger hunt to find jewels, spices, and SHINY GOLD. As I walk through the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, the smell of curry and cumin wafts by my nose, causing me to observe the spices closely. At the quarter, there are bags and bags of spices in bright red, orange, brown, and green – all the names of colors I can identify. While looking at the spices is part of the experience, smelling them is a must as each of them have their own unique scent.
It’s absolutely hard not to miss men proudly displaying their jewels with shiny gold and gems – turquoise, amethyst, and sapphire. These men are desperate for your willingness to be greedy enough to buy a huge bag full of jewels. They will plead with you by putting the jewelry in your hand and will continue to lower the price until give an OK to buy them. Tourists need to be prepared not to be gullible by the information about the jewels provided by the sales people. However, many tourists should be intelligent enough to know that some of the stuff is just bunch of dummies. Fortunately, I found a beautiful, genuine ring made with Roman glass for an incredible deal thanks to my negotiation skills which I have built up over the years from my traveling experiences.
Scarves also dominate the scenes of the quarters, both Jewish and Arabic. They’re admirably beautiful and come in a wide range of colors, including bright pink, purples, blues, and greens. Leather sandals are a fad in Israel too.
Aside from the garments, hookahs are greatly abundant at the market. Hookahs are the strangest creatures I have seen! They’re those little shiny machines with hoses on the sides for people to suck on. They also seem dangerous as when people use them, smoke comes out of their mouth – that says that hookahs are perhaps just as harmful as cigarettes.
This is a hard-not-to-miss experience in Jerusalem and even in the Middle East. The experiences are exactly what I’ve seen in the movies, such as Aladdin.
September 1st, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Israel | No Comments »
Sometimes traveling is about seeing what’s in front of you at the moment. Every part of the world has a unique surrounding. Seeing the surroundings in other countries is much more grand than looking at the photos in books. It’s also imperative to stop and admire the scenes where you are standing at the moment because it could be a long time before you’ll see the scenes again or never or it won’t the same when you return years later.
Last Friday night, my aunt and uncle hosted a Shabbat dinner on top of a building overlooking the beautiful city of Jerusalem. I had the opportunity to see the city transform into various shades of colors as I was there from when the sun was still high up in the sky until it was completely set.
In addition to enjoying viewing the beautiful scenes, I enjoyed the sounds of the beats of people’s feet taping the floor as they danced and the tunes of music sung by a group of adorable young boys.
August 28th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Israel | No Comments »
I just came back from a beautiful evening in Jerusalem. Here are some photos…
Details will come later…
August 28th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Israel | No Comments »
In spite of the news media perpetuating discussions on the terrors of Israel causing people to feel reluctant to visit here, the lives of Israelis go on. People go to work, socialize at cafes, munch up some falafels, and play at the beach. If we had never seen the negative side of Israel in the news, no one would have a clue that it’s occurring in some parts of the country. This is part of the travel experience which allows me to see the REAL life of each country. The ones who won’t travel to places because of the news media’s trash talk, are the ones who need to travel more than anyone else like Rick Steves says.
Tonight, after a day of touring Tel Aviv, relatives of mine on my dad’s side of the family and I chilled out at a restaurant by the beach overlooking people swimming in the waves by Jaffa. People were sitting in beach chairs and reading or listening to music through their headphones. Children were building sand castles. After dinner, many of us went out on the beach to have memorable moments.
August 26th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: United States (home) | 3 Comments »
I want to put my traveling experiences in Israel aside for the moment. Two nights ago, I was reading Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves. I came across a quote that meant a lot to me and put a star by it.
“[Europeans] believe that collectively creating the society of their dreams is more important than allowing individuals to create the personal empire of their dreams.”
This quote explained exactly why I adore the European culture. The Europeans in general are more concerned about having a comfortable, modest, and good quality life than having a big pocket full of money to own the most unnecessary and expensive products such as Mercedes, necklaces with hundreds of diamonds, and multi-million dollar mansions. In general, Europeans are obviously less materialistic than the Americans. Most European countries have universal health care that pleases their citizens. Many are willing to pay high taxes to provide childcare, education, and retirement. Rick Steves said in his book that he asked a European friend, “How can you Swiss people be so docile about paying such high taxes?”
Rick Steves’ friend’s response was absolutely beautiful:
“What’s it worth to live in a society where there are no homelessness, no hunger, and where everybody enjoy equal access to quality healthcare and education.”
Now let’s go back to quote about Europeans believing that “collectively creating the society of their dreams is more important.” This is exactly about what we’re debating today in the U.S. Which one is more important? Collectively creating the society of our dreams or allowing individuals to create the personal empire of their dreams. Let’s examine these two values. Creating a society of our dreams means caring for each other in their country and having a common good. They believe that they should help ensure that everyone has access to good quality healthcare and education, and the government should care for the needy, fund the arts, youth groups, and study abroad opportunities by paying high taxes. They want everyone to have a good quality of life, not just themselves. Allowing individuals to create the personal empire of their dreams means that the individuals have the freedom to create big corporations, earn the highest possible profit, and decide who can have access to health care and who can’t, and many individuals don’t think about other people surrounding them unlike the Europeans in general.
This morning, when I opened up my computer and went to CNN.com, I was saddened to see the death of Ted Kennedy, the man who believed that “… every American … will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.” This is what the Europeans believe. All citizens of their countries have the right to have a good quality of life, and it’s not a privilege to have a good quality of life.
As someone who have been to Europe, I can attest that people whom I personally know are benefiting from universal healthcare. I know one cochlear implant user who is able to receive processor upgrades and FMs without a battle from the government while my family’s insurance company rejected paying for my sister’s processor upgrade and an FM system. I have a friend who has MS and has to take daily shots that cost millions of dollars for the rest of her life, and she says that she is very fortunate that she has help from the government, or otherwise she would be in much worse condition or not living today. Many are very satisfied with how the government is running the healthcare in their own country; however there are certainly a few countries that are exceptions, such as Greece which apparently has very crappy government.
While many countries in Europe have well-run universal healthcare, there are certainly some other countries in the world, such as Canada and New Zealand, where the government-run healthcare is not so great. Both of them have wait lists for many of the medical procedures because the government will fund only a certain amount per year. I know a few who had to wait a few years to get a cochlear implant due to a long wait list. Plus, in some countries, government will not provide funds for a second implant.
So, traveling to other countries and staying with host families is allowing me to learn about their societies and political beliefs which allows me to form educated opinions. Because I’ve personally seen both sides – free market health care and government-run health care, I believe that neither system is perfect, but the most important thing is that everyone has the right to have access to healthcare. I truly believe that Obama’s plan is a great compromise of both worlds – free market healthcare and government-run healthcare, and it can be effective as it gives people the choice to go with private health insurance or to go with public health care – in whichever people feel more confident. The most important message that I want to say is that I want to see President Obama, other politicians, and advocates continuing to fight for people’s rights to have access to health care in honor of Ted Kennedy.
August 24th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Israel | No Comments »
As I was looking at the menu at a restaurant and being seated at a table with my family by the harbor situated by the Mediterranean Sea, I saw “Shellfish” and a whole list of shellfish that I could order including shrimp. While I’m not kosher as I want to have the freedom to try new food and have flexible eating habits, I still knew that shellfish was not kosher, and Israel is a Jewish state. So, that just struck me! This is certainly one of the messages that I’m receiving while I’m in Israel that it’s okay to be Jewish and still not do any religious practices including being Kosher. For those of you who do not know what Kosher means, it’s a Jewish eating practice, and the simplest definition of Kosher is that Jews who are Kosher do not eat shellfish and pork, and they can’t eat meat and eat or drink dairy products at the same time.
Israel is certainly a very secular Jewish state where Jews just enjoy life and don’t stress about following religious practices, although, Jerusalem is an exception where there is a heavy population of orthodox Jews.
I sure did order shrimp :). Because Israel is located by the Mediterranean Sea, seafood is must to eat in Israel!
On another note, I took a stroll with Dana, my cousin, after dinner to enjoy the serene scenery of rays of pinks, blues, purple, and orange and see silhouettes of people and lights of the harbor.
August 24th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Israel | No Comments »
After dreading the long 12 hour flight to Israel, I was waiting in line in the customs area waiting to be told that I am welcome to visit Israel by getting a stamp in my passport. As I was in the line, I pondered if I should be having a form to fill out as customs in the US requires US Citizens to fill out a one page form and foreign citizens are required to fill out zillions of forms. Thinking since that the US already has high security, I expected Israel to have higher security because of the violence that has appeared in the news media. I looked around and realized that there were no forms to fill out. When it was my turn, I handed my passport and the woman just asked me two quick questions, “How long are you staying in Israel and why are you in Israel?” Within seconds, my passport was stamped. In fact, on my last trip to Israel, the security at the airport was much more lenient than in the States. I did not have to take my shoes off and my belt off. The security was very easy to pass through. While it seems that Israelis have a greater confidence in foreign visitors, they are known for judging people by psychology – human beings’ minds. In the US, Security obviously only judges the book by its cover – their skin color and their nationality. For instance, one of my cousins living in Israel who obviously looks like a European descendent, was traveling from one city in the US to another city in the US by air. Just because his ID said that his nationality is Israeli, which meant that he’s from the Middle East, a security guard literally patted him down and was searching him more thoroughly than anyone else. A friend of mine living in Israel was also traveling from Michigan to North Carolina at one point, and again, because she’s Israeli which meant that she’s from the Middle East, she was forced to be put in a “special” line with all the other Middle Easterners. She was forced to take batteries out of her electronics! Both of them sure did feel humiliated and discriminated against. It really amazes me that the US goes by the book rather than studying the psychology of people’s minds. I thought the US should already have overcome discrimination in our country, but obviously they’re still not there and they have a long way to go! They need to quit discriminating Middle Easterners as they’re not all bad. Regardless of nationalities, in every nationality group, whether it’s the American group or the French group or the Japanese group, there will always be a handful of violent people.
August 24th, 2009 by Rachel | Country: Israel | No Comments »
In an American woman’s mind, a mall is just a place to shop without any concerns that there could be any possibilities of violence including shooting and bombing. As I head to the entrance of the mall, I see a man wearing a white shirt and black pants. He had a badge that appeared to be a typical security guard badge on his shirt. He is bearing arms on his belt. A woman in front of me unzips her purse and presents it to the security guard. The security guard glances inside the purse. Then it was my turn to be checked.
I have to say that I’m really impressed that the Israeli government puts a tremendous effort into ensuring that that their own country is as well secured as can be due to some violence present in certain areas. Seeing security guards presented in stores, parking garages, and malls really does leave people with peace of mind.
I would like to leave with a very important quote from a book, Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves:
“The very people who would benefit most from international travel – those who needlessly fear people and places they don’t understand – decide to stay home. I believe the most powerful things an individual American can do to fight terrorism are to travel a lot, learn about the world, come home with a new perspective, and then work to help our country fit more comfortable and less fearfully into this planet.”
I agree with Rick Steves 100%. Without any doubts, traveling is giving me a better understanding of life in other places outside of my own country. I can’t live my life worrying about the “ifs.” I have to enjoy my life. Risks are going to happen both in my hometown and overseas. Plus, as I mentioned in a previous entry, we can’t rely on the news media to gain a better understanding of the world.
