New Jersey?

Yesterday I spend the day in Eliot. The place reminds me of a pseudo Las Vegas, but with a beach and minus the casinos. Some of us called it the Jersey Shore of Israel, but I couldn't really tell you if that's true because I've never been to Jersey or its shore. I didn't do much except go to the beach and soak the sun. I'm already dark as a Mexican could naturally be and there are still a dozen beach days ahead in Israel.

I didn't realize this program revolved around beaches. I can't even swim.

The Journey from Eliot to where I am now (northern tip of Israel) took about fourteen hours. It involved trains, cars, and buses to get from point A to point B. I don't understand. Israel is the size of New Jersey, how can one travel for fourteen hours on wheels?Yossi said he wanted us to experience the Israeli way by riding with soldiers and civilians. I guess traveling fourteen hours using three methods of transport is the Israeli way of life.

Really, and so far, the only time I've felt Israeli was when we stopped in Tel Aviv for a bus connection. Our bus was paralyzed in traffic. Yossi told us the police found suspicious boxes along the road, so they sealed off a few blocks of streets. Security here can't be joked with nor can it be taken lightly. You leave your bag behind in a food court and the police would have already preemptively blown it up before you can go back to get it.

This is just ordinary, everyday fact in Israeli life.