Our Olive Harvest

Being in a more Mediterranean climate, we enjoy a variety of trees in our yard such as palm trees, date trees, an olive tree, and a tree with fruit that looks somewhat like a small tangerine. The dates have started to fall off on the patio even though they aren't ripe enough to harvest for another couple of weeks. The green olives in the corner of the yard look really pretty, but they sure don't taste good and so we haven't done anything with them. A maintenance guy named Isaac, who came over to fix our sink, commented on the olives and told us that he could come back the next day to show us how to pick and preserve them. From what I understood, he had owned olive trees before, and he still cans large containers of olives every year. We gathered the jars that we needed and waited for him to come the next morning.

The next morning, he came back with another maintenance guy and after they finished their repairs, we set up the ladders and went to work. Everyone, including Nathan with a little height-help and direction, picked every green olive within reach and collected them into glass jars. Even with the ladder, we couldn't reach the tallest branches that were just covered with clumps of olives, but what we could reach filled three big glass jars and two little ones. Isaac told us to soak them in water for a week, changing the water every day. After a week, repack the olives layering them with salt, lemon, peppers, and a glove of garlic. After a month of soaking, they should be ready to eat. Even though I don't like green olives, it will be fun to taste our first batch of home picked and canned olives!

Kids Are Such Plain-Spoken Little People

Have you ever been about to judge someone else's actions and then the realization hits you - you are guilty of the very same thing! Living with five kids has offered plenty of opportunity for conviction as I see many attitudes and actions that we adults have learned to mask or excuse. Nathan is learning to share, a very hard thing for a three year old, and he had opportunity to practice last week when the Tsadok family, along with their toddler, Me'dan, came over to visit. They were playing happily near each other when Me'dan toddled over to Nathan and stood watching him play with his train. Nathan generously held the train out to Me'dan. "Here," he said willingly, cheerfully doing what he had been trained was right. But as soon as the train left his hand, Nathan realized what he had done. He wailed in disappointment and headed straight to Maggie for comfort. Even as we comforted him, praising him for so quickly sharing but telling him that you should share cheerfully, we laughed at how truthfully he portrayed our human emotions. As you grow, you learn how to respond correctly in situations - to do what is right even if your emotions don't lead or even fall in behind you. In many instances, we appear cheerful and generous on the outside, all the while bemoaning inwardly the opportunity, object, or chunk of time that we have so "selflessly" given up. I found myself in that same emotional situation no more than a few days ago. I had even placed myself there voluntarily. Unlike Nathan, I assured everyone that this was what I wanted, while, on the inside, I wailed like Nathan over my lost opportunity and time. What a good reminder for me to beg God for His grace to change me from the inside out. Only He can make me a new creature like Christ where, instead playing the hypocrite and appearing selfless, I can sincerely, happily give of myself for the good of others. Thank you, Lord, for these many reminders of my need for you!

You Know You're Getting Old When...

Josh and Caleb love legos and can spend countless hours building Star Wars ships, battlements, and a myriad of other creations from their imaginations. One afternoon, they asked me to play with them (wanting to spend time doing something more fun than school!), so I said yes, and upstairs we went. I was sure that my cool-creation-building skills would come back to me as I began a space ship that would join Caleb's in our attack against Josh. I have to admit, I didn't take our war very seriously but was enjoying putting together as many odds and ends as I could find (space ships are suppose to be strange and futuristic, right?). I didn't realize how strange it looked until I saw Caleb look up to check my progress, pause, and then look at me.
"What are you building, Nanny Jo?" asked the little diplomat, sounding very much like a parent asking their child to describe to them an unidentifiable drawing.
I cleared my throat in an effort to hide my smile. "It's my cool space ship." I said, proudly holding it out for inspection.
He glanced over it once more and hesitated, carefully choosing his words so as not to hurt my feelings. "Maybe you don't need these." He pointed to the plane-like gun docks that protruded from the rear of my ship.
"But those are my favorite part," I bemoaned.
He hesitated again before answering. His face lit up as a diplomatic solution came to mind. "They could be part of your fleet, Nanny Jo. See." He broke them off their platforms so that they became their own independent fleet.
"What do you think about this part? I'm not sure I like it very much." I smiled, aware that he had big ideas for my sad little ship.
"No, it was good," he said generously, "but I would make it like this." He began to remodel my ship, transforming it into a sleek space traveler. In the end, we had built a truly cool ship - him as the builder and me as the supply contractor.
"Very cool ship," I said, giving him a hug.
"You did a great job, Nanny Jo." He hugged me back as I laughed.
Watch out, Mr. Ambassador. This socially sensitive one may just take your place some day.

Diving with Dori and Nemo

I have never seen salt water fish and plants any closer than the ones in my doctor's aquarium or at the Newport Bay Aquarium. The first time we went under the water at Eilat, we were face to fish lips with the bright, colorful fish, invading their underwater paradise as we swam with them around clumps of coral. Sand covered most of the sea floor with large boulders of coral and plant life scattered all around. However, our three training dives on Saturday had us doing more than just enjoying the scenery. Alex, Annmarie and I, and JR and Victoria Rubio(the Marine Gunny and his wife) practiced clearing our masks, taking off our equipment underwater and then putting it back on, buddy breathing, and any other "fun" challenges that Alex thought up for us! The problem solving under the water, in some ways, seemed less challenging than the problems we faced as we prepared to get in the water. Have you ever tried to get into a wet suit?! Those things are like vacuum-packed, second skin. Our PADI instruction book warned us that wet suits were suppose to be snug in order to warm the water that it traps close to your body and that we should not be alarmed or think a wet suit is too small if we have trouble getting in to it. "They weren't joking!" we thought as we hopped around trying to get them on. Once over that hurdle, we hefted up the air tank and BCD so that our buddy could strap it on. Leaning down precariously, we grabbed our flippers and mask and shuffled toward the waves like knuckle-dragging Neanderthals. The added weight on your back off-balances you and makes it difficult to stumble over the rocks and brace yourself against the waves. Once we were in far enough, we took turns stabilizing our buddies as they reached down to attach their fins. Tips to future buddies - be kind and brace your buddy with her face turned away from the breaking waves as she leans down to fasten her fins - a lesson learned. It was a relief to slip under the water, taking a few quick, panicky breaths through your regulator before the you realize that it does work and you can breathe underwater, and kick your flippers behind you as you glide gracefully through the water.

The most striking thing we saw underwater wasn't indigenous to the underwater world. While the visibility was extremely good, there was still the hazy blue curtain that shrouded our field of vision. On one of our dives, we swam after Alex toward our 20+ meter depth. The sand turned to a plush, green carpet of some kind of sea plant. As I lifted my head from the plants and fish below me, I saw a huge shadow looming behind the hazy curtain. Swimming closer, the hazy shadow became a Navy ship, covered in seaweed and plants and resting on the sea floor. We swam around, into, and through the ship, exploring the rooms and decks. It was one of three ships that Israel had bought from the French around the time of the Six Day War. After building the ships and closing the deal, the French experience a change of heart and refused to give the Israelis the ships. Alex's uncle led special ops teams in to steal the ships back. This ship, after being used in the navy, was sunk off the shore in Eilat for divers to enjoy. It was disappointing to turn around and swim toward the shore on our last dive. The last two dives were just for fun with no drills included, and it was beginning to feel natural to ascend, descend, and maneuver under water. Our training was finished, and Alex, the best scuba instructor in the world, could give us our certification.

Under the Sea

The closer you look at God's creation, the more detail and design that you see. The beauty and creativity that God gave to his underwater creation gives Him glory and pleasure. I have a much fuller understanding of why, after creating the sea and all that lives in it, He said, "It is good."

Over the past month, Annmarie and I have been training for our underwater scuba diving certification. Our dive instructor is Alex, a retired IDF, who has a passion for diving and stopped recording his dives after he reached 5,000. He began our lessons in the Marine pool where we learned how to put together and use our equipment, solve problems with our equipment while underwater, use our BCD and lungs to control our buoyancy, buddy breathe, etc. It's very hard to practice buddy breathing while you're above water, by the way, because you(I) forget that in a real case scenario, you'd be underwater and unable to breathe inbetween sharing your regulator with your buddy. Annmarie and I were standing in the shallow end as Alex explained how to hold on to your buddy and your regulator and pass it from your mouth to your buddy's as each takes a couple breaths. Ready and prepared, I held on to Annmarie's BCD, grabbed my regulator, and took a couple breaths before reaching it to her mouth to give her a turn to breathe. I stood there, calmly breathing through my nose, trying not to play footsie (flipsie) with our long flippers, and waiting for her to take a couple breaths before I could take the regulator back.
"Are you breathing?" Annmarie demanded, the regulator dropping from her mouth as she burst out laughing. "You're supposed to be underwater - you can't breathe while I'm using your regulator." We started laughing so hard that Alex made us practice underwater where you definitely don't forget that you can't breathe through your nose while your buddy is using your regulator.

After a weekend of training in the Marine pool where the only things to look at were a shekel, a lost silver earring, and chipped pool tiles, we went down to Eilat to practice the open water part of our certification. The harsh beauty of the desert we drove through on the way down was as beautiful, in a totally different way, as the fish and the coral. These pictures are of that desert and the bedouins and their camels that inhabit it. We stopped to take a picture of a herd of camels just off the highway, and a young boy who was watching them, rode up to us on his donkey asking for food. He rode away again, happily munching on some bananas and apples from our well-stocked snack supply.

Yom Kippur

This past weekend was Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. It's an amazing holiday in that it is observed by the whole country. Much like the Christian's Easter or Christmas, it is one of the few days that finds many non-religious Jews in the synagogue, fasting and praying for the forgiveness of their sins. Everything in the country shuts down including businesses, public transportation, and all roads. Cars are not allowed on the roads, and, except in the case of an emergency, you will get ticketed for driving if you are caught. It may sound restricted, but it is a wonderful day that forces you to relax at home.

Tel Aviv and Hertzliyya are very secular and western areas in Israel where there was more relaxing and playing and less fasting and praying. The clear, quiet roads were the perfect place for families and kids to get out and play in the otherwise forbidden busy streets and highways. The streets were packed all day with kids biking or rollerblading, moms pushing strollers, and runners and walkers enjoying the smog-free air. Sadly, America seems past the point where it would come to a screeching halt in order to spend the day fasting and praying for the forgiveness of their sins. The only way Americans could enjoy such a peaceful, quiet day is if everything shut down for the sake of the environment or clean air. So until then, stay out of the street and don't play on the highway!

Jordan

I don't know whether I expected Jordan to be the same or different than Israel, but whichever one I expected, it was both. The two countries share a lot of commonalities - similar buildings, crazy drivers, beautiful scenery. In more ways, however, they are different. Jordan has much fewer immigrants so everyone you see on the streets of Amman has dark skin, hair, and eyes. Almost all the women wear head coverings, some with stylish western clothing and others with face coverings and long, black robes. Overall, the country is more rustic. Even in Amman, it's not uncommon to drive past a camel parked outside a store or to see a herd of sheep running along a side street. The poor things were probably being herded into the city for Ramadan.

The city itself was interesting. The zoning that can cause such a headache in the States is unheard of in Jordan. An apartment building or a house is right next to a store which is right next to an empty junk lot. They are all mixed in together. "I wonder if there are any Jordanians enrolled in Urban Development or Urban Planning majors in college," Darren wondered out loud as we explored the city. Compared with other Arab countries, Jordan is not only the most religiously tolerant, but it also has the most stable economy independent of oil exports. Being a kingdom, they had pictures and banners of the king, past and present, everywhere - on streets, on buildings, on postcards. I hope they never have an ugly king because then they would have to look at him everywhere! One thing they didn't have posted everywhere were street signs. Posted road names were extremely few and far between which made reading a map extremely difficult. Instead of road signs, we saw many signs to turn encouraging us to "Turn to Allah" because "Allah is God". Those signs weren't much help as we wandered through Amman in a hopeless search for our hotel.

One completely western part of Amman is Mecca mall. It is a three or four level mall full of souvenir shops, scarves and head covering shops, and clothing shops like Old Navy, Gap, and even Forever 21. Mecca mall, and the lady covered from head to toe in black robes who was coming out of Old Navy, is an interesting example of how Jordan has adopted many of the western ways of life while at the same time retaining its own, unique culture. That is one mall in which I would love to sit and people watch. Darren tried to get us to all walk behind him so that he would look like sheik leading his tribe around. We tried to humor him! :-)

Casualties of Touring

"I hope that when they get older, they'll be thankful for all the places they were able to see, and they won't just think, 'Papa is dragging us off to see more rocks', " Darren said, chuckling as the pink-cheeked kids collapsed in the car. Walking around Disneyland is one things; hiking around the ruins at Jerash under the blazing sun is another. The kids did a really good job, but whenever we were able to find some shade, we took the opportunity to rest in the shelter it provided. The cool, stone floor of a theater passage offered the perfect place to collapse. They looked so cute that I couldn't resist taking these pictures.

The Ruins at Jerash



In the ruins of Jerash, you can still see much of how the city was laid out. The town square or marketplace, which is actually a circle, is still paved and surrounded by standing columns. In fact, the colonnaded street that leads from the circle is still paved with the original stones and contains the marks of chariot ruts. Arcs and walls and doorways and steps make exploring Jerash a fun experience. Some of the ruins have been rebuilt so that tourists can see them as they once stood instead of the heaps of rubble from which they were taken.

The temple of Zeus stands proudly on the hill next to a nearby theater. Many tall columns guard the imposing entrance. A crew of workers are renovating the temple, restoring crumbled stone and rebuilding many of the walls and columns that have fallen over. A company in France is funding it and has mapped out the temple and the piles of stones to ensure that the renovated temple looks as much like the original as possible.

A large theater stands right next to the temple is still used in the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts. A half circle of seats faces the first level of an ornate stage which is what remains of the original two story building. The orchestra floor was amazing because of the way it trapped the natural acoustics. If I stood in the center of the floor, I could not only hear Darren perfectly, who had climbed to the highest row of seats and was talking in a normal voice, but I also sounded as if I were talking into a microphone even though I was talking in a normal voice. If I moved very far in any direction, though, the acoustics were gone and everything sounded normal again. The seats run in rows around the whole half-circle of theater and can seat more that 3000 people. Some of the seats were the "reserved seating" which are still marked with chiseled Greek letters.

The ruins of Jerash cover a large area that could take a few hours to walk around and explore. The temples, theaters, streets, churches, and columns make it a fascinating place. So much of Jerash is still standing that it doesn't take much of an imagination to see what the city use to look like - part of the Decapolis and a center for Roman and Greek culture and thought in the midst of the eastern Semitic region.