Tiberias

Today I stood up early because I’m going to Tiberias. It’s a city with a big lake, 200 meters below sea level. Since centuries it has been considered one of the Four Holy Cities (also Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed). It’s also an important pilgrimage site for Christians because Jesus performed several miracles in Tiberias.

But I had to wait for Tawfeek (the student of the host family of Jens), Jens and two other friends. So between breakfast and noon, when the boys arrived, I was sitting with my host family. When I watched them talking and preparing food, I thought about their culture. When they see mee sitting outside in the sun, they think I’m crazy. I asked Yasmine why no one wants to enjoy the sun and the answer is simple: First of all it’s too hot and the women don’t like a brown skin. Actually I’m not suprised. If I was living and working in Israel, I think I would avoid the sun because of the heat. But I’m a girl from Western Europe, so I like to sit in the sun and of course a tanned skin.

Around 1 p.m. Tawfeek arrived and we went to Tiberias. The view over the lake was amazing! It’s so big and surrounded by mountains. It gave a special feeling to know that we were more than 200 meters below sea level. In this area the temperature is the highest of the whole country and I could feel it! No wind and a blue sky. During  the ride we crossed the Jordan River. This river is the natural boundary of Israel. We couldn’t see the river because it’s protected by a fence.  Christians believe that this is the river where Jesus was baptised.

After we saw the lake, it was time to relax and to recover from the heat. We bought some food (fruid, bread, humus, chips…) and went to the ‘beach’ at the lake. We ate, talked and laughed. Some people were watching us because I was the only girl with for boys. But I think they know that Jens and me are tourists. One friend of Tawfeek, Firas, asked me about my alcohol use. I said that it’s possible to drink alcohol in Belgium, but that I don’t like alcohol. It’s not the whole truth, but this kind of subject is sensitive by the Muslims. When Firas and his friend came back from the shop, they brought alcohol with them. I was suprised that they do drink alcohol! Some Muslims avoid the alcohol, but others just drink it…

My host family expected me for supper so we went back home around 5 p.m. Today was a very nice day! Finally I could leave the house and visite other cities. Being a woman is a disadvantage for my internship. The host family is realy protective and Yasmine is not allowed to make trips with me. So the family wants me to stay at their home, but that’s not the goal of my trip to Israel… Even when I’m preparing a presentation or writing a blog, they ask me constantly when I will be ready with homework so I can enjoy them.

I will write my next blog on sunday!