Our trips here in Israel

Since we arrived here in Israel, we have made some really nice trips.

Last week we went to the awesome city Akko. We asked the German girls to join us. It was a really nice day. Akko is a beautiful city close to the Mediterranean sea. We visited some churches and a synagogue. In the synagogue, the rabbi was so kind to offers us some coffee. We had a nice chat with him. For all of us, it was the first time that we had ever been in a synagogue. Because of the rabbi, it was a nice experience. We also bought some souvenirs in Akko. Everyone in our little ‘group’ bought a ‘Hamsa’, also known as ‘the hand of Fatima’. We had a fun time in Akko!

The hamsa Nathalie bought in Akko.

We have also been to Nazareth. Unfortunately, the German girls weren’t able to join us. Joachim was really sad about this. But I told him everything would be alright and he would survive with only two girls of his harem. It was quite a long bus drive from Tamra to Nazareth. Luckily, some of the buses here in Israel have WI-FI (thank God for that! I wouldn't survive without it). When we arrived in Nazareth, the first thing we saw, was a quote of the Quran. The quote says that Allah is the only God and that the God of the Christians is fake. To be honest, we were a bit shocked to read this in one of the holiest cities of Israel. It was our first confrontation with the discussion about religion that exist here since we’ve in Israel. However, we know that most of the people like to have us here. We haven’t met anyone yet who dislikes the fact that we are Christians. In Nazareth we visited the Church of Annunciation. This church claims to be built on the place where Gabriel told Maria she was expecting a baby and that she should name the baby ‘Jesus’. It was such a nice and big church. There was a serene atmosphere. We also visited an Anglican church. We had a nice chat with Anglican priest. We discussed the fact that it’s a nice that both Catholics and Anglicans can live together in peace in this holy city.

Quote of the Quran, Nazareth

Yesterday was the first day that we had to teach (I know, the week starts at Sunday here). It was the first time both Gerlinde and I had to teach in English. But we managed well. The three of us taught about Belgium, because we felt that the pupils where very interested in our country. We talked about beer, king Philip, Stromae and gave them some Lotus Speculoos biscuits to eat. They loved it! And the teachers as well ;) (duu, all the teachers love to eat, it’s a universal truth).  Speculoos is quite famous here.   

Today, we visited the city Haifa. It’s a big city, famous for its harbor, the German Colony and the Baha’I Gardens. The Baha’I faith is a religion that was founded in 19th-century in Persia. They believe in unity of God, unity of religion and unity of humanity. Every Baha’I comes to Israel for one year to work in the Baha’I Gardens in Haifa to clear their minds. When we were walking around in the Gardens, we saw some of the Baha’I working in the gardens. It was a nice experience. After the Gardens, we went to the German Colony where we had a nice meal.

View at the harbor of Haifa

Tomorrow there is a holiday for the Jewish people here in Israel and all over the world. It’s called Jom Ha-atsmaoet. The Jewish people celebrate that Israel became an independent state in 1948. So tomorrow, we have a day off from school. We, teachers, need some days for ourselves as well, don’t we ;).

So, that was it for today. No worries, you will hear again from us within three days.

Big kiss

Nathalie