Israelitis

This is the time of year when seniors in high school have full blown cases of "Senioritis" which means they are so close to the end that they pretty much check out of everything and just wait to be done. I developed my senioritis when I was in my sophomore year of High School and I just couldn't find a cure the final three years.

Now that our time here in Israel is coming to a close I am coming down with "Israelitis". The classic case of Israelitis is when you just want to sit on the beach, eat pepperoni pizza, drive your car on the Sabbath, get smiled at from a cashier, not have any old ladies push you while getting on the bus, eat Mexican food, see people pick up their own trash, or not have other countries say they wish for your total destruction.
I really am happy for the experiences and the education we have received here but I have no more capacity for "cultural enrichment". I am no longer happy to experience the burden of the "law" in keeping a kosher kitchen or no "new work" on the Sabbath. I don't really need to gain any more confusion over the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. I even have had my fill of falafels and various foods stuffed into pita (kebabs and babagnoush being the exceptions). I think I would even enjoy having a conversation with someone without having it turn to politics or religion (which are synonymous here).

In order to treat my Israelitis we rented a car for the weekend. This will allow us to 1), fulfill one final request of my wife which is to work on an archaeological site in Ashkelon, and 2), to head to the beach on the Mediterranean Sea. I'm not sure how this will really treat the Israelitis other than by changing the scenery a bit in an effort to pass the time and by working on my golden brown skin tones. Sure I could finish all of my papers for class and I could seek out some final Middle East experiences but that doesn't measure up to the warm blue waters of the Sea. I am sure that it wont be long after we return to the U.S. when we will long for some excitement and some break from the typically monotonous life of America, but at least we will have our Mountain Dew and pizza.