Finding an Extraordinary Backdrop

Ryan's last post expressed sentiments that I too have been feeling. Mainly, the feeling that I am not yet ready to let go of our Middle East Experience (MEE). Now some may find this ironic, since for the last nine months I have been lamenting my MEE and daydreaming about cheap American prices and tasty food. But since the grass is always greener...

I have become keenly aware of the fact that living in Jerusalem, Israel is just plain cool. I am not bragging - no one else has to agree with me here...but to me, Jerusalem is cool.

Last week Ryan and I went to Seattle, to the University of Washington campus (my alma mater). He went to the Grad library to work on a paper, and I walked and reminisced my college days. I walked past my old dorms, to Kane Hall where I studied Psych 101 with 600 other students, to my favorite little cafeteria, to my little study cubicle in the Undergrad library. I also took a very long walk to Gasworks Park, overlooking the water, the mountains and the cityscape of Seattle. In college I often ran or biked this very route. This incredible view was part of my daily life. Doing every day tasks in the extraordinary backdrop of the old University and the city of Seattle, just made life more interesting and more cool.

Finishing my walk at Gasworks park immediately reminded me of my walks in Jerusalem. Both Seattle and Jerusalem were extraordinary backdrops for my life. I didnt have to do extraordinary things - the location did all the work for me. Some examples from Israel..


I could go for a run to the Old City of Jerusalem.
I could donate Ben's old clothes to the Sudanese refugees at our church.
I could run errands in Bethlehem.

We could do a quick day trip to the Dead Sea.

I could give the boys old toys away to the Iraqi children coming to Israel for heart surgery.

We could get fish on the beach of Galilee.

Ryan's last blog post made the comment that "nothing is boring, only boring people get bored." I am starting to wonder if I am a boring person. Our MEE was difficult but it was never Boring. Going for a run just isnt as interesting in the suburbs. Haggling at Target doesn't hold the same thrill. My weight in pounds is MUCH less fun than kilograms (it is a bigger number!).

So I guess my challenge this year (and Ryan alluded to this also) is to re-paint the backdrop of my life with a new, and more colorful perspective. As of right now I dont know how to do it. I dont really know how to take something so familiar and make it extraordinary. Perhaps doing an "orange county letters" blog could open my eyes to what my home has to offer beyond the comfort of home and of friends. Let's just hope that something works because I dont think I am quite ready for another international adventure (not quite yet).

Vagabond Blues

It has been a few weeks now since we arrived back in America and we have been staying with our families in Washington State. It has been great to be around family and enjoyable to be able to see them everyday... something we have never been able to do since we got married 11 years ago. Even with all of the benefits of being around family we are still living out of suitcases and we still realize that we are not home. The question is will we feel like we are home when we arrive in California next month?

For me, our time in Israel feels like a blip on the radar and I wonder how the time went by so quickly. Today I heard a song that often played in my Ipod and for a moment I felt like I was walking up Rehov Gidon on the way to Bus #30. I thought about how it feels like just a few days ago when I was finding my way around the University and learning to read Hebrew signs. I can still feel the emotions of excitement and anxiety as I explored my new surroundings half a world away. I remember feeling completely blessed to have such an amazing opportunity and how I wanted to take advantage of everyday. Later in my day today I walked out of a store and a man wearing a Kippa walked in and I stopped for a moment because I was so excited to see a Jew. I wanted to sit and talk with him in Hebrew (assuming a random American Jew knows Hebrew). It was funny to e how just seeing him stirred emotions of familiarity and comfort.

It was after this moment that I realized that I have not unwound yet from my trip. I still want to embrace the feelings of living in the Middle East and I am not sure that I am ready to live here in the land that I love more than any other. I fear that I will be bored. I fear that I will not recognize God's blessings on my life even here and I fear that I will miss the excitement of living right where I am now. I know America does not compare to the excitement of Jerusalem but as my 5th grade teacher said, "nothing is boring, it is boring people who get bored". California is one of the best places on earth to be and I look forward to being there, but for now I feel like a drifter waiting to land somewhere permanent. I hope the next stop will also bring new excitement and joy.