Don't Stop Believing : Israel

I am sitting in McDonald's after eating a cheeseburger looking across the table at the person who flew me outta Israel and into his arms. His face and the smile that spreads across it when he looks at me makes me realize I have many stories to tell. Many intimate stories of things that have happened in the past few weeks and how my journey across the world has dramatically changed. I promise that in due time these stories will all come out but for now its probably best to start to Israel and my experiences there....

From the get go many people told me I was crazy for wanting to go to the Middle East and didn't understand why I had a desire to go their but I have always wanted to see the Middle East, especially Tel Aviv (Israel), Petra (Jordan), and the pyramids (Egypt). So I followed my heart and booked a one way ticket to Israel. My 'plan' was to travel these three beautiful countries until January 2013. Yes, I was planning on travelling the Middle East alone and no, I wasn't scared. After traveling for over eight months in 14 different countries, I consider myself an independent woman and experienced traveller, so off I went...

I left Turkey and flew into Tel Aviv airport on my own. People always tell stories of the difficulties of getting into Israel via customs and the hassle one may potentially face, yet I was asked three simple questions and directed to go on my way. Upon grabbing my bag and heading out into the fresh Israeli air, I was greeted by a Israeli friend, whom I met travelling, that graciously offered to pick me up and drop me at my hostel. It is such a wonderful feeling arriving in a country and not having to figure out how to get into town. Thank you again Shaun :)

Beach in Tel Aviv

My first opinion of Tel Aviv was that it was a beautiful city full of life and excitement. As a traveller there are so many unique areas of Tel Aviv to explore and beautiful beaches to walk. I spend my first few days having coffee in small local cafes, meeting friends for drinks, swimming in the ocean and eating as much tasty hummus as I could stomach. Tel Aviv may be a expensive city but everything you get in return is worth the price. In addition, I found myself loving Hebrew and Israeli people. During my time there I learnt more Hebrew than I have any other language and learnt how unique but awesome Israeli people are. Their uniqueness is hard to explain. For example, many other nationalities, especially Canadians because we are so damn polite, may find that Israelis come across as rude but in reality they are very far from it. Israelis are straight forward people who cut to the chase. If they don't like you, then you'll know and if they do, you'll know. They speak the truth and aren't afraid to say it. In the world were so much is sugar coated and so many lies are said it is so refreshing to be in a country were the people are honest, straight forward but extremely kind at heart.

During my time in Tel Aviv I had my first real couch surfing experience with a local named Dmitry. He opened up his home to me, had many interesting things to share and I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spend together. I also met another local girl, Anni, off couch surfing and we spend an afternoon together exploring Tel Aviv and discussing the differences between our countries and cultures. One of the best parts of travelling is meeting local people, seeing how they live their daily life and learning about their home - couch surfing can be a great tool for achieving this. I may have left Israel prematurely but I still made many good friends during my short time there. Tel Aviv will remain as one of my top five cities travelled, Hebrew one of my favourite languages and Israelis some of my favourite people.

Night shot of Tel Aviv

So why did I leave? Well,...I could probably talk for hours about the Israel-Gaza conflict and explain politics, history and perspectives but I don't wanna take sides. There is so much history in our world, especially in the Middle East, and its difficult to choose one side of the line to stand on. Nothing in life is black or white; there is always a grey area and sometimes many shades of grey. Therefore I am not going to discuss politics and history but simple relay my experiences while there. Please remember this is simply my experiences and I am just a small town prairie girl travelling the world with everything she owns on her back.

Many people reading this will know that a conflict broke out while I was in Israel as I am sure the media back home highlighted it quite well. That part is true. A conflict did break out however the severity of it was probably much different than how the media projected it. If you ask any Israel person how they felt or if they were scared, the response you would receive is; 'Just another day in the Holy Land'. And if you read your history you will know that is true and that for Israelis this isn't an odd occurrence.

So... here I was in Tel Aviv with sirens going off (for the first time in 21 years), being ushered into the basement and feeling the 'boom' of the rockets hit. It was a little scary but to be honest I wasn't scared that I was going to die or that a full blown war was going to break out. Perhaps I am being naive but I was planning on just waiting it out and continuing my travels. That was my plan but my family wanted me to leave and my friends wanted to me to leave, yet everyone in Israel told me it would be fine. I felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. Here is this country that I so desperately wanted to explore, as well as, Jordan and Egypt but everyone I loved wanted me to flee. My father was freaking out and family members were sending me messages asking me to please leave and go somewhere else. Does one test fate and stick it out or does one listen to those who love them most? I chose love. It came down to one phone call to someone who has become extremely dear to me who said "If you truly care about me and a future with me, you'll do this for me and leave" and the next thing I knew I was on a plane to Romania...

I am still a little upset that I didn't get to walk my path through the Middle East alone but I also know that sometimes in life we must respect the opinions and voices of those who love us most in the world. They are there to protect us and there are still so many beautiful countries and experiences on my horizon. One day I will go back to Tel Aviv and follow the path I had planned through Israel-Jordan-Egypt and embrace the Middle East the same way I did on my first journey there.