a taste of israel

hi there loyal shamir*power readers. here is a sampling of my visit in israel so far. purim photos will be up later this week!

you can see me with NK hiking in ein gedi, me reading on the beach, and floating on the dead sea with NK.

day 2 at the beach in st. croix

things that are different in st. croix in december (as compared to the northeast of USA where i've spent all of my life):
-it's not cold
-there are mosquitos at night, and no-see-ums at sunset on the beach. i'm covered in bites!
-the only snowmen are blow-up dolls (yet still on people's lawns)
-on the radio, you get wished a "brown christmas" in a west-indian accent

okay, that's it for now. more photos tomorrow!

day 1 at the beach in st. croix

sometimes people ask me why i keep the daily temperature & weather forecast for St. Croix, USVI on my blog. well, to make a long story short i have a little gig down here where i come twice a year to lead services and teach.

when i left nyc this past fri, it was 20 degrees F, but with the windchill it was ZERO. very very cold. the coldest day yet! my host family is the one i first stayed with last october, EH and CF. three dogs and one sweet cat. seriously it surprises me how much i love cats. i just love 'em!

best things about st. croix: warm air, beautiful ocean views, fresh fruit, local beer. oh, and EVERYONE says "good afternoon" in addition to good morning and good night (as a greeting). freakishly polite, in a good way.

worst things about st. croix: MOSQUITOES. NO SEE-UMS. why must the small bugs constantly eat me up? why must i sleep with a mosquito net yet still have something buzz by my face at 4 in the morning? also, i wish i had some friends to hang out with here. the community is super sweet, but if i could just afford to bring a few friends along, it would be really great to have people to hang out with after 9pm. who wants to come in april?

okay, photos.

PICTURE #1: this is me on a chair at the beach. notice my camping pillow keeping my neck comfy. (love thermarest!) if you look closely you can see the trunk of a palm tree. eventually the shade from this spot was making me a bit chilly, so i moved to an area with more direct sunlight.

PICTURE #2: here are my toes. this is the view directly in front of where i'm sitting. again, gorgeous view -- yet, who to share it with? if you answered harry potter, the new yorker, an iced coffee, and jane magazine, then you'd be correct.

PICTURE #3: general ocean view, this time without the toes. notice the palm trees. my favorite!!