Embrace Yourself Today

Israel is a diverse country made up of many different cultures, races, ethnicities, beliefs, and individuals. The following pictures only capture a glimpse of the diversity within Israel's borders. I took these pictures as Josh and I have traveled throughout Israel. There are many more people groups I hope to capture to add to the representation of Israel's uniqueness. Israel's diversity stems back to the beginning days of the Bible; to the days of the Tower of Babel when the people were scattered by God, when they realized that there was strength and power in like mindedness. Before America was ever discovered, Israel was already a 'melting pot' of people. In fact, 38% of Israel is made up of immigrants, according to Israeli Immigration statistics, this ranks Israel number 12 in the world for the largest immigrant population. The US ranks at number 40 with a 13% immigration population. Many of these immigrants seem to be refuge or asylum seeking indiv...

It is currently Sukkot in Israel, one of the country’s many religious holidays, this one seven days long. This is the first Sukkot I’ve gotten to spend in Israel and, although I’m not Jewish, it seems to be pretty enjoyable, outside of the fact that if you have a problem in your apartment you can't get it fixed until next week (and guess what, of course we have a few issues we need resolved...our issues always happen on Fridays or holidays in every country we go to...its humorous now). Back to Sukkot... I saw my first Sukka (I'll explain) yesterday when Josh and I decided to go and get a slushi from this little place he likes to go. When we were there I saw a sukka, what looked to be a market booth of some type. I figured someone sold fruit or vegis out of it during the week until I noticed palms on the roof. I didn't want to ask about it at first, I just wanted to see if I saw more. We decided to tour the Centre (downtown area). Upon walking around I noticed several mor...

Here we are in Israel, in a place I'd never thought I'd have the chance to visit, let alone live in. This is Josh's 4th year in Israel and while I have visited him often, this is my first year living here. It is quiet an experience, far different from just visiting. Though I have only been here a mere 3 days, life is already different; and maybe that is because I am seeing the world a bit differently now that I am carrying a child. Let me give you some examples: I know I should be more careful of water consumption in foreign lands, but often I default to the water in the faucet (after asking if it's safe). I have drank water from Israeli taps plenty of times, but now that I am pregnant, I can't even consider doing it..it's the craziest thing. I love trying new foods; in fact it is my favorite thing about different cultures. Food in other countries is not like it is in the US. In the US we use food to gather family a few times a year for holidays but basically we...