How can a radio station with a jingle like this not make you smile!?!? We have become accustomed to breaking out in regular sing song sessions of “gal gal gal galatz” at sporadic moments during the day. This is yet one more thing that I’m going to miss about the country.

Israel is one of those amazing countries where we’ve either loved (most apects) or hated things (rude Israeli's with no sense of spatial orientation). This I feel sums up the spirit of the land – a charged place where people are so passionate about life. There seems to be no middle ground, people voicing strong opinions about everything ranging from deeply contested issues as politics, to how their salad at lunch tasted. It’s incredibly refreshing being in a place where people’s sense of self, identity, and connection to their country is so profound. Jason and I have certainly spent many hours discussing the differences we see between Israel and the states.

The past 5 weeks here have absolutely flown by. Being able to connect and spend time with so many people has been wonderful, and has made the experience here even more meaningful. From our countless meals with Yoav in Tel Aviv, to reconnecting with Asgeir an old time friend from Jerusalem, to spending a full week including Yom Kippur in Beer Sheva with my cousins Jack, Amy, Miryam and Yishai, to randomly meeting Aaron Leper and his kids who are long lost cousins and made Aliyah 25 years ago, to seeing the library in Kiryat Shmona and meeting both Amir and Adrienne, to seeing , to hanging out with Naomi and Katie who we met thru Yoav, to meeting up with Eliana and her children and getting a tour of Eli, to Jason’s Bar Mitzvah with Katie, Naomi, Baruch and Rabbi Ezra, to having coffee with Jen, a child friend I went to middle school with and haven’t seen in over 15 years, and then seeing Janet Rothman surprisingly show up. It feels like our social calendar has been more packed here than it is at home!

The past 5 days in Jerusalem were so incredible, especially being able to experience the city with Jason. We spent countless hours wandering inside the old city walls, had a delicious lunch at Mahane Yehuda (the shuk), did the whole Ben Yehuda thing looking tirelessly for things to buy and ended up with nothing, ate a yummy dinner in the German Colony at a restaurant named “Joy”, I got over to the Israel Museum, we went to Yad Vashem, and had lunch in Ein Kerem, we walked thru Rehavia, my old neighborhood, and finished off the week with a stroll through Mea Shearim.

There is no doubt in our 5 weeks here we have filled every single day with adventures galore. Tomorrow we sadly will say good bye to Eretz Yisrael, and be on our way to Cologne, Germany. I will certainly miss it here, but no doubt will be returning sooner than later!