Ani ochelet harbe harbe pitot!

I'm in Haifa! I got in on Thursday around noon. If you are not aware of your Israel geography, Haifa is a Mediterranean port city in the north of the country. It's built on Mt. Carmel, which made me excited because that's where the story about Elijah and the prophets of Baal takes place. (Read it! 1 Kings 18. It's awesome.) It's very hot and humid here, but there is occasionally a breeze.

Yesterday morning, Anika and I went to the Baha'i Gardens with Sara, a Dutch girl who was also staying at our hostel. These gardens are very impressive. It stretches all the way up the side of the mountain, and there's a big shrine with a dome right in the middle. If you find a picture of Haifa, this dome is probably in the picture, since it's basically the only impressive thing in the city. I liked the garden, but it was too symmetrical and didn't have enough trees for my taste.

If you have time, you should research the Baha'i religion and let me know what it's about, because even after the tour and a short documentary, I'm not sure what exactly they believe. They kept throwing around words like "peace" and "love" and "social justice." As far as I know, no religions would say they are opposed to any of those ideas, so I don't know what sets Baha'i apart.

This morning, I went to Akko with Anika and three other people from the hostel. We had Sandrine from France, Boris from Russia, and Ollie from England--it was a very international group. We wandered around the Crusader tunnels and the Old City and ate at an amazing hummus restaurant where everyone got there own giant dish of hummus. Mine had chickpeas, lamb, beef, and pine nuts in it, and it was the most delicious thing I have eaten here. We also found the market and bought pita and knafeh.

Tomorrow we are going to Caesarea, which will be tricky. We have to take two different trains and a cab to get there. But there will be a nice beach! You can expect pictures from all this, but it won't be until I have slightly more reliable internet.

I'm enjoying the hostel experience--there are people here from all over, and we all stay up late chatting and drinking tea we made out of leaves someone found in the garden. Some little Israeli girls have been teaching me more Hebrew vocabulary, and I'm learning the imperative form from listening to their mother yell at them. Of course there are a few people who are not friendly and behave in a socially inappropriate manner. I have some stories about that, which I think are entertaining, but you might not, so I will keep them to myself for now.

I hope all is well in America! I have very sketchy internet, so I don't get to catch up with people on skype. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, especially if you're on your way to Camp Runamuc!