Drew T. Noll © 2024, all rights reserved

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Baja or Israel?


Hi Everyone,


We have all slowed down a bit and begun to start to get used to this new place. We have had some ups and downs but for the most part are still doing well. I will be very happy to be done with Ulpan (language school) because it takes a lot out of me. The program is very demanding. I went to a very wealthy part of Israel yesterday for a possible job with someone I met in Ulpan. It is like Newport Beach there and a good place to get connected with work. We shall see. We have some great mountain biking right out of our house here. There are nature reserves on two sides of us and an old farm town on the other, with the beach at the bottom of the hill of course. Sometimes, in the morning, I am reminded that I live in the Middle East when I walk to my morning car pool meeting. I walk pass Arab Women on their way to work instead of Hispanics or something. It is very strange and seems to always take me by surprise. It really feels like California or something here, until a reminder wakes me up. We live very close to an Arab town called Faradis. Sometimes we go there to get veggies and fruit. It is like going to Tijuana to shop just 5 minutes away. There aren’t any real building codes there and the buildings just sprawl up the next hill with barely any roads. I have been in there a couple of times and all I can say is that I wouldn't like to get lost there.


Love to everyone,
Drew