This is very behind the times, but some lessons from my trip keep turning up, and I thought I would catalog them. Not a lot of great spiritual epiphanies here. I pretty much knew where I stood spiritually before I went over.
1. If the desert is hot enough the taps switch temperature. This is from overland pipes exposed to the sun and the water heater being insulated enough to keep water cool.
2. If you sweat enough, restroom breaks become unnecessary. Gross, yes. And scary. But true.
3. Long sleeves are the way to go in unbearable heat.
4. Germs matter less when you are running out of water.
5. When you are low on electrolytes from doing lots of hot, outdoor, manual labor, you will crave fruit.
6. It is possible to sleep through motion sickness.
7. If your country is new and going thru a certain amount of turmoil, an independent culture will take longer to develop. It is amazing how popular American oldies are in Israel.
8. Official signage in a foreign country is always hilarious.
9. Regardless of politics, a country that puts a humongous amount of effort into cultural and environmental development has a better concept of what it means to be a country than a lot of the rest of us (and, yes, that definitely breaks down when looking at how they treat their neighbors). Israel has one of the largest reforestation projects in the world.
10. Visiting countries that are not friends with each other while using the same passport makes for difficult travel.
11. Primitive construction is more similar to Minecraft than you'd expect.
12. I don't believe in a single, all-encompassing biblical proof, but it is amazing how many forts, wells, towns, tombs, encampments, etc. are uncovered right where you'd expect them to be.
13. How important a biblical town is in scripture has little relevance on how quickly it gets excavated/how important it is archeologically. Beth Shemesh is a mound on the side of the road. Gezer has a single sign and a gravel parking lot.
14. Archeology is limited by funds and human resources. Paleontologists analyze every find. Archeologists have warehouses of finds no one is analyzing, mounds no one is digging.
15. Archeology is more like Indiana Jones than anyone would believe. Mostly the shooting is done by armed escorts, though. From what I gathered, many top archeologists who dig in disputed areas have stories of being shot at. The stories get crazier the farther back in history you go. And would make for good movies.
16. Frozen lemonade and mint. You will just have to trust me on this one.
17. Israeli cats have pointier faces than cats in the US. Less inbred?
18. The most important travel plans involve eating during times the entire country shuts down, which covers four meals a week in Israel.
19. Paper maps beat GPS when it comes to pure navigating. (Driving while navigating is, of course, different.)
20. Nothing makes you want bacon more than being told you can't have it.
21.Germany, or at least the airport I was in, has an unreasonably high percentage of attractive people (and yes, I am aware of how racist that sounds).
1. If the desert is hot enough the taps switch temperature. This is from overland pipes exposed to the sun and the water heater being insulated enough to keep water cool.
2. If you sweat enough, restroom breaks become unnecessary. Gross, yes. And scary. But true.
3. Long sleeves are the way to go in unbearable heat.
4. Germs matter less when you are running out of water.
5. When you are low on electrolytes from doing lots of hot, outdoor, manual labor, you will crave fruit.
6. It is possible to sleep through motion sickness.
7. If your country is new and going thru a certain amount of turmoil, an independent culture will take longer to develop. It is amazing how popular American oldies are in Israel.
8. Official signage in a foreign country is always hilarious.
9. Regardless of politics, a country that puts a humongous amount of effort into cultural and environmental development has a better concept of what it means to be a country than a lot of the rest of us (and, yes, that definitely breaks down when looking at how they treat their neighbors). Israel has one of the largest reforestation projects in the world.
10. Visiting countries that are not friends with each other while using the same passport makes for difficult travel.
11. Primitive construction is more similar to Minecraft than you'd expect.
12. I don't believe in a single, all-encompassing biblical proof, but it is amazing how many forts, wells, towns, tombs, encampments, etc. are uncovered right where you'd expect them to be.
13. How important a biblical town is in scripture has little relevance on how quickly it gets excavated/how important it is archeologically. Beth Shemesh is a mound on the side of the road. Gezer has a single sign and a gravel parking lot.
14. Archeology is limited by funds and human resources. Paleontologists analyze every find. Archeologists have warehouses of finds no one is analyzing, mounds no one is digging.
15. Archeology is more like Indiana Jones than anyone would believe. Mostly the shooting is done by armed escorts, though. From what I gathered, many top archeologists who dig in disputed areas have stories of being shot at. The stories get crazier the farther back in history you go. And would make for good movies.
16. Frozen lemonade and mint. You will just have to trust me on this one.
17. Israeli cats have pointier faces than cats in the US. Less inbred?
18. The most important travel plans involve eating during times the entire country shuts down, which covers four meals a week in Israel.
19. Paper maps beat GPS when it comes to pure navigating. (Driving while navigating is, of course, different.)
20. Nothing makes you want bacon more than being told you can't have it.
21.Germany, or at least the airport I was in, has an unreasonably high percentage of attractive people (and yes, I am aware of how racist that sounds).
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