Differences

One of the effects of having lived in more than one country is that I have a tendency to compare EVERYTHING. Driving habits of locals. Grocery stores. Customer service (or the complete and total lack thereof). Weather. Attitude and approachability of people. Architecture. Housing options. Intelligence. World awareness. Beauty. Poverty. Affluence. Sales.

Most of these are obvious differences. Even if I had simply moved from the Washington DC area to the Sacramento, CA area, these would almost all be different. Except for the last one. Sales.

SALES.

If you have lived overseas, you know what I mean. They simply don't exist! Well...they do but on a highly modified level. In both Cyprus and Israel a "sale" simply meant a general discount taken off at the store once a year, with some "clearance" (40% off MAX) thrown in for good measure. That's right, sales just one time a year.

"Hmmm...", I can hear you say. "That sure seems different." And you are completely right. It took a bit to get used to, but since I have visited the USA every year for the last eleven years, I never felt entirely deprived. After all, 'No Sales'='No Spending', which on a very limited budget came in handy. Delayed gratification. Not a bad thing.

What is has meant, however, is that those four weeks in America every year have been filled with instant gratification. Okay great, a sale! This is what I need, I should just get it now, otherwise I'll have to wait an entire year to get it 1)at a reasonable price 2)good quality and 3)in an appropriate size/style/level of modesty/etc...

Living in America demands a shift in my thinking. There is no need to "GET IT ALL NOW!!!" because more likely than not, tomorrow will have an even better deal for less money, better quality and an even more gorgeous color! It's an incredible thing to always know that something better is just around the corner, so I can't really miss out.

Or can I...

The very beautiful and secure feeling by knowing that I almost can't miss out is in opposition to all that I have lived for more than the last decade. The very strength of America has been a weakness in me.

Sieze the day! Carpe diem!

So quick to jump first and ask questions later (which seems very uncharacteristic for me I know) I have been unwilling to wait things out in patience and depth of silence, knowing with certainty that the best is yet to come.

Sigh.

I will add this to the list of things that I am learning in America.

Who ever said the education system here isn't worth a hill of beans forgot to take Him into account.

soundtrack of a life

people have wedding mixes. you can purchase the soundtracks from epic movies. prom night. birthdays. anniversaries.
there are songs that immediately upon hearing i am transported back in time to my parents white renault alliance, in the middle of the night, on our family trips to ohio. my brother and i tucked into the backseat with our pillows after being awakened in the middle of the night (certainly around 11pm or midnight) to hit the road with the only other traffic being truckers.
other songs, like "wouldn't it be nice" by the beach boys, pulls me back to the awkward high school years of angst. "i like him. does he like me? does he really like her? i really like him."
and still others wonderful family times together, shouting over the music our intense opinions regarding the music talent, or lack thereof, of certain musicians. the creativity of their composition. the catchy hook of the tune and whether or not the writer was simply trying to exploit his fans with a song that would get stuck in their heads, or had a true inspiration.
what of the soundtrack of a life?
what songs would encompass the expression of my life?
the truth be told, i would honestly hope that it wasn't only meaningful hymn type adoration. let's throw in some solid rock, a dash of pop, a foundation from the beatles's (after all, what else is there really?), bach and rachmaninoff can't be forgotten, CCM for kicks...memories, billy and barry and paul, the rat pack, a bit of punk, grunge and alternative, damien cause i love him- even if he does sing off key, aaron neville because of his voice, chicago for memories, all of the country i love (and none of the country i don't), barbra, celine, andrea, a good mix of the 50's, 60's and 70's, a pinch of rap cause i'm awesome like that...
about 1000 songs? maybe 800...so hard to narrow it down. don't even imagine it could get down to one theme song.

it's been a while

the last time i posted was just before receiving word that my grandma roush had passed away. that probably threw a wrench into my consistent blogging plans which i never came back to pick up.

however, i will try to do better.

yesterday was full of adventure.

1) went to the Israel Museum. full of history and art and multimedia presentations. amazing.

2) found a waterfall in the middle of the city.

3) sat down on the rocks in the water pool and lost my shoe.

4) waded out to retrieve my shoe.

5) walked around the city with one wet and squishy shoe and one dry and cozy shoe.

6) ate pizza and drank coke outside of the bus station.

7) star gazing accompanied by missing every shooting star that was last night. sigh.

8) laughing until my stomach hurt. epic.

relatively speaking

"i am on the way"

aka: "i have thought about leaving and am getting ready to go, but my coat is not on and i need to pee before walking out the door. then i'll be on the way"

love this place!

so maybe i was unclear

God does not equal a change purse.

His good and perfect gifts don't either.

His goodness is hidden in the most obscure and ordinary things.

And I'm so grateful.

That's all.

revelation

comes in bits and pieces. waves and rivulets. eeking and crashing.

last year, actually it must have been almost a year ago, i had one of the wave crashing, bone jarring, OH MY GOSH revelations in my life.

what it was, is not important.

that it was given to me, is.

much like the small pink and white change purse. however that was only temporarily given. the revelation is permanent.

these two lovely ladies were an unwitting part of it all. and the little pink with white polka dots receipt bag was very important too. notice the importance of having our portrait taken with it.

in any case, sometimes it comes in unexpected ways and in unexpected places. i will forever be thankful to miri and shani and the little illegally run cafe in abu gosh for timing, place and purpose.

let's hear it for bilingualists! or something like that...

and

so similar, but oh so different.

flashback three years ago. friday night. sometime between september and june. after dinner. picture a room of no less than nine native english speakers trying to convince two native hebrew speakers that it's really not difficult to play taboo in your second language. "it's so easy!" "you know all these words anyway!" "come ON! it's not THAT hard" (that last one was tinged with frustration in case you didn't catch that.)

one was convinced.

one was not. and she did not play the whole night.

the rest of us rolled with laughter at the verbal acrobatics that each one underwent in order to NOT say:

Finance

Plan

Monthly

Annual

Rental

while causing their team to guess BUDGET before the time ran out!!!

honestly, my heart was filled with compassion for the struggling non-native english speakers. it wasn't easy at all. but I sure was having fun! and laughing my head off! and guessing about a MILLION correct answers!

flashback to present day. yesterday, to be exact. saturday night. october 24. after dinner.

picture a postage-stamp sized yard filled with no less than nine native hebrew speakers trying to convince two...wait a sec! it wasn't QUITE like that. i'm a good sport. no convincing was needed.

okay. waaaayyyy more difficult than i could have imagined. "i mean, sure, i can use that word in a sentence, but do i really have a clue what it actually means???" "are you SURE that's a word?" "you're sure now, cause in these last four years i'm certain i have never seen or heard it...EVER!?"

and just try to do that whole "glance-for-1/8-of-a-second-and-read-five-words-at-once-thing". not gonna' work here friend. i had to actually read each word, and that takes waaaayyyy longer. and all the while the little grains of sand are falling falling falling at an alarmingly fast pace in that little egg timer! hurry! hurry!!! HURRY!!!!!

it was fun.

and my compassion deepened for all second language speakers.

on a different yet related note: i think that this sweeping statement may just be correct. spanish speakers are not afraid to step out on a limb and communicate, even if they make mistakes. hiLARious mistakes. and that is a very endearing quality.