The Real Israel
December 17, 2007
the business study mission to israel concluded on a tired note this afternoon. we were travelling across the country at break-neck pace, stopping at different cities, different hotels every night. but israel needs to be visited, because it calls for other important perspectives, which would never get unless we experience them for ourselves.
a place so wrought with political tension, yet so resilient to it all. their motto of ‘you knock us down and we will come back at you twice as strong’ is inspirational to say the least- it’s exactly what makes them tick. the thing on every one’s minds: the economic prosperities of singapore and israel (after all a school course we had to discuss all this!) 2 different models of economic growth: one where the government is the sole provider and the other where they go out of their way not to rely on the government. we had a great debate about this when we were leaving Israel, getting into Jordan. Lots of blaming the father of the nation and more defending him for his policies. ( I never felt much for this land. It’s home and it provides and I am thankful. I don’t want to get messy with the politics. I don’t feel I belong anyway)
on retrospect, i must say this trip was more about rediscovering my wanderlust. i had fun running about after hours explorin the cities by night. the euphoria of being in a foreign land, learning and interpreting their ways – trying to live like them and walking through their everyday alleys is a rush in itself. granted this short trip did not give all that, it refreshed my mind on the glorious 5 months spent in europe. anyway here are some more pictures – not all, just some.
Petra