Laying Low in Silicon Valley

... Israel, that is. Most of the first week we spent recovering from jetlag, repairing our bicycles, and enjoying the wonderful hospitality of David's cousins.

David first tries reading Hebrew with Noam and Leor:











Then he finds a scholar closer to his level:










Thanks to all who expressed concern over the bombing in Tel Aviv on the day we arrived. We'd already got to Ofer's house in Tsoran, a suburb northeast of the city, which apparently translates to "silicon." It's near the offices of Intel, Microsoft, Amdocs and the other high-tech companies. As we ate pancakes on the back porch with Ofer's wonderful family, I felt confident that we were an extremely unlikely target for any terrorist action.

Israel seems harsh, kind, beautiful, fragile, new and rural all at the same time. For instance, camping spots exist but there's garbage everywhere. People enjoy camping but they don't bother to pick up the trash. But every cloud has a silver lining. People's tendency to leave dog crap on the streets has prompted a new program: Municipal workers will register each dog and collect a sample of its DNA at the same time. Then, they can identify a sidewalk dropping by its DNA and apprehend the owners. Hm, maybe some work for David?

Bicycles are more common than we'd expected. Even in Tel Aviv, there are bicyclists zipping among the scooters and taxis and cars. The winner for suicidal transportation was a rollerblader, holding on to the back of a scooter, crossing a busy intersection in Tel Aviv. Us on our bicycles with helmets and hand signals are pretty tame, in comparison. On a more serious note, both bicycle commuting and mountain biking seem to be newly popular in Israel. There's even a Criticial Mass ride happening this Friday in Tel Aviv.

Next we travel to Jersusalem and then to the desert, to meet up with David's uncle Oded. Bicycles and sand. This is how the parts manufacturers stay in business.