What is summer?

I know I’ve promised posts on religious observance/belief/etc. as well as posts on my life here in Israel. I’m at home sick today (it is Saturday). And to quell my boredom, I’ve been reading the NYTimes. Today, the travel section (and dining) have an article about the Chesapeake Bay area crab shacks. While reading the article I suddenly realized why Jerusalem feels cognitively dissonant to me. This is the first place I’ve “lived” where there is no body of water within easy accessibility. I’m a water child. I must have my body of water. And for me, throughout my childhood, summer has meant water.

Days spent on the boat, fishing or cruising. Or renting canoes or kayaks for a paddle. Watching a water ski show. Fishing from the shore. Biking or walking by a river or lake. The sand and the smell of algae and seaweed are the smells of home. And the greenery that surrounds the lake is just as important. It’s there for picnics, grilling, and camping.

I have never felt the reverence that others feel for Israel. Partially, it’s because of my political bent, I don’t have the trust or love of the government. It’s a place that inspires a lot of emotions. It’s a place where the old woman with 2 packets of yogurt cons her way to the front of the grocery line and gets yelled at by the store manager. People love Israel. But people get angry with it and at it. But for me, it’s just not the environment I want to be in.** I desperately crave green–midwestern/coastal green. And it’s all stone and craggy trees in this city. There’s no water (it’s kind of deserty). And it’s really hot. And if you know me, you know I hate the heat. Heat, for me, is completely uninspiring. It’s something to retreat from, it keeps me away from exploration. Everyday since I got here, when I wake up and take a shower in the little shower in the bathroom where the floor is always wet in the mornings, I look forward to finishing my summer in Wisconsin. Where it’s cool and wet sometimes, and sometimes humid and oppressive. But where there’s really green grass and trees and there are beautiful lakes to look at and swim in.

**I’m not saying that I’m hating my time here or something of the sort**