By: Lynn

Lynn — Tue, 28 May 2013 15:30:26 +0000

Hi Lamont,
I so appreciate your comment and can only hope to meet you in person. We are applying again to serve!
Lynn

By: Lamont J. Fleming

Lamont J. Fleming — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:39:00 +0000

I love the diversity of the people in Haifa, the fact that Russian and Arabic are spoken just as much as Hebrew and that you see tourists, Baha’i pilgrims, and Jewish Birthright youth visiting from all parts of the world. Because Haifa is on a mountain–Mount Carmel, the mountain of God–you see beautiful views of the city, the Baha’i gardens, or the vast Mediterranean Sea by simply walking down the streets and stairs. Haifa is not very big, nor is it overly touristy, so unlike Istanbul, the traffic isn’t bad and you can walk downtown without being pestered by people trying to sell you something or convince you to eat at their restaurant. Actually, shopping in Israel is quite easy I discovered. You often have to barter, but for the most part Israelis are very honest people and they would rather preserve their dignity than do anything they can to make you spend your money. As much as I enjoyed the Starbucks in Istanbul, I appreciate and admire the laws in Israel that partially protect its local economy from the threat of huge international chains and unrealistically cheap imported foods. I also love Israel’s health conscious people who have made health food stores, homeopathic pharmacies, brown bread, quinoa, and salads popular and readily available. And, of course, I love that living in Haifa means that I can walk in the Baha’i gardens and pray in the Shrines almost every day–a bounty I am so grateful for.

Comments on: By foot, tramway, metro, & bus to Edirne

By: Lynn

By: Lamont J. Fleming