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10.05am. I just woke up a couple of minutes ago, I'm still half asleep, laying in my bed when suddenly the sirenss go off, I've never heard the rocket attacks alarm but after 20 seconds of listening to the loud thing I'm pretty sure it can only be that. What do I do? What do I do? My brain is panicking to find a solution. I look out the window and people seem very calm about it, no one is running, two guys are on the rooftop of the opposite building, overlooking the streets. I admire these people who can stay very calm with this amazingly loud sirens. Is this really an alert? Should I go find a shelter? Where and how do I find a shelter? Why doesn't anyone tell newbies where the next shelter is? Let's stay very calm in my bed. After 5 minutes the sirens stop, the loudness of busy Jerusalem slowly starts again. I reach for my laptop and google sirens and Jerusalem. Nothing. I alter my search a few times, still nothing. Should this be alarming? I calm down, sta...

"What is your name?" is always the first question I get when an official opens my passport in Israel, looking at me with this incredulous look on their face, eyebrows raised, waiting for my confirmation that my name is Surya which to them, pronounced the way my parents call me, sounds like the word for Syria in both Arabic and Hebrew. (What it really is, or the way my parents intended it anyway, is the sun ) Today I also learnt from someone that apparently, I look like what could be interpreted by many Israelis as a left-wing extremist student come to do activism in the country. And I certainly don't look like the typical intern that would walk into the office, which is a good thing. I do agree, I don't like looking like the norm, I like looking like what I want to look like. Anyway, I was in no way offended by this, I found it rather amusing and very insightful. I was told this, and it was later confirmed to me by someone else, as I said I was always detained at...

Many of my friends and some members of my family don't understand this but I don't like going to Brussels town centre or taking public transport in Brussels especially the underground transportation. They tell me I'm being unreasonable, paranoid and weird. A few days ago, Sofie Peeters, a Belgian film student released her short movie/documentary that raised a lot of debate. The film, "femme de la rue" depicts sexism in the centre of the capital. I don't consider myself to dress in a provocative way, it is not my style, I don't like women that do not because it is (they do what they wanna do)  but because in my humble opinion it is vulgar, I don't want to see a girl's chest on the same account that I don't like low cut jeans that show off men's asses (and often women too) because I don't need nor do I want to see people's attributes other than in an intimate context. Many people say that victims of sexual harassment in the str...

Je suis peine. Combien de personnes auront partagé ce texte de Florian Henin sur les réseaux sociaux ? Combien de personnes se sont dit « bien dit ! » ? Florian Henin qui fait des amalgames et qui n’a sûrement pas entendu parler de cet Anversois (blanc) qui a tué une jeune nounou (noire) et ce bébé de deux ans à peine dans la rue. Il n’est sûrement jamais allé à Jérusalem dans le quartier Orthodoxe o ù les enfants jettent des pierres sur les passant seraient-ils un tant soit peu découverts et s’en donnent à cœur joie et à Hébron ce ne sont pas les touristes qui sont visés mais les Palestiniens (Arabes et sans doute Musulmans). Tu te souviens l’été passé, il y a eu des émeutes en Grande-Bretagne. Sur les vidéos, on pouvait voir des blancs (athées ?)voler un noir, blessé, gisant au sol, en prétendant l’aider. Dans mon quartier de Preston, il y a des Pakistanais (Musulmans) et des blancs (athées). Quand les blancs arrivent, je te promets, tu...

I am probably getting boring going on about Jerusalem in every single post... I shall change the subject soon. This shall be my last post about Jerusalem before I go on to other places such as Masada, Ein Gedi, Yam HaMelakh (The Sea of Salt aka the Dead Sea), Haifa, etc. somewhere near the tomb of King David. Near King David's tomb, I met an old guide, and again, I told him I had no money but he still wanted to show me around eventhough he was a real guide. It was a little late and I already had plans so he told me to meet him at Sha'ar Zion at 10am the next morning. So I went back the next morning and he was late so I sat waiting. Some people obviously working there started asking me who I was waiting for so I described the man. They got all worried when they identified him. "Are you sure?", "did he bother you?" "did he do anything to you?" and so on... I got a little worried when I finally saw him arrive but I made sure we stayed in cro...

Where was I? On my way to Jerusalem. Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, one hour by bus. I was never so happy to take a bus. During my trip I kept coming back to this magnificent, so unique city. After just two days, I knew my way around the old city which still had plenty of secrets for me to discover, but at least I knew where to go. This city... it just made me feel like no other city never had. The history behind it, the legends, the atmosphere, everything just attracted me like a very strong magnet. The view from my hostel rooftop. It felt so great. I won't tell you about what there is to see in Jerusalem because that is what travel guides are for and they probably have a better idea, I'm just going to talk about my experience of Jerusalem. A hello here, a hello there as I walked the hundreds of year old steps of the Old City, as sellers were trying to get my attention and eventually my money. I never stopped. I was not there to buy made in china souvenirs, I was t...

This new year 5772 starts beautifully as Gilad Shalit is to be freed in the next few days, announced the Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu,  just a few hours ago. After years of negotiations, Israel and Hamas have finally found an accord to release Gilad. "@IsraeliPM (The PM of Israel)  We have concluded ardeous negotiations with #Hamas to release #Gilad #Shalit. He will be coming home in the next few days" the PM tweeted. In July, we celebrated the fifth anniversary of Gilad's abduction by the Hamas on Israeli grounds, now, he will be coming back home to his mother. "@IsraeliPM (The PM of Israel)   the agreement to release #Shalit was signed in initials last Thursday and today was signed formally by the two parties"

I left my heart behind I think. I'm back in Belgium. Back in rainy Belgium. It feels so weird and depressing. I nearly missed my plane yesterday, big stress. I never stress, but there I was in the taxi, crying on the phone with my mother telling me I would probably miss it but it was no big deal if I did. At 9.30 am I asked the receptionist  if she could book a taxi for 11.30 and she told me I had to be 3 hours in advance, it was thus waaaaay too early for me to go when my plane was at 2.50pm and I should take it at 1.30. I got really confused "wait, are you sure?" of course she was sure. at 12.30 pm I go back to see her see if she could call a taxi since my plane was at 2.50 pm "oh you need to go, now, now, arshav! I told you three hours before!!!" The stress is slowly coming. The taxi arrives at 12.47pm. "Is it far?" I ask. "huh? Ma?" "Is it far?" I try again, "What?", "Ze Karov?" (Is it close? - because ...

Although I am far from home and on holidays, I still read the news (if I didn't I would have to reconsider my choice of studies) Yesterday in the english version of Haaretz, they were talking about the rights on Enyd Blyton's "The Famous Five" and "The Secret Seven" that are being translated in Hebrew at the moment and to be published soon in Israel although another publisher has been publishing a translated version for many years without the rights. Fine, nothing interesting much until the end of the article when I read the books written for children, are considered sexist, racist and so on and that they were banned from the radio in England on grounds of lack of artistic talent or something, basically hey were unworthy of being read on the BBC. The books are being rerwritten for publication in the United Kingdom to reach today's political correctness standards. And there we reach the whole debate we had with "TinTin in Congo" in Belgium a...

This morning I am leaving Jerusalem to go Rishon Lezion. After I shall go to Masada and Ein Gedi to see what the nature has to offer there. I heard the hostel in Masada have a couple of camping spots on top of the cliff and I hope they have tents to go with them because sleeping there should be awesome! There is a 4-5 hour long hike to do in Ein Gedi in which you have to be very careful and listen for rushes of water. If you hear water, you should start climbing. That definitely on my list of things to even above swimming in the Iam HaMelach (the sea of salt aka the Dead Sea) in which, I've heard, I shouldn't bathe more than 20 minutes otherwise I will dry up. So that is my program for the next few days. On Friday I will be back in Jerusalem, I will have Shabbat dinner with an orthodox family, it is more or less arranged, and then on Saturday I should go to Palestine as my first attempt didn't go as planned or should I say, was an epic fail. On Sunday, I am hesitati...

Boker Tov from the Holy Land! More tea, more nice people, some creeps,... I am enjoying myself here, I will definitely have to come back, there is not enough of one week to see it all. You really get used to the security checks after a while, it has become an automatism at the entrance of every big public building, public gathering areas,etc to open my bag, sometimes go through the metal detector gate, you don't notice it after a while. On the other hand, I realised yesterday my cutter passed the thorough security check of El-Al, it was in my carrier bag, I seriously thought I had left it home but no. So much for safety... If I'd been a sociopath I would have killed the pilot or something... Yesterday night I went back to the Kotel, there was still as many people as during the day but I found my way to the stones and delivered the prayers and messages I was entrusted with. Today I will walk to Yad Vashem and if I have time when I come back I will do the ramparts walk...

Not having the herd instinct as most humans do, I often forget to have a social life. Especially at the moment as I'm preparing this exciting yet a bit scary trip I'm about to take. So of course when an old friend from school asked if I wanted to hang out in town with another friend last night, I said okay. At the last minute, a change of plans, which is in itself not a big deal as it was closer to the place I was then and I hadn't left already. Thing is, we had to go to an old pub opposite my old school where all these kids who think they're super cool hang out. I used to go there before they changed it, it used to be okay when I was about 15 but the thing is, only 15 year-old hypocrites, nationalist, homophobic dicks hang out there now and the concept of meeting with people my age there made me feel like they have not evolved, an they probably haven't. Worst is, I know these people's faces and sometimes there's one that recognises  you and is all like ...

I don't know whether I have mentionned this in previous posts but in just a few days, I should be leaving for HaEretz HaKaddosh, the Holy Land in Hebrew, Israel. Now, you have to know I have been dreaming about this for a few years now and decided last November I would do this in June which is now coming very soon. I am the most excited girl on earth right now. I am so determined I saved a lot of money (a huuuuuuuuuuge amount) to pay for this trip. I will be leaving on my own for a whole month, travelling by bus with my backpack. Hopefully I will be able to go to Palestine too (shhhh this is a secret) eventhough my grandma told me it was waaaaaaaaaaay too dangerous. But this is what I want to do; travel and see for myself to be able to make my own opinion. It is one of the most important things of my life, I have never really travelled alone (except when I went to Portugal when I was 15 but I stayed at friends') and I am going there to disconnect from the rest of the World ...