Israel and back again

"Hi haters, I'm back off hiatus"

Technically, I've been in 6 different countries since my last post. I'll start with Israel, where I had Passover w/the fam. It was amazing. Seeing my sisters and parents in Israel after 8 months apart was special: getting back into the family dynamic while walking thru Jerusalem, exploring the Negev desert, and hittin up the beach in Eilat. Being in Israel during Passover was particularly de-lovely, not least because the Kosher for Passover food in Israel is WHERE ITS AT. For those of u who don't know, eating during Passover is typically a grind-it-out affair, but in Israel it was straight up gourmet. They have it down to a science, right up to this fake "bread" kinda thing (you're not supposed to eat bread during Passover) that is delicious no matter how much it might feel like cheating.

Fam and I went on a boat ride that passed through the territorial waters of Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. And me and my sister Caryn went on this giant-slingshot thing that was pretty cool. And last but not least, we met our family in Israel for the first time. They are really awesome. The grandfather was the subject of a documentary, about his work getting Jewish refugees into Palestine after WWII. The grandmother has written a book about experiences during the Holocaust. There are two girls my age who are super cool, one who works for the Israeli government and one who is an actress (she is even in a commercial in Israel! you can see it here*).

I don't wanna run long, but I also had a one-night stopover in Korea where I saw my friend Dae, who is also teaching English. We had a great time, and Seoul is a really interesting city. Everybodys got their futuristic cellphones and they dress real put-together; I don't think there is a pair of sweatpants in that whole city.
Anyway, now I'm back in Taiwan, where I'm gettin back in the swing and doin my thing. Israel pics to follow.

*It's the first of the two videos. For those whose Hebrew is a little rusty, the commericial goes like this: the ppl in the opening scene say "what's up?" or "what's the situation?" and then there are various shots of people saying "it's aight," "it's gonna be ok" and then my cousin is the girl in the flowershop and she says, "right now, it's a little hard, but in the end...it will be ok." I think it's for a bank or something.