First Intifada ( Palestinian uprising ). We were in a war zone . As an American , I was viewed as an ally to the uninvited occupiers .
I eyed a falafel stand . Two kids ran it . They both looked around twelve . They asked where I was from . I thought Stephanie was going to kill me when I told them the truth . She started whispering to me how I look like a Jew and / or an Israeli and how we ’ ll probably die because of that , and that being an American was possibly worse . She kept saying something about how those kids wouldn ’ t know the difference between an English , Australian , or a South African accent , and that I could have easily lied .
I talked to the kids for a while they gave me a free bottle of water . I tipped them a little more than the water would have cost . I told them they live in a beautiful place . The bigger kid said , “ It ’ s the most beautiful place .”
Stephanie volunteered to the kids that she is German . They seemed uninterested .
I wished she would relax . She looked so vulnerable as she shadowed me and blurted out comments that seemed to be transmitted from someone else .
We were both grimy . She still looked cute with her blondish brown bob . Her jeans form-fi t her slightly tall , long-legged body . Her shirt looked like gypsy travel wear from one of the markets . The John Lennon glasses gave her the look of the hippie traveler . I wore jeans and a black t-shirt . We were tan from working in the Galilee banana fi elds . She had to talk her way into that job after she was told it was a man ’ s job by several kibbutzniks .
She lit up a cigarette . It seemed like all Europeans were still smoking then . She had her back to me , brave in comparison to the shadowing . I looked at her nice bottom . I tried to be subtle . I remembered the time that I had to wake her up to come to work . She had overslept . She answered the door wearing a dark midriff t-shirt and green panties . Her legs looked strong . I was a little embarrassed . I know Germans and many Europeans don ’ t fi nd anything prurient with the sight of someone in underclothes . I ’ m not so enlightened ; maybe even prurient .
I think I liked the idea of falling in love in a place that was so exotic to me , but I wasn ’ t really in love . I was in love with the adventure . As I got used to Israel , it became less exotic . I loved going to a club in Jerusalem that felt like it was in an unspecifi ed place in Europe , or watching the cheesy Easter reenactments of Christ ’ s walk down the Via Dolorosa toward his crucifi xion , mostly because it was performed by English-speaking actors who performed more like they were in Monty Python ’ s Life of Brian . We had gone to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . It was Easter service in English for us tourists . Although I didn ’ t have any real spiritual ties , I loved the theater of the Greek Orthodox service . The country felt like it had a foot in the late 20 th century , but many things hadn ’ t changed in hundreds of years .
I started to talk to some men about catching the bus back to Tiberias . Two middle-aged Israeli men who were talking to the IDF offered us a ride . We accepted .
The yellow , early-seventies Subaru bounced down the uneven road .
Orlando ’ s Art Scene , v . 1.6 photo by Ashley Inguanta
The car had air conditioning . I could hear it better than I could feel it . The radio played Louis Armstrong ’ s “ What a Wonderful World ” followed by the tune to a Christmas song . I ’ m not sure of the song ’ s title . Maybe it wasn ’ t originally a Christmas song . That was my one explanation of why it could be heard anytime of year on Israeli radio . Their stations were more surreal than formatted .
An Israeli folk song came on next . I understood some of it . It mentioned a world without peace . This prompted the driver into a diatribe about the Palestinians , and how they should be thankful for what they have . I bit my tongue . I wondered what that meant . I didn ’ t feel like another political discussion . They are way too easy to come by in Israel .
The Cure ’ s “ Boys Don ’ t Cry ” came on the radio . Stephanie and I smiled at each other . I don ’ t think I was all that crazy about The Cure until I got to Israel . The Cure became comfort food in Israel . Oh yeah , The Cure .
The driver was still talking about Palestinians . I wanted him to shut up . I caught bits and pieces of what he was saying . He asked us why we were in Jericho . Stephanie told them we took an Arab bus from Jerusalem . The two men led by the driver told her that it was foolish and dangerous to come to the West Bank . I asked them what they were doing there . Stephanie apologized for me and nudged me as if to say “ shut up .” Nobody answered me . Stephanie shook her hand away from mine . She was teaching me a lesson , or maybe she was fed up with me .
The driver said , “ You don ’ t understand . Israel can be very , very dangerous , especially the West Bank .”
He kept repeating how dangerous it was . The theme from The Good , The Bad , and The Ugly came on . The men were quiet for a little while . I nudged Stephanie when the song came on . We started to laugh .
The driver turned around to tell us , “ The West Bank is very , very dangerous .”
We laughed harder as he said that . He looked angry . I tried to explain to him the irony of the song , and the spaghetti western backdrop .
He kept driving . Nobody said anything that didn ’ t seem necessary for the rest of the ride .
They dropped us off in Tiberias near our kibbutz . I had almost forgotten it was Christmas .
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