Mentality

I think that this article well outlines some of the problems in the middle east and why peace will be so difficult to achieve in Israel. It well outlines the Palestinian point of view - but not the Israeli. The murkiness of this problem seems to go back generation upon generation - before the times of any of the profits outline in the Torah, Bible, or Koran. To make a similarity I would compare it to the suppression of civil rights to black men or any woman. Unlike the United States where these have been outlawed, and still happen to some degree, this degree is much less than what it used to be. This attempt at peace between the two factions is relatively recent - and the "oppression" to a large extent has not yet lessened. If now this is to a lesser degree than before - I would really hate to see what that greater degree was. Part of the problem is also that while aggression on either side has been "outlawed" it is not enforced to a large degree - and there is a large amount of corruption. Because neither side enforces its laws against aggression towards the other faction - the problem continues and festers until an outbreak of violence occurs. Then the locale authorities become under international pressure to suppress these outbreaks of violence and it slows for a while. Once the pressure if off, the locale authorities then began to act with their own self-interest in mind, and the cycle continues. It's really a sad thing to watch.

I feel like I accomplished a bit more at work today; that I am really getting into the stuff that I need to understand to be able to function well in my job. It's a little scary that I only have four more days of training before I have to return to the states. I know that there is a lot more to learn yet - and I am no where near the point of knowing everything that I need to be able to do things well. I hate not knowing things - it's really frustrating.

The one downside of being away from home is having a real kitchen - even for a few days. I haven't had anything out of a real kitchen since really Dec. 30th. After two weeks - it's starting to wear thin. Even just a day or two of being able to make something would be nice. Living out of a hotel room - I don't mind so much; it's just a little boring at night because there is no one else to hang out with. I think if I was within one of the time zones in the US it wouldn't be quite so bad because I would be able to call people - or I would have work to do. But being so far ahead it makes it harder.

Overall it has been a good experience so far. Its different too being one of the youngest ones here. Even at the hotel, or on the tour yesterday, many people are traveling for work - however they are usually much older than me - mid-thirties being most of the younger ones that I've seen. The typical business traveler being even older than that. It's a great time for me personally to do all this travel - but a bit harder in terms of hanging out with people your own age and similar stage in life.