United Statesian

Santa? or is it Bill Clinton in disguise? Dear Citizens of the World! Being an expat in the very Western Tel Aviv you often forget that you are in the Holy Land...Whereas Jerusalem is the front-line of the battle between religions. Personally, the stress of living on the front line would not be my choice location, but going for the day is well worth the time, and easy to do since it only takes about 45 minutes to get there from Tel Aviv. However, on this visit, we were only had time to visit the Holly Supulchre and to have lunch at a restaurant the Pope John Paul ate at. Ray of light in the Holy Supulchor Cathedral I love how the intense beam of winter sunlight shoots across the church. Women praying, deep inside Jesus's tomb. The low amount of light and the one-meter thick wall makes the shot look like a drawing... Natural light from the eye of the Pantheon-like dome of the Saint Supulchor Church Christmas decorations on sale in the Christain quarter. So, if you are in Tel Aviv a...

Coffee break during our 15km walk along the coast Dear Citizens of the World, Although less exciting than my last post about seeing rockets and long-range missile tests, I think that these photos of a November walk along our beach in Tel Aviv are worth a post. I try to highlight the positive side of living in Tel Aviv as an expat. One advantage is the weather. Not many people can say they walk along the beach in mid-November and still see tons of people in bikini - not me though... not my style. Leaving Tel Aviv going North you not only have the beach. There are lots of other sights. You can wait at the bottom of the runway and let the plains buzz you as they land. Enjoy the Boardwalk around the Old North Port of Tel Aviv A cool, long-green, hair-like algae on the rocks at low tide The advertising for ice-cream leaves a lot to be desired...the least being ice-cream. These haggared costumes did not make me think of food... Sunset over the old port with fisherman in the background The S...

Suckling pig... crispy, but not dry Dear Citizens of the world! In one of my last posts -- Eating my way through Spain -- I mentioned the fact that Spanish tourism is centred around food. Segovia is no different. The "task" of visiting monuments, sights and museums is purely a way to work up an appetite. Visiting the Disney-like castle...working up an appetite! In Segovia, people most often walk around the centre, check out the aqueduct and tour the castle that locals claim to be the source of inspiration for Disneyland's logo. Then, if you have walked around enough (stopping to sample local delicacies between each monument), you can sit down, unbutton the trousers and dig in. I'm already in the pan and ready to go! Don't worry if you don't speak Spanish...most restaurants decorate their windows with cute versions of your meal... De aproveche! - The United Statesian PS Next week... Fallas I ( Fallas II) in Valencia. A good reason to eat Paella!

Postcard that made it from Egypt...despite being in the middle of a revolution... Dear Citizens of the World, E-mails, instant messages, mobile phones and free calls on Skype and other services have made the art of communicating much easier and enjoyable for me. However, traditional letters are still relevant. I argue that they are even more relevant now than they have been in a long time. The art of postcard writing has been almost lost, but thanks to a few thoughtful friends it is staying alive! It used to be a treat to get hand-written letters in the mail, but it was not uncommon. Now, I usually only gets bills and junk-mail -- this is even dwindling because many of my bills come to me by email and advertising is becoming more directed (fewer "blanket" campaigns). Those days that I do find a rare postcard from a friend in a distant land... it is such a treat! This last postcard arrived this week in Madrid after a three-week long journey from Egypt. My friends who wrote the...

Baby Jesus has a booboo... or in Spanish....Tiene pupa! Dear Citizens of the world, This Baby Jesus or Niño Jesús – pronounced /NEENyo HayZUS/ in Spanish – is a traditional part of Christmas decorations in Spain, but with a makeover. This photo is from a Spanish hospital that made Niño Jesús look more like the patients so that they would laugh a bit and relate better. Although, you could say that the Niño Jesús got caught up in a fight between Santa and the Three Kings ( Los Tres Reyes Magos ). In Spain, the Three “Magic” Kings are the ones that have always brought the gifts to the good little boys and girls. Since they were the ones bringing gifts to Baby Jesus it only makes sense that they give to all children. A more traditional look at the Niño Jesus . Kings Day ( Reyes ) is on January 6th, which means that kids and teachers get an extra week off over the holidays. However, it also means that children didn't get their gifts until the 6th of January... after two weeks of vaca...

Dear Citizens of the world, After finding this figure in a large nativity scene ( Belen in Spanish) in a small church in the Pyrenees. I immediately decided to find out more and write a blog. The cagón could be translated as the pooper, crapper or sh!tter. I will use the translation of " pooper " for this post. This image was shocking to me because I am used to the traditional scene of the happy family, three kings, angels, some farm animals, etc. Apparently, the tradition of the Nativity Pooper comes from the Catalan region of Spain. The Catalan name is " Cagagner " (click for orignal source in Spanish) . The Pooper is a symbol of good luck and prosperity: Poop = fertilizer = a good harvest = prosperity = happiness The pooper also gives a more "real" feel to the scenes. These nativities in Spain are huge. They cover several square meters with tons of bark, sand, dirt... and figures that include the poopers. The nativity scenes even include mechanized f...

Dear citizens of the world, Burn! Burn! Let the village burn! Although it might come as a shock, my Pueblo is not the only pueblo in Spain. Just five kilometers away there is a village called " El Puente del Arzobispo" (The Archbishop's Bridge - An Archbishop that owned the neighboring village ordered a bridge built over the Tajo River to make the pilgrimage to Guadalupe easier and safer.) On the 25th Novermber the village celebrates the " Chozas " festival to honor Santa Catalina . The bonfires are built in the middle of the roads all around the village. When the fire burns down the embers are used to BBQ meats (some call the meat juicy, others might call it fatty, yet others just call them tasty). How did the festival start? The origins are not clear, but most likely, people waiting to cross the river (pre-bridge times) often had to camp out and they would make big bonfires while waiting for dawn when they could forge the river. Here I offer you some pics fr...