Our flight left at six this morning so Kory set his phone alarm and I put in a wake up call for 1:30. When the phone rang this morning I just lifted it off the receiver and said, “Thank you” and hung up. Kory checked his phone and said it was one o’clock so he went back to sleep. I thought it was odd to get a call so early. A few minutes later I got another call, but it was from Runar, the guy organizing our trip, and he was wondering where we were. Everyone was loaded into the bus and ready to head to the airport. It was then I realized the hotel didn’t make the wake-up call I requested and when Kory set his alarm, he forgot there was an hour’s time difference between Israel and Norway so his alarm didn’t go off either! It was two o’clock! We all made a mad dash out of bed, grabbed our things and ran downstairs with our heart’s racing and our eyes barely open. It’s not how I like to start my day, that’s for sure.
Both Kory and I had trouble sleeping last night because there was a horn honking repeatedly just outside our window for a very long time around midnight. Today is some kind of celebratory day in Jerusalem commemorating their victory in 1967 over getting their city back from Palestine. There is a lot of extra media in town right now because of that, and our guide thought perhaps that had something to do with the riot we saw yesterday on the Mount of Olives. Today we are pretty sure it had to do with the horn honking too because apparently someone left some kind of “package” at the bus stop right in front of our hotel so the police were called in and they blew it up. The bus stop windows shattered in the process but at least no one was killed or hurt. Jerusalem is not a safe place, but I guess America has its problems, now too. We are glad to be back in Norway.
Kory and I got pulled aside in security at the airport in Tel Aviv. They x-ray all the luggage coming in and if they don’t recognize something, they open the bags. For me, it was a pair of binoculars and Kory’s suitcase had a book in it. Much ado about nothing. Security is unreal in that place with at least six check-points and three security screenings before getting on the plane. Insane.
We flew into Vienna again but had to rush to catch the flight to Oslo, so the day went much quicker than the travel day getting in to Israel. We had just an hour to kill in Oslo but everyone was so tired by then we all just sat like lumps on a log and didn’t do much. I had a little chat with Eli, the sister to our tour group organizer. She lives in Trondheim and has four kids, so she very much enjoyed some time alone with her brother on this trip. She was telling me some of the Norwegian customs she thinks are a bit odd, like all their formalities, stand-offish behavior, and unwillingness to acknowledge those who strive to get ahead. She also said it’s considered rude to call someone on the telephone and interrupt their day, when a text message will do. I guess that’s why everyone here sends text messages so much. I always thought it was to save money, but now I know. She also said it’s against the law to neuter animals. I always thought people just didn’t do it, I didn’t realize it was against the law. She agrees with me on many of these strange customs – they just aren’t nice. So we had a good yak and then it was time to fly home.
The crisp coastal air greeted us like a refreshing splash of cold water when we stepped off the plane. The sun was shining and I must say, when that happens, there is nowhere to be that is more beautiful than our little city in Norway. What a welcoming sight. We took the bus and were back home in less than an hour from when we landed. We unpacked a few things, had a bowl of ready-made Rømmegrøt for dinner (sour cream porridge) and then went to visit Tante Kari to show her the video of Kaleb’s baptism. We didn’t visit too long because both Kory and I were walking zombies, but she was still thankful we stopped by.
Kory and Kaleb were in bed early, but Kaleb asked me to wash his “Baptism” t-shirt so he could wear it to school tomorrow. It takes HOURS to wash a load of clothes so I’m forcing myself to stay awake so I can hang it to dry before I go to bed. I realized now I should have bought two of those t-shirts – one to wash and one to wear – and I’m sure I can throw out half his clothes because it seems he won’t be needing them anymore. He already hung his baptismal certificate up in his room and he put a poster of Jerusalem on his wall between the top bunk and the bottom one. Funny boy. I’m glad he’s mine. We had a wonderful trip, but it’s always good to be home.
(Most kids snuggle with their Teddy Bear when they fall asleep. Kory is in love with his I-pad.)
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