I’m not sure what rock we’ve been living under, but Josh and I finally came out from under it this week. Each summer, there is an amazing two week arts and crafts festival in Jerusalem. I absolutely LOVE crafts festivals and I’m not sure how we’ve managed to miss this one for so long.

We had a wonderful time buying wedding gifts from a friend of ours who was sells her beautiful pottery , watching dance performances from all sorts of countries, eating delicious food, and watching the mix of people. We even got to enjoy a concert for a bit. Of course, we were the only people in the audience who didn’t seem to know who was performing – and who couldn’t sing along with everyone else. But that seems to be our typical experience as Olim. We’re always one stepped removed from understanding much of what is going on around us with Israeli culture – but we still enjoy it as outsiders, of sorts.

While at the fair, I kept thinking how important it would be for all of those Israel detractors out there to see this fair. Life is alive – vibrant – and exciting here in Israel and we just keep moving forward through the muck, the P.R. nightmares, and the constant issues around us.