South by Gaza - A weekend at the spa

So this weekend I'm visiting with the armed guard from my birthright program Oran. Besides being only slightly exaggerated- the sexiest man I've ever met- he's a traveler and such a laid back guy. He invited me to his house for shavuot and he lives very close to the gaza strip and the border of Egypt.

I thought to myself - ok i'm going to visit Oran to see how he lives. He spoke of missiles flying over head constantly and I thought - prepare yourself Jessica for a war zone. Well, like everything in this country - his neighborhood and home are full of contradictions. For 8 years these missiles fly from Gaza everyday - to the point where there is a bomb shelter next to the soccer field here in case mid game the players need to escape the field - but next to his house his mother runs her own spa. There's a hot tub, massages, facials and waxing in the most serene environment. The sunset here is the most beautiful I've seen so far in Israel. They have a veranda behind their house and it's filled with hammocks and cushions where I could spend weeks of my life reading and napping and drinking tea with fresh mint and lemon. There are pomegranate, mango and orange trees.

The neighborhood is filled with young people Oran's age that gather outside without calling each other to smoke nagilla and talk for hours while drinking nestea or coca cola.

But last night was very interesting. We went to the house of one of Oran's friends and it was a gathering of hippie travelers. Everyone looked like they'd been to India and back yesterday and we drank wine, smoked and ate sweets and talked about music and politics.

Oran told me one night they were in the exact same situation- chilling out and enjoying themselves - when 15 different missiles flew over them. I still today can't process what that must have felt like but again it's the case where I'm sitting right there picturing it happening that night to me.