Foreign territory and a homecoming

Turkey. My mom warned me not to go. It isn't safe for me, a Jewish girl, to head off into Turkey. Especially on my own. I had some nervous thoughts at the last second, but in the end I decided I needed to go.

Turkey? Israel? Don't people get blown up there?

Yeah. They do. Just like they do in New York City, or Madrid. London England was attacked last year, only a couple months before I moved there.

It's true where I am right now isn't fully safe, but where is? Car accidents, kidnappings, hurricanes, cancer. Find me somewhere on this earth where none of those things could happen to me.

I need to understand. That's half the point of this journey. I need to know what it's like in Turkey for a woman. How else can I fully appreciate home, where I know I have the right to not be stared at by creepy men. It made me question a lot of basic rights that I take for granted. But I also was impressed my the helpfulness and friendliness of the Turks. People who didn't speak English walking blocks out of their way to help me find my way home. The girl on the bus beside me translating every word the bus driver said. Cabbies giving me free rides home, just because.

And Israel. Ah, Israel. What do you think of when you think of Israel? Suicide bombers? War? Conflict? Yeah. That's because the news rarely, if ever, consists of "everything's a-ok". Yeah, bad stuff happens here. Yeah, there are soldiers with gigantic guns everywhere. But also, there are millions of people going about their lives. They work, they date, they go out on the weekend. They garden, own cats, shop, go to the gym, go on vacations, watch reality TV, and do art. Y'know, real lives. I don't feel unsafe at all here. It's the same as home - take care to stay in the 'right" part of town after dark (for me, the Jewish part), stay alert, and stuff should be fine. It's might not be, but the same holds true anywhere.

Besides, according to my Israel Let's Go guide, more Israelis have died in car accidents than in all their wars combined.

And in the end, what's the point of this life? It my head, always taking the safest road is a waste. I'll always be careful, but that doesn't mean I'll shy away from a challenge.