By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Life in Israel is anything but sweet at the moment, with a difficult political situation, war in Gaza, over one hundred hostages still being held by Hamas and the heat of high summer. And yet, coming back to our home after being away for over a month was sweet and enjoyable.
Our two-day journey to Marseille from central France was long and arduous, despite being broken by an overnight stay in Lyon and an enjoyable family visit there. The burden of driving fell entirely on my Other Half (OH), and despite the good roads and fairly frequent pit stops for rest and food it was a strain on our minds and bodies, which are not as young and agile as they once were. The night flight back was relatively short, but provided little opportunity to rest because of the presence nearby of a courageous young mother with her four children.
It was comforting to find our house clean and in good condition, and as dawn broke we were able to enjoy the sight of the sun rising over the Judaean hills and relish the bright Mediterranean light. We were able to collect our new car from the agency and go to our favorite restaurant in nearby Abu Ghosh for lunch. As we parked one of the waiters came to greet us and congratulated us on our new car. We are customers there of long standing, it’s true, but to be able to recognize which car we drive is quite a feat. After all, hundreds of people eat there every week. The other waiters came out to join him, and a lively discussion about the pros and cons of the various cars followed. The whole experience (as well as the enjoyable meal) gave us the feeling of being welcomed and happy to be home again.
As the weekend approaches we look forward to meeting up with our children and grandchildren once more and have already spoken to most of them on the phone. The resumption of our traditional Friday night family meal is one of the highlights of our week, giving us an opportunity to catch up on the lives of our nearest and dearest and also to share with them our experiences of our time abroad.
Music plays an important role in our life, whether in Israel or abroad, but it is always a special pleasure to be able once again to turn on the radio at almost any time of the day or night and hear good music introduced by Hebrew-speaking announcers. Naturally, the radio announcements on the music program in France speak in French which, despite our best efforts, we can’t always understand. In addition, many of those programs involve lengthy discussions or erudite analyses (always in French), which cut short the actual time devoted to music. Besides this, every day there is a two-hour slot, between six and eight in the evening, devoted to jazz, which is not quite our taste. We try to time our evening stroll for that period, but it doesn’t always work out, and we certainly can’t keep walking for two hours.
And so, despite the joys of life in France, there’s no escaping the banal truth that there’s no place like home.
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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is an author and freelance writer based in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion, Israel.