Border Crossing

The border crossing back into Israel took forever for various unimportant reasons. Some people in the group were stopped and questioned but I sailed through security with no issues. As I sat and waited for others to get through I noticed this charming young Arab family waiting for their bags to come through the security. The young Arab mother had three little boys. The youngest of which was no more than seven months old. I went up to her and in a mix of English and broken Arabic I started talking to her. She did not speak much English but she was extremely friendly. Then I turned to the baby and he played along perfectly. Immediately he smiled at me. Then he started laughing which in turn made his mother laugh. She would smile and laugh and say things in Arabic that I did not understand but I would smile and nod my head. She handed me her baby and let me play with him for a long time. She even left him alone with me while she went and used the bathroom.

I have felt a bit frustrated at times because I cannot communicate very well with the locals here since I do not speak Hebrew or Arabic. But this experience was a lesson to me in communication. Trust that forms from unspoken words.