the negev

So today I went here. Israel's Negev Desert-- over 50% of the country's land with less that 10% of it's population. All my friends pressed their foreheads to the windows with bleary eyes and said,
"It's so strange, it's so beautiful; only in Israel."
But looking out at those wicked badlands, rough bushes and sharp stones, I couldn't help but feel like I was home. The Negev was nothing new to me; as Uri stood in front of the group talking about the solitude the desert could offer, the clarity of mind it could give, I found myself thinking
I know. I live here.
Because I do, I really do live here. Scrambling up the backbone of a mock crater, squinting down at the dull earth bulging up around me, I understand more than ever that I am, first and foremost, a Citizen of the Desert. No matter where I go, the intensity and the emptiness of desert will always make my freedom.