McDonald's in the Holy Land

About three years ago I was in Jerusalem during the Passover. While it was an incredible experience to be in the Holy Land during this holiday, it was also one of the most frustrating. Why? Because there was nothing to eat. Correction- there were things to eat- just not good things. During this week-long observance I had the opportunity to eat matzo crackers, random things baked with matzo crackers (the favorite of which was matzanga- lasagna made with matzo crackers), and more matzo crackers. Awesome. Thus enter McDonald's*.

Jake, Sean, Spencer, Tanner and I decided to go to the McDonald's on Ben Yehuda Street because we were starving and had matzo coming out of our ears. We thought- hey, McDonald's wouldn't observe the Passover, right? Wrong. They did. For the most part at least. Which means our meals consisted of matzo-fried chicken nuggets and hamburgers with pancake buns. Kind of disgusting. We walked to a table, thoroughly disappointed, when we realized that there was some commotion happening outside. We walked onto the upstairs balcony (it was a nice McDonald's) and saw a group of Jewish men across the street undulating and praying (at least I think that's what they were doing- I don't speak Hebrew...). We asked around and found out that they were protesting the McDonald's because they were serving chick peas.** Being boys and therefore ridiculous, Sean, Jake, Spencer and Tanner wanted to eat outside on the balcony and watch. And thus were born the following:

*Side note: I never eat at McDonald's in America because I think it's gross. For some reason, however, it's perfectly acceptable to eat there while in a foreign country. I have two theories to explain this discrepancy: 1- in other countries, McDonald's is a pretty nice place to eat (and often pretty expensive) so the quality of food is a little better; 2- eating American food once in a while is a nice reminder of home.

**Seriously, McDonald's? What's the point in half observing the Passover? Just give me a normal hamburger bun!