Imagining the prophet Jonah boarding his ship in Jaffa just days before he was cast into the sea and swallowed by a whale, I piled into the Israeli girls' car and continued my strange little pilgrimage.

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As I walked to my car I remember thinking about how little I was appreciated in comparison to how hard I worked.

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An hour later D, a young, smart would-be politician, picks me up from my hotel in his little Saba, the chunky, clunky people's car that is an Iranian version of the Kia Pride.

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"I could run my car and keep the heat on and listen to the radio a little bit, " he said.

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My little brother even raised eight baby possums after their mother was hit by a car (all named Henry, so it was hard to tell them apart).

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When we got back into the car, my older son couldn't stop smiling, and the little one kept turning to see the house as we drove away.

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Also, the six-speed automatic transmission in my test car (no manuals available in the U.S.) was a little bit fussy, and there were occasions when the engine-transmission software was momentarily stymied as to which gear to jump to.

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Not long ago, in the hope that our sons might become a little more Matsigenka, my husband and I gave them a new job: unloading the grocery bags from the car.

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