Weekend Relaxation

Today wasn't much of anything. Michele and I tried to go to the beach about 11, got lost and ended up taking a taxi. We were told that the beach was "15 minutes walking" and we believed them. Turns out that 15 minutes gets you to the middle of the airport, and we couldn't figure out how to get around it. There is a way, but we couldn't find it.

The highlight of this morning? We asked a guy for help and he said to, "jump the fence [to the airport]; it would be fun to watch." We passed on this, but appreciated his sense of humor.

When we did finally get to the beach, we sat and had hummus and french fries. One of my absolute favorite things about Israel is the drinks. First is something that's as prevalent as sweet tea in the south - lemonade with mint. It's cool, refreshing, sweet but not sugary, and utterly delightful. The second is grapefruit soda. Prigat is my favorite brand, but it's basically white grapefruit juice that's been carbonated. It's delicious. I like the tangyness, and I feel like it's more healthy than soda.

So if that's a favorite, a not so great thing is that it takes FOREVER to eat and be served. You sit down and wait twenty minutes for menu, then thirty to order, another fifteen for your food to come, and when you ask for the check, that takes twenty minutes to come. It's all very nice and relaxing, but frustrating when you're ready to leave. 

After some food, Michele's friend Cinderella, from Germany, joined us, and we laid in the sun and took naps on the beach. It was a nice day with no clouds, but was on the chilly side, so we were all in long sleeves and pants. We headed back to our dorms after a bit, mostly because we were cold.

This evening, Michele and I went to meet and Israeli soldier that she knows through a friend, and he took us to show us around central Tel Aviv, and we went to Max Brenner, which is an amazing chocolate shop. We had a lovely time and talked a bit, and now it's time for bed. Ulpan starts bright and early tomorrow (Sunday!) morning, and it's supposed to be super intense.

Lilah tov!

Shabbat Shalom!

Today is Friday, which means that everything closed about 2PM today. I woke up at noon, which didn't actually leave that much time to do much. The apartment needed cleaning, so I did that, and then went on a search for milk before getting ready for services. I finally found some at a 24/7 store - it's sort of like a gas station food mart.

So I searched the internet and found a synagogue for Progressive Judaism (or the Reform movement), that's only about 35 minutes away, walking. I posted in the Facebook group to invite other people, and Michele came with me. It was a nice temple, and the people were welcoming. The sanctuary was gorgeous.

Services were in Hebrew (obviously), and for the most part, I could follow along. The two biggest problems were that the cantor chanted INCREDIBLY fast and there were lots of extra versions. Like, I know my prayers, but I can't say them that quickly, and I'm used to saying each prayer once, not three times.  The order was a little off, as well, but not too terrible to figure out.  My goal is that, by the end of my time here, I will be able to understand the sermon and will be able to keep up with and read all the prayers.

Now it's bed time and tomorrow we'll hang out at the beach. The first round of pictures is on Facebook, so go check them out!

Lilah tov!

Beach and Shopping!

Wow! A long day, and I haven't even started classes yet!

So, the first thing they SHOULD have told us when we got here would have been how to get hot water in our shower. For the past two days, I just took frigid showers because I was too tired to even complain that much. This morning, however, we figured it out. There's a timer/knob in our kitchen that turns on the electricity for the water heater in the apartment. So, you have to turn on the knob for at least 30 minutes so the water will get hot, and then you have to take your shower before all the water gets cold again, which is surprisingly quickly.

After breakfast and a hot shower (finally), I met up with some girls around 11 and we started walking towards the beach. Tel Aviv University is in the north part of the city, over a little river, and is about three miles from the city center (officially). We were told that the beach was 15 minutes from campus, though, and we thought it'd be nice to walk down to the market (Shuk HaCarmel), which is in the southern part of the city, while walking along the beach. Well, we turned towards the beach and started walking, but we ran into the little baby airport and had to make a detour and made it to the beach in about 35 minutes.

The "beach" that we were on was in fact a boardwalk, and really pretty and nice. What's super interesting is that they have outdoor gym equipment for public use.  It's pretty much just your basic machines, and they use your body weight rather than built-in weights.  Also on this boardwalk were huge jungle gyms and swing sets and all sorts of playground equipment that looked like it was for adults. (At least it was big enough for adults.)

We finally did hit the beach and walked some through the sand and felt the water. The temperature while we were walking was fairly high - probably the mid/high 70's, but the water was relatively cold. There were some people in the water, and quite a few on the beach, but still was a lot quieter than I've seen it in the past.

Walking down the beach was nice, and we finally found the market after about three hours of walking. I got a trashcan and a blanket and some delicious strawberries in the market. Some of the other girls got some things, too. We asked at a stall where to get falafel, and we were sent down a side alley for some that was both good and cheap. (Six shekel! That's less than $2.) Then we headed back to campus, where I took a nap. It was about five hours of walking, overall.

I must say, Israelis love to shop. The market was huge, and there was everything from fresh fruit and bread to clothing and shoes to towels and bedding. And it's all relatively cheap. The food is amazing and fresh and smells wonderful. The clothing is all the latest fashions and comfortable. It's just a fun place to be, especially if you like shopping, and even if you don't, like me.

My roommate woke me up around 7 for tonight's Tel Aviv Nightlife Tour, which was really interesting. We saw some cool places and learned a tiny bit of history, but mostly it was about, "Here's a bar. There's a bar. That's a gay bar. This is a pickup bar. You should go to that bar." Apparently there's a lot of drinking and a lot of bars. It's what all the Israeli's do - go out and get drunk. It costs about the same as in the States for a drink ($6 for a draft beer at a more expensive place), but they do sometimes have specials, like 60 Shekel for unlimited drinks (about $18/20).

Tonight's tour really drove home the whole temperature duality for me. During the day, I wore shorts and a tee and was comfortably warm.  Tonight, I wore long pants and a jacket and was on the chilly side. It goes from a high of 80/85 during the day to a low of 55/60. It makes dressing for the afternoon and evening difficult, but I'm sure I'll get better at it.

Tomorrow is Friday, so it's our official weekend. (SO weird!) Classes start on Sunday. Hopefully I can get my final things in order and catch up on sleep before then.

Lilah tov!

Welcome to Tel Aviv!

So it's time to get back to blogging! I'm sure this will be good for those of you reading to know. =]

I arrived in Tel Aviv yesterday morning, and it's been an exhausting two days. Flying business class (for the first time) on a 12 hour flight was GLORIOUS.  I had a wonderful big seat that laid out flat, real dishes, free wine with dinner, and a delightfully clean airplane toilet. The people around me were nearly all Jewish, and the lady next to me was interesting to talk to; if only she had slept as much as I tried to...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before the flight, I was in JFK airport for four hours for the group flight. I sat down next to a girl named Nessa, who I'm sure will show up frequently in my writing this semester. She's from Oregon but goes to school in Connecticut and is super cool. Since meeting, we've had some very interesting conversations on a variety of topics.  As a religious studies major, she knows so much more and is able to give academic references for her support, which is really cool.

So yesterday, we came to campus on buses (there were 90 of us on the group flight), and then had to wait to get into our dorms.  Nearly everyone had come alone, but there is one group of girls that are all in the same sorority that came together, and then a couple of pairs and threesomes that knew people. It's nice to be in a group this large where people don't know each other because it's easier to make friends. In fact, I've met quite a few cool people; Erin, from Canada, Helen, who studies in Canada but's from Boston, Miriam, who's from London, and my roommates, Yasmin (from California) and Halley (New York). There are a TON of people from New York, but there are some from other places. Our few non-Americans are from Panama, Norway, France and Britain - at least the ones I've met. It's really cool.

Our dorms are smallish, but decent. Two bedrooms, a double sink, a reasonably sized center room with a kitchen and dining table, an oddly shaped shower and a toilet the size of a closet. (The door opens out because you step sideways into the bathroom and sit. You can't even turn around.)

Today was orientation, so it was an early morning for a campus tour, a welcome seminar, lunch, pictures, ice breakers with other students, and a rules lecture for our apartments.  We did have quite a bit of free time, where I hung out on the wonderfully grassy hills on campus. Our dorms are across the street from the university, and everything is guarded with key fobs and I.D. cards and stuff. It's strange to have such high security, especially coming from a place like Clemson, where there's hardly any at all. I understand it, but it's just something else to get used to.

Oh, we also took our Hebrew placement tests today... Jokes on jokes on jokes. So, we were divided into four classrooms - beginner, one semester, two semester, and advanced. I stayed in the beginner, where we were divided into none to knowing some. I know how to read and write and script, so I said that, and they handed me a paper that was entirely in Hebrew. Every single person who said they knew SOME Hebrew got this test, and we ALL gave it back for the absolute beginner test. They graded them right there in front of us, giving us 0, 0+, A, B, C, D or 1. Somehow, I ended up with a D, but she wanted to put me in higher and I refused, saying that my ability to transliterate was not equivalent with knowing vocabulary or anything. The only reason I understood and got the translation was because it said, "Dani... to university... she... a lot/large... at university" which is fairly easy to fake understand to say "Dani goes to university. She learned a lot at university." So... This should be interesting. I'm pretty sure that everyone expected to do a lot better than they did.

Campus is really big, but pretty. There are a fair amount of green spaces and everything seems pretty open as far as lower buildings and trees and big areas.  Other than a five or six coffee shops, there aren't many places to eat, but my classes will be in the afternoon/evening, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. The buildings are all very different and very distinctive, with unique architecture. I'm looking forward to learning my way around.

Yesterday night, Nessa and I went to central Tel Aviv to see the apartment (I tried to get some things, but couldn't) and ate at the falafal place I liked last time I was here. Then we walked the three miles back to campus, which was nice, but exhausting, especially considering our day and traveling. Tonight, we went with Helen and Erin to a place right around the corner from us and had some more falafel. It's SO GOOD. This place is right behind the huge mall that's about a block away from us, so I'm guessing we'll be going there often.

Tomorrow we're going to Shuk HaCarmel, which is sort of like a flea market or fresh produce stand.  It has clothing and food and household items and you can haggle and explore and get things cheaply. I have a list of things to get for our apartment, like a blanket and a trashcan, but am most looking forward to the fresh food. Then, at night, there is a university sponsored night tour of Tel Aviv (basically a pub crawl). It should be a fun day.

Lilah tov! (Goodnight!)