Life in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is an amazing, vibrant city that I haven't even made a dent in exploring. For the month of September, during the day, we all attend Ulpan (Hebrew class) from 9:30 until 2:30, and then we either have lectures/ seminars, trips, or free time. We've learned a lot of Hebrew so far, but I need to work on pronouncing the words better (Israeli's respond to my Hebrew in English-- they know from Shalom that I don't speak Hebrew well!) Since it's holiday season, we've missed a lot of Ulpan time, but I've gotten to visit a lot of friends and hang out by the beach in Tel Aviv. One of my favorite nights so far was when a group of us bought a few bottles of wine, chocolate, and pretzels, and headed to the beach. We sat by the water, drank our wine, ate our chocolate, and told stories. The beach area is really lit up at night, so we were able to go night swimming! It was great! It doesn't get cold at night, the water was really warm, and there was a warm breeze from the sea. We enjoyed a lot of laughs when locals came up and tried to talk to us- their lack of English and our lack of Hebrew did not make for an easy conversation.

view of the city from the beach

One afternoon, we went on a trip to hi-tech park where we visited a company called Given Imaging that produces a pill with a camera in it for non-invasive GI endoscopies. They're working on using it for colonoscopies, which would save patients a lot of trouble. Pretty cool stuff.
Basically, life in Tel Aviv is the same as life in any other city. We have lots of places to choose from when going out for a meal or to a bar, the shook for buying fresh fruits and vegetables, a huge and confusing mall, lots of cute shops, and a beach. In my apartment, my two roommates and I share a bathroom, a large bedroom that includes small kitchen area (no oven or toaster!), and a small balcony with a view of the park behind our building. A lot of our building is occupied by people on our program, with a few others from around the world. On a good day, we have internet for a few hours, and if not, there's a great cafe across the street with really good hot chocolate and free wifi. I try to limit my falafel intake to only a few times a week, but it's just too good. Walking around Tel Aviv can be a little overwhelming- Israelis tend to follow no rules, including driving laws. Cars will drive anywhere they can fit, motorcycles dodge in and out of lanes, between lanes, onto sidewalks, and wherever they can squeeze through traffic. Crossing the street is an experience. You have to step out slowly and the cars are supposed to stop- they usually do. All in all, this crazy city is starting to feel like home!

Tel Aviv!!

As we boarded the bus to Tel Aviv and said goodbye to Jerusalem, excitement and anxiety filled the air. Everyone was nervous to find out what their apartments would look like in Beit Leni (the building that hosts all of our apartments). We made a few stops along the way, but everyone just wanted to get to Tel Aviv and move in. When the bus finally pulled up at Beit Leni, our home for the next 5 months, everyone hauled their luggage up the stairs and opened the door to their new apartments. One of my roommates and I opened our door, stepped inside, and breathed a sigh of relief. They had prepared us for the worst, but our triple was very large and clean. As the afternoon progressed, we unpacked, our other roommate arrived, and we went to find some dinner and explore the area.

Sunset on the beach

Beit Leni is on King George Street, in the middle of everything. Walking through our gate puts you smack dab in the middle of the crazy city of Tel Aviv. The closest falafel stand is only a minute away, and a wonderful ice cream place is one block away. The Dizengof Center/Mall is also only a block away. It's a great mall with more stores than I even know. The mall is built entirely on a ramp, but the ramps are not even across the sides of the mall. It may look like a store is straight across from you, but it's not. Nor can you simply walk across the mall to get to a store, you have to either go up or down and somehow get around. Very confusing. The gym I joined is on the top floor but across the street on the other side of the mall (took a few tries to find it but now I know my way around).

The first night we were in Tel Aviv, we went out to explore the beach area. A lot of the nightlife is by the beach, including a few bars on the beach! After we walked down the boardwalk awhile, we got to a section of outdoor restaurants on the boardwalk, where we stayed for a while. The beach is less than a 10 minute walk away, the sand is the softest I've ever felt, and the water is always warm because it is so hot every day. 

My favorite things about Tel Aviv are: living in Israel, the beach, falafel, running along the boardwalk/beach at sunset, and learning Hebrew. All of which I do/ go to/ eat pretty much every day. When you're in Tel Aviv, you could be anywhere. It's New York, it's London, it's a big city. There are many different food stands, cute clothing shops, a local market called the shook (where we buy fresh fruit, vegetables, pita, and challah at great prices). At night, there are many, many streets to choose to explore and even more bars to choose from. We're gonna need 5 months to see and do everything! 

My Religious Rosh Hashanah

This year, for Rosh Hashanah, I was invited by my Uncle Dexter's aunt and uncle to stay with them in Ra'anana for the holiday. After I accepted, they informed me that they are modern orthodox (uh oh, I already said yes!). So, I went to the mall and bought some orthodox appropriate clothing for my 4 day trip. This means skirts that cover the knees and tops that cover the shoulders. Their clothing styles are no different than anyone else's except for the lengths of shirts and skirts.
A few hours before Rosh Hashanah, they picked me up and drove me to Ra'anana, which is about 25 min northeast of Tel Aviv. And so began my 'religious experience' and 4 day Jewish education session. When I got to Ra'anana, we drove around and I got the tour: Ra'anana is a beautiful modern orthodox community, and you wouldn't know it was orthodox on a normal day. They have totally normal lives, full of TV, internet, texts, and gossip, except when they observe holidays and Shabbat.
Once we got to the house, which was a beautiful old house with lots of far eastern art deco, we had some time to relax before the big Rosh Hashanah dinner. This was my last chance to use my phone and the internet for 4 days! Throughout Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat, the entire city did not drive cars, use electronics, or turn on/ plug in any devices. This means the lights, oven, and air conditioning were on a timer and went on and off as set. If you mess up, oh well, hello darkness.
On Wednesday evening (my first day), the men went to schul before dinner, but the women stayed to prepare the meal. After schul, the whole family gathered for a wonderful Rosh Hashanah meal. I met my host family's children and grandchildren (who are only a little younger than me). I got to talk to the 18 year old and 20 year old about their jobs in the army and their lives in Ra'anana. I spent a lot of time with them over the 4 days, and they speak English very well, as does the entire family. Before we ate each meal, we said kiddish, washed our hands, said motze, and finally dug in. The food was amazing! Lots of meat, potatoes, and vegetables and homemade challah. Besides dipping apples in honey, we dipped the challah in honey- delish. During the meal, the whole family joined in several songs, each started by whoever felt like it. After the meal, we said birkat hamazon and sat outside for a bit. Before I knew it, it was midnight! The meals continued like this the whole time I was there, which made up for the long hours of services to come.
Thursday morning, we went to services for 5 hours! The entire service was in Hebrew, and there was no single leader. Different congregants lead the parts of the service from the center of the men's section (the women sit above in the balcony). After services, we had another delicious meal and then relaxed for a bit. Soon enough, it was time to pick up the men from schul and have another family dinner. Needless to say, by Friday I was absolutely stuffed.
On Friday afternoon, we relaxed and prepared for Shabbat. I got a lot of reading done over the holidays, which was a nice change. Friday night we lit the candles and followed the usual meal routine. We ate outside in the garden with about 30 people, all of whom have been close friends their entire lives. For the parents, this means over 30 years of friendship, and for my peers, about 20 years. They were all very welcoming and the girls my age talked to me in English. Turns out, they both worked at Ramaa camps in the States! Oh camp. The boys played some basketball after Shabbat dinner (I didn't want to embarrass anyone so I didn't join).
Saturday morning we went to Shabbat services and then my host grandfather gave a kiddish for the English speakers of the schul. Finally, the sun set on Saturday and I was able to check my phone! I survived my 4 days in the modern orthodox community!
Overall, it was a great experience, and I met a lot of wonderful people that welcomed me into the family. The food was great, and it was worth the long hours of services to get to know the family and learn about life in Israel in a modern orthodox community.

Jerusalem and Orientation

After watching Remember the Titans and Date Night several times on the plane, Ellie and I arrived in Tel Aviv! We made it through customs and pushed our overloaded carts out to the taxi section for our first experience negotiating a taxi ride. We got in line for a shared taxi (well not really a line, Israeli's don't form lines, if you didn't know) and tried to find someone to help us. Many pushes and shoves and lots of sweat later, we were on our way to Jerusalem.

View of the Old City and Surrounding Neighborhoods

Driving through Jerusalem provides an incredible view of the mountains and hills around the entire city. From the Old City to the local neighborhoods on the rolling hills of Jerusalem, everything is photo worthy (pictures will be on Facebook soon). During orientation, we had an amazing tour of the four quarters in the Old City of Jerusalem and heard lots of the stories of each religion as we walked through. We visited the Armenian, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish quarters. We also went to the Western Wall at night and took a tour of the Kotel tunnels, which again included lots of stories. The wall is even more magnificent at night, and is surprisingly crowded.

The night life in Jerusalem is nowhere near that of Tel Aviv, but we managed to find a loud, crowded bar and a quiet bar for quality time with friends next to each other and with outside seating. The best part of going out was the waffle bar! That's right, waffles with any topping made to order, hot and fresh. Delish.
Speaking of food, the food here is incredible! Everything is fresh and unique to the chef. Fresh vegetables, real hummus, falafel, and rugelah for dessert!
There are about 120 people on my program (Career Israel) and most of them will be living with me in Tel Aviv and working in the general area. The rest will be in Jerusalem for their internships. There are a lot of Americans on the program, and a bunch of people from the UK and Australia as well. It's been great meeting so many new people from around the world (just like camp!).
That's about it for my week in Jerusalem. More updates soon (depending on internet access)!