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!