The hebrew is still really coming along. I’d say the main reason I’m studying so diligently is because of the two ridiculously cute admins in my office, Tal and Shira, who stop me in my tracks every morning and quiz me on the new words and phrases I’ve learned.
I mean, the only reason I survived my bar mitzvah studying as a kid was because of my beautiful Hebrew tutor. I guess some things never change.
But really, I have more zeal for learning this language than I’ve had with past attempts with French and Czech, because I feel like no matter where I end up, it’s cool to know the language of my people, understand the prayers in synagogue, and communicate with fellow Jews wherever I find them.
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The highlight of the past couple weeks has been my glorious acquisition of a bicycle. Eran, my amazing co-worker and friend, (the same guy who took me to the dermatologist) drove me around in the peak of rush hour last Thursday evening to look at options, and I chose a beastly Trek hardtail and Eran helped me negotiate the price down. I haven’t thought of a name for it yet. It’ll never replace Yoji, my touring companion, but it’s good for my purposes now.
I didn’t bring any gear with me (I didn’t expect to do any cycling…I should have known better), so I had to buy some essentials. Luckily, there is a street near my apartment called HaHashmonaim with literally 7 bike shops within three blocks. So I was able to compare and find the best prices on a helmet, gloves, pump, tube, lights, shorts, bell, etc.
My theory is that all these bike shops were placed next to each other on purpose, so all the bargain-hunting Jews could find the best deals :)
So now, instead of a cramped hour-long bus ride on the highway in traffic, it’s a 45-minute bike ride along the beach, with the sun on my back and the wind in my face. My crossfit gym is right on the path home -- totally convenient.
It’s crazy how the simple act of getting a bike can open up my world and enrich my life. Just yesterday, a few peeps from my program rode our bikes out to Hayarkon park for a picnic. Hayarkon is a beautiful green riverside expanse in North Tel Aviv, stretching east from the Port. But it’s really far north to walk, and there is no public transit on Shabbat, so the bikes are the perfect solution. It was an awesome day!
Because of the commute path and the gym locatoin, I’m hitting the seaside nearly every day without even trying. The days are getting longer now, too (Daylight savings time in Israel is a few weeks later than everywhere else…something weird about the timing for Yom Kippur…) and the weather is getting warmer. I’m starting to fall in love with Tel Aviv.
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Work continues to go well. I feel like I’m in a business school course because I’m learning so much about agriculture business development, government relations, and project management in emerging markets. And the people really make it a great place to work.
I’m starting to think I’d like to stay on with this company and continue my experience in Israel for an additional year, maybe two, before graduate school.
I’m working hard, but I’m also making sure to experience other things. I'm LOVING my three day weekends. Going to museums, taking trips, exploring the neighborhoods all over Tel Aviv, writing this blog, and practicing Hebrew are just a few of the things I’m doing on my days off.
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Last weekend, our whole group went to the Dead Sea for a program called Dialogue Seminar. It was basically the same exact premise as the previous weekend in Tel Hai: meeting and interacting and connecting with Israelis. So I wasn’t really expecting anything new, and I was even thinking about skipping out on the group activities. (plus, my whole program was going, rather than just the interested applicants to the one in Tel Hai.) But surprisingly, it was even more substantive and rich than the weekend before.
We did an incredible hike through Ein Geti, this gorgeous lush green oasis of flowing springs, right in the middle of the desert. Some believe this was the historical location of the Garden of Eden. Then we had the afternoon to spend hanging out in the Dead Sea. I did the full body mud thing and also swam out really far and had some solid meditative time, floating weightless in the sun.
The group activities were really enlightening, and prompted some great discourses. In our small group, we had Americans and Israelis on the left as well as the right, which made for some insightful discussions. One girl, Adi, and I were the lefties of the group against my friends Ian and Rebecca as well as an israeli guy named Itamar.
One activity in particular stands out. The leader read out questions that we had written down earlier in the day for our counterparts, like “How do you feel about serving in the army,” for Israelis, and “Why did you choose to live in Israel,” for Americans. One of the questions for the Americans was, “would you consider making Aliyah?” and I explained my spiel about how the economics are better in the states, and I think I even mentioned the word, “lifestyle,” which in retrospect sounded a little superficial.
Well, Itamar, this cool stoic character, calmly and nonchalantly proceeded to blow my mind. He put it far more eloquently than this, but he basically told me how his grandfather left behind an entire street of shops that he owned in Iraq, to come to Israel in order to participate in the great cause of building a Jewish homeland, and how some things are more important than “lifestyle.”
I responded that I also wanted to be near my family, and that although Zionism made sense logically to me, I don’t really feel it in my soul and I don’t think I’d enjoy myself personally as much in Israel. Then he — again more eloquently than this — made a really strong and coherent case for achieving one’s individual needs by helping with the collective (and more important) needs of the Jewish people.
It was the first time that I pondered the premise of maybe thinking about perhaps considering the idea of making Aliyah.
So all in all, a really wonderful weekend.
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I’m going back to Silent Arrow for the Passover break, and my friend Noah from my program is coming with me. Dror was nice enough to set us up with a family in Mitzpe Ramon to have the seder with. I’m looking forward to 10 more days in the serenity of the Negev :)
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| Cool graffiti in Yafo |
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| My friend Madeleine looking badass with a cigarette on the beach, during a fun little outing to Yafo |
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| Yeah, those are huge teddy bears climbing the construction cranes. Somebody has a sense of humor |
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| Cool bike wheel decor - Yafo |
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| Ein Geti hike |
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| View of the Dead Sea from our hostel. Incredible! |
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| Great discussions during our group workshops. I think right now we're arguing about dating and marrying non-Jews |
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| Bike picnic in Hayarkon park |
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| Picnicking fun. The two on the left, Caroline and Elie, are Australian and Luxembourgian respectively, and had their first experience with baseball. |
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| My favorite shop at the Shuk. The guy always has good prices, and you can see the screen of his scale to make sure you don't get screwed |
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| The bike commute home from work. Like, are you kidding me? |
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| Sitting and learning Hebrew at the cafe in the park next to my place |
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| This is literally a kit-kat bar with pop-rocks mixed in. I didn't like it |
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| Israeli fashion. Gotta love the Biblical names for the different styles |
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| Part of my commute to work is on a dirt road that starts from this parking lot. On this day, there was some kind of youth / scout convention. It'd be a random place to have this activity no matter what...but it's especially crazy because, the afternoon before, Eran made me guess the reason there were cars driving in circles in this lot. Turns out, this is the oldest place in Israel to pick up prostitutes! No joke. The location used to be out in the middle of nowhere, but now has been developed and commercialized. Apparently the authorities still leave it alone. |
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| Another shot of the bike commute |
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| With admins Tal and Shira and colleague Michael |
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| I share my office with Hagai, an agriculture manager. He is THE BEST person I could imagine working next to. He often plays Israeli music (and sings along), and the entire office is decorated with cool art he got from Papua New Guinea. Plus he looks like a Street Fighter Character (I showed him photos of Sagat and he LOVED it) |
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| LR Group volunteers at a special needs home in the North of Israel. Employees visit them every couple months. Today we planted vegetables in the newly built greenhouse and also baked matzah! It's really cool that LR Group has such caring passionate people. |
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| With new friends and co-workers |
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| Planting the herbs |
