Thursday (8/23/07)
I met with Mark after orientation to grill him about the school and teaching situation. He answered all of my questions and more. He even gave me a list of kids I will have and told me what they needed the most help with! He told me to invite all the people in the hostel to his apt for a Shabbat dinner the next day. That evening (Allie, Ali and I) had our meeting with the landlords of the dream apt...it's ours!!! Their lawyer is out of town, so we didn't have the official lease, but we wrote up & signed a temporary agreement that included most of the terms the lease will have. They emailed us the contract, so we're printing it out and showing it to our program's lawyer to make sure it's ok, because it's all in Hebrew. That night, we went to meet one of my Israeli friends at a bar in South Tel Aviv. We (Allie, Ali, Leeba and I) took a cab to the area, but couldn't find the bar. We stopped in a convenient store and asked where it was. One of the guys, a customer, said he didn't know, but that we should come to "his" bar. We were a little taken aback, but followed him, and got in free (apparently there was a cover)! It was a pretty cool place, similar to what I was used to. They were even playing some American music. I was the only one of our group drinking beer & not liquor. Allie and Leeba also started dancing, so the bartender I guess thought of me as the "responsible one" and kept handing me the bill or telling me how much a drink that someone else ordered was. I got paid back, but it was pretty funny. My friends kept calling me "Mommy Carly." My Israeli friend, Roy, stopped in to say hi, but didn't want to pay the cover, so didn't stay long. His friends were still outside. I might have recruited him to drive us to Ikea this week, but it'll be a real undertaking, so we'll see. :) We didn't get home until 4 in the morning and we slept until 12:30 pm- just like our first night!
Friday (8/24/07)
When we got up, Allie and I got ready for the beach. Ali wasn't feeling so well so we left her in the hostel. Allie and I walked to the beach, found a restaurant and shared an Israeli breakfast for one. It was very large! There was a loaf of good bread, a large bowl of Israeli salad, and a tray of tuna salad, olives, feta cheese and cream cheese, all in their each sections. It also came with OJ- fresh squeezed and delicious! We went to the part of the beach that was nearest to the restaurant. I twas between 2 levees, so it was kind of secluded. That's the first time it really felt brutally hot. I spent some significant time in the water. It is gorgeous! Green and clear- I was in water up to my waist and could see my feet! I decided I need to get a little blow up raft...and a beach towel. We've been using an extra hostel sheet. I've got to also figure out how the Israelis sit on the beach without sweating or getting sandy at all. This sand is so much more fine tan on the Texas beaches and it just clings to you! The heat kept us from staying too long- only a fe hours, but I still got a little darker. :) (Don't worry, Mom, I'm using sunscreen. SPF 34!) Before we left, we got some ice cream to cool off and then headed back for some showers. Ali and Allie went to find a cafe to use the internet and I took a good nap!
That evening, 7 of us from the hostel went to Mark's for dinner. It was a little hard to find, because each side of the street had a different name and we were walking on the "wrong" side. We found it, after calling, and invading his room because it had AC. Mark custom made quesadillas for us. :) Mark even had Corona! I felt so at home! About midnight, Mark, Allie, Dina, Shari and I walked to the namal (That's the port. It has many clothings shops, restaurants and bars.)- with beers in hand!- to meet my friend Lauren who was in town from HUC in Jerusalem for the weekend. We caught up for a bit, mostly with camp stuff, before she left and I sat with the rest on a couch at a bar called Speedo for quite some time. It was a lot of fun getting to know my new friends over beers! Turns out you find out more than in class or over coffee. :)
Saturday (8/25/07)
Slept in again...decided we didn't want to brave the heat at the beach...walked to the namal for food & internet...back to the hostel to meet Leeba @ 5:30. The 4 of us walked to Dizengoff Center (kind of like a mall w/ lots around it, too- 30 min walk away) to go to a movie. The selection was limited, but we chose one called "Love and Other Disasters" with Britney Murphey. It was a British film and if it comes out in the States- don't go see it. It's not worth your $8. That was our weekend & I went to bed early so I could be well rested for orientation the next day and my school visit afterward.
No comments:
Post a Comment