One Month in Israel

I'm finding it somewhat difficult to write a blog this time around, because I feel as though I already blogged about so much of the Israeli culture and random "only in Israel" moments last time around! So I won't be writing nearly as much as last time, but I'll do my best to write whenever I encounter new experiences.

Last week the Masters students all went to the Dead Sea. I actually never went to the Dead Sea on Career Israel. I did go on birthright, but considering those ten days four and half years ago were such a blur, I almost felt like this was a brand new experience. We went to Ein Gedi Spa where we all put on our bathing suits and made our way to a tremendous barrel of thick, viscous, black mud. We scooped it up by the handful and slathered it all over ourselves-head to toe. The object was basically to not allow even a minute part of flesh to peek through the mud. I'm confident we all succeeded in this goal! The mud from the Dead Sea is supposed to work wonders for the skin and act as an exfoliate and emollient. We walked about a quarter mile from there to the Dead Sea, while the mud hardened and caked on our bodies. The water used to come up right to the spa, but the sea is apparently receding at a rapid pace. We walked timidly into the sea...the place where bathers are allowed only goes up to the waist or a bit higher. Yet as soon as you attempt to lower your body in the water and lift your legs off the ground, your legs immediately fly to the surface of the water and you're inadvertently floating--you have no choice in the matter! You could truly sit on the surface of the water and read a book if you were so inclined. However, beware if you have any cuts anywhere on your body. Oceans and seas are normally about 3-5% salt. The Dead Sea is 30%...so you can only imagine the pain that would result from an open cut! Not fun. Putting your face in the water is probably the worse idea imaginable. One drop of water splashed into my eye and the ten minutes of pain was interminable. But the water is also supposed to work wonders for the skin. We all know the Israelis who hustle us all to buy Dead Sea products in the malls throughout America!! But hey--everyone loves soft skin. We stayed in the sea for about 15 minutes, which was quite enough for us (and about the suggested time limit).

Look Ma, no hands!

 Yesterday I moved into what will be my permanent residence for the next year. We had previously been staying in a temporary apartment while they readied these. I'm living at the Port (called the "namal" in Hebrew) in north Tel Aviv. It's a wonderful area with upscale restaurants, stores, and nightclubs. I have an amazing, perfect view of the Mediterranean from my bedroom window. Right now I'm staring out the window at the expanse of blue ocean and dozens of sailboats cutting through the water. Every night I'll have a perfect view of the sun setting into the water. We also live about a one minute walk from Hayarkon Park-a large urban park that extends along Tel Aviv and into a neighboring suburb. The Yarkon River runs through the park and reaches the Mediterranean at the park's western edge. Runners, cyclists, rowers, playgrounds, dogs, picnickers...it doesn't get much better than that. The apartment is cute. Small kitchen, decent sized bathroom. I have my own bedroom, which I'm thrilled about!!

View from my bedroom window, not too shabby

Tomorrow is my last day of classes before I have two weeks off for Pesach break! I have no concrete plans for the break, but hopefully I'll travel a bit or find some exciting events to attend. Pesach in Israel is really special. It seems like everyone in the country is traveling and having fun, and restaurants serve matzah instead of bread! I'm going to Ari's best friends in-laws for seder. Ari actually won't be there (he is attending a seder for lone soldiers with the head general of the IDF) and these in-laws apparently speak no English. Should be interesting!

Back in Israel!!

I left Israel last July, absolutely devastated and sure that I would not be returning to Israel for quite some time...years, possibly decades. So I truly cannot believe that I am continuing my Israel blog 8 months later. This time around I am venturing into a one year graduate program through NYU Poly. NYU Poly actually has an extension campus in Tel Aviv (who would have guessed?!), so I will be graduating next March with a Master's in Organizational Behavior. It's a fantastic opportunity for me to gain a competitive edge (hopefully!) by having an advanced degree from a prominent American university. I just happen to attend class in Israel! But I think the best thing about being back in Israel is all the amazing hummus I have been eating nonstop!!!!! Americans truly have no idea what real hummus should taste like!

I arrived ten days ago. It felt so surreal to be back, and at this point, it almost feels like I never even left and the past 7 months in El Paso (never mind those weeks in Europe!) were all a dream. I've already encountered rude Israelis and the things that annoyed me about Israel last time, but all I can do is sigh and say "yep...I'm back in Israel!" Last week was all about settling in and getting acquainted with the program and the group. It is a small program...only 12 people in my particular program, but there are 25 people in the same graduate program that started this past October. I am temporarily living in a studio apartment with a roommate, but will be moving to a nicer apartment complex in 2 weeks (hopefully with our own bedrooms). Yet I'm sure everyone will be jealous to hear that I live about 20 meters from the Mediterranean. No exaggeration. It is truly unbelievable. There is a famous boardwalk that runs along the beach in Tel Aviv (called the tayelet) that is amazing for running, walking, or people watching. The apartment I will be moving to in 2 weeks is further north, but still just as close to the beach. Prime real estate.

Tayelet (famous TA boardwalk)

It has already been quite warm here and perfect beach weather. However, because of the fact that it is early March, I am already dreading the summer and the horrendously hot and humid weather the summer months will surely bring!! Although I live in an amazing location near the beach and smack in the city center where everything is happening, I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting to Tel Aviv. It's incredibly noisy...cars, honking, sirens,people, etc can be heard at all hours of the day and night from my apartment. I'm sure it will just take some getting used to, and before I know it I won't be able to sleep if it's too quiet! But everything one could possibly need is within walking distance. I am also missing Jerusalem quite a bit, but I've already been there twice in ten days, and planning on going again this weekend! Thank goodness Israel is such a small country. Ari lives in a small community outside Jerusalem, so it's nice to have a quiet place to escape to when need be.

My first day of classes were today. Our classes are held at the Israel College of Management, which is in the top floor of a mall (yes, a mall!). So that also takes some getting used to! It is only about 12 miles away, but the ridiculous bus takes an hour! Speaking of buses, I have already navigated my way by bus to and from quite a few new and strange places. Considering the Israeli bus system is the second largest in the world, (and so confusing and annoying) I'm awfully proud of myself.

Back to school...The year is divided into 4 semesters (each season) with 6 weeks off in the fall for the high holidays. I also get 2 weeks off for Pesach in a mere 3 weeks! Israel is great sometimes. :-) This semester I'm taking Information Technology (hmmm, should be interesting considering I know nothing about computer systems!), Career Management, Entrepreneurship, and Project Management (also..no idea!!). Our classes are all taught by Israelis, but they seem to all have almost perfect English, so it shouldn't be a problem. I'm also taking a statistics tutorial course that I basically just need to get through. And I will be taking ulpan (Hebrew courses) every week for the entire year. So maybe this time I'll actually learn Hebrew! Maybe this time I'll actually try!