I think it’s important to begin this by admitting that I am CLEARLY the one causing all these natural disasters. Seriously. Crazy random shit is happening in half the countries I’ve gone to. Don’t believe me? Here’s a rundown: Ireland had a hurricane while I was there which shut down the city. Iceland had an insane storm while I was there. The Netherlands had the worst snowfall they’ve had in ten years while I was there and the city like SHUT DOWN. There was a 4.5 level earthquake while I was in Greece. And a freaking FLOOD in Israel. IT IS A DESERT. WHAT IS HAPPENING.
ANYWAY, to catch you up on my adventures…
My first day in Tel Aviv was a little overwhelming. It is not a beautiful city. It is grungy and loud and busy. There is graffiti on the decrepit buildings. People don’t stand in lines — they just push up to the front. It’s still an amazing city: it is full of energy and life, there is food EVERYWHERE, it’s warm as hell. Everyone has dogs.
The most surprising thing for me is how…un-European it feels here. Obviously it’s not in Europe, but I thought it might feel similar because it’s so Westernized. But it doesn’t. At all. It feels distinctly Middle Eastern, even though this is actually my first time in the Middle East and I have no business saying that.
I haven’t felt the same level of comfort that I immediately felt almost everywhere I’ve been so far, and I think there are several reasons for this. First of all, I’m staying with friends that are locals instead of a hostel. A hostel gives you a home with people who are new to a city and exploring, just like you. My hosts have been incredible, but that doesn’t mean I don’t spent a lot of time walking around the city all alone, feeling like an outsider, having nobody to commiserate with.
The language is another thing that I think makes my adjusting to the city difficult. Yes, there are a lot of signs and stuff in English, and I can get along just fine because everyone also speaks it. But there are also a lot of signs and stuff without English. And it’s not like everywhere I’ve been so far, where even if there is no English it still uses the same alphabet (even Greek because some of the letters are the same) and between my English and Spanish I can probably figure out kind of what the sign is saying. Hebrew is like…I’ve got NOTHING. No idea what anything says at ALL. It looks like squiggles on a page to me. And it’s alienating.
There’s also the whole spoken-language thing. Hebrew and Arabic (I think that’s what I heard?) sound like…SCARY when you don’t know what they are saying and are talking passionately like they often do. Scary is a little dramatic, but it’s…disconcerting and threw me off quite a bit to just hear it. It sounds aggressive, I’m sure partially because I literally just can’t understand a single syllable of what they’re saying.
Those were my initial feelings after my first day in downtown Tel Aviv. Unsure and unsettled, but I needed more time to adjust – I love it now. But I also spent many hours in Jaffa, and that was a completely different story.
It felt like stepping into another world, one seeped in history and beauty. It’s clean and well-maintained; the ocean’s like, right there; there are winding alleys and stairs around brown stone buildings, exactly as I always pictured Bible scenes. Not that I read the Bible or anything.
I’m also learning a lot about myself here. Most importantly, I learned that you CAN in fact forget how to ride a bike. Why do they make bike riding so hard? Why are bikes so difficult to steer? There should be three wheels, not two, that’s more structurally sound. Also I just realized that’s a tricycle. What’s so great about biking anyway?
So in case it wasn’t clear, my first day-ish in Israel has consisted of: 1.) Me being unable to ride a bike on the way to dinner my first night here, causing everyone to need to walk there instead of bike, but then having THE BEST FALAFEL EVER OH MY GOD ALSO THEY PUT EGGPLANT IN IT BECAUSE THEY ARE GODS 2.) Walking around Tel Aviv 3.) Doing a walking tour around Jaffa, ending with a solo stroll through Jaffa and eating some overpriced fried cauliflower.
The next day, my friends were off work and school(on a FRIDAY. Their weekends are Friday and Saturday, and they go back to work on Sunday SO WEIRD) so we made this incredible breakfast that I can’t remember the name of but it is lots of fresh ingredients – like an actual buttload of tomatoes, peppers, onions, some other shit, and then eggs and I’m not describing it well but it was pretty damn good. And filling as hell. Then my friend and I went to the shuk. I don’t know how to spell that, and I’m not sure there’s even a “right” way to spell it in English. Either way, it’s a giant market that happens every day, but because it was Friday it was especially busy. I had so much fun just wandering around, watching people buying things, enjoying being in the middle of the hustle and bustle. I also bought a hamsa ring which I am way too excited about.
We ended the day by going to the suburbs of Tel Aviv, where my friend’s family was hosting dinner. There were approximately 38 small children and only one of them spoke English, and somehow my entire night became hanging out with the kids and learning Hebrew from them. They were super excited to teach me and hang out with me and sit next to me and play with my hair, and I had so much fun, especially because I tend to get along better with kids than adults. I feel like I’m learning a little bit about Israeli culture: they are very communal people, which I love. For example, I was this stranger that this family had never met, and yet I was on the floor with their toddler, holding him in my lap, and no one thought anything of it. They are so welcoming and trusting, and I’m so grateful I was able to be a part of a Friday Night Dinner.
The next day we had breakfast at home again (I was not a useful part of the operation), and then my friend and I headed to Jaffa to explore and walk along the water. I can’t get over the weather here: it was like in the 60’s and it’s JANUARY. I wasn’t wearing a coat. I kept thinking someone was playing an incredible elaborate practical joke on me.
We then headed to, of all things, a film shoot. I didn’t think I was going to be doing any of that kind of stuff here, and it was nice to be in front of a camera again. The project was for a webseries by a liberal Israeli Jew who has very strong feelings about the conflict and occupation. I personally do not know as much about the situation as I’d like, but I do know that I support people who fight for everyone’s rights, and I was happy to be a part of the satiric project. Plus, more reel material, AMIRITE?!
That evening we had a nice dinner, and then headed to my friend’s friend’s house where they were having a little get-together. I felt so lucky to be included in all of the hanging-out, family/friend, day-to-day things instead of just being a tourist. It gives you a completely different perspective
Today, I am riding the bus to Jerusalem. I am covered in crumbs from a granola bar and Bamba which is the best food in the world and I don’t understand why we don’t have it in the States. I’m also really proud of myself because the Tel Aviv bus station might be one of the most confusing places I’ve ever been, but I found my bus without too much trouble. Okay that’s a lie, people had to direct me several times, but I was enjoying the adventure and not stressed about it at all. Like, there are people selling shit and it doesn’t even look like a bus station, so you’re like UH AM I EVEN IN THE RIGHT PLACE and then you figure out that you are in a bus station but it’s like seven levels or some shit and you’re just like what is happening. But yeah. I found it. Go me. Small victories, yo.
I’m still sick, but I’ve been drowning my sorrows in cough syrup. I’m also taking this cool herbal drug that we don’t have in the US but I’ve read about and it is supposed to really help sinus pressure. Strange things about Israel: every drug is behind the counter, not just like prescription shit and Sudafed and Plan B. Also, you DON’T need a prescription for contact lenses. There’s just boxes sitting out in the store and you can just…buy them. Nuts.
Updates from Jerusalem coming soon!