So, I have been here for about a week and a half.
Looking over my prior posts, it looks as though I feel rather confident about where I am and what I am doing with my life.
Am I?
No.
As I sit out here (we still don't have internet in my apartment. The people who are supposed to fix it always seem to be off. Even when they are supposed to be in the office. For three more hours.), ignoring the fact that I am supposed to be doing homework, I have begun to contemplate the hilarious mistakes and wrong turns I have made this week. Also the things I have learned about Israel.
1. Are Israelis good drivers? No. In fact, the lines seem to mean very little to them. As though they just happen to have been thrown down there on the ground but really don't mean anything. So, driving over the line is pretty common.
1 1/2. Will I ever sit at the front of a shuttle/bus ever again? No. Made me too nervous.
2. It is really hard to shop when you can't read labels. Which is why my shampoo/conditioner smell quite similar to bug spray. One of my friends has actually joked that they have seen bugs scuttling away from me when I walk in the room. This is also why the curly hair product that I bought here smells like rice. I often stop and wonder what that strange smell is. Oh, yeah. It's me.
3. Buying food based on the way it looks and the expectations that come with that is really not a good idea. I bought blue cheese this week, thinking it had herbs in it. Not my fave. I also bought bread that is certainly whole wheat and healthy, to the point of having the texture of cardboard. Luckily, raspberry jam can fix anything. Always an adventure going to the store, I tell ya. I'm trying so many new things.
4. Looking guys in the face, or even not looking guys in the face, will generally result in a prolonged, awkward stare, probably a honk and possibly a wink or rude gesture. It is generally better to stare at the ground. Hee hee.
5. If someone calls you 'honey' or 'woman,' should you be offended? No. It's just Israel. And the leer that comes with it? Meh.
6. Walking 45 minutes in flip flops into the city of Jerusalem will give you blisters. Even if you don't notice them at first.
All that being said, I am having a blast. I went to a Shabbat dinner last night in a friend's apartment and it was fabulous. Reminded me so much of being at school. Everyone was so loud, chatting at the same time, and had brought SO much food. Then we started singing. When I moseyed back to my apartment, the people there asked if I knew where the singing came from. "Oh! That was us!" I said. "Wow!" they said. "You all sounded great!" I was eating dinner on the 2nd floor. My apartment is on the 6th!!!! Being with all those people was the first time that I really felt at home here. What a great feeling! I am already feeling sad about leaving! HAHA! Today I am going to a Shabbat brunch which will pretty much be in the same style! I am going to bring toast (cardboard bread) and raspberry jam.
When I returned to my apartment, it was full of people I knew, but none of my roommates were in sight. Regardless, it felt like the most natural thing. People were drinking wine, and I made some tea and sat down. We talked for a long time, about silly things and very deep things. I was told that I was "one of them." "Who?" I asked. "A person with a beautiful mind!" I am still flattered. We talked about what our minds were. The others said theirs were combinations of famous people all piled together. I said that mine was a mixture of sunflower seeds, the way the world looks right after it has rained and it is sunny, coffee beans and something else, which I can't remember right now. "I don't know you very well," someone said. "But I think that's pretty accurate." So, there you go. That's what my mind looks like. I'm off to keep adventuring in Israel (aka make tons of toast)!
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