Woah, so much to write. I'll try to keep everything somewhat concise.
Weekends will take some getting used to. Because people prepare for the Sabbath (Shabbat), everything is closed or shuts down early on Fridays. As a result, Sundays are regular work days. It's going to take a while to get used to a Sunday – Thursday work week, so I'm trying to convert it into U.S. terms.
Friday night, I went to Chabad (a very religious organization) for services and then to a family's house for dinner. It was very nice but way too much food. Spicy fish, potatoes with eggs, challah, three dipping sauces, four different types of salads, etc. Then came soup. Then chicken and rice. Then dessert. What was worse (or better?) is that when I was working on the rice, I was handed the bowl by the grandmother and she, and her daughter, simultaneously started fiercely yelling at me that I needed to eat more. Not the “Oh, you're too skinny, you need to eat more” type of yelling, but rather in a tone of “If you don't eat more of what I'm handing you, you're going to get smacked.” All Jewish mothers really are the same.
I was with another Ulpan student and we left at 1:00AM, walking up the mountain and getting back to the dorms at 2:30. That night was the best night of sleep I've had in a long while.
That night, I saw spiders, cockroaches, and the biggest bats I've ever seen. I'm sorry, I didn't know I was in Australia. I hear they even have nutria here.
I met an AEPi alumni from a different Chapter who is now in the tanks corps in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). He just completed seven months of training and is getting shipped to the Lebanon border this week. I'm proud to see my brothers passionate about Israel.
Yesterday, I went to Netanya to see my friends Dani and Daryn who were extending their birthright trip. Dani lived across the street when we grew up and I hadn't seen her in four years, yet it didn't seem like a day had passed. I don't know if I had ever been to Netanya before but it's like a smaller Tel Aviv, and not the nice part. But the beach was nice.
Traveling in Israel is quite the experience. Public transportation is so cheap (Netanya, and back to the Haifa central bus station was 38 shkalim, or a little less than $10). Not bad for a round trip ticket, each way about 40 minutes. The trains are also pretty cool. They have a very European feeling to them, very quiet. Maybe this is because most of them are from Europe – duh.
Elite is a chocolate company in Israel, and I'm pretty sure it's God's gift to the world.
Main observation (aside from my comment about Jewish mothers):
For as “Americanized” as Israel is, or as people claim it is, that is true only so much because I have noticed many, many European influences. Much of the infrastructure, capitalism model, food, etc, is influenced by America, but specifics point directly to Europe. And they're everywhere. Large plaza squares, small cups and plates, small elevators with funky doors, even some of the highway designs are reminiscent of Europe. I'm still exploring so I'm curious to see how far that goes.
Tomorrow, I'm heading to Nazareth (Natzeret) then on Friday, I'm spending the day in Safed (Tsfat) then hiking Mount Meron.
The pictures are of sunsets from beaches in Haifa and Netanya, a part of Haifa at night from the top of my dorm building, and ducklings!
-AZ
