Tel Aviv

I arrived at Julie’s apartment in Tel Aviv around 2am on Monday night. Somehow I got an incredibly nice cab driver (a real rarity in this country) who let me use his cellphone to call when I arrived, because mine wasn’t working. Thanks to Julie for waking up to help schlep my suitcases up three flights of stairs, and hosting me for the rest of the week!

Tuesday we had a little mini-Wes reunion—Julie, D’or, Eyal, and I all met for dinner. We realized we’re all psych majors, and we even ate at a place called Japanika (like in Middletown), at that.

Wednesday I wandered around on my own a bit while Julie was at work. A little bit of culture shock, not quite, because I’m familiar with the culture; but I felt rather overwhelmed, somehow, to realize that this country and this culture and this language are about to be my environment for the next year…and I can still barely order off of a menu.

Thursday I did errands in south Tel Aviv with D’or. We went to an area where there are streets full of vendors all selling the same thing—a street full of spices, a street full of fish, a street full of light fixtures…you name it. And got barekas and fresh-squeezed juice for lunch. Mmm.

Friday headed to cousins’ David and Rivka in Raanana for Shabbat.