35 Yona Hanavi
"Yardin Suites"
The group that got here in January is living in the apartments they told me we'd be staying in, which is right on the beach, and they have an awesome location, but it's a bit old and extremely small. We are actually staying in brand new apartments a couple blocks from the beach, and it's really nice. There was a bit of drama as soon as we got inside, though. First of all, they weren't exactly ready for us...so we are slowly getting things that we were supposed to have from the get-go. We have ONE pan, ONE pot, a few plates, knives and forks (but no spoons!), wine glasses, but no regular cups or mugs, and other miscellaneous items. And right now, I'm actually stealing internet from our neighbors! Oopsies! More importantly, was the room issue. I paid a bit extra to only have one roommate, so I wasn't really affected but the room with 3 girls is the same exact size, only with 3 beds. The beds are so close together that the girls might as well be sleeping in one big bed. They could literally roll onto each other! Besides that, there is just no room for 3 people's stuff. No way. I felt bad...because here I am in a room by myself because my mysterious roommate still wasn't here, and they're squished and upset. But after tons and tons of angry phone calls, the group coordinator got a third room for the girls and my mysterious roommate is getting her own room until the next group comes in April/May. One of the girls from the triple moved into my room since we were already really bonded. I am SO happy it worked out the way it did!!! This is why...
Leetal
"The Roomie"
25 years old, originally born in South Africa, but has lived in San Diego since the age of 9. She's actually Israeli and has tons of aunts and cousins and such here, which is awesome! She went to SDSU and we pretty much lived parallel lives recently. She was working in a restaurant after college, and she and I had the same itch to not get stuck in that world, which is SO easy to get too comfortable in. She studied Communication in college, but is also an amazing photographer (which is what we're hoping she gets an internship for here). As soon as I saw her, I just KNEW we were going to get along! She's got this amazing South African accent, a very vibrant personality, and is totally the girl you can see guys being drawn to. Right when we first decided to drink some wine the first night, she whipped out her wine opener....which is hysterical because I was totally going to bring one too, but didn't because I thought in my suitcase it might be considered a weapon! We had a bonding sesh over salads and coffee at Aroma, and knew we had to make it work to be roommates. As soon as it was set, we literally jumped up and down in circles! We're definitely going to be an unstoppable duo, and it's nice that she speaks Hebrew fluently so she can help me out!
Leah
"The Token Blonde"
She's 24 from St. Louis, Missouri, and went to college at Emory in Georgia for Sociology. She's also interested in PR and Marketing, and ALSO designs/makes her own jewelry! She's super sweet, but could be considered our token blondie of the group. The moment I met her, she reminded me of my freshman year roommate, Lauren from Kansas. They even have similar WEIRD relationships with food. She doesn't eat fruit, veggies, condiments, or pretty much anything with flavor haha! She literally eats meat and carbs and is somehow totally healthy and skinny! We're going to try to ease her in slowly with new experiences here, but she brought a TON of 100 calorie packs and stuff (just in case). She's going to be SO much fun getting to know, especially because we both are learning Hebrew together, and neither of us know what we're doing around here! We're like little puppies, starting fresh!
Eve
"The Mommy"
26 from Miami, born and raised. As the eldest, she's totally taken the responsible role for the group. She speaks up when something needs to get done, and makes sure everyone knows about all our meetings. Poor thing got stuck sleeping on the couch since she was originally in the triple room. She also is fluent in Hebrew and has family here. She even invited me to her grandma's house for Pesach (Passover)! How nice is that?? I call her the mommy of the group because when I went out last night, she called me to remind me that even though I was going out, to remember I had Ulpan (Hebrew class) in the morning! Haha! I love it! ...and yes, I was still late to class, but it's the Israeli way, right???
Erica
"The Mystery"
The baby of the group, fresh out of UCSB, was the last to arrive of the group. She just got here today, flying out of LAX, but is originally from Sacramento. She seems really nice and eager to jump into our group! She, like all of us, quit her job and decided to do this program kind of on a whim. Before she arrived, we'd joked that she'd be a bitch so we wouldn't have to include her in our "already bonded" group, but she's definitely the missing piece to the group! I tend to flock to girls who are a little bit younger than myself, so I'm sure she'll be the girl who "keeps me young." We are both total foodies, so I'm sure we'll be eating all over Tel Aviv together!
Guy
"The RA"
He will kill me when he sees that I put him as the RA, but you'll see why! He's 25, and quite the inspiring guy. He was partner in a marketing business he started and helped turn into a million dollar company, which is a kind of middleman service which helps big companies advertise on college campuses in Canada (which is where he lived). He sold off his shares, and moved to Israel recently...then went to visit the President of Oranim (my organization) since he lead 11 birthright trips from age 18-22, and that's how he got into this program. He's an employee of Oranim, doing the marketing for these trips. He has his own room on our floor, and since he's kind of like our staff member, I've been teasing that he's like the spy for Oranim! He's also quite the ladies' man, and has had "plans" in the evenings so far hehe!
Gabe
"The Rowdy One"
He's 24 also, from New Jersey, but lives in New York. He's another one of our group that speaks Hebrew very well, and has already been living in an apartment in Tel Aviv for a few weeks since he had started working. He wants to eventually open up his own restaurant, but right now he's consulting at one here in Israel. He's the party animal of the group...example: we each bought 2 bottles of wine at the supermarket, and he bought 2 bottles of vodka! He already knows all the cool places in our 'hood, so he'll be a great resource here. I love his sense of humor, because he's VERY sarcastic like me! We've already been bantering back and forth...2 strong personalities unite!
Brett
"The Quiet Gentleman"
24, from Baltimore, Maryland, and went to Rider University in New Jersey. He's a businessman, who worked for his family's mortgage company back home, and is looking to get into a business internship here. He's the only one who didn't go on birthright before, but he went to Israel in 2000 for a confirmation trip with his temple. He's still coming out of his shell, but he's warned us he's actually pretty wild, so I'm looking forward to when he gets a bit more comfortable! Definitely the most easy-going of the group, and is always down to go out, on an errand, or just hang with everyone!
Michael
"The Golden Boy"
I already mentioned him earlier, but Mike is 24, from Manhattan Beach and went to USC. He reminds me a lot of the guys back home, but is also a bit of a mystery. The first day we actually went to roam the streets on our free day, we pounded on his door, but he never answered. We didn't see him again until the next day at Hebrew class. Supposedly he was totally jet-lagged and slept all day! He paid DOUBLE to have his own room, so he's on a separate floor, and seems very independent to me. He's off doing his own thing most of the time, but we plan on dragging him out to hang with us whenever possible! Everytime we can't get ahold of him, we just say he must be talking to his imaginary girlfriend haha!
And there you have it! Real World: TEL AVIV!!!
Hebrew phrases for today's post:
Ma'nishma?: How are you?
B'seder: Everything's good/ok, fine
Ani lomedet eevreet: I am studying Hebrew
Naim Meod: Pleased to meet you
Ani ba'a meh Los Angeles: I'm from Los Angeles
Ani garah beh Tel Aviv: I reside/live in Tel Aviv
No comments:
Post a Comment