I can't seem to get over the way everyone speaks to each other as family here. It's really a completely unique world of trust and bond, where you'd expect to need to hold your purse tightly and keep your eyes low to the ground.
I remember riding the subway in New York and thinking that someone might yell at me for looking at them the wrong way, and always feeling a need to fear being pickpocketed. Here, while things like that DO happen, I haven't had that experience yet. I walk the streets and smile at those who glance my way. Leetal and I say "Shalom" to strangers as we walk to Tamara (best froyo I've had) as though we were playing "Sweet & Sour," a game we each played as children in the way way backseat of stationwagons in hopes strangers would wave back to you.
Whenever I take a trip to the Shuk, I try to dress up a bit because the vendors always pay special attention to the cute (especially American) girls. I've made friends with one older fruit/veggie vendor named Elan, who told me he had "counted the days" until my return because he missed my smile. Usually he gives Leetal and I a discount. This particular day I told him I was very hungry, and he said anytime I was hungry to come to his shop. Right after, he slipped a cup full of fresh cherries and a banana into my bags and told me it was for me to eat right then....at no charge. Adorable.
Another day when leaving the beach, I was picking the nail polish off my fingers and a man walked next to me saying something in Hebrew, which I guessed was in reference to me biting my nails. He asked me to show him my hands, and tsk tsked me for their appearance! Oops!
Last night, my Ulpan class took a fieldtrip to Hillel Cafe, and as usual, I couldn't stop staring at the adorable Israeli children sitting nearby. The little baby boy had a golden "Jew fro" which was sooo cute, and his maybe 4 year-old sister was fresh from ballet class in a purple leotard and skirt. She watched as we all spoke English, then turned to me and said, "At medaberet anglit!" (You are speaking English!) and I replied with, "Nachon, ma shem shelach?" (Correct, what's your name?) Adi's mother then told her in Hebrew that we were from the U.S., here to learn Hebrew, like she learns english in school. She giggled. I wanted to steal her. What's new?
While I try to keep my blog (and life) as positive as possible, I don't want to seem as though it's always wonderful to have random people come up to me. There are times where I think I can't go ANYWHERE alone without being approached. I sat on the beach with headphones on last Friday, and a man in a speedo thought that meant he could just lay on my blanket and start a conversation about why I would come here leaving the U.S. and a job that made money. Thank goodness my friends showed up quickly, which prompted him to leave me alone.
Probably the most amazing recent event of Israeli bonding was our journey to Ramla for a going away party on Monday night. Leetal, Gabe, and I rode a full sherut and because we were speaking English, we attracted attention. Somehow, Gabe got into a conversation with the man in front of us (in Hebrew) which turned into a conversation involving the entire 8-10 people on the sherut. They wanted to hear all about why we're here, learning and speaking Hebrew, etc. The man sitting beside Gabe asked if we're Jewish, and it turned into a big joke with everyone because of course we're all Jewish. This is when the title of my entry came into play. We're all of the same blood...we are family here. Our new friends were happy to have us here if it meant it was out of love for Israel, and to help the nation. It's an awesome feeling!
Lately, I've been trying to take nightly walks, since I spend the majority of the day sitting at a desk. I walk down Allenby to Rothchild, my favorite street in Tel Aviv right now, conveniently located next to my office. There's a gorgeous pathway for bikes and pedestrians and dogwalkers in the middle of a street filled with amazing achitecture, history, and tons of great restaurants! Ficus trees provide relief from the heat, and make the walk so peaceful...with lots of great people/dog watching! I took a few pictures of some of the Bauhaus-style buildings so you could get a feel for the atmosphere...
They decorated the streets with lights to celebrate Tel Aviv's 100th Birthday
I like this picture of the graffiti.... "LOVE IS POSSIBLE"
There's an outdoor sushi kiosk right outside my office called Japanika!
I like the statues of the people singing on this balcony!
Right when I took a pic of the Rothchild St. Sign, the bus came speeding by...
Beneath this Bauhaus building is Benedict, my fave 24-hour breakfast spot mentioned before
Hebrew phrases for today's post:
La'asot kneeot: shopping
Mahair: fast
Le-at: slow
Achar-kach: afterwards
B'vakasha, ledaber leat eevrit!: Please, speak SLOWER in Hebrew!
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