True Story.
Yesterday was an interesting day/night at Oranim. Apparently my blog needed some spicing up, so fate stepped in. Most of these occurances were in the company of my "boss" at Oranim, Ofir. I use the quotation marks because how we know each other is quite funny. It's a circle of events since Ofir was my contact with Oranim when I was in the application process, then we met once I was here on the program through his girlfriend, and now I am working for him, calling people just as he called me. I think it's safe to say, yesterday was not his day. Usually, there are three of us who take the bus to Kfar Saba together: Ofir, another employee, Kalmo (from London), and I. But on this day, I worked at Omanoot in the morning so I took the bus from another stop. As the timing didn't align, all three of us were on a different bus, following each other separated by a matter of minutes.
Once I was at the office, everything went per usual. On my second shift (the previous day), I ended up receiving two deposits from new participants, SIMULTANEOUSLY! Apparently, Oranim underestimated the business skills running through my Merfeld blood; we're excellent salespeople! I went through a bunch of interviews, which I'm really enjoying. While I'm still stuck sitting in an office (which is not my preference) at least I'm talking to people the whole time, and about a subject I LOVE talking about...ISRAEL! It's fun to reassure my peers, about to take the same leap I made, and even speak to their hilarious Jewish Mothers.
Around dinner time, Ofir hit me with one of my favorite words: hamburger. I don't know what it is, but every time I have the option to order one, I have to do it. Even in the states, Tati and I are known for eating together and ALWAYS ending up getting hamburgers no matter what else sounds great on the menu. Anyway, Ofir and I decided to walk to Black Burger, and splurge on what's said to be the best burger in Israel. I'm convinced SOMEONE says they have the Best ______ in Israel at every restaurant, but I fall for it every time. On our way out the door, Ofir realizes he's left his wallet on the bus. And of course, none of us took the bus together, so we can't even figure out which exact bus it was. Our office is at the end of the route, so we spoke to a man guarding the buses who had finished for the night. He allowed us to search the buses for the wallet, but it wasn't there. As Ofir called the bus company to talk to someone, I got into a conversation (in Hebrew) with my new friend at the bus stop. Ofir stepped in as he was lecturing me, saying "He lo meveenah eevrit," that I don't understand Hebrew, but I defended myself. I knew exactly what he was saying; he was telling me I'm foolish to like Israel instead of America because their life is too hard here, and America is easy.
By the way, if you're keeping up with the names of Israelis in my blog, it's true there's an Ofir, Ofer, and Ofri. Welcome to Israel! No more Kati, Katie, or Kat in my phone!
Back to the missing wallet....Ofir and I decide to go get burgers anyway, since now it will probably taste even better! In Israel, the burgers are separated on the menu by weight, so I usually get a 220 gram. This one had a name: Schwarzeneggar. I think I was obligated to order this and support my Governator abroad! So was it the best burger I've eaten in Israel? Maybe...I have to say the bun was sub-par to Agadir, but the burger itself was pretty tasty.
Cut to a few hours later, after speaking to some WONDERFUL people, as well as a few token crazies. A woman calls just a few minutes before we need to leave to catch the last bus, asking me all sorts of annoying questions (which can easily be answered by looking at the website). Finally, I just have to cut her off to say we're closing, and to call back tomorrow. We leave the office, and boom....there goes our bus. Three minutes early. Great.
Now we have to grab a cab back to Tel Aviv, and of course....Ofir has no wallet, and Kalmo has no cash. Thankfully, I had enough to spot us, and a cab pulled up just as we realized our situation. He agreed to take us for a decent price, and we hop in the back seat. In the front seat, another guy sat (I'm pretty sure just for the fun of driving to Tel Aviv)! The cab driver, as they normally are in Israel, was a character. He immediately offered us pizza, handing one slice to Kalmo, and one to me. This is Israel. The whole way back, I just kept laughing at the situation. Ofir turned to me and said, "Here's a blog story for you..." Which brings us to now. To add to the odd occurances, on the walk back to our apartments, Ofir and I pass two men sweeping the sidewalk on Dizengoff...What were they sweeping, you ask? A bunch of live cockroaches scurrying about. Disgusting. I have never seen anything like that. This is Israel.
At the end of the day, I just have to laugh... A wallet can be replaced; credit cards cancelled. A burger is just a burger. Weirdos are universally found. Pizza tastes better when it's free. And cockroaches are inevitable.
Hebrew phrases for today's post:
Harnak: wallet
Cartis: (credit) card
Seepur matzchik: funny story
Chaim kashe: hard life
K'she ani holechet ha'baita, ani roah harbe anashim meanienim: When I go home, I see many interesting people.
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