its my liiiiiiiiife and its now or neverrrrr

me playing in the sculpture garden at the TA Art museum

Zadok Ben-David's art, at the Tel Aviv Art Museum

The coolest art exhibit. Ever.

Alice in wonderland, anyone??


the everpresent posters for the local biannual fashion market.





IMSORRY i'm a delinquent. I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog to that, because its much more fitting for the blog. Believe you-me, I am definitely having adventures in the motherland. I'm just slackin hard on sharing them with you. Forgive me?? (insert brown puppy eyes here)

OK, so beginning where I left off. I'm going to try as hard as I can to stay chronological. We'll see if that happens or not. Last week, we went on a Siyur to Massuah, a holocaust museum in Israel (close to Tel Aviv, actually right near an Ikea which was hilarious to see). It was really informative--there was a whole section on the Eichmann Trial that happened in Israel--Really interesting. There was also an art exhibit that was very eye-opening and fascinating--I'm glad we went. It was nice to see Israeli manifestations of dealing with the aftermath of the Holocaust, because I have studied the American aftermath of it (from one aspect of Jewish American Fiction). I have also read a David Grossman book about it--he's a very prolific Israeli author. I also got to see a movie based off of a book by him, called Someone to Run With--it was one of those really beautiful innocent stories that's just so heartfelt and gripping. Really Nice.

Last Shabbat was also really really fun. Jacks and I woke up early and went with one of our Israeli friends Yoni, and we plated a rousing game of tennis. Jacks actually 'kept score' (in quotations becuase she was spacing, lol) and Yoni and I played. He's not bad at all, and I only got beaten 4-6 (and heck YES i got some aces in there). Pretty respectable for not playing tennis in, oh, about 8 months. The only BAD part of that excursion was that I went running for a crazy shot, and accidentally rolled my ankle. Hard. I dont know wether it was because I was already on advil for my sore muscles, or if it was the adrenaline, but for some reason it hurt really bad initially, but then it went away. And i played 9 more games on it.

After tennis, I went back to the Tel Aviv art museum with Michal and Jacks. I had gone with my mom and Joel, but we only had about 45 minutes there the first time, and there were a lot of exhibits that I didnt get to see. It was really really cool, and the Ben-David Exhibit? Well, I can't really put it into words, and since I have no hallucinatory-drug experience to rely on, I'm lacking, but the best I can say is: I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Or Dorothy, when everything goes from black and white to color. It is just AMAZING. I could have spent 10 hours in that one room with that one piece of art. WOW. The pictures above really dont do it justice.
It was at the museum that the pain in my ankle really kicked in--OUCH. So, me being the stubborn one about it, decided to walk home. THough, in the end I'm really glad we did becuase we happened upon this RANDOM store/apartment--it is like 3 struggling urban artists who have an apartment and turned the front half of their apartment studio into a store. And their bedrooms is the dressing room. What a surreal experience--like changing with a bunch of random girls in some random girls room. Hilarious, but very NOT what I'm used to!!! Michal got a really pretty shirt, and it was a really really cool experience. They had these kind of creepy dolls, and these pictures of these creppy dolls. I, of course, loved it--my roommates thought I was nuts. Awesome.

Other fun adventures of last weekend: me and Jacks bought tickets for an upcoming concert that we're really excited about--It's a group called balkan beat box, and they're from brooklyn/israel. Good songs. However, we had some problems getting tickets. We were so proud cuz we navigated the website in hebrew really well, figured out all the lines for Credit card info, and......nothing. I called the company--apparently you can only buy tickets online if you have an israeli credit card. The next part is good--I asked him, "So, how do we get tickets now?" and he said, "Oh, don't worry, I have a guy in Florentin (my neighborhood). Here's his number."

....you read that right. We had to meet some sketchy dude and complete this transaction straight out of Goodfellas. But, it's Israel. So naturally, Jacks and I don't blink an eye as we call the dude, set up a time and place to meet (in a square complete with cops, thank you. SO not sketchy, haha), and hand over some cold hard cash. For some tickets. HAHA I love it. Such a great/fun/sketchy/weird/totally Israeli experience. Yayyy.

FOOD SECTION!!!!
haha, what would a blog entry be without a section on food. I have made three great discoveries this week: first and foremost, Barth's Crackers. I do not know if it's going to be possible to get these crackalackers in the states, and that is going to be a really really big problem. I think they put crack in the crackers (ha, chelsea made a funny), becuase they are just BOMB. I first had them at a little wine bar around the corner (We call it the gaybar, becuase, well, I think it kind of is), and I was insistent that they made them themselves. And then the next day I found myself face-to-face with them in AM-PM, our local grocery hotspot. They're made in Petach Tiqva, I think, and the ones i am obsessed with have caraway seeds in them .They look like crepes, except really small and cracker-ish. I love them. ooh wah.

Next, and I shall lump them together becuase they are kind of similar: Jachnun and Malaweh (pronounched jock- or if you're really jewish, jochhhhh (with the throat throttle)- noon) (and malaweh; just think malawi and add an -eh on the end). They are Yemenite bread-shabbat foods, and they are GOOD. What I got about the gist of it is that you make some dough, roll it into logs, place some eggs on the tray, and bake it overnight at low heat for like 12-14 hours. And then you literally take a grater to some tomatoes, add some salt and garlic, and slice the eggs (which turn brown in the oven). Reallllly yummy dudes. And malaweh is just the not-logged version of it--looks more like a flat crispy yummy pita.

I'm really gonna miss food here. Everything is SO FRESH and veggies are omnipotent and SO cheap--its really easy to be a vegitarian here. Like, really easy. So easy I think I've almost turned into one. And the lemonade---oohwah. Everyhwere sells it, It's so cheap, and just so yummy. They do NOT make it like this at home.

The reason i had Jachnun for the first time this week was because of our siyur. Ricky, our madricha, took us to the park for a picnic and a boating excursion in the park (really fun on the paddle boats.) She made us Jachnun for her portion of the 'picnic' (read: potluck), and told us we would be 'sailing' (read: paddleboating). It was still really fun though--everything was normal and nice, minus the hilarious fact that we were all being circled by two ultra-orthodox men in a speedboat. SO random.

And how have I been working off all that jachnun, you ask?? By bellydancing, of course!!! It's been really fun--my friend amy and I found a class at our gym and have gone twice now. The teacher is this really interesting ex-pat who moved here like 30 years ago but still has the MOST american accent i've ever heard, and the class has a range from like 20 year olds - 70 year olds. Its really really fun though, and kinda hard I must admit, but COOOOL! hahah And, really, how am I supposed to pass up bellydancing in the middle east?? I'm not. Thats the correct answer.

Work is going really well--I am having a bunch of fun and i love working with my boss. I also especially love my walk to work every morning--i put on Israeli music and wander through this quaint neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, and just take it all in. People watch, wander, photograph: I am SO lucky.

Speaking of luck, it turns out I am going to be able to extend my ticket and travell around for a bit after the program ends. I am planning on going to Turkey and possibly Greece, and am SO EXCITED I cannot even stand it. We are planning it, and I am just stoked beyond belief. We have also enlisted the help of Michal's brother and friend, Smadar, in getting us the best deals possible cuz we be poor college kids!!! (I'm kinda ready for that phase in my life to be over, lol. Not being able to afford ANYTHING is so not fun!! aha)


This shabbat has also been really really fun. On friday, me, Jacks, Hallie, and Sarah went to loveat, an AMAZING new organic coffee shop that we found, and had coffee and sat on NachalatBinyamin watching all the birthright groups work their ways through the artists market. Then, jacks and I braved the shuk on a friday (Note: NEVER, EVER go to the shuk on a friday. Seriously. Its mayhem. I have to mentally prepare everytime i do it. Which I try to avoid at all costs.) to get veggies for our salad for shabbat dinner, and I accompanied her as she shopped her way through Nachalat. It was reallllllllly sad becuase i found this bench/winestorer/really cool piece of wood art, and its liek 75 SHEKELS HOLY COW (under $20), and my roommates arent letting me buy it. Why? becuase of the teeensy problem that I have no way to get it home. They said this about adopting a weimerainer puppy here too, for free. Stupid pessimists ;)

Shabbat shabbat was also really fun--we decided to have another themed shabbat, and the theme was "PJ SHABBAT!!!!" It was really fun, all of us girls and boys all cute in our PJs....oh I love us. We also made a BALLLLLER salad with dried cranberries and goat cheese and arugala (which I can't eat for the life of me properly) and spinach and other veggies. And i made a vinegarette for the first time. YAY! Today, we decided to go on an adventure. We had seen these really cool street arts around the city, this girl in hot pink all decked out, and it seemed to be some kind of sale. LAST NIGHT, michal figures out from her brother that it's the biannual artists and designer's market in north Tel Aviv, so we decided to go on an adventure to find it. Me being the broke college kid didnt buy anything, but it was SUCH a fun adventure, and such a nice day. Very cool to people watch and keep an eye on Israeli fashion.


My life this week, and last week, and well, lets be honest, my consciousness for the past few months has been consumed by my personal statement and application to georgetown law. I am so close I can taste it, but I am still not done. It has been a TOUGH journey, complete with tears and tantrums and procrastination and fights and writers block, but I am almost there. I hope to have my app in in the next 3 days. HOORAY. You all best believe I will be celebrating when it's over. And then, after i get my decision in three weeks!!!!!, either a celebratory trip to turkey/greece, or a pull-chelsea-out-of-her-sorrow trip to turkey/greece. I promise to keep ya'll posted.


Next weekend, we are taking a trip for Sarah's birthday--we are going camping at Mitzpe Ramon, a giant crater in the south of Israel. yes, CAMPING. you heard right. after all these weeks, I still haven't gone camping, and I have REALLY wanted to. So we are going camping in a crater!!!!!! YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!! In other random news, Romanian house music is really hot here. And has permanently stuck itself in my head. Example here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&v=p-Z3YrHJ1sU

I can't believe i'll be back in the states in a month. It's just surreal. I do NOT feel like I've been here that long, but I do feel the changes. I am stronger, more outspoken (oh shit, right mom??), and more sure of myself and what I want in life. I have made great friendships and have had surreal and mind-altering experiences. My eyes have been forced open wide, and I love everything I see. The good and the bad have taught me so much, and I am SO utterly grateful for this experience.

WooP.


HWOTD: muchan/ah? It means, "READY?!?!?!" I use this word a lot for my roommates. hahahah.