Why can't every weekend be like this?

The way every day should end...

In the last two weeks the weather here in Tel Aviv has shifted from "summer" to "I'm melting."

Which basically means that you sweat standing still in the shade at 8am.

So, to beat the heat and mark the arrival of real summer in Israel...

we went camping on the beach last weekend.

The tent city.

I have to say, Israelis just get how to do summer.

After a quick drive to less-crowded beaches north of Tel Aviv, Itzik and his man-friends took less than 30 min to set up a large common tent, a kitchen, a small tent city, and the relaxing began.

Not bad for the first thing you see when you wake up on a Saturday morning...

Waitin' for Mom to wake up.

We spent Friday night and Saturday grilling, drinking, swimming, drinking, eating, drinking...you get it.

It never ceases to amaze me how remarkably peaceful it is if you just get a stone's throw outside of Tel Aviv.

Steak, drinks, bonfires, friends, soft sand, and the Mediterranean Sea...

this is summer done right.

Lately.

There have been so many things I wanted to write about but I really haven't had much energy left over after trying to live my life this last month to write about it. So, here's a quick update:

A month ago I started a new job, 

so Itzik and I decided that it was time to start looking for a new place to live.

Both of these things sound exciting, but turned out to be real trials for our relationship.

The bad news is that it caused so many arguments I wasn't sure we'd make it to a new place.

The good news is that we found a place, and moved this weekend.

We made it.

Beach Season

Maggy and Kurt came to Tel Aviv to celebrate their anniversary a couple of weeks ago, 

and we spent an afternoon on the beach together. 

Their visit coincided with a 'heat wave' which marked the beginning of summer (it was 90 degrees all week), and it felt so good to swim in the sea and relax in the hot sun (...under an umbrella with lots of SPF). 

Summer here makes me feel simultaneously excited and terrified. The weather now is so beautiful- 85 during the day, 70 at night) but come June/July/August it will be too hot to function. It's almost like winter, in that you don't leave the comfort of temperature controlled indoors unless you are going from A to B...or to the beach. In any case...I'm bathing in sunscreen these days.

Moving

Balagan.

It's no secret that moving is one of the most stressful life events there is.

Add to that the language barrier (not being able to read online apt postings, needing a translator at the bank, feeling generally useless and making your partner feel totally burdened...) 

well...you can imagine how fun the process has been. 

Itzik has been incredible, and done so much work to find a new home for us.

I've done as much as possible, and tried to be patient and understanding when he felt (understandably) overwhelmed.

Now that I'm not living there anymore, I can say openly how wretched our old place was.

It was Itzik's bachelor pad, and I felt like I was squatting there for the last 8 months.

The landlord was a jerk, the plumbing backed up into our bathroom, there were bugs, loud neighbors, zero storage, less space, one window, and was far from where we both work and play. 

We had no elbow room, felt claustrophobic, and it was not good for either of us as individuals or a couple.

But now we have a much bigger place, in the middle of Tel Aviv, with a real kitchen, a huge living room, big windows, and landlords who are friends of Itzik's family.  And I can walk to work in less than 15 minutes.

I really feel like this is the beginning of a new phase for us.

I'll post pictures after we've really unpacked...

This is the first time I ever had movers (cause I never had much furniture before...)

and it was the best ever. These two dudes came in at 6:30am on Friday (Itzik and I pulled an all-nighter on Thursday after work) and in less than two hours had moved ALL of our stuff out of the old place, onto a truck, and into the new place. Amazing. 

They did the heavy lifting, and I was still exhausted, but my back wasn't destroyed and it was so quick!

These guys were amazing, but truly, that must be the worst job ever.

To celebrate the move we went out for dinner on Friday night.

We happen to live a block from the only Pizza Hut in Tel Aviv, and I could not have been happier.

We stuffed ourselves and fell asleep fat and happy amidst a pile of boxes...a perfect shabbat.

Oh yeah, Israel.

Life in Israel is very hard. I think maybe my recent posts have displayed some of that.

But this weekend Itzik and I drove North with friends for a weekend in the Kineret (or Sea of Galilee),

and I remembered the that life here can also be very special, peaceful, and completely beautiful.

The four of us (Michal, Asaf, Itzik and I) drove about two hours North, 

rode around the Galilee region and the Golan Heights, 

and stopped in a nature reserve to sit and enjoy the scenery.

Have I mentioned Itzik cut his hair?

There were cattle from nearby farmers wandering freely through the parking lot. 

The last time I was in this area was during summer months, when it is hot and dry and brown.

In the spring the wilderness is still intimidatingly beautiful, but in a completely different way.

Each time I come here, I am struck with the knowledge that I am experiencing something rare and special.

This time of year the hills and mountains surrounding the Sea of Galilee are bursting with lush wildlife, the hillsides are jagged rocks coated with soft grass, flowers, cacti, and trees.

The colors are vivid, and the landscape is vast.

It's truly breathtaking.

We stayed on a moshav (similar to a kibbutz- an intentional gated community, but without communal living practices) and walked out of our tsimmer (bungalow? cabin?) to a view from the hills North of the Sea of Galilee. Unfortunately the recent dust storm moved North with us,
so we couldn't see the water very often, but the dust did give the scenery an odd haze that really made you feel like you were walking through a dream.
A dry, hot dream.

What does a sunset look like in a dust storm? Like this:

photo credit to Michal for this incredible shot

These are the clouds of dust on Saturday, moving North and reflecting the setting sun.

We woke up early on Saturday, ate breakfast, and then spent the day driving around the Golan Heights
(only a few miles from Syria, by the way).

This is the border fence and Syria on the other side.

We stopped at a few roadside attractions (like mini waterfalls and artist colonies).

Sandals! In March! Yes please.

After taking in the landscape we went to a place called Nahal El Al, a deep crevasse of a riverbed that in the winter is a legit river, but in the summer a dry canyon. This time of year, its a garden. 

We hiked for about three hours (an hour down, a little more than an hour up, and some time at the bottom for a quick dip and a cup of coffee near the waterfall).

The water was freezing cold. I did not join them. This looks lovely but its actually c-r-a-z-y.

I even had time for some yoga along the way.

I love my life.

Honestly, this weekend I fell in love with Israel all over again.

I remembered what it is like to be in the land of the Bible. 

To hike the hills where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob struggled and met G-d. 

What a gift that I can meet Him here too,
and somehow I think it's easier here than anywhere else I've ever been.  

It was equally amazing to me how all of this is just outside my back door,

and how easy it has become to forget.

What more could a girl ask for?

This is the first year I've had a Valentine!

Our celebration of Valentine's Day has been a bit unorthodox.

This morning, Itzik got me a B1 Working Visa for the State of Israel.

I gave him a photo and homemade chocolate-covered strawberries...

His gift was better.

Yep- I am now a legal resident of the State of Israel...with permission to work!

As I've mentioned before, if you aren't Jewish but are dating an Israeli you can apply for the "girlfriend visa".

This morning, Itzik and I went to the Ministry of the Interior for our interviews, the final stage of the process.

So, on Valentine's Day, I was interrogated about my relationship to prove its legitimacy in order to receive working papers.
You know, average V-Day stuff.

All kidding aside, this is a huge moment for us. It's not every day that you can actually feel the gears of your life shifting. We climbed the mountain of Israeli bureaucracy and emerged victorious. And, I have to admit that its seriously cool to have a working visa in another country...the novelty is still there for me sometimes.

And lest we forget Valentines' past...I stumbled upon some familiar (yet apropos) graffiti the other day...

Remember this?

I see these hearts all the time, but rarely stop to photograph them anymore.

How crazy that last year at this time I was avoiding finals by chasing hearts around the city, and I was about a month away from meeting the love of my life. 

What a difference a year makes.

Henry.

This week Itzik and I have a very special house guest named Henry.

Henry is an 11 yr-old Yorkie who wriggled his way into our hearts when his family went to France for a week. He's old, and chill, and doesn't shed. He's the perfect temporary pet. 

He's also quirky.

For instance- he likes to push food out of his bowl with his face and then pick up the pieces one by one and return them to the bowl. So silly.

I know Henry because his mom, Sarah, sends her kids to school with the kids I babysit for.

I actually have a friend crush on Sarah, cause we have a lot in common- she's from Boston, is with an Israeli, watches Fringe...but this is neither the time nor the place to discuss how cool Henry's family is. 

This is about Henry.

He pushes this ball under the couch so I have to get it for him. 

Henry arrived on Wednesday when I was in the middle of a week home sick. 

We spent the whole day together couching and watching The Walking Dead. It was fab.

I've never been a dog owner, but I've watched enough of Caesar Milan to know that probably Henry figured he was the alpha in his temporary home.

Unfortunately, that illusion was shattered around 2am when Itzik came home from poker.

Henry went apeshit...

In order to establish dominance, Henry immediately began humping me.

To make a long story shorter...the established pack dynamic is now as follows:

Itzik is the alpha male, dominating Henry.

Henry (all 10 lbs of him) dominates me.

I am the alpha female...so I dominate Itzik, completing the cycle.

 

Once order was established Itzik and Henry quickly fell in love with one another

and I now have been left feeling jealous of a Yorkie.

But...really. He's so cute that it doesn't matter anyway.

We want Henry to stay.

Itzik took this. This is how Henry gazes at my boyfriend.

A small aside: Do you know what your dog's human voice would sound like? We think Henry's would be something similar to Ted (the bear). Boston accent, foul vocabulary. But cute as a button.