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.

Owning #catsonwheels

A few months ago I shared with you my love of Instagram 

and my fear/disdain/fascination with the cats which rule the streets of Tel Aviv.

Well, nothing's changed. The little buggers are as strong as ever and today

I'm sharing some of my favortie #catsonwheels moments as of late.

Saw this guy twice.

...and this is just a sampling. 

Israeli pride.

This weekend marked the summit of Gay Pride celebrations in cities around the world, and while Tel Aviv is no exception...I believe that Israel's Gay Pride celebration is exceptional. 

Exceptional because Tel Aviv is one of the hottest party cities on the globe, 

and when the gays get involved it only turns the party volume up. 

Noteworthy because Israel is the only country in the whole of the Middle East where it is legal to be gay- where you can be a gay individual openly and not fear for your life. 

Remember that next time you hear Israel called an 'apartheid state.' 

Friday's Pride Parade and subsequent four-hour beach party drew tens of thousands of people from around the world into this little city. They all marched past my apartment around 1pm, and straight down to Gordon Beach where they partied and celebrated the human rights haven that Israel's democracy (the only democracy in this part of the world) promises to minorities of every ilk. 

It makes me straight up proud to be living in Israel. 

Oh, and I have to show you how my favorite bakery celebrated Gay Pride: a funfetti cupcake.

NOLA American Bakery on Dizengoff- always a good decision.

Starting over. Daily.

I recently found a message in my inbox from someone I knew last year at Tel Aviv University, a friend of a friend who has since left Israel. She was asking to 'play matchmaker' and put me in touch with a friend of hers who is moving to Israel, hoping I might be able to give this young woman advice, maybe give her a lead or two for babysitting work, and in general just be a point of contact for someone who will soon be wearing the shoes I donned back in 2011. I remember being that girl, moving to a foreign country, with only a few loose contacts (and one or two strong ones) and the hope that I could build a life somewhere else. I also remember feeling totally grateful anytime someone could advise me on what bus to take, or how to ask for the coffee I like in Hebrew, or what the Israeli equivalent of sour cream was in a sea of mystery dairy products at the grocery store. I still am that girl, more frequently than I would like.

It feels strange to be the person that someone might look to to answer those questions now- simultaneously like I've accomplished something in my time here, and like I haven't accomplished quite enough. Two years ago I was living a very comfortable life. There were things I wanted to change (obviously, I moved across the globe) but I could do my own banking, talk to the cable company (what I wouldn't give to be able to sit on hold waiting for an inept Comcast customer service rep who speaks English), and navigate public transportation with ease. Those are the little things that are so hard for me here, that make every day just a little bit (a LOT) harder here than I ever could have prepared myself for. And now I find myself advising people who have just arrived in Israel on the few things I have figured out, and feeling like a total fraud/a little proud of myself for what I have managed to pick up along the way. 

I won't lie to you, there have been moments (and maybe there always will be) where I consider just throwing up my hands and moving back to the US. Usually I feel the most like that when Itzik and I argue, or I have to do any type of banking (you really have NO idea how good you have it in the States), or I think about the average salary prospects for someone with an MA (half the average of the US). It can be easy to become discouraged. But something I was taught at an early age is that love is a choice- one that you have to renew within yourself every day. I love Israel. And every day I have to renew the choice to give this everything I have.

I knew this would be hard. But I'm doing it. I don't always feel successful, but I haven't given up. I love (hate) the challenges, and the little victories (like learning a new word and using it appropriately). I'm doing something I dreamed of doing, and I'm trying to do it the best that I can. I need to seriously work on my Hebrew (which will relieve a lot of frustration), and I need to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I need to continue to work on the friendships I have here and build a fulfilling social life (your boyfriend cannot be your whole world...at least not MINE). But I'm working on it. And I'm working on it in a place that is steps from the Mediterranean Sea, in land of the Bible, and in an age that I can talk to my parents and friends back home as much as I please (time difference be damned!). 

So, it could be worse. And it will get better. One day at a time.

the killer marathon

This morning I woke up sweating for the first time since, well...October. Here, that's a significant stretch. Tel Aviv experienced a heat wave that happened to fall on the same day as the annual marathon which attracts tens of thousands of runners every year.

In anticipation of the heat, the municipality postponed the full marathon, and scheduled the 10K and 22K routes to begin before dawn. Despite that effort, one person died and over ten were hospitalized with heat related health problems. Oops.

The municipality was reportedly warned about the risks and critics are now saying that appropriate measures were not taken to protect public health.

I live in Yafo, which is South Tel Aviv, and the start/finish lines have been set up for two weeks on the main road that I travel to get from Yafo to downtown TA. This afternoon when I left my apartment it was 92°F so I decided to use public transit. Point being, I snapped the photo below from the air conditioned comfort of the number 18 bus. In case you were thinking I ran.

Sandstorms. Locusts. Shazam!

Photo pulled from The Times of Israel (http://www.timesofisrael.com/millions-of-locusts-chow-down-on-israeli-crops/)

Yesterday millions of locusts took to the skies from just south of Israel's border with Egypt, 

and flew north to wreak havoc on the crops of southern Israel's farmlands.

Things just got biblical over here.

The plague of locusts is making headlines due to its size (the largest in decades) but still,

I get the sense that this is old hat for Israelis.

It's funny the things that seem so foreign to me still- plagues of locusts, annual sandstorms...

these are the things that remind me I'm not in my American bubble anymore.

I live in the Middle East.

A view of the sandstorm in Tel Aviv over the weekend.

Oh, and I know I missed Shazam last week. Sorry! I didn't have anything new for you, but here is my favorite song of the moment:

Of Monsters and Men
Little Talks

Shazam!

Your weekly dose of SHAZAM

The weather has been strange here the last couple of days- sunny, cloudy, cold, warm, rainy. 

That was all yesterday.

It does make for some beautiful scenery, though.

Not a bad view for a bus ride home...huh?

What was a listening to this week as I gazed out at a choppy Mediterranean from the bus?

Wye Oak
Civilian

I tagged this song in one of the dozens of Walking Dead episodes I tore through last week.
Do you watch that show? Its messed up.
The first episode took me a couple of tries to finish, it's so scary.
But, the music is perfect for a cold(ish), wet, winter week.
Hope you enjoy it, too.

Shazam!

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.

#catsonwheels

Fact: There are cats all over Israel.

Roving gangs of street cats.

They are territorial, fight and mate loudly, and are in all places at all times.

Sometimes people feed them (like the mental giant pictured above).

Fact: I love Instagram.

Currently, I have a series on Instagram that I call #catsonwheels.

I think its self-explanatory.

I walk around a lot with a stroller. I see this all the time.

Shazam!

Welcome to the inaugural Tuesday edition of Shazam!

where I give you a glimpse into the soundtrack of my Tel Aviv experience.

  

Have you ever been watching TV, sitting in a restaurant or cafe, or listening to the radio and heard a snippit of a song that grabs you? or maybe that you recognize but cant place? Well, in these moments I reach for my phone and Shazam the shit out of it (translation- I use an application called Shazam to identify the song in question). Then, when I'm on the bus (which happens a lot these days) I listen to the songs I've recently tagged. And now, you will reap the rewards every Tuesday afternoon as I share with you my favorite song of the week. Hopefully we can open some new musical doors!  Let me know what you think!

This week, as a first time bonus, I'm going to share three of the songs that I've been listening to as of late:

1. Karen Ann- My Name is Trouble

I heard this song on the radio awhile ago, and loved it immediately. There's something wild and dark about her voice that I really love.  She's an Israeli artist who apparently has been making mainstream music for quite sometime. Check out the link to her wiki article (click on her name above) to see some of the stuff shes done. Heard this already? Leave a comment and let me know!

2. The Piano Guys- One Direction Cover

Itzik and I found this group on YouTube, and they do some really incredible and creative things. They perform original music, and (like this video) re-tool pop and classical music in ways you never really expect. This video is by far my favorite to watch- 5 guys and 1 piano covering a cheezy pop song and making something phenomenal.



3. Motopony- King of Diamonds

I think I heard this in an episode of Hung last month (I watched a lot of TV when I was sick, a side effect of this exercise might be that you learn what my television tastes are...). HBO shows are usually a gold mine of interesting and lower-profile artists. I like listening to this while I'm doing domestic chores. I'm not sure why but it makes me feel less annoyed by dirty dishes and straggler socks.




Shazam!
Tuesdays will never be the same.

Catching up...and other news.

How often do you feel like you're playing catch-up? Lately, I feel like that most of the time.

Today, I'm catching up on blogging.

I logged on and realized I haven't posted since Christmas? Oy. My apologies.

I was going to post awesome pics of the New Year's party that Itzik and I had tickets for, but then I caught strep throat, missed the party...and almost two weeks of my life. Now I'm playing catch up at that (life), too. So, let me catch you up a little bit about the goings-on in my corner of the world:

At some point (after the penicillin kicked in, methinks) I realized that I needed to make some serious changes, restore my health and officially move from the nomadic, transient head-space I've been inhabiting  since I graduated from TAU (yes, thats right, I actually finished my MA! Baruch HaShem!)

But which changes? First and foremost- yoga. Yoga is an expensive habit I picked up in Boston. Only, in Boston I was volunteering at a studio and was getting my fix for free. When I left for an adventure in the Middle East I let my student-budget put my practice on hold. However, I am no longer a student, I've been sick all winter, I've put on a few lbs, my face has been breaking out for four months, and in general I haven't been feeling at my physical peak. So, this week, I made the executive decision that yoga can no longer be classified as a 'want' rather than a 'need,' and I forked over the cash for a membership at a studio. I've been to several classes, and I can already feel myself returning. My skin is clearing, my thoughts are clearing, and my muscles are shouting at me for more. I have found great value in a habit which works my body, and lets my mind rest for a few hours every week.

Sometimes I go to the beach in the morning to do a little yoga. 
It could be worse.

Until I receive my working visa, my employment options are a bit limited,
so I've been babysitting (what any recent MA grad wants to do) and enjoying the opportunities to get outside, play with children, and walk around Tel Aviv.
Every day I fall more in love with this place. Ellie (the 1-yr-old I pass the time with) and I have been on a mission to find the best playground in Tel Aviv. It's grueling work. We both really hate it.

Also, I experienced my first Israeli election this week. Did you hear about it in the news? If you don't live here, it's likely that you didn't hear much. The outcomes were, politically, a bit unexpected, and interesting (at least to me). But what I want to highlight about Israeli elections, what surprised and delighted me, was the incredible sense of unity and community that comes with an election here. The population is small, and voter turnout was at an all-time high - around 65%. That's a big deal.

One difference between elections in the US and here is that in Israel, Election Day is a bank holiday. Everything is closed. Public transportation runs, but by making Election Day a holiday, the election itself becomes something that you can't ignore. Parents take their children, who see that citizenship is something important and worthwhile. Families spend time together. And it felt to me like everyone had a stake in what was happening that day.

Itzik and I visited his mother outside of Tel Aviv so he could vote, and on the way there it seemed that all of Israel was out and about. We actually cut through the market on foot cause it was faster than sitting on a bus in traffic (I, of course, took the opportunity to grab a smoothie and a donut).

Yes, moving through this crowd was faster than the bus.

Love the shuk. It's never dull.

Itzik's brothers and sister all joined us at their mom's place, and we all walked over to their old elementary school so they could vote. I kept high-fiving Itzik (which he hates) and shouting "citizenship!". I wasn't even voting, but I felt like I was a part of something important.

Afterwards, his mom rewarded me by showing us old family photos.
It would be a shame not to share these:

Itzik (the baby) is now the spitting image of his father (the adult)

Playing dress-up for Purim

In other news...
I've also been making a concerted effort to catch-up with friends and family from back home. My old boss from The David Project, Charles, and his family were in Israel last month and the opportunity was seized to have a DP reunion!

Charles, Libbie, and I

CJ trying to Skype someone in from back home

One of the best parts of the evening was welcoming Maggy and Kurt back to Israel.for good!

They flew in a couple of days prior, and I am LOVING having so many people from home around these days.
More on Maggy's return in a later post.

Okay, I think this is a pretty good catch-up for the time being. We have covered a lot of ground. What do you think? Have any thoughts about the election? Want more pics of Ellie? Into the street art?
Hit me with some feedback, I'd love your thoughts.

It is my solemn vow to you, dear reader, that I won't let so much time pass anymore between posts, so that they are not as jam-packed moving forward.