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.

Off the grid.

So, as usual, it's holiday season again in Israel.
I've been on break from school for about two weeks (Happy Passover!) and the holiday seemed to magically bring with it the beginning of summer- the weather has been beautiful (warm enough to go to the beach!!!!) but not too hot yet.

For the last weekend of vacation I was lucky enough to be invited to a "canta"- which means a bunch of Israelis camping out on the beach, eating tons of meat, drinking tons of alcohol, and chilling out hardcore- this is my scene. My phone died, and for three days I was completely off the grid (and totally happy).

the men TCOBing

the tent city in the dunes (the guys in the corner are grilling meat. this picture was taken approximately 30 min after arriving to the beach)

this kite was helpful for finding your way back to the tent city

yes. someone brought an inflatable couch. these people meant business.

you have to be serious about sun protection.

matcot at the sea (matcot is a paddle/tennis situation)

I'll take my coffee on a sand dune any day.

The weekend was exactly my speed. We went to a beach north of Tel Aviv that was so beautiful and MUCH less crowded than the beaches near my house. The speed of life slowed down for a few days and I could've stayed forever. I loved not checking my phone or email or blog for a little while. 90% of the weekend was in Hebrew, which was overwhelming at times, but most everyone spoke some English, so I wasn't isolated by any means, and it was really good exposure to the language.

I've made a point to not discuss my dating life on this blog because some things are private, and because there hasn't really been anyone worth introducing all of you too. However, things have changed a bit. I would be remiss if I went on and on about how great this weekend was without telling you about the part I liked the most- this kid:

I would like to introduce my public to the new man in my life- Itzik. His friends organized the canta. He's so cute, right? I know. Trust me, he's worth introducing to you. He's my new best friend, and he makes me so happy... (and between you and me? when he kisses me I can feel it all the way into my toes).

The return of summer.

It seems to me that every weekend between February and May is some sort of holiday in Israel-

this country is not joking around...work hard, play harder.

This week began a two-week break from school for Pesach (Passover).

And, as if in a message from the Lord saying "enjoy yourself in the Land of Milk and Honey"

the weather conveniently became instantly beautiful. It's warm and sunny in the afternoons and cool and comfortable in the evenings.

Nicole, Cara and I decided to start our mini-vacation by marking the opening of beach season.

Yesterday we walked down to the sea, found a few friends from school on the sand to frolic around with, and basically it was a perfect Tel Aviv afternoon.

Summer has arrived.

(We may have even indulged in some shawarma at some point. mmmmmmm.)