The Goy in the Plastic Bubble

I’d love to give an in-depth account of the next week, but with everything that’s been going on I’d spend my entire grant period writing in my blog. So let me break it down to the highlights:

Arrival in Tel Aviv: things here have been smooth, thus far. The university is great, though the dorms leave much to be desired. It’s not so bad now that I’m settled in, though. Spend a lot of time with some other guys from the Ulpan hanging out, exploring the city, and hitting some of the hot spots. Thankfully they’ve all been here multiple times, so I have some guidance as to where to go and how to get there.

The city itself: think South America mixed with Miami. The city itself reminds me a great deal of when I was in Argentina; lots of crowded shops/bodegas, palm trees lining the streets, and white stucco buildings. It’s very typical of what I would expect of a tropical, Mediterranean city. People here have been very friendly, though I wouldn’t recommend driving anywhere. The streets can be a bit crazy.

Hummus!: pita and hummus are served with almost every meal. No complaints here! The food consists of a lot of simple things: salads, spiced meats, hummus, French fries, pizza, vegetables, fruit juices. Many things that you’d find in the United States. The beer selection, by the way, is far superior that that of the US, barring the local brew Maccabi which is awful.

Friday I went with my roommate, Paul, our friend British Dan, and Paul’s friends Dan and Elana to Jaffa for hummus at well-know Arab restaurant. It was, possibly, the best food I’ve eaten ever. Also wandered around Jaffa’s flea market, though much of it was closing up for the Sabbath.

The Sabbath: the city, literally, closes down. The shops are shut, buses stop running, and the streets are desolate from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. Most business aren’t open Fridays at all, though many shops are open the first part of the day and much of the entertainment areas (bars, clubs, etc) stay open on Friday night. Saturday night, around 8:30p, everything springs back to life including the shopping mall and downtown. Considering Sunday morning starts the work week (the business week here is Sunday – Thursday), there are a lot of people out and about.

Friday I went with British Dan and Paul to a service held on campus by some Chabadic Hasadeem. While being slightly lost, I managed to follow along alright though wasn’t allowed to participate. We were also served an amazing amount of food for dinner afterwards, as well as different stories by the Rabbi’s. Some four hours later, we managed to depart and head out for a beer.

Feral cats: EVERYWHERE! It’s kind of amazing. They’re around the dorms, in the streets, on campus. They’re ubiquitous. The other day, on the way to get a tea, there was one sound asleep on a chair in the school’s lobby. For the most part, they’re very friendly.

Ulpan: ulpan is a Hebrew word that doesn’t have a direct translation into English. Essentially, it’s any of a multitude of places whose sole purpose is to teach Hebrew. This can be for students (like me), people who have made aliyah and moved to Israel, or someone just looking to learn the language. It’s usually very intensive, but that varies as well; sometimes it’s a few days a week; other times it’s every day for a number of hours (mine); other times a camp wherein you speak, read, hear, and write in nothing but Hebrew.

The classes thus far, of which there have been two, are good. They’re definitely challenging, but not overwhelming. At least, not yet. Definitely will require some studying but that’s why I’m here, right?

My name: while I don’t know anyone in the US named Daniel, I have met no less than six Daniel’s since arriving in Israel. It becomes a farce of monikers, though, as three of us tend to hang out a lot: DC Dan (me), London Dan, & Posh Dan (who is also British). There’s also Paul’s friend Dan, who’s Israeli, and various others in the Ulpan. It’s ridiculous.

I posted some photos in my gallery. I’ll try to get downtown and photograph some of the city, as well as campus. We have an official trip to Jaffa on Wednesday, and a trip to Jerusalem on Sunday. Not sure I’ll go to Jerusalem with that group, though, as I’d have to miss an entire day of Ulpan. We’ll see…