Since I'm still in Tel Aviv I have been spending my day's at the beach. It's been a wonderful vacation atmosphere. I find a chaise lounge in the front row, pay the guy 12NIS (about $3) to rent it for the day, sit along side all the other foreigners, and enjoy the relaxation. The water temperature is perfect. Warm enough that you can walk right in with out uh-ing and aw-ing and changing your mind when your only ankle deep, yet cool enough that is refreshing to float for a while. The tides and currents have been a bit strong this week so the lifeguards have posted signs, in hebrew, all along the beach and monitor where everyone swims very closely. It's amazing to see how many people disregard the danger signs and walk right past them, only to then be yelled out over the loud speaker by the lifeguard. All-day-long! It never fails. About every 7-10 minutes you hear the lifeguard yelling at someone else. I mentioned this to Daniel and he laughed. He said he wasn't surprised and they are probably all Israeli's who are ignoring the danger signs. Apparently, warning signs, red curbs, lane lines, and one-way streets are interpreted merely as suggestions by Israeli's. It keeps life interesting here to say the least. You never know what kind of ridiculous stunt you will see each day.
Daniel's house has become quite the B.B.Q. hang out. His mom bought him a gas grill for graduation and gas grills are not common in the city. Most people take the time to use small charcoal grills, but now that Daniel can start B.B.Q-ing in a matter of minutes, all the guys bring their food over to the house. Even the B.B.Q's. we've had have been learning experiences. Lesson number 1, and most important, apparently you only need meat for the B.B.Q. I was shopping with Daniel and I asked, "What do you want with steaks? Maybe some vegetables, rice, etc?" Daniel turned to me with a look on his face like I asked him cantonese. He laughed off his confused look and said, "Ha, no, we only eat. Just meat, that's it." Oh, ok, and sure enough, everyone showed up with an assortment of meat. We had steak, chicken, kosher hot dogs, and kabob. Of course, there was also pita and half a gallon of hummus. Everything turned out very well. Daniel's friends called him again yesterday asking if they could bring food over today so the doors are open for B.B.Q.-Meat-Fest #3, this week.
Thursday morning Daniel decided he needed to take a trip north. I had just woken up and he came in to the living, "Ready to go?"
"Uh-yah, where?"
"North, I have to get some things"
"Uh, sure, when?"
"Right now"
"Ok, let me grab a few things"
Right now turned into about 25 minutes so I had time to finish breakfast, shower, and pack a small bag. We hit the road about 11:30, bag packed, tupperware of fruit salad to go (which was about a $15 fruit salad, yikes fruit is expense here, it's like gold), and started our short trip 2 hours north to his Dad's neck of the woods. Daniel needed some documents and supplies for his business which he store's in the north. After we made the 2 business stops we stopped by his Aunt and Uncle's house where we spent the rest of the day. Oh, and on the way to his families house, Daniel throws a comment at me, "As counter intuitive as it may be to your personally, you really need to throw yourself into the conversation." Wham, thanks for throwing me a curve ball last minute and now I'm anxious. For someone like myself who can be a bit (to say the least) of an introvert at times, to say a comment like that ruffled my feathers. So I say, "Ok, I'm happy to, but can you tell me how to throw myself into a conversation in which the people I'm talking to don't have a clue what I'm saying?" Daniel recommends using hand gestures and facial expressions. So for the last 15 minutes of the car ride, I'm frantically motivating myself to become an extravert for people who won't even understand what I'm talking about, a change that would probably take some individuals years to make. In the end, I think it went ok. I spoke up when needed, but by no means was I a conversation starter.
It was nice to have a change in environment. The temperature was still warm, but it was dry and there was a steady breeze. The landscape was much different as well. Rolling hills, much more plush greenier, pine trees, and harvesting fields of corn, sun flowers, and olives. We passed by the See of Galilee which looked like a massive lake. Daniel said it has dropped over 5m recently due to drought and water diversion.
Visiting with Daniel's family was pleasant, although very quite for me. Only 2 of the 3 kids spoke very little english, and neither his aunt of uncle spoke a word. I played a game of fuzzball with the 10 year old boy. He managed to pull off the victory even after a late rally by my team. Of course I let him win though. Even the deepest competitor in me wouldn't let me beat a 10 year old boy at his game and in his home. Maybe next time if we make a second trip. I hope he keeps practicing.
We spent about 8 hours and Daniel's aunt and uncles house and although it was kind of a long and quiet day for me, the experience was very meaningful because I could feel the warmth and interest his family shared together. When you visit someone's home they take care of the entire time you are there. Food, drinks, conversation, activities. Anything to keep you occupied with all their sincerity and generosity. It would be very rude to just stop by, say Hi, and leave. You must come inside, have a drink, eat some food, and catch up. This can be one hour or 8 hours. Whatever it takes. And when you leave, you don't leave empty handed. His aunt sent us home with a tin full of puff pastries that she baked for us while we were there. His uncle sent us home with 2 cases of beer. Beyond the few times Daniel translated for me I just sat back and observed the very personal interaction. I have no idea what they said, and they could have been talking about trash about me the whole time, but they made it look good if that's the case. They were involved in one another's conversation and full of expression.
The clock hit 9:45 and it was time for us to make the trip back to Tel Aviv, and boy was I ready. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed his family and all their generosity, but I was tired. I had said maybe 56 words the whole day. But I knew it was important for Daniel to see his family as it would be important for me if the roles were reversed.
I don't have any plans for the weekend besides the B.B.Q. I'm sure there will be another B.B.Q. thrown in last minute with probably lots of meat, hummus, and pita, but that's ok with me. I am trying to stay very positive about this Kibbutz placement happening very soon. I think this coordinator guy will be very helpful. Keep your fingers crossed for me and I should be in the Kibbutz early next week, finally. If I do slip in the back door, I may just have to pay one last visit to the program center to "thank" the wonderful ladies for the help they didn't provide. Just kidding. I love them and I'm sure they are wonderful people outside of their daily jobs.
Once I am placed in a Kibbutz I'm hoping I can share more exciting stories. Please continue to check back and don't loose interest. Trust me, I know it's slow right now, but keep up your hope alive. I will also try to keep posting new pictures.
Have a great weekend!
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