These are a few of my favorite things...

Without a doubt, the question I am most often asked is "Why'd you make aliyah?"

I get it from Israelis, Americans, Europeans, South Americans and many others - there is no shortage to where the inquiry might come from. There are two other times in my life when I remembered being asked the same thing over and over again, the first "Where do you want to go to college?" and the second "Now that you're graduating, what are you going to do with your life?" Curiosity is understandable though and I'm just as guilty as any for asking the same questions over and over again.

So, why? Nu! (That's the polite, but not so polite Israeli way of saying "get on with the story":)

Well, my answer always changes. I have the standard party-line answers (couple of variations) but I guess now is as good a time as any to really write them down. Also, now I can point people to my blog in the future and tell them that I've already answered the question if they're really interested... hehehe

I love the fresh fruits and vegetables here. It's true. I can walk down to the corner store and get delicious anything that's in season. The fruits in season now are persimmons (taste like honey in fruit form), small juicy melons (smaller than a cantaloupe but closer in flavor to a honey-dew), pomegranates, guava, mango, kiwi, star fruit, passion fruit, and much more. The fruits stick in my mind in particular because this past Shabbat, my friends and I made an awesome fruit salad which we got at the shuk (flea market with everything and anything imaginable). We also got fresh fish from there along with lots of fresh herbs to cook the fish with.. great meal! It was complemented by the famous Israeli salad, which typically consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, purple onion and a little lemon juice. Of course the part that makes it taste so good is that it's all chopped up into very small pieces:)

Along with the fresh fruits and veggies comes fresh squeezed juice. There are literally hundreds of places in Tel Aviv where you can stop and get a just squeezed/blended juice. My favorite combination is orange and carrot juice, although with pomegranates in season, they are quite delicious as well. Did I mention that you get a tall glass for about 2 bucks? I try and drink one about 3 or 4 times a week and I call it my vitamins.

Also, living in a pedestrian friendly city means that there are many delicious bakeries within walking distance and I happen to have one right outside my building. I think I may have mentioned this in a past blog, but there is nothing like hot rugala in the morning.

Obviously I think with my belly first... and I guess I've led you, the reader, astray. This post is long enough for now and if you want more info as to why I made aliyah, you'll just have to keep coming back and reading:)

Shavua tov! (Good week!)

Spontaneity

Those that know me, know I live for surprises and adventure. This is for sure another reason why I am loving my life over here. My friend, Aaron, came to visit me on Thursday night in Tel Aviv and was getting back on the bus Friday afternoon to return to Kibbutz Tzuba when he suggested that I come along with him. An hour and a half later I was on the bus on the way to the kibbutz.

Last night we went to services at Kol Hanshama, the famous Reform synagogue in Jerusalem. Afterwards we had an awesome dinner at the kibbutz and I finally met the much talked about Reuven. Reuven is a Jewish History teacher and one of sister Robin's most influential teachers. To this day, she quotes him in her essays. This morning we had services at the kibbutz led by future Rabbi Aaron (he did a great job) and this afternoon I will be going on a hike to see the oldest and biggest mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) and even more amazingly has the oldest depiction of John the Baptist on its walls.

I know this is a short post, but I am trying to do a better job of writing more often:) Shavua tov! (Good week)

Heading Down South

As the holidays came to a close, I knew I needed to get out of Tel Aviv now or else I wouldn't have a chance to take a vacation for quite some time. So, my friend, Michelle, had a great idea (also from Dunwoody, friend from high school), and we hopped into a car and drove down to southern Israel.

For those of you not familiar with Israel's geography, it's small, real small. Israel is about the size of New Jersey, but unlike the Garden State, Israel has a wide variety of climates and different topographies. Going south meant we would be leaving the concrete of the big city and discovering the sands of the desert. The whole southern desert in Israel is called the Negev and it is absolutely stunning. I had been there before, but it had been more than 8 years since I went as part of my first trip in Israel. The views were even more breathtaking than I remembered!

We started out on a Wednesday in a rented Subaru. Now that I'm 25 (still scary) I can rent a car! I hadn't driven in about 3 months and miraculously, there wasn't a problem at all... well, not a technical driving problem... keep reading for the other car trouble:) The drive down took us by the Dead Sea and long stretches of road with huge desert mountains rising up on either side. Wow!

We stayed on Kibbutz Ketura, which is about 30 minutes north of Eilat (the southern most city in Israel, located on the Red Sea). We visited with friends of Michelle's, Tova and Nissan and their two adorable kids, Avram and Sivan. That's the picture of the six of us above. We stayed down there for a few nights and it was an extremely relaxing and fun trip. The first day Nissan, myself and another friend hiked up the mountains behind the kibbutz. The second day, Nissan grilled up a huge steak and we sat outside and enjoyed it with some cool beers. Also, we were down there for the end of the holiday Succot and were there to celebrate both Shabbat and Simchat Torah (the annual completion of reading the Torah). I know I need to define what a kibbutz is and these holidays are, but I'll save that for the next post (which will come sooner, I promise:). I would like to send a big THANK YOU to Tova and Nissan. They showed us a great time and were incredible hosts. Toda raba!

Time for the funny story: I have fond memories of rolling down sand dunes in the Negev from my first trip here when I was 16. So, Michelle and I set out to find some dunes. We got some instructions and when we found the road to get there, it looked like it might involve driving on some bumpy terrain. No problem. So we're bumping along this "off-road" and after a few minutes come upon a sign. I say, "Hey, Michelle, what does that sign say?" and she replies "Danger." Well, I guess I didn't put two and two together and kept driving. Fifteen feet later, the front wheels of the car are spinning, filling up with sand and we're stuck! Luckily we saw some camels passing and had them drag us out. Ok, that's not true:) However, we did come across some nice people about 20 minutes later with a Land Rover who towed us out. Modern technology is marvelous though and we weren't really worried, because we'd already phoned in for help. Moral of the story: When driving in the desert, pay attention to signs that say 'Danger!'
hahahahhahaha

Ok, this post is long enough. I apologize for taking so long to write. I will do better!