A Place to Call My Own

I've been living in Israel now for over four months and in Tel Aviv for the last 3.5 or so. Life had been going well here so far and last week it got about 10 times better (and I'm not exaggerating).

How? Well, it just so happens that I moved out of my apartment that I was sharing with two Israeli girls and into a a place of my own. I landed this place through some great luck; a cousin of the Tritts, Noga, had to find someone to sublet her apartment while she works in the states and travels. After seeing the place I was sold!

What's so great about it? For starters, I'm living by myself. At 25, I was more than ready to have my own space. Also, for the time being this place comes fully loaded. I've got a stereo, tv, dvd, vcr, washing machine, refrigerator, small stove, small oven, microwave and more. It's not only equipped with electronics, it also has some good furniture to fit the space and hold my stuff.
For a studio apartment, it's a really good size with lots of storage. There is one main room and there is also a smaller second area that has a small kitchen. The bathroom is bigger than average. Another big perk is my merpeset (balcony). It overlooks Dizengoff Street and is located in the heart of it all in Tel Aviv. I'm a few more blocks away from the beach, but still about only a ten minute walk. That also reminds me of another thing: the bike. Noga was kind enough to leave me her bike and I've been riding it all across the city. I had one my senior year of college up in DC, but I'd forgotten just how fast you can move through a city on a bike. My usual 15 minute commute (ok, walk) to work has been shortened to about 3 or 4. Places that I used to take the bus to, I'm riding to. I love it!

There are only two drawbacks of the apartment. One, I'm technically only subletting it through mid-February, but Noga has assured me that if I want it past this it's mine. I just hope that works out. Also, the place is very girlie. I mean, it's got purplish-blue curtains, painted hearts on the walls of the kitchen area and bathroom and pastel colored lamps. Since the place isn't 100% mine, I'm a little limited in what improvements I can make, but I've still got a few things planned to make it more my style.

It's great to be writing this post from the comfort of my own space with great Israeli music playing on the surround sound in the background (say that last part 10 times fast:)

Shavua tov to all!

p.s. Getting pretty excited for cousin Tal's wedding and my parents coming to visit.
p.p.s. I also want to send a big thank you to the Tritt Family. They have already been to Israel twice since I've been here and have brought over a few bags for me. Both times they were here we got to go out a lot together and had much fun spending time with one another. I love seeing my second set of parents. Toda raba!