Rehovot

A little bit about the train ride to Rehovot. The train goes to the airport, but there are no maps, and the timetables are difficult to understand. Plus, the train does not announce where it is going as it approaches, so if it's a late or early train, I don't know how one would know it's the correct one. I met a couple of Londoners who were heading to a wedding, but they had no idea where they were going, and didn't know any Hebrew. We found an Israeli willing to help, but he didn't speak much English - my first opportunity to use Hebrew! (disclaimer - while in the airport in Paris, an old man sat down next to me. A few minutes later, an old woman sat on the other side of me. They started talking to each other in Hebrew across me. I asked if they would like to sit together, to which the old man replied "We've been together 63 years, a few minutes apart is good." Then we had a small conversation in Hebrew...I soon excused myself because his breath was atrocious, but still, a very nice man) Whatdoyaknow, I actually did pretty well. I was really surprised at how much Hebrew I've remembered. I didn't think I would be able to use it at all, and I mean, it's not nearly as good as it once was, but I can converse fairly well.

Anyway, eventually (after waiting an hour at a different train station to switch trains - none of which had any indication of where they were going) I made it to my cousin Ron's place in Rehovot (incidentally, the picture of the apartment in that link looks identical to Ron's, except for the furniture). I met Ron's roommates, who are cool. One of them is getting married in a few weeks - I say this only to mention a cultural tidbit. In Israel, instead of bringing a gift, a wedding guest has to pay to attend the wedding. It's like saying "don't worry about the cost of the wedding, just enjoy the marriage" (and I guess it avoids having to be the guy who gets the couple a crappy spatula...sorry Geri)

The next morning, we went to the shuk (market) to buy some fresh food.

Ron is an amazing cook, so we were getting stuff for dinner - veggies, spices, and a huge watermelon! Then for the main course, we stopped at a fresh fish place. The guy in front first had to excuse himself to pour himself another vodka/redbull (at 9 a.m. - don't worry, he offered us one too). We picked out a salmon, and they took it to the back to cut it and the guy cutting it had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Then I realized, all the veggie sellers were also smoking at their veggie stands. Not quite the same food prep laws out here...

On a side note, the last few times I've come here, I've tried very hard to not look like an American. Not out of fear or embarrassment, but that I wanted to be treated like a local, not a tourist - I always wanted to blend in. Now, I've resigned myself to the fact that I am an American, and I don't really care if I look like a tourist...and I guess I do, because everyone says "hallo hallo, ah! american, where you from? New Jersey?"

Anyway, aside from the delicious dinner, the rest of the day and most of Saturday were very relaxing and uneventful except for the fact that it rained a little in Tel Aviv - very strange for this time of year. It was hot and humid in Rehovot, which I was not expecting.

Saturday night, Ron and I went to a burger place. It was 25 shekels for a draft beer! (3.5ish shekels to the dollar) Too expensive...but things here are more expensive than they used to be. Side note about my cousin - and sorry Ron if you don't want me broadcasting this to the world, but I think it's great. I mentioned he's an amazing chef, so he knows a lot about food quality. As we're sitting there, he picks up the bottle of Heinz ketchup and proclaims, without tasting it, "This is not Heinz." Sure enough, we examined it, and it was too runny, and not dark enough. Apparently Heinz is known for the thickness - it's supposed to be tough to get out of that bottle. He told the waiter to ask the owner. They adamantly stood by their claim that it was Heinz, and even brought an un-open bottle as if to prove it. Ron dropped his complaint, but the actual bottle of Heinz they brought was much darker and thicker...I think perhaps Heinz should investigate the matter...

Anyway, we met up with my friend Mike, who I hadn't seen since the sixth grade. He made aliyah (moved to Israel) a few months ago. Then we all went to see the Hangover II. (by the way, it's assigned seating for movies in Israel) In Hebrew the translated title comes out to "On the Way to the Wedding II" but there is a word in Hebrew for hangover...it's hangover...and they know what it means...so that's weird. Anyway, we walked into the mall for the theater before sundown on Saturday, so it was still Shabbat and all the stores were closed. After the movie, everything was open! It's so funny that they all open for just a few hours on Saturday night, but that's the culture in some places here. (note, not everything closes for Shabbat. In fact, in Tel Aviv, most things don't. In Jerusalem, most things do, but the culture everywhere is definitely shifting toward more secularism)

That evening, my other cousin, Sarit, happened to be passing through Rehovot and she stopped by Ron's to say hi. It worked out perfectly because I won't have a chance to see her the rest of the summer as she's leaving for a cross country trip of the US in a couple of weeks.

Sunday afternoon, I set out for Jerusalem.

addendum

A quick addendum to the last post.

The first time I went to Israel 10 years ago, when we flew in, there were certain traditions. When the plane landed, the passengers applauded (either applauding the pilot for a smooth landing, applauding because they were so happy to be there, or sarcastically applauding as if to say "it's about time!" after such a long flight). Traditional music would play over the public address system (Heveinu Shalom Aleichem) - There was no jet-way, so people would get off the plane and first thing they would do is kiss the ground - literally, right under the plane. And people would sing and dance and rejoice, just so happy to be there.

Then a few years later I came back, and there were jet-ways. They still clapped and the music played, but there was no dancing, and I saw nobody kiss the ground (outside after customs and passport control, who's happy to be there anymore? lol)

This time it was strange. Only a handful of people applauded, and there was no music. Maybe because it was a short flight - I don't know, but it just felt off. That sense of pride and joy I got from my first time in Israel, people coming for the first time don't get that experience anymore. Hopefully it was a fluke...

Also, here are pictures from France

The airplane that took us across the sea, in France - there was a cool viewing area to watch all the planes taxiing


French fruit nectar

Whew - I made it!

It's Tuesday afternoon in Israel, I've been here a few days, and it seems like a good time to write. This post will mostly be about my actual journey to get here and the first couple of days getting acclimated.

So last week, some of you may have heard, the volcano in Iceland was erupting and there were some fears it may disrupt travel in and out of Europe. I was scheduled to fly through London (with a 12 hour layover, perfect to go and see a bit of the city), so I was a little concerned that there might be trouble with my flight. At the airport in El Paso I asked if perhaps I could be moved to a different flight that would not have to stop in Europe. They told me, however, that nothing could be done unless the flight was actually cancelled, and there was at that point no indication that would occur. So I left El Paso bound for Dallas where I would connect for London.

While I knew there had been some weather concerns in the Dallas area over the prior couple of days, I had checked the forecast and there were no storms predicted, only some wind. I thought maybe the worst that would happen would be some turbulence. But when we landed in Dallas, it was a fairly sunny day with no indication of trouble at all. The volcanic ash was shifting away from London, and the flight was scheduled only about a 10 minute delay for cleaning. I ate one last BBQ meal (they just don't do it the same outside of TX) and boarded my flight. It was nice, I had a window seat, lots of leg room, personal TV screen with on-demand options, and a nice view of the clouds outside...wait a minute, where did the clouds come from? Dark clouds too. I thought to myself what a good thing we are leaving now before it gets ugly. But then I saw some flashes of light. Lightning? Or maybe just the lights of the plane? Nope - it was lighting. Which meant the ground crew would not be able to stay outside and the plane could not leave until the lightning passed. Oh well, I thought - what's another half hour or so? I've got plenty of time to kill anyway. But the rain started, and then something happened that I've never seen before. They told us to gather all of our belongings and get off the plane. And quickly! I thought, usually, once you're on - you're on, you don't get off unless there's a serious problem. That's when the hail started. As we re-entered the terminal, they told us to stay away from the windows and announced a tornado warning. In fact, they said a tornado had been spotted in the immediate vicinity of the airport! So everyone in the airport gathered around the center of the building to wait it out. Nobody seemed particularly scared or worried, but neither did anyone seem annoyed. After about an hour, the storm moved on and we awaited news of our flights.

Because of the hail, they had to inspect each and every plane before they could leave. Luckily, ours was one of the first to be inspected. Unluckily, we didn't pass. Even more unluckily, most of the other planes didn't either. Which meant a lot of people had to rebook. And these were people that had been rebooked from cancelled flights from the day before. Some people had been waiting to get out since Sunday. So there were really not a lot of available options to get out of Dallas. I made some friends in the terminal and we discussed renting a car if need be to drive to Austin or Houston, just to be somewhere we could get out of. But they ended up being rebooked for later that night. After waiting on hold for about two hours, I finally got through. I was put on a flight the next day that would fly through Paris and then arrive in Tel Aviv Thursday evening, only 15 hours later than originally planned. Not too bad! They even gave us our luggage (most of the domestic flights did not get their luggage back).

After a night at a hotel, I returned to the airport to find massive lines for everything. Nevertheless, I made it on board. I had requested a window seat (not that I had my hopes up considering the circumstances) and they told me they had one near the front. My excitement, however, was short lived as my 'window seat' had no window :( I guess there are worse things. Anyway, during the flight, I asked the flight attendant about beverages, and he recommended some kind of Chilean wine that was supposed to be delicious (being on an airplane in coach, I was surprised that the selection was that inclusive), and he gave me a small bottle...then another. And he didn't charge me for them (he was charging other people, though I kind of thought it's free on international flights anyway, but whatever). Then later as he passed by he offered me another bottle...seemed like he was trying to get me drunk! so I quickly put in headphones and went to bed - very awkward.

Woke up in Paris. Was somewhat excited about going through the airport there as I understood it to be a really interesting airport - an international hub. Sadly, I was disappointed. It seemed like an old bus station. In fact, the only food was either cold bologna sandwiches, or what looked like microwaved airplane dishes. Also, I had no euros on me, so I'm still not sure how much I spent on lunch, but I really wish there was something more appealing...more Parisian. Oh well.

On El Al to Tel Aviv, sat in the very last row (but got an actual window seat!) Before take off, the guy next to me (religious Jew) had put his backpack on the floor next to him. The flight attendant came by and told him to put it overhead and walks away. He yells out to her "Miss!" And motions for her to take care of it. She ignores him (rightfully so) and later comes back to tell him again. He says "so do it!" she says "so do it!" he says "so do it! what, you want me to have to get up every time to get a book?" "She says you have to" Later, she comes back (he still hasn't done it) with a small woman who has a larger bag. She helps the woman make space in an overhead bin, but gets called for something else. She quickly leaves momentarily, and the man, instead of helping this woman put her bag above in the newly created space, gets up and shoves his bag in there. Who does that? Anyway, rest of the flight was uneventful...though I was the very last one off the plane, haha.

Anyway, I figured out the train system at the airport (although the system is designed only for those who already know what they're doing) and headed to Rehovot to see my cousin Ron. I'll catch you up on the next few days later - for now, I'm going exploring!