Yesterday was a long, but fabulous day here in Tel Aviv. I reconnected with a friend from Berkeley, had an amazing sushi dinner, ventured out to the Namal (port), walked around Tel Aviv, enjoyed a bar on the beach, walked some more around Tel Aviv, and finally made it back home. Yesterday morning was very routine; got up, went to Ulpan, further reaffirmed that I want my Ulpan teacher, Eti, to adopt me upon completion of the program, came home, did some work, ate, napped, and all that jazz. Nothing too exciting there. Then, after a pretty full day, I planned to meet a friend I knew from Berkeley (an AEPi of course) for a night on the town. At 7:30 I met with him and one of his friends from home, and we were off to Tel Aviv proper for a delicious sushi dinner at Japanika. I can never eat at that restaurant without thinking of my friends Sara and Susanna, because we would frequent the Japanika chain in Jerusalem, and it always brings back good memories from 2 years ago.
After a delicious dinner of Spicy Tuna Rolls (which I crave now almost as much as chocolate), we decided to walk around the Namal for a little while. It was only 9:30 or so in Tel Aviv which means most Israelis hadn't even started eating dinner yet. We knew it would be quite until about 11 so we figured we would kill time by walking around the gorgeous boardwalk on the port. I don't know what it was about last night, but we saw two weddings taking place, so it must have been a prime night for an Israeli wedding. We must have walked about 4 or more miles up and down the beach during that time, and when the humidity was starting to take it's toll, we found a really nice bar, literally on the beach, and decided that it would be our spot for the night. The amazing thing about Tel Aviv is you can find anything right on the beach: Hotels, bars, restaurants, and so on. The tables and chairs in the bar that we chose were literally on the sand, only feet away from the water.
At night you can appreciate the beach in an extremely different way than you do during the hot, busy bustle of the day. In the day time the sand can almost burn the skin right off your feet. It is hot, and humid outside, and the water doesn't even bring you cool relief from the sometimes extreme temperature. Stepping into the Mediterranean is like walking into a warm bath, which is not really something you look forward to doing when it is a million degrees outside at 90% humidity. However, at night, the cool, soft sand feels like silk beneath your feet, and the water, though still warm, is a great contrast to the cooler weather that Tel Aviv is now experience at night. All three of us spent a good few minutes just using our feet to play with the sand it was that soft and amazing, and after a few drinks (in my case 2 which was more than plenty and maybe even a bit too much), we ventured to the water. It was a perfect evening. I still can't believe that this will be my life everyday for the next however many years. A lot of hard work, but just as much time to enjoy all that Tel Aviv, Israel, and even the greater Middle East have to offer. I can work hard in the day, and it is only a 10 minute bus ride to get to the beach, or the port, or wherever else one might go to unwind with friends after a long day.
When we were finished with the beach we walked around for another, what seemed like, 5 miles or so, finally gave into exhaustion, and caught a cab back to Ramat Aviv. By this time it was almost 2am and I had class in the morning so it was straight to bed for me. Luckily my lack of sleep didn't affect my performance in Ulpan today so it was very worth being a little tired. Tonight I am off to Netanya with a friend for Shabbat, and am so excited to explore a new place in Israel.
Stay tuned for my Shabbas update :-D
Until then,
Jordana Simone
After a delicious dinner of Spicy Tuna Rolls (which I crave now almost as much as chocolate), we decided to walk around the Namal for a little while. It was only 9:30 or so in Tel Aviv which means most Israelis hadn't even started eating dinner yet. We knew it would be quite until about 11 so we figured we would kill time by walking around the gorgeous boardwalk on the port. I don't know what it was about last night, but we saw two weddings taking place, so it must have been a prime night for an Israeli wedding. We must have walked about 4 or more miles up and down the beach during that time, and when the humidity was starting to take it's toll, we found a really nice bar, literally on the beach, and decided that it would be our spot for the night. The amazing thing about Tel Aviv is you can find anything right on the beach: Hotels, bars, restaurants, and so on. The tables and chairs in the bar that we chose were literally on the sand, only feet away from the water.
At night you can appreciate the beach in an extremely different way than you do during the hot, busy bustle of the day. In the day time the sand can almost burn the skin right off your feet. It is hot, and humid outside, and the water doesn't even bring you cool relief from the sometimes extreme temperature. Stepping into the Mediterranean is like walking into a warm bath, which is not really something you look forward to doing when it is a million degrees outside at 90% humidity. However, at night, the cool, soft sand feels like silk beneath your feet, and the water, though still warm, is a great contrast to the cooler weather that Tel Aviv is now experience at night. All three of us spent a good few minutes just using our feet to play with the sand it was that soft and amazing, and after a few drinks (in my case 2 which was more than plenty and maybe even a bit too much), we ventured to the water. It was a perfect evening. I still can't believe that this will be my life everyday for the next however many years. A lot of hard work, but just as much time to enjoy all that Tel Aviv, Israel, and even the greater Middle East have to offer. I can work hard in the day, and it is only a 10 minute bus ride to get to the beach, or the port, or wherever else one might go to unwind with friends after a long day.
When we were finished with the beach we walked around for another, what seemed like, 5 miles or so, finally gave into exhaustion, and caught a cab back to Ramat Aviv. By this time it was almost 2am and I had class in the morning so it was straight to bed for me. Luckily my lack of sleep didn't affect my performance in Ulpan today so it was very worth being a little tired. Tonight I am off to Netanya with a friend for Shabbat, and am so excited to explore a new place in Israel.
Stay tuned for my Shabbas update :-D
Until then,
Jordana Simone
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