Tel Aviv Bliss

!שלומ

The day after the hike I rallied to go to Tel Aviv with my friend Michelle. We got up bright and early, grabbed some fresh baked goods, and made our way to the train station.  When we arrived in Tel Aviv we walked through downtown and stopped at a cute bistro restaurant. It's one of the more famous in Israel, especially Tel Aviv. It 's called  Orna and Ella. I ordered these butternut squash pancakes and they were pretty much amazing. After our brunch we walked to the beach and strolled along the coast until we made it to Jaffa.

Old Jaffa was one of the biggest ports in Israel during earlier times and has some very pretty gardens and buildings that are built throughout the town. It was so relaxing to watch sailboats as they cruised by and to be able to walk around beautiful green alleyways. We stopped for some fro-yo (of course) and then went shopping through the Old Jaffa market. I put my bargaining to work and then was on my way to  the old train station.  It was rustic and beautiful. There were multiple photoshoots of wedding couples scattered throughout the area and it just added to the blissful state that defined the day.

We walked through the new Jaffa area, which was noticeably upper class. Boutique after boutique lined the alley and we stopped into an organic market for some smoothies. Mine was made with lettuce, it was surprisingly delicious. We then walked all the way through downtown Tel Aviv back to another train station. We were back in Haifa just in time for dinner and it was nothing short of a successful day.

In other news, recently within the past couple weeks, the American portion of the international school have been holding potlucks in our apartment. They have been total successes every time and it has almost become a tradition of sorts. This will definitely be something I miss when I leave.

The other night me, and a couple other friends hit up the movies here in Haifa. My first Israeli movie theatre experience was well,  the same as an American movie theatre experience. Except for the Hebrew commercials...

We saw the movie Drive  with  Ryan Gosling. It was one of the most awkward and weird movies I've ever seen but hey, it's Ryan Gosling, right?

Before the movie we went to this burger restaurant called Black Burger. It was trendy and really fancy. The food was delish. Oh, I forgot to mention  that in the movie theatres here they sell coffee and gelato as well as the normal movie foods.  I would be at the movies alot more often in America if they did that...

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. It's pretty cool being here to experience this. Did I mention the doughnuts? Yeah, well apparently it's a Hanukkah thing here. I've had 3 today. It's a problem. Presents aren't a big deal here either. Apparently it's an American tradition.

Happy Hanukkah!

!חג שמח

סטפני-

PARKOUR!

Parkour: a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency.

!שלומ

I'm still chuggin along trying to get this thing updated.

On December 2-3 I joined a group of the international students on a hike through Ein Gedi (aka the Judean Desert). It took us about  three or four hours to get there from Haifa. We were dropped off in the middle of the desert and as the bus faded into the dusty abyss, I felt like I was either on Lost  or in an action film gone terribly wrong. Funny enough, my and me other two friends, Haley and Chandler, wore the exact same colors (blue and black-COMPLETELY unplanned). Thus began our own episode of The Amazing Race. From here on out it was a competition of strength and the will to win and to live. Okay, so maybe not that intense but we did get two days jam packed with the hardest, most intricate parkour moves ever witnessed by man. 

Chandler kicked a rock, once.

I laughed for like an hour.

Anyway, with our  voices howling "PARKOUR" and our feet slipping on every rock in the desert we began our journey. Deserts may seem pretty lame but it was beautiful. It was the same desert Moses came through from Egypt. I can only imagine the crap he got when they realized the giant body of water located in the middle of the desert is the saltiest on earth. You win some, you lose some.

The first day we spent walking on tall plateaus overlooking the Dead Sea, or in Hebrew, ימ המלח   (Yam haMelach). The Dead Sea is gorgeous. It is a bright torqouise-green color that reminds you of the Caribbean. On the Israeli side (versus the Jordan side) you can see five star resorts along the coast , each with their own spa building. Apparently the Dead Sea helps aid people with rare skin disorders and people come from all over the world to get treatment. Pretty cool.  

After lunch we made our way down  (wayyyy down) to the lowest point on earth, The Dead Sea. Of course the first thing we did was get in the water. It was probably the weirdest thing I have ever experienced. You literally float completely above water. Like laying on your stomach is almost impossible due to the fact that your feet almost flip over you. It's impossible to touch the sea floor too. You can bounce and try and get momentum but right before you touch, you bounce back up. It was so surreal. After a series of funny pictures we got out and grabbed some food before heading on the bus to our next site.

We spent the night in a Bedouin tent. It wasn't a currently functioning tent but more of a model of what it would be like to be a Bedouin. It was pretty cool. We slept on little matresses on top of woven mats. It was unbelievably warm as well. We cooked out and then had a short shabbat dinner. Then we star-gazed. It was so cool to see every star in the sky. After a suprisingly comfortable sleep, I woke up early to watch the sun rise over the desert mountains. It was probably one of my favorite moments yet. That sun rise was stunning. God is so cool that he can make things that simple, yet so incredibly beautiful.

The next day of the hike was a sharp climb up a mountain. It was one of the most physically demanding hikes I've ever done but when we got to the top it was so worth it. The view was awesome! We then made our way down and around the moutain to a rift valley. Here, flash floods had cut through the mountain range and formed a cool smooth rocky canyon below. The rock was so smooth that at points we could literally slide down it. It was so much fun and it allowed us to really get going on our parkour moves.

Once we climbed out of the valley we made our way down to a tropical oasis. It was fed by a natural spring and was like walking into a completely different country. There was waterfall after waterfall and the smell was so fresh and clean. We saw rock badgers (they look like gophers) and Ibex's (mountain goats with massive horns). I'm thinking that's where they get shofar's from. After our relaxing afternoon we got back on the bus and headed to Haifa. It was an epic weekend full of unique experiences, and probably one of my favorite things I've done in Israel yet. 

Oh, I forgot to mention I had my first Israeli McDonald's meal. I got chicken selects and it was actually pretty darn amazing. The McFlurry wasn't too shabby either.

When we got back to the University we watched the SEC championship game. I love rallying for football here. It's funny being asked to explain football to an Israeli. I realize that a guy pushing other guys over to run into a giant rectangle is kinda dumb. But we love it anyway.

סטפני- 

Chi Five for Chaifa! (just add flem)

"Haifa, Haifa, Maccabi Shaylee!"

(that is a terrible transliteration)

A word on Israeli sports:

Football: In America, we say "soccer"

Basketball: Aka a tall Israeli or an American NBA fall out.

All the other teams don't matter.

For being such a tiny country, Israel is pretty rich with sports teams. Every city has one. Haifa's team is the Maccabi's. Our colors are green, black, and white and they sing a song similar to that of which is posted at the top of this page.

Up until now, I have attended two basketball games and one soccer game. Both sports were a blast! The basketball game was held in what looked like a highschool gymnasium, and the soccer stadium was proabably slightly bigger than the one at UF. Maybe...

However, if you ignore the twelve year olds dancing to Lady Gaga in outfits with less material than a loin cloth, it's an exciting and cultural experience. At both the soccer games and the basketball games they have large fan groups that wave flags around, dance, sing, and play giant drums. It's really cool.  The dynamic is just great and especially at the soccer game, it is fun to just stand up and scream, even if you have no idea what everyone around you is saying.

The soccer game was against Akko and we won! It was such a  great game. Saw two yellow cards and a red card. Welcome to Israeli sports. The basketball games have been great too. One of the games we played Tel Aviv and we went into overtime. I taught everyone around us the Gator Chomp when it came to 3-pointers. I can be sure that's why we won.

So if you ever get to Israel, grab your sunflower seeds, Goldstar or medicine-worthy "Capri-sun", paint your body green, and come cheer for Maccabi Haifa.

You'll be glad you did.

An Israeli Thanksgiving

Shalom! Ma Nishma?

(Hey, what's up?)

So...The next few posts are going to be a fast track of what I did over the past month...considering the fact that I never updated this thing. oops.

The night before Thanksgiving was my friend Chandler's 21st birthday.  She chose to celebrate at none other than the infamous Rak Basar restaurant in the German colony of Haifa. The name of the restaurant explains everything:

Just. Meat.

They have every type of meat you could ever imagine and you order it by the weight. This is rather complicated due to the fact that I don't think in kilograms but whatever. It was delicious. The second you walk in the door they hand you a glass of red wine and for five dollars more, you can drink unlimited throughout the night.  I enjoyed my first piece of Israeli cow and it was a great birthday celebration. The next  day was of course, Thanksgiving!

Now. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday of the year (Don't judge me). While I knew it was going to fall short of my parent's amazing cooking, it was pretty fun. During the day, a group of the American international students and I played a game of "soccer" aka "anything goes but let's do something that resembles soccer." It was a blast, and we themed it nothing other than,  North vs. South. Everyone knows the South is the best. 

Because of the pure epicness of this occassion, it has now been turned into a Thursday tradition among the international school. Every week we theme it something different.

That evening I went to class. Now, this is clearly an American phenomenon. Class...on Thanksgiving...what?? However, somehow I made it through the class (only on the knowledge of the dinner-to-come). That night, as an international school, Americans and other students alike, joined together in a somewhat traditional Thanksgiving meal. I will give Israel props for trying hard to get it right. We had turkey, mashed potatoes (they were yellow, I mean...what?) green beans, bread, stuffing and apple pie. Now, the turkey was a little raw and it wasn't green bean casserole, but it was nice to get together and share a little piece of home.  I got to skype my family right as they were about to eat, and as much as I wanted to jump through the screen and eat their food, it was amazing to spend time with them on the holiday.  It was also Doug's birthday, and skyping him was just what I needed. Thanksgiving was a success here in Israel and I cannot wait to see how an Israeli Christmas will be like.

P.S: Israeli's have the hardest time pronouncing the "th" sound in English. It's quite funny.

-Stefani