My First Week in Israel

So my first week in Israel has been pretty phenomenal. I hung out with Noa, a soldier I met on Birthright 3 years ago, for the first 4 days that I was here. She lives in Modi'in, which is halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The first day, she and her boyfriend, Aviad, picked me up at the airport and we went straight to her house. I took a 4 hour nap, which was refreshing for me but not too exciting for you to hear. I met Noa's friend Hezi, shopping for a birthday present for his girlfriend.

The next day, Friday, Noa and I traveled with her friends Rinat and Eran to Jerusalem to go to the Kotel (Western Wall) and walk around the Old City looking at the shops. We celebrated Shabbat at her house with her and her boyfriend, Hezi and his girlfriend, and her brother. She made an absolutely delicious meal (which included chicken and Israeli salad) and then we went to Michal's (Hezi's girlfriend) birthday party. There, I had a deep conversation with some of the most interesting people I had met since I coming to Israel (a couple days). Erez, Carmel and I discussed our career paths and interests, psychology and math, their relationship, and a linguistic riddle. We plan on hanging out soon.

Saturday, Noa and I went to the beach in Herziliya with Rinat and Eran then ate at a very delicious restaurant nearby. I had ravioli and it was amazing. Later, I played basketball with Aviad and his brothers and father. 2-on-2 basketball can really wear you out when playing with these guys. Soooo fun. Aviad and his brothers are very good, and I surprised myself by putting up my best performance in probably 5 years. Noa, Aviad, and I then went to meet a few of their friends in Jerusalem that night for a short meeting. Sunday, Noa and I moved a couch with her friend, Shani. Very cool girl... she is Israel-born but her parents are both from New York and she speaks perfect English with no accent. She speaks mainly English at home but Hebrew was her first language. We had kind of a lounging around day then went to the gym. I am very thankful that Noa was willing to take 4 days off of work - just for me. :) I had a great time.

Monday, she drove me up to Tel Aviv for me to move in. This is the first time I have been in Tel Aviv since the last day of Birthright when we spent the afternoon here right before flying home. Last time, I had gone to Max Brenner's (a chocolate restaurant) with my friends Scott and Dan. This time, I met up with my friend, Miriam, from home. She is doing a Master's at Tel Aviv University, living a mere few kilometers away from me. We hung out, caught up, and she updated my iPod like there was no tomorrow. I then went to move in to my new digs at Tsidon 1, Apt. 504, Tel Aviv. My roommate's name is Simon, he is a Jewfro-wearing kid from San Francisco. He has the most amazing moustache I have ever seen; it's going to be growing into a curly moustache once it gets long enough. He and I seem like great roommates: we have the same eating habits (including Kosher) and some things in our past have been similar. It's crazy how alike we are. The main differences are that he is an early bird while I'm a night owl and he's not as social and I am. But he's awesome.

Since Monday, the Master's program participants have had icebreaker meetings, rules and regulations meetings, and a walk around the neighborhood to show us critical places. We are 30 people living together with about 30 others from the internship program (they're here for 5 months, the Master's people here for 10). About 12 of us from both programs combined went to this restaurant on the beach nearby called 9 Beach Mezizim. This place has the best personal pizzas EVER! So delicious and so filling. We also have had a few apartment parties, meeting new people and drinking. It has been a blast!

View from my bedroom window :)

I have met quite a few interesting people. There's people between the ages of 22-35 here, the median age seems to be 25. Everyone is from all over the U.S., with the exception of Germany, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, the U.K., South Africa, and Argentina. One kid I've met, who lives right across the hall from me, is Alex. He has a very similar last name to me, they both mean "fisherman" in Russian. It would be funny if we were something like long lost cousins. Alex went to Emerson for undergrad and studied video production. We joined a gym together and have hung out a lot. A bunch of the people I have met from the internship program are really awesome, too. There's American Jenny and Jenn-ay (Jennie from London). Words can't describe the awesomeness of either of these two girls. I have met Dan from South Africa, Loni and Emma, Brian from Argentina, and quite a few others who I haven't gotten close to yet. Everyone in both the Master's program and internship program are cool, and I can't wait to get to know them better. I'm about to go to the beach, a 5 minute walk from my building, so PEACE OUT!