Today was the first day we (the Jerusalemers) would be meeting the other WUJS participants (the Tel Avivers). Some of us briefly discussed yesterday which, if any, icebreakers we would do when we met them. We threw around some ideas but pretty much all agreed that the hike enough would be an opportunity to meet and mingle with our peers on the other side of the country (mind you, this is only about an hour away).
Wake up: 7:15am
Ready for the day: 7:45am
Actual departure time: 8:15am (oh well)
You see, all of the TAers had to board a coach bus much earlier than we did this morning (hooray!) and they came to pick us up, but our madrichim (staff) knew ahead of time that there would not be enough space on one coach bus for both sections. They ordered a smaller bus/minivan for about 15 people, which left room for about 10 of us on the big bus. I wanted to make the most of the drive by interacting with the TAers so I attempted to take advantage of the opportunity by waiting for the big bus to arrive. Yesh harbeh p'kak b'Tel Aviv v'Yerushalayim (There is a lot of traffic in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Therefore we waited very patiently.) I hopped on the Taglit-esque bus and said boker tov (good morning) and hi to everyone as I walked passed them. Unfortunately, because they were either not interested in making new friends, or it was way too early in the morning, or some other reason, they weren't as friendly as I was hoping! I didn't sit with any of them, but sat in a 2 seater, and Shoshana, one of the Israelis living with us in our apartment complex, sat next to me. We chatted almost the entire drive, about what we were both doing in our pre-WUJS lives, world travel we have both done, language (particularly English and Hebrew, shocker), people we have met in our program so far, and our respective families, among other topics. I really enjoyed the conversation, and realized it was so much better to get to know Shoshana; she lives in the apartment directly below me, so I'll be seeing a lot more of her than my peers in Tel Aviv. Despite descending from the bus together, I found a really great hiking buddy upon entering the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve!
Ethan, a participant in the Jerusalem track, hiked with me for just about the entire trail today! We had great conversation about Western NY (he went to school in Rochester), summer camp, hiking and other outdoor activities, and complained about hot damn hot it was! The trail started out as a dry dusty path, but 1.5 km later (or so we were told, I swear it felt like 5 km) we approached a small pool created by a stream; we had heard and seen parts of the stream while we were hiking. At this point, I was not feeling well at all. I knew it was from the heat, so I drank some more water, switched from my regular walking sneakers to my new fabulous awesome Keds-like green shoes - WITH sequins! Bought 'em last night from a shoe store in the Kenyon Hadar (the Hadar Mall) which is a 10 minute walk from my apartment. (Josh, who I went with, to the mall, couldn't find the same shoes in his size, and although we were very sad about this situation, we ended up at another store where he not only got pink hiking/water shoes, but got the clerk to cut the price in half just by asking! We now owe Osnat, the clerk, a picture of Josh wearing these fabulous shoes.)
New green shoes on, feet in the water, so nice, so cool, already starting to feel better. Snuck in a granola bar to the park, despite being told we were not supposed to bring any food in. I am a snacker so therefore I am a rule breaker. Suckers! Snack plus drinking water, sitting in the shade - all a good combination. We go upstream about 50 more feet to a bigger pool and waterfall area. I was one of the first few people to drop my backpack and get in the water, dunking even my hair. It was pretty clear water, very refreshing, and made me feel so much better. The Jerusalemers and Tel Avivers were still not mixing very well (with some exception, I will say) but we all had a lot of fun dunking and splashing and taking some pictures (of course I forgot to bring my camera on so far, the most exciting and beautiful day of being here, but I will hope to get my new friends to post their photos on facebook for me to share with everyone back home).
The deal was this - we would hike the dry trail there, get in the pools and take the wet hike back. Mostly, the water was only just under our feet or to our ankles; a few times we just crossed the stream and were on dry land. Ethan and I ended up with PJ and Avi for a good portion of the hike back, so we doubled our hiking crew! It was great times. Avi and I even shared some feestookim (pistachios) on the trail. Yes, I broke the rules again.
We finished the hike going back on the same trail we started on (so really it was like a teardrop kind of shaped trail) and got back on the bus for a 5 minute ride to the Dead Sea. We had lunches ready for us in boxes as we got off the bus in the parking lot, and I sat with Rachelle at our own private romantic date bench in the shade. Actually, it wasn't romantic at all, but it was private. Everyone else had taken all the spots close to the bus! So we wandered to another bench to keep our distance from the crowd; Ethan was passing by so of course I invited him to keep us company for a few minutes and he obliged. Tuna sandwich, cinnamon roll, an apple and a bottle of mineral water. Can't complain!
I walked with Rachelle and Ethan down to the water. I promised her I would take some pictures of her floating in the Dead Sea. I figured it was the least I could do since I wasn't going in the water! Ethan and I sat on our lazy bums and watched everyone floating and putting mud on their bodies and taking pictures and falling over in the water. Fun times. Rachelle washed off in the shower by the beach, and we all walked back to the bus together for our return ride to Jerusalem. Most all of the Jerusalemers piled into the minibus while I boarded the big one, sitting next to Shoshana again, but really being bad company to her by falling asleep for almost the entire ride back! Fortunately, she was talking with other people for the majority of the ride.
We were dropped off back at Tsipora Street and got showered (yes this time, a real standing up shower, by the way my 2nd standing up shower since arriving)! Marlowe, one of my roommates, and I decided to do a quick shop at a grocery store nearby. It has its perks - it is MUCH closer to our apartment, and has bottled water at a great price, we discovered! Some items were cheaper than the Supersol that is across from the Hadar Mall; some items were more expensive. We just wanted to get some more essentials for Yom Kippur (pre and post meals people, not during the day!) and for Sunday, since the stores will be closing at noon tomorrow and probably not reopen on Saturday night after the fast is broken. 210 shekels later and I'm walking out with 3 bags of groceries. Man oh man this is getting expensive! But for dinner tonight, I had one of the items I purchased - schnitzel broccoli. Instead of breaded chicken breasts (typical schnitzel), this company makes schnitzel patties from broccoli, corn, and all sorts of other vegetables. So I gave it a whirl and really enjoyed it.
I spent the rest of my evening unpacking my 2 suitcases of clothing, sweaters, shoes, and toiletries. For the most part, it's organized, but we are hoping to purchase something for the bathroom to help keep our toiletry items organized, so right now, I'm a bit frazzled with all the ziploc bags I have around! Anyways, my next door neighbors were in their kitchen when I decided to take a break from unpacking. I heard one voice I did not recognize; it was Dani's voice, one of the Israelis who is living next door to me. PJ is the only American living in the apartment and only one I met so far, so I went to say a quick hello, and ended up staying there about 20 minutes trying to learn new Hebrew words. PJ started a list of new Hebrew words on his door! After the 20 minutes was up, I came back to do more unpacking, and when I wanted another break, I went in to either learn a new word or contribute a word to the conversation. Needless to say, by the end of the night, there was lots of Hebrew! I told the guys I was going to be like Kramer, barging in at all hours of the day (and maybe night) just to say hi! We'll see if I can live up to that challenge.
Well my bed is made nicely, sheets tucked in, and cleared off of all clothing piles which are now on the shelves of my closet. I've concluded another day's worth of tales and adventures, so it's time to call it quits. No alarm will be set for tomorrow; I will sleep until I cannot sleep any more. The Goldsmiths (and maybe the Wolfs) are coming tomorrow for a picnic pre-chag (holiday/Yom Kippur) and then I will be ushering in the holiday with some WUJS participants who are staying around the apartment complex and within walking distance. Saturday I plan to see Marcus, my fabulous Israeli friend who made aliyah from England a few years ago, and we are going to walk to the Kotel to see the balagan (crazy mess) that goes on there.
More blog updates to come. Topic suggestions welcome!
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