Day 3

Where to begin.

I tried to invert my day today, and ended up heading to the beach in the am to study. Same beach, different scene. Much quieter, many more kids (all taking surfing lessons).

On my way to the beach I stopped at the shuk for some fruit. I was very pleased with myself for understanding the cost of the plums I purchased, the first time I really understood Chamesh v'chetzi or five and a half shekels. I definitely felt as if I was clearly learning something.

As soon as I got to the beach I got a phone call from Eyal. He was heading into Tel Aviv for a bit and wanted to meet up. Sadly our schedules clashed a bit, and we didn't have a chance, but I am positive we will in the next few weeks. He and his better half Hadar are expecting a baby in October!

I managed to study my Ivrit for about 2 hours and was really pleased with the progress I was making. I decided to head to Ulpan a bit early to grab a quick bite to eat. Little did I realize how much I was going to struggle with the sand. I took about five minutes shaking every item of clothing and fabric out, cleaning the sand off my legs, feet, between the toes, to end up walking in flip flops in scorching hot sand that was whipped back at me and my legs with every step. I was cursing aloud in Italian with every shower of sand that sprayed the backs of my legs, sticking to my non-too-effective sunscreened and sweaty skin.

When I finally made it to the asphalt on the boardwalk, I repeated the same measures all over again, and then realized, having gone in the water about an hour before, I had two huge wet spots on my shirt where my bathing suit top was underneath. Ruing the day I decided not to pack a change of underwear before going to Ulpan for 3 hours, wet, sandy, salty and sticky, the wet marks, like my attitude, began to get worse, spreading up and down my shirt. I decided to give up and give in, and just admit that I'm an utter disaster when it comes to the beach. As a little girl I had a distinct love hate relationship with the beach (odd for a pisces like myself), I love the idea of it, but in the end, even with all the fun in the sun, it's just messy and ultimately uncomfortable, as sand gets into places where the sun doesn't shine, and then never ceases to come out. I find sand in my ears a day or two later, even after a proper scrub. So be it, I just decided to embrace the messy beach baby that I am and move on.

I really felt like the Coppertone Baby, complete with disheveled hair and clothing (luckily I didn't have a dog tugging at my bikini bottoms, although that would have helped to resolve the wet bottom situation).

I grabbed a quick yoghurt and iced coffee for lunch and set to the task of absorbing as much Hebrew as possible. I was really impressed with all I managed to accomplish in one day, and Ran was incredibly supportive. I'm not onto my verbs, and while I've done it before, it's good to review the infinitives. Don't get to thinking that my life is easy, I have about 40 new verbs to memorize by tomorrow...

I also decided, I'm not sure that the intensive Ulpan is going to be right for me next week. I am learning a lot in this Ulpan set-up, and quite frankly, I'm putting in a good 5-6 hours a day already, I'm not sure that another 3 structured classroom hours will actually do me any good. I might just decompensate and have no life, deciding to stay in in lieu of having fun meeting new people. I'll be sure to keep you updated about that.

After class, intent on going to Yoga in my neighborhood, I rushed home, realizing that I was feeling a bit more flush than usual. I literally ran into the house, inspected my rosy complexion, changed into my yoga garb, and headed out in search of said yoga studio. Not having time to verify the exact address on my computer (and being smartphoneless still, it's really taking it's toll on me) I made it to the general location, but couldn't find the studio. I walked into a couple of offices in one building hoping to find it, but instead found very confused people working in small offices, shocked at the sight of this slightly crisped girl in her yoga clothing complete with yoga mat.

After about 20 minutes, even asking around for directions, I gave in, and decided to hit up the grocery store for some dinner supplies and do a session of yoga at home. I met a really interesting Australian guy a few years younger than I am who is here for a few months just kicking back. He asked if I could help him read the labels of some pasta, he's glutein free, and unfortunately I couldn't help. We chatted about travel, living in Israel, the neighborhood (evidently it's the gaybborhood), studying Hebrew (which he is not) and whatnot. We exchanged numbers in the event we find ourselves bored on a given night and want to grab drinks etc. Nice guy, and considering the Israeli's are pretty lightweight when it comes to drinking, he'll be a good drinking buddy should I choose to have a very hard night of it out in Tel Aviv.

I got home and put myself to the task of creating a yoga class. I started with a little assistance from a flow class on youtube, and after my standard 10 minutes were up, I managed to continue for another 35. No ac, no fan, just in the comfort of my livingroom, doing sun salutations, cobra, fish pose, inversions, plank, tables, you name it, I tried it. I haven't worked up a sweat that way in yoga ever. It was great.

I finished, showered, nourished my parched skin with some Ahava cream (the super thick and creamy kind), made a delicious dinner, and spoke briefly to my father. He's very distressed about me leaving my cat with him for the time I'm away and had to call to remind me "never again". I saw no reason to pick a fight, so I kept thanking him for his generosity this time around.

Dinner was delicious, and I settled on a time to meet up with Marueen from Tel Aviv University tomorrow. It turns out she and her fiancee live on my street, just closer to the beach. I took a bit of time to study this evening, and then set out to find a recharge for my cell phone and head out to Kikar Rabin (Rabin Square, where Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated).

On may way I called Shachar, Lior's brother, and attempted to speak in Hebrew, forgetting just how hard it is to speak in a foreign language on the phone. I basically failed from the get go, but I threw in a few words for good measure. Shachar was amazingly kind to me, and beyond inviting me to have brunch with the family over the weekend, he kept reminding me if I need anything at all, just to let him know. I love the Israeli warmth and hospitality. It's something that even goes beyond the Italian hospitality.

I made it to Rabin Square to wait for Anat to come (I arrived way early, leaving myself plenty of time to get lost). I sent a few sms, made a few calls, and then began practicing writing my Hebrew, to see what I remembered from the day.

we ended up at a club on the east side of the square, something between a bar and a club, it was well light but with loud music. It was packed, and underground, and evidently the it place to be. It literally took us a good 20 minutes to get two glasses of cava. While we were waiting, Anat and I exchanged stories of how we know Rachel, our mutual friend, and I had just finished telling Anat how Rachel and I have so many eerie connections, one in particular, Rachel's ex's best friend used to be married to my ex's new wife. Yeah, kind of confusing. Basically, my ex just got married to a woman, who used to be married to Rachel's ex-boyfriend's best friend. Whatever, the point is, I turn around to see Liron, the glowing bride, standing right behind me. Now I only know Liron from Facebook, but she's quite a unique looking creature, so unmistakable and I quickly began scanning the entire bar looking for my ex, with my heart in my throat. Not having seen him since things ended, this was not how I imagined running into him and meeting his ten-foot-tall, lanky, impossibly tanned wife. I've not ever been good in those sorts of situations and feeling short and like that idiotic sunburned tourist who is bleerly-eyed from all the studying and can barely think straight, I knew I was bound to say something utterly stupid. As soon as Anat scored our drinks, I steered her away to a different part of the bar, explaining the situation, and then we both agreed, there is something about Rachel and her own black-magic, or red-magic. You tell one story about how you know Rachel, and invariably someone from that story, or else someone who knows Rachel mysteriously appears, as if summoned by the sheer sound of her name being uttered.

When my heart returned to it's normal resting pace and place, Anat and I settled in for a comfortable chat while waiting for her friend Ori to arrive. The bar was packed so there was a bit of a line for him but he did finally join us.

We stayed for a while chatting, and I finally said my farewells, as Anat accompanied me upstairs, and we said our own goodbye as she headed North and I south. I got home, and despite the crunch of sand under my feet when I entered the house, I was happy to be here. It reminds me, I need to clean.

I spoke to Lior on the phone, and then attempted a call to Chaleigh who was out, hopefully on date number two with Mr. Brooklyn Bridge, and sat down to finish this blog over a cup of nana tea. Having finished the tea, and my description of the day, I'd say it's about time to sign off and head to lala land. Enjoy the photographs from the market this morning...