Hello kiddies,
I’m back! I guess the delay was to be expected. The whole switching from one country/continent/culture to another- thing was somewhat distracting. It took me a while to actually sit down to write this, but you can rest easy knowing you were all on my mind and in my heart the whole time, so no worries. On the bright side, I do have some interesting news for you, which I guess is a plus. I say interesting because I don’t know how I feel about actually making this statement. But here goes: I’ve been cheating on Rosario. Seriously running around her back, sneakily falling for another city--Tel Aviv (betcha didn’t see that one coming! I’m telling you my cleverness is staying put at an all time high). Anyways, I’m feeling pretty awful about it because of all the amazing things she did for me during our three-month relationship, but I just can’t help it. I truly understand how Emily feels now that she’s down to the final two. She loves both Jef and Ari and I have no idea how she’s going to make the final decision because she’s just so torn. I get it. (OK I’ll be done with the Bachelorette reference but the finale’s on Sunday so I’m having trouble focusing on other things.) Anyways, my heart now belongs to both cities and I feel a little guilty. But really, who could blame me? Let me just lay it out for you. In the simplest, most surface-level of terms, it’s really not surprising that I fell for Tel Aviv in the first 10 minutes of being here. First of all, I came directly from winter in Argentina. It was getting colder and more dreary by the minute and then all of a sudden, after a quick and painless (you’d believe me if I stuck with that lie, right? Riight.) 36 hours of traveling, I arrived to a blazing sun right in the middle of summer. I traded Rosario’s brown river for Tel Aviv’s crystal clear Mediterranean; I swapped final exams for a laid back, 4-day-week internship; fried, meat-only, repetitive food options for some of the best dishes in the world, all complete with Kalamata olives, if I so please (which of course I do); and decked out, heel-wearing, designer-clothes repping Argentine models, for normal people wearing flip flops and t-shirts to bars and being welcomed in with open arms. If you know me but at all, you’ll know I really am in my homeland. Oh and not to mention, instead of the plethora of homeless dogs wandering the streets of Rosario there are stray cats everywhere here which I find slightly less sad for some reason. (And by slightly I mean entirely). So I guess what I’m saying is that while Tel Aviv may be pulling ahead in the smallest of ways in the race for my all-time favorite city, it’s really not a fair competition because the odds are so stacked against my beautiful Rosario. And don’t worry Rosarinos, I still talk about you all, and my time in Argentina, an annoying amount and describe the city as if it’s my hometown.
Alright, enough comparing. I know what you all want to hear... Am I still struggling as much in Israel as I was in Argentina? The answer is, of course, yes. I’ve been here about two weeks and already I fell in public, ran directly (head-first, obvi) into a street sign while a herd of attractive young men openly laughed at my stupidity, mistook an Israeli for an American and complimented him on his great Hebrew, misread common English as a transliterated Hebrew word and pronounced it out loud like a total douche bag, bought yogurt, thinking it was milk, and proceeded to pour it over my cereal, trying momentarily, and out of pure laziness, to suffer through it, and as we can all assume--much, much more. (That, by the way, is not including all the times I’ve used Spanish in an attempt to say one of the six Hebrew words I know and instead, as per usual, failed miserably). If the other question on your mind is if this glorious city has managed to cure me of my pessimistic ways, the answer to that is, of course, no. I love everything, but the heat is killing me slowly. I’m an Oregonian--this all day, every day, 90-something degree temperature coupled with the humidity does not fly. I’m melting and complaining about it the whole way through. So no fear, these enriching international experiences have not changed me in the slightest! You’re welcome, world! OK that’s all for now. I’m 10 hours ahead of you West Coasters, so while you’re walking around in your normally warm sunshine, enjoying the day, I’m going to sleep.
Missing you all!
Oh and P.S. While you may all remember my beloved Sylvia and her beloved Spanish-speaking boyfriend, we are herein all blessed with yet another trade-off. Even the giggle-worthy, name translation has been replaced for me here in Israel. I swapped out our well-known Bubie (heehee) for the tech guy at my internship office. Everyone, meet Dudu (pronounced: Doodoo). Hope you all enjoy that as much as I do!
Love,
Henya
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