Days 14, 15, 16: Time with Friends

First, a moment of silence for my camera..

...

I lost it, not sure where.  We have an idea and Rivka will call them tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.  I was pretty bummed out but I'm trying to shrug it off.  It's a thing.  The photos are things.  I'll just have to describe things that much more vividly.

Things I still need to write about:
-West Bank Trip
-Presidential Conference

But first I want to write about things that are much more important, like time with friends!!!

I will use pictures I've stolen from the internet to illustrate.

So let's see, Wednesday night I was so tired, I was ready to go to bed at like 8 pm, but while I was in the shower, Yonatan texted me and said "Be ready in 30 minutes!" so we went to a bar in the shuk and met up with some of his friends.  As usual, I was drunk pretty quickly.  They were giving out free arak shots (does everywhere do this?!?) so it was easy.

Yonatan told me lots of great stories about what he's been up to, especially his travels in Thailand.  But my favorite story was about his childhood pets.  He had two sister rabbits who were also lesbians together, and these rabbits were not afraid of anything... except for his turtle.  He found this turtle on the site of a nuclear reactor, and it was pretty messed up.  It was very aggressive and its poop glowed and it attacked the rabbits a lot.  He named the turtle "Uze," which I LOVE.  Was Yonatan joking? It's hard to say, he jokes a lot.  But I think this story was actually true.  Maybe except for the glowing poop.  And even if he just made it up, I still like it.

Since I lost my camera, here's a pic of Yonatan from last summer.  He looks basically the same now.

His friends were very nice as well.  Everyone I meet here is very interesting.  They seem totally normal, like any other twenty-something you meet, and then you find out they're secret bad asses.  This one guy was drinking with us and when he got up to get another beer Yonatan informed me that he was the number one sniper in all of Israel, and told me some stories about him in Gaza.  I mean, what?  So fascinating.  It was great to see Yonatan.  He is the smartest person I know, though perhaps you would not guess this if you overheard us talking about pokemon and game of thrones.

Dating Advice from Yonatan:
1) Do not date men who are half-nazis, half vietcong
2) Men are vampires and only operate properly at night, therefore do not go on mid-day dates
3) Improper locations for first dates include: parks, mountains, cafes
4) Do not accept athletic challenges from men
5) Do not meet men in "sketchy" areas like bars.  When I asked where would be better, he said matter-of-factly "Israel!"

The next day, after the presidential conference (which I will write about another time) I took a bus from Jerusalem to Gimzo, a little moshav (which is like a kibbutz, which is kind of a communal farm, except some parts are privatized)  between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  I was really proud of myself because I had to use my Hebrew both to buy a ticket and to figure out where the hell Gimzo was.  Israeli busses are a bit of an experience, there are so many Haredi (very observant Jews) on them.  You're not supposed to touch Haredi men if you are a woman (unless you are his wife or his daughter under the age of 12) which can frankly be a little challenging when you're jostled all around on the bus. I think they'll survive.

Rivka picked me up at the Gimzo stop and we went to her friend's house, where she was having a birthday party.  It was so nice! They had a big bonfire and a bbq and people were playing guitars and flute and harmonica and singing. It was a gorgeous night.  This time, I thought, I will not get drunk.  Perhaps it will be my first night in Israel I do not get drunk.  But then they passed around shots of cranberry vodka.  So I got drunk.

At Yaffa's (the friend whose birthday it was) house, I met her little white dog named ice.  Funniest dog I have ever met.  Ice looks like an ewok, seriously.  HUGE EYES.  Adorable.  Ice is supposed to be a guard dog because once thieves from Ramla broke in and took stuff, but I can't really see Ice functioning that way.

Then we returned to Rivka's apartment in Beer Sheva, which is adorable.  Beer Sheva is a city in the south, in the Negev Desert, which is full of students because of Ben Gurion University.  Here's a pic from google:

From israeldailypicture.com

Rivka says she lives in a slum.  If that's the case, I found it to be a really nice slum.  Rivka lives with her boyfriend of four years, Geva.  They are basically the cutest, best couple in the whole world.  Here is a pic of them from Geva's facebook:

Rivka is studying to be a nurse.  She's also a licensed tour guide.  She's also a licensed diver.  And a lifeguard.  She's a great cook.  Basically she's my idol.  I met her on birthright last summer and I hope that we are always friends.  Geva is a mechanical engineer, and he's also an amazing metal worker.  He made these incredibly beautiful pieces in their house.  Like this rack in their kitchen and a spider web.  Totally gorgeous.  He's also the sweetest, kindest, most patient person.  They are the best!  One time I went with Rivka into the house away from the fire, and he called her right away to ask where I was, he was worried. It's nice to be with people who care so much.

The next day we were joined by Rivka's older brother, Eli:

Eli is, like Yonatan and like most Israelis, an expert at bullshitting.  Rivka says Israelis try not to take their lives too seriously, and my guess is because they're lives are actually very serious, although they might deny this.  Anyway, many Israelis tend to weave elaborate sarcastic tales about things, and they can usually tell when others are doing this.  But everyone knows I am the most gullible person on the planet (Even for an American, I've explained to them, I am very very gullible) so I can rarely tell when something is not true.

For example, we piled into the car to go trekking, and for the first 45 minutes or so I believed what Eli told me, that he was afraid of flying and hated planes and so he'd never left Israel.  And that in the army he didn't do anything interesting he just typed stuff up and did office work. He said all of this with a perfectly straight face and calm demeanor so why wouldn't I have believed him?  But it turns out that he was actually in the special forces bomb squad in the army and his job now, when he's not studying marine biology, is leading treks overseas, like jeep excursions and long camping hikes, in places like Greece and Spain and Romania. I tried to think if I'd said anything completely patronizing about the beauty of travel when I'd been under the impression he'd never left Israel, but I think I was okay.

For a while I even believed him when he said when ibex get very very hungry they will eat sandshrews. It didn't help that Rivka gravely confirmed this story.  Although finally she started laughing and said no, ibex eat only grass.  Also, "shrew" is the favorite English word of my Israeli friends.  They won't stop saying it and they laugh every time.

I actually did see a shrew like this, darting among some rocks.

I could tell he was joking when he said a couple of ibex standing on a ridge were contemplating what club to go to last night.  And when he said that his life could be defined as "B.T." and "A.T." or "before taco" and "after taco" when talking about how good tacos can be.

What do you think we should do tonight? Tel Aviv?

So we drove down to the Large Makhtesh, which is kind of like the Israeli Grand Canyon.  Pro tour guide that she is, Rivka explained to me how it was formed, but it's too complicated for me to type out.  Check out some pics from google:

My pictures were better... sigh.

Then we went for a desert hike.  Now, I'm the first to admit I'm out of shape.  But it was kind of challenging!  It's so hot, and the water you carry get's hot really fast and drinking hot tea-like water does not cool you down any or even seem to quench your thirst. We decided we hadn't brought enough water so Rivka and I started out and the boys went to buy more water and catch up with us.

Rivka and I walked... maybe a mile? And waited in some shade, and then the guys came up in a jeep with some random Israelis.  Does this happen in the US? Maybe I just don't hang out in the right places.  But here I guess you can just flag by any passing jeep and jump in.  So we did!  It was bumpy but it was fun.  We went out to a desert spring called Ein Akev:

The water was cool and refreshing and perfect.  It's very deep - about 40 feet, so you can jump or dive in. We hung out there for a while and it was perfect after a hot hike/jeep ride.  Soon a very odd group of people joined us... a woman and her daughter, touring from Miami, and their bizarre tour guide in a speedo. We left to hike back.

The hike back was a little better because I was wet from the spring and there was a breeze, but it was still kind of hard.  In my head I was just like "be a sabra be a sabra be a sabra!" I'm not a sabra at all, I'm totally a girl from Boston, but I did make it!  It was one of those situations where we'd climb a little mountain and I'd think to myself "Oh, we'll see the car from the top!" And then we get to the top and all we see is another valley and more little mountains...

It was very beautiful, though.

On the way back we stopped at a Bedouin tent and just sat in the shade and talked for a few minutes.

According to Lawrence of Arabia, "No Arab loves the desert."  Not sure if that's true.

I felt really accomplished! Although later on Eli told me (not in a scolding way or anything, it was an unrelated conversation) that everyone in a combat unit in the army has to spend a while trekking over 60 km in the desert alone, finding different aforementioned locations without even a map.  He said they learn to sleep while they are walking. While carrying a 50kg pack. Okay so maybe I'm slightly less accomplished.  I managed to keep my slight panic to myself during the hike, though I think Rivka sensed it anyway, because she patted me on the shoulder and said, "The most important part of hiking is getting ice cream afterward."  And we did :).

That night Rivka hosted a bbq at her house.  She said, "Ariane we need to keep your record of being drunk every night in Israel" and gave me lemoncello.  And surprise surprise, drunk. There was a ton of good food and I met lots of her friends and they were all very nice and interesting.   Geva is really sweet and kept reminding them to speak English so I could understand what they were talking about.

I am afraid I am confirming what a lot of people have told me is the Israeli idea of Americans:
1) Drunk all the time
Okay, yes, but you keep giving me free alcohol.  What do you want from me???
2) Childlike
Part of it is that we Americans have mostly trivial concerns.  Very few of us have to deal with anything TRULY serious often in our lives.  But also, I can't always detect bullshitting so I definitely seem like a clueless kid.
3) Cheesy
Apparently we get emotional and awe-inspired a lot by things.  I am VERY "guilty" of this.

I also keep hearing Israelis call me "innocent."  Which I find kind of funny. I think in a lot of ways I am naive compared to Israelis. But I don't think I'm quite as naive as I seem. I also think they underestimate me a little bit. And I think if we were in the US, and they were visiting me, they would be the ones that seemed innocent.  We're all child-like when we're in a foreign country that is new to us.

They do deal with all kinds of crap though. Rivka asked what the marathon bombing was like, and after I told her I asked if she'd been in a situation like that.  "Not really," she said.  "Although when I was a child a suicide bomber blew himself up in the mall near my house.  For a long time I could not get the smell out of my head."  "What did it smell like?" I asked.  "Burning meat." She shrugged, and ate another bite of pasta.  "But I can even eat and talk about it at the same time now, so it's okay now."

Rivka at the pasta restaurant.  Note Haneen Zoabi behind her, who just happened to be in the same restaurant.

At the bbq, I learned more about Rivka and Geva's families.  Rivka's grandmother sounds amazing, she was forced to marry her cousin at 17 in Tunisia, but she ran off with Rivka's grandfather a year later and they went to France.  Eventually she remarried and the two went back to Tunisia, where they were forced into  ghetto for four years during WWII, and then after came to Israel. Geva's grandfather was shuffled around for 4 years from one concentration camp to another, and when it was all over he was about 5'9" and weighed only 80 lbs.  He met Geva's grandmother in a refugee camp after the war, and Geva's mother was born aboard the Exodus.  They were held in a camp in Cyprus for a while, and then made it to Israel.  Such intense, interesting stories.

Today Eli left and Geva had work to do, so Rivka and I headed out to see the small makhtesh together.

From: http://vatikim-chadashim.blogspot.co.il

It was cool because the layers were more distinct and it was more visually stunning.  On the way back, Rivka said, "We're like Thelma and Louise! Two chicks driving in the desert!"

Then we stopped at Mamshit, which is the ruins of an old city from about 300-400 AD. They were Muslims who converted to Christianity. It was really fascinating, especially with all of Rivka's knowledge.

From: http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2010/06/

It is also where I think I left my camera.  Darn giftshop. We'll see.

Then Rivka and I went to the Ben Gurion U pool to chill out.  It was so nice! We saw some of her friends there and just had a nice hangout.  A lot of people were playing this game that is something like badminton without a net.  Two paddles and a ball and you send it back and forth and try to keep it up.  Rivka wanted me to try it, so I did for a few minutes, but quickly backed out.  This is not my skill set and I was embarassed.  But she said, "Ariane, this is a uniquely Israeli game.  You cannot be Israeli if you do not play this game."  So I tried again, this time for much longer, and did a little better.

"Am I Israeli now?" I asked.

She squinted and shook her hand.  So-so.

"A a little closer?"

"A little closer," she agreed.

Tomorrow I"m meeting up with my next program!  You can learn more about it in this recent article if you're curious:
http://www.thejewishweek.com/editorial-opinion/gary-rosenblatt/mind-gap

Love you all!