Vital Tel Aviv

... finde ich mich ganz gut zurecht, mit od** ohne Auto.<br>Am Nachmittag gingen wir dann noch einmal zum Strand, Chof Hakarmel (wo auch d** Zug ankommt) und wo mein Lieblingskafi (das Camel) steht. Wie ihr vielleicht gehört habt, war es heute wied** 37 Grad und auch die Woche mit Maria und Willy ausgesprochen warm. Am Abend gingen wir dann alle tanzen, auch Willy kam mit. Wir gingen spät** als Oren und natürlich kam kein Bus, also holten uns Orna und Gila dann mit dem Auto ab, um in die ...

... getting a ride from another Arab...especially as the one and only word I know in Arabic is "salaam." As such, I had no idea what was being said or going on. Didn't help that I was good and tipsy. Anyway, we all got back and smoked more hookah and drank more beer. I figured out how to consistently blow smoke rings! finally! And also, at Tzvi's house I learned how to use the rim of a plastic bottle as a beer bottle opener. I feel just that much more badass now ...

... up over time. At least I know "Lo" (no). I'm also determined to learn the script a little bit, because it's hard to pick out from a menu what you want if everything's in Hebrew.<br>So today I'm going to the Kibbutz Program Center, see what they have in store for me.. :) And then we're gonna go to the beach. The plan is to start heading up North tomorrow, where I plan to stay with my friend Maria. Should be nice!<br><br>

... with the Dykes on Bikes leading off (as is traditional in the States), but it was a small contingent, and mostly on the ubiquitous scooters we see here. In fact, there was a small black-clad, heavily armed male contingent ahead of them, but I don't know who they were.<br><br>The parade wasn't organized per se. There were the floats (the Tel Aviv University student union; Evita, a cafe; and the official Pride party to take place ...

... for sale. We dropped some coin at the first store we went to, which was full of the most interesting ceramics and metalwork. Did not get much of a break from the owner on the price, though. Kevin and I each got some nice things for home (a runner, some pillows) at several other stores, and then settled in for lunch on the back terrace of a restaurant. The view was not so great but the food was good and plentiful.<br><br>Time to press on, through the hills to the Mediterranean ...

... it. The night endedat about 3am when we began to make our way back to the house only to be stopped by Lenchik and Shimon's theatrical performance on the street. We brushed on the Donald Duck Family, Scrouge Mcduck (or something or rather) and then even considered heading to a Gay club. Luckily, we made it back to the house and passed right out. That night we could have about 4 hours of sleep b/c we had to be in Nazareth Illit for 11am for Deda's birthday celebration!

I've been pretty lazy about posting updates, but this weekend was a lot of fun, so I'll start with that. For the third time, a friend and I went rock climbing on Friday at Parque Hayarkon, where there stands a wall about four stories high, with different ability levels from which to choose. From the first time we tried, we have both gotten better pretty quickly, as this type of exercise works out certain individual muscles that you otherwise rarely use. We wake up ...

... described it and told exactly when and where I must have lost it, the lady on the phone only said "oh, I am not sure if I have one like that. Maybe you can just come by and look for your self while you are still in Tel Aviv." Maybe I should do that, just to be sure. But on the other hand, i do not think it will be there, so spending all the money to go to the airport and back for nothing? I'll see, I've got a couple of days more here to decide.

... sites, touching them, etc. What came to my mind was similar to what Bishop Theophanes, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, said during a conversation in a book about Abraham that I read while on the trip. (His church oversees the Golgotha site where Christ was crucified in the Church of the Holy Seplucher.) He said: 'Here is the place, according to tradition, where Abraham sacrificed his son and where God ...