Out of the Desert . . .and Back Again

It's been so long that I don't even know where to start!  Every day is full of surprises and interesting experiences.  I'll post more in the future about what's been happening during this blog hiatus.

Men in funny outfits playing Christmas music at Cleveland Botanical Garden.

I got to go home for Christmas!  I took back a lot of goodies from Israel for my family to taste.  My time home was absolutely wonderful.  I was there for 16 days, and during that time I got to see a lot of my friends and family and go on a few adventures.  The first thing we did when I got home was get a new iPhone at the Apple store in Pittsburgh :D  Now I can take lots of photos again!  The second thing we did was go to Amish country, which I loved.  I got hot, fresh apple cider and bought Amish Wedding relish to mix with cream cheese for amazing dip.  It's the little things. 

For the first time, I relished in the American culture that I know.  That culture includes, but is not limited to, men in suspenders playing the accordion and singing Christmas songs.  I actually really enjoyed it!  That was during our trip to the Cleveland Botanical Garden, where they have a few gardens: the Madagascar desert and the Costa Rican rainforest.  Needless to say, the Madagascar desert was nothing like the Negev.  A few years ago (wow, actually it's been 10 now), I visited the REAL Costa Rican rainforest.  I feel like the rainforest room was pleasantly similar.  It even had the huge plants that people use as umbrellas to stay out of the rain (or at least that's what our contact told us in CR).

Quinn and Ben hiding from the rain in the rainforest!

Waterfallllll!!!!!

We also got to stand behind a waterfall.  Little adventures like this amuse me.  It reminds me of when Quinn, Alexis, and I went to the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago and ate some tropical, poisonous plants.

Extremely attractive photograph of Alexis and I eating some tropical plants in 2009.
Surprisingly, we're still alive in 2012.

Anyway, home included other adventures as well.  We also had a lovely evening at my friend Jen's house, which included reunions with my close friends from college and a super-awesome jam session.  See that piano in the background?  I played that.

Steve and his wicked amazing guitar skills.

We also got together a few days later for some late-night IHOP!  Mmmmmm. Oh, it was also nice to see my friends :D 

At IHOP with some amazing food! . . . and friends ;)

 

I got to spend some quality time with my family, too.  In addition to hanging out with the Christmas tree in the Big House in the Country and sled riding, I took Charayah to breakfast at Bob Evans for her belated birthday.

Breakfast?! Yes, she chose spaghetti for her special birthday breakfast.

Quinn developed a hilarious character when I was home, using my grandfather's old hat and waders and some cheap, neon pink sunglasses.  He also wears tight, cowboy-style jeans and tucks in his sleeveless t-shirt.  I forget what the name of this character is, but he talks with a thick, southern drawl and chews tobacco at all times (a.k.a. coffee grounds).  He was amazed by the boxes that have lightning in them and called my grandma "Zeus" for taking pictures.  It was pretty hilarious.

Quinn's character

Tippecanoe sunset

It snowed very little while I was home.  Once we got just enough to sled-ride, so I got to check that off the list of Things To Do While I Am Home (which included going Trader Joe's, Panera Bread and Chipotle).  I try to capture a sunset in Tippecanoe, but it was difficult.  This is half of it.  I will admit that sunsets in the dusty desert are a bit more impressive.

Shortly after I was getting used to the slow days in the Ohio countryside, it was time to go back to Israel.  My parents drove me to Akron, and we realized that we had gotten to the airport far too early.  I had forgotten that you only need to arrive an hour before your flight at CAK.  It's nice.  So we went down the street to Panera Bread for my last meal in Ohio for awhile.  It was also their first time eating there (I think), and I think they really liked it :)  After we got back to the airport, we still had lots of time, so we sat around and talked while we waited for the dreaded inevitable: saying goodbye. . .again.

We got to hang out for a little while at the airport

Then the moment came, we said our teary goodbyes, and they watched me walk slowly through the security line.  It was difficult for me to leave again.  It seems like each time it gets harder and harder.  I boarded the plane, and we took off and I said my goodbye-for-now to Ohio.

Goodbye, Akron

About a day later, I arrived in Tel Aviv.  Israel welcomed me with an additional 5 hour wait, because it was Shabbat and the trains were closed until after sundown.  I sat on the floor in the airport for awhile, remembering the people that I love and miss and all the wonderful times we had during the break.

The five-hour wait

So that was my too-short break where I got to visit home.  I'll be posting again soon about the adventures I've had during the past month and a half since I've been back.  Shalom!

Early Morning Power Washers and Wine Festivals

As a kid, I always found it exciting when I was awoken in the middle of the night to some drama or other.  Whether it was dogs attacking wild animals, or some form of life being born (pets, siblings, whatever. . .)

Nowadays, I don't think it's so enjoyable.  

Thursday morning around 4am, I'm lying in bed (sleeping), and I'm jolted awake by something. You know when you wake up, but you have no idea what woke you but it must have been loud and scary because it woke you? Yeah, it was pretty much like that.  I lay there, trying to figure out what possibly could have set my heart racing and ears pricked when I hear it: a loud, searing/ripping noise that persists for about 10 seconds.  I thought someone was trying to rob us.  But what the hey are they doing?  It was such an odd sound at 4am.  Less than a minute later, there it was again, and just as terrifying as before.

As this sound returned over and over again, I'm frozen in bed, trying to figure what the heck is going on.  I'm debating getting up and seeing, but not wanting to agitate the culprit by showing that I am awake.

Then it hits me.

THE SPRINKLERS!

Our landlady didn't think we had been watering our yard enough, so she had sprinklers installed by her mother and brother? nephew? cousin? (we still haven't figured it out)

Granted, these were more like power washers, but they hadn't functioned thusfar, so I figured this must be it.

I cautiously shuffled over to my window and opened it to look out.  Sure enough, there were the "sprinklers" that were doing anything but sprinkle our grass.  They were shooting high-powered streams of water at the fence (thereby watering the street), our outdoor couches (which would never get wet otherwise, because it doesn't rain), our sidewalk and patio (which were thoroughly soaked at this point), and of course, the house, namely my room.  Mind you, these streams were shooting over all of the grass and not really watering it at all.  I promptly closed the window, because the water was about to get me.

The glass that surrounds my room.  The water was shooting at least 3 feet up from the bottom.

What a disaster, I thought.  Water is so precious in the desert.  Expensive, too.  Our water costs double if we use over a certain amount (which isn't very much).  That was a grand waste. . .of water and our money.  So, at 4 am, I was unhappy.  Unhappy about being awoken, and unhappy about the money that we were just forced to waste.

Oh well.

The culprit: a Super-Charged Power Washer/Sprinkler Duo 5000, capable of shooting range up to 20 feet!

I figured we'd deal with it the next day, and I went back to bed.  Well, that was kind of pointless.  At every pass of the "sprinkler," I was jolted awake again.  I looked at the clock, hoping they'd last only 15 minutes.  A couple minutes later, the electricity went off, along with my fan.  Oh joy, I thought, it's going to get really hot soon, and I tried to fall asleep before my room started to get stuffy.

At minute 25 or so, I hear Dilia's and Polina's voices, so I joined them outside as we observed the wreckage.  By this time, our "sprinklers" had created a mini-river in the street.  So much so, in fact, that some guy was asking Dilia what was happening.

After 30 minutes, the sprinklers finally stopped, but only after soaking everything in sight.  I went back to bed, thankful for the hour more of sleep I was about to get.

Or so I thought.

The problem with the electricity must have been right in front of our house (we have a tower that warns us, "Danger of Death" if we climb it).  Israeli men don't really talk to each other.  They shout.  I've observed many perceived arguments that I eventually realized were simply civil conversations at high decibels. Evidently, they also shout at 5am.  So, these men shouting, trucks beeping and backing up, and mini-explosions (no idea. . .) kept me awake until 6am.  That happened to be when I was planning to get up, so of course, I didn't.

So there's my story about not being excited at the drama happening in the middle of the night.  BUT they did fix the electricity.  I was still awake when it came back on.  At least all of the shouting served a purpose.  I was actually pleasantly surprised by the efficiency.  Where I'm from, I'm pretty sure no one would come out in the middle of the night and fix the electricity within an hour of it going out.  Also, I'm not from a city, and also, I'm not from Israel.

I think here's a good place to show you my yard.  I will introduce the interior of my house later (whenever I clean my room enough so that it's worthy to have pictures taken of it).

So, let's start with the patio and move around the yard clockwise . . . 

 

Meet our patio, where we sit for outside dinners with friends and hang our clothes to dry.

The outdoor couch area. Also hanging from the roof, you will see a hammock. Yes, a hammock. So dreamy.

Grassy area that the sprinklers were intending to water. It is a bit brown, but hey, we live in the desert.

Our trees!  From left to right: clementine, mango, fig, and lemon (I think)

That's all!  That's our yard, surrounded by a nice, white picket fence.  It's true, I pretty much love it here.

In other news, we had our first lab-coat-and-closed-toed-shoes lab yesterday.  In Israel, med students get long white coats and real doctors get short ones.  It's opposite in the states, so we feel super cool.  So cool, in fact, that I had to get a picture taken :D

Our first day wearing our white coats!

Aww, I think those guys are so cool :D

Also, last night was the Negev Museum of Art Wine Festival in Be'er Sheva (or as some liked to call it, "Wine Sheva").  Wineries from all over Israel (and even Europe) were represented, and there was live music by multiple local artists mostly covering US songs.  Among the musical selection were songs by Adele and Norah Jones, who I really like, so I appreciated it :D  A lot of MSIH-ers came out, and the 2nd and 3rd years said the event had happened in previous years, but they didn't really know about it.  Most of the people there were older and well-dressed.  I mean, it kind of reminded me the Warther's Christmas parties in Dover.  It was a super nice event.  All of the seating was white, and some of it even was cushioned.  Yeah, I know, super nice, right?

Living the high life in Wine Sheva!

So, I think that's all for now, I'm going to go meet my friend to study at Gecko cafe, which is the best American-style coffee shop in this city.  Also, it's mostly the Anglo population (especially MSIH) that patronizes them.

Yom tov! (Good day!)