The second half of Israel was just as marvelous as the first. Tuesday, Amy had to go to a seminar so I ventured out on my own to the beloved Tel Aviv shuk I heard so much about. I was nervous because I did not have a map and had to use my memory to know where to get off the bus. Luckily my memory served me well (for once) and I got off at the right place. The shuk was filled with random things and of course, the very exciting gummy stands. If anyone knows my love for gummies, you will understand how exciting this was for me. Other exciting purchases include pretty think markers and stickers in Hebrew that say Tov Maod, Mezuyan etc. (to be used for a future job :) Also, going on right next to the normal shuk was an art fair that happens twice a week. This was really cool and most of the stuff was very reasonable. It was so exciting to have so many things in Hebrew and Jewish related to choose from. I ended up leaving with a gorgeous Challah cover and my favorite purchase of possibly my entire trip, a sheep made out of wood and paper. It sounds weird but trust me, it is so cool! After that I met up with Amy and rested a bit while she finished up her programming. I then attempted to grab a falafel, but the guy was so slow that me and Amy had to bolt out of there to catch the bus with her group to Jerusalem with no falafel.
Once in Jerusalem, I just pretended that I was part of the group and attended a seminar with a Rabbi who has been doing coexistence work with Israelis and Palestinians for over 5 years. We also got to hear from participants in the programming which was really an eye opening experience about Israeli society and the conflict. After the speaker we enjoyed bagels (oh how I missed you!!) and then headed out to Jerusalem. Amy and I walked around Ben Yehuda street and the area. I tried my first sufganiya of trip (jelly filled donut for Hannukah yum!) and we just felt the atmosphere. It felt pretty weird because there were so many Americans around. Amy has had a similar experience as me living in Verona by living in Yafo because there are a lot less Americans. We both prefer being more immersed in the culture than this. After grabbing a tea at a local coffee shop and talking, we met up with Amir, who was a counselor with us at JRF. We met him at what he called "the Soup Place" which was this really cool restaurant that had a chill atmosphere and a girl singing Jazz (a bit drunk I believe). We met a couple of his friends who also attend Hebrew U. His one friend is an art major and told us how he made a self portrait out of hummus. Oh how I love Israel. He told us that at the end of the exhibition he gave everyone pita and they ate it! (Hannah, new project ideas???) Once it started getting pretty late, we headed back to Tel Aviv. Instead of taking a bus we took this minibus thing that basically serves as a shared Taxi. It was really nice and got us back to Tel Aviv fast.
The next day we decided to check out the Diaspora Museum. It was located on the Tel Aviv University campus so it was pretty far north but definetely a cool area to see. So on the website it said that the musuem was being "updated," I'll just put it this way, it really needs to be updated. I think the museum was a cultural experience in itself because I got to see what museums were like in the 70s. Yes there were felt boards, and the modern times area about the Diaspora was from the 70s. Despite all of this (and the extreme amounts of propaganda to make aliyah from the Israeli government) I did learn a few interesting things. There were also temporary exhibits that were really cool. One was artists who had been inspired by Andy Warhol's paintings of famous Jews. Most of them were pretty hilarious. The other exhibit was photographs taken by American and Israeli children about their views on Jewish Peoplehood and Israel. I really enjoyed this, especially given my recent studying of photography.
After the museum Amy and I headed back to Yafo where she volunteers. I helped her teach her informal English class about Thanksgiving. The kids were a very rambunctious group of 14 year olds, but they were all very smart. The point of the program was to take kids who were excelling and give them extra attention to ensure that they can make it to college. Amy and I led a lesson where the kids learned about Thanksgiving and then had to debate, one side being the Native Americans and the others the pilgrims. The resulting debate was hilarious. Somehow recycling came into the mix, but also only some of the kids realized the direct parallel that this story has to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I also like how Amy made the parallel to Hannukah, that a lot of people died but we don't talk about that we just eat a lot, which is so true. The kids were adorable when girl kept telling me how nice and pretty I was, I literally did nothing but nice to hear that feedback!
After the lesson Amy and I headed back to her apartment for a bit and then went for a late dinner. We went to a 24 hour breakfast place called Benedicts. We were both going to order Shakshuka because, hey we're in Israel! But the waiter convinced me to order eggs benedict. I have never had that before because typically it has ham or bacon in it I believe, but it's Israel so of course there's the option without! I had it with Spinach and cheese which was so good. We then headed back to Amy's apartment for bed. Unfortunately, we had to wake up at 3 for me to catch a cab to the airport. (I felt really bad doing this because it was Amy's birthday!) It had been a great adventure and I was very sad to leave, but excited for Spain.
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