Everything Sababa

Day 5 in Tel-Aviv. First official entry since the journey began, mainly because I haven't stopped moving since I got here. But, when my friend Ben asks, "Where's the next installment you lazy bastard?" I figure it's time for entry Numero Uno.

After arriving Monday afternoon with a post-Tylenol PM/Pinot Noir grogginess, I looked out the window at my favorite and most beautiful landscape in the world. I grabbed my backpack and walked outside with the intention of catching a Taxi but instead walked straight through the Taxi/shuttle/car lanes to a small park just outside the airport. I gently laid my bags down, knelt down, and kissed the holy land.

God bless my cabbie who, upon seeing my intense hunger, offered me Turkish coffee and cake on the way in. I arrived to the apartment of my friend Shirlee from Toronto who moved to Israel six weeks ago. Little did I know she lives a 5-minute walk away from the beach. Great catching up with her - we met up with her chill friend Matt and we headed towards the beach.

Tel-Aviv beach is. just. gorgeous. Unlike some of our beaches back in the States where people go mainly to show off their pectorals and throw pick-up lines at the g-string clad honies (I'm looking at you Santa Monica), the beach here lacks all pretension. Watching my first Israeli sunset since my Birthright trip in February '07, I realize that sometimes you get the most out of life...by lying on a beach and doing nothing. Instantly, all of the effort, stress, and anxiety I put into making this trip happen vanquishes as I stare in awe as the sun slowly dips behind the horizon...

The next day I met up with Deb (or "Gingit" as she is known amongst the Sababa crew for her long, red hair) my eternally positive Costa Rican friend for a bike ride around Tel-Aviv. She is here on a 5-month program called MASA and is most likely making Aliyah come September. We grabbed lunch at Bar Gurion, a little hut on one of Tel-Aviv's many S'derot (S'derot are pedestrian/bicycle paths that divide the traffic lanes and make the streets a pleasure to walk or ride. We then rode along the beach north until we hit Yarkon Park, an expansive field of beauty that surrounds the Hayarkon River. We snoozed under a shady tree and then headed back to the beach for the sunset. I then met her boyfriend, Kfir, who instantly made an offer that has since eased my Tel-Aviv life immensely: his bicycle.

The past couple of days have been some of the most relaxed, stress-free of my life. I've been clubbing (highly recommend Apartment 98 and Uptown on the port), exercised on Tel-Aviv beach's "gym," and took a day-trip today to Herzeliyah for my friend Natalie's beach party. and have caught the sunset every night since arrival. Sometimes, for no apparent reasons, I will smile and then slowly start to laugh. I feel like I would have to sit down and intentionally try to find something to complain about.

This is the first time I've been in Israel without going the "organized tour" route. I must say experiencing this country on my own terms is phenomenal. Living with locals and experiencing the daily routine, I conclude that the Tel-Avivians are a people who do not take this beautiful city for granted. They get out to the beach as often as possible and are fully cognizant of just how amazing the place is they get to call "home." Instead of concerning themselves with mansions and Ferraris, they work enough to get their cozy beach bungaloo, car that gets them from A to B, and are...happy.

I've spoken with several friends about my itinerary and have decided that, to effectively manage my time as best as possible, I am going to nix India this round (3 days is just not enough) and focus fully on Israel, Turkey, Jordan, and Nepal. So, the new tentative itinerary looks like:

6/20 - 6/22: Tel-Aviv, Israel
6/24 - 6/26: Petra, Wadiram, Jordan
6/26 - 6/29: Eilat & Tel-Aviv , Israel
6/29 - 7/02: Jerusalem, Israel
7/02 - 7/06: Istanbul, Turkey
7/06 - 7/09: Aegean Sea Cruise
7/10 - 7/12: Tel-Aviv, Israel
7/12 - 7/26: Nepal
7/26 - 7/28: Amman, Jordan
7/28 - 7/31; Tel-Aviv, Israel
7/31: Home

I deduced earlier today in Herzeliyah that life is basically a series of successive epiphanies, each one exponentially larger and more intense than the preceeding. I anticipate all of the revelations and life lessons that this trip has already and will continue to provide...