I HEART Tel Aviv

For the last 3 weeks I've been subletting a lovely little apartment in Tel Aviv. Having a "home base" has really given me a different experience of Israel. I really got a good deal on this apartment in an amazing location (huge thanks to Amos). I live on Bialik, which is right near Shuk HaCarmel (the Carmel outdoor market), a short walk to tons of cafes, restaurants, shops, Dizengoff Center, and the beach. I'm surrounded by beautiful bauhaus buildings, famous Israeli poet's houses, and interesting characters at all hours of the day/night.



In between adventures I spend my days exploring my lovely little neighborhood. My general routine is wake up around 12 or 1 and head out for the delicious Israeli breakfast I love. I've tried out quite a few cafes. My favorites are Cafe Bialik and Sus Etz. At Cafe Bialik I'll usually order their mini shakshouka. It's only ₪30 and plenty of food. At Sus Etz I like to get the Special Breakfast which is an open face bagel with smoked salmon and eggs on top, served with chopped vegetable salad. Yummy! This breakfast excursion can take a few hours. I like to sit, sip on some cold espresso, read or journal, and watch all the people (and sometimes talk to them). After food I explore shops, go to the market, maybe visit a museum. It just depends on what I feel like doing.

 

One of my all time favorite things about being a "Tel Avivian" is going to the beach on Shabbat! I can (and sometimes do) go to the beach any time I want, but there is something really nice about waking up, slipping into my swimsuit, grabbing a coffee and laying on the beach all day. The beach is really crowded on shabbat but it is fun. Soaking up the sun, sipping on an Aroma iced coffee and snacking on Bamba, with the sounds of Matkot (paddle ball game) and the waves in the background, I truly feel like I belong in this city. This is MY beach, near MY apartment, that I go to every Saturday. It will be a bittersweet departure from my little Tel Aviv home this weekend. But I know I'll be back and that Tel Aviv is not going anywhere.

  

Good Eats

If you follow me on Instagram and/or Twitter then you know that I post a lot of photos of my breakfast in Israel. In America, I'm not the biggest fan of breakfast foods, even at breakfast time. I'm most definitely not a breakfast-for-dinner kind of girl. Israel has changed me! American breakfast is usually carbs and sugars, like pancakes, french toast, or potatoes. And we then supplement it with eggs. In America you can also put an egg on anything and it somehow becomes breakfast. I personally think this is a terrible way to start your day. Everything is greasy and you end up in a carb-coma.

Here I want to eat "Israeli breakfast" all the time! In Israel breakfast leaves you feeling a lot more refreshed. It is usually freshly chopped vegetable salads, lots of fresh cream cheeses, delicious breads, and eggs. The eggs here taste different than they do in America. They are amazing!!! Another really delicious thing that is popular for breakfast is something called Shakshouka. Shakshouka is tomatoes and peppers and spices (and sometimes spinach or other vegetables) all stewed together, with poached eggs dropped in it. I've had the privilege of having some amazing homemade shakshouka, as well as many different versions from restaurants. Everyone makes it a bit different, but it is generally always delicious.

Possibly the most important part of (my) breakfast is coffee. I feel torn on this subject, especially because I live in Portland where they really know what they are doing. So, first of all, Starbucks tried to have a store in Israel and it failed miserably. That alone should let you know that coffee culture here is different. Instead of Starbucks, Israel's most notorious coffee shop is Aroma, and they are most famous for what is called "Iced Aroma" or "Iced Coffee". In Israel, if you ask for "iced coffee" it is ice, milk, and espresso blended. It is sort of like a frapacino, but usually sweeter and smoother because it is mixed in a large blending machine. I won't lie; it is delicious. But then if you want just iced coffee, the American way of drip-brewed coffee that has been chilled, you're best bet is to order "ice espresso" or "espresso with ice". "Iced" drinks here tends to mean blended with ice. If you don't want coffee blended with ice then you commonly order "café kar" (קפה קר), which literally means cold coffee. But this is not American ice coffee either. It is actually an iced latte.

But I digress...Despite our coffee confusions, I love Israeli breakfast! I'm definitely going to bring this to America. Call me if you want some shakshouka!

The Red, White and Blues

Shabbat Shalom everyone! I hope you all are having a better shabbat than I am. As exciting and great as my adventure in Israel is, this shabbat I am really missing America. On one hand it sucks. No one likes to feel lonely or far away from the people and things they love. On the other hand, I've never been far enough away for long enough to truly feel like this. I've been homesick and nostalgic for California when I'm trapped in Oregon, and I've even felt pangs of longing for Portland (believe it or not) when I've been elsewhere in America. But I've never missed America.

Here is a list of a few things I'm missing here (You've been warned that some of them are silly or seemingly superficial–but I miss them all the same):

1. Being in the same time zone as everyone else (or at least relatively so)
2. Having the entirety of my closet to choose from (and occasionally my roommate's also)
3. Target (Israel, you are so smart about some things, but you somehow haven't figured out Target)
4. Excessive amounts of ice in my drinks
5. Mexican and Chinese food (and In n Out Burger, but I miss that when I'm in Portland too)
6. Starbucks
7. Cheap soy/almond milk
8. Cheap drugstore cosmetics (cheaper things in general–this place is so expensive!!!)
9. Not having cats be everywhere all the time
10. Victoria's Secret....(because all my underwears were lost with my luggage...)

I'm sorry my dear, sweet, beautiful Israel, but you are still a foreign creature to me. I'm sure by the end of this we'll be one in the same, but for now we'll have to agree to disagree on some things (like what ice coffee means).

Amy's Addiction

Lately I've been running into this problem. Here's the problem: I want to sleep ALL THE TIME. And consequently I often do. I go to bed at 10, wake up at 8, get out of class at 12, and I'm back in bed til 3. Then I sit at my desk or in my bed and just stare at nothing, surf the web, watch some netflix, eat some cereal...basically you get the idea. I've been unproductive and exhausted for seemingly no reason at all. Sounds depressing, cause it kinda is. BUT DO NOT FRET. I think I've figured out the problem. In addition to sleeping/dying all day everyday, I've also been resisting coffee. My thoughts were "If I'm sleeping enough I shouldn't need coffee". WRONG! This week, I've given into the stuff and I've been 100x more productive/alive (and I'm kind of being literal on this one). So call me a typical Portlander and/or college student. I have an addiction/dependency to coffee, and I'm admitting it here and now.

Music: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

sactown livin'

it is now sunday and that means Claire officially left yesterday and Sarah leaves today. a lot of others have gone and the rest will be leaving soon. but not i. i will be remaining here, in Sacramento, for this spring semester. i've spent a few days over break hanging out with some of my Sacramento companions (who still live here) and have been taking notes on what i will be doing while i live here in my new state (as a college student, i guess).

so far i've observed that the majority of my time outside of school and work (at the job i still don't have but am working on getting) will be spent drinking coffee, thrifting, eating moderately priced food, sitting at home on the internet/reading (yay!), and going to random places with random people whom i hope will stop being so random and start becoming people i can comfortably call my friends. when it comes down to it, i may be from Sacramento but really have no idea what i'm doing here. but i have hope for this new year at a new school with my new hair and glasses.

Music: On Directing - Tegan and Sara