The Birthday Girl and a Trip to the Shuk

Alright, so I officially entered the last year of my twenties. *sniff, sniff* So on my big day I was one lucky girl as I got to spend not one, not two, not even three........but four whole hours in a cultural training class! Woo-hoo! We drove down to the factory with another couple that lives here in Tel Aviv, and somehow managed to turn an hour drive into a two hour drive as we proceeded to get lost and found ourselves heading toward Jerusalem instead of the plant. Hey, I definitely would have been up for some sight seeing instead but we decided to turn around and head the right way.

So the class turned out to not be a total waste of time. I only say that it was somewhat a waste of time because it was my birthday and all and I would have much preferred to sleep in. Otherwise it was actually quite interesting albeit nothing earth shattering. Good info, but there were no epiphanies or Oprah "a-ha" moments. I could share all the details and whatnot with you but that could take a really long time so I will spare you all the details. Suffice it to say that we discussed many of the cultural tendencies that we have noticed since arriving here and received a little insight as to why these tendencies exist. Although one thing still puzzles Phil and me...why do the people here, who are generally so united and ready to stand up for one another, turn into suicidal/homicidal maniacs when on the road? This, we may never know.

So for my birthday dinner we met up with some of our new friends for some sushi and sake. Very expensive sushi and sake. But hey, I was the birthday girl and the birthday girl wanted sushi so that's what the birthday girl got. Apparently sushi is quite expensive everywhere around here so I guess Phil and I will have to cut back from our usual sushi nights where we order enough spicy tuna rolls and fresh salmon to feed a small army. We tend to overindulge, just a wee bit.

Overall the day was fun but lacked some of the excitement of earlier years. It just ain't the same when you don't have a cell phone that people can easily call to wish you a happy birthday. I do, however, appreciate all the comments and e-mail messages that everyone left for me. Thanks! So here we are celebrating in Tel Aviv......

So yesterday Phil went back to work and I met up with two of the grocery store girls to go to the open air market also known as the shuk. There you can buy everything from cheap beaded necklaces to T-shirts, fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and cheeses and also a whole lot of cheap junk. So one of the girls and I spied a delicious looking mound of juicy red strawberries, so we grabbed a bag and started to fill it up when this older woman behind the table started screaming at us and slapping at our hands. "Lo, lo, lo, lo, lo" she screamed at us. (Lo=No) Apparently she did not want her strawberries to be touched. The other girl, who is also from the US, but has lived here for over a year now, informed us that you just have to learn which people are the nice people and then give them your business and avoid the mean crabby ones. Good advice. No more strawberries from scary old mean lady. Nor will I be buying any strawberries from the old guy with the seriously dirty hands that handed me a strawberry to taste. I ended up slyly chucking it onto the floor while he wasn't looking.

In the end I came home with a handful of strawberries, some super ripe tomotoes, an avocado and some gouda cheese with chili peppers. Unfortunately, I also learned that they tend to use tons of pesticides on all this lovely produce. Apparently the "organic" craze has not exactly caught on here. And I was also informed that even many of the so called "natural" products here contain other not-so-good-for-you things like those pesky trans-fats and yes, even MSG. Seriously, I didn't even think people used MSG anymore. All this is starting to show me just what a weird organic food nut I am. Damn you Portland! I guess one of the first things I will have to ask my Hebrew teacher is how to spell MSG so I can find it on the labels.

Speaking of Hebrew lessons, Phil started his this week, while I am still awaiting a call from my tutor to set up mine. We are opting for private lessons, although I may also supplement mine with some other classes. I'm excited to start learning even though it is very easy to get by without it. But I would like to be something other than an ignorant American that doesn't think it is worth their time to study the language of the country they are now living in. Plus I would like to be prepared next time some mean lady at the shuk yells at me and slaps my hand like a child.

We ended the night with another trip to IKEA with our friend Cheryl (same friend from the last blog, still in town on business) for some more cheap stuff for our apartment. Because six hours there last time was just not enough for us. And everything else in this city is way too expensive and we like cheap stuff. Tonight the three of us are going to a nice dinner and then to a show in Old Jaffa. It's supposed to be somewhat similar to Stomp but we are not exactly sure what to expect. Will report back to you.