Fun day out

So yesterday we had class inside, a three hour lecture. My head was spinning we cover so much! He usually never even gets as much done as he wants. Crazy.

So then, Myself, Cary and James go to meet up with Jessie after class to go to Tel Aviv to the beach. It's about 1:40 and on our way back to the dorms to drop our books I call kathrine who is also coming, we hope to leave by 2:15 at the latest. To my surprise she tells me she invited 2 of her classmates. This is even better so we have a bigger group and I can meet more people. Unfortunately a bigger group means more delays so we didnt catch a bus until like 2:30 or so. The (very crowded) bus* took us to the central bus station where we had two options, a bus to tel aviv or a sherut (mini van) to tel aviv. We chose the Sherut for times sake and Jessie did a buch of negotiating in Hebrew to get the guy to leave before the van was full since time was running low (normally they wont leave util its a full as possible). The ride only took 45 minutes and dropped us at the Tel Aviv central bus station.

Unfortunately Sarah, one of Kathrine's classmates had to run into the station to use the bathroom. Jessie told her not to do it, that she would get horribly lost, but she HAD to go. He took her phone number swearing she'd get lost and off she went. I didn't think it would be that hard to find a bathroom and retrace your steps but 25 miutes later, four phone calls and sending Jessie to the rescue, my mind could scarcely imagine what this massive bus station must look like. Well, later I DID go and see for myself and there are escalators everywhere and twists and turns and I dont even KNOW how many levels. It's like someonthing out of some weird movie where you turn around and the whole building has rearranged itself behind your back. It's filled with stores and shops and food places and stands, and it seems to have no planning, halls branching off at random, busses leaving from different FLOORS and sudden forks in your path. It's insane.

So finally we begin our trek to the beach at about 4:10 after the massive rescue mission! Jessie said it was a fifteen minute walk. After twenty and being still in the slums of Tel Aviv, he admitted he was horrible at gauging time. Well at 4:40 we saw ocean, and by 5:00 we were on the beach. I know it sounds late, but it's the medeterranean, the sun was still blazing and hot, hours away from sunset and the water was like bathwater. I have never ever been in a natural body of water so warm. Not uncomfortably so, but like a bath you dont want to get out of. Oh, it was so fun. I mean, it was clearer too! Though Cary who is from florida said it was murky by her standards, I could always look down and see my feet even when standing up to my neck. Cary, James and Jessie ad I spent the most time in the water while the others watched our stuff.

So even with such a late arrival, we had plenty of time. There was an outcropping of rocks we (jessie, Cary ad I) walked down, while Masa and James played this weird ping pong ball without the table type game, and I bravely took my camcorder, often having to hand it to someone when making a particularly risky and dangerous move. People were fishing off the rocks, and cats too, since we'd see them in crevices with their catches. However, we planned on sitting and watching the sunset but Kathrine wanted to get back in time to use the gym (which is there every day! what?!) so we headed off to the bus station a bit after 7, watching the sun set as we walked. First Jessie suggested we eat in Jerusalem when we got back and we were cool with that. Then after trying an alternate route, stopping for some amazing homemade ice cream and being farther from the bus station than we thought, we decided to eat in tel Aviv. I think somewhere along the way Kathrine gave up on the gym.

So the problem is: everything in jerusalem is kosher, tel Aviv- not so much and we had two people who needed Kosher (and two vegetarians) so it was a hard time finding a place to satisfy that. So we couldnt go to the chinese place we saw though it actually looked really nice inside. Second problem: Tel Aviv only comes alive at night. Nothing was open!

So after wandering in the dark for what seemed like forever, around 8:30 or so we found a tiny pizza place down an alley with strings of lights and tables outside. It was run by one old man who hand made each pizza himself, one by one. So we got our pizzas oe by one and by the time the last person got his the first few people had been done for a while. But it was really good and cheap. I got a whole personal pizza and coke for 29 shekels which is roughly... 7 dollars. However, splitting the bill took a half hour because no one had small bills, including the owner, so throwing all our big bills i and trying to get everyone change back was insane. We were left with 35 extra shekels and having no clue who put in too much so we used them for cabs back to the bus station so we wouldn't have to walk. We hopped on a ten o clock bus to Jerusalem for 19 shekels, or about 5 dollars and we were back by 11 to the central bus station. A late night bus back and we were home.

It was so much fun! Today I think most of our group is getting together again and going to the zoo, well I hope the zoo, we had different plans but then jessie imd me with the zoo idea which I preferred so I hope people are up for that, it's a famous zoo with a great reputation. It's called the Jerusalem biblical zoo.

*Note: taking a bus in jerusalem can be extremely interesting as you often have soldiers with huge huge guns, like the kind you see in video games, and not the kind like our police discreetly carry tucked in somewhere you dont notice, hanging in front of them. Next them you have ultra orthodox men in black hats and coats and orthodox women, mixed in with normal city teens and students- it's amazing.