It was nice having a partner in crime. In the morning, Beth motivated me to go for a run with her. I don't EVER run, so this was good for me. And I hated every minute of it. But, we ran along the boardwalk in Tel Aviv and it was absolutely gorgeous, so I didn't mind the run too much. Even more pretty than Miami, and the best part of it was that it wasn't super crowded, rather; it wasn't crowded at all, I had all the space I could possibly want. The beaches were not crowded either, despite being in the middle of the city. It was lovely.
Another advantage of a partner in crime was our hotel hopping. We had to get prices for restaurants, dry cleaning, etc. etc. from numerous high-class hotels so during one evening we were FORCED to get a glass of wine or coffee at each. Well, we could have been sketchy and just copied the prices, but it just wouldn't be hotel hopping without getting something fun out of it. It was nice to have someone to conspire with, and of course, enjoy the company over a glass of wine. It was very motivating.
I didn't think the customer service at the hotel was good at all. But then again, maybe again it had to do with the overall culture surrounding the personality of what is Israel. The people at the front desk didn't smile. They didn't ask how can they help you. I actually had one girl say "what" to me. You couldn't get too much more blunt than that. Due to a language barrier I tried to get one of them to make a couple phone calls for prices. After the first one, he said "I don't know if I want to do that again. For all I know you are trying to do something bad against my country." Seriously buddy? To this day I am offended by that statement. It's one thing to say you don't want to make a phone call, but don't try to make me look like a heinous person because you need an excuse not to make the call. Yes, maybe Israel has some serious phobias which stem from a long history of violence, (airport security is NO joke, and I had to convince them to hold something of mine at the front desk - normally they are not allowed to do that for safety reasons - so that I didn't have to make an extra trip up to my room. After all, it was so very likely that it contained a bomb), BUT no, I am not trying to harm your country by asking how much is the price of electricity per KwH.
On the upside, sometimes they were actually helpful. I never got anyone to fix my phone line one of the times, but my request to move my room was fulfilled and I got a much nicer one with an amazing view from my bed (and for Lauren, there is nothing better than an amazing view from bed!) Even another time when we checked back in to the hotel, the guy at the desk upgraded both of us to suites. Not too shabby. So overall, it was nearly impossible to read people. And I had to try my best not to take the bluntness too personally. It was challenging. But, that is what this job is most of the time, which is why I like it so much. Speaking of challenging, I'll have to figure out a way to convince the managers at the grocery store tomorrow why I need to copy prices in their stores for 7 hours.... UGH!!!! Goodnight.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Being blond and American has its' advantages...
So while at the mall (before Beth came), I found a young guy working at Tower Records (he was probably about 17...) who was sooo bored that he kept asking and asking if he could help me. So I thought about it, cause I knew I could give him SOMETHING out of my work to keep him busy, (sneaky, right?) So, one of the items on my survey is getting car prices from a magazine. This particular magazine was completely in Hebrew, so unlike some of the European languages, I wasn't able to guess what kind of car was listed, and what price it was listed for. So, gladly I asked him if he wanted to do this for me, and he obliged, so I checked in on my worker every now and again and wallllllllllllah! That part of my work was done before I left the mall. (To all of you who may feel bad that I took advantage of a poor 17 year old who was just CAPTIVATED that a blond American was talking to him, no worries - I paid him 30 USD before I left because, well, I can and of course, I appreciated his very hard work :)
Also, while in the mall there was a pharmacist who was very interested in what I was doing, we chatted here and there in between customers. He was a very nice guy, seemed a little shy, but very nice. He was staying in Tel Aviv with his parents that night and offered to drive me there since that was where I was staying as well (at the time I was in Herzilya, a suburb of Tel Aviv).
As a side note, YES, I am careful of who I get in a car with, who I walk alone with, etc. etc., but in a job like this when you are always by yourself, everything is risky - even getting into cabs alone, so you need to use your best judgement. Many solo travellors hitchhike, stay in hostels with numerous people at a time, no - I couldn't do that, but if hitching a ride with a stranger who I have proof is established is an option, hell - at least I've had a 10 minute conversation with him first, versus the taxi I would have gotten into otherwise!
So, I got a free ride home. We had a nice conversation, and made possible plans to get together for coffee or drinks sometime that week which never panned out. He never called me, versus some other guys I gave my number to (and that, I will admit, I should have been more careful about here) - I had a couple call me NONSTOP, including a guy I met from one of the grocery stores who couldn't speak a word of english but wanted to take me out for coffee. ?? Your guess is as good as mine.
Also, while in the mall there was a pharmacist who was very interested in what I was doing, we chatted here and there in between customers. He was a very nice guy, seemed a little shy, but very nice. He was staying in Tel Aviv with his parents that night and offered to drive me there since that was where I was staying as well (at the time I was in Herzilya, a suburb of Tel Aviv).
As a side note, YES, I am careful of who I get in a car with, who I walk alone with, etc. etc., but in a job like this when you are always by yourself, everything is risky - even getting into cabs alone, so you need to use your best judgement. Many solo travellors hitchhike, stay in hostels with numerous people at a time, no - I couldn't do that, but if hitching a ride with a stranger who I have proof is established is an option, hell - at least I've had a 10 minute conversation with him first, versus the taxi I would have gotten into otherwise!
So, I got a free ride home. We had a nice conversation, and made possible plans to get together for coffee or drinks sometime that week which never panned out. He never called me, versus some other guys I gave my number to (and that, I will admit, I should have been more careful about here) - I had a couple call me NONSTOP, including a guy I met from one of the grocery stores who couldn't speak a word of english but wanted to take me out for coffee. ?? Your guess is as good as mine.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Culture and Beth's arrival!
During the day of my first realtor meeting, I felt like I was finally getting a taste of what the culture in Israel was like. Somehow, Israeli people are nosy, blunt, harsh, but friendly. My realtor meeting was awkward. I kept getting frustrated because I wanted to ask a question that I think the realtor just didn't understand and kept answering me as though I was stupid, or that's how I would interpret it in American culture. Then while in the grocery stores, people left and right were asking me what I was doing, even a handful of the customers. That's a whole lot different from so many other countries where the mindset seems to be that it's just not your business. But here, oh here I was everyone's business. I got sick of explaining what I was doing.
Then I had a neurotic cab driver, but it was really funny. Before bringing me to the mall, he asked if I was hungry so I decided to say yes, a little, and of course; he had a great idea. I was taken to a "kibbutz" which was just a lunch place, but use to be part of an actual kibbutz which, with a little help from wikipedia: "a kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The kibbutz is a form of communal living that combines socialism and Zionism. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities and have gradually embraced a more "scientific" socialist approach." Now, it is a buffet place that is really good, for really cheap, where many of the locals hang out. My taxi driver who I had just met 20 minutes ago felt the need to introduce me to everyone and their mom, and then create all my plates of food for me, which was about 3 full ones by the time he was done. The poor guy couldn't sit still for 2 minutes. He was up and down and on the phone and off the phone, getting me desert, more drink, etc. etc. I found it interesting that he pointed out the Somali refugees from slavery in Egypt that were working in the kitchen.
After lunch, I went to the mall and was just counting down the minutes until Beth contacted me, I couldn't wait for her to get there! It was such a weird feeling to know that someone would be joining me for survey, someone that I would have to make my schedule work with, and would be eating dinner with every night. Looking back, it was just the start of an amazing 2 weeks. So jam-packed with events that I haven't had a minute to post a blog until now!
Then I had a neurotic cab driver, but it was really funny. Before bringing me to the mall, he asked if I was hungry so I decided to say yes, a little, and of course; he had a great idea. I was taken to a "kibbutz" which was just a lunch place, but use to be part of an actual kibbutz which, with a little help from wikipedia: "a kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The kibbutz is a form of communal living that combines socialism and Zionism. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities and have gradually embraced a more "scientific" socialist approach." Now, it is a buffet place that is really good, for really cheap, where many of the locals hang out. My taxi driver who I had just met 20 minutes ago felt the need to introduce me to everyone and their mom, and then create all my plates of food for me, which was about 3 full ones by the time he was done. The poor guy couldn't sit still for 2 minutes. He was up and down and on the phone and off the phone, getting me desert, more drink, etc. etc. I found it interesting that he pointed out the Somali refugees from slavery in Egypt that were working in the kitchen.
After lunch, I went to the mall and was just counting down the minutes until Beth contacted me, I couldn't wait for her to get there! It was such a weird feeling to know that someone would be joining me for survey, someone that I would have to make my schedule work with, and would be eating dinner with every night. Looking back, it was just the start of an amazing 2 weeks. So jam-packed with events that I haven't had a minute to post a blog until now!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Israel day 1
Today was a rather uneventful day, after the initial waking up and realizing huh, ohhhhhhh ya, I'm in Israel, completely alone! I planned on a super productive day, made it to breakfast before they broke it down, and had my second kosher meal in a row. There was a marathon going on outside the breakfast window that overlooked the beach. Not a bad view. I eventually made it back upstairs after a second helping of the Meditteranean salad (which as of tonight I have had with my meal 3 times in a row) and that was when my confusion started. Apparently Friday is the start of Shabbat (which is the same as sabbath, as we know it). In short, and most importantly, this means that no one actually works on Fridays, nor Saturdays. But Sunday does in fact have normal business hours. I finally figured out how exactly it worked when a bunch of phone calls proved just about completely fruitless and there was no one to fix my impossible to open mini-bar. (No I wasn't going for an afternoon cerveza, just a water). But, well, I may as well have been because I had little I could get done anyways. I planned to head out to a mall, but they all closed early as well (4pm was the latest I could find, and it was 2:30 by this time.) So, I took my own Shabbat and took a 2 hour nap. The restaurant wasn't open tonight because of Shabbat, and neither was the gym. I had quite a long time to organize all the stuff that I was GOING to do once everyone stopped their weekly rest. Tomorrow, one of the malls I need to go to claims to open at 10 am, so hopefully I will have more luck then.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Trip #3 - starting with Israel
So, here goes trip three. It's only my third trip, but it still is getting harder to leave everytime. (I actually left twice during my last trip...) Maybe the depressing rain and my really crazy cab driver who almost hit a very annoyed bike rider en route to the airport had something to do with it this time. But, I think the beginning of the beautiful weather is what really made it so hard. There's nothing like watching the world warm up around you at home, and unfortunately - I only got a taste of it. I determined that Spring is my favorite time of year, and I won't be in New England to enjoy it this year since I won't be home until June. It's always hardest before I actually arrive in my first location. Then the madness and the awe of being somewhere so different starts and I don't really have time to think about what I'm missing back at home.
Things started getting interesting the moment I arrived at my terminal in Atlanta, Georgia. Not too surprising, but I was literally surrounded by hacidic jews. The big top hats and curly cues of hair in the front, young mothers who were all wearing glasses and black outfits with skirts, and little babies in nightgown-like dress. I am pretty sure that this is the only flight I will have ever been on where they come over the loudspeaker and announce that someone lost a small white prayer book entering the plane, so please contact the flight attendant if it was yours. Furthermore, I have 1) never been surrounded by so many hacidic jews at once (despite living in Brookline...) 2) never been on a flight where more people ordered kosher meals than the regular ones and 3)never seen so many babies on one flight. This part in particular made me nervous for an 11.5 hour flight. My seat just happened to be in the very back - I had a very large man to my left (I couldn't use my left handrest) and a third-grader on my right. She is actually an Israeli citizen but spoke english just like an American. She sure was sharp for a third-grader. She started telling me religious stories, religious differences between jews and christians, etc. Stuff I didn't know at all. Unfortunately, she talked quietly and I had a hard time hearing everything, but I sure was impressed with her religious knowledge.
I passed out eventually on my tray table which seemed to be the best option. My little friend to my right used my arm and shoulder for a pillow here and there. Turbulence was pretty bad about 3 hours into the flight, but I took relief in thinking that if God was going to bring down a plane tonight, it probably wouldn't be one full of rabbis. The large man to my left (an American also coming here for work) told me that while I was sleeping, all the men all got up at the same time, grabbed their bibles/prayer books, and began praying at the same time. I wished I had seen this.
Security entering Israel was not what I expected it to be from stories of other people who have come here. Before getting on the plane in Atlanta, I did need to go through one more scanning process with my carry-on baggage, but upon arrival, passport authority was a breeze. They wanted to know why I was there, but as soon as I explained it was all good. I felt like between the time I arrived at the airport and left it, only about 10-15 minutes had actually passed.
Once arriving at the hotel, I looked beat, I felt beat, and I took a nap. Now, it's only 7:20 pm back in Boston (but 2:20 am here...) and I'm thinkin it's probably about time that I try to get to bed. I ordered room service but the only thing on the menu was a tuna salad, which wasn't actually too bad, but not something I would normally order. My hotel is right on the beach. It's also required to be kosher. I had been told once what this meant, but I needed to refresh my memory: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_Kosher_mean
I believe, but am not absolutely positive, that here, weekends are Friday and Saturday, with the work week actually starting on Sunday in Israel. I need to try to speak with realtors this weekend so it will be interesting to see if this will end up an issue. I will soon find out. I'm gonna try to sleep now. Goodnight!
Things started getting interesting the moment I arrived at my terminal in Atlanta, Georgia. Not too surprising, but I was literally surrounded by hacidic jews. The big top hats and curly cues of hair in the front, young mothers who were all wearing glasses and black outfits with skirts, and little babies in nightgown-like dress. I am pretty sure that this is the only flight I will have ever been on where they come over the loudspeaker and announce that someone lost a small white prayer book entering the plane, so please contact the flight attendant if it was yours. Furthermore, I have 1) never been surrounded by so many hacidic jews at once (despite living in Brookline...) 2) never been on a flight where more people ordered kosher meals than the regular ones and 3)never seen so many babies on one flight. This part in particular made me nervous for an 11.5 hour flight. My seat just happened to be in the very back - I had a very large man to my left (I couldn't use my left handrest) and a third-grader on my right. She is actually an Israeli citizen but spoke english just like an American. She sure was sharp for a third-grader. She started telling me religious stories, religious differences between jews and christians, etc. Stuff I didn't know at all. Unfortunately, she talked quietly and I had a hard time hearing everything, but I sure was impressed with her religious knowledge.
I passed out eventually on my tray table which seemed to be the best option. My little friend to my right used my arm and shoulder for a pillow here and there. Turbulence was pretty bad about 3 hours into the flight, but I took relief in thinking that if God was going to bring down a plane tonight, it probably wouldn't be one full of rabbis. The large man to my left (an American also coming here for work) told me that while I was sleeping, all the men all got up at the same time, grabbed their bibles/prayer books, and began praying at the same time. I wished I had seen this.
Security entering Israel was not what I expected it to be from stories of other people who have come here. Before getting on the plane in Atlanta, I did need to go through one more scanning process with my carry-on baggage, but upon arrival, passport authority was a breeze. They wanted to know why I was there, but as soon as I explained it was all good. I felt like between the time I arrived at the airport and left it, only about 10-15 minutes had actually passed.
Once arriving at the hotel, I looked beat, I felt beat, and I took a nap. Now, it's only 7:20 pm back in Boston (but 2:20 am here...) and I'm thinkin it's probably about time that I try to get to bed. I ordered room service but the only thing on the menu was a tuna salad, which wasn't actually too bad, but not something I would normally order. My hotel is right on the beach. It's also required to be kosher. I had been told once what this meant, but I needed to refresh my memory: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_Kosher_mean
I believe, but am not absolutely positive, that here, weekends are Friday and Saturday, with the work week actually starting on Sunday in Israel. I need to try to speak with realtors this weekend so it will be interesting to see if this will end up an issue. I will soon find out. I'm gonna try to sleep now. Goodnight!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Home Sweet Home
Before I left to go to Africa, I was completely convinced that I would be losing weight because they don't eat in Africa, right? Unfortunately, I was very wrong. I gained 5 pounds this trip. Ironically - I lost weight during my first trip when I went to Europe. Who would have known!
Coming home was wonderful, as it always is after a long trip. This one wasn't very long though, it had only been 3 weeks since I had been home for the week after not going to Madagascar because of the political problems they were having. My favorite moment of the next 2 months is always when we finally touch down on the Boston runway. I love seeing the skyline in the distance and knowing that as fun as the last month was, there is no better feeling than being home safely.
Well, friends - ta ta until next week; when I will be heading off into Israel, Croatia, Lithuania and Slovakia for the next 6 weeks. It has been a really great, but very short, 6 weeks at home and seeing everyone. Keep checking the blog. Oh and please, don't wish me a safe flight. I hate when people do that!
LOVE YOU!!
-Lauren B, Travel Junky
Coming home was wonderful, as it always is after a long trip. This one wasn't very long though, it had only been 3 weeks since I had been home for the week after not going to Madagascar because of the political problems they were having. My favorite moment of the next 2 months is always when we finally touch down on the Boston runway. I love seeing the skyline in the distance and knowing that as fun as the last month was, there is no better feeling than being home safely.
Well, friends - ta ta until next week; when I will be heading off into Israel, Croatia, Lithuania and Slovakia for the next 6 weeks. It has been a really great, but very short, 6 weeks at home and seeing everyone. Keep checking the blog. Oh and please, don't wish me a safe flight. I hate when people do that!
LOVE YOU!!
-Lauren B, Travel Junky
The fun stuff
While in Costa Rica, I was lucky enough to have 2 full days of fun.
For my first, I went white water rafting. We spent about one hour and picked up people from all different hotels in the area. (One group was a bunch of girls that I met who were there on a yoga retreat high up in the hills away from San Jose, how cool is that??) It took about 2 hours just to get there.. over the river and through the woods (these woods were actually the rainforest) and there were a ton of trucks on the pathway, this was one of the routes used to transport the country's exports. Between the way there and the way back, I saw three huge overturned trucks along this route. Quite a sight - and no policemen/firetrucks anywhere to be seen to help out.
They served us breakfast when we got there and then we geared up to head out. It was a scary ride. There were 8 people to a raft and we needed to follow our guide's instructions at all times. During the first few rapids, I was very nervous. There wasn't much aside from my feet keeping me on the tube but we, as a team, were starting to get ahold of the routine and work together. Or so we thought. All of a sudden on one of the tough rapids, I don't know what happened, I just knew I was about to hit the water; I was knocked all the way over to the other side of the tube - and braced to go under. Once in the water, I realized how hard it was to try and swim. But, I wasn't even suppose to swim. I was suppose to wait to be rescued. I took in as much air as I could in between the waves and tried to keep my feet in front of me and above water and prayed that I wouldn't be going over any major rapids anytime soon. I was rescued quickly - all 7 of us including my guide were, but... we still had a long way to go once we got back in and situated. And even though I was scared, there was a poor girl in the raft that was much worse off than me. She whimpered without consciously realizing it every time before we went over a rapid. We did end up getting back with only one toss on record. My guide said that was one of the very few times he actually fell in himself. The whole ride was certainly was a rush, though; and it was beautiful - in the middle of the rainforest, with canopies and waterfalls everywhere. I saw a wild toucan and we also saw some of the indigenous indians who live in the rainforest - they were crossing over the river via a rope line and a bucket tied to trees between the river. My only complaint was that it was a bit cold, and rainy, but - I have some great pictures from this adventure, which I keep forgetting to post!
During my second trip, we went out to the island of Tortuga off the coast of Costa Rica - we took a long bus ride out to the coast, but at least we had a great guide - who took a liking to me. If I remember correctly, he actually grew up mostly in the US and partially in Costa Rica, and moved back to CR because he loved it so much. I met Ronnie on this particular adventure. A really nice guy who couldn't speak or understand much english, which was difficult for him because everyone else were english speakers, so he lost out on the translation most of the time. I was just about the only other person aside from our guide and driver who spoke spanish, go figure. So, we became friends. We took a very lovely yacht out to the island, and I had myself a couple of very yummy tropical cocktails. I got a picture or two with the captain, some beautiful pictures, and I even saw a whale and a school of dolphins (we tried chasing them both for a while). The island was absolutely beautiful. It was private and wildlife protected. We saw many different birds, including a pet parrot who had a free-range of the island, but he was perfectly happy in his little house getting a ton of attention. I saw deer as well. I went snorkeling and had many colorful fish following me around eating out of the palm of my hand. This, was truly paradise. We had a nice picnic and I took in some sun. The water was beautiful. Unfortunately, because of the time that it took to get there and get home, we only stayed on the island itself for 4.5 hours; it was over much too quickly.
For my first, I went white water rafting. We spent about one hour and picked up people from all different hotels in the area. (One group was a bunch of girls that I met who were there on a yoga retreat high up in the hills away from San Jose, how cool is that??) It took about 2 hours just to get there.. over the river and through the woods (these woods were actually the rainforest) and there were a ton of trucks on the pathway, this was one of the routes used to transport the country's exports. Between the way there and the way back, I saw three huge overturned trucks along this route. Quite a sight - and no policemen/firetrucks anywhere to be seen to help out.
They served us breakfast when we got there and then we geared up to head out. It was a scary ride. There were 8 people to a raft and we needed to follow our guide's instructions at all times. During the first few rapids, I was very nervous. There wasn't much aside from my feet keeping me on the tube but we, as a team, were starting to get ahold of the routine and work together. Or so we thought. All of a sudden on one of the tough rapids, I don't know what happened, I just knew I was about to hit the water; I was knocked all the way over to the other side of the tube - and braced to go under. Once in the water, I realized how hard it was to try and swim. But, I wasn't even suppose to swim. I was suppose to wait to be rescued. I took in as much air as I could in between the waves and tried to keep my feet in front of me and above water and prayed that I wouldn't be going over any major rapids anytime soon. I was rescued quickly - all 7 of us including my guide were, but... we still had a long way to go once we got back in and situated. And even though I was scared, there was a poor girl in the raft that was much worse off than me. She whimpered without consciously realizing it every time before we went over a rapid. We did end up getting back with only one toss on record. My guide said that was one of the very few times he actually fell in himself. The whole ride was certainly was a rush, though; and it was beautiful - in the middle of the rainforest, with canopies and waterfalls everywhere. I saw a wild toucan and we also saw some of the indigenous indians who live in the rainforest - they were crossing over the river via a rope line and a bucket tied to trees between the river. My only complaint was that it was a bit cold, and rainy, but - I have some great pictures from this adventure, which I keep forgetting to post!
During my second trip, we went out to the island of Tortuga off the coast of Costa Rica - we took a long bus ride out to the coast, but at least we had a great guide - who took a liking to me. If I remember correctly, he actually grew up mostly in the US and partially in Costa Rica, and moved back to CR because he loved it so much. I met Ronnie on this particular adventure. A really nice guy who couldn't speak or understand much english, which was difficult for him because everyone else were english speakers, so he lost out on the translation most of the time. I was just about the only other person aside from our guide and driver who spoke spanish, go figure. So, we became friends. We took a very lovely yacht out to the island, and I had myself a couple of very yummy tropical cocktails. I got a picture or two with the captain, some beautiful pictures, and I even saw a whale and a school of dolphins (we tried chasing them both for a while). The island was absolutely beautiful. It was private and wildlife protected. We saw many different birds, including a pet parrot who had a free-range of the island, but he was perfectly happy in his little house getting a ton of attention. I saw deer as well. I went snorkeling and had many colorful fish following me around eating out of the palm of my hand. This, was truly paradise. We had a nice picnic and I took in some sun. The water was beautiful. Unfortunately, because of the time that it took to get there and get home, we only stayed on the island itself for 4.5 hours; it was over much too quickly.
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