I Wish I Was a Littlle Bit Taller...

The next day we walked around the city doing most of the survey. It was a GORGEOUS day to be outside, in such a beautiful city, and did I mention yet that the people are all amazingly beautiful? And SO tall! Everyone, and I mean everyone towered over both Beth and I, and they were all thin as a rail. We did our second grocery store on this day and towards the end we encountered some permission issues. Beth had a woman yelling at her that she couldn’t take any prices, but Beth handed her the letter from the EU and told her that we had an appointment and were invited to come there and take the prices. While the lady went in the back room to call headquarters to check up on it, Beth and I finished in a hurry and left before she had time to come back out and tell us to get out of her store. In the third store we surveyed, no one even looked at us sideways. It is just really crazy to compare the social differences between Israel and here in Croatia, even though we didn’t have any permission problems in Israel, EVERYONE wanted to know what we were doing, where we were from, what our name was, etc. etc. but in Croatia, aside from a few people asking us what we were doing because they were nervous we were doing something that wasn’t allowed, they didn’t even look at us twice, they weren’t curious, they didn’t care who we were or why we were there. What a difference social upbringing makes.

Spring Fever

I was feeling super lazy the next day. Beth needed to get up for a real-estate appointment and I stayed in my jammies and made some phone calls. Once we made it to the mall, we stopped for a normal caffeine break to hype us up for all the incoming work to do. Beth was getting sick of the thick cream-filled coffee and just wanted a black coffee with ice. She tried, literally for a full minute to tell the waiter what she wanted and he was just horrified, I could tell by his facial expression and how he looked at me inquisitively as if to say, help? Beth and I cracked up. And then we laughed even more when he came over with an ice coffee filled with cream.

One of the malls we needed to go to was the classiest I have ever been to, the restaurants were beautiful and all highly recommendable. For dinner that night we sat down at a wonderful Japanese restaurant (in Croatia) and listened to French music. Beth mentioned this and I felt quite amused by this statement.

We met a great taxi driver, a young guy who drove a nice high-end car and after talking to Beth for a little while, he offered to drive us to the coast on the weekend for free! He drove us throughout the inner city, there is so much character to it. Cobblestone streets are everywhere; I loved the sound of the “clip-clop” of the tires on it. Even though we were in the capital center, the air smelled so fresh like the countryside in Spring, and suddenly I was feeling like maybe I really wasn’t missing spring. (Which felt like the hardest part of leaving Boston). It was so green outside! Colder than Tel Aviv, but overall it really was the perfect temperature.

In Croatia and so far, life is good!

The next day, I started noticing that Croatia is a very developed, high-end nation, especially considering it is Eastern Europe. We dove right into the grocery stores the next day. I took on Beth’s approach, which I consider very ballsy; we went in there open-book and didn’t say a word to anyone. While taking prices, a police man flashed his badge at me and started talking in Croatian. I cut in to tell him I didn’t understand and asked for a manager, hoping he would understand. She spoke English and once I told her what I was doing and showed her the letter from the EU and she was fine with it, immediately. The policeman walked away looking like a dog with his tail behind his legs. I felt great about it.

At night we hung out in Beth’s suite, ordered room service, watched American Pie, and tried to avoid all the porn channels. Ah, what a life!

More Transit Nightmares

By the time I got on the flight, (after booking it to another gate because the one we hung out at first until it was time to board was the wrong one!) I was completely beat and also completely sure that I had developed the worst headache I had ever gotten. Fortunately, on the plane I met a cute Austrian with whom I shared a conversation about how involved and painful the security was in Israel.

The headaches (figuratively and physically) didn’t stop. Our flight had been delayed so before we even arrived in our transit point (Austria) we were told that we missed our connection flight. Ugh. I had had enough of airports for the week, nevermind the year. But, when we arrived at the airport, we realized that our flight hadn’t departed yet. So, we made a rush to find out what the deal was. Apparently it had been delayed due to technical problems (why do they need to tell us that?), so we were getting a whole new plane and a new crew. What a coincidence! We were very glad we made our flight. I still had the worst headache ever and was about to punch the next guard who made me take my computer out of our bag, especially if they weren’t friendly. Then our gate was changed 3 times. But, we FINALLY made it to Croatia, and lucky us; they were “running out of rooms” so they put both Beth and I in luxury suites – it was a bit old-fashioned, but certainly was the nicest hotel arrangement I have been in yet. There were 2 bathrooms (one of them a master bath) a living room/office, and then my bedroom which had a separate door that could be shut from the living room. It was amazing, and I was feeling pretty high-class!

I'll Tell Ya Another Thing Isael Takes Seriously...

Safety. From the random soldiers standing around with massive machines guns to the airport security that is a blessing and a massive pain in the ass at the same time. Israel's got it, and for good reason of course. But man, I developed a new hate for airports after my experience leaving the Tel Aviv airport when it was time to move on to Croatia. We got there early, and of course I hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before. Usually this is actually a good thing because it's so much easier to catch a nap on the plane when you're sleep-deprived, as almost anyone who can remotely stand being on planes know. I was too pissed off about the situation to write anything about it, so this is pouring out through memory, but it had to be mentioned here, because it sure was quite an experience.

We arrive at the airport and enter into a huge line. Wait about 20 minutes to be approached, and were questioned individually about our purpose in Israel, where we were going, what we were doing, our mother's name, underwear color, you name it. (Well not really but, it seemed like it at the time). Our bags were screened by a machine, then we needed to wait in another line where people went through our bags one by one (seriously, even through dirty underwear and unopened gifts) with a stick that had a cloth on the end, clearly checking for some kind of explosive material. Though, I asked what it was for and I was told I'm sorry but I can't tell you that. So, after an hour of explaining and searching, we were FINALLY able to check in to the airline. Really. We hadn't made it far at all. So we wait for 15 minutes and are told that our bags were overweight. Mine significantly more so than Beth. The smarty-pants had a backpack tucked into her suiitcase that gave her two bags to split the weight between, which apparently is OK to do. So, even though I don't personally have to pay for the overweight charges, I felt like I needed to take it upon myself to take out whatever "heavy" things I could stuff into my purse, which I did right in front of the airline people and the crowds. Sneakers, a belt, some electronics... I shoved it into my purse but it was a double pain in the ass to carry this around with me. Already, I was tired, and annoyed, and in the meantime, a girl from Austrian Airlines had harshly told me to get out of her line which made me almost cry. Much too emotional a morning for the airport. And then I choked back tears again when I told the manager that I needed to pay the overweight charges. I think she saw the tears in my eyes and cut them in half (but the charges were still ABSURD!) So after this lovely incident, I had to wait in line for another 45 minutes until I got back up to the counter to check in again. Beth had gone through about 1 hour and 15 minutes before I even got checked in, and she didn't have the option to wait for me anyways.

So, finally I meet up with Beth. We go through yet ANOTHER machine and private searching - (here come the dirty underwear, again...) because in between the time that myself and my bags were nearly strip-searched, someone dropping out of nowhere could have just possibly planted a bomb somewhere in my bags. I was sick of removing and replacing my computer, again, and again. So then we wait in line for another 20 minutes to go through customs, and before getting on the plane, we went through yet ANOTHER scanning of our items. It was by far the most tiring, frustrating day of the trip. As much as I appreciate my safety, it was a bit excessive. Thank goodness we had gotten there 3.5 hours before our scheduled flight; I never thought I would actually need to use all that time. No joke, and a very expensive one at that, I'm sure.

Life outside of Tel Aviv

Aside from Tel Aviv, our experiences were amazing. Unfortunately, we were so busy that I didn't take too many notes while we were out - but we took a 2 day tour of Masada, The Dead Sea, and Jerusalem, and stayed overnight in Jerusalem. Masada was fascinating - a civilization high, high up on a plateau (only God knows how they got there). The tour guide recounted the battles between the Christians and the Jews, the last of which the leader ordered the men to kill all their wives and children so they wouldn't have to become slaves. Then we went to the Dead Sea where I debated floating, (because of my skin and eczema I do have cuts), but I did, and boy did it sting. But, you could visibly see the minerals and oils floating around in the water. I beared it because I knew it had to be a good thing! Floating in the water, it was unbelievable how weightless you felt, and how soft and smooth my skin was after leaving the water.

That night, we went to bed satisfied after an amazing dinner at a French Bistro in downtown Jerusalem. At first, we had a very hard time finding somewhere to eat because it was Sabbath (and most places, even restaurants! Are closed for Sabbath).

The next day we walked the steps of Jesus, saw the quarters where the Christians, Jews and Muslims live in harmony now, and I learned so much history that I couldn't keep up with nearly all of it. It was very touching to hear all the stories growing up through the bible, and actually see where it all took place. We touched the wailing wall, and blessed ourselves at the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus' body is said to be buried. Speechless. A great experience. Beth and I were now ready to take on Croatia.

Night out in Tel Aviv

So, on the night that everything was closing early for the Independence Day holiday, Beth and I went home for a nap (that I had the hardest time getting up for) and we started the night at Julie's apartment - Beth knew Julie through a friend from home, Julie is originally from Boston Hollerrrrr. As usual, the normal chatter of "so, what do you do for work?" started off the conversation and ended in fascination with our job. It's hard not to believe that our job isn't quite as glamorous as it seems. We swear, but I can't deny that some of it is.

After some conversation and a drink or two, we headed out to the square where we were greeted by fireworks and music in hebrew. It was fun, but now the fireworks were over and listening to music in hebrew isn't as great as it sounds, so I was getting bored. And hungry. So I grabbed a sandwhich and tried to rally up in preparation to go out out.

First, we went to a club situated on the rooftop of a mall. At one point, Beth started talking to the club promoter who thought it was funny to pour his drink over her head. So, Beth ordered a new one and the bartender got really mad when Beth said that the promoter was going to pay for the drink but then refused. So, he told Beth to get the F out of there. I was so confused. But we complained to the bartender inside and got ourselves some free drinks, so it all worked out, aside from Beth's wet head.

Then, we continued to spew our dislike for the outside bartender to some other random guys we met. We decided it was necessary to drown the sorrow in some pizza. We all got in the same taxi and the hebrew exchange of words ended us up at their house instead of a pizza place. After no food and multiple tries to get me into his bedroom, we left around 6 am. We walked to find food (who would have thought at 6am?) and found a pizza place open with amazing pizza and more men whom we shared the story of our night with. Then, we went home and finally went to bed, around 7:30 am. I awoke around 12 to a beautiful day, beautiful beach and an air show outside my window - and spent the rest of the day on the beach in Tel Aviv. What a life!