the wee hours

(photos: kitschy craft fair goodies, me kissin on mr ben gurion, & ha ha ha hoookah ah ah.. ahhh...)

in the wee hours of the morning.  i am tipsy off of bulgarian brandy.  i have sand between my toes & in my hair from frolicing & socializing on the mediterranean this evening.  the water was much warmer than the sand...

i type this as i am waiting for the bath i just ran to cool off enough to get into it.  i marvel at the blessing of this bath tub.  the buffet of food i have had access to 2 times a day since i arrived...i realize i have not explained the organized element of my trip so far, & that my plane ticket over here was free.  i am here with a program called "birthright".  the "birthright" trip is phenomenal.  it is a phenomena.  a free plane ticket, free lodgings, free tour of historical & modern/secular sites, & i get fed.  & i get a bath tub tonight.  so far it is not what i had expected or imagined.  the most surprising thing by far is the complete lack of dogma or doctrine or idealism.  we have been preached no zionism whatsoever by our main guide or organizers.  we had a meeting with the program's main director the other night, & he told us only that he hoped we would go back to the states & "be an advocate for israel" but did not go into any detail or push any spiritual or political beliefs beyond that tepid statement.  

as much as i am loving this gift, i cannot begin to imagine  how trapped & frustrated i would feel if i were only going to stay for the 10 days.  i will be extending for another month...buying a guitar....playing it on the streets.....meeting family....going dancing....doing checkpoint observation.....

anyhow,

tonight was the beginning of shabbat, the jewish sabbath.  we are in tel aviv, the most secular & modern of cities in the country.  all along the streets are signs in ENGLISH advertising raves & performances at clubs.  underneath me now is the nsst nssst nssst of a night club & the rush of traffic.  to my left is a round bubbley girl from brooklyn who boasts that her circle of friends is mainly black.  to my right is a 1/2 japanese girl whose parents told her to shut up & blend in as much as possible on this trip.  i did not realize that this trip was open to people who are only 1/2 jewish.  i did not realize that this trip would be 1/2 full of people who had never observed shabbat, never lit the candles, never done the bruchah over the wine, & did not know to wait to eat until after the motzi.  

in the same hotel as me & the 30 other participants on my trip are groups from NIGERIA, BRAZIL, & AFRICA!!!

all are on their "birthright" trip. 

a few of my favorite things about this country thus far:

the smell: all over it is sweet & sage-like

the laundry: it is overwhelmingly HOT PINK & hanging out to dry along the balconies

i am incredibly ashamed of my lack of organization & depth in this blog thus far....alas....my head & heart are swollen with information & emotion both....

hopefully you all are enjoying my inner dialogued outed....

*sigh*