blogsnack

so i got back from Sinai, Egypt two days ago and have a pretty good framework saved in my draft blogs, so it's coming. just wanted to post this little snack of random tidbits. ready?

• Bloomie said "goodnight." melllllllllt much.
• i went to the dome of the rock maybe a month ago and never blogged about it, which is kinda weird cause it's a pretty big deal. plus we had to stand in line behind these soupy-eyed zionist christians who kept trying to tell us what a "happy peoples" the jews are and how generous we are to "allow" land to people other than other jews. hrm.
• i was sitting in a place called Mamilla yesterday, which is kinda like an outdoor Yorkdale. situated right beside the entrance into the jewish quarter of the old city, it's kind of an abominable place, filled with suggestive advertising and rich americans. if carrie bradshaw were jewish, this is where you'd find all the carrie bradshaw's of the world. this description of Mamilla is rather irrelevant. the point is that while Eyal was in the bathroom, i was sitting on the ground infront of Renaur Men, taking photos of kids playing on these odd bronze duck sculptures, and a journalist approached me to buy my photos for her newspaper. so i'm gonna be in the paper. probably the gossip page, but i never had lofty goals for my photography career, so i'm happy with it.
• i start up at ulpan again on wednesday, and i'm kinda ambivalent about it. it's good to learn, and it's not as though i'm doing elaborate essays that eat up all my time, but i don't like getting up at 730. that's pretty much my whole gripe. unless i'm waking up to the beautiful Gulf of Aqaba and cold guava juice, then it's 6 for me. (sigh.... Sinai...)
• half an hour ago, i found a slug on my soap bottle in the shower.
• i met Eyal's aunt, Ofra, yesterday. she's a self-proclaimed "cat lady, but not the crazy kind. [She's as] regular as anyone else!" this is slightly untrue. she's actually a pretty phenomenal lady. honest, kind face, ballsy, effervescent and stunning, particularly considering she's almost 70. her daughter is Tamara, the cousin of Eyal's whom i think i mentioned in a previous blog. they appear to be the people of the family with whom i will connect the most intensely. Eyal really connects with them, so i guess my comfort with them makes sense.
• today i got an amazing email from Dawna Coleman/Davis that made me smile so much that it hurt. i boasted to a few people about how i have one of the wisest, most interesting people on the planet as my friend. also really loved my chat with Sally. i miss you Sally.
• i'm tired.

"in my cloud of hot dry desert bliss, i can inaccurately say that i hate everything but Sinai."

- me, day after returning from Sinai, after sleeping under a damp blanket

with cold feet and waking to ringing cellphones

and screaming neighbours

so here was the general thing, during the week around and during Passover. i wrote this whole thing out in lovely prose, but it disappeared into cyberland before i could click the good ol' "publish" button so now the prose is gone forever, and here in its stead is its less verbose cousin: the point-form.

- to Haifa (top left yellow district, city on the south-west side of the bay) friday night!!

- slept out sunday night in the trees on this cliff thing, beautiful view of the city, became enveloped in fog the next morning - super nice.

- had Pesach at Eyal's G-ma's place: a really nice night, made yummy foods to bring, and Eyal's G-ma made little sweaters for Bloomie and Yismo - AAAAAAAADorable

- that very night, we set out around 1030 and picked up friends Yoav and Sasha in tel aviv, then drove practically straight through the night, besides an hour nap in a parking lot somewhere along the way. the car was stuffed to the gills, under my feet and in my arm pits. you'd think we were running from the government.

- got to Eilat around 7 am (j'slem is right above the dead sea there, and then Eilat is riiiiight at the bottom), we walked across the border into Egypt, took a taxi to our beach, called Al Mahash. the place is run by Chamdan and his brother, really nice Bedouin guys whom Eyal and his family have known for years because they've always come to this beach for vacation time.
- when we got there, we put down our bags, ate a crapton of food, and then passed out right there where we ate. it was pretty much like this for the next five days. although some extra activities included: morning swim (felt very brave since the water is very chilly at 630am), snorkel, water frisbee, guitar jam one night, and getting a delightful surprise visit from Marion Janet, the sister of a very old friend from Canada who happened to be staying on the same beach as me. go figure!!!
- the place (and i'll post pictures) consists of:

• a couple of half-walled structures (or some with just a roof) made of bamboo or straw or something, and huts made of the same stuff
• the main area (which was also where they made food - although they served it anywhere) has rugs covering the sand, pillows to sit on (which looked like lions had been told there were antelope inside but we slept on them anyway), and short tables
• the huts were rugs covering the sand, and two foam matresses. we brought a net for the nighttime mossies. note: mosquitos were the only thing not entirely pleasant about this trip
• oh, and we were situated right at the gorgeous waters along the Gulf of Aqaba (which made me think of Aladdin the whole time). you could saudi arabia across the water because we were at a narrow point in the gulf. neat.

so ok, we did that for five days and then had to go back....
- oops, didn't know my visa was only for one entry into the country. hehe. no worries, got it sorted out quickly.
- got a flat tire on the way home, and i timed how long it took between stopping and getting on the road again, cause i thought that's what David Sedaris would do. only 23 minutes and 19 seconds. go team.
- i was very shocked when i got back to jerusalem and there wasn't any water and everything was made of stone and everywhere there were (are) people in lots of clothing, not at all like the beach. and i felt like what i wrote at the top of this post.