welp, i’m stateside again. back in new york, ten months later.
my last week in israel mostly included seeing people for the last time on this trip— loren, from south africa (i love that lady.. she’s the one with the “don’t forget to breathe” blog); chaya from ulpan from perth; mayanoters, isralighters, etc. on the night of tisha b’av (monday night aka my last night in israel), my roomates and nir and i went to the old city to hear eicha, or lamentations. it’s a custom to read it on tisha b’av, to commemorate the destruction of the second temple.
after the reading, we ended up running into nearly everyone i had intended to say goodbye to before i left. it felt like one of the those dreams where you’re in a room and everyone you’ve ever known is there with you. we ran into ari siegel from grand rapids; asher, from egypt- trip fame; yosef dovid, lazily shmoozing in the streets of the old city in his bathrobe; emuna witt (another lady i love!); nili, a former mayanoter who’s getting married in august and our mutual friend, shifka… so many.
it was perfect.
we left the old city and i packed all night. nir came over to help and it was another lyla lavan (a white night, which in army code means “sleepless night”). we finished packing before the sun rose and arrived to the airport by 5.30. i made it through security easily enough, although they questioned me a little more thoroughly than most— as usual. i suppose my name sends up a red flag in the mind of an israeli security officer. so i passed through, boarded my flight and crashed from tel aviv to london. after a three hour layover in heathrow, i crashed again until we arrived into new jersey.
i arrived into newark tuesday evening. the flight was relatively uneventful, however, it turned out to be the day of one of the biggest fasts in judaism. i tried keeping it until sundown in new york but after packing and schlepping and traveling and flying, i had to break it early— i was super dehydrated and pretty famished.
from the airport, i trekked to liz’s apartment in the upper west side. it was a relatively easy haul thanks to her detailed directions. we took it easy for the rest of the evening, and i slept like a rock.
the next day, liz left early early for work. i got up when she did and stayed up for the morning. i headed out around ten to walk/ subway it down south near battery park. my friend, manzell, and i met for lunch in a park (green acre park, i think) near the building where he works.
after lunch, i stopped by whole foods in union square to pick up a few gluten free items. spontaeneously, i stopped in pie by the pound, a pizza joint, because they were offering gf pizza AND beer. so i couldn’t resist. it was a little hard because i knew there were kosher places around but i just couldn’t find any.. so i settled for the most kosher unkosher pizza i could find (and eat). needless to say, it was pretty awesome stuff. and the beer! they had at least seven different kinds of gf beers and ciders to choose from! the owner, jeremy, and i got to talking about our shared food sensitivity and i ended up passing the afternoon away over pizza. he showed me art pieces by a local artist he was planning to display on his walls and i told him about my art degree; he had me sample gf cookies he was eyeing to sell (although after my anti-recommendation i don’t think he will— i told him to look into nana’s instead); and, i helped him pick out a benjamin moore color for his walls.
after a couple of hours at the pizza place, i went to s’mac to meet up with liz (sensing a pattern here? ny is delicious). we had dinner (again with the kosher nonkosher— that’s an entire posting in itself to discuss where i’m holding) and needless to say, it was cheezy goodness. sarita, your mac and cheese has done it again.
liz and i headed back to the apartment after dinner. our friend jen stopped by later later and i felt so bad— i wanted to catch up with her but i was completely exhausted. so we made plans to meet on monday with a few other mayanoters to catch up. she’s so excited about a new boy— looks like marriage materrrrriaaaaal :)
in any case, my time here is filling up quick. today, i met jordana from isralight (we went apartment- hunting) and i’m doing a little housework for a bit of pocket change. tonight, the girls and i are picnicing in central park and going out to comedy cellar for a late show.
