Tel Aviv Day and Lots of Falafel
This morning we did a nature hike through some really pretty forest. The rocky path was challenging, so we were all careful to watch our step, instead of looking at the beautiful trees, but picking our footing was fun on its own. Then we drove to Tel Aviv and had (a very fancy, very quick) lunch in our hotel for tonight. I have now had falafel as part of my lunch for three days in a row and that's awesome.
Our first event in Tel Aviv was a sort of concert or pep rally with several other Birthright groups. We all got roughly identical Birthright shirts and various noisemaking instruments (buckets and drumsticks, sticks to whack together, diving flippers, or empty hands) and watched a movie about a musical group called Mayumana. Mayumana is big on audience participation. Eight representatives of the group did a performance based on clapping and stomping and drumming on buckets, very aesthetically and with an expert knowledge of the variety of sounds one can get out of a bucket. Then we all got some tips on using our instruments and were conducted through a concert, which was quite good considering our lack of practice. We were backed by a DJ with a truly excellent subwoofer, which was the pleasantly organ-rearranging experience subwoofer base beats always are.
After the concert, we went to the beach, where we played various games and ate watermelon while someone blasted Israeli pop music. Then we ate popsicles and listened to yet a third musical performance, this one by people in sparkly shirts and hats, outside Ben Gurion's house. A Birthright speaker gave a talk about Ben Gurion, then we walked to a pub and listened to a filmmaker talk about her movies and show clips of them. One of the films, Zero Motivation, was about women secretaries in the army, intended to be a distaff version of the American war film and a commentary on sexism in the military. We only had time to see two clips because there was so much else to do that day. Even though short on time, it was cool to see a film about army secretaries made by someone who had been one herself.
Once we had finished listening to the filmmaker, we walked through Tel Aviv for a bit. The city is a lot like an American city, more so than Tzfat or even Haifa. There were a lot of shops, people walking their dogs, cute kids riding their bikes, and so forth. Tel Aviv is also like the rest of Israel in that it has as many Israeli flags flying from buildings and lampposts as the US has American flags in similar places. (For context, the UK and Canada have far fewer flags about in their major cities) There were also a bunch of rainbow flags, because next week is the Tel Aviv Pride Parade.
Our next stop turned out to be a street cafe where we all got falafel, making this my fourth falafel in three days. This is 100% not a problem, because every falafel is subtly different. Also, Israeli falafel >> American falafel and American falafel is good. My favorite is still the one I had in Tzfat, though. I can't wait to have more!
On the bus on the way to our next stop, we passed a bar that was a single room hoisted in the air by crane. Isn't that nuts?
We finished off the night with a pulse-pounding concert and light show, followed by a few hours of freedom to wander a few blocks of Tel Aviv. I spent that time in an ice cream shop, enjoying wifi, a lemon sorbet and the company of fellow trip member and Case Western student Kailey Shara. Tomorrow we'll be visiting some historical sites and spending more time on the beach.
Photo Credits: Header Image-@ronnncohen, Image 1-@ronnncohen, Image 2-@ehef220
