April 1st- Life In Israel begins

Today, Jeremy and I woke up late and decided to go for a walk around Tel-Aviv and down to the beach. The weather was wonderful and it was nice to be wearing sandals again. We walked through the city and headed south to Jaffa. Jaffa is the southern tip of Tel-Aviv and contains a large Arab population. It is full of stone houses, cobblestone alleys and the streets are normally filled with outdoor shops. It was Saturday and most of the shops and street markets were closed, but we journeyed deeper to find a place for lunch. The place we found was wonderful and the food was delicious. We split an Arabic salad (cucumbers and tomatoes with dressing) and a goat cheese and red pepper sandwich. The red peppers were like fruit, full of juice and roasted to perfection. After lunch we walked to a nargila (hookah) shop and sat down for some Arabic tea and nargila. A nargila is a tool used to smoke a tobacco that marinates in fruity molasses and is quite flavorful, very customary. The tea was very soothing and full of flavor; a nice blend of herbs and spices with mint leaves for garnish and extra flavor. Jeremy taught me how to play sheshbesh (backgammon) and we took in some soccer and sun.
When we finished we walked along the beach (Mediterranean Sea) as the sun was setting. Some heavy clouds were moving in and they had been forecasting rain all day. On our way back we walked through two town squares that was awfully familiar. I think that I must have passed through them when I was last hear in the summer of 2000. We stopped at the supermarket to pick up some groceries and dinner. It was poker night at one of Jeremy’s friend’s house so we quickly went home to change and brought our food over to Danny’s house. While we were there it started to rain, like Oregon style. There were flashes of lightning and thunder that shook the house. I thought I left this weather miles behind, but I guess I brought a little with me.
Once I had lost all my money (Jeremy took a good chunk), we made our way back to Jeremy’s. It was raining, but still warm, so the walk was quite enjoyable. You can walk the streets with open “beverages,” something that is not welcomed in the states. I think that I have consumed more beer (on a social level mom) in the last two days than I have over the last six months. Anyway, time for bed, I got a long day tomorrow...