So, after my last post, I was skyping with Jon when my laptop charger suddenly started shooting out sparks. I was like, ok, not good. Part of the adapter cord was melted and the wires were frayed, and of course my battery was near dead. Sigh. After having a minor freakout about having NO connection with the world outside Israel, I went to sleep.
Well, sort of. Tel Aviv apparently doesn't stop moving til around 4 am, and I could hear every minute of it...including many, many hebrew pop songs and one very loud blaring of "I Gotta Feeling". Owing to this, the heat, and the fact that I was still on EST, I think I woke up about every hour and finally around 6 I just gave up and got out of bed. Packed up, wandered downstairs and gave my sheets to the hostel guy. Paid 5 shekels to use the computer so that I could send a 'help, my charger is fried' email to the padre, and then asked the guy if he knew of a place nearby where I could find a new adapter. He was like.....hmm, let me see that. So I give him the charger and he proceeds to dissect (yes, dissect) the adapter and reconnect the wiring. Anyway, long story short, through the use of pliers, a razor blade, and a lot of electrical tape, he fixed it!!! I am forever indebted to the men of Mugraby Hostel.
Afterward I headed outside to try and catch the bus, and ended up taking a sherut, which is sort of a cross between a taxi and a bus. the basic meaning is "shared taxi", but it operates like a bus and runs the same routes. Arrived at the bus station about an hour early for my meeting with the group, so I wandered around a little. First of all, the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station is HUGE. It is like an airport, only with buses, slightly less security (fyi....their security hates backpackers. just be aware), and more soldiers. Apparently it the largest bus station in the world, and it has seven levels and basically a mall inside. I tried to find a phone rental place, but still no luck. Sigh. Met Jonathan and Jenny from GoEco for orientation, as well as Giselle, who is from Toronto (and a korean jew, go figure) and is also working at Chalet Nimrod Castle. Another girl, Katherine, is from Scotland and has been here for a week but is traveling at the moment. We got on the bus and headed for Kiriat Shmona, which is (i think) the northernmost point the bus serves.
So i know everybody who visits here says it, and I've heard it, but it really is true: the IDF is EVERYWHERE. I think 75% of the people I have seen so far in this country have been in uniform. Its interesting, because everyone goes into the military at 18, all of the soldiers I've seen are my age or younger, but anyway, they all ride the same buses as the general public. Legit, I have never ridden on a bus with so many guns.
The bus ride was long and I sort of slept, almost threw up twice, and got in trouble with the bus driver for attempting to curl up in two seats to nap (my bad). Got picked up at the bus stop by Lila, who is one of the owners of the eco lodge. She is super chill and really interesting. Basically she and her husband, Guy, had the life in Tel Aviv, she did PR for the prime minister and all sorts of stuff, and then ten years ago they decided they wanted to do something more, something significant with their life so they moved to the Golan and started building this place. And its beautiful, but more on that later. Its also like, less than a mile from the Syria and Lebanon borders and very close to the demilitarized zone that lies between. No joke, I drove by old minefields on the way here.
By the time we got to the lodge itself i was so tired I was about to fall over, so we took a brief tour and then slept for about four hours. Best nap i've ever had, fo real. Unpacked, had a little dinner, and later went to bed. Got about six hours of sleep before I woke up again, but hopefully now I'm closer to being on the right time zone.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment