Impressions of Tel Aviv

Can you believe we've only been here 7 days? It feels like a month, we've been so busy. The medical stuff is intense, time consuming and depressing, but we are also living here now, shopping for groceries, taking taxi's, learning our way around and trying to communicate, so I thought I'd write about what it's like to live here. First of all the sidewalks - they're really wide, people bike, drive mopeds and segways on them, those walking better be careful not to get in the way of a biker or they may be run over! You also have to watch where you step because poop and scooping isn't done by everyone, when it rained the other night the sidewalks became so slippery that I was worried I'd fall. They never wash the sidewalks or roads like they do at home because that's a waste of water a precious commodity.

I would never drive a car here the Israeli's are impatient drivers always in a hurry if you don't go fast enough or wait too long at a light you get honked and yelled at, cabs are the worst, I'm becoming a nervous back seat driver here.

The language is beautiful and very difficult for me to learn, Lex is keeping a journal of Hebrew words everyday she adds a few new ones, she is starting to speak in sentances and is leaving me way behind! I have learned one very important word though, it's apho (pronounced a pho) it means "where" and is very handy like apho the bathroom, or apho Arlozorov (the street we live on) or apho Aroma, using this word makes me feel like an Israeli, it's almost a sentence!

Today, Alexis's dad arrived, and I decided to take the train to Ben Gurion airport to meet him, it was a challange for me to see if I could find my way with my very poor grasp of the language but I used my magic word "apho" and was guided by total strangers with slightly amused looks on their faces who almost always answered me in perfect english.

Israeli's are a very boisterous people, they can be loud, impatient and direct but they are without a doubt the kindest, warmest people I have ever known, total strangers have offered help, support, food, and accomodation unconditionally and although we haven't needed help too much it is comforting to know it's there if we ever do.