Friday, July 12, 2013

Tel Aviv and the Beach!

I am back on schedule! The wifi is still weak here at the kibbutz, but I was able to get enough of a signal to hopefully get this post off tonight.

Today was a very full day. As I mentioned in the last post, we started the day bright and early with a run at the Olympic Stadium, where we will be competing in just under two weeks. Following breakfast we took off for the first day of our Israel Connect program. Today we stayed fairly close to home visiting some sights in Tel Aviv, before finishing the day at the Beach and then back to the Kibbutz for Shabbat dinner.

While I have been to Israel before, I have not had the opportunity to spend much time in Tel Aviv on either of my previous trips. This is certainly going to change in the coming weeks, as we will be staying in downtown Tel Aviv for the final 2 weeks of our trip.

Today we started out visiting Independence Square, where Yitzak Rabin was assisinated in 1995. I had been to this location before, which I am thankful for as the area is currently under construction. We were not able to get as close to the actual location of the events but still got close enough to see the memorial which is designed to look like an earthquake - the effect of the assasination on the country.

From the memorial we traveled down Rothchild Blvd - the original main drag of Tel Aviv, and learned the story of how "the city" was settled and a bit about the city's architecture over the last 104 years. After the history lesson came a trip to the local markets. I will admit this is one of the few places I am still nervous in Israel. The markets are jammed packed and while I try not to be paranoid and allow myself to enjoy the experience, I still feel the need to be extra aware of my surroundings. I did not buy anything but saw some interesting stuff including the greatest display of candy I have ever seen...I may be back when we move downtown next week. Oh and I stepped into a shoe store real quick and what did I find? A Saucony Find Your Strong sing...it was just a day full of random Saucony run ins.

Lastly was the beach...and not like any beach I have been to in recent memory. The water was warm! Really warm! It was like taking a bath, and the Sea had some awesome waves. If I knew how to surf and had a board, this would have been ideal conditions, but alas I have neither. What I did have was my body and I rode some big waves, some taking some big crashes down to the sand below, but it was worth it. I came out of the beach unscathed and unburnt so I will consider it a success.

As you can see I still have not figured out the picture issue, but hopefully it will work itself out soon. Oh and we need a word of the day..."Todah" which means thank you. Todah for still reading my blog and for all of the support you have given me over the recent weeks and months.




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