I'm not dead! (I feel happyyy!)

Wow.. I can't believe I haven't updated this since the holidays.

I've managed to find myself a complete free evening, so... here goes.

Mum and Ged visited last month, and I think we all had a great time. It's a shame that I didn't manage to get out places before they visited, but now that I've been to Tel Aviv properly (and walked around the city), to Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea, I realise how easy it actually is to get around in this tiny country. Even on Shabbat, it is incredibly easy to get to Tel Aviv.

So hopefully I can make some changes now.. I have moved rooms, and somehow being in the room next door to my old one has made things so much better. Suddenly I am spending time with the other residents of the dorm, and I've finally seen my old room mate's personality.. now that I've moved out, heh. He just seemed like a zombie before.

We had a barbecue last night, and though it took a very long time to get the fire going, it was a really nice meal.

On Thursday night I went to a bar (Evita) for the first time since I arrived in Israel. It was an interesting night, to say the least, and I really want to go back to Evita on a Sunday for Eurovision night or on a Tuesday for the drag. And I won't be drinking G&T at £9 a pop next time!

I'm missing England more and more all the time, as much as I love Israel. I keep thinking how upset I will be when I return to crap houmous though! But I will definitely be revisiting Israel in future :)

I started ulpan (Hebrew lessons, sorta thing) last week, and it has given me the kick up the arse that I very much needed. I have a lot more motivation now (in fact, I was doing Hebrew before I decided to write this post). I went straight into the intermediate class and I'm talking Hebrew much more in the lab now and learning new words daily.
I'm also doing a MATLAB (programming) course, which I'm really excited about :D

Okay so now I'm just going to bombard you all with some pictures from the last two months. Enjoy :)

The Moshe Orens
An Israeli flag at Jaffa port
The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

Sunset at Tel Aviv port

Floating in the Dead Sea
Covered in Dead Sea mud
The Dead Sea

Chag Sameach, Chag Sameach, Chag Sameach...

I've finally torn myself away from YouTube videos of Jeremy Kyle and thought this blog post is really quite overdue.

Many times since I arrived here I've wondered about the future. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life. Doubting my future led to me doubting my placement, and I've felt like giving up. I'm thankful that work is so enjoyable, but obviously work isn't enough, and I feel like I owe a great deal to Yael and Debora. Without one or both of them, I don't think I would have been brave enough to stay. They brighten up my days.
Yael starts philosophical discussions every now and then, and we seem to disagree quite a lot. I'm sure this is a relief to Efrat, who sits behind me, as she was convinced at first that I had no mind of my own and would only ever agree with Yael. Efrat will go on maternity leave soon. I'll be sad to see her go... Anyway, the day after a very long conversation about whether or not we should open all the 'doors' in our minds and explore the things we find difficult to ponder (which stemmed from whether or not we believe in God), Yael thanked me for challenging her and making her say things that she wouldn't otherwise. A couple of days later I stumbled upon the door I like to keep closed...

There was a roof party in Tel Aviv that Debora invited me to (Fig 1), where everyone was tango dancing. It was crowded and not so enjoyable, but it was nice to have a change of scenery. It was also fun to watch the people who knew what they were doing. The way they move is incredible, and one guy danced so playfully.
Recently it was the women's film festival in Rehovot and as Debora could no longer go, she let me have her ticket and I went along with her flatmate, Barbara, to see 77 steps. It was a documentary film about an Arab-Israeli woman who (after some difficulty) managed to move to Tel Aviv and got a Jewish Canadian boyfriend. At first they got on so well despite their different beliefs, and supported one another in those. Eventually, it caused difficulties, blah blah blah they split up. It was interesting.

I finally spoke to Gavin on Skype. I cried.

I turned 21. I bought £20 worth of cake for the lab and we had a nice time eating it in the late morning, during which Moshe showered me with blessings. I had a boring, uneventful day at work, and then some of us went for a meal at an expensive meat restaurant in Rehovot. I had rare veal and an appetiser of chopped liver with onion jam and sour cherries that the restaurant gave me for my birthday. I had a really good glass of wine...that I wasn't charged for, and a delicious kadaif dessert. Although I hadn't particularly wanted to celebrate my birthday, it was nice to spend it with people I care about, even if I couldn't be with the ones in England.

September is full of Jewish holidays, and it was recently Yom Kippur. This is a day of self-reflection, during which you are supposed to avoid distracting yourself, as far as I understand, so that you can pray and think. Apparently it is the last day for you after Jewish New Year (also in September) to convince God that you belong in the Book of Life, not the Book of Death.
For me it was a very interesting day because there are (very very almost) no vehicles on the road whatsoever (Fig 2). You can happily walk along in the middle of the road, and many people walk, cycle, rollerblade or skateboard between cities. Yael's husband cycles from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and I would really like to come back next year to do something of the sort, perhaps with Steven, if he likes the idea.

Earlier this week several members of the lab went to the FAMRI retreat in Jaffa, where various PIs from out department gave short lectures on the work being carried out in their lab. It all had to be related to lung cancer because FAMRI fund research in all of the labs that attended. FAMRI stands for Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, and the story of it began in 1991 when a non-smoking flight attendant wanted to sue the tobacco companies because she got lung cancer from passive smoking during flights. Long story short, they won the case after a long time and got something like 300 billion for a research foundation. Whoopee! :)
It was a really good story and it made us all think differently about the work that we do, at least for the day.
On the bus to Jaffa I sat next to the Ukrainian girl/woman (I never know which word to use), Nadya, who I had barely spoken to at all before. We got on so well and I told her how glad I was to have the opportunity to speak to her properly. She gave me St Trinian's 2 and the new BBC Sherlock Holmes things to watch, which will give me something to do during Sukkot, which started yesterday and lasts a week. This holiday has something to do with eating in little huts.
Someone from uni has reminded me about the UoM VPN, which will allow me to access 4oD and BBC iPlayer if I download it. Genius! I will always have something to watch.

Oh and I spoke to my sister tonight and she banged on about her new job. I am so pleased for her, it sounds like it will be a lot of fun!

I'm going to Scandinavia :D

I'm currently having another day of nothing to do, so I figure this is the perfect time to update.

I received a lot of comments about my hair. Mostly positive in Israel, and mostly negative from England. I find it both amusing and infuriating, the way that people assume I must have shaved my hair off because I think I am more attractive this way. Surely, there is no other reason to do such a thing. Not because I live in a hot country. Not because I can get ready quicker in the morning. And definitely not for my health...
My sister actually put it in quite a nice way (after also telling me I looked so much better before). A friend of hers does it to "shave away the shit" or however you like to put it. It allows me to put things behind me and feel like I can have a fresh start. It's therapeutic. It's liberating. It's empowering.

I was in the lab the other night and Debora called me and asked where I was. She was at a barbecue at my house (that I had no idea about!) and told me to come. So I went and met a load of people who live there (some of whom I'd met briefly before in the dark), and Karin, who I had spoken to before. I feel more comfortable with the idea of cooking in that kitchen now that I know the pans are for common use, etc, but I am yet to do so. I feel happier living there anyway, which is probably at least partially attributable to my roommate's absence for the week. Not that I have any issue with him, but it's nice to have the room to myself. I should check that someone knows where he is... I hope he isn't dead or something.

Monday night was Rachel's leaving party at her (very nice!) flat that belongs to her family. The food was very nice and it was just fun to be with everyone from the lab again. I finally have a picture with Yael (see below). Looking through the pictures afterwards though, I don't think I've ever felt so ugly in my life! :(
grumble grumble.

I did some white washing yesterday and it seems that mosquitoes like to party in laundry rooms. I have at least 25 bites now :(
I also ruined one of my favourite t-shirts. cry cry. I should have just not brought any whites.
The whole experience of washing my clothes is just so damn unpleasant here. I wish I had a washing machine in my room.
They have a bookcase and an armchair for entertainment whilst you wait for your clothes and I saw a German book called "Die Israelis". It made me smirk.

I have decided to visit Scandinavia next summer! I am incredibly excited about it because I've wanted to go for sooo long. I intend to stay mostly in Denmark, and visit Sweden and Norway. And perhaps Germany (Berlin) as it is so close. Yayayayayayayayaayayayay! ^_^

And if you are ever sat around with nothing to do, I recommend going on YouTube and watching Snow White - A Tale of Terror. It's in 10 parts (so you can watch some and come back to it later!) and I found it very enjoyable. It's Snow White, the way it should be. And Sigourney Weaver plays the step-mother <3

Come Dine

I have finally been to a beach in Israel! Okay, I said that in the last post, but I don't think it counted. I think the official rules say that you have to be on the sand for more than 10 minutes. Everyone from the lab gathered at a beach near Rehovot for Ruthie's leaving party (Fig 1). We had a barbecue with sausages, burgers, chicken wings and hearts, pittas, watermelon and some cakes that were never opened!!?
It was nice but I spent a lot of time hating the sand and wishing I could go in the water without worrying about the sand sticking to me afterwards. So I just paddled a little bit, even though the waves looked very alluring.

I feel like I should have more to report, given how long ago the last post was, but so little happens in my life here. Just failure after failure, trying to obtain this mutated gene for Yael. Work is no longer going really well. I should have listened to Yael when she told me never to get too happy "because it only leads to disappointment and HEARTBREAK!!"
In a couple of weeks I should be working on my own project, which I'm reeeeally looking forward to. And by the end of next week they SAY I will have the internet in my room. Score!

Last night I had a crisis moment and shaved my hair off in true Britney style.

Today I went to work but didn't do any work whatsoever. Instead I played on my Nintendo DS (which nobody in Israel appears to be familiar with), did some Hebrew (finally! but not much), and had a nap in front of an open window. The warm air was very pleasant after the air conditioning froze me to near-death.
After 'work', I went to a little dinner party at Maayan's new flat (Fig 2). I think she initially invited me because of my poor diet and then turned it into a slightly bigger event later on. Only the 'youngsters' (i.e. the slaves and everyone else not studying or in possession of a PhD) were invited. But I forget just how much younger than the others I am! I feel like a little dog who has no idea just how tiny he is compared to the other dogs. I tend to think people are at least 5 years younger than they actually are. Considering the dinner invitation, Debora feeding me up at her flat, and Yael having a dream about me being extremely hungry at her family picnic, I think people might be worrying about my eating habits. Unsurprisingly.

So we made sushi, and ate it with a stir-fry they made before Ohad and I arrived. Then we had a delicioussss cheesecake for dessert, which was actually left over from when Maayan made it for when her boyfriend's parents visited them. As the cheesecake melted in my mouth, so too did all of my worries ^_^

Everyone said they would help me find a cheap room in a shared apartment if I would like, which is great because it turns out that there is nowhere for me to move within the institute.

Now I feel all warm and fuzzy, and ready for bed.

A revelationary week

Sooo last week I finally spent some real time (although not much) in Tel Aviv. I was deep in thought on the train, and realised just how much I enjoy being looked after, and how this needs to change. I need to be more independent, etc etc. Ironically, my friend then asked me to get a public taxi to meet him, and I started to panic and wanted to cry. The first (and last) time I had taken a public taxi, it ended in tears. In the end I got to the meeting place fine, and I feel much more at ease with these taxis now.
We met at Rothschild Boulevard, which is lovely lovely and has some good looking places to eat. There is also a bar there that has a Eurovision night every week, which I had heard of before I came to Israel. It sounds fun :)
When I saw Max Brenner, the chocolate bar, we HAD to go. It specialises in chocolatey desserts, and I think the idea of just going out for dessert is pretty cool. I ate a whole chocolate pizza to myself and it was delicious but I felt like I was going to vomit by the end of it. I also had a spicy hot chocolate, which I was excited about having, but if I have one again I think I shall ask for it without pepper.

Next we walked to the beach. So FINALLY I have been to a beach in Israel!! We stood by the water's edge for a short while and then made our way back because I didn't want to miss the train home. I'm looking forward to going again WITH my camera ^_^

I feel that I learnt quite a bit of myself over the course of the week. I had a bit of a heart-to-heart with my supervisor, Yael, in which she said she had noticed that I am fragile =/
I know that when I finish this placement I will be a much stronger person.

Yael brought a book in for me yesterday about an invisible boy. It is much easier to read than the other book she brought in for me (Spiderwick) because they have put vowels in this book (it's aimed at a younger audience). So today I sat with Noa (one of the slaves) and read half of the first page to her. I sounded like a 5 year old >.<
Yael also brought me a framed poster for my room. It's one of the pictures by the guy who did all the stairs going in different directions and not making a lot of sense. I forget his name. It is black and white and every shape is some weird creature or person. I like it a lot :)

There was a lizard running around the lab last night and I managed to get some pictures of it (see below and facebook). I also got a picture of a bat in flight (see facebook), which is better than the previous one I got. I love the bats so much. I could stand and watch them forever. Maybe.
I just wish someone was here to watch them with me!

I'm starting to feel that I will never have enough time to do everything I want. And I mean daily stuff. There just isn't enough time in the day, it seems. I'm actually glad I don't have more friends because it's difficult enough to make time to see them as it is >.<

Work is going very well :)

And now I'm going to have an Earl Grey and listen to some music before I do some Hebrew or read some papers.

Naming my blog posts is getting tiring already...

I have gained a follower! I now have 2. I'm moving up in the world. My new follower is called Yvaine Weasley. So, Yvaine, whoever in the world you might be, hello.

So I just went swimming, because I realised that if I didn't then I would do pretty much nothing else. I've done some Hebrew this weekend but, of course, not enough. I'll do some more tonight.

On the way back from the recreation centre I saw a man. The man was juggling. He was juggling many balls all at the same time and I was like zomg I wish I had my camera but I didn't. I did consider getting my camera and running back but I thought that would make me look like a weirdo.

Also, that was one of the most stressful swimming experiences I have ever had. The most stressful was probably the time that I had a physical fight with another boy when I was younger, but this I think was a close second. I really think that people should learn to swim without having to splash everyone in the vicinity before they go lane swimming. People here are particularly good at splashing.

On Wednesday I went to Tel Aviv and met Nir, after waiting for him in the mall for one and a half hours. I've noticed that I'm much more open to shopping here. When I go in clothes shops here I'm like OH I LOVE THIS T SHIRT instead of wanting to leave as soon as I've walked through the door. Topman in particular really is a pile of wink.
So we walked around and didn't really do a lot. I was hungry so Nir bought me Domino's. It's rather different to in England, and I enjoyed it :)

Next time I go to Tel Aviv I want to go to the beach and find a nice place to eat that isn't a chain.

I got really angry when I was with Nir, at all the people staring at him because of his make up. I was actually surprised to find that the people were no worse than in England, but there are a lot more of the people who will stare. Then again we were in Tel Aviv, and I don't know how much more accepting of it people actually are in England because we generally try not to stare at people in such a blatant manner.

I will never understand why people find men wearing make up so offensive, and I can't be bothered to rant about it like I initially intended to.

I'm now missing pretty much everyone I've ever had a good time with. And England. We live in a wonderful country. Appreciate it :)

I got bruises on my thighs for you...

At least I'm guessing that these big yellow bruises on my thighs are the result of squeezing through Daniel's bedroom window when his mum was cleaning the floor and we weren't allowed in through the front door.

I forgot to mention that I went swimming the other day before work. It was nice, and I'm going to buy membership at the recreation centre so that I can do it every day (or at least every day that they open early enough). Now I don't know if I'll keep it up, but as membership costs about £300 for the year I think that will give me some motivation.

My new roomie has arrived. His name is Guillaume and I think he has been in Paris for the last 7 years, but was born in Senegal. He is learning Hebrew and is at a similar level to me so I have more motivation to learn now.
We went for a walk into Rehovot last night, and on the way back we decided to get some food. We stopped at a little cafe, Netanela, on the corner opposite the Weizmann. The food was nice and the waitress, Almog, was very friendly. We stayed there and chatted to Almog for quite a while, which made us rather late going to meet Leigh and Deeptanshu. They were long gone by the time we got to Leigh's building. Almog had mentioned that Netanela would be closing (for good) today and seeing as I forgot to take my camera last night, I went back today and stayed for another few hours. It seems that the cafe attracts weirdos, which probably explains how I ended up there... Today a man was pestering Almog and gave her a dollar tip, on which he had pretty much written an essay, dedicating the note to her or something.

P.S. I've just discovered you can click the images to view the full size version :)
And positioning images where I want is proving to be stupidly difficult on this thing.