צפונה

Prolog :

As you might know , I gave myself a vacation from the vacation . Between sep. 2th and 20th I will be in Israel for a good period of relaxing, seeing what has changed back home , convincing Ravid ( my ex-girlfriend )  to come along with me to Finland etc.

Throughout my trip I've been writing home , and met  in this time a lot of interesting people (such as yourself)  , consider these updates your invitation to come and see for yourself how Israel is really like .It is also a way for me to clear my mind about what I see different , now more than ever between the mentality and  way of life .

A song to listen to while you read this

"A big city without soldiers , and you can't get no sleep .

Bells ringing at sunday morning

Cold moon on towers and real winter

I feel just great but this is not my home.

Yonatan Drive home , take a train take a plane , take a small gift to the kid , plane , Yonatan . go to sleep "

5 Top Terms  I've rediscovered today in Israel :

1.

יהיה בסדר

Yihye beseder

Or – it will be alright . It's our way of notifying  our surrounding that we got things under control . Problem is , it's addictive to the point we say that even when we are not . A huge difference from the Scandinavian approach to these matters.

2.

מרגיש לי

Margish li

It feels like …

A strong English-insertion into Hebrew , a quite blunt and un-correct way of expressing oneself that made me a bit anxious about the bi-lingual negative phenomenon .

3.

חי בסרט

Hay besert

Living in a movie

Our way of saying that someone is out of his mind slightly , an expression of misfit rejection , and quite a funny one to be honest .

4.

דתי מחמד

Dati mahamad

Pet religious

Religious people are a strange minority in the sense that they are almost no minority at all , but because the media is almost entirely secular , the religious media personal are often referred to as pet religious .

5.

אחי

AHI

My brother

A word of calling each other in a manner-less manner, very close and personal.

The moment that took me back by surprise :

Seeing Ravid in Karmey ovdat (A winery in the middle of the desert ) really got me back . She was my girlfriend for 2 years and in 30 seconds of seeing her back I've realized I want to share the rest of what's left from my trip with. She is a wonderful person and the more people I got the pleasure of knowing , the more unique and rare she is to me . She will probably stay in Israel but it was worth the shot .

A strange custom that I've realized how strange it was only when I got back :

We read the news paper . Everybody does , every day , about 20-30 minutes a day . We also watch the news every night , all of us . It take some time to get use to it but the speed of life here is astounding. In the back paper , in a box of about 50 words and almost hidden , is a story of a woman who accidently got shot in a bus by a soldier who was too tired to see that his  rifle is loaded .

The best sport moment so far :

Going running with my older brother Nativ

It's an old habit , running in the warm nights of Tel aviv . After some months of walking with a jacket it was super nice to run on the beach with just my short pants on and feeling beautifully fast . Nativ is faster and it was indulging letting him run faster and coming back . As if I was challenging him .

The best food you need to eat :

Well , that's an easy choice , Hummus .

My favorite pick, the one I was dreaming of every cold Sunday and thinking of every bad paddle I've made was Abu adham. And  after Scandinavia , everything is ridiculously cheap here , a good meal is about  40 DKK , and the Hummus is about 25 DKK .

Things I miss not having in Scandinavia :

1. Crazy well off transportation system . I remember the first time I've realized I don't need to run after the bus , the next one will arrive 3 minutes later . It really takes a lot of stress out
2. The love relationship with the sun . In Israel it's too hot to lie in the sun all after noon . We indulge  in  the shadow . And clouds here are a blessing .
3. Green – a beautiful color which , for this season is often replaced by yellow
4. Quiet conversations – It took some time for me to like it . But now I'm a little addicted to sitting around the dining table and mostly eat and not talk .
5. The view – Yes, the percentile of beautiful woman in Scandinavia is ridiculously higher than the rest of the world.

Things I will miss in Israel:

1. Extremely good food .I suspect it's because in Scandinavia there's not much heat and moisture to activate the sense of smell .
2. The beach .
3. People conversing in a language I can understand .
4. Hebrew . I'm in love with my own language , even though in Israel it seems to be set for self destruction the rapid evolution of it  is life-full. The fact that in Hebrew objects are male and female  makes it so much more personal . Hebrew for instance is a female . So I'm in love with her .
5. The fast and funny relationship you make with everyone you come in contact with . I'm not sure if it's because I  know this culture since I was born or is it because we really are full of expression but talking to anyone selling me something , asking something etc. a whole world of expressions is stretched in the conversation .
6. Friends and family . Ididn't know it until I got back but I really  missed out on connection in my own language and style  .

My future :

Sep. 20th – Budapest , 21st – Stockholm 22nd – on the train to Kiruna , 23rd – Enontekio(?)  Finland to volunteer for hetta huskies .Yep . I'm excited !

(And yeah , I do miss making paddles )