Sunday night I left Jerusalem all in a rut. That day I had visited the Lost and Found at the Jerusalem Bus Station to recover my wallet, but with no avail. The man at Lost and Found sat at his desk, surrounded by piles of lost articles: mounds of sleeping bags, a tree of keys, milk crates bursting with unclaimed purses. He was like the keeper of souls--guarding travelers' lost lives. He was an asshole. He screamed at me when i interrupted his personal phone call to ask him for help. I could have cried.
I left Jerusalem with less than 100 sheckles in my pocket, no ID, and NO RESERVATIONS to go see Hannah in Karmi'el. It was so incredible seeing her...escaping from the kfar dungeon, seeking refuge like a leper to Mama Teresa. She gave me food. Gave me a bed. I was nourished.
Monday, we (me, hannah, and a portion of her program) woke early to leave for haifa. We toured the Ba'hai gardens which were scintillating.
The actual Ba'hai people are pretty chill, they believe mainly in the spiritual unity of mankind. Sounds hunky-dory.
Then we ate lunch in this crumbling concrete park. Scarfed down whole hard boiled eggs and squares of matzah. I really felt like an israelite, trekking through the middle east, my clothes stuffed into my L.L. Bean backpack, trying to swallow shards of bread of affliction.
That night, we slept with the Israeli sister program of Hannah's group. It was really nice. They were making a giant hammer out of paper for a rally. We made mofletta to celebrate the end of passover.
The next morning, I had toast. It felt right.
We departed for Tel Aviv. Went to the shuk, where I bought two more pairs of Israeli boxer briefs and a new wallet: a 20-sheckel tan leather number with "APACHE airforce" branded into it. Hannah and I also split an amazing hummus bowl. We went to the beach briefly with our backpacks until Hannah's cousins picked us up.
Tuesday night, I had my first experience at Cinema City as a VIP guest. The mall itself is a mega modern palace....with glass elevators and lifelike dinosaur sculptures, a giant light-up disco floor that looked like something out of The Sims party pack. In the VIP section of the theatre is a dramatically-lit buffet with unlimited food and alcohol. Granted, the food was not that incredible, but the thought of stuffing yourself until you cant move and plopping on a plush, recliner and watching a movie (in English) is sublime.
The movie sucked. It was by the "Inception" dude and starred Matt Damon. So predictable and so corny. But, I got up twice to refill my popcorn and to get another beer. They handed out little chocolates encased in an envelope that said, "VIP". I felt bad for the peasants who had little foot room and got excited about cup-holders.
The next morning Hannah and I went to the beach. I got terribly burnt. I took a cold shower and we were driven to Hannah's other cousin's house in Holon. We attended a gala to support the 70th Anniversary of the arts in Holon. There were barely enough hours d'erves to keep us amused.
We watched 50 First Dates before falling asleep (after spending an hour hunting a mosquito that was trapped in the room and buzzing in our ears). Late Thursday morning, we visited Hannah's grandmother's grave. It was a beautiful walk...the weather a bit stormy, but the spitting rain excited us.
Then, it was back to Tel Aviv for hannah and Jerusalem for me. I had an incredible trip with my wench, but i was glad to finally remove my heavy backpack from my back and curl up in my orange down quilt.
*title cred: tuni ash
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