The Honeymoon is Over

Every time I've moved somewhere new, I go through a "honeymoon" period where everything I see or do, no matter how crappy, is awesome. In Boston, I could walk into a filthy, terrible pizza place and be amazed at how I had found a great "local" spot. I think everyone does this to a certain extent, but I've noticed it more and more each time I've gone somewhere new.

Israel was no different. Justin and I were with Dor when we drove by a run-down Korean place in Tel-Aviv. Justin said, "That looks AWESOME." I thought, "YES." If we had stopped to eat there, we'd probably be in the hospital right now with food poisoning, but that's the honeymoon for you.

I'd like to thank the town of Kirat Gat beating the honeymoon out of my system. I had a great time hanging out with Justin's friends over Shabbat, but boy does that town stinks. Literally. There's litter everywhere, and the water "canal" that runs through the town seems to be made mostly of sewage. Also, there's nothing to do and it takes forever to get there. Possibly worse was our trip back, when we made the mistake of getting Shwarma at the Tel Aviv central bus station. Yikes. I don't care what the guy told me- that meat was not lamb.

There's a story from my birthright trip that I often tell and it goes a little something like this: We were hiking in the north when someone spotted a tree that produced an unknown fruit. A few of my friends stopped, picked the fruit, and ate it. When they offered it to me, I said, "I'm not eating that! I don't even know what that is! Just because I'm in Israel doesn't mean that I'm going to eat whatever's growing within picking distance. When I'm home, I don't go around eating berries that I find on the side of the road. That'd be crazy." Well, when I'm home, I don't just hop on a bus and check out small town life in western Pennsylvania. Why? Because it sucks there!

This is not to say that I don't like Israel, or that I'm not going to travel to many different types of places. I'm just past the point where I'll like anything simply because it's in Israel. I'm obviously having a great time, I really like the people I've met, I'm extremely excited to travel, but the honeymoon is over. Look, we're even cooking now:



P.S. I'd really like to thank the soldiers I met on the bus to Kirat Gat for trying to warn me. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee