Arriving in Israel

I arrived into Tel Aviv early morning on the 18th. I went through security and customs, and it was pretty easy to do. I got my two checked bags and my carry-on and went out into the city. I was going to this guy's house where I was CouchSurfing (CS), and even though the directions were pretty good, the language barrier was higher than I had imagined. Basically most of the signs are in Hebrew and Arabic, and only some in English. Also some people that I spoke to either were not interested in helping me or really didn't know English. Either way, I found my way to the CS guy's (Shaya) apartment in Jaffa, which is sort of like a part of the greater Tel Aviv area that was the original city located there.

The old clock tower in Yafo (Jaffa)

At this point I had been travelling for 2 days and had not really slept at all. I reached Shaya's apartment, showered and went out for breakfast. We went to this cafe by his place and talked for about 2 hours on politics and Israel. Later he was going to go to Jerusalem (about 40 min drive away) with some friends and I was gonna go home and sleep. However, his friend's wanted to take me to Jerusalem so we all went. There was 5 of us, speaking Hebrew, English, and Italian. We went to the Old City of Jerusalem which is where the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock is located. We walked around all the quarters (Jewish, Muslim, Chrstian, and Armenian) and went to the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (people could take pictures in the church, but I did not...maybe next time). We then came back and I finally slept for about 16 hours.

The girls I was with, in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Mosque in Jerusalem, I just liked this photo

We didn't eat here, but I liked the sign

Before going to the Wailing Wall, with the Dome of the Rock behind me

Mount of Olives (with trees) next to Mount Zion (without trees)

The following day I tried to go shopping for some last minute things, like electronic adapters, but it was the Sabbath already (Friday after 4pm) so nothing was open. Instead I met up with another student from MISTI (the program that allowed me to go to Israel), Sam, and we walked around a bit.

Saturday the 20th I still did not have much luck with shopping and so I met up with Sam and had lunch with him and Shaya on these Turkish-style lounge seats on the beach.

Sunday I packed my things and headed south for my final destination, Kibbutz Lotan.

Next Post: Kibbutz Lotan