I once read that 88 percent of conversations (don’t hold me to that exact number) begin with the weather, and apparently, this blog, like most communication with strangers on the subway, does the same.
The weather in Tel Aviv is about as inconsistent as Lebron James circa last year’s NBA finals. One moment, it’s a sunny, beautiful day, and in the blink of an eye, it’s monsoon’ing…blink again and it’s over. Thus, this week has been all about the rain and the wind (picture a stage three hurricane, if you will). That being said, my friends and I didn’t do much sightseeing outside the walls of our bedrooms—and really, who doesn’t enjoy an exceptionally well-painted (gray) room?
RIP Sunshine. You are greatly missed. Please come back as soon as possible.
On Friday, we were scheduled go on an ATV’ing trip in Tzfat (a city two hours north of Tel Aviv); unfortunately, the prospect of rain and the potential snow, kept us in our dorms instead—on the plus side, I’m all caught up on my shows and have now turned to Disney movies to keep me entertained (if you were wondering, The Road to El Dorado is very underrated).
But, in a time that could have been spent twiddling thumbs and picking split ends, my friends and I found a resourceful way to stay eager and excited about Tel Aviv: we read traveler’s guides! While it may sound more boring than watching the rain fall drop by drop, in all honestly, it wasn’t as bas as it seems. In a way, it was the perfect time to sit down and figure out what exactly we want to see while we’re here and it opened our eyes to what’s just before our eyes: apparently, one of the most talked about museums in Tel Aviv is right here on campus, and we’ve been casually walking past it like it’s just any other building. So while seemingly hibernating, we’ve managed to schedule trips to a safari-themed zoo, to Eilat for a long weekend, and most importantly, to go skydiving (pretend you didn’t read that, Mom).
While it wasn’t exactly the most thrilling week abroad, we were at least able to sit down and plan activities out for the rest of the semester…without having to waste a beautiful day with the logistics of it all. So I guess in the end, a little rain never hurt anyone. Fingers crossed for sunshine this week (but seriously, keep them crossed)!
To clarify—because Alex thinks this post makes us seem incredibly boring—we’ve continued to take full advantage of the nightlife po* (my Hebrew is just way above average these days). Like I’ve said before, there’s nothing quite like a night out in Tel Aviv.
*po=here
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Catch up on my Israeli life:
You ‘Shook’ Me All Night Long
Surviving Week One in Tel Aviv
Ma’a Salama America, Shalom Israel