Easter...?

Let me start talking about Easter by saying that today is the second day of Passover and we live in Israel.

I was browsing through the New York Time’s Style Section (which is one of my favorites, after world news) and came across the abundance of Easter Recipes and it hit me – this is EASTER! We have been so focused on Passover – it’s odd days off of work and lack of bread - that I’d forgotten it was Easter! (Last night we even made a Jewish, “Passover kosher” dinner from our Israeli cookbook that was delicious and oh so rich!..but that is beside the point.)

So thinking about my memories of Easter dinner I started looking for “honey baked ham recipes! I’ll pair that with cheesy potatoes, oven-hot rolls and maybe we’ll try the NYT’s hot crossed buns for dessert. Oh! And Easter Eggs! We’ll do those tonight. Whewww, we’ll still have Easter!!”

And then it hits me: today is the second day of Passover and we live in Israel. What does this mean?
a.) Not only will I not find honey baked ham…I won’t find any ham..or bacon (which I dreamt about last night)..or any other pig products. So cross that one off the list.
b.) It is Passover…so as I said before – no bread. The grocery store isles really are covered with tarps. No Bread, no pasta, no cereal, no baby food or dog food – and no Easter rolls.
c.) Cheesy potatoes may be possible, but modified since I won’t find the exact ingredients we used at home.
d.) Easter Eggs – this one is sad. First, there are no "Easter Egg Dying Kits" in the stores here. Second, the NYTs mentions a dozen eggs are about $1.20 (and that is NYC!) – try $3 - $7.50 for a dozen eggs here. And Third, don’t tell anyone, but I’ve never boiled an egg before. This sounds like a relatively expensive experiment in natural egg coloring that will surely make us sick.

So we are back to the second day of Passover in Israel – trying to think of ways to make it more like Easter. Don’t tell Paul but I’ve already staked out a candy store and I’m working on the basket and lack of Easter grass, but he may still get an Easter basket!

You say Passover, I say Semana Santa

It is happening...At about 3 or 4pm tomorrow people will start saying "Shabot Shalom!", the stores will close, and that is the end of bread and milk for a week!!!

So the Israeli day starts at sunset the night before. The work week is Sunday through Thursday. Passover starts on Tuesday and lasts a week. This (in A-merrr-i-ken) means that at 3 or 4pm tomorrow businesses will close so everyone can be home from work by sunset. (No work on the Sabbath!) Businesses usually stay closed until Saturday at sunset. But with the holiday around the corner we've heard that most people take off Sunday and Monday while they're at it. (Monday would be a half-day anyway because you would have to leave work by 3pm to be home for sunset and the first day of Passover - remember, "Tuesday" starts Monday at sunset..~5pm). Are you following me? So then businesses are closed for Passover until Tuesday the 6th, but even that is a Moroccan holiday that is now celebrated here - so what the heck, lets throw in an extra day of vacation. This means at 3pm on Friday (the 26th) businesses will close and not open again until Tuesday the 6th.

Now, most of the Americans and Palestinians aren't Jewish so they (and hence our work community) continues to work through this whole shindig (with the exception of the first and last day). Not so bad - except the places we shop, for say groceries, are closed. AND...if that isn't enough, Passover means no wheat (I think, correct me someone!) so you have matza and NO BREAD!! (We stocked up today)

At breakfast this morning we made another not-so-fun but important discovery about Passover. Our milk is kosher (that isn't the sad part). It says (in English) that is kosher, but not "Passover Kosher".....? Oh!! okay...? The grocery stores supposedly put sheets over the non-kosher items during passover so we can't buy them....are they going to not sell us milk too? A whole week without bread and milk?!?! I'm excited to see how this works. Hopefully I'll get some pictures and post them later. Pictures of Passover, not us without bread and milk.

On another note - our first guest is coming!!! All the way from Spain! They have Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Spain so he too has a long vacation and gets to spend it with us! Yeahhh!!! Who is next? The guest room is ready!

Leave Me to the Vultures!

Oh the things we do to make friends. While talking with a coworker at the Embassy either Paul or Jen mention that Jen's bike had just arrived, that she enjoyed biking around the city and the park, and that Jen had done a triathlon. All true. The coworker invites Jen to go on a ride with she and her friends on Saturday morning. Great! Opportunity to make new friends!!!

So at 625am on Saturday morning the coworker picks up Jen and her bike and they head out of the city for the long ride. Fast forward 2 hours - "Leave me to the Vultures!" Jen is thinking, "I don't think I'm going to make it back to Tel Aviv," "I am NOT a biker"..."Bike for sale"..."Free Bike"..."I should be protected from this by the UN Declaration of Human Rights!!"...."Throw bike off of balcony!!!"

Although Paul and Jen were reassured that these ladies were slow bikers, 20 years Jen's senior, and this would be a shorter ride - they didn't understand that this was coming from the equivalent of a marathon runner! Imagine taking your 1986 tricycle on a hundred mile ride with Lance Armstrong. That is how Jenny felt. (Really she had a road bike (from the 1980s) and the ladies weren't quite Lance - but pretty close!)

The 40 kilometer ride (~2 hours) up and down hills wouldn't have been so bad if Jen had had all of the professional gear the other women had. What was she missing? The shoes, the pedals, the biking shorts/pants, the shirt, the jacket, the gloves, the glasses, the headband, the pump, the spare tube, the cushioned seat, and the (on average) $1,000 triathlon bike. (Compare the bike to the right vs. my bike)

Why in the world did I think I could do a 40 kilometer ride with my old bike, running clothes and my Target helmet? I don't know. It was crazy! I almost died! (exaggeration...I almost gave up, threw up, and then collapsed).
But I was saved :)

About 20 miles into the ride - Jen's bike broke. Yes, broke. The wheel was crooked, the chain fell off, something bent. Thank you God! The other women (save one) biked back to get the car and came out to pick me (and the other) up and drive us to the end. During breakfast after the ride (remember - this is 7am on a Saturday!) the women were joking about how I must be thinking how old they were...true - how did someone that much older than me just make me feel so out of shape! These women are amazing! They vowed to take me to a bike shop and get me back out there with them on a better bike...and training for the Tel Aviv triathlon.

Eeek! Do I really want to be turned into that serious of a biker? Can I really compete in this triathlon against these women?

On the positive note - it was a great experience! I saw the country-side, got a great workout and met some really nice women! I'll update later on my decision to keep biking with them or do the triathlon in May.

Tel Aviv & Coffee

Tel Aviv is an odd city with regards to its coffee. On the one hand it has a thriving cafe culture - much like my beloved Buenos Aires - in which there is a cafe on almost every block and you can find people enjoying a cup of coffee at almost any hour. There is wireless internet at the cafes, light food, a good atmosphere and friendly baristas.

While there are many smaller independent cafes, the most popular is Cafe Cafe. You can think of it as the Starbucks of Tel Aviv. (There are no Starbucks in Tel Aviv - I guess they came in a few years back, failed and fled.) Our neighborhood loves cafe so much that we have 2 Cafe Cafe's right across the street from each other! (One is Cafe Cafe and the other is Cafe Cafe Kosher.)

Anyway, the other hand of the cafe culture here is such that people drink great coffee in the cafes, and really crappy coffee at home. The grocery store has a section about 2 feet wide with coffee - 80% of which is instant! There are a few bags of expensive "Turkish" coffee which are about the size you get in your hotel room (and look to be the same quality).

The conundrum here is that Jen LOVES coffee. I think this is in large part thanks to her dear friend Alexandria who shared her great coffee with Jen in college :) Jen has a coffee bean grinder, a french press, coffee cups and these adorable little red espresso cups (thanks Kathryn!)....and no coffee to put in them :( The "Natural Foods" grocery store (in quotation marks because they also sell fruit loops)had a bag of coffee that looked decent for about $8, but it was finely ground and that doesn't work too well for my french press.

Lamenting the lack of coffee - a coworker told us we could buy good whole bean coffee at The Coffee Bean. So, Jen biked the half mile to the Coffee Bean in search of the infamous whole bean coffee, and there it was! A large bag for 190 Shekels! ($51.35)!!! Oh my gosh! Needless to say, Jen still has no coffee. Any recommendations for online coffee stores that ship internationally???

Scared of the wind in the night?

Scared of the wind in the night?

Not really…but it could be a giant centipede…or a Philistine Viper…or a wild boar (did you see Bear Grylls try to take one on?)…or an Ibex. But it was none of these things that woke us up at 11pm and then again at 4am. It was something else…


Paul and I rented a car and drove north along the border with the West Bank, over the Jordan River and towards Syria. We hiked for the day at a national park and saw some beautiful flowers, cliffs and the ancient city of Gamla.

As the sun began to set we scoped out “camp sites” near the Dalyot River. We didn’t see many others in this area – just their tracks. Although, we did have to walk part of the trail behind these slow-pokes!


Anyway, at about 5pm we ate dinner – the delicious roasted eggplant pasta I’d made for us the night before – and headed to our site. Besides a few birds there was no sign of life. So we pitched a tent, started a fire, and watched the sun set. Star gazing until about 7 or 8pm, we decided to go into the tent (read: Jen was scared). I don’t know what time we went to sleep, but a few hours later we were awakened by the sound of something brushing our tent. The sound your big brother makes when he is trying to scare you. But Dusty is in California – not the Golan Heights. A little frightened (read: scared to death!), we start to think: Maybe it is just the night wind...or one of those giant centipedes we saw earlier. But then again, maybe it is one of the Philistine Vipers…or a wild boar! Oh my gosh, what if an Ibex is trying to get at our apples!!!

Paul grabs the clock (read his Blackberry) and we see to our dismay that it is only 11pm – we were hoping for sunlight, this is pretty scary! Eventually we go back to sleep. 4am – the tent is shaking again!!! Oh my gosh…oh my gosh. Snakes and Ibexes and boars – oh my! No…it is a RAPTOR! We are camping across the valley from the raptor/vulture observatory. There is a giant vulture perched on top of our tent. Ah… we waited him out, got another few hours of sleep and packed up camp. (P.S. I have the most amazing sleeping bag ever! Thank you Marc & Gaspar!)

On the way home we stopped to see the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum (Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.) and passed the Mensa Domini church where Jesus appeared to the disciples and told doubting Thomas to feel his wounds. Next we trecked up the Mount of the Beatitudes but couldn’t really see it because those jerks charge you money to get in – and they don’t open the gates until 8am (it was like 715am). So we decided to take a short side trip and see Nazareth.

We went to mass (in Arabic) at the Church of the Annunciation where the angel Gabriel told Mary she was with child. Then we walked through Josephs old shop (more so we saw it from above – it is partially excavated and they let you look down into it). After some falafel we headed back home – and now we are exhausted. One quick note though: I never had anything in the States that resembled falafel and…I LOVE IT! Hmmmm!

Full Work Week

Most things in our life right now revolve around Paul's work. This is not bad at all since the people he works with are great. I mean - revolving around work has meant a really fun welcome dinner at the boss's house last weekend, meeting the Biden's on Wednesday, and last night was a "Wheels Up" happy hour celebrating that the VPs airplane's wheels were up and nothing went wrong! Kind of a big sigh of relief for everyone who worked to make his delegation a success (as it is seen by them). The happy hour was a great chance to meet a few more people (like the #1 in Paul's office, the Ambassador and the #2 at the Embassy!) and a great chance to celebrate Jen's new job!!!! I interviewed last week and found out just before the happy hour that I got the job! They have to do a security clearance (this will be #3 in the process - sorry to all of you who will be contacted possibly 3 or 4 times with the same questions about me!). This clearance is small though and they will rush it - so it should only take about 2-3 weeks. Yeah!!

In other life news - my bike is here! I bought a great road bike before we left which has the thinnest tires you've ever seen and the handlebars lean very far forward (one biker here told me she would be scared to ride my bike!). Long story short - I have to buy another bike. :( Unlike DC where there are a hundred bikers more daring than me, I seem to be the daring one here. Most bikers ride on the sidewalks and don't wear helmets (I'm not that stupid.. I may look like a dork, but I'm safe!). Unfortunately for me and my thin tires the cracks in the sidewalks are the same size as my tires so they easily slip into the holes, and the transition from sidewalk to street to sidewalk is not smooth. Think of driving your car through a maze of potholes the size of your tires, and going over massive speed bumps (humps) every block. It will be much easier to do which a mountain bike, so I'll have to save my road bike for longer rides outside of the city. In fact! - I just met someone last night who does a 50k ride on the weekends! And! I think she is going to split a triathlon with Paul and I in the Spring! I'll bike, Paul will swim and she will run! Yeah!!!! :)

“Hello Mr. Vice-President. Very nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. What's your name?”

“My name is Jennifer.” (Like a 13-year old who forgot she has a last name!)

“Very nice to meet you Jennifer. Your smile lights up this entire place!”

-----

“Dr. Biden, so nice to meet you. I’m Jennifer Vaca, this is my husband Paul.”

“Nice to meet you both.”

“Can we get a picture with you?”

“Of course!”

“I love your shoes!”

(I took that picture for Elizabeth!)

Ha Sherutim

A Sherutz is a cross between a bus and a taxi – usually a 6-10 seater van. The sherutz travel along many of the same routes as the buses and cost only pennies more. This is the story of learning about the sherutz.

Paul and Jen want to learn how the pseudo-public transportation system worked so they promise themselves they would get home from the shook (market) via sherutz (taxi/van). Looking at several bus maps they find a few sherutz that would pass near their apartment; however, after a long time waiting they learn their first lesson: there is not a sherutz for every bus. The second lesson quickly followed: the sherutz follow similar but not identical routes.

While waiting, Jenny sees a 73 sherutz* heading in the wrong direction giving the couple hope that eventually it might come back…and it does…20 minutes later. Sherutz 73 is coming and Jen tries to wave it down as the guide book has told her to do. Several taxis try to answer the call – but not the sherutz driver. Finally, he looks (from the left lane), wags his finger “no” and points to the #73 bus stop 2 blocks ahead. Jen and Paul miss the long-awaited sherutz because they had not yet learned lesson #3: you must pick up the sherutz at the bus stop.

After another 20 minutes Jen and Paul decide they will get on the next sherutz, go where ever it may take them, and then either walk or cab home. This was not the most attractive option – but it accomplished the goal of riding a sherutz. (Can I just note that this story reminds me of ‘riding a bungalow’ with Jill in Guatemala!)

Sherutz 94 is coming. Jen flags it down (this is the taxi part) and Paul and Jen get it. “Shalom”, “Shalom.” “Eifo blahblahblah?”, “Slisha?” (Excuse me?), “Eifo blahblahblah?”. Jen (confused)…”uh, at medeber anglit?” (Do you speak English?), “Lo, eifo blahblahblah?” (No, where….?), Jen (struggling)…”anachnu m’america” (We’re from America). “LO! Eifo blahblahblah!? (NO! Where…?) Jen (not understanding…) ah..Ibn Givor (a road in tel aviv). Driver (pointing at the door) “Lo.” (No.) Jen and Paul are kicked off their first sherut. Lesson #4: you have to know where the sherutz is going so you can tell the driver where to let you off so he can tell you how much it costs.

Finally, another #73 comes, Jen flags it down. The couple enters. “Shalom, Ibn Gavor bavakasha.” (Hello, Ibn Gavor please.” “ashrah smonim.” (Dang it! We only learned numbers 1-10 in Hebrew class!) NIS 11.80 for two – about $3.20. Yeah for learning how to ride a sherutz!

*The names and numbers in this story have been changed. If you come to stay with us we’ll tell you the real ones so you too can ride a sherutz!

This truly is the good life

This truly is the good life. We live above a boutique serving up the likes of Vera Wang and Emporio Armani. Look, but don’t touch, I tell Jen. Upscale cafes dot our SoHo-meets-Bryant Park neighborhood. And only yesterday while walking back from a nearby park we stumbled across a photo shoot for the new Polo Ralph Lauren line just a block from home. Home? Yeah, I guess this luxurious locale is now home. Or at least it will be once my garlic press and truffle oil arrives.

The fresh produce here is delicious and cheap—a handful of freshly-picked dill goes for two shekels (75 cents). Which is great, because everything else is crazy expensive. Like $7 for a jar of tomato sauce. So, yes, we discovered that you can make pasta sauce, salad dressing, and grilling rub out of dill. Can dill be made into a refreshing tea? Stay tuned for the answer.

But best of all, I just discovered that we live half a mile from a verdant 10km running and biking path that straddles both banks of the tree-lined Yarkon River. It is as if a river ran through Central Park’s Great Meadow. Which means I will be running much, much more.

Just before our departure I purchased a new pair of running shoes—I swear by Brooks Trance line—and a pair of Vibram FiveFingers. Those are the “barefoot” running shoes that have a thin rubber sole and individual toes. They must not be available here in Israel because I get lots of looks when I run in them. I’ve been assuming that these gawkers have been shouting words of encouragement, but then again, ani lo medever ivrit—I do not speak Hebrew. I just smile back, pick up the pace, and think to myself, this truly is the good life.

First Impressions

We made it! We are finally in Tel Aviv, settling in to our new apartment. The balcony is - as expected - amazing. We have a great view and we can't wait for it to be warmer so we can have dinner out there. It has only been between 50-65 so far. How's that snow going for ya? ;)

Our first adventure last weekend was to the Caramel Market. (First, let me note that the English spelling of almost everything in this city changes frequently - even street names are spelled differently on different corners!). The market was great and we now have way more oregano and basil than we can use. We also bought seeds and planted a few spices and cherry tomatoes - but I (Jen) was in charge of that so we'll see how successful they are.

We ave also explored the city this week by going out for runs. Oh...my..gosh! I have never had a better running environment. 1. Most sidewalks are wide and there are lots of running trails .5 miles of our house. 2. Lots of people run. 3. It is flat. 4. The scenery: sunset over "the Med" or parks along the river. 5. The temperature is cool (this is the coldest it will be). I could go on, but suffice to say it is very nice.

This weekend is a welcome party and church and exploring in Jaffa (the older city). Next week.. I can't say yet... but let me just say you're jealous :) and we're going to Jerusalem (J'lem)!

Love from Tel Aviv! (Pictures next time)