new normal

Woke up this morning to the sun rising over Jerusalem. Temple Mount glistening in the golden light. Eggs crackling on the gas-burning stovetop. Cats stretching and beginning their daily hunt for food.

This is my new normal.

It is amusing how parts of the world are so distinct and different from others, but what is more amusing to me is how quickly those differences become routine, ordinary, normal.

The following are a few things that have become normal for me:

1. Cats. If you are obsessed with cats please come to Israel and take like fifty cats home with you. In other countries I have traveled to (most recently Guatemala) dogs are normally the animals that roam wild and free, but here in Israel it is definitely cats. I have seen a total of three dogs while I have been here and what has seemed like three thousand cats. These cats even join us in the elevator ride up to our apartment room and some even lie in wait outside your door waiting for your door to open so they can acclimate themselves to the territory that you thought was yours. 
2. Food. I have decided that schwarma laffa is the Israeli version of the burrito in America. It is ubiquitous. It is relatively cheap. They let you choose your toppings. Laffa bread is very similar to fajitas. Therefore my verdict: schwarma laffa is the Israeli burrito. Falafel is also obviously delicious here and there are two wonderful falafel restaurants less than five minutes walking from my apartment selling falafel in pita with toppings for only twelve sheckels (insert hashtag blessed here). Buying food here has become normal as well. I have two primary shopping locations: the supermarket nearby campus and the shuk (or Machane Yehuda). 

   

   The supermarket definitely makes you feel like you are back in America minus the smaller size, the different foods on the shelves, the lack of whole milk (only 1% and 3%), the fact that they sell meat in kilos not pounds, and self-bagging.

   

   The shuk is a wonderful experience. It's like a farmers market on steroids where you have to go at the right times to get the best deals. When you read "best deals" think one sheckel avacados, discounts on dried mango and getting a couple extra pieces of freshly baked pita. You get to walk around and sample basically everything (especially as a foreigner) which is not only perfect for someone wanting a discounted lunch or second-breakfast, but is also the perfect way to figure out what some of the unlabeled foods actually are.

   

   Yes, this is still the same shuk. Yes, it is large. Yes, there are at least twenty different places that sell the same fruit, cheese, dried nuts, meat, spices. Yes, it is the perfect place for a bargain hunter to patiently walk around and make a killing off finding the best prices.

   3. People. Walking around Jerusalem you quickly recognize that Israel has followed in America's footsteps as a melting pot. The other day my friend, Alex and I walked into a store so he could buy some contacts and Alex overheard one of the employees speaking French so he asked him some questions in French to which the guy answered in French and then called over another guy to finish the order who also spoke fluent French who then asked a lady across the room a question in French. Alex said it felt like he was back home in Paris. "This must be what it feels like to be an English-speaker...wherever you go everyone speaks your language." More people have immigrated to Israel from France than any other country for the past two years (http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/.premium-1.692152) but there are so many different types of people here. The lady who runs the thrift store down the road is originally from Uruguay, another lady I met spent more than a decade in Argentina and then some time in the United States before moving to Israel, and a guy I met randomly on a bus was raised in Germany before moving here seven years ago. 

   

   The thrift store: where I go to practice my Spanish, find artwork to spice up the apartment, and where I go just because...

   4. Views. The following is a series of pictures that will hopefully make you jealous enough to come visit Israel.

   

   Old City. More history in this photo than I can describe so good thing a picture is worth a thousand words.

   

   Tiberias. We could see the snow-capped top of Mount Hermon from this grass-capped top of a hill.

   

   Little piece of secret paradise.

   

   Zacharie fishing in the Sea of Galilee. (swimming in it was more of a success haha)

   

   Hey look its me with a plastic bag standing next to a tree. Come visit to see more plastic bags and maybe one or two more trees.

Being in a place for a short time allows it to keep that new car smell and allows you to simply focus on the exterior, superficial beauty of a place, but time wears away at that newness leaving exposed raw reality of daily life. Some would prefer to keep their experiences wrapped in plastic or picture frames, but I am grateful for the ability to sink my feet into the ground here for the next couple of months and unwrap all the complexities of life here. Being in a place for a long time allows it to grow on you and allows you to see the dirt and the flowers if you are careful enough to notice them.

This is my new normal.