Monday, June 16, 2014

My First Week In Israel

After arriving very tired in the middle of the night I've now had nearly one week in Israel and have found many differences and similarities to the United States.

First I am going to tell you about my apartment. It is like my house because right next to our room is a bathroom. It is the same at home. Also Mom and Dad's room is right next to mine. The differences is that Alec and I have to share a room. "Also we have a teeny tiny kitchen with a teeny tiny washer, a teeny tiny dryer, a teeny tiny sink, a teeny tiny dishwasher, a teeny tiny refrigerator, and a teeny tiny stove" said by my Mom. At home we have a lovely view of the Sierra Mountains...here I have a view of the Mediterranean Sea.
Now moving along, literally, I will talk about the driving.  No I am not driving...my parents are driving. Here you have to be 17 to drive. The stoplights are very different. The colors go from green to yellow to red like in the U.S, but also yellow again going back to green. Israelis use their horns a lot, especially if you are not on the gas when the yellow light is turning to green. That makes the streets very, very, very loud.

Now that you know about driving in Israel I can tell you about the stops we made on our first drives around town. First the grocery store. There is not much choice in Israel's grocery stores and they are much smaller.  Where you can buy like 20 different kinds of pancake syrup in the grocery store closest to your home in the U.S. here there is only one.  Peanut Butter, you can get creamy or crunchy, but no choices of Skippy, Jiff, Low Fat, Salt Free, and so on.  Also if you wanted a frozen meal to heat up at home it will be very expensive.  But if you are good at cooking from scratch, like my Mom is, then you will buy the basics for a cheaper price, and make your own meals.

A few days ago we also drove to see the movie Maleficent. The movie theater is very different from California's. First of all there is a lot of security. Before we entered the parking garage a man looked in our windows and checked the trunk of our car. Then they used metal detectors when we entered the building to ensure we had no weapons. Also when we purchased our tickets we had to pick our seats as they we have assigned seating. Also we had to buy 3D glasses. If we bring them back we will get a cheaper ticket next time. The movie was in English with Hebrew subtitles.  It took Dad a while to read through the schedule and figure that out as they have many different versions to pick from...not just 3D or 2D.  Also after the movie we had to exit a different door so that we could not sneak and watch another movie for free.

And of course they speak another language here called Hebrew and it is a lot different from ours. One they read and write right to left.  In English we are left to right.  Yes that means if you read a book you start at the back.  Two there are no vowels letters.  And three there are two sets of numbers. A feminine and masculine set.  We are trying to learn to speak Hebrew and it is very hard.  So far I only know...

Hello/Good Bye - Shalom (pronounced sha-lowm)
Thank You - Toda (pronounced toe-da)
How you are doing? - Manishma (pronounced ma-knee-shma)
1 (Feminine) - Ahat (pronounced ah hot)
2 (Feminine) - Shtayim (pronounced sh-time)
3 (Feminine) - Shalosh (pronounced like it is written)

Arabic is another language that is spoken here.  Most signs are written in Hebrew and Arabic and street signs are written in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.

Another different thing is my dad works Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. His weekend is Friday and Saturday to recognize the Jewish and Muslim holy days.
My favorite thing of all is the Beach. The water is so clear that you can see little fish and shells. The water is so warm and the sand is just perfect for making sand castles.
So far I love Israel. (-:

4 comments:

Doug and Carla Scott said...

Sounds like an excellent adventure. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Christine King said...

I'm so glad you are enjoying your time in Israel. Your description of the likenesses and differences is really interesting. After reading your blog, I too would love to swim and play in the Mediterranean. It's sounds wonderful:) Keep up the great writing!

A. Jolly said...

Dear Ms. King
I am so happy you are following. I miss you, school, and ALL the class.
Your Friend,
Allyson

A. Jolly said...

Dear Doug and Carla
Thanks for following

From
Ally