Dating in Israel

I don't normally make my dating or personal life public.  I wanted to quickly address the dating situation I encountered here in Israel.  In Israel most guys our age group 21-25 range into a couple of different categories .

The kibbutznik - (a guy from a kibbutz) now from previous experiences the kibbutznik will show up to pick you up in a car wearing sandles (shoresh or tevas) a ripped up shirt and maybe shorts shorter then yours.  He probably has never been south past Ber Sheva.  But is a quality guy.  Served maybe in the paratrooper unit or something of the sort.  His hair is short and you can tell he just ran on the beach or met up with his friends. (all of which are other kibbutznikim) He will take you hiking even when you are not dressed for it and when he told you , you are going out for coffee he did not mean a cafe'.  He means you will hike for about 5K and then he will whip out from his bag a coffee maker and small glass cups and some sugar. (this is a very Israeli of making coffee in the army. ) You are expected to not sweat after this huge hike and not complain that the hour long makeup procedure is now smeared all over your face. .... damn Israeli humidity.


The Televavian- (a guy who lives in Tel Aviv) maybe you met this guy at a bar or club with your friends. He thinks that there is no life past Tel Aviv.  He will probably show up to your date wearing jeans he spent too much money on and a button down that is wrinkled ( well it's the thought that counted.  And even though he probably is from small town, now that he has finished the Army and left this town, he can't remember life before 2 am supermarkets.  He is probably in the process of applying to some unis, but mostly can hold an intellectual conversation about how rudimentary everywhere else is besides Tel Aviv. This guy probably works as a waiter and even though he is totally unique - he accepts tips from the national burger chain restaurant where he works.


The Katzin- (an Officer) this guy is your age 23-24.  You met him in the Army.  He has served plenty of time and his job is making others under him miserable.  He is on an ego trip.  The more time the bigger the ego. He takes his job very seriously and when he meets you he tries to impress you by making his soldiers do stupid chores or run. He also spews out lies about how much harder he had it and tries to be very manly.  You can not consider dating this type of man even  though after teasing you about your accent all week and trying to ask you out, you pretend to not understand Hebrew.  Also once you see him on the street in normal clothes and not uniform you can't help but laugh at his goldstar t-shirt.


The stoner- this is not based off my experience but a friend's.  This guy got out of the army about 2 years ago.  Went to Ti land and that is where his mind stayed.  In a cloud of smoke.  He does nothing with his spare time besides blaze.  He also forgets to call you because let's face it - where did he put that phone? He has dreads and wears clothes made out of hemp.  He might teach a yoga class but mostly lives with his parents.



The college student- now the college student you meet on the bus - does not even closely resemble anything you ever encountered in the states.  There is no beer pong, late night parties, Sunday morning hangover slacking in this guy's future.  He is very serious and on the train or bus will be reading some ethical code of conduct. When you make a joke that you read this for fun he will say that that is what he is doing.  He will probably frown a lot and pretend he is very knowledgeable.  He will probably major in statistics and globalization. He will insist on speaking to you in English.  He will use sentences like " I understand the matter with the economy in the United States but if Obama would just put forth a plan to tax more things would be settled. " - in a very thick Israeli accent.  You will try to look past the fact that he has not showered in several days and his seriousness to find that at the end of your date even the coffee is bored.


The perfect man- this man does not exist in straight form.  Though walking around Tel Aviv you will see many wonderful men that apply into this criteria.  Mostly men that love other men. 


To summarize.  I am taking a break from dating for awhile. At least it makes for some funny stories. Lots of love,
Michali

hey world

These past two weeks were incredibly difficult for the entire state of Israel.  I am going to not get into specifics since some of the information I heard should not be shared over the internet or out loud.  Israel got into a semi- war with Hamas. A terrorist organization in Gaza.  Every day for more then a week rockets and bombs went off everywhere from the south of Israel to even Tel - Aviv and J-town.  A bus was hit, and also many houses reduced to rubble.  There is a technology known as an iron cap. It intercepts rockets as they rain down on Israel.  It doesn't look like a cap at all but it saved many lives of both civilians and soldiers.  These past two weeks I lived in constant tension.  While my friends in America went on with their lives - shopping , tweeting , working, complaining about drama that really in the scheme of things doesn't matter.  Israel constantly heard sirens,  my friends were preparing to inch towards the boarders and it felt like the whole country held it's breath.

Looking back it is a weird type of phenominon that I underwent.  I used to really care about shopping and worked in Tiffany's, was worried about my weekend plans and was very self centered. I am not saying that all Americans are like this at all. So do not take what I am writing out of contex.  It is just hard to hear that while my world was turned upside down, I moved from base to base training reserves and different soldiers, my friends in the states still had the same worries and were so out of touch with the realities of the world.  I can't blame them.  They didn't live this .  I wanted to scream "wake the f*** up!" to articles on line written by ivy leagued americans that declared Israel as an imperalistic state and scorened it for protecting itself.  Israel is in no way perfect.  That is not what I am saying or arguing.  There are many palestinians that had to move their lives, were effected and were hurt not only this time but over the past 65 years of conflict.  These are good people.  There are the extremists that powered by terror are educated that they will receive their rightful place if they act according to the plan.

So before you point  your fingers.  I want you to stop .  time yourself. you have 15 seconds to run to the nearest bomb shelter.  wait ? you don't have one? is that because you are lucky enough to live in a country that not only does not undergo this type of conflict but also when under attack strikes back with  massive force and is not critisized for it?


I sound bitter.  Maybe I am .  Maybe each day as people were injured on both sides I thought of how uneducated and unaware I was of this conflict and how even though I considered myself Israeli the last time I underwent this was as a baby.  

It didn't effect me.  Now that my best friends are combat soldiers and are the ones protecting this land, the realities come to light.







I am not pointing fingers at anyone nor am I trying to cause trouble but I just wanted it to be stated that this was my wakeup call.  To be an Israeli is more then just Hummas and Pita and nice beaches and Tel Aviv clubs.  It means sleeping in tents in cold nights, training massive amounts of soldiers and realizing that the world does not revolve around you.  I have never been prouder to be an Israeli and will or have regreted my move and enlistment.  I just want you to "wake the f*** up"



Going to jog,
Michali

mmm sweet november

It is Saturday morning here at Regba.  We all woke up gradually this morning, most hungover from the night before.  We all go sit upstairs.  The boys lounge around in boxers.  The kind  that still have stripes and awkward patterns on them.  We make some coffee and start to recap the night before. People slowly trickle out of the room .  Outside is beautiful.  An autumn day in Israel.  Which looks more like spring.  Some of the guys do the weekly haircutting.   And I think to myself how lucky I am to think of these people as my family.   Also thank god no one here is judging us because we are not a good looking crew in the mornings. haha.
   Throughout this year more stories and weekly "fadichot" have been shared over hair trimming then I can remember.  Some good some not so good.  The guys will sit there and say things like "yea that sucks man" or " we had that same tirgul"  And there is a familiarity in it all.  A kind of knowing that our garin is sticking together.  A type of knowing that even though the guys go through so much hard crap each week it is ok for a good laugh the weekends they do come home.  On that Saturday morning.
I really cherish that about our makeshift family.
   We fight we argue we insult each other, we run to the laundry before someone else can take it.  In the end of the day I would rather argue with these people then be in agreeance with anyone else.
    God I sound like a cliche.  But it's ok.

On another note there are elections in Israel and America.  In America it was clear to me who to vote for.  In Israel it is a totally different story.  There are tons different parties and each one seems more corrupt then the next.  But I guess that is politics as a whole. I will be looking more into the political candidates today and will update you with my thoughts.
Wishing you a sweet November and soon it will be December when my mother comes to visit Yahhhhhhhhahahahayayayayayay!!!!


Lots of Love,
Hugs and haircuts,
Michali