Wander.

I wandered the streets of Tel Aviv today. And in a weird way, it felt like home.

How so? I mean, come on. How could anything as remotely random as Israel be considered home?

But today, it seemed like it.

Truth be told, I didn’t expect Israel or even the capital of Tel Aviv to look like it did. The media had brainwashed me to imagine and remember Israel as a desert city, flowing with sand and wind, hot hot sun in my face. People dressed in long flowing robes with men stroking their beards and exotic dark- haired doe-eyed women afraid to look me in the eye in case they break some religious code that I wasn’t aware of.

But looking like it did, it reminded me of Malaysia. Some old parts of town, some new, and it wasn’t shown here but we walked through a wet market. Which is AWESOME because it completely reminded me of home.

It was a cold, wet, rainy day in Tel Aviv when the five of us physios decided that we wanted to have a look at the markets. For the past two weeks or so, we had stayed in the sterilised, clean part of Israel where we had gone for lectures and clinicals. We wanted to have an authentic experience of what Israel was like. And I think we got it.

We walked along the inner city streets where the boundaries between the commercial and the suburban blended in so well that we couldn’t quite tell the difference. Cars zoomed along the one way streets as we glanced around and huddled in our jackets against the cold or breathed into the air, smiling at the vapours that we produced. “Look, I can see my breath!” we exclaimed.

It felt cold enough, that’s for sure, even though it was 2 in the afternoon and we were squelching our way through the markets, looking for a place to eat. The winter-like chill was unexpected but then again, I’ve been sweating through 35 degree heat. It was unpleasantly cold but welcomed at the same time.

This part of Tel Aviv was considered one of the main centres in town and just walking around it gave me the impression of being in Europe. Or even a very Spanish/Mediterranean feel to the whole place.

Signs of home peeked at us from behind trees and fences of houses that we passed by. A bike leaned forlornly against the wall, its owner inside the house warm and safe from the rain and preparing for Sabbath dinner. A GI Joe toy stuck between the metal grill of a window, forgotten by its child. And to think that these people existed outside of my knowledge. The world is indeed a big place.

On display at the artist’s market. Candle holders and wine bottle holders for those who want something more impressive than a wine rack.

And look, cobblestones! For real!

However, there are some parts to this city that still probably reminds me that the media wasn’t lying completely. Buildings even in the main busy parts of town still look half constructed. Concrete hastily plastered over the walls to block out holes. Rubbish scattered haphazardly on the ground. Cigarette butts like so many orphaned children being thrown upon the ground, rolling in the winds that swooped by. It looked like (no pun intended) a warzone. Huh.

And then you get buildings like this that whisper quietly of the glorious days. Back in the days when this building was probably a residence for the rich, when people flocked to places like this. You can easily imagine a maid dusting a carpet in front while the master of the house had morning tea in the front room. Now, of course, its just a clothing boutique. But I think imagination is way more fun. =)

Weather was miserable but it didn’t stop the five of us from tramping through at least ankle high levels of flowing water. Thankfully, I wore my leather shoes and ended up jumping through puddles whilst keeping my feet relatively dry. The rest of them had to deal with soggy toes and squishy socks. Ew.

Textiles galore…think Arabian nights kinda thing.

Never, in a million years, would I have considered myself to have been in Israel, strolling along the damp cold street and here I am, doing exactly that. Adventure, check.

Nearby, there were artist’s stalls that sold bits of craft and jewellery. I was incredibly tempted to get some but they look a tad too girly for me. Hehe.

Have you ever seen tomatoes that GLOW like this one? Salads are a main staple in the Holy land. Their cuisine consists mainly of breads, dips, hummus (oh, so goood), cheeses (again, slurp), veges (and LOTS of them), chicken, fish, and eggs. Its rare that you get to see a good steak or seafood but then again, steak tends to be a luxury unlike Aotearoa that I left behind and seafood isn’t kosher.

And finally, we found FOOD.

This monstrosity stands at least 8cm tall, and dripping with delicious juices. The bacon sealed the deal and an awesome dip mix of thousand island dressing, chilli sauce and a dash of tomato sauce made things perfect.

*URP.* Pardon me. =)

Today, I’m off to the Jerusalem! Will adorn pictures later =) Tootles!