Galina's Hard Situation and the Observatory

September 18:

I had emailed Galina, the girl who we are subletting our next apartment from (in Jerusalem), last week. I wanted to see if we could meet up this week because we had discussed doing so when we arrive in Israel in order to meet each other, receive keys, and get accustomed to the location of the apartment. Galina was going to be abroad while we are in Jerusalem and we would be living with her roommate. She was going to then come back to her apartment around the time we would be leaving. She replied to my email a few days after I sent it saying that she was a a hard situation and that she couldn't really plan anything right now. She stated that it didn't change our agreement, it just makes it a bit more complicated. She asked us to call her.

We searched for cell phone, but realized after doing so that it would be more inexpensive for us to rent cellphones from a company called "Israel phones." These cell phones, once ordered, would have to be shipped to us and so we would not have immediate access to cell phones for a while. I emailed Galina with this info. She replied saying that she does not have great access to internet at the moment and gave us a brief synopsis of the situation-she has been in the hospital most days because her boyfriend had an accident. She again requested that we call her as soon as possible. We ended up going out to try to look for a phone. All of the public phone booths require a phone card to use them and we did not know where to obtain one. Rafi had been saying that we could probably borrow someone's phone-I did not think this idea was very feasible. I thought that it would be awkward and strange to just go up to someone on the street and ask to use their cell phone when we had no idea how long the call would last. I thought it would be rude to do something like that.

Funnily enough, that is what eventually happened though, in an easy and great way. On our search for phones, Rafi decided that it would be a good idea to ask an Israeli for advice on which phones are best to rent/how to/and where to rent a cell phone. We popped into a book store and asked the clerk about it. An Israeli customer near us started listening to us and helping us. She asked if we need to use her phone. I said that I was not sure how long the call would take, but she said that it was ok and that she would wait. Rafi talked to her while I called Galina.

Once in contact with Galina, I learned that her boyfriend had fallen off of her balcony and is now in a coma. She is at the hospital every day and sleeps there most nights. To date, he has had two brain surgeries to help him, but still has not woken up. Galina said that she is obviously not going abroad any more. She also told me that we still have the agreement to the place, but if we at all can, we should look for a different place. She said it was ironic because when we had originally agreed to the apartment, she had told us to please not change our minds on it and back out of the agreement. We agreed to meet on Tuesday when Rafi and I would be traveling to Jerusalem.

After the call, I returned to where Rafi and the nice lady who let us use her phone were chatting. Her name is Michal and she was super friendly. She gave us her card and let us know that we can call her if we need anything or if we even want to go out for coffee :)

Rafi and I then embarked on a seemingly long walk in the heat to Rafi's old Yearcourse apartment in Ramat Gan. We made it to the building, but we were not able to get in to see his actual apartment like Rafi had hoped. We caught a bus back to our apartment and ended up relaxing and reading for the rest of the evening.

September 19
The next day Rafi and I set out to check out the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. We walked for a while in the sun and finally found it after taking one wrong turn. They were not open long and the man selling tickets told us that we should come back on Thursday, when the museum is open long hours. We left the museum and decided to walk to the Azrieli Observatory to check out the panoramic view of Tel Aviv. Inside the Observatory building is housed a large Israeli mall. We walked around its multi levels for a while, people watching and popping in to occasional store to window shop. We grew tired because we had walked so much so we sat for a break on the top level of the mall. Next to us, a female soldier in uniform with a male friend took out a guitar and began playing it and singing songs. They were really good at it and the music was relaxing to us.

We made our way to the observatory entrance. The admission fee was really inexpensive because they were getting ready to hold an event there so we only had an hour to spend at the top (definitely MORE than enough time to check it out). We hopped in an elevator and ascended the forty-something floors of the building at top speed. The view from the top was amazing. We could see everything for miles. The sky was so blue and expansive. We saw the Mediterranean to one side, Ramat Gan to another, many buildings-big and small, and tons of itty bitty cars below us. It was great to see so much of the area at one time and get a glimpse as to how big the Tel Aviv area is.

After leaving the tower, we began walking to the beach for an evening dip in the Mediterranean. Outside of the observatory building, there were a bunch of Jews for Jesus handing out pamphlets and trying to talk to Rafi. We ran away as quick as possible. The walk to the beach was long in the heat, as it usually is :) When we arrived though, what a wonderful treat it was! We wrote notes in the sand for our friends back home. After putting our bag of belongings in a safe and easy-to-locate area, we immersed in the Sea. It was a perfect temperature - warm, cool compared to the day, but still comfortable to stay in when the sun set. Speaking of the sunset, it was lovely. A cloud would occasionally blow in front of the sun, low on the horizon, and golden rays would come spilling out from the gaps. We played in the water for quite some time until we decided that we should head home. The wind had picked up by that time and I felt colder than I have during the whole trip-which was not very cold by the way :) Being dripping wet from the sea coupled with the wind made for a chilly sensation, although not unpleasant. It was a great refreshment from the heat we have been experiencing.

We made our way home on the bus and ate a well deserved and delicious meal of our favorite - pita stuffed with yummies!