Shabbat Shalom

Shabbat Shalom everyone! Right now it's almost 5pm, and we're getting ready for Shabbat. This morning we went to the supermarket pretty early, knowing that it closes somewhat early on Fridays so the workers have time to prepare for Shabbat too. We got some chicken, a challah, Shabbat candles, and a Havdalah candle too - all the necessities for Shabbat. When I went to take the change from the cashier, I put out my hand expecting her to give me the change but instead she put it on the counter! She looked so disgruntled.

Disgruntled has become our adjective to discribe many Israelis. They just get this look on their face, like they just smelled something unpleasant, but not unpleasant enough to do something about. Like the look you get on your face when you repeatedly cannot put a dollar bill into a vending machine. Or the look you get when you draw UU to a rack of AENST, trade both U's, and draw both blanks.

Anyway, after dropping off the food, we walked the 3 miles to the beach and hung out there for a while, enjoying the waves and the sun. At one point I closed my eyes and Chelsey held me weightlessly for a while, slowly spinning me around. It was really pleasant at first, until I got really disoriented and seasick and had to go to dry land. There was also an extremely tan, sea-creature-like, dreadlocked man swimming back and forth, head in the water with a snorkel. He was there Tuesday as well, and reminded me a lot of "Old Greg" from a video on youtube (watch at your own risk!). He was pretty bizarre partially because of appearance, but also because it seems pointless to snorkel just a few feet into the Mediterranean - there aren't any fish!

After a couple hours of beachy relaxation, we decided to return to the apartment to prepare for Shabbat. We stopped at a gelato place on the way back, splitting a scoop of mango and berry. Yum! Chelsey also discovered that her camera had gotten some sand on it, and upon trying to turn on the camera, the screen read "Lens Error." Oh no! However, just a few minutes ago she fooled around with it and managed to get rid of all the sand, allowing the lens to open. Whew!

For dinner, we're having huge chicken breasts cooked with a spice we bought at the Tel Aviv shuk on Wednesday, as well as rice, challah, grilled onions, and non-grilled cucumber. Always gotta have the cucumber available with me around.

Also a quick recap of yesterday's journey to Yafo. We took a bus to the Allenby fountain in Tel Aviv, and walked along the sea until we reached Yafo. We pretty much spent the day ambling through the mazelike passageways of old Yafo, checking out the shops filled with jewelry and ancient artifacts. We got a really yummy falafel for lunch, only to find out after ordering that it was extremely overpriced, leaving us with under 30 sheqalim left in the wallet. Afterwards we made our way to the shuk/flea market, where I tried to play backgammon with people but everyone either wanted to play for money, or was absorbed in the middle of a best-of-100 series or something. Chelsey found a bronze swan ornament, and since we literally didn't have enough money to offer the shopkeeper anything good she got it for 15 sheqalim, leaving us with just enough money for the bus home. Boy was he disgruntled!

Anyways, Shabbat Shalom to everyone! Hope everyone has a restful and rejuvenating day!