Birthday Weekend!

Shalom again friends and family!  I am 26?!  Feels like this last year has gone by so fast!  It honestly didn't feel like my birthday here...the season is just off for me.  I'm used to leaves changing colors, sweaters, crisp breezes and close-toed shoes around the time of my birthday...but not here!  Days here in Tel Aviv are still in the 70's, and although it gets a touch cooler at night, it really only requires a light sweater unless you are right on the sea...then maybe a slightly thicker sweater...!  Among all of the birthday love I received from afar, I did have a special visitor for the weekend...I'll let you all guess who that might of been!  Of course I have had birthdays away from home before....well, i guess just in college, but nonetheless...this is way further than Michigan State to Chicago!

Thursday I got a rather unpleasant early birthday gift....my phone broke!  Even though the rental phone I initially received was COMPLETE crap...I cannot declare my innocence in this situation.  I, in fact, destroyed my phone in a hilariously ridiculous fashion - I drowned it in a sea of tuna salad.  The tupperware containing my lunch leaked in my bag..and low and behold, I pulled out a tuna soaked phone upon my departure from work.  Fail.  Now I was officially phoneless until Sunday, when I would receive a replacement.    

Friday evening, my actual birthday, started out on a much better note, with my special guest and I sampling the local culinary creations.  I was excited to try a tapas restaurant recommended to me, so we headed to La Champa.  Much to my dismay, this was not the Cafe Babareeba I know and love...they had a much smaller selection of dishes, and not so many vegetarian friendly ones at that!  The few things we did try were pretty tasty, but coupled with the fact that their wine selection was lacking any form of robust yain adom (red wine), we decided to move on for the main course.  We next arrived at a swanky looking Italian spot I had noticed a few times during my wanderings about the city, called Cantina.  We grabbed seats at the bar, ordered a few Peroni's and some very satisfying pasta dishes - dinner was finally a success!  A little later into the evening, we met up with a group of friends at Rif Raf...or rather at the spot where Rif Raf was supposed to be.  Little did we know, the bar apparently ceased to exist.  Whoops!  As I mentioned before, I was phoneless, and since it was birthday, I figured it was OK to show up fashionably late, thinking the group would be inside, enjoying cocktails and chatting away.  Not exactly...they were all gathered outside on a bench wondering if I would ever show up...as I was already about 30 minutes late...whoops again!  After we convened, we popped into a somewhat drab looking bar around the corner.  We might have left immediately, but the music was great and the lounge area had this as it's decor:

It ended up being a great night out with friends, at a most unusual bar that turned out being awesome.  Oh, Israel, you never cease to amaze me!  As with most birthdays, I've been getting many inquiries about my hopes and goals for this next year.  To be honest, I don't have a clear view of my life over the next year...that's part of the reason I am here in Israel and doing what I am doing.  I hope to find out a little more about myself, and to reflect on my desires for myself in the future.  Everyday is a new experience that helps to shape what comes next....and I hoping that soon one of these will be a breakthrough into what I really want to do when I grow up....but for now, I am content in the fact that I am in a beautiful, fascinating country, with lots to see and discover, and most importantly, I have the support of so many people who although may be far away, are never far from my heart.  Love you all!