The Big City

I arrived in Tel Aviv Friday evening for the last leg of this trip. Out of all days I had to make my way there on the eve of Shabbat. On Shabbat, the Sabbath, most businesses (including the markets and fast food places) in the city are closed and the big buses stop running. I arrived at the central bus station and had to find a specific minibus called a Sherut to take me to the hostel. It was a sea of parking lots with many Sheruts in them. When I asked the driver of my Sherut where I could find Sherut #4, the girl sitting in the seat in front of me said "I'm going there. I'll show you the way." Yeah, I had my own personal guide. That rocked!

When I arrived at the hostel, I met my roomates for the next few days: Ela from Poland, Ela from England who was Polish-yes there were two of them- and Evelynn from Germany. Claudia from England arrived on Saturday. Since all the places that had normal priced food were closed, Ela from Poland gave me some of her Polish soup, which was quite tasty! God took care of me.

All of my roommates explained that they were there to have fun on the beach by day and in the clubs by night. Apparently, that's the thing to do for singles in their 20's and 30's in Tel Aviv. Needless to say, my roommates came home anytime between 3:00AM and 5:00AM each night. That was a little rough! Here is a picture of me early in the morning ;) on the rooftop of the hostel, and me back in the room after the Israeli breakfast.