How do You Get From A to B?

Transportation. It's pretty awesome, really. I mean, if it weren't for transportation then we'd just be losers sitting at home all day. There are a myriad of ways to get to your desired destinations but up until my big move I hadn't really explored these different means. You see, having a car in Israel is mind-blowingly expensive, not to mention the fact that there is no oil in this country so gas is also going to eat a hole in that wallet of yours. You basically have to go into debt in order to own a car, which is why a lot of people here ride the bus everywhere.

Before moving to Israel, I had only taken the bus a few times in High School but now I take it every day. I love to ride the bus. It's like my own personal driver takes me to wherever my heart desires. Yeah, sometimes I have to end up sitting next to someone with an unbearable stench to them but it's worth all the beautiful scenery I get to admire as we ride along the narrow streets of Israel. California doesn't have the best public transportation so it's nice to live in a place where the bus can take me basically anywhere. The only main drawback is that the buses don't run on Shabbat (Friday sundown - Saturday sundown). Despite this, my favorite part about taking the bus is that I rarely feel worried that I'll get lost. I can always ask the bus driver where something is and meanwhile I get to enjoy a nice relaxing ride as the music from my ipod surrounds me.

The oldest sort of transportation, you all may be familiar with, is walking. Yes, Californians, people walk here and no, it's not just to get the mail from their mail boxes. Man, I walk so much here that I don't really care how much bread I eat anymore. It really is a fantastic feeling to be able to eat a plate of hummus with a big slice of fluffy pita bread and not feel guilty about it. Why should I feel guilty if I'm going to walk it off in the next hour or so?! Not to mention, there's a superb bakery on almost every corner and I don't have to whimper as I pass by them anymore. "Why yes, I will have that cookie AND a muffin." How you like them apples, America? But I digress, what I'm really trying to point out is that I'm really beginning to enjoy taking the bus and walking everywhere. I feel like I'm helping the environment and myself at the same time. I never thought something so simple could feel so empowering.

TTFN XX

How Do I Get My Mojo Back?

I guess the best word to describe what I feel at this moment is, "deflated." I started this trip with all the confidence in the world. Knowing that it would be difficult but still hungry for the struggle as well as the success.

Some people may not be aware of this but in order to do hair for a fee, you need a license to work in a particular state, or country for that matter. Every state has different rules and you need to take the exam in which ever state you plan on working in. Now, California, being the wonderful state that it is, made it so that anyone wanting to be a hairdresser would also have to be tested on makeup, nails, waxing and facial care. WTF. That was my first thought. Why is it necessary for me to know all that other crap if I don't plan on providing those other services in my salon?! Not only that but I've also just been informed that after I complete my training here in Israel, I will be evaluated by the California State Board before I can even APPLY to take the exam in California. But they won't tell me what exactly I'll be evaluated on. All that's (somewhat) clear is that I must complete 1,500 hours of training before taking the exam. Basically, I've created quite a large mess for myself and I'm starting to second guess everything I've done, all the work and effort I've invested, up until this point.

When I discovered all of this, the first thing I did was go into fix-it-mode. But that got exhausting because no one from the state board was giving me any clear answers. Now I'm just starting to feel defeated and unsure. I hate being unsure, it is truly an awful feeling. Usually what keeps me going is knowing that it'll all work out in the end but this time I really don't know if it'll all work out. All I know is that I want to do hair. I want to make people feel good about how their hair looks. That's why I started this and that's why I'm not going to give up. Why should I give up on my dream because of some technicalities?! That is not how I roll, nor is it how I will ever roll. Onward and upward, right?! I will continue to DO WERRK and GO HARD until I get some answers and direction from California's end. I know I didn't leave everything I knew for nothing. I guess I just found my Mojo, it was on the tips of my fingers the whole time.

TTFN XX

Awareness is Contagious

America is such a large country, filled with so many people. Some of the most intelligent, kind and charming people I've ever met reside in America. However, sometimes people are so concerned with their own lives, their own problems and dramas that they become ignorant. Ignorant of the world around them. I'm definitely aware that we are all entitled to our own opinions, being a former journalist, I've come to appreciate what it means to be non-judgmental. So this is my opinion.

As a resident of this world, I feel that it's important to know about what's going on in other parts of the world. We all live our lives differently and often times your place of residence can affect they way you live your life. Living in Israel is affecting my life. It's changing my life and making me more aware of what's going on here and what Americans may not have been informed of. Every day Jewish people in this country are fighting for their religion and their right to be here. Most people are aware of the Jewish-Arab conflict but I'm not so sure they know how often Israelis have to deal with it. It's not just bombs. It's hurtful words, it's people's personal property being destroyed and having large rocks thrown at them. Yes, it happens. And no, these hateful actions are not reserved for the Gaza Strip. It happens in Jerusalem and it happens in Yafo, Tel Aviv.

As I was having my breakfast this morning, I looked down on the couch and saw a picture in the newspaper that shocked me. Several Arab men were destroying a Jewish person's car that was parked in Jerusalem. The first thought that popped into my head was, "Why didn't anyone stop them?" But I guess living here hasn't changed the fact that I'm still a bit naive.

From what I've been told, this kind of stuff happens all the time. I saw other pictures in which Arab men were throwing some pretty big rocks at a bus filled with Orthodox Jews and lighting a car on fire. "This happens all the time," they tell me. But that doesn't make it okay. It makes me sad to think that it could have been anyone on that bus, it could have been one of my cousins or it could have been me. Anyone could have easily been knocked unconscious by the size of those rocks. The point is that even I didn't know it was quite that common. Hate crimes can be avoided. We work toward so much for our future. Why not work toward tolerance? It's important to talk about these things. Do you know what's going on in your country? In your world? Because honey, this is YOUR world. We all live here, breathe the same air and require the same basic necessities to live. Be aware because your awareness is contagious and it's about time this universe was infected with something positive.

TTFN XX

A Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur. Some of you may be familiar with the holiday. For those who aren't, let me give you the run down. Yom Kippur is the highest Jewish holiday in which we cannot eat, drink, use any type of electricity or light any fires for 25 hours. There is so much that we can't do so it might just be easier to tell you what we are allowed to do, which is sleep, read, walk, talk, go to the bathroom and wash our hands. If you're wondering if we're allowed to shower, the answer is "no." The main purpose of this extremely holy day is to atone for any sins we may have committed during the past year, which is also why Yom Kippur is always right after our New Year (Rosh Hashana). Now I usually dread Yom Kippur because I love food and because no one else I know celebrates the holiday so I always feel like I'm suffering alone. But I couldn't be further from the truth.

Never in my entire 22 years of living on this Earth have I ever seen an entire nation come together to celebrate a holiday in tandem. We celebrate many holidays in America but because the country has come to be a melting pot of sorts, there is not one single holiday that the entire country celebrates together. Since most of Israel is Jewish and Yom Kippur is such a high holiday, a great majority of the country celebrates it.

We start the holiday right before sundown, by eating foods that satisfy, like chick peas, eggs and rice. After the meal we lounge around for a bit and wait for nightfall. The main idea (for young people at least) is to stay up really late so that we can sleep during the day and not feel the fast very much.

As the stars began to take their places in the sky, my cousin and I made our way to the main street in Holon. Since no one is allowed to drive during Yom Kippur, people were walking in the middle of the streets with no worries of being run over. I had already begun to be amazed by the sight of people walking everywhere but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw as we approached the main street. A very large street usually packed with cars on their way to various destinations, tonight the dreary asphalt was brought to life with hundreds and hundreds of people walking all over it. Already a brilliant sight, it was even more radiant because almost everyone was dressed in white. It is tradition to wear white during Yom Kippur because it is the color of purity.

We walked around for a while and talked to so many people I couldn't even remember all of their names. As my eyelids began to feel heavy, I headed back home. As I walked the 20 minutes it took to get back home, my mind was clouded with all the charming memories I had just made. I may never be in Israel again for Yom Kippur but I will never forget the way the streets looked that very night.

TTFN XX

Back In Businesss

Dearest Readers, I'm not sure if you noticed but I haven't really posted anything new lately. I've been a bad blogger! My apologies. The truth is, I've had a pretty stressful past couple of weeks :-/ I'm actually not living in Ariel anymore. Living with my sister and her husband wasn't working out so great so I thought it would be best to go elsewherez. Yes, that means I don't have a job anymore either. But I'm working on getting a new one. I'm staying in Holon now, with my awesome cousins. They've been incredibly welcoming and I know that things will start to get real fun once I finish getting settled in. As for now, I got a bit lost on the bus today, which I was totally expecting but you live and you learn. I just wish I didn't have to learn in 105 degree weather.
School is going pretty well, I got almost everyone in class to start speaking English. I feel like a proud parent. Everyone talks to me about what they like and dislike about Israel and how they'd love to visit America one day. They ask me lots of questions like, how are your teeth so white? and do you have lots of celebrity friends? Needless to say, I am fascinated every day. Sometimes I love that things are so different here but other times I can't stand it. I guess this all comes with the territory. Moving your life across the globe is pretty hard and I'm understanding this more and more each day.
p.s. I totally have a tan now. My 110 spf is no match for this medeteranian sun.

TTFN XX

Artsy Fartsy

For those of you who have never been to Israel, you should know that it really is a beautiful space. The land itself exudes this natural beauty that can't be seen anywhere else, but that's not what I'm talking about today. I'm talking about the actual hand-drawn art that can be seen in the streets of this country. For instance, most of the electrical panels that are found outside people's homes are painted with beautiful imagery. I never saw anything like this living in California and people around these parts probably think I'm strange but every time I pass by an electrical panel I have to stop and look at the graceful painting on it. Seeing these paintings makes living in a town with no movie theatre or mall slightly less painful.

Aside from these electrical panels, there's this little sitting area right up the street from where I'm staying and it's utterly beautiful. Th

ese cement benches are covered with shattered tiles that create an image of birds and flowers.

It kind of looks like it belongs somewhere in Venice beach but don't be fooled, the nearest body of water is about an hour and a half away. This charming little space is surrounded by dry, scorched land. A simple glance over the fence reminds me that the people living in the homes below aren't exactly Israeli's biggest fans.

Nevertheless, I'm slowly getting the hang of living in this rather rural part of Israel. I feel like I get the best of both worlds because I go to school in tumultuous Tel Aviv and rest my head at night in airy Ariel.

TTFN XX

It Starts With a "T" and Ends With an "Aviv"

The bus was late today but when it arrived I was just relieved to feel the AC on my face. Like I previously mentioned, I live in Ariel, which I used to think was an hour and 15 minutes from where I need to be but I guess that's just on a good day. We drove through what felt like pure desert, a wasteland of horribly dry dirt. But eventually (2 hours later), a busy city full of life emerged. It was full of hustle and even some bustle; people walking to get to school or to work. Eager young men and women in traditional Army attire, which they miraculously manage to look amazing in, heading to their Army base carrying guns you usually only see in action films. Juice from real fruit is squeezed right before your eyes and poured into a tall plastic cup and placed in your hand, all for your enjoyment. Cuz you know what, it's hot out this bitch and this is Tel Aviv.
You can find American Apparel here but the employees are definitely not American. You can find pizza here but it'll taste better than that stuff that's "not delivery." Oh and the fashion here, well the fashion is fearless and the people who rock it are oozing confidence. But why did I come here? Couldn't I have stayed in Calihood and gone to Paul Mitchell's hair school? Perhaps, if I only wanted to be taught the technicalities of doing hair. But here, in this youthful city, people appreciate an intracate hair cut or a luminous coloring job. Hair school doesn't end when I step out of the Shuki Zikri Academy, I see it when I walk to the bus stop. I see people with fantastic hair walking the streets and shopping in the markets. Hair is king in Israel. I feel lucky to be studying such an art in such a beutiful city.

TTFN XX