My Life in Haifa

Two months ago I moved from Eilat to Haifa. What an amazing two months it has been. It's needless to say that I can feel, in a big way, the upside of living in a lush green paradise over the dry, quiet desert that is Eilat. 

Prior to moving to Haifa I’d only ever visited the city one time, for a couple hours, and barely even got a taste for it. My logic behind choosing Haifa as my new home was this: I want to learn Hebrew as quickly as possible. I should enroll in Ulpan Etzion. The Ulpan Etzion in Haifa starts the soonest after my program in Eilat finishes… I’ll go there!

And so here I am.

I live with two “native” Israelis in a three bedroom apartment that stands atop 115 steps (yes, I counted…). We have an incredible view of the surrounding areas and our neighborhood for the most part is familial and quiet. If I walk one block over I have an amazing view of downtown Haifa and the Mediterranean Sea. 

Everyday I wake up and feel like I’m a character in an adventure. 

During the week (Sunday-Thursday) I attend Ulpan (modern Hebrew language class) for five hours in a class that is, for the majority, comprised of Russian speakers. Three days a week after Ulpan I babysit for the children of the cousins of my landlord. (A connection like this is common in Israel.) On the other two afternoons following Ulpan I usually go to the shuk (the produce market) or study. On the weekends I try to mix it up - going to bars with friends, exploring Haifa’s hiking trails or taking a day trip somewhere. 

Since Haifa has historically been a labor city and is a mixed-faith city the busses run on Shabbat/ Saturday. This makes inner Haifa more accessible for its residents than other cities in Israel.

The lush neighborhood where I live.

My two biggest trips outside of Haifa thus far have been a day trip to Akko, and a four-day-long hike to complete the Yam L’Yam trail. 

The old city of Akko was quite amazing to see. I almost felt like I was in the movie Aladdin where at the beginning you see the marketplace. We ate some spectacular hummus and I found some freshly pressed sugarcane juice. But the best part of Akko, for me, was something we couldn’t have planned.

As my friends, Brooke and Aimee, and I were walking through an alleyway Aimee stopped and peered through a small opening in a doorway of what looked like at one time may have been some kind of large gathering house. Within less than a moment, one of the residents, Eddie, a 60-something-year-old petite man with poor oral hygiene, invites us in to see the view. We took turns getting our picture taken with him and got a rooftop tour of the surrounding scenery.

More recently (this past weekend), with my friends Aimee and Leon, I hiked from the Mediterranean Sea on the coast of Nahariya to the Kinneret at the town of Ginosar. This hike is about 80 kilometers (~50 miles). (For us it ended up being about 5-10 kilometers more since we took a few detours.) The hike is called Yam L’Yam, which in English translates to “Sea to Sea,” a name very fitting for journey. 

We spent three nights in tents, coexisting with all the sounds of crickets, cows and coyotes. I can’t even begin to explain the calm serenity of living outside. That is, until the last day of the hike when the sun was beating down on us like a sledgehammer and it was near impossible to find shade. 

We also encountered a decent handful of Israelis (and one German tourist) who didn’t hesitate to offer us lodging or rides, just out of the goodness of their hearts. There is certainly something to be said for this- you decide what that something is!

The nature of the hike was a first for me as I’ve never backpacked to anywhere. It was a real test of both my patience and my endurance. I’m proud to say that I passed my self test and I’m ready potentially for another: the Israel Trail! The Israel Trail takes about two months to complete and takes you from the lowest latitudinal point of Israel to the highest. It’s safe to say on this trip I definitely got bit with the hiking bug…

Moving on… my friends in Haifa are more than I could have asked for. Prior to moving here I did not know a single person. And now, two months later, I feel like I’m a part of a tight knit little community. The majority of my friends in Haifa are U.S. citizens but I also have many other friends from England, South Africa, France, Australia, Uruguay, Canada, Chile, Ukraine, Russia and of course Israel. 

It’s difficult to ever feel like you are alone when there are so many other young folks without nearby family in the same boat. We look after each other. We are one unit. You never have to worry about receiving an invitation anywhere, you can always assume you are welcome anywhere. 

I feel so thankful to get to live here in Haifa and to be able to experience what feels like the ride of a lifetime. The only thing I could wish for is for mango season to start ;-)

Sorry for the lack of pictures- my phone/ camera was consumed by nature on the hike and I didn't feel comfortable stealing friends' pictures from Facebook. Until next time… see ya later!

Hello from the Bahaii Gardens! A short walk from my apartment.

A French Adventure, Part II: The Countryside

(This post is continued from here.)

From Paris I boarded a train to Nantes with a bit of a fond excitement still lingering from my short time in Paris. For the country I was exhilarated. All the time in movies I see the Italian country, the English country and the Irish country… but where does the French country exist in movie land? I was about to find out.

The French country was just as charming and inviting as I had imagined.

My train arrived to Nantes, a mid-sized city two hours west of Paris, just after 6:00 p.m. (18:00). My friends Maïlyss and Ruslan were there to promplty greet me. We drove about an hour to their home in a small town sewn into the grassy meadows of France. I felt like I was in a fantasy.

Maïlyss and Ruslan live with Maïlyss’ parents in an old French country home where you definitely feel the presence of rustic French architecture.

You'll have to pardon my not taking many pictures of their house.

Maïlyss’ parents Frank and Jennifer happily welcomed me into their home as soon as we arrived and then the festivities began. We toasted my arrival with a bottle of cava and enjoyed each others’ company in the fresh air until it was time to eat dinner.

Cheers! Pictured: Maïlyss doing the honors.

Dinner was delicious and prepared deliberately vegan just for me :) 

The next morning the five of us departed early to visit a true gem of French history. A few days prior when my dad learned I was going to be staying in western France he told me that if there is one site I should visit it’s Mont St. Michel. And to my own lucky surprise, that is exactly where my friends took me.

A drawbridge!

Here comes the bride!

Versailles has all of the bells and whistles of French luxury, but Mont St. Michel feels truly authentic. It’s like taking a ride in a time machine back to the medieval days. You can almost see the knights in armor walking around the castle grounds and peasants coming to ask the king for more sizable grain rations. I now feel like I have experienced a real castle!

Following our visit to Mont St. Michel we were famished! We had a picnic in a picturesque little neighborhood with an amazing view of the castle. I wish I could remember the name...

After lunch we went to have a drink in the old walled-in village of St. Malo. Once again I was taken back in time… that is until I was awoken by the strong taste of the calvados (a spirit) my friends encouraged me to try. It was then that I decided I should never again attempt to drink liquor neat :) Too strong for me!

We returned home, drank our aperitifs and our wine and then once again had a delicious vegan dinner. These people could open a restaurant!

For hours that night we played Tarot, a French card game that makes use of its own special deck. Maïlyss and Ruslan had prior taught me how to play in Israel. What is really special about it is that the structure of the game changes slightly for every additional player. Later that night, I fell asleep as we were watching a movie that takes place in my own hometown; the movie: White House Down. I will spare you my comments on the movie and just say that Jamie Foxx should never again be cast in the role of a U.S. political figure.

The next day I was in for a special surprise! We drove half an hour west to the town of Blaine to meet Ruslan’s mother, and then an hour east to St. Herelon where Maïlyss’ brother lives with his wife and six-month-old daughter. 

I can’t say enough in the way of positive remarks about Ruslan’s mother. Like Ruslan she is originally from Ukraine and made a special vegan borscht just for me. The borscht was quite different from any borscht I’ve tasted previously; it was lighter on the beets and a little heavier on everything else. It had a lot more variety than I know borscht to have and tasted great with my Kir wine cocktail!

When in France you must do as the French and you must drink a lot of wine! ;-)

After lunch we visited the Castle of Blain but weren't able to go inside since it was closed. We then headed an hour east to St. Herelon to meet Mailyss' brother's family. His baby daughter was adorable but became sad each time that I spoke... perhaps she doesn't like English!

We found ourselves back at Maïlyss and Ruslan's house a couple hours later, ate dinner and then had a relaxing night.

The next morning day six had arrived of my stay in France and I wanted to take Maïlyss and Ruslan to a nice lunch to thank them for their hospitality. They chose the place: La Toile a Beurre in Ancenis. The menu changes daily and throughout the day depending what local farm-grown produce is available to the chef. The restaurant assured us that my being vegan would not be an issue for them and they proved that to be true ... (for the most part)... the food wasn't as filling as it could have been.

The restaurant is on the first floor of the townhouse found in the middle of this photo. 

My amuse-bouche!

My entree.

Unfortunately for dessert all they could come up with (aside from boring old sorbet) was fruit.

Panoramic view of the area from the parking lot.

After lunch we sat in a nearby pub overlooking the river and sipped craft beers. The rest of the day we took it easy since tomorrow was going to be a long one.

In the morning we woke up around 6:00 a.m. and left promptly to visit five different flea markets. The reason, you wonder... Frank and Jennifer buy and sell antiquities, so they visit flea markets routinely.

The number of vendors present at each market ranged anywhere from 50-250. It was really interested to see the kind of things French people have in their homes.

Food offerings (for the most part) at the markets were crepes, croissants, coffee, hot dogs and French fries.

By the time we got home we were all pooped but I decided to push through it and went for a stroll around the town to see all that there was. It was a Sunday so it was pretty much a ghost town. The only shops open were the boulangeries, because of course the French must be able to buy their bread every day of the week!

The was the towns are structured in France is like this: in the center of each town is the church. Around the church you have a couple boulangeries, maybe a book store, a family-owned electronics shop and some other small businesses. You can drive through must of the small towns, from end to end, in a minute.

Go to bed, wake up... already it is my last day in France. Where did the time go, I thought.

Thank you for having me!

Now looking back on my journey that already is a [approximately] month behind me I have to force myself to believe it wasn't a dream. If I ever can get the chance to go back to France I definitely will :)