Over Too Quickly

7/14/2010: email to Dad

Hi Dad. Well the trip is pretty much over now. I am super annoyed that we wasted the free airfare to come here for such a short time! Now that I'm here I don't want to leave! This is one of the places I've been to that always feels like a mistake to leave.

Mom woke up with a serious migraine today but after taking 5 Advil in less than 3 hours she was willing to go to Tel Aviv. I told her that I was pretty sure you're only supposed to take 4 Advil in 24 hours but she claimed that it was ok. We spent a lot of time getting there and then finding lunch so I didn't get to swim. We had to see some long lost relative of Mom's today so we were at the gorgeous beach for a whopping 20 minutes. I could tell Mom was disappointed too. I put my feet in and walked a little and that was it.

Tel Aviv is incredibly interesting. I need to go and spend a whole week there. On the beach we asked one girl for directions in Hebrew but she only spoke Portuguese. Guys playing catch on the beach dropped their ball and when I handed to them, they said, "Merci." Two random women starting speaking to Mom is Russian. It's a fascinating place. Inbar did her push for me to move there. She says Ronan would have no trouble hiring me and it would be an interesting job with travel. It's nice of her to offer. If I wasn't concerned with the loneliness it might be something to consider.

I realized today that I understand what they're saying. Somehow, whether just through the exposure or what I realized that I understand Hebrew. I don't think I was ever immersed in it this much before, but I get it!

The relative we saw today is 91 and we totally made her day by visiting. Mom was overwhelmed that the woman recognized her voice on the phone immediately and was excited to see her. I'm concerned that Mom wishes she had a big family so much that she is living in the past. She wants me to help her look up all kinds of people now and she wants me to get to know them. I think Mom feels like moving to America robbed her of family ties. She kept on saying, "See? You have a family!" I don't know how to make connections like this. It doesn't feel real to me.

People here are really nice though. If you ask someone for directions they will be your best friend all of a sudden. We encountered a few people just today that talked and talked and wanted to be sure we knew where we were going. It was so refreshing. Really I keep thinking of getting on the CTA and I don't know how to face it now. Their train is soooo nice. Not the buses so much though. Driving in Tel Aviv is insane. People in the bigger cities have too much aggression.

I hope you're having a good time alone. Tomorrow we have to get to the airport at least 3 hours ahead of the flight. Wish me luck with this insane return trip.........