Welcome to Weirdoland

Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I drink tea. And when I say I drink tea, I mean A LOT of tea. During my first few days here I didn't have a single cup of tea which for me is extremely rare, my close friends would have, at this point questioned my sanity or well-being. But they weren't here to witness it and I was perfectly fine. On my second day of work the Arabic version editor invited me to tea, I had a fresh mint tea with lots of sugar. It felt good to finally have a cup of tea but that's not how I drink my daily tea so it wasn't entirely satisfying. After my second of work, on my way home, I stopped by the 24/7 convenience store down the street. It's a neighbourhood full of UN and EU expats so they have a couple of European products. I found Twinings English breakfast which isn't normally my first choice but I felt it was good enough considering where I am. I paid 24 shekels for 25 teabags, that's a lot (approximately 5 euros). I had it the...

The sun is slowly going down, Shabbat is coming. The candles have been lit, the TV is running in the background. The kettle is on, everything is peaceful. If I compare it to home it'd be one these Sundays when you stay in your pyjamas all day just wandering about, reading, watching tv, drinking tea but not doing anything productive. The atmosphere is very still. It's raining. Not like the Indian monsoon but like a heavy rainy day in Britain or Brittany. "I can't remember the last time I was stuck at home because of the rain! We haven't had rain like this in ten years! This is very good for Israel!" I have been put under house arrest by the Jewish Mother Police. I only have Converse AllStars with me and a pair of crocs and I don't have a good enough raincoat. It doesn't matter that the world is ending and that it is our last chance to go out ever, I'm not going out because my feet would get wet and cold. There is no arguing with a Jewish mothe...

Very busy interesting week it has been and still not over yet. Saturday - I was at a charity ball (I danced with 70-year-olds, there was an old man dancing like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction and I just wanted to take my heeels off and dance with him but I did not). I met Amy who told me about this week's events. Sunday - I accompany a friend to Church. We get to see an architecture exhibition then we run away during the service because it was just not cool. People there weren't friendly like a congregation usually is and they let their toddlers run around - there must have been at least 13 children under the age of ten, Monday - nothing. Tuesday - I visited a Buddhist temple, the Central Methodist Church and a Hindu temple where there was a giant picture of the Sun God Surya (it's my name - yay) then attended an intro to the Bahai Faith. Then got free curry. Father John who is an Italian missionary dropped me at University. Father John made me recite his address by...

!! שבת שלום I met so many people in Jerusalem, from the weird guy selling bread at Sha'ar Iafo to that homeless free spirited religious man who hangs out near the Kotel and the Golden Menorah Replica who invited me for a walk around the old city ramparts before buying me tea. And his friend who lives underneath his shop on Rehov Chabad who gave me a picture of an aerial view of the Old Jerusalem and a large bottle of water for no apparent reason then invited me inside to watch french tv which he did not understand. I am glad I am writing this, in a certain way it allows me to relive things I did not especially wrote down in my diary. At the hostel, I met David who was volunteering there and told me about a Rabbi (of whom I have forgotten the name unfortunately) who welcomes anyone that shows up for Shabbat dinner on Friday night, Saturday at lunch and Saturday night for the Havdallah. And the word is on the street so sometimes the house located in Mea Shearim is too sm...

Where was I? On my way to Jerusalem. Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, one hour by bus. I was never so happy to take a bus. During my trip I kept coming back to this magnificent, so unique city. After just two days, I knew my way around the old city which still had plenty of secrets for me to discover, but at least I knew where to go. This city... it just made me feel like no other city never had. The history behind it, the legends, the atmosphere, everything just attracted me like a very strong magnet. The view from my hostel rooftop. It felt so great. I won't tell you about what there is to see in Jerusalem because that is what travel guides are for and they probably have a better idea, I'm just going to talk about my experience of Jerusalem. A hello here, a hello there as I walked the hundreds of year old steps of the Old City, as sellers were trying to get my attention and eventually my money. I never stopped. I was not there to buy made in china souvenirs, I was t...

After a bus trip from Tel Aviv, I arrived in the holiest city of all times, Jerusalem. Now I definitely want to stay! I'm in the best hostel ever, in the old city of Jerusalem! No more Germans and Americans keeping me awake at night! I have no words for what I have seen so far and it is far from over! I would gladly spend a few months here and it is possible! My hostel accepts volunteers in exchange of a free bed. I will definitely consider it! Here I get to practice both my Hebrew and Arabic, it is awesome! People keep offering me tea, yum! I will post later! My travel notebook is getting big, I cannot wait to share it with the world once I come back!

Today I am sad. Just like when they decided they would introduce new spelling rules in French (because people can't spell properly anymore, we had to adapt the language to their -very low- level of language). Today, the Oxford English Dictionary has added LOL, OMG and FYI to the vocabulary. It is a sad, sad day. @DeathStarPR LOL, OMG and FYI have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary . Somewhere in 1596, Shakespeare begins to weep inexplicably. @Stewie_Griffinn The Oxford English Dictionary has added OMG, LOL, and FYI to their dictionary, In other news ''LMAO'' is pissed off LOL. While little 13-year-old ignorants will be thrilled their teachers won't be able to correct their papers, the language is dying.   EPIC FAIL.