Long entry.. do in a couple of sittings if you have to.
Fraggsta, you told me to update, so here it is. It's long but you'd better read it! ;-)
Missing Israel So I'm back from Israel... damn. I miss it so much! It was such an amazing trip and now I cant believe it's over... it feels like a dream and then it sucks to be awake. I want to go back! But going back is not just enough. I want to go back to this trip- spend more time with my friends whom I met on Hasbara, and with my brother while he was in Israel, and Jill while she was in Israel, and Eitan while he was there and have seen my other friends I never got to see. I could have stayed at least another month with them all.
Oh... guys in Israel... boy are they fast. Talk with them for 20 min and they're already asking you to be their girlfriend. Not even getting a number to hang out first! No... talk, and then bf/gf. Can we say "woah, hang on a sec... I've only known you for what?... 20 min?!" Geeze. I was on a Shirut, which is a minivan that goes from one city to another. I was going from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv for Israeli Dancing with some friends and sat next to this Druz guy. (Druz is a type of Arab, I think more Bedouin-like, but hey arent nationalistic and serve loyally whatever land they're in and thus are Israeli citizens, fight in the army there, etc.) We started talking and in Hebrew he told me that he only knew Hebrew and Arabic and I told him I only knew Hebrew and English. So we of course spoke in Hebrew. I was very proud of myself for how well I kept up the conversation and how much I understood. We talked for 45 min! That's definitely my longest hebrew-only conversation. The last 10 min were very interesting though... He was cute, I'll admit it, and we were flurting... but he starts saying how beautiful I am and how beautiful my eyes are... and then asks me to be his gf and tells me he loves me. WOAH fellah! I've known you for 40 min! I tried telling him that in Hebrew... didnt come off as well. He would ask me why I didnt want to be with him, or what I had to say, and if I loved him back. Now when a cute guy compliments you like he did, you're kinda speechless.. and it was hard to express that I was flattered but that this was way to fast in Hebrew. Yea... This was not the only guy who wanted me to go out with him after only a short convo. Israeli's are quite charming.. but FAST
Chondromalasia- "sounds like an asian country"-Elisha Guess what? The Israeli dance freak (me) has bad knees! I just got back from Israeli dancing right now as a matter of fact. So my knees have been really hurting this past year. I went to the doctor and found out that the cartilage under my patella is "soft" and is therefore becomming inflamed and the only thing to do really is "not do what makes it hurt". Mind you this is for the rest of my life because there's no real cure. Thanks doc. Well... see... not dancing for the rest of my life is not happening. Dancing makes me so blissfully happy it's amazing. So... yea... NEXT. So he said... try everything else. I ice my knees several times a day, and especially after dancing. I take anti-inflammatory pills (ibuprofen) to get the swelling down and as a pain killer, and I take vitamins- glucosamine chondroiton which should help strengthen the cartilage I still have, and I'm in physical therapy. That's really all I can do. It's not much, but I'm doing it. Oh, and I either tape my knees (gives my patella support) or wear knee braces while dancing. My knees are in pain!
The rest of the summer So now I'm just chillin at home, not doing much. I see Jill like every day and we go to the beach or watch movies etc. I might start to volunteer at the Jewish Federation, and hopefully Jill and I can take a road trip. I have 2 more months of summer left. Kinda a bummer really. Jill and I both agree that we should have ended our summer with Israel- not began it. Because it cant be topped and then the rest of the summer is a dud.
If you made it to the end I commend you. :-)