backtotheroots

It is Saturday. I am once again getting ready to leave for Holland. The taxi will pick me up as always tomorrow morning at 5.30am. It will probably be a strange week. My successor on the job starts on Monday. I have never met her and I hope that she is the right one to take over. Take over the team, take over the projects. I guess that our board and management team know what is needed and that they made the right choice, hired the right person. So during the month of February I will work with her, helping her through all the projects. But I should not think of work today. I have tried not to. My day started with reading the Oprah Magazine. I bought it on my way to Tel Aviv and did not really get the chance to read it yet. I admire Oprah. It seems that her goal in life is to make people and especially women feel good and look good... hmmm this is Hunkemoller's mission as well... Stop. Do not think of work... Dr. Phil has an interesting article in this issue about commitment to real change implying change that will make you happy. He has listed 10 questions we must ask ourselves the last one being "Are you low on your priority list?" To illustrate he writes.. "we need mothers, not martyrs. We need women, not sacrificial lambs". I so totally agree with him and I believe that in the past 5-6 years I have learned to put myself higher on my priority list. As Dr. Phil advises: I put my feet up with a cup of coffee, curl up with a good book, listen to my favorite music, and take some time away from the house with absolutely nothing to do except be with myself. This morning for example. Beautiful sun although too windy to sit on the beach I went to a  nice neighboorhood coffeeshop and had an espresso, with a croissant. Later, I went with my Parisian friend Michele, this time on transit to Paris from Eilat, and her cousin Arele to have lunch in Basel street. We sat outside until the sun decided to disappear behind clouds. It was anyway time for her to go to the airport. It was a wonderful day. So yes, I must try and remember to put myself more often higher on the priority list.

For the past few days I had not done or experienced anything that I thought worth while writing about. Monday, Tuesday... worked all day and too tired at night. Boring! But sometimes it is necessary to do just nothing. Even here in Tel Aviv,  the city where something always happens. At least if you believe the writer of the very well written City Guide - simply called City Guide Tel Aviv. The book not only lists all the hot & trendy places but also gives an interesting account of the city's history and highlights each of its five main areas. All with nice and attractive pictures. I certainly recommend it. So what did I discover today? First of all that everyone here has their own "beach". Religious men and women can enjoy the sun, sea and sand behind walls so that no one can see them. Dogs have their own beach.... Also if you want to exercise you don't need to pay lots of money and become member of a gym here! You have "public" gyms on the beach. And forget playing squash indoor. Israeli's have invented the racketball. In the summer you cannot miss the specific noise on the beaches. The noise the balls make when hitting the hard rackets. Today while taking a bike ride along the beach Stephane and I met a group of men practicing the sport. Men of all ages getting a good sweat. They hit the ball so hard... it is scary! Of course some prefer a less tiring sport sucgh as fishing. And while waiting for the fish to bite they smoke a "Narguile".... I bet you won't see that happen along the rivers in Europe! This all reminded me that I have not done any real sport since I left Haarlem. Of course moving to Tel Aviv was a sport in itself! Climbing everyday the stairs to our third floor appartment. Walking through Tel Aviv in the summer months. Biking every day. But it still does not amount to enough calories burning! So here is a promise to myself: as soon as I stop travelling every other week to Amsterdam - and this is soon... I will join the gym in Dizengoff Center which Stephane and I actually already visited. So now back to the top: you cannot be bored in Tel Aviv. Just start walking, or biking... and you'll discover something to remember, to tell, to write about. Something always happens here.

I discovered Idan Raichel two years ago while on holiday at my cousins in Herzlia. Watching the video clip of the lead song of his first album, I immediately fell in love. With his music, with his voice, with everything Idan Raichel represents. When I found out he was performing in Amsterdam last May, I immediately booked tickets. The evening at the Melkweg in Amsterdam was magic! The music hall was packed with Israeli's living in the Netherlands - I never knew there were so many of them there!  I might have felt so thrilled partly because I knew that a few months later I would be here, in Israel. Having people speaking Hebrew all around me gave me a sort of preview. But of course, most magic came from the fantastic performancve of Idan Raichel and his band. I just bought his last album WITHIN MY WALLS and cannot stop listening to it. In particular the song "Halomot shel Aherim" . So imagine my surprise when I spotted Idan this afternoon talking to someone on Ibn Gvirol street in Tel Aviv! Stephane and I were on the bike on our way home after having had lunch with my aunt Rosi. As soon as I saw Idan I stopped, asked him in English if he was whom I thought he was....  Fortunately I had the camera with me and he accepted to have his picture taken. My day cannot go wrong anymore!

Last night while waiting at Schiphol airport for my flight to Tel Aviv, I got an SMS from Michele, my friend from Paris. She had just landed in Tel Aviv in transit for Eilat. Could we meet today? Of course! This past year Michele and I spoke on the phone, communicated via Facebook but we did not get a chance to see each other. Both of us very busy... That's why I enjoyed very much the few hours we just spent together. Reviewed all that happened to us during the last year. She came to our house for coffee and we got to meet her cousin Arele. We went to "SoFrishman" for an Israeli Breakfast - Michele insisted on sitting on the beach even though it was a bit too windy.... Stephane went home and we took a walk on the Tayelet.  Stopped for coffee at Banana Beach where her cousin Niri joined us. Niri is a musician and she had just performed at a private concert. Michele had to hurry and catch her flight for Eilat. I hope we will meet again on her way back to Paris next Saturday.

I will sum up the ups....

This morning I listened to the news that sounded hopeful about a truce in Gaza within a few days. Spent an hour at SoFrishman on the beach reading my book (Millenium 1) with a cup of coffee, under the sunshine. Went with my cousin Netania and with Adit to see a really interesting documentary at the Cinematheque, "Unmistaken Child" by Nati Baratz. Paid a visit to my aunt Rosi. All this on the bike, relaxed....

Now the downs...

This morning I prepared my bag since I have to fly really early again tomorrow morning to Amsterdam - the taxi will pick me up at 5.15. Tonight I watched the news. The horrible news. With more killing. More injured. More tragedies. More uncertainties. When will it stop? I said that this blog will not treat any political issue and it won't. However, how can I pretend that life just continues normally while this is happening? Would I feel any different if I was still living in Holland? One thing is sure: even though life does go on, especially here in Tel Aviv, what happens does not leave me indifferent. On the contrary. I feel sad, angry, frustrated and involved. I really need to hope that peace will come one day, starting with truce in Gaza.

Friday is not the right day to go to the soek hapishpishim - flea market in Jaffa. At least not if you are looking at buying things for a good price. Too crowded! Friday here is like a Saturday in Europe. Many people are free from work and use that day to shop and do everything they can't do during the week.  And many of them obviously go to Jaffa at the flea market. Just like in every flea market in the world you can find here practically everything: pots and pans, second hand clothing, real antiques and fake ones, furniture, paintings, lamps, carpets... Everything! It is nice, colourful and the area itself gives it the extra special touch. Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv and is one of the world’s oldest cities. Its ancient harbor has been in use since the Bronze Age. Today it also holds a really nice artist quarter. I will take you there soon. For now, back to the flea market! I decided to take the afternoon off (not entirely since I always have my phone and my PDA with me) and went there this afternoon with Stephane on our bikes via the Tayelet - the promenade along the sea. It is such a nice ride! Just 20 minutes away from our house. The weather today was not really sunny. I even thought that it might rain. But it didn't. And the temperature was extremely nice... around 20 'C I think. We scrolled down the streets, checked some paintings we both really liked but decided not to buy today (never on a Friday..). We had lunch in one of the nicest places in the market: a restaurant decorated with furniture from the flea market. Real good food, nice music, good atmosphere. Best ingredients for a good lunch! When we biked back home, the sun began to go down and created a beautiful light. I have tried to catch that light with my camera. Not easy to reproduce though. Now we will rest before getting ready to have dinner at my cousin in Herzlia. She's picking us up around 7.30. By that time there is no public transportation anymore because of shabbat. Actually not entirely true. You find collective taxis at the bus station going to all major cities around Tel Aviv. But my cousin offered to pick us up and bring us back. I couldn't refuse! Friday evening is traditionally a family evening. You eat together, invite friends for coffee, relax. And this is exactly what I intend to do. Shabbat Shalom!

Thank you to all of you who sent me your first comments. First of all my parents. Amazing that they are so involved and so handy with the latest technology! My father is a fanatic internet user and my mother is really handy with her mobile phone. It is great because it keeps them connected. Connected to the world, to their loved ones, to life. So this page today is for you two. To tell you that I am still so very happy here! So happy to have finally made that decision and to have followed my heart. It actually becomes more and more difficult to leave every other Sunday. I have been doing this for the past 4 months and now that I know that this period is almost coming to an end, it's becoming hard. However, I will certainly not complain. I have been so fortunate to be able to have this smooth transition and especially to be able to see Gerald and Charlotte every other week. This was more than I ever saw them when I was living in the Netherlands. Quality time isn't it!  I will certainly use as much of it as I can for the coming month and a half. As for the events of today, nothing spectacular here in Tel Aviv. Beautiful weather and for me another working day that ended ... on the beach... with my laptop! Yes, even on the beach there is WIFII really enjoy working there.Watching the news tonight, however, made me sad again. I believe that my parents also worry. Worry about me, about their grandson Raphael who attends a Jewish school in Brussels, about our family in Beer Sheva. About the world. Don't worry, please. Everything will be fine. Keep surfing the web and sending SMS's. Let's stay connected!

Today went so fast.... Worked all day without a break. But that's ok. Tonight Stephane and I will go out for dinner in Tel Aviv with Brigitte and Doron. I am thinking that I should make a reservation because the nice places are always fully booked here. And, since our friends never leave home without their adorable little dog (Sushi), we need to find a place that accepts dogs. Speaking of which I am amazed at the amount of dogs in Tel Aviv. I have a hard time understanding how people manage keeping dogs in their house. Appartments are not very large here and in the summer months it gets really hot.... Many stray cats as well in Tel Aviv. But this has always been the case. I remember being a little girl coming to visit my aunt in Tel Aviv and being very scared of all these cats. I might hurt some of my readers... but I still am not very fond of these animals.... Especially those stray ones... They look like they will jump at you at any moment... Brrr... 

However, what really scares me is the growing antisemitism in Europe. I keep thinking of all the people asking me if I was not afraid of going to live in Israel. My answer was then already that as a jew I feel much safer here in Tel Aviv than in any city in Europe. Now three months later it only got worse! My sister had to take her son out of school last Friday because of threats (he goes to a jewish school). Stephane's brother had to run hard not to be attacked on the street in Paris simply because he was wearing a kippa. This makes me very sad. And angry. Angry at the world's ignorance and unwillingness to understand. It is so easy to draw conclusions from a few pictures seen on the news. News programs that are more interested in ratings than in reporting the facts. Stop. These pages are about me going back to my roots and sharing my new experiences with you. Not about politics or about who's right or wrong. I just urge you not to judge before really studying the facts. Thank you.

Brigitte & Doron. We ate together at "Goocha", a seafood restaurant at the corner of Dizengoff & Ben Gurion. They serve you excellent food but under much too much noise! Actually the accoustic is bad. Nevertheless we had a really nice evening. We fled from the noise and had coffee and desert at "Segafredo", you know, where I usually work....

No need to say that sometimes I feel like shutting down my laptop and go the beach. But I don't. It is not necessary here. You see, in Holland, as soon as the sun starts shining, everybody rushes outside not to miss the few good moments. Here the sun is practically always shining! Look at the blue sky in the picture - this is by the way the building where I live. So no need to rush outside. I will continue working.  I might, however, take a short a break, walk down to the beach, have a light lunch, discuss politics, the war and the economic crisis, come back home and resume working. I hope the system will allow me to continue working from my house.. see picture here-under... And otherwise, I'll go again to my office away from home!



 

Had my lunch break on the beach at "SoFrishman". An israeli salad, which consists of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and parsley seasoned with olive oil, lemon salt & pepper. Some whole weat bread and a diet coke..... Look at the pictures and you'll understand why this hour is simply regenerating.... Now I can go back to work!

Today I woke up early (I actually always do!) and immediately sat with a cup of coffee - lovely prepared for me by Stephane - in front of my laptop. First the news: what happened tonight? I am extremely relieved to read that the night was quiet in Israel. No rockets. Sad of course that the conflict is still going on. Very sad looking at all the terrible images. From all sides. 

The plan for today: work, work, work.... Lots of mails to read and handle. A long to do list....  I have trouble connecting to the remote computer at Hunkemoller. Keep being thrown out... I will probably have to go work in the cafe accross the street. Used to it. Actually nice. I sometimes engage in conversations with curious neighbours. This is what's so great here in Israel. People talk to each other. People are interested in each other. Really interested. Not just polite. Most of the time, they're actually the opposite of polite and ask questions that might be considered unacceptable in Europe. You get used to it and learn how to answer. Often with a question... Nevertheless it is a great way to enlarge your network, trigger new ideas and even make business! So I will pack my gears and head towards my "stamcafe" as they say in the Netherlands. This means the "coffee shop where your roots are"... litterally translated of course!