In the car on the way back to Jerusalem, Aunt Rose asked me when I'd be going home. I looked to Grandma and said, "You know, after having a bunch of Israeli men telling me how beautiful I am in my face, I'm not so sure if I want to go back."
It's the truth. I've found that if I talk to an Israeli man for a good amount of time, they'll start flattering me. Even a cab driver in his mid-20's told me at the end of my ride to the airport (missed the stop because I was daydreaming too much- oops!) how beautiful I was and I told him straight up that American men don't do that and they're shy (he spoke pretty good English but didn't get the grasp of idiomatic English, so in other words, American men don't express their thoughts readily). All I can say is that the Israeli men are of different breed- it's a new cultural shock for me to be dealing with them. Especially that they're very forward about their opinions and what they want, partly due to their Army experience. There's just no flirting, testing the waters, etc. Which I find kind of sad because it's just fun to tease for a little bit before getting serious. Nevertheless, I wouldn't trade them for American men.
Back to the topic...
Despite being late on my schedule for getting to the airport, I managed to arrive at the arrivals right when Grandma, Zev, Aunt Rose, and Uncle Joel walked through. I didn't surprise them as I planned- standing there with my poster welcoming them to Israel because there were SOOOOO many people there to greet their loved ones from the States. Sorry, Mom, Grandma didn't exactly "stand there and stamp her feet." I gave Zev a small package of tissues in case he would cry when we get on the highway to Jerusalem.
Grandma, Zev, and I went to their apartment first. Oh my god. It was incredibly fancy by Jerusalem's standards- there's a futon in the study room and double beds in the guest bedroom... it was just beautiful!! Now I have my own "luxury" apartment in Jerusalem!!! One of Zev's friends, Doris Levine, was so sweet to put a little sign on the door to welcome them to Jerusalem, to label "Dairy" and "meat" all over the kitchen, and to leave some homemade CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES on the counter! I hadn't had a real chocolate chip cookie in two frickin' months! They tasted so good (But Mom, I look forward to the Nestle chocolate chips!).
We went for a dinner in a little coffee shop in Joel and Rose's hotel, which was about 15-20 minutes walk. Grandma experienced her first major cultural shock- that walking is the best way to get around the "center." There really isn't any bus line that directly runs in their neighborhood and cabs are not worth taking all the time (starts at $2.75). Zev couldn't care less. Normally he walks very slow but he actually complained and urged Grandma to move faster! It was so funny to see her so timid after seeing her walk confidently around San Francisco and New York City. Just from our walks, I can tell that their relationship will change in interesting ways within the next month.... Zev taking charge.
I'm also very happy to see Rose and Joel and I look forward to spending more time with them- they've already invited me to visit them in Dallas!
Tonight, I've invited Wendy to join us for dinner.
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