5:30 rise and shine to late night falafel

Let me share my first day of classes: August 4th, 2009

Jet lag is a B*&ch. I don't sleep during the night exactly. I had a energy inside of me that I couldn't ignore so I awoke to see the sunrise from my balcony. After taking some photos from there I realized it was a perfect opportunity to acquaint myself with Haifa while the streets are quiet and the sky beautifully lit with pink and orange. At 5:50am I leave my dorm (which is awesome...I have my own bathroom!) and hop on the first bus that comes to the loop. My first time with Israeli public transportation. I sit on the bus as it takes me downtown. My university is on the top of the hill overlooking the city, so the ride down is a panorama of sea, sky, and city buildings. We come to the final stop on the bus and I have no choice but to get off. I wander a little toward the city and find myself in a marketplace. Nothing is open, its not even 7am. What is open is a bakery with an alluring smell of sweet and savory rolls and pita. I step in and look around, imagine the freshest bread possible, every roll is still warm from the oven that had housed. A man starts to talk to me, I have no words in Hebrew, then he realizes I am american....


His name was Niseem and we started to chat. He was more hospitable than I thought possible. First, he helped me pick out my breakfast which was delicious. He then asked me some questions and responded with invitations to dinner with his family on saturdays, offers to see the city and pools and beaches, and to teach me about the different arabs. "Be careful about the Arabs, stay away from them, don't trust them, they don't know what they want." He compared them to the "Nigger- folk in the united states". He spoke a lot about how I had to open my mind to these things. Of course, I am thinking to myself that he seems close minded and his remarks are Ironic. We had a lovely chat, after which I realized that he sincerely wanted to help me out in the next five months, especially because I am Jewish. I snapped a photo and said goodbye (I wanted to get some fruit from the markets (fruit here is FREAKIN DELICIOUS AND CHEAP), he asked me my name and I said "Maya" to which he said...well that is the name of this here bakery (more or less). How serendipidous that I should just happen to take a bus and just happen to get off at a stop, where there just happens to only be one shop open that is a bakery, and in all of Israel...my first day...my first purchase of food...has my name on the receipt.

Mind you, Niseem is an Arab name. He is Arab and he is right that I do need to be careful here. I want to talk more with him and learn how to open my eyes to the social dynamics of the middle east. It would be close minded to call a man who is deeply en routed in his own culture, has lived in the middle east all his life and visited other countries, a close minded man. I look forward to morning bakery visits and perhaps forming my own connections with the people here in Haifa. I arrive back at my dorm, it's 9:30...classes start in half an hour.

Now after two days of Ulpan classes (about 5 hours a day, and 2-3 of homework) I can read and write Hebrew. I know the alphabet and not just one handfull but two or three of different phrases. I am rubbing elbows with other international students from Japan, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Italy...ect.

Finally, 8:30 at night and it dawns on me that I am starving. Hop onto another bus. At night these buses get crowded with all sorts of people, the night life here is thriving (even on a tuesday). I have discovered the joys of late night falafel, despite the day I have had, the signs that I can't read, the stores being closed, there is always a man with a falafel and fresh Israeli hummus and salads right around the corner.