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| A picture tells a thousand words |
As I am writing this, we are in the middle of an electrical storm, the lights just flickered and burnt out and the thunder is making the windows rattle, the floor tremble...drum roll please...it's 1am and I am staring out the huge double window in our 'dining room' watching lightening zig-zag through the sky making its way to the ground. The fortitude of its strength is almost terrifying but its beauty cannot be faulted as it lights up the city and the sky... I am captivated by it.
So here I am, half way across the world, a 22 year old aspiring writer, life and fashion enthusiast and creative catalyst lost this wonderland that I call life. I followed my dreams, packed my bags and here I am in Tel Aviv, ani Olah Hadasha! <-(Showing off my Hebrew skillz obv). In my first week of living here I was thrown into a completely different world, far different from the cushioned lifestyle I have grown up with. I can wholly admit to completely taking too much for granted in England, growing up I was more than fortunate. As I walk into my new home, I find a dusty, barren apartment with what looks like a primary school table and chairs for a dining room and a kitchen about 2 metres in width with a makeshift hob, literally identical to the cheapest 'cooker' available on SIMS. Yes, we all remember that game, but of course if you were the one who cheated with MOTHERLOAD you were never poor enough to actually purchase that piece of crap (guilty..). The flat is full of dust, probably due to the fact the windows don't actually close properly, say goodbye to double glazing, and the fact there was an in formidable sand storm prior to my arrival. Cute. There just seems to be dust and sand everywhere and here I stand alone awaiting to meet my new family, my roomates, for the next 5 months, because at the end of the day you make your friends your family.
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| Everywhere you look, this city has character even in the darkest of places |
I always imagined I would never be able to handle such an environment, to be honest, I am sure most people would have thought the same about me, yet I stood there and threw my bags down and couldn't stop smiling. I did it. I woke up and followed my dream. The thing is we all have dreams, I for one have my head in the clouds, but to make your dream a reality is a beautiful feeling, I feel stronger than ever. So what, it's far from the reality of Surrey, halle-fucking-lujah, my bed is a piece of wood with a mattress two inches thick, which by the way in my current status, I cannot complain about, I sleep pretty damn well. I solved the problem by buying cleaning products such as bleach, cloths and a floor swisher and within a day between us it looked just about habitable and however much we might laugh about the situation, we all LOVE IT. We are so used to it now, in fact we get excited about the cleaning processes, we all help each other out and we are already like a family. In fact when Katie didn't come home the other night, I missed her. I share a room with Katie, and I'll be honest I was dreading this part. Sharing a bedroom, and having a single bed. I love it! It is like living with your sister...we laugh ourselves to sleep most nights and it's truly fabulous. XOXO Beit Brodetskies.
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| Me and my doll Katie |
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| Roomies Betchess |
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| Meet my darling doll Abigaelle from Paris, she is the sassiest of them all |
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Issues I have come across in my new home consist of storms causing havoc. For example right now I am sitting in darkness with the room lighting up only when lightening strikes, because the lights are out and water is coming in through the windows...hmmm. Just appreciate that our windows in the kitchen are situated right above a power point and several electrical devices, so in the event of a storm, WHICH IS NOW, we are quite literally like SHIT. Bear Grills eat your heart out, we have to wrap everything with plastic bags whilst apartments on the other floors are flooding, luckily we are in one of the best locations so flooding won't affect us. We hope. Those who have me on snapchat will see me running through the dorms as the ferocious storms attack...I live at Ulpan so we study Hebrew daily in the classrooms downstairs, and when a storm hits at least 2 of us run out to protect our homes HAHA! SHIT I LEFT THE WINDOW OPEN! THE POWER POINTS!!!! It's all comical really, because we are all having the best time of our lives, the positives in this experience weigh out any negatives and I really can't complain.
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| The best shot I could get, it's taken me time and I can't capture the fork. DEAL WITH IT xoxo |
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| This is the situation. See the bags stuffed in there? YEAH about that! Under the H&M bag are 3 electrical points and windows THAT DO NOT CLOSE. Survival Skillz |
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| I find that if you look up, you discover more than you anticipated |
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The pros to making Aliyah are that I have made new friends from all over the world, some, especially my roomies, that I will be friends with for life. Apart from these freak storms this week, I wake up go to school then reside on the beach with my girlfriends, study in cute cafes with iced coffee, dance, sing, and roam the city that has already stolen my heart. There is so much still left undiscovered, and yes it's hard at times, a lot of the time you hear that someone has been stabbed and it brings us all sadness more than fear. In our first week we lived through a week on a high Terror Alert. Pepper spray was sold out everywhere, it was announced that free Krav Maga (self-defence) lessons were available around the country and warned to be cautious in the streets and on buses. There were times where I would walk through streets and be slightly on edge because you are aware, and your phone would bleep with an update or new attack up to 3 times a day, yet I never felt fear. It is a way of life here to and you just get on with your life, besides i'm an Israeli now. It affected me in other ways, I woke up feeling sad, how these monsters could commit such crimes, persecuting innocent people for their religion, and what aggravates me more is the way the western media portrays the attacks. I mean are you serious? Living here, you know the facts and you read these ignorant opinions by journalists that clearly have anti-semitism running in their veins and it sickens me. Shame on you.
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In 9 days I have learnt to read and write in Hebrew and can already handle some conversations (sort of...) on the streets. I am so proud of myself and everyone here at Ulpan, to think 9 days ago we would stare at the symbols and be like SAY WHAAAAT! It is such an accomplishment and I am loving it..
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| Oh and BTW Hebrew is NOT easy. Can you tell? |
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| Oh and there are 3 ALPHABETS. Too many versions of the same letter to understand. HEAD SPINNING. |
This new chapter in my life is by far the biggest so far, and it is 100% something my future self will thank me for. You can thank me later...until then I have to go live my life. LAYLA TOV xoxo
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Make you're dreams a reality.
Do something your future self will thank you for.
He offered her the world but she said she had her own.
There is no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as this.
What a wonderful thought that some of the best days of our lives haven't even happened yet.
Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything, maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't really you so that you can be who you were meant to be in the first place
Kisses,
Bea {x}
WHAT I WORE:
Jean Jacket - American Apparel Mens
(I saw it on the sale rail, its a small, bargain buy. LOVES IT)
NOT OKAY Neoprene Top - H&M
Leather High-Top Converse
Sunglasses - Michael Kors
Mini Happy Shopper Handbag - Celine
Ripped Jeans - Topshop
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| The walls and buildings are all so unique, especially in Neve Tsedek. I adore this beautiful clay mosaic art on a random wall on the street. Unique and beautiful like each and every one of us |
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| There is plenty of cool street art and graffiti in Tel-Aviv Some with deeper and more political meanings... |
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| Kisses from Tel Aviv xoxo |
