Fall Break Tel Aviv!

Ill be doing a few installments for my fall break trip in order to break it down and make it more manageable for me to write about it all! First up was our stop in Tel Aviv.

We flew in to the airport around 5PM and made our way into the city which took around 45 minutes. My initial reaction was a little but of awe and a lot of confusion as I stared out the window and wasn't too sure what to make of the city that passed me by. It was dark so I couldn't see all that much but from what I could see the city appeared to be a little run down but still quite modern. The buildings weren't falling apart but nothing really seemed brand new or fancy. After we made our way through a few pretty sketchy neighborhoods (or so we thought) we came upon our place of residence for the next two nights. We had rented out an apartment one block off the beach and after calling the owner we made our way up to the studio apartment and settled in. Mind you, we ended up on a little side adventure because we had been told 28 was the address when really it was 29 so we accidentally wandered into the wrong complex but luckily a girl our age was able to translate over the phone and figure out we were across the street from the apartment.

As you can see from the first picture, the wall decor outside our place was...interesting to say the least. The apartment itself was very nice but on the way in we weren't too sure what we had gotten ourselves into. After setting our bags down and taking a quick rest we wandered towards the beach in search of dinner. We came upon a restaurant that was on the beach and so we ended up grabbing some hummus, pita, and other israeli dishes before making our way back to the apartment. Oh, how could I forget, there was a torrential downpour right before dinner and as we made our way to the beach we had to avoid lakes that had formed in the streets, the drains didn't seem to be doing their job.

The next morning we woke up and went to the beach, it was a beautiful day with very few clouds and not too warm and not too cold. It was nice to be out of the cold London weather for a bit and we were sure to soak up as much sun as we could. After the beach we made our way into the city center. We had no real destination but we walked a few miles inland and around the financial district to see "downtown" Tel Aviv although its hardly a downtown.

After walking around we decided to make our way to Old Jaffa, the south side of the city for dinner as well as to see the sunset. We walked along the beach for a few miles and explored the old city as well as the dock area that had restaurants where we later ate dinner. This part of the city is more muslim than the northern part which was somewhat apparent by the mosques surrounding the area. Above is a picture of jaffa, as well as the dock area. The last picture is us waling towards Old Jaffa as the sun was setting (on the left is Jaffa). The food here was amazing as well, I've given into eating fish this fall due to the fact that on my travels its become increasingly difficult to find vegetarian options so I ended up getting the salmon which was delicious!

The next day we just woke up and went to the beach again, and then packed our bags and set out for Jerusalem! The picture above was in Jaffa and I just thought it was cool so I put it up for everyone to see. In general, I'd say Tel Aviv was the most modern and liberal city we visited. Most people were accepting of both Jews, and Muslims more so than anywhere at least. The taxi drivers were all extremely nice to us Americans (hey, we do support their country...with a LOT of money). In a few conversations we had with various locals we did discover how hard it was to live there, with the constant tension. One bartender (yes mom, we were at a bar, NO we weren't drunk...) who had fought in the israeli navy said that she always lived under tension no matter when or where she was.

Making our way to Jerusalem was an adventure in itself, as we asked the driver to take us to the train station he offered to drive us all the way for around 30 dollars each, which wasn't much over the train fare so we decided, why not?! Turns out he had a TV in the car and he ended up playing Madonna live as we made our way up into the mountains where Jerusalem sits. Until next time...

Not a whole lot to report, its midterm season!

With midterm papers and assignments upon us, I have been under intensive house arrest the past week and a half with little end in sight! Last Sunday I did get the chance to visit Brighton beach for free through NYU. We spent the first half of the day at an old royal palace where George IV spent his time partying. The house was quite ornate, but unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside (google it!). It was nice to get out of London and take a break from work! Next weekend I'm going back to Paris to visit a friend and spend a little more time exploring the city. Heres a pic of the beach, wish we would have gone when it was a little warmer! Also, funny story from the trip. As we were walking down one of the piers a seagull swooped down and grabbed the entirety of my friends ice cream cone and flew off with it, leaving my friend stunned and me laughing as the ice cream blew in my face because of the wind.

A few pictures from Munich!

0. All of us in the tent!

1. Locals I met on Saturday!

2. Hofbrauhouse, most CRAZY tent there was

3. Another hofbrau picture of the stage, where the live band played Bavarian music

4. Outside in the beer garden with friends from the U.S.!

Enjoy!

Munich on my Mind

Just got back from Oktoberfest a few hours ago. It's hard to put an experience like the one I've had in words but I will try. I showed up on Thursday and went that evening to the festival with the guy I was staying with. Upon arrival I saw thousands of people, rides everywhere, and beer tents as far as my eyes could see. We ended up going into a tent and getting a table in their beer garden. After a few steins (german beer mugs), I met his friends and we just talked, and enjoyed the music/environment. That night was a good "warm up" for the next few days, it set me up for a successful weekend since my local host gave me some pro tips. Side entrances are your friend, get there EARLY, the list goes on but without him I'd have been completely lost. The next day I woke up and went back and luckily it wasn't too crowded when we got there so we hopped around a few tents and explored since most of my friends first day was Friday. Saturday was by far the best day, I had bought a ticket from my host so I had a spot inside one of the tents. Best purchase ever. I showed up at 1PM and made my way through hoards of people waiting to get in without tickets (most never did, only a lucky few girls who managed to flirt with security or the people who bribed them). Since I was the only one with a ticket, I had no game plan, except maybe to meet people which would happen anyways since everyone was SO nice and outgoing. After walking around the tent a bit, a few girls approached me and invited me to sit with them and their friends so I did. They were all from Munich so I was the token "american boy" and the fact that I was from Texas, went to school in New York, and was studying in London blew their minds. Funny how things really hit you when other people react. I'm a lucky person to live where I live and be from where I am. We hung out for a few hours but once they left I made my way to another table and met yet another group of locals. We sang, drank, danced, and made toasts all night until it closed around 11PM. We parted ways but I went with one girl to ride one of the rides because I couldn't leave without going on at least one. Best decision ever! The ride took us up a few hundred feet and spun us around so we could see all of Munich and the festival. She couldn't find her friends so I walked her home since I didn't want her to walk home alone and it was still early so I didn't mind. It also gave me the chance to see more Munich since so much of my time was spent on the fairgrounds. In general, this little bubble of German culture, offered me my first view into a world I'd always heard about and never thought I'd live to see. People came from all over, and the mood was simply jolly, nobody was angry, and nobody seemed stressed. American frat parties have nothing on this festival, I can tell you that much. Never in my life will I see another man donned in Liederhosen chug a stein as an entire tent cheers and watches. The city itself was very nice and clean. It had the feeling of a large town just like Austin where youre overwhelmed but it still has a lot to offer. Its definitely a city I could see myself living in, but who knows! If I could go back and do it again, I would without a doubt. I was yet again reminded of how much of a bubble we live in sometimes, theres a whole world out there! With so much culture, its astronomical even from my limited perspective. Cheers!

Amsterdam

After a few days of wandering the streets of Amsterdam I can say I have a pretty good feel of the culture. The people LOVE their bikes, absolutely love them. I saw more bikes than cars, by a factor of 10 or 20. The city itself lacks any tall buildings and so there's no real sense of a "downtown" but that's what makes it so nice. All the buildings are similar, and seem to play in repeat as you walk from canal to canal which ring around the city for a few miles. The food was everywhere, but mainly influences from other places like "mexico", and "italy" but since when do nachos have peas and green beans?! Blasphemy. With no plan and no maps, we really winged this trip but ended seeing up a lot! On day one we set out to just walk around and get a feel for the place, we ended up stumbling upon the Anne Frank museum. Having read her diary when I was relatively young it was a surreal experience being in the place where she wrote/lived during her writing of the diary. The emotions hit me just as they had while reading the books but now her experience was solidified in the confines of her hideout as it had once been. The next day we ended up going to the Van Gogh museum as well as the Heineken Experience. Although both were very different, I nonetheless enjoyed them both equally. The museum was full of pieces I recognized and others I had never seen before but his artwork is amazing in person and reading about his life and evolution as a painter was more meaningful than any simple online image could do justice to. The Heineken Experience was a very touristy place but it offered me the chance to learn how bear is made and the various processes it goes through as well as how and when to consume your beer! (within 12 minutes or before the foam dies down otherwise you lose the taste!)

Being in Europe has begun to open my eyes to a whole new world. A world that has existed forever but I've hardly seen. Every day in my world I fail to see that which surrounds me. Studying abroad and visiting other cities/countries has made me realize just how diverse the world is, which is hard to fathom when you're stuck in America (which is surprisingly diverse itself). Above are a few pictures for you to enjoy! Back to reading and homework before Munich this weekend for OKTOBERFEST.

Not too much new stuff to report...

Just been reading a lot and going to class, amsterdam this weekend! Can't wait! We're planning on going to "Taste of Amsterdam" which is a huge food festival which should be a lot of fun! Can't wait to go, I've always wanted to go!

Bike Rides

Just went for a ride through central London. They have bikes for hire for an hour at 1 pound which isn't too bad, plus the city is infinitely more bike friendly than NYC.

2nd Week of Class & A Day Trip to Chartwell + Ightam Mote

The second week of classes went well, a little stressful and long since I have all my classes on Monday and Wednesday but I made it through them just fine. Other than reading, going to class, and exploring London I've been mostly sleeping. On wednesday we went to the London Eye which was amazing. The night we went the skies were clear so you could see for 20+ miles in every direction. On Friday for my history class we took a trip to Chartwell, Winston Churchill's former estate as well as Ightam Mote, a manor house that dates back to 1330. Here are some pictures below from this week! The manor house was quite amazing, considering just how old it was and the property around it was beautiful. Chartwell was probably my favorite just because it was located on a hill in the countryside where you could see for miles around. It's an amazing piece of history and still contains countless artifacts that pay tribute to Churchill including his personal collection of paintings that he painted, who knew he was an artist?

Paris!

Sadly there will be no pictures, I got home to find out they all got messed up and wont open on my computer. I do however have a few from friends...

The bus ride to Paris was interesting. We left around 10pm and got in at 9AM, thanks to the fact that we missed our chunnel train by a few minutes and ended up waiting until 3AM to catch the next one. Once we got into Paris, we made our way into the city via the metro and walked around for awhile to get our bearings straight and figure out where to go. We ended up seeing the grand palace, louvre, notre dame, and then split up for lunch. I saw a friend for lunch and ended up taking a rest for a bit since it was impossible to sleep on the bus. Then I met up with a friend who had taken the train from London and we got an extremely nice french meal with wine, cheese, and french fries! (Even though theyre not really french...) After that was the eifel tower, arche de triumphe and finally, the hotel! Getting to the hotel was a bit of an adventure. We stayed about 15 minutes outside Paris since it was a. cheaper and b. within walking distance (see: about a 45 minute walk...) of the music festival we were going to. After making our way through the backroads of suburbia we crashed for the night so we could be well rested for the festival. The festival was just as amazing as I'd expected since so many of my favorite artists were there. After my friends left around 6pm I made some new (english speaking!) friends from UCSB who happened to be studying in Paris. After the festival I made my way back to the hotel and went to sleep because we had to get up at 7AM to make our way across Paris to the station. After traveling 8 hours back and under the English Channel I can say that the trip albeit a little short was more than I could have asked for. The food was expensive, the locals a bit rude, but the sights/sounds/smells were so unique! I know I will be back soon... with new friends, and a newfound love for Paris, I'll be back (and with bus tickets at just over $60 round trip), who could say no to another weekend in Paris?

Second day of Classes & British Drinking Laws

Well yesterday was the second day of classes. It turns out I have the same professor for both my econ classes, lets hope he's a good one! These two classes are going to be my favorite, econ has always been the most interesting/fun subject for me but with a european perspective I think it will be even more intriguing. Classes in London seem to be very reading heavy with little busy work which is nice but its hard to find enough time to do all the readings! After class me and my friends hung around the dorm which is full of not only NYU kids but also kids from all over the world. We hung out in the common room and played foosball/pool while making new friends and enjoying some beer/cider. One problem I have with America is that drinking is so closeted for most teenagers that it promotes binge drinking, but here its more a social/public event which takes much of the edge off. Even the NYU London dorms (which I'm not housed in) forbid drinking in the common areas, which is silly... were not in America! Enough of that, off to Paris in a few hours, can't wait! Although I'm a little worried about the language barrier.

Football

Today was a pretty lazy day. Woke up and did some reading for class, hit the gym, and then went to the local pub to watch Wales vs. England. Felt quite British at the pub, they do love their football! Tomorrow I start my other two classes, hopefully they go well!

Tonight we ended up going to Oxford Square which is a lot like the SoHo in Manhattan. We wandered around and went in a few shops but in general were just walking for the sake of walking. We took the tube down there about 3 stops and spent a couple of hours just playing tourists. We then decided to walk all the way back which was about 45 minutes to the local pub to catch a drink with some friends from the other dorms to celebrate our first day of classes. After that I met people from Germany, France, Italy, Amsterdam, and tons of other places outside in the courtyard. No class tomorrow, hopefully get some homework done and explore London too!

First Day of Class(es?)

Well today was the first official day of classes but instead of the three I usually should go to I only ended up in one since one professor had to postpone and the other doesn't meet until next week. Waking up for a 9am class was hard to say the least, the jet lag still lingers in the back of my mind and setting the alarm for 7:45 London time made me cringe. Finding my way to class was a bit of an adventure having never been to the academic center but me and my roommate made good time and showed up a few minutes early after a few unexpected detours. The academic building is essentially three brownstones where they knocked out a few walls and connected them. However there is only one entrance so it can get a bit confusing if you're class is all the way on the other side from the main entrance. The professor was an extremely nice and knowledgable 65 year old man. The class is called "Europe since 1945" which is not my normal class of interest but it fulfills a humanities requirement and why not brush up on something other than American history?

After class, I began planning what I hope to be an adventure this weekend in Paris. There's a music festival on Saturday so we're trying to make it to Paris for two days; one to be tourists and the other for the festival! Hopefully that works out and we make it there. After the gym, me and my roommate (I'll just call him by name from now on, Kevin) are set to go out and explore a new area of London. We've yet to determine which area, but there's enough to see that I'm sure we'll find ourselves somewhere new and exciting!

Until next time!

The First Week

Day 1: The flight over was interesting to say the least. I was excited for the bulkhead seat with extra legroom only to find out that I would be stuck in my seat with a baby sleeping right in front of me, or not sleeping... as it would turn out. The parents were nice enough but I was literally stuck in my seat for 6 hours and in order to get out the contraption the baby was sleeping in had to be removed... without waking up the baby. The flight was a lot better than I had originally anticipated, considering I'm used to flying discount airlines I was in for a treat. 2 meals, a free newspaper, and multiple drink services?! Yes please. Not to mention the FREE pillow and blanket, they really did it right. After I got to the airport I made my way through customs and eventually found myself waiting for someone whom I was planning on sharing a cab with. Things didn't work and her flight was stuck in the states but I happened upon another NYU'er. After we got in the cab and began to drive on the wrong side of the road it began to sink in, I am living in another country thousands of miles away from all my friends and family. A wave of emotion set in as I could hardly keep my eyes open yet couldn't keep them off the foreign landscape passing me by. I got settled in at the dorm and went on a walking tour where I learned about where all the local shops and pubs are. The dorms are interesting, (read: small), but have a lot of character and spunk. With no AC it tends to get a little hot in the afternoons but hopefully once it cools off it will get better.

Days 2-4: The last few days have been a blur of making new friends, and exploring London before classes set in and the STUDY part of study abroad kicks in. We found a nice plub (pub/club) down the street that is a lot of fun to go to and might end up being our go to place. Eating here is going to be a challenge, the groceries are expensive and being a veggie head abroad is a little... different than back home. Yesterday we went on a bus tour of London which was nice, played a little of a speed tourist game but it was nice to at least SEE all of London's major attractions. The british culture isn't all too different from life back home but it is different enough that I find myself perplexed at least a few times a day. Chips are fries. Toilets are restrooms. Etc. It seems like most british people have a hard time understanding our American slang and accents even though its really not THAT different. Classes start tomorrow, until then just getting ready and enjoying our first typical London day, foggy and rainy!