My first week in Tel Aviv is over and it’s been, for lack of a better word, a complete whirlwind. I don’t even know where to start at this point but I’ll try my best. Overall, I’m thrilled to be here. The transition from extreme homesickness to relative comfort has been surprisingly swift, but not without its challenges.

The main challenge so far in Tel Aviv has been learning to let go. Letting go of routine and giving in to chaos. Letting go of sadness because there isn’t any room for it. Letting go of your inhibitions and learning to say yes to any opportunity that comes through the door. Trying to recreate any semblance of normal life is paralyzing and is pretty much a waste of time, so here I am, giving in to the city and letting it guide me instead of me trying to make any sense out of it.

The program started with an eventful uber ride into Jerusalem, with a driver that didn’t speak any English, a broken gps, backing up into traffic because we were in the wrong lane, and a lot of shouting, but we made it in one piece! Overall, we are a group of 60 people from all over the world with extremely diverse interests, but with a lot of common ground. The second day of orientation featured a food tour through the Mechane Yehuda market and a visit to the Old City. I froze my butt off but it was a great way to kickstart the program.

On Wednesday, we arrived in Tel Aviv and moved into our accommodations at Beit Leni. The building is right in the heart of the city and is walkable to pretty much anything worth walking to! Dizengoff Mall is nearly next door and Shuk HaCarmel is less than a ten minute walk away. There are countless bars, clubs and cafes and the beach is fairly close by too. Slowly slowly I’m learning my way around. And eating everything. I literally cannot stop eating here. Even something as simple as vegetables tastes ten times better than at home.

On our first night, we went to a bar called Pesaz and there ended up being a really incredible band playing. It was all instrumental but the lead trumpet player was really impressive. After a few drinks, we headed back with our clothing smelling like cigarettes, but in high spirits. The rest of the week consisted of going out every night and eating everything in sight.

My time here so far has been jam packed that I can’t recount everything. It also didn’t help that I couldn’t get my computer to connect to the internet here until today, so this post is a little bit late, but everything is settling into place. Here are a few more images from the last week.