Home Away From Home

Monday, the 7^th of Feb.

One of the things at the top of my to-do list upon arrival was find the US Embassy here in Tel Aviv.  Quite by accident I found it on Sunday.  Most embassies have their flags right out front, but the US for obvious reasons does not.  However, the Marines outside and armor-plated Suburban were unmistakable even though the Marines weren’t wearing a shred of uniform.   It was pretty funny because I jogged past the building and thought “man, that place looks American.”  Then today, I jogged back by to confirm and found the US flag flying at the back.  So I marked it in my GPS and memorized key landmarks nearby just in case.  Speaking of jogging, I need to video tape one of my jogs here.  It’s quite an adventure.  I start off on a busy street, go through a busy market, then along a gorgeous beach with sailboats in the distance and surfers in the waves, then wind through a pretty touristy area before returning back.  (If you’re worried, I don’t take the same route every day.  I switch it up.)  There are beggars, moms with strollers, tons of bikers and motorcycles on the sidewalks, tourist groups, people everywhere, animals roaming around (there are TONS of feral cats here).  Did you catch that?  Motorcycles on the sidewalks!  It's like a stinking game of Frogger.  I have noticed though that I run MUCH faster here.  It makes an easy jog quite the adventure to be weaving through so much going on.  Plus, I’m slowly learning my neighborhood.  I love it.