A day to never forget: that explains my day fairly well. It was spent on one of the top beaches in the world, in the city of Tel Aviv. While there were a few consequences to my actions, I do not regret any of them. I had more fun than I can explain. I love swimming; I love sitting on the beach. BYU needs to consider a campus in California, right on the beach. I could go to Hawaii, I guess, but I just couldn’t be that far away from my family! Plus, I probably wouldn’t go to classes ever. I guess it’s a good thing that I go to school in Provo, Utah, where the most exciting things occur on the BYU campus.
We left promptly at nine o’clock in the morning, according to “Mormon Standard Time”, that is. After a short orientation on safety by a member of security, we were led to the vans that would take us to and from Tel Aviv. The van I was in consisted of ten girls: Jenessa, Ashley, Jess, Ashlyn, Sam, Becca, Wayna, Megan, Jenny, and I. It was a van of the “tall girls”; everyone was over 5’10” except for Wayna and I. We had chosen to turn this day into a birthday celebration for Jenessa Duffy. What a better way to spend the day than on a beach in Tel Aviv. We bounded out of vans and under a canopy on the beach in no time. Within seconds, Ashley and I were bursting for the ocean. The water was warm and clear. It felt amazing in the heat of the day! We splashed and laughed in the water and took pictures! There were very little swells so we were able to swim around and play, rather than focus on the waves. However, it was a bummer that we couldn’t ride any waves or anything thing! It was nice to have the water go to our waists for a good 20 yards or more into the water. We spent a lot of time in the water, but what else would you expect? I have missed swimming in the ocean.
Other than swimming, we walked along the beach (I had a nice run), sat in the sun/shade and talked (I stayed in the shade for a good portion of the time), and played Phase 10. It was a blast! However, I am the worst at Phase 10 so that was a bit unfortunate. It took me four or five rounds to get passed the first phase! It was absolutely ridiculous. I don’t understand why some people get all the luck in those games. It’s like I have broken many mirrors without even knowing it. I have been sentenced to a lifetime of bad luck! You know you wish you were me. A few of us also got some gelato. Of course, I was one of those few. How many people can say that they got gelato on a beach in Tel Aviv? I can! I got banana and brownie. Banana was amazing. I wish I would have gotten a double-scoop of the banana instead of the brownie! We went to dinner at a place called Moses’ Burgers. It was recommended to us by Brother Huntington (the academic adviser) and Mr. Hayet (the program adviser), and it was recommended for good reason. Those burgers were amazing. I am so glad that I went with to get them. (Part of our group went somewhere else and just ended up getting salads.) The burgers were quite large and juicy and yum. They had this spicy ketchup that was to die for. And wet wipes…which Alise and Megan took a bunch of as we were leaving, but we won’t get into that now…haha. I love those girls. It was nice to have a meal that wasn’t smothered in Middle Eastern spices for once. I love curry and I love cumin and I love coriander but sometimes you just need a good, old hamburger.
We were able to see a piece of the sunset before we were to leave for the Jerusalem Center. It was beautiful. I got some amazing pictures! The water was beautiful; the skies were beautiful. Sunsets are just beautiful. Sunsets on the beach (in Tel Aviv…) are beyond beautiful I am hoping to get to watch an entire sunset in Tel Aviv before I need to return home to Utah.
We got back to the J.C. before nine o’clock at night. It was a good twelve hour day! I went straight into my room to take a shower. The cool water felt so good. The salt and sand was beginning to irritate me. After my shower, I pulled my hair up, pulled on a loose pair of shorts, and headed out to the fourth floor lounge with my computer and some aloe vera. I’m sure this isn’t coming as a surprise to you. When am I not sunburned? It isn’t horrible, luckily. I put sunscreen on everywhere but the tops of my feet and the backs of my legs. Pleasant…it feels pleasant. It was a bad choice that I didn’t even realize I was making. My legs are cherry colored in the back and still dead white in the front. It looks ridiculous! There are a few choice people who are sunburned so badly that it hurts them to walk. I am glad I am not one of those people. That would be horrible! Luckily, I was smart enough to bring an entire bottle of aloe vera with me on this journey. This would be pretty miserable without it!
I ended up watching Lord of the Rings: Return of the King with a group of people. (I was able to talk to my parents on the phone beforehand, though. As always, it was a fun talk. I was also able to say hi to Candace and Samantha. I love my family so much. They are the best!) Lord of the Rings isn’t something I watch constantly, but I like it well enough. I don’t think I have ever seen all of Return of the King, though. I fear to admit that I fall asleep more often than not! But that’s okay! I’m not sure if I am really missing all that much. After all, Lord of the Rings seems to be mostly about the destruction of all mankind and about a romance that didn’t even occur in books!
It was an amazing day. The sunburn is painful and obnoxious, but it is worth it. I will have to remember to put sunscreen on every part of my body next time; because there will most definitely be a next time.
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