Is This Really My Life?

Honestly, there are so many days I wake up, I live through, I savor, and I wonder... "Is this really my life? Could this be possible?"

For example, today. I woke up early to do sun salutations for yoga, which is about the most relaxing way to begin a day and such a loving treat for your body and soul.

I got dressed and stepped out into the 90-degree heat, welcoming the warmth on my skin. I made a promise to myself that after this atrocious winter (I'm still having flashbacks--I'll shiver and chatter my teeth when I think about the horrors of a New England February) that I would never--EVER--claim it was "too hot." Ever. So while everyone else is like--

I'm like--

But to me, the heat and humidity are quite heavenly. After an ordinary attempted kidnapping (two middle-aged men insisted I get in their car, even after I'd refused over ten times--normal), I hopped on the bus to get to work. 

At work, I accomplished my goal for the summer--I finished my paper!!! Well, the first draft at least.

210 footnotes. 10,500 words. 40 pages double-spaced. Over 75 sources. Blood, sweat,, and tears. It's done! At least until I turn it in proudly to my internship director, she glances at it, then goes--

Then, as I walk away dejectedly, I'll hear her mutter--

Classic. But actually, typing out the conclusion felt like such an achievement. I'm proud of myself!

A few hours after getting back home, Michal and I headed to Herzliya Beach to read and watch the sunset.

I mean... it's only my paradise.

Look at this view.

WOW.

We set up our chairs right on the shore where the waves broke. The water was the temperature of a jacuzzi, offsetting the slight chill of a breeze. Then--as if my life couldn't get more perfect--a tiny, few-months-old puppy frolicked past me.

OH

MY

LANTA.

Petting random animals is apparently kind of my thing...

After the puppy romped across the beach, I continued to read and the sun's orange bled into the water.

Heaven. Came back to the house for a lovely meal with the family--Akiva is back from camp!--and then into bed for some relaxation. 

Honestly, life is so good. I'm absolutely blessed. Fulfilling work, stunning beach views, an incredible family, adorable dogs. It's like I'm living in a dream. Is this really my life?

From the Hills to the Office

Just realized that my title is actually composed of the titles of two (amazing) shows--probably because I'm writing this as I watch The OC. Classic.

Saturday was my last day in Haifa and in the Carmel National Park... Hilarious and confoundingly frustrating. We woke up and took a taxi to the hiking trail. We asked the (non-English-speaking) taxi driver to take us to Beit Oren Junction, which is where our trail began. Kajsa and I showed him a map with "Beit Oren Junction" stamped in bold letters right in the center. He was unbelievably confused, until we conceded that he could just drive us to the University, which was probably a two and a half hour walk from Beit Oren Junction.

"University???" He inquired with confusion.

"University," we insisted.

Our driver:

Finally--after minutes of conversing--our driver exclaimed, "OHHHHH. University!!"

Us:

Yeah. Sure. Not like we just said that.

We got to the University and by chance happened to run into some of the park rangers. We told them we were trying to get to Beit Oren Junction. 

"Where???" the rangers inquired.

"Beit. Oren. Junction."

Rangers:

Nope. Doesn't exist.

IT. WAS ON. OUR MAP.

Finally--after minutes of trying to convince them it existed--the ranger had an epiphany. "OHHH. BEIT OREN JUNCTION."

AHHH.

He directed us on our 1-hour walk to Beit Oren Junction. 

Walk walk walk walk walk walk walk.

We came upon this crazy fortress in the middle of nowhere with tons of wire and scary looking towers. I read a posted sign, and found out it was a prison. Obv took out my phone to take a cool picture. As soon as I snapped my camera, a bolted door to the fortress swung open. Three men in Kevlar rushed out and commanded that I delete the picture immediately. I've never felt more like a stupid American tourist.

I apologized profusely, turned away completely humiliated, then twisted back around and asked, "by the way... Do you know where Beit Oren Junction is?"

Worth a shot.

It had been hours since we'd set off to start our hike, and we still hadn't found the trail. We ended up at the same horse stable we'd passed the day before and asked for directions to Beit Oren Junction. They told us we'd pass some cows up the road then find it.

You may have guessed it.

No cows. Turned back around.

#done

We finally gave up on finding the actual trail and just made our way to Ein Hod, an incredible artist colony carved into the hill.

Ein Hod Artist Colony

Looking at life through rose-colored glasses

Cafe Ein Hod, where we had lunch

A beautiful mural

We spent about two hours in the beautiful town then made our way back to Haifa. We celebrated our successful trip then all but skipped to the train station excited to get home.

Lol, yeah right.

No lights. Shuttered up. Completely empty. Sabbath.

I inquired of a bus driver passing by when the first train would arrive at Haifa Station.

"Eight. Six." He shrugged. "I don't really know."

So done with this.

Another random Israeli person came over to give us more information. "Six and half. Eight. Four. Don't know." It seemed like a lost cause until the guy found out we were American.

"AMERICA!!??" He exclaimed. "I love America!!"

He started to list his favorite American things.

"New York! Pennsylvania! Michigan! NBA!"

It was like a scene out of Anchorman.

He followed us as we wandered to a bus station attempting to locate running transportation.

"California! Canada!

(That last one wasn't American but we decided to let it go.)

He finally left us alone as we jumped on a tram.

But then Ahmoudi (another Israeli friend) latched on. "America!!!!? I love America!!!!"

Me and Kajsa:

Our lack of interest prompted Ahmoudi to ask if we were lesbian (no, we aren't) and if we had Facebook (ohhh no, so sorry).

As a tram official hopped on the train to make sure riders had paid, our delinquent friend Ahmoudi slipped off. Thank God. The official checked my card to make sure I had paid the $2 fare (which, duh, I had) when he looked at me with a suspicious glance. "You didn't pay."

I swear, I went ballistic.

"I PAID. THE MACHINE BEEPED. I PUT IN MY CARD. I PUT IN FIVE SHEKELS THEN TWO SHEKELS."

"You mean seven shekels," the official smirked.

"I GO TO HARVARD. I KNOW WHAT FIVE PLUS TWO IS."

(K didn't say that last part, but I was thinking it)

I literally had tears in my eyes. 

"I CAN SHOW YOU THE TEN CENTS TO SHOW YOU I PAID. I SWEAR TO GOD. THE MACHINE BEEPED."

I don't think the official was very familiar with hysterical teenage girls so he kind of just sidled away and left me and Kajsa alone with our frustration and exhaustion. 

From the tram, we got to a running bus, and I finally-FINALLY-got home!!! Thank you, Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After ten and a half hours of sleep, I woke up to get to work. It was productive, and I'm about three day away from finishing my entire paper (!!!) 

This is my last full week with the family (so sad), and I can't wait to enjoy it with them. I'm over halfway through my summer... Crazy!!!

With love,

Happy-to-be-Home Aubs

Goodbyes Abound

The past few days have been full of farewells, to both people and to the first half of summer.

You went so soon...

On Saturday, host father Ronnie left for a week of work in the US, follow on Sunday by Nava (the host daughter closest to me in age), who left for a week-long retreat. Atara (my fellow "Friends" and Harry Potter fanatic) departed for America for summer camp (still jealous about camp, ugh), so it looks like I'll be watching Ross and Rachel reruns all by my lonesome.

It's been sad--like I've said, they've become family, and as they depart, I feel like pieces of my new home leave with them. For now, it's Esther (mom), Orit (youngest daughter), and Michal (oldest daughter, frantically studying for finals--she's still in school!!!) with me in the four-story home in Raanana. Pretty quiet, as I'm sure you can imagine--but Orit still keeps us on our toes.

The first of the interns to depart came into the office for his last day today.

Charlieeeee

From here on out, at least one intern will leave every week. How did the weeks fly by so quickly!?!

All the interns and our director

I can't believe it. I'm exactly halfway through my time in Israel, and I still feel like I have so much to do and see... I'll definitely be making the most of the next few weeks as I travel up, down, and across this beautiful country.

In the meantime, I'm reaching the end of my first paper draft. So much of my conclusion depended upon the outcome of the Iranian nuclear deal, so I spent more time than I'd like to admit sitting at work waiting for the end of negotiations that is two years overdue.

Me to Secretary of State John Kerry

I actually literally tweeted at the White House, not so subtly asking them to get a move on.

"the end of my 30 page paper depends on the Iranian nuclear deal outcome, so if Kerry could wrap this up, I'd appreciate it❤ ily @WhiteHouse

— astod (@Aubrey_Stoddard) July 13, 2015"

Yes I actually tweeted this

This morning, a deal was reached as soon as I walked into work, and I was over the moon--wahoo, I can finish my paper! Then... I remembered that many people around the world--and basically every Israeli--have called this deal "a historic mistake" that could result in global annihilation. At that point, my celebration looked a little more like this.

yay...??

I should be finishing my first draft by next week, which leaves me over a month to edit... By the end, I'll be second-guessing every period and semicolon I included.

One more day of work, then it's the weekend--and that's something worth celebrating.

Cheers,

Aubs

Meeting Michael Oren

After I finished my post last night, I was asked by my host family if I'd like to go attend a talk with Michael Oren. Mr. Oren, a fellow historian, served as Israel's ambassador to America from 2009 to 2013 and now serves in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. He recently released a new book, Ally, discussing the American-Israeli alliance.

Books, wahoo!

The talk was held at my host family's friends' home right down the street. We all sat outside under the stars snacking, drinking, and listening to an unbelievably intelligent Israeli American.

How adorable are these cookies?

The talk with Mr. Oren enlightened and inspired me. He discussed his experiences in America, his ideas on improvement, and current events. I found that I am now invested in Middle Eastern affairs in a way I never was before. I desire to fix the problems, to apply my growing expertise to issues that I could impact. I think this new-found investment comes both from my burgeoning interest in politics and my deepening relationships with and affection for so many Israelis.

Michael Oren speaking

I loved that I could finally listen to in-depth conversation about current events and pertinent politics and I actually understand more than half of what was being said!!! (Huge deal, guys.) Not only am I spending hours a day actually studying the history of the United States' involvement in the Middle East for work, but I'm also travelling to the places that are talked about the news, reading non--fiction books about it, living it. I'm fully immersed. Which is pretty much the coolest experience ever for someone who was always interested in the subject but never an expert. 

Hi there, Mr. Oren

I was so lucky to discuss with Mr. Oren why I'm here and what I'm interested in. He actually taught at Harvard for a few semesters and did a ton of research for his book at the university that hosts my internship! So our lives intersect in a few cool ways.

This pic will probs end up in my future memoirs, if I can figure out a way to photoshop my frizz

Sarah Stark (she's wearing black in the above picture) is basically one of the best people I've met here in Israel and is also one of the members of "The Bachelorette" Viewing Clique that gathers in the Morris household every Tuesday (we're very worldly). She bought me one of the books as a gift, and Mr. Oren signed it! It read, "To Aubrey: A future leader of America and Israel's historic alliance with America. Michael Oren"

Like, are you kidding me? That's pretty much the coolest thing ever. I was like, omg me, what, no, really?

Anyways, I left the talk feeling so inspired and so excited to contribute in my small way to such an important cause. I got to work, continued writing my paper--and realized that one of my sources for my paper is by Michael Oren! Ugh, so cool.

My experiences here in Israel get more amazing every single day. I am just so lucky!

Signed,

A future leader of America (;