What Surprised You the Most About Israel?

Sitting through a four hour flight delay (after having already been in the airport for six hours), I wished more than ever to be back in Israel. It seemed so unreal to be back and casually lounging in the airport terminal, attempting to stay awake. Just before leaving for Ben Gurion Airport, I walked along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and 16 hours later I was dragging my sleepy feet through customs. 

The lovely 10 hours I spent in JFK (a small fraction of the 32 hours it took me to get to Ohio) was used wisely to keep myself awake by making a video!

Although a large portion of this summer in Israel was unexpected, there were other smaller surprises about living in Israel.

I am Glad I Got Lost That One Day…

Café Smadar Entrance

Sometimes getting lost can be a good thing. When I was trying to find the Museum of Natural History the other day, I spent a good amount of time wandering on Emik Refaim, a large street in the German Colony, full of cafés and restaurants. During lunch, I was browsing through the Jerusalem Film Festival schedule when I saw that there was a movie conveniently showing about 30 minutes after work. When I saw that it was located off of Emik Refaim, I was ecstatic because I knew right where the theater is located, and I did not have time to spare for getting lost.

Leah Meyerhoff answering questions from the audience

I am very much a person who likes to plan, but for some reason I really never make plans until the last minute. Deciding to go to the film festival was the best last minute plan ever. Not only did I know where the theater was located, but the also the film was in English! I went to see I Believe in Unicorns by Leah Meyerhoff.

THIS WAS THE COOLEST MOVIE THEATER EVER!

Inside the café

Inside the café/movie theater

It was at Lev Smadar, a hole in the wall theater in a hole in the wall café. I walked in and didn’t think I was in the correct place until I asked someone. I was so giddy and excited to be at the movies!! Given the events of the past few days, I hadn’t been that excited about  something in a long time. I was just so happy to be taking myself to the movies! (Yes, I was alone at the film festival, but I get off work way before any of my friends, so I really try to take advantage of my extra time). The theater was amazing. If Lev Smadar wasn’t so cool, I don’t think I would have been as happy. This screening was also amazing because Leah was in the audience and introduced her film and then held a Q&A session afterwards.

The film’s opening was incredible! I was shaking with excitement as the first scenes flashed across the screen. Never have I seen such an artistic film! I Believe in Unicorns is a true work of art. Although I didn’t care for the plot, I enjoyed Leah’s filmography. This was definitely not a film one would see in Tinseltown back home.

The great thing is that the Jerusalem film festival runs until July 20! There are seven different screening venues with movies playing all day long. I kid you not. Screenings begin at 9 am and last until midnight! The films come from all over the world in many different languages (yay English subtitles). The genres range from Israeli to Fringidaire to Carte Blanche. Every night, in addition to the movies, there are free concerts around the city to attend. Now that I have my film festival booklet, I can carefully plan out all the movies I wish to see after work for the rest of the week =)