Friday 15 February 2013

Day 18 - Culture Shock



I started off the day by going to the gym again - yay! But despite this my joints have been a little achy. The treatments do throw toxins out of your body, which I see from the spots on my skin, the random bruises on my body, my hair being weird, the headaches and the stomach problems, but when my joints have been better, then get achy again, I get a bit worried. The wrist that had been so much better, started hurting again, as did the other wrist (which never usually hurts) and the right ankle and jaw. I should just leave it and not think about it too much but I tend to start thinking, I only have 2 treatments left, is it enough? When I first came here 9 years ago, I never bought a return ticket. I stayed indefinitely and after 3 months of intensive treatments Ady said right, you're ready, we're done here! And I was fixed. But this time I have chosen how much time I have to devote to it and a month was quite a long time to take out of my life as it is but it was the longest I was able to do. So I am hoping that the 7 treatments are enough to keep me going at least until after the wedding. Meanwhile I have to stay positive and think that the pains are reactions to the treatments and not anything else.

Anyway I still went to the gym because I'm not swollen, just a bit stiff, and still enjoyed it. I then took myself to the flea market in Jaffa as I had to buy some props for the wedding and I just love it there, it is such an experience. I keep thinking for all my friends who have never been to Israel, or don't know it too well, I wonder what they'd think if they went there. It is not really a place that tourists get to and it would be such a culture shock. All the screaming and bartering, the random antiques and clothes on sale amongst mini humous restaurants and juice bars. Men sitting outside their 'shops' on tables as old as the market itself playing backgammon. People like me trying to disguise my British-ness by speaking in as firm an Israeli accent as possible in order to not be over charged. In the 'Shuk Ha Pishpishim' (flea market), you have to walk with conviction, like you know where you are going and what you are looking for an how much you are prepared to spend for it. The moment they see you dawdeling they realise you could be a tourist and therefore highly vulnerable to their Aladdin like 'come, let me show you what I have in my store of wonders' *insert scarily spoken Arabian accent here*. But I got what I needed, had a bit of a mooch, and left to go meet an old friend for lunch.

This is becoming a bit of a daily 'thing', but todays 'Only-In-Israel' experience came when my friend and I were walking to a cafe to have lunch and there was a cute little dog on the main street trying to crawl underneath a garbage tip. It had a collar on but seemed as if it was alone. I couldn't bare it, so I kept asking every person that walked past if it was their dog. Everyone said no. I asked the few shops around and all the people in the shops said no. I said to my friend, what do we do, the collar had a name on it but not a number and I wasn't prepared to leave this dog on a main street to get run over. I asked her who we call in a situation like that... then we went into a shop a few shops down and the lady said so flippantly, 'ah yes it's my dog'. I literally went mad shouting at her! I told her to keep her dog where she can see him and if she can't look after her dog properly, letting him eat from underneath a garbage tip and walking over the road, then she shouldn't have a dog. She went out to get him and stayed silent but this seems to happen all over Tel Aviv. People take their dogs to work and just let them roam around. There are so many strays here too and it is really upsetting. But the nice thing is that most people who get dogs get rescue dogs that have been strays and are now in shelters.

Dr Lauren Dolittle to the rescue!

We eventually got to lunch, had a lovely catch up and then I came back to rest, and decided not to leave! I was too tired. The tiredness is started to get to me and make me angry. There's only so much of it I can seem to cope with on a day to day basis but I don't have a choice and my mum keeps telling me to stop complaining about it so I better had!

Tomorrow is another day!

Have a good weekend everyone

Love and light xxx



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