First day

Tues 26 Nov

El-Al flight from Bangkok was interesting, mostly Israelis (this is their national carrier) noting their intensity, confidence, ease of engaging with each other, they always applaud when landing in Israel. Hearing/processing Hebrew again, hope my reading with no vowel points improves from reading all the signs! But for all the novelty and amazement/gratitude to be doing this long trip for real at last, I had a very bad flight emotionally, dread and doubt, made the mistake of reading a novel sample on Kindle and watching a movie which always breaks my reality so that nothing seems important or worth doing anymore, hard to explain. I have been like this since a child, also why I don’t watch TV much. I think maybe I just have to be a Nazirite here (biblical term) and accept I am set apart for this job and not even try to break my focus even (especially) for entertainment.

Landed in Israel on Mon night at 10 pm but Immigration kept me waiting until 11.45 for investigation (although everyone had also been quizzed by security at the El-Al desk in Bangkok airport). I was the only one waiting, cold, 3 or 4 other flights came in, seemed to be all Israeli passports, straight through. I do not know what on earth security did in that time... at one point I asked someone standing by if they had forgotten me, she said This takes time! The first official had wanted evidence of enrolment, I showed her the university emails in my phone. But I didn’t have a place to stay other than a hostel, having said I would be studying here, should have just said Tourist, 3 mths. She looked me up, told a supervisor that I came through the Allenby Bridge once (2018, a uni tour). Since when is a visit to Jordan an issue for tourists?! I said I have been to Israel 7 times, she said I know, I have it all here.

The guy who finally interviewed me (in front of a camera) asked for published articles, looked up my Academia profile, scrolled through, said Wow you take this very seriously, found my articles on Sodom, asked where I think it is, I said Southern Dead Sea area, he seemed satisfied, said Yes well there are some crazy theories out there, scrolled a bit more and said Wow this kind of stuff is very trendy right now! When he let me go he said ruefully All the best! Your job is more important than mine! Not sure it was worth the wait for that opinion, but it’s a story I guess. My bag was in Lost and Found by the time I got through.

Taxi to Abraham Hostel in Tel Aviv for 2 nights, very large, well equipped and run, but mostly empty, I am in a 12 bed dorm but only 3 or 4 there. Affordable, could just stay here longterm, includes full Israeli style buffet breakfast (boiled eggs, bread, salads, fruit, yoghurt and various spreads and pickles), could fill up and save food costs too, and commute to the uni. But the shared dorm would wear thin after a while, security issues for my laptop etc though I could use the lockers.

Tues took bus into Dizengoff Centre, large shopping mall in central Tel Aviv, a kiosk worker helped me (despite no Israeli ID) get a regular phone plan SIM (not the more expensive low-data prepaid temp SIM) for ILS40 per month with 400G per month... less than AUD20! We are being ripped off in Aust, but when I said so, he said Aust is much bigger. I also changed USD that Dad gave me before he died (thanks Dad, will get me through), leftover from his (long, my short) 2013 trip, got only half value for the shekels he gave me because they were old. Can’t open a bank account until I have a student visa, and the branch has to be local to where I am living?! Hostel gave me a public transport card, I put some credit on. I feel better to be working things out.

I tried to get to the Med Sea for a late arvo walk (W), but took the bus in the wrong direction (E), so decided to go to BIU instead, got that wrong too, ended up at TAU train station (N)! Walked along the Yarkon River as the sun set, fully dark by 5 pm, long wait for bus back to hostel, but its OK with travel apps now, wont get really lost, unless phone goes flat. I hope I will get it right from here with public transport, learning curve, better to ask for help and try to work it out. All bus fares 6 shekels, you don’t tag off?! Trains have numbers like buses too. Main thing is to watch for cars from the 'wrong' direction, no-one crossing the road between lights as too risky with the busy traffic, lots of electric bikes and scooters on the footpaths, could easily get skittled. Steel bollards along all roads but not at bus stops for access to the doors I guess. I told friends I would not stand at bus stops, but it will be hard not to. Israel is presently 6 hrs behind Perth.