Study, No Dancing

I slept until two o'clock in the afternoon today. I must still be jetlagged, because I can't seem to fall asleep until seven or eight in the morning. I'm all out of whack. But it's okay for now--I still have a week until school starts.

Yesterday I went to the Mahane Yehuda Market in West Jerusalem. I can't believe I'd never been there before. Easily as colorful as the shuk in the Old City, and bigger and more accessible. I bought two overflowing, heavy shopping bags full of fruits and vegetables for a whopping fifty shekels (about ten dollars). I am set for the week.

That night I went to Luise's for dinner with Luise, Gosia, Bernt, and Felix, after which we headed to the d1, the dive of choice, where the DJ was playing gypsy and Arab music all night. We stayed for a while and danced till we were good and sweaty, then headed off to find a highly hidden, highly underground rave somewhere in the city center. Raves are illegal in Israel, so it was all very hush-hush, with a phone number, and a few detailed directions in Hebrew. Eventually we ended up in this alley, at the end of which was a huge abandoned building. We had to climb up a makeshift iron ladder to get in, as several stairs were missing. Inside we followed a few well-placed candles down, down, and down into the bowels of the parking garage, where we were greeted by strobe lights, smoke, and loud music of a techno-trance variety. There were people everywhere, though you couldn't always see them through the smoky, colored light haze. So we danced a while, looked everywhere for Luise, who had disappeared for a bit, and then decided to go get some food.

I went with Shadi and Fadi, two Palestinian brothers who I find absolutely charming, to a 24 hour bakery in East Jerusalem. They helped me practice my Arabic, although they laughed at me quite a bit, and we stood outside the bakery eating bagels dipped in sour cream and za'atar on the hood of the car. It was a lovely time.

But now it's time to study.