Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

I have a few friends from Tel Aviv, all of whom think it's the greatest city in the world. I'm beginning to see why. At first, I was somewhat put off by its shabbiness, although the more you walk around, the more you notice all the beautiful buildings that have been restored. The Birthright trip was no way to get to know the city. The only way to do that is to explore by foot and hang out with locals, both of which I've been doing a great deal of in the last few days. Through people who live here, I've done things I would never have done as a lone tourist, from a night out at Tel Aviv's premier drag show to eating the best hummus in the city, in a tiny side street in the maze of the Yemenite quarter. By the way, hummus here tastes and feels like an entirely diferent product than what goes by the same name in England and Canada. I have eaten more hummus in the last two weeks than I had cumulatively in my life until then.

I've also taken some day trips out of the city. On Tuesday I went up to Tel Aviv University, where I met with mathematics education professor Tommy Dreyfus, to whom I was introduced by Gila Hanna (another maths ed prof for whom I worked in Toronto). He was a lovely guy and we spent a happy hour discussing his research, my academic plans and the educational system in Israel, amongst other things. I also met with two post-docs there who are involved in a fascinating research project considering the mathematical capabilities of very young children, which are far greater than generally assumed. One of the students who joined us on the Birthright tour studies at the university and we also met for a campus tour and discussion of university life in Israel, which is notably different than that of England or Canada because they start when they're 21, having already served in the army.

On Wednesday I took advantage of being offered a life to Jerusalem. I started at the Tower of David citadel and museum. Throughout this historic building, exhibition rooms tell the history of the city. There are no original artefacts but a series of innovative models and exhibits recount the story. The hologram of the First Temple was somewhat gimmicky but I totally fell for it. And the introductory film, a 15 minute animated history of Jerusalem, was so beautiful that I watched it twice (and contempated watching it a third time, although by then the prospect of lunch won out). Later in the day I explored the beautiful Yemin Moshe neighbourhood, an almost entirely residential and totally pedestrianised neighbourhood, one of the first to be built outside the old city on a hillslope overlooking the walls. I spent a very happy 45 minutes admiring its cobbled streets, winding staircases, charming gardens and beautiful buildings. From there to an area known as the German Colony, where I found a delightful cafe and spend a blissful two hours reading the paper and partaking in their wonderful hot chocolate and herbal teas. There is so much more to Jerusalem than the Old City!