Crazy

Sorry there's been a lag since the last post, but it's been a hectic couple of weeks. MEET is halfway done. The students have been great - full of energy, excitement, and intelligence. These are some of the smartest high schoolers I've met. This past Thursday, there was a Parent's Night where we got to meet the parents and family of some of our students.
I have given most of the core business and entrepreneurship lectures. This week will be dedicated to research, business plan writing, a personal branding workshop, and an Apprentice-like event. Should be enough to keep us busy.

Meanwhile, my apartment back at home in Cambridge was flooded due to the torrential downpour last week in Boston, destroying most of my belongings. It's been a bit surreal, but I think I'm mostly over the shock (but it may really hit when I actually return and see it for myself). It's been a challenge staying focused here knowing that everything I owned and needed back at home is effectively gone. Remnants of my room post storm and trash removal:

Gotta press on...

White Night - Tel Aviv

There was an annual city-wide event/party in Tel Aviv last night called White Night. Basically, it's an event where the city was filled with street performers, vendors, and parties indoors and outdoors.

We took a shuttle from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv (about 40 min) and were dropped of at a bus stop hub in the middle of the city. It was in the middle of a ghetto (I wonder if it was made up of people displaced as the downtown area expanded, similar to what one would see in big cities in China - and the U.S. too). We walked around admiring various street performers, ranging from some European dance to young jazz musicians to this amazing folk singer. The folk singer had one of the broadest ranges I have ever heard. Though he sang really high at points, he rarely ever reached falsetto. And his songs were incredibly heartwarming, full of emotion. We ended up chatting with him afterwards and got his card. He said he'll be performing in Jerusalem soon, so hopefully I can see him again. We also got into an exclusive French rooftop party because one of our teammates spoke French (apparently, that was the only requirement). The party was kinda lame, but the idea of getting access and great view atop was something to write home about. We then stopped by various convenience stores to get drinks and food.

Afterwards, we eventually ended up at a beach dance party at 1:30ish am. This took up the majority of the rest of the night. I really brought me back to the days when I used to go to clubs and dance parties every once in awhile. Men here (and all over the world, really) were fascinated by some of the white girls in our group.

Around 3:30ish-4am, some locals we met on the shuttle met up with us and we went to an American bar. It was glorious because we got to have bacon-cheese fries! Probably the only place in the area that will serve bacon (though apparently, Tel Aviv isn't so strict with kosher food). It totally hit the spot.

After hanging out there for a bit, we went back to the beach to watch the sunrise and then headed back to the bus stop. I felt pretty awake the whole time, but the walk back to the bus killed me. I passed out instantly when we were on the bus.

It was a pretty good night overall, a unique Israeli experience for sure.