So despite the fact that I am still very freaked out about living in a foreign country of which I do not know the language, I have found in just one week the strangeness of life can be incredibly funny.
Stuff like:
- the phrase "cheese douche" is both disgusting and a fabulous insult ("Don't be a cheese douche!"); douche cheese is just horrific
- the fact one of my coworkers at Masada has both his belly button and nipple pierced; he is only 22, otherwise it might be severely disturbing. This also brings up the ever present question of "Gay or European?" Gay or European? Gay or European? We may never know.
- one of the guys at Masada is named Suleiman (I am almost positive) and is, therefore, Magnificent; he also speaks no English but has not mastered the art of mime, unfortunately
- I found my lost iPod while tipsy and exhausted, which created a kind of wild, rapturous reaction during which I semi-drunk dialed my own mother to tell her
- people with Hebrew names that sound like English words always compare them to their English counterpart to make us dumb Americans get it ("My name is Nir. As in, not far" OR "My name is Dor, like...a door," while pointing to a door)
And I know things will only get stranger, and with hope, funnier. Because through the anxiety and the fear of being useful and belonging and being judged and worth something, I need to see the lighter side.
But I have already seen the sweeter side. As we finished work, Erez, one of the guys on Masada said to Emily, Sarah and me, "You are small, but you work hard. Very strong. Chazak."
Zababa!
