I decided to take a trip down to Israel's sin city by myself for a weekend. The main reason I wanted to make the trip down there was because it is the easiest way to get to Petra in Jordan. Although I was a bit uneasy about traveling by myself, it ended up being a great experience.
My trip started out with a night bus that left Tel Aviv at 12 am and got to Eilat at 5 am. What to do in Eilat at 5 am? Nothing! It's too late for going out, yet too early for anything else. So i showed up at my hostel where i had to wait until 8:30 to get a room so I just passed out on some chairs in the lobby. So after getting a total of 3 hours of sleep I was off to explore. I made my way to the underwater observatory and aquarium, which was quite fun considering it's an attraction mostly for children. What can i say? I love being under the sea. I think fish and sea creatures are really interesting and so unfamiliar to my daily life. It's also a great thing to do while traveling alone.
After saying shalom to the fish I went the mall and the famous promenade of the eilat shore. They sell all sorts of things on the promenade, ranging from really expensive jewelry, to 5 shekel pair of shoes. Definitely my kind of shopping. I then spent the rest of the afternoon lying in the sun, soaking in the pleasant heat of the desert. The red sea is SUPER COLD but very refreshing. I finally made it back to my hostel and prepared for a night out.
We ended up not staying out too late since the following day my friend who was staying with family in Eilat and I were going to Petra! There are no words for the stunning sights and massive beauty present in the city of Petra. I am so glad that I was able to go and experience a city that has been around since biblical times. It's so spectacular being able to see greek and roman influences among other earlier cultures that also imprinted their beliefs and traditions on the mountains of petra. Walking up to the Siq left me speechless. The pictures I took in petra don't even come close to doing the place justice, you'll just have to go see it for yourself.
After a long exhausting day of being on my feet for hours upon hours, instead of sleeping, i decided to go out. Who sleeps in eilat? I went out with a couple people from my hostel to a place called the three monkies which as awesome cover bands and it's right on te promenade so great for people watching too.
The next day was all beach, all shopping. At 7 I hopped on a bus back to Herzylia and got ready for yom hatsmaut. It was really nice getting away from it all for a bit since I've been around people 24/7 for the past 2 months. Although i love being with family and friends, it was a nice little break to just have some me time at the beach. Traveling alone also opens doors to talk to random people whom i would normally not even notice if i were with other folks. So all in all, it was a great trip full of stunning sights, meeting new and very interesting people, and a serious lack of sleep. Good times in Eilat!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Nahariya, Ima's hometown
I spent a week and a half in Nahariya visiting my family from my mother's side and traveling around seeing what the north of Israel has to offer. One of the most confusing things about the trip was figuring out how I am related to everyone I visited. My mom literally sent me off to Israel with a list of people i must go visit and their phone numbers. Luckily I slept at one place, my mom's cousins house. He has three kids, one of which is my age, so we hung out a whole bunch.
It's hard to remember what I did day to day since a week or so has already passed since I left Nahariya (I'm sucking at updating this...). I visited a whole bunch of people ranging from my mom's close family to my grandma's friend whom i've never met. Every single family wanted me to hang around and of course brought out a feast. I think I need to run 378947302 miles to work off my week in Nahariya, but I must say, Romanian food is delicious.
I went to Rosh Hanikra, which is possibly one of my favorite spots in Israel. It is right at the border of Israel and Lebanon and it is a bunch of caves that have been carved out by the sea. Some say that it looks like an elephants foot in the water. Whatever is looks like, it's absolutely beautiful. If I could wake up to a view like that every morning, I would be the most relaxed person in the world. During my time in Nahariya we went to rosh hanikra about 5 times since it's so close and so mesmerizing.
We also took a trip up north to see a couple key spots on our way to natural hot springs. The pools were awesome even though we smelled like sulfur the rest of the day. Israel is fond of connecting parks to zoos so at the hot springs, we also got to visit crocodiles, birds, monkies, and tons more.
We went to go visit MT Meron where the holiest of rabbis are buried and it's a place where people go to pray and for good luck. It's sad that it's overrun by religious people asking for donations for random things. It's so sad that the more people travel, the more beautiful sights are taken advantage of by the people who live in the surrounding areas. It makes me really want to avoid touristy areas, but it's almost impossible to in Israel since it is so tiny.
After many trips to Aroma, a Barry Sochoriv concert, family outings, bbqs, beach time, and simple walks around the town, my trip to Nahariya was over. If I were to ever make aliyah, I would like to settle down in a place like Nahariya because it's so quiet, cute, and reminds me a lot of santa cruz.
It's hard to remember what I did day to day since a week or so has already passed since I left Nahariya (I'm sucking at updating this...). I visited a whole bunch of people ranging from my mom's close family to my grandma's friend whom i've never met. Every single family wanted me to hang around and of course brought out a feast. I think I need to run 378947302 miles to work off my week in Nahariya, but I must say, Romanian food is delicious.
I went to Rosh Hanikra, which is possibly one of my favorite spots in Israel. It is right at the border of Israel and Lebanon and it is a bunch of caves that have been carved out by the sea. Some say that it looks like an elephants foot in the water. Whatever is looks like, it's absolutely beautiful. If I could wake up to a view like that every morning, I would be the most relaxed person in the world. During my time in Nahariya we went to rosh hanikra about 5 times since it's so close and so mesmerizing.
We also took a trip up north to see a couple key spots on our way to natural hot springs. The pools were awesome even though we smelled like sulfur the rest of the day. Israel is fond of connecting parks to zoos so at the hot springs, we also got to visit crocodiles, birds, monkies, and tons more.
We went to go visit MT Meron where the holiest of rabbis are buried and it's a place where people go to pray and for good luck. It's sad that it's overrun by religious people asking for donations for random things. It's so sad that the more people travel, the more beautiful sights are taken advantage of by the people who live in the surrounding areas. It makes me really want to avoid touristy areas, but it's almost impossible to in Israel since it is so tiny.
After many trips to Aroma, a Barry Sochoriv concert, family outings, bbqs, beach time, and simple walks around the town, my trip to Nahariya was over. If I were to ever make aliyah, I would like to settle down in a place like Nahariya because it's so quiet, cute, and reminds me a lot of santa cruz.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Trip Up North
I spent passover and the couple days surrounding passover with my uncle and his kids. We were invited to my great aunts house for the first night seder. This is my Iraqi side of the family so you can just imagine all the tasty food there was on the table. I'm really going to miss this style of cooking (I had it every shabbat at my saba's house) because I'm new to it so it's definitely not going to turn out as yummy. The next day we packed up the kids and went on a day trip up north to a natural springs park. We somehow made a half hour hike last 1 1/2 hours and finally made it to the springs. This place was absolutely beautiful and sadly I don't have a single picture since I didn't want to ruin my camera with all the water around. There was a giant waterfall that you could sit under and get an amazing massage. Since the water is a natural spring, there are fish! The sit there nipping at your feet when you're just standing on the rocks. I had to get over my fear of fish and not knowing how deep the water was to be able to get into this natural pool.
We finished the day at a Kangaroo zoo. It was very strange seeing kangaroos so out of place in Israel. There was a section of the zoo where they let them roam free and you can take pictures with them and such. It was so hectic since during passover, many of the parks and zoos are free, so there were tons of people.
The next couple days we hung out in Herzylia getting ready for our trip up to Metula. Metula basically sits on the border of Israel to Lebanon. Sadly it's not a peaceful border so many of the road leading to the actually border are open to military vehicles only. We took a long and slow drive up stopping at many andartas (memorial sites) and scenic views. You don't realize how much Israel has been affected by wars until you see the andartas pop up every 10 minutes while you're on the road. Ten soldiers dead here, 23 civilians dead there; it's rather depressing. It is nice that they do make andartas for people giving their lives for their country. Although I don't believe in war, I do respect the people so devoted to the freedom of their nation and peace. It's sad that in order to make peace, war must be involved.
We reached Metula and had a kosher for pesach dinner then headed to rest up for our hike the next day. I slept in the same room with all the kids, so you can imagine the sleep I got.
We started the next day with a hike in a national park in metula with tons of waterfalls. The most amazing thing about this was was not the beauty of it, but the fact that my 82 year old grandfather did the hike with us. UNBELIEVABLE! I'm pretty positive that my dad would not have made it through the end and my sister would have had a difficult time with the hike as well. Basically, my Saba is a baller.
The following day we went to the canada olympic center where they have a pool and ice skating rink. We spent the day sliding around and swimming. I've had some crazy allergies since I left Tel Aviv so sitting in the sun felt great and helped dry out my symptoms.
The next day we said goodbye to Metula and started a tour of the Golan. Starting up north, we made our way to the kineret. The Sea of Galilee is quite stunning, especially at sunset. After taking tons of pictures we had dinner at an awesome restaurant by a kibbutz.
The trip was overall tons of fun despite not sleeping and fighting off allergies.
We finished the day at a Kangaroo zoo. It was very strange seeing kangaroos so out of place in Israel. There was a section of the zoo where they let them roam free and you can take pictures with them and such. It was so hectic since during passover, many of the parks and zoos are free, so there were tons of people.
The next couple days we hung out in Herzylia getting ready for our trip up to Metula. Metula basically sits on the border of Israel to Lebanon. Sadly it's not a peaceful border so many of the road leading to the actually border are open to military vehicles only. We took a long and slow drive up stopping at many andartas (memorial sites) and scenic views. You don't realize how much Israel has been affected by wars until you see the andartas pop up every 10 minutes while you're on the road. Ten soldiers dead here, 23 civilians dead there; it's rather depressing. It is nice that they do make andartas for people giving their lives for their country. Although I don't believe in war, I do respect the people so devoted to the freedom of their nation and peace. It's sad that in order to make peace, war must be involved.
We reached Metula and had a kosher for pesach dinner then headed to rest up for our hike the next day. I slept in the same room with all the kids, so you can imagine the sleep I got.
We started the next day with a hike in a national park in metula with tons of waterfalls. The most amazing thing about this was was not the beauty of it, but the fact that my 82 year old grandfather did the hike with us. UNBELIEVABLE! I'm pretty positive that my dad would not have made it through the end and my sister would have had a difficult time with the hike as well. Basically, my Saba is a baller.
The following day we went to the canada olympic center where they have a pool and ice skating rink. We spent the day sliding around and swimming. I've had some crazy allergies since I left Tel Aviv so sitting in the sun felt great and helped dry out my symptoms.
The next day we said goodbye to Metula and started a tour of the Golan. Starting up north, we made our way to the kineret. The Sea of Galilee is quite stunning, especially at sunset. After taking tons of pictures we had dinner at an awesome restaurant by a kibbutz.
The trip was overall tons of fun despite not sleeping and fighting off allergies.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Bye Bye Tel Aviv
Time flies. I've been in Israel for 45 days and I'm done working on ambulances. I'm really going to miss volunteering! My last week of shifts was really fun with a bunch of interesting calls. I actually saved a man's life. We got a call for a homeless man, but when we got there it was a 27 yr old man you had passed out while riding his bicycle. He was not breathing and hardly had a pulse. We rushed him into the ambulance and I started ventilations while the medic drove us to meet the advanced life support unit. Apparently if you do ventilations correct on an overdose patient, they should wake up. I did not know this so you could imagine my surprise when he woke up and sat up. It seriously scared me silly. He had apparently overdosed on Hagiga, a legal version of ecstasy that is available all over Israel. Craaazy call.
I'm planning on volunteering in Tel Aviv for one more week before I head home. Other than my apartment, I've has an amazing time in Tel Aviv. I'm really going to miss the shuk and the great times spent with friends and family here. I'm happy to say goodbye to the big city life for a while because it can definitely get too hectic sometimes.
I'm spending the next week with my Uncle and his family and then being a Nomad for a while in Israel. It's depressing that I've been here so long yet haven't made it out to the beach yet. I'm definitely going to make time for the beach in the upcoming weeks.
Hag sameach!
I'm planning on volunteering in Tel Aviv for one more week before I head home. Other than my apartment, I've has an amazing time in Tel Aviv. I'm really going to miss the shuk and the great times spent with friends and family here. I'm happy to say goodbye to the big city life for a while because it can definitely get too hectic sometimes.
I'm spending the next week with my Uncle and his family and then being a Nomad for a while in Israel. It's depressing that I've been here so long yet haven't made it out to the beach yet. I'm definitely going to make time for the beach in the upcoming weeks.
Hag sameach!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Oh Fleas!
My Thursday shift was absolutely enjoyable. I had the 11-19 shift, so I was able to sleep in and go at my own pace in the morning. None of our calls were too crazy and both our driver and bat sherut (national service girl) were awesome. Little did I know that that night and the next day were going to be blech.
Who knew that on Thurday nights the age to get into clubs is 26? Luckily I look old enough to were it's not a problem, but for the 19 year olds on my program... Basically we spent 2 hours trying to find somewhere that they could get in and then called it a night. The next day I had a doctors appointment to find out whether I have bites or hives. She was not very nice and further confirmed my dislike of the MD approach. Apparently I have been getting flea bites and she just prescribed some crap and got me out of the there. I'm definitely raising havoc with my program since having fleas it quite unacceptable. Luckily my roommate left a bit ago and I know sleep on her side of the room and have been bite-less since.
After that crappy morning I met up with my cousin Karen at the shuk. She is here during her year off waiting for Law school acceptances and interning in Tel Aviv. We had a blast! It's so rare that we ge to see each other, so it was really nice to catch up. We went to an amazing sabich place. It's grilled eggplants with all the fixings you would normally get on a shwarma. I'm definitely loving the food here. We were invited to one of her friends house for Shabbat dinner. It was potluck style and all the food was absolutely excellent. It felt so amazing to be around people my age instead of dumb 19 year olds who tape dead birds to your window.... Side story- Thursday night before we went out, we ordered food in from a burger place. A bunch of people from my program were in my room and someone decided it was hot and asked if I could open a window. I come to open the blinds and there is a dead bird taped to my window! I freaked out because I live on the 4th floor and the only way it could have gotten there is if someone had access to my room. So i call my program director since I've already had a bunch of problems with this place and tell him about my new pet. He asks if I still have my master key and I said no because I gave it to one of the kids on my program who lost his key. He then asked me if he had anything to do with it, so I asked and finally he admitted that him and 2 other kids thought it would be funny to tape the dead bird they found on the roof to my window. IDIOTS. 19 year old boys are officially retarded. So now I have to think of a really good prank to get them back. I was so nauseated the whole night, the bird was decaying in the sun all day. grooooosssss.
So as I said before, it was wonderful hanging out with people who have experience a little more of life and are not so immature. I slept over my cousins place, which is beautiful! And guess what? She pays the same rent as I do.... We then spent Saturday roaming around the city, going to the beach, and just having a relaxing day together.
Spending time with good friends and family makes up for all the idiots I'm surrounded with. I miss you all!
Who knew that on Thurday nights the age to get into clubs is 26? Luckily I look old enough to were it's not a problem, but for the 19 year olds on my program... Basically we spent 2 hours trying to find somewhere that they could get in and then called it a night. The next day I had a doctors appointment to find out whether I have bites or hives. She was not very nice and further confirmed my dislike of the MD approach. Apparently I have been getting flea bites and she just prescribed some crap and got me out of the there. I'm definitely raising havoc with my program since having fleas it quite unacceptable. Luckily my roommate left a bit ago and I know sleep on her side of the room and have been bite-less since.
After that crappy morning I met up with my cousin Karen at the shuk. She is here during her year off waiting for Law school acceptances and interning in Tel Aviv. We had a blast! It's so rare that we ge to see each other, so it was really nice to catch up. We went to an amazing sabich place. It's grilled eggplants with all the fixings you would normally get on a shwarma. I'm definitely loving the food here. We were invited to one of her friends house for Shabbat dinner. It was potluck style and all the food was absolutely excellent. It felt so amazing to be around people my age instead of dumb 19 year olds who tape dead birds to your window.... Side story- Thursday night before we went out, we ordered food in from a burger place. A bunch of people from my program were in my room and someone decided it was hot and asked if I could open a window. I come to open the blinds and there is a dead bird taped to my window! I freaked out because I live on the 4th floor and the only way it could have gotten there is if someone had access to my room. So i call my program director since I've already had a bunch of problems with this place and tell him about my new pet. He asks if I still have my master key and I said no because I gave it to one of the kids on my program who lost his key. He then asked me if he had anything to do with it, so I asked and finally he admitted that him and 2 other kids thought it would be funny to tape the dead bird they found on the roof to my window. IDIOTS. 19 year old boys are officially retarded. So now I have to think of a really good prank to get them back. I was so nauseated the whole night, the bird was decaying in the sun all day. grooooosssss.
So as I said before, it was wonderful hanging out with people who have experience a little more of life and are not so immature. I slept over my cousins place, which is beautiful! And guess what? She pays the same rent as I do.... We then spent Saturday roaming around the city, going to the beach, and just having a relaxing day together.
Spending time with good friends and family makes up for all the idiots I'm surrounded with. I miss you all!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
And the calls keep coming...
Facing only 6 more shifts, I'm starting to understand the inter workings of MDA. I really enjoy getting younger drivers who are still very enthusiastic about their jobs. They follow protocol, are super understanding with difficult patients and trust me to help them while on shift. Most of the older drivers are just over their jobs at this point. They are grumpy old bags of rudeness. It's sad that they have so much experience, yet aren't willing to teach a volunteer because they rather take a smoke break. Speaking of smoke, everyone in Israel smokes! It's quite a problem when people are smoking right outside of a hospital door, especially when they are the doctors who work there.
I had my second cpr yesterday. This time it was a 92 year old man who was eating, vomited, and went unconscious. We got to the scene 20 minutes after he went unconscious because his caretaker was not clear with the dispatcher and the call came to us as a "chulsha" weakness. For those types of calls, we don't drive with sirens. Basically, he was dead by the time we got there. We still performed CPR, half-assedly due to the directions of my medic, which really pissed me off. You either do CPR or you don't. If you don't agree with the protocol of your job, then quit. The ATAN came and things became a bit more serious since all the paramedics tend to be pretty professional about their jobs. Basically, we pronounced the man dead after 35 minutes of CPR. Ninety two is a wonderful age, but I'm seriously going to breakdown the day I have to perform CPR on a child or young adult.
Other than drivers who are over their jobs, I'm really enjoying volunteering. Although I don't do much more than help transfer patients, blood pressure, pulse, and wound clean up, I'm still learning a whole bunch. I have only six more shifts and I'm pretty sad that it went by so quickly.
Last night I started my list of potential medical schools, scary! Applications are going to be quite the process....
Well, Happy St Patty's Day! Have a Guinness for me!
I had my second cpr yesterday. This time it was a 92 year old man who was eating, vomited, and went unconscious. We got to the scene 20 minutes after he went unconscious because his caretaker was not clear with the dispatcher and the call came to us as a "chulsha" weakness. For those types of calls, we don't drive with sirens. Basically, he was dead by the time we got there. We still performed CPR, half-assedly due to the directions of my medic, which really pissed me off. You either do CPR or you don't. If you don't agree with the protocol of your job, then quit. The ATAN came and things became a bit more serious since all the paramedics tend to be pretty professional about their jobs. Basically, we pronounced the man dead after 35 minutes of CPR. Ninety two is a wonderful age, but I'm seriously going to breakdown the day I have to perform CPR on a child or young adult.
Other than drivers who are over their jobs, I'm really enjoying volunteering. Although I don't do much more than help transfer patients, blood pressure, pulse, and wound clean up, I'm still learning a whole bunch. I have only six more shifts and I'm pretty sad that it went by so quickly.
Last night I started my list of potential medical schools, scary! Applications are going to be quite the process....
Well, Happy St Patty's Day! Have a Guinness for me!
Friday, March 12, 2010
What a long week!
I really need to start updating this blog more often, it's super difficult to remember a whole week in Israel.
Friday: Slept after my night shift and went to my Saba's place for shabbat dinner. I'm going to be really sad when I get back to the states and can't eat his amazing food every friday night. It's so nice to be cooked for after 5 months of cooking at Karin and Brians. My uncle tried to convince me to go out, but I felt like a complete wreck after doing two shifts on Thursday, so sleep it was.
Saturday: We spent the day at a park with my uncle's little ones. I got to ride a bike!!! Even though it was tiny, it felt amazing since it's been a long time since I've been on a bike... After the park, we headed back to my uncles place where i babysat the kids so my uncle and wife could go see a movie. With four kids I don;t really know when they have time for themselves so I didn't mind art all. Plus, my cousins are super adorable. I ended up getting back to Tel Aviv in time to go out. We went to a club where one of my friends, cousins, boyfriends was djing for latin night. I had such a blast salsa dancing and pretending to samba!!! When I get back to the states, I'm definitely dragging my sister to samba classes. The one thing women in israel have to deal with when going out is the Arse population. For those who have never experienced an arse, I found a definition which basically covers it
Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia
Ars (slang)
Ars (Arabic,عرص,Hebrew ערס), or arsim (plural) is a slang Israeli term for a person of bad manners, flashy jewelry, and overall rudeness. They will usually be Mizrahi Jews.
Etymology: from the Arabic language 'ars: young shepherd, but mostly used in Cairo and other Arab cities to denote a pimp. A long form used sometimes is arsawwat.
Arsim (the plural form) are the butt of many jokes by stand-up comedians, such as Shalom Asayag, Yaakov Cohen, and others who hail from small towns, which are considered ars territory.
The only thing I would add to help someone picture what an Arse looks like is, they are the Israeli version of a guido/guidette.
So other than all the arsim at the club, it was a grand ol time.
Sunday: My friends and I met up with Ayelet for breakfast at this cute cafe which had amazing shakshuka. Serious food coma after all that goodness and I headed to work. All my shifts are starting to blend together with only some calls that really stand out. Most of our calls are not too serious and sometimes in my mind definitely don't merit the use of an ambulance, but oh well.
My craziest call this week was on wednesday morning right at the beginning of my shift. Luckily I was with one of my favorite drivers who actually does his job well and isn't burnt out yet. Right at seven we got a call for an unconscious person. Five minutes later we walk into an apartment and an 88 year old woman is laying on the floor unconscious. Her son called because normally she calls him every morning when she wakes up, but he didn't here from her that morning so he rushed over. He was performing cpr before we got there (he's a doc). As soon as we saw her my medic hands me the cardiopump and tells me to start compressions. So luckily I kicked into gear and started CPR. This was my first time doing CPR and really it's not as glorious as most people picture it. It was physically exhausting, emotionally draining, and at the end after 45 minutes of CPR, IV, drugs, and electrical shocks, we had to call it quits since it was apparent to the paramedic and doctor that we couldn't help the situation. The air was ridiculously thick when they finally declared the woman dead. It was like no one knew what to do or say at that point. What is there really to do or say when someone is declared dead? Luckily her son held it together because if he broke down, I would have too. When we got back on our ambulance my driver figured out that that was my first CPR call and was pretty proud at how well i held it together and did everything I was supposed to do. It's sad that only 10% of CPR patients actually survive. That number might actually be less... I struggled emotionally with the whole call that day, but I'm doing alright now. It was definitely very difficult to deal with but I'm getting there. I just want to make sure that I don't become completely numb to death but at the same time I really can't carry all the extra baggage with me through my life, it's just too depressing.
Friday: Slept after my night shift and went to my Saba's place for shabbat dinner. I'm going to be really sad when I get back to the states and can't eat his amazing food every friday night. It's so nice to be cooked for after 5 months of cooking at Karin and Brians. My uncle tried to convince me to go out, but I felt like a complete wreck after doing two shifts on Thursday, so sleep it was.
Saturday: We spent the day at a park with my uncle's little ones. I got to ride a bike!!! Even though it was tiny, it felt amazing since it's been a long time since I've been on a bike... After the park, we headed back to my uncles place where i babysat the kids so my uncle and wife could go see a movie. With four kids I don;t really know when they have time for themselves so I didn't mind art all. Plus, my cousins are super adorable. I ended up getting back to Tel Aviv in time to go out. We went to a club where one of my friends, cousins, boyfriends was djing for latin night. I had such a blast salsa dancing and pretending to samba!!! When I get back to the states, I'm definitely dragging my sister to samba classes. The one thing women in israel have to deal with when going out is the Arse population. For those who have never experienced an arse, I found a definition which basically covers it
Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia
Ars (slang)
Ars (Arabic,عرص,Hebrew ערס), or arsim (plural) is a slang Israeli term for a person of bad manners, flashy jewelry, and overall rudeness. They will usually be Mizrahi Jews.
Etymology: from the Arabic language 'ars: young shepherd, but mostly used in Cairo and other Arab cities to denote a pimp. A long form used sometimes is arsawwat.
Arsim (the plural form) are the butt of many jokes by stand-up comedians, such as Shalom Asayag, Yaakov Cohen, and others who hail from small towns, which are considered ars territory.
The only thing I would add to help someone picture what an Arse looks like is, they are the Israeli version of a guido/guidette.
So other than all the arsim at the club, it was a grand ol time.
Sunday: My friends and I met up with Ayelet for breakfast at this cute cafe which had amazing shakshuka. Serious food coma after all that goodness and I headed to work. All my shifts are starting to blend together with only some calls that really stand out. Most of our calls are not too serious and sometimes in my mind definitely don't merit the use of an ambulance, but oh well.
My craziest call this week was on wednesday morning right at the beginning of my shift. Luckily I was with one of my favorite drivers who actually does his job well and isn't burnt out yet. Right at seven we got a call for an unconscious person. Five minutes later we walk into an apartment and an 88 year old woman is laying on the floor unconscious. Her son called because normally she calls him every morning when she wakes up, but he didn't here from her that morning so he rushed over. He was performing cpr before we got there (he's a doc). As soon as we saw her my medic hands me the cardiopump and tells me to start compressions. So luckily I kicked into gear and started CPR. This was my first time doing CPR and really it's not as glorious as most people picture it. It was physically exhausting, emotionally draining, and at the end after 45 minutes of CPR, IV, drugs, and electrical shocks, we had to call it quits since it was apparent to the paramedic and doctor that we couldn't help the situation. The air was ridiculously thick when they finally declared the woman dead. It was like no one knew what to do or say at that point. What is there really to do or say when someone is declared dead? Luckily her son held it together because if he broke down, I would have too. When we got back on our ambulance my driver figured out that that was my first CPR call and was pretty proud at how well i held it together and did everything I was supposed to do. It's sad that only 10% of CPR patients actually survive. That number might actually be less... I struggled emotionally with the whole call that day, but I'm doing alright now. It was definitely very difficult to deal with but I'm getting there. I just want to make sure that I don't become completely numb to death but at the same time I really can't carry all the extra baggage with me through my life, it's just too depressing.
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