The Next Step…India?!

It's hard to believe that I've been in Israel almost a month already. Time really does fly when you are having fun. To the disbelief of my family, friends, and myself, I have actually been trying hard, for once, to stay put and relax. I have made only a few side trips around Israel (to the North and Jerusalem), with the majority of my time being spent in Tel Aviv. I have worked hard to make it feel like I am living here, not visiting, and I owe a big thank you to my brother for all his help with that. I joined a gym and have been doing a lot of spin classes, my new work-out love. I started trying to run again, which isn't nearly as fun as it used to be, or pain free, but which lets me explore more of the city and especially the pretty parks. I enrolled in an Ulpan, an intensive Hebrew language school, and have been attending classes 5 days a week for 5 hours at a time (8am-1pm). It's definitely a shock to my system to have to sit still in a classroom for that long, and the first couple days were more than a little rough, but I really enjoy it. It's nice to have somewhat of a schedule, and a reason to get up and get my day started early every day. I've also met some really nice people through it, and of course, most importantly, I really think my Hebrew comprehension and comfort with speaking is improving.

I have also been internet-ing, and job searching/applying like crazy. I've had some good luck and a lot of bad luck, and overall am in pretty good spirits, still hopeful, patient, and very happy. The good luck, which is probably the most important news, was an offer I recently got to go work/volunteer in India for a couple months with the MicroInsurance Academy, a non-profit research and training institute in Delhi. With their big microinsurance conference in November, they wanted me on a plane heading out there, like…yesterday. It was a rough couple of days, weighing my options and trying to make a quick decision on what to do, whether to stay in Israel longer, jump plane to India, or go back to NYC as I had originally planned. For someone who hates making decisions on trivial things, like what to eat for dinner, this was my hell.

As much as I love living here in Tel Aviv and Israel, staying longer would mean missing the New York City Marathon. I know that probably seems like a silly reason, but…having watched/cheered it every year since 2001, with the men's Olympic Trials being run the day before, and even more importantly, with several close friends (shout out to CiCi, Sarah, and Toni: Good luck you guys! You're my heroes!) running in it this year, I really really wanted to be there. It would also mean missing the award celebration for the 2007 Runner's World Heros of Running, which the Blue Planet Run and us runners will be awarded at (as will Alan Webb and Ryan Hall, two of my celebrity running heroes!). And, to make it more difficult, the fates/stars really seemed to want me to go back to NYC. Somehow, from all the way over here in Israel, I managed to land an amazing cheap sublet, in Park Slope, and coincidentally only two doors down from my best friend!! It seemed meant to be…but…then there were all the cons with leaving Israel: the weather issue (Tel Aviv is still in summer mode!), the Abba (dad) issue (he's coming out to Israel the day I was supposed to be leaving), and the money issue (I don't have to pay rent in Tel Aviv). So, in the end…Israel won out and I cancelled my return ticket. I had just begun to get used to the idea of life here in Israel, when this India thing fell in my lap. Picking up and leaving so soon would counter a big reason why I wanted to stay in Israel, getting to spend time with my dad. I was really torn, and then it kind of worked out in a strange way. The visa process ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated, and gave me an extra cushion of two weeks—a perfect amount of time to see my dad, enjoy more of Israel, and sufficiently mentally prep myself for life in India.

The new plan, for the time being, is to head out to Delhi in about two weeks, to stay there, initially for 3 months with the possibility to extend if I am really enjoying myself and the work. I am real excited. The work sounds interesting and the opportunity real hands on. I get a chance to work with microinsurance, something I am real interested in learning more about. And, getting to stay in Delhi, gives me the opportunity to explore more of north India, which I missed out on last time I was in India. Also, the close proximity to Sri Lanka, gives me an opportunity to go back there for a visit, and most importantly, finally get reacquainted with my stuff that I left back there. Oh and last but not least, when the job is over, I'll be perfectly located to begin my much anticipated and planned South Asia tour (starting in Nepal and working down to Indonesia)! =) It's still all tentative, no commitments to anything, and I am definitely still looking for other opportunities and jobs all over…but in the meantime, I figure, I can go over there and be productive, gaining more exposure/experience while looking for jobs, instead of just looking for jobs and sitting on the beach, though believe me I will be out on the Goa beaches at least once a month =).

Well, that's my news for the month…I will be sure to send out an update with my contact info from India and more concrete news on that whole move when the time comes closer and things are more definite. For now though, it's just life as always, good, great, and FABULOUS! =)