So long Israel! It was a fun but exhausting trip. Whenever I am in Israel for a week I do more socializing than I do in 3 months at home. So many old friends and family to see. I love everyone and I am always happy to see them, but at the same time I am excited to get back to Michael, Laila, and my quiet work routine.
Who else feels like they need a vacation after they go back home for a visit?
This week I saw all the family from my father’s side. His sister’s daughter, my cousin, has three girls. All of them are grown now and have kids of their own. And my own sister and her kids were there, so it was a huge party. As with every gathering in Israel, there was AMAZING food. Fresh baked cakes and bread, a big salad, and the guys stayed busy grilling. It was great fun.
Another interesting thing I did this week was go to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. They recently added on a whole new section, I couldn’t make it through the entire museum. But I did see the Viktor Muniz show. The documentary made about the art project he did with garbage pickers in Brazil, Waste Land, really stuck with me. I was smiling for a week afterwards, it was such a sweet & touching story. I loved seeing what a large variety of work he has. The pieces featured in the film were in the exhibit, but so were many others. Muniz takes photos of recreations of familiar cultural references. He recreates familiar images using unconventional mediums. For example, toys or sugar. He made a picture of Jackie Kennedy out of diamonds, and one of a war horse out of toy soldiers- very creative. For anyone going to Israel soon, don’t miss it! And if you’re not going to Tel Aviv soon you should definitely rent Waste Land.
Anyway, I will miss all the sunshine and Sabras (cactus pears) but I’ll be back soon.
-Michal