work was decent today. i went to moses for lunch, a gourmet burger chain across the street from the office. this place has branding down pat - everything in the damn place, from the no smoking sign to (ironically) the front of the cigarette machine to the coffee cups had the weird disney-esque mascot on it. bravo, you ridiculous company. burger was pretty decent, too - beef, lamb, and veal cooked a little too rare with a unique spicy ketchup. niv recommends!

i'm all about being open-minded. i had my initial uncomfortable situations here, but after talking to some people (chad, parker, others) i did my best to understand where everyone was coming from. i talked to zach briefly today about how the issues i was having made me feel like israel was a self-important country, like a large-scale new york city. this is an angle he was pushing for a while, and i guess i finally bought into it. of course, then tonight happened.

one of the guys i traveled here with has a new hire under him in our local office. this guy offered to take us down to tel aviv after work. he picked us up at the hotel and we were down in tel aviv near the restaurant within 30 minutes. we went to one of the rare microbreweries in israel, but the beer was surprisingly good, as was the grub. the architecture in tel aviv is an interesting mix of what you imagine when you think of middle eastern desert city and a more european miami. there was an interesting mix of old and new, of western and international architectural styles. driving through the city was nice, but nothing that special - cities are cities after all. except, of course, when they aren't.

tel aviv was only founded in the 20th century, just north of jaffa, a city which dates back at least 4000 years. this is one of the oldest cities in the world and one of the first port cities in the world. the old city has been restored, but it still has the feel of an ancient city, mostly because the restoration wasn't overdone or anything. it really looked like a an ancient city with various nooks and crannies. the experience of being in a city that old was overwhelming - it was awe-inspiring and even uplifting to step down the alleys and up the steps and around the corners. the old city and port are to the south and slightly west of tel aviv, so you can see the mediterranean and tel aviv center - it's a gorgeous sight to behold, especially when you realize where you are standing.

of course, i didn't have my camera.

but the point is this - after seeing such a small section of ancient city in this ancient land i have to backtrack off of what i said to zach earlier. i don't know, i am losing the words i had earlier that i wanted to say about this experience. i can't wait to see jerusalem now. i understand why everyone strongly thinks we should visit there.

there is a wishing bridge in old jaffa. there are zodiac symbols lining the bridge, and the legend is that if you touch your zodiac, look towards the sea and make a wish it will come true. i touched the taurus, looked sheepishly towards the sea, and i only could think about jen. i've become such a wuss.

anyway, day 4 was a success in the end. i sent my laundry down this morning and it didn't come back yet, so we'll see if day 5 even gets off the ground.