Wednesday 28 October 2015

Tel Aviv Is Where My Heart Is | No comments:

A picture tells a thousand words
As I am writing this, we are in the middle of an electrical storm, the lights just flickered and burnt out and the thunder is making the windows rattle, the floor tremble...drum roll please...it's 1am and I am staring out the huge double window in our 'dining room' watching lightening zig-zag through the sky making its way to the ground. The fortitude of its strength is almost terrifying but its beauty cannot be faulted as it lights up the city and the sky... I am captivated by it.

***

So here I am, half way across the world, a 22 year old aspiring writer, life and fashion enthusiast and creative catalyst lost this wonderland that I call life. I followed my dreams, packed my bags and here I am in Tel Aviv, ani Olah Hadasha! <-(Showing off my Hebrew skillz obv). In my first week of living here I was thrown into a completely different world, far different from the cushioned lifestyle I have grown up with. I can wholly admit to completely taking too much for granted in England, growing up I was more than fortunate. As I walk into my new home, I find a dusty, barren apartment with what looks like a primary school table and chairs for a dining room and a kitchen about 2 metres in width with a makeshift hob, literally identical to the cheapest 'cooker' available on SIMS. Yes, we all remember that game, but of course if you were the one who cheated with MOTHERLOAD you were never poor enough to actually purchase that piece of crap (guilty..). The flat is full of dust, probably due to the fact the windows don't actually close properly, say goodbye to double glazing, and the fact there was an in formidable sand storm prior to my arrival. Cute. There just seems to be dust and sand everywhere and here I stand alone awaiting to meet my new family, my roomates, for the next 5 months, because at the end of the day you make your friends your family.


Everywhere you look, this city has character even in the darkest of places

I always imagined I would never be able to handle such an environment, to be honest, I am sure most people would have thought the same about me, yet I stood there and threw my bags down and couldn't stop smiling. I did it. I woke up and followed my dream. The thing is we all have dreams, I for one have my head in the clouds, but to make your dream a reality is a beautiful feeling, I feel stronger than ever. So what, it's far from the reality of Surrey, halle-fucking-lujah, my bed is a piece of wood with a mattress two inches thick, which by the way in my current status, I cannot complain about, I sleep pretty damn well. I solved the problem by buying cleaning products such as bleach, cloths and a floor swisher and within a day between us it looked just about habitable and however much we might laugh about the situation, we all LOVE IT. We are so used to it now, in fact we get excited about the cleaning processes, we all help each other out and we are already like a family. In fact when Katie didn't come home the other night, I missed her. I share a room with Katie, and I'll be honest I was dreading this part. Sharing a bedroom, and having a single bed. I love it! It is like living with your sister...we laugh ourselves to sleep most nights and it's truly fabulous. XOXO Beit Brodetskies.

Me and my doll Katie 
Roomies Betchess


Meet my darling doll Abigaelle from Paris, she is the sassiest of them all




Issues I have come across in my new home consist of storms causing havoc. For example right now I am sitting in darkness with the room lighting up only when lightening strikes, because the lights are out and water is coming in through the windows...hmmm. Just appreciate that our windows in the kitchen are situated right above a power point and several electrical devices, so in the event of a storm, WHICH IS NOW, we are quite literally like SHIT. Bear Grills eat your heart out, we have to wrap everything with plastic bags whilst apartments on the other floors are flooding, luckily we are in one of the best locations so flooding won't affect us. We hope. Those who have me on snapchat will see me running through the dorms as the ferocious storms attack...I live at Ulpan so we study Hebrew daily in the classrooms downstairs, and when a storm hits at least 2 of us run out to protect our homes HAHA! SHIT I LEFT THE WINDOW OPEN! THE POWER POINTS!!!! It's all comical really, because we are all having the best time of our lives, the positives in this experience weigh out any negatives and I really can't complain.

The best shot I could get, it's taken me time and I can't capture the fork.
DEAL WITH IT xoxo
This is the situation. See the bags stuffed in there? YEAH about that!
Under the H&M bag are 3 electrical points and windows THAT DO NOT CLOSE.
Survival Skillz

I find that if you look up, you discover more than you anticipated





The pros to making Aliyah are that I have made new friends from all over the world, some, especially my roomies, that I will be friends with for life. Apart from these freak storms this week, I wake up go to school then reside on the beach with my girlfriends, study in cute cafes with iced coffee, dance, sing, and roam the city that has already stolen my heart. There is so much still left undiscovered, and yes it's hard at times, a lot of the time you hear that someone has been stabbed and it brings us all sadness more than fear. In our first week we lived through a week on a high Terror Alert. Pepper spray was sold out everywhere, it was announced that free Krav Maga (self-defence) lessons were available around the country and warned to be cautious in the streets and on buses. There were times where I would walk through streets and be slightly on edge because you are aware, and your phone would bleep with an update or new attack up to 3 times a day, yet I never felt fear. It is a way of life here to and you just get on with your life, besides i'm an Israeli now. It affected me in other ways, I woke up feeling sad, how these monsters could commit such crimes, persecuting innocent people for their religion, and what aggravates me more is the way the western media portrays the attacks. I mean are you serious? Living here, you know the facts and you read these ignorant opinions by journalists that clearly have anti-semitism running in their veins and it sickens me. Shame on you.




I get more worried about my family than myself, because obviously when you're outside of Israel watching the news break you feel such sorrow and you are shocked that this is happening to our people, but even more so I can only imagine what it is like for my family to watch the breaking news knowing that I am IN ISRAEL but it is OK! Please know that I am safe and I will continue to be safe, don't you worry! Do not lay awake at night or trouble yourselves with unnecessary worry, I stay out of trouble, PROMISE! Kisses to you all! I love you and miss you xoxo



To be honest, there is danger everywhere and I honestly feel safer here than in London. I have been here 3 weeks and yes, I have a long way to go, my journey only just began and I am sure there will be downs but I know I have amazing people around me to drag me straight back up when I fall, I will certainly be there for you my darling dolls.

In 9 days I have learnt to read and write in Hebrew and can already handle some conversations (sort of...) on the streets. I am so proud of myself and everyone here at Ulpan, to think 9 days ago we would stare at the symbols and be like SAY WHAAAAT! It is such an accomplishment and I am loving it..

Oh and BTW Hebrew is NOT easy. Can you tell?
Oh and there are 3 ALPHABETS. Too many versions of the same letter to understand.
HEAD SPINNING.

This new chapter in my life is by far the biggest so far, and it is 100% something my future self will thank me for. You can thank me later...until then I have to go live my life. LAYLA TOV xoxo



Make you're dreams a reality.
Do something your future self will thank you for.
He offered her the world but she said she had her own.
There is no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as this.
What a wonderful thought that some of the best days of our lives haven't even happened yet.
Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything, maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't really you so that you can be who you were meant to be in the first place

Kisses,

Bea {x}

WHAT I WORE:

 Jean Jacket - American Apparel Mens 
(I saw it on the sale rail, its a small, bargain buy. LOVES IT)
NOT OKAY Neoprene Top - H&M
Leather High-Top Converse
Sunglasses - Michael Kors
Mini Happy Shopper Handbag - Celine
Ripped Jeans - Topshop

The walls and buildings are all so unique, especially in Neve Tsedek.
I adore this beautiful clay mosaic art on a random wall on the street.
Unique and beautiful like each and every one of us





There is plenty of cool street art and graffiti in Tel-Aviv
Some with deeper and more political meanings...









Kisses from Tel Aviv xoxo




Sunday 25 October 2015

The Beauty From Within | No comments:

Darling dolls, I want you to ask yourself these 3 simple questions, think about them long and hard...



How would you describe being beautiful? 



Is your idea of beautiful different to who you are?



Do you believe you are beautiful?

The answer to these questions will undoubtedly vary depending on each person and their own opinion of themselves, but one thing should remain the same. YOU are beautiful, no matter how flawed you think you are, everyone is their own kind of beautiful. Some may feel more flawed on the outside, and more beautiful on the inside and visa versa, except it doesn't matter because beauty really does come from within. YES, YOU! Umm..yeah I am talking to you and guess what? Each and every one of you is beautiful, your idea of beautiful should be everything you are. 




Central Tel-Aviv 

I ask you to ask yourselves these questions because I have asked myself. Let me tell you, my answer now is far different to what it would have been a year ago, before I truly discovered Israel... Before, my idea of beautiful was a girl who obviously, wasn't me. I wanted to look flawless without make up, I got frustrated by my reddish complexion thanks to my fiery red hair, but more pressingly, I was constantly battling with the idea slash need to be skinny, I would say I didn't, but I really did. At one point I was working out for 2 hours a day, sometimes before and after work in London. In fact if I missed a session or didn't go, I would find myself ridden with anxiety. In times where I forgot my gym bag, I would quite simply buy a whole new outfit so that I could attend my class. The pressure to be and look a certain way is definitely present in a city so elite as London. Now whilst some may not want to admit it, I certainly will. Many of the boys are shallow, being a red head with curves, a dreamer veering on slightly mad (in the best way of course), extremely weird (and wonderful), and pretty much in love with everything that life has to offer, I simply found that most of them just wanted to be my good old friend. CUTE. I often asked myself why I was never good enough? I felt that I just wasn't pretty enough for many reasons and well all my friends are good looking and pretty damn stylish. This resulted in me constantly feeling the pressure to have more make up on, lose weight and be more beautiful. Then I moved to Israel...


BREAK YOUR #SELFIE - At GYMBOX in Covent Garden, London before making Aliyah



Since I have moved to Israel, I have realised that YES, I AM BEAUTIFUL. In fact, yes I am flawed in many ways! Some mornings, I wake up with a dreaded spot, maybe two or even 3, yes I still CANT DEAL but there really is no significance in them at all. The sunshine and salt from the sea keeps your skin fresh anyway, we are only human and hormones are a biatch. Yes, I can't resist my favourite chocolate (Kinder) and now and again I somehow (without realising...) eat the WHOLE box in one day. Did I sleep walk? Not forgetting the WHOLE jar of Nutella which I actually threw away 4 days after purchasing it - oh don't worry there was no more than 3 or four spoonfuls left in the tub. Yeah, about that, I am gluten intolerant so forget the bread, I was digging it out with a spoon like a JCB digger...no wonder I woke up with spots! I was never destined to be skinny and I get that now, I embrace my curves and work on toning my body as opposed to being 'skinny'. I am pale as fuck...they don't say I am like a doll for nothing, porcelain skin in the middle east. Honestly, I don't stand out AT ALL... Yet overall, I put on my bikini and I feel comfortable, I attend class with a touch of concealer, a swish of mascara and nothing more than my daily moisturiser on my face, far less than what I was painting on my face in London. I still bring my own sass and style with my dressing each day, of course, it's me! That part of me will never change, dressing is what I love and fashion is my passion (JK, how dare is use that phrase...no, no, but seriously it totally is). People are generally more sociable here and you definitely feel like you live in a community, as people are more inclined to talk to you, get to know you, want to get to know you! 


Yes, I am supposed to be Gluten Intollerant. YOLO

Dressing is a form of art... I might not be in London anymore, but I can still be sassy OBV.
The lift outfit SELFIE...it's becoming a thing #OOTD
That pout though - it's gotta go :P
The saying that Israeli's are rude makes me laugh, because trust me, some of them are! I mean, only the other day I found myself so frustrated in the back of a taxi, in a town FAR smaller than London, how could a taxi not understand how to get to a big street in outer Tel Aviv, I mean in London the black cab drivers know every street, nook and cranny on the map! Oh what was I saying? Yes, he was damn RUDE!



No but seriously... KATAN!!!
People are in no rush here, especially at the bank, and yes it can cause frustration at times, given I have come from a city where everything is done VERY quickly (sometimes at a cost) and let me say it isn't perfect, nowhere is! Oh and it doesn't stop there, describing that things are often 'backwards' here, certainly springs to mind. London is SO advanced as a City, There are things that come as a complete culture shock to me. The laid back lifestyle however, is not to be judged upon badly, if anything, enjoyed. This comes from someone who has been commuting to and from London every day for the past 5 years on unreliable trains, overcrowded tubes, experiencing unidentifiable and incomprehensible (woah big word alert) smells and people, trekking 100 yards in freezing cold weather and feeling miserable. OK HOLD UP! Here is the difference. In London, I was lazy, I had the tube at my fingertips and in the rain, why would you walk when you can book an Uber on your iPhone or hop on the tube? Here, in Israel, I walk EVERYWHERE! With the exception of taking buses at night time, either because I am eager to drink that cocktail or for safety reasons (no need to elaborate on a negative in such a positive post). The sun shines for most of the year, that is an automatic reason to smile more, you can be here and be proud to be Jewish, its a test to yourself, a path to finding yourself and the place to be yourself.





OH! Naughty...

Meet Rachelle, she is an absoulute diamond. We met in London at the Ambassador of Israel's house prior to making Aliyah.
We have been great friends ever since and moved out at similar times. Being half-israeli, speaking fluent Hebrew and being an absolute hoot, Rachelle has helped me settle in an incredible amount and we have become best buds since the move. Kisses to you. Toda Raba xoxo 

Studying Hebrew at a local cafe with an Iced Coffee and my darling dolls xo

PARIS! This is my friend Antoni, he made Aliyah from Paris...
I like to test out my 'school girl' french although It is less than impressive!
I sort of regret messing around in all those french lessons... OOOPS!! 

I have made friends from all over the world, this is Jackie from Istanbul, Turkey, he is too funny and a great friend.
Everyone loves Jackie boy!

Can someone please appreciate the enormity of the mosquito bite on my leg...not OK! LOL!

My slippers though...TOTAL LOVE!

I love the lifestyle here undeniably so. I am starting to settle in, gauge on the differences in culture and adapt quickly. I can honestly say I am the happiest I have been in an extremely long time. Yes, it has been hard, I mean my accommodation is beyond basic but I will save this for another rainy day - given the wannabe cyclone we experienced today, I will save this for tomorrow.


OK...so there are cats everywhere, they just chill, it is HILARIOUS. I went to chat to the couple at this bar only to be attacked by this little kitty cat MEOW! Looks like she's protective of this gent...hehe!! 
This little kitty just jumped right on up onto katie's lap...PURRRR

Be your own kind of beautiful, and be who you want to be, where you want to be with who you want to be...


So happy that I am painting my life in colours that don't even exist - I just made that up - does that work?
Who cares!
I LOVE IT


Kisses,

Bea {x}