The Tim Tam Slam

Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed my pictures from the gan (there are more on Facebook!). It's about 2pm here in Arad and after a long morning hike (essentially right behind my apartment) and a leisurely lunch, I'm getting ready to leave for the weekend to Tel Aviv, but before I do, I just wanted to share some of yesterday's events with you:

For the first time in a long while, I beat my alarm at its own game. It was 7:30 and I had another half hour to sleep before I needed to get ready for volunteering, but I was so excited to arrive at the gan that I tossed and turned aimlessly. Finally, by 8:45 I was out of my apartment, on to Ben Yair street and headed through the markets, past the coin laundromat and into the set of buildings next to the playground where the gan is situated. Upon opening the door, I was greeted by a dozen smiling faces and running noses, all of which came at me at once, begging, arms outstretched to be picked up or put on my back. After putting my jacket on top of the refrigerator (only the children's coats and shoes go inside the fridge; there isn't enough room for our things) I began endless games of "airplane" and "ring around the rosy." Meanwhile, two of the other volunteers were outside, beginning our spackling project on the walls of the gan's backyard. Eventually, we switched jobs (Tuta was not happy about this. She continued screaming "Lana" from the gan's single window, looking for me as I sanded and spackled away outside. Eventually, she must have gotten tired because she realized I was no longer in the room and couldn't come back inside for a while, so she relented). I must say, spackling entire walls is not easy. Especially when the guy at Home Center tells you that one 15 kilogram bucket of spackle is enough; he clearly had no idea the kind of walls we were repairing. So, a few of us returned to Home Center for two more buckets and sandpaper (he was shocked to see us. I was not happy to see him), and by the end of the day, had spackled over every crack and uneven corner on all three walls. Currently, they are drying and we will start sanding and painting next week!

After finishing work at the gan, I decided to make dinner for my roommates and some friends. A go to choice? Chicken cacciatore. It's relatively healthy, everyone eats it, and it can be made in a single aluminum tin which I later throw away for an easy cleanup. Dinner was, if I may say, a success (we were so full it was painful) and later, for dessert, I made hot chocolate and one of my friends taught me the "Tim Tam Slam." Now, let me explain. Tim Tams (no, not Tam Tams. Those are gross Passover matzah crackers) are a type of chocolate cookie, indigenous to Israel, made with three layers of chocolate and a chocolate coating. To achieve a Tim Tam Slam, here is what must happen:

1. Obtain Tim Tam cookies. You will need at least a box of them.
2. Make hot chocolate or another hot beverage of your choice (but really, while you're going a little chocolate insane, hot chocolate is the most logical decision)
3. Bite one corner of the Tim Tam, and then bite the corner diagonally opposite it.
4. Submerge the cookie in your beverage enough to be able to put the top of the cookie in your mouth while it is still in your drink.
5. As if the cookie were a straw, "drink" your hot chocolate (or tea or coffee... I won't judge) through the cookie until you feel it start to soften in your mouth. At this point, put the entire cookie (which is now hot, so be careful) in your mouth, chew, and find a napkin nearby. You'll need it. Tim Tam Slams are messy snacks.
6. Repeat until you have a) gone into sugar shock, b) feel sick, or c) run out of Tim Tam Slams (but the last is really never a problem... the markets stay open pretty late)

While making a complete fool of myself attempting (and achieving) Tim Tam Slams, I realized that I would never be partaking in such craziness or find myself in such circumstances anywhere else. I would never be in an apartment in the middle of the Israeli desert with five of my friends, who are from all across the United States, drinking homemade hot chocolate and turning cookies into mush. I would never find myself so exhausted from volunteering at a Sudanese preschool (where else would I even find one to work in?) that all I want to do is sleep, even though I decide to make dinner and stay up much too late playing Rummikub. Although I sometimes (yes, even after all these months) find myself waking up and thinking, "Is this real? Am I actually living here?" I'm still amazed by simply being in such an incredible country with wonderful friends and new adventures. I think that all the craziness is what keeps it interesting, what keeps me guessing, and what continues to make me think, "Wow. I'm actually doing this. And I wouldn't give it up for anything."

I hope all is well - more next week! Shabbat Shalom (almost) from Israel!

Love always,
Elana