Nes

Today was an average Monday. Getting out of bed took a tremendous deal of effort, and I was pretty drowsy all the way through Arabic this morning. I grabbed a cup of Nes before Hebrew Ulpan, much to my embarrassment. For those who don't know, Nes is local slang for instant coffee. This is because the Nescafe' brand ran ads making a play on the Hebrew word נס, meaning miracle. In other words, Nescafe' is the miracle of coffee. Except it's garbage. I can't believe I am drinking this swill. Finding a real cup of coffee in this country is all but impossible so it's all I have. There is a coffee machine in the Terrace Building that serves Nes like its real coffee; cappucino, mocha, lattes and espresso. It's really quite impressive, and at 1.10 Shekels per cup, it's seductive. The worst part is that I'm actually starting to not hate the taste.

How humiliating.

One thing this stuff is good for is warming me up when it's chilly outside. I'm really not a superstitious guy. I'm just aware of the coincidences that superstitious people would attribute to some omen. That said, the last time I complained about the cold weather, it got nice and warm again and stayed that way for quite a while. It's getting cold here now and I don't much care for it. It's a different cold from back home too. It comes from a general attitude around here that winter doesn't really happen, so it seems colder than it is. That's the best way I can explain it. None of this is really rational, but I'm not always entirely rational either.