It was a hot May day on Tel Aviv’s ‘Frischman’ beach. Ari and his best friend were sitting, laughing, and eating a watermelon. Yamit was sitting behind them, hopelessly trying to read her book, all the while wondering who these loud, obnoxious Americans were, ruining her beach time.
Yamit’s friend, Ricki, finally joined her, and quickly pointed to the two guys in front and said “Hey! I know those guys”!
The uber-connected Tel Aviv expat scene did not fail, and we fell into a fast-pace conversation. But instead of Jewish geography, the new acquaintances, Ari and Yamit, quickly veered into a more serious conversation.
Ari: “…. so how long are you here in Israel? Is it for-good?”
Yamit: “Well I’m here for this job, an organization called Teach First Israel. I’m here trying to help it get off the ground,… but I’ll probably be going to get my Masters next year somewhere abroad.. then who knows.”
Ari: “Ahh so you’re a temporary. Sorry, we can’t be friends” (half joking and smiling). “Too many people are in and out of this city and its hard to make any real friends.”
Yamit: “Why would you say that? How do you know who you’re going to meet or how those people are going to affect you. That is so closed minded!”
Thus the heated debate went on, and continued a week later when mutual groups of friends ended up at the Tel Aviv fairgrounds for ‘Taste of the City’. The combination of hungry Israelis and confined spaces proved too much to handle. Through a series of missed rides and a shortage of cabs, Yamit and Ari found themselves walking together: a long 5-mile trip back home to their apartments.
The long walk home started forming tiny cracks in Yamit’s tough outer shell, eventually leading to hysterical laughter and joking around, reminiscing on stories of growing up, and perhaps most importantly, our individual dreams of the future.
Despite numerous hurdles in the early stages of the relationship, Ari & Yamit pushed on. Three months in Australia, Yamit’s job in Israel coming to an end, and beginning a Masters degree in London were not enough to scare Ari away. We managed to find creative solutions at each new juncture – once interviewing for an apartment in a student college in London via Skype, taking more flights than we care to remember, and having to take leaps of faith in one another much earlier than we were prepared for.
Almost 4 years later, we have grown stronger through our mutual drive for a meaningful, fulfilling life. Perhaps most importantly, our love has grown together and matured with each passing phase of our relationship. We are excited as ever to start this next chapter of life together.