March 2014

WELCOME TO RISHON LEZION!

WELCOME TO RISHON LEZION- FIRST CITY TO ZION!

TH RISHON IS LOCATED IN THE CENTER OF ISRAEL, JUST 10 MILES AWAY FROM TEL AVIV. IT’S THE 4 LARGEST CITY IN ISRAEL, AND HAS MORE THAN 250,000 RESIDENTS. IN THE CITY WE WORK IN 14 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS ALL OVER TOWN.

RISHON HAS A BEAUTIFUL BEACH, NICE PROMENADE, SHOPS, COFFEE SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS.

WE GATHERED SOME PRACTICAL INFORMATION FOR YOU ABOUT THE CITY AND SCHOOLS.

WE WISH YOU A GREAT TIME!

ISRAEL TEACHING FELLOWS OF RISHON LEZION 2013-2014

PART ONE: GENERAL ATTITUDE

PART TWO: GETTING AROUND

PART THREE: SCHOOLS

March 2014

PART ONE: GENERAL ATTITUDE Do’s

 Use Google Maps and/or Moovit apps for public transportation.

 Bring your passport any time you go to the post office, Rav Kav office, doctor, bank, or the like.

 Befriend the employees and/or owner of your favorite establishments… You could get free stuff! Or make a new friend!

 Make friends with people around your age in your city- believe it or not, Rishon isn’t just old Russian people. Friends with cars are always good too!

 Find odd jobs like cleaning or tutoring to make some extra cash (kesef).

 Give up your seat to old people on the bus… It doesn’t hurt to be nice or to stand.

 Make use of long bus rides… try studying Ulpan or call your mother!

 Explore new (non-Israeli) foods. There are tons of subcultures here are their food is amazing! (examples: Yemenite, Georgian, Ethiopian)

Don’ts



 Don’ts

 Be intimidated by the language barrier. If by chance you don’t share a common language with someone, don’t let it stop you from getting what you need or want. In the end you’ll probably both laugh about the conversation and make friends.

 Buy sour cream thinking it’s yogurt… the packaging looks very similar!

 Spend too much time at home. You’re only here for 10 months- make the most March 2014

of it!

 Let others tell you how to feel about your city… If you love Rishon, own it! If not, take every opportunity to take trips out of town- Tel Aviv is only 45 minutes away by bus!

 Overpay for coffee. You are blessed to have a Cofix

and local bakery on Rothschild that sell 5 NIS

coffee!!

 Expect personal space. Anywhere. Ever.

 Isolate yourself by hanging out with only Americans. Meet locals and other world travelers!

 Give up on American sports! The time difference sucks for viewing games, but you can always go to Habaron on Mohilever to watch with fellow fanatics.

 Be afraid!!!

Must Haves

 WhatsApp, Israelis use this all the time because it is The Way to communicate.

 Google Translate, when in need, it’s a friend indeed.

 Host family, the best way to make connections in Rishon is with the nice people who want to feed you.

 Photo copies of everything, we mean everything, your passport, credit cards, medical information, if disaster strikes it’s better to be prepared.

 Favorite hangout space, find a place here in Rishon that brings you what you need and go there often. March 2014

 A friend in ESRA (English Speakers of Rishon Association) New Generation, there are quite a few young people who speak English in Rishon and meet at least monthly. http://www.esra.org.il/rishon-lezion  Clothes pins and drying racks, the more the merrier!!  Water bottle, have one you can refill and bring with you everywhere!!

PART TWO: GETTING AROUND

Places to eat-Rishon

Rothchild West to East: - Cafe Nola is located in the small mall at the west end of Rothchild (before the overpass). It’s great for sunday brunch before noon. Get the Israeli breakfast for two. - Theres a vegetarian place and a Hummus cafe just past Remez on the South side of Rothchild. .Oshi Oshi, Tuk Tuk, are all sub par sushi restaurants ,(שושה) Sushi in the city - - Cafe 54 is open late and on Saturdays. - Boka Bar is a new sandwich place with custom flavor soda. The antrecota (steak sandwich) is recommended. - Pasta Bar is good for cheap, tasty pasta dinners. - Well Done (we call it TNT cause that’s what the sign looks like) is the best shwarma place on Rothchild with cool owners. - Between Jabotinsky and Hertzel is Coffix and the bakery next to Tiffany’s. Everything at Coffix is 5 shekels. Jabotinsky - South of Rothchild is a new chocolate kebab place. It’s like shwarma but chocolate. - Two blocks north of Rothchild is a chinese restaurant and accross the street is a billiards bar. Hertzl March 2014

just south of Rothchild across from the park, best steak (אנטרקותה) Antrecota - sandwich. north of Rothchild on the corner by the bus stop, good (השוק) HaShook - sandwiches. - Cafe Cafe, at the bus station - Aldo, awesome gelato next to Cafe Cafe Industrial Area (all the way up Hertzl. It is walking distance) *reservations recommended for Thursday - Saturday nights - Francheska in the City, good italian - Soho, fancy sushi fun atmosphere with a little of everything (נאפיס) ,Nafis - theres a ton more in this area. Cinema City is a mall and movie theater with some restaurants and bars. HaZahav mall (the gold mall) - Max Brenner, chocolate

Places to eat-TA

- Frank is a chain of restaurants, which make the best frankfurters and bratwurst in TA, there are several locations Ibn Gabriol 23, and Ben Yehuda St 69. - Tamara is a small chain with two stores one is a yogurt store on Ben Yehuda and Gordan the other is a juice stand on Ben Gurion and Dizengoff(best in TA, I strongly suggest their special of coffee, banana and pecans). Get the punch cards for both once you try it you will surely be addicted - Goocha is a good place to eat seafood, it is location on Dizengoff 171. There is also a place called Diner by Goocha which has great food but is very expensive - Rothchild street in Tel Aviv has some of the top restaurants but can be pricy. - Jaffa Port good hummus and seafood in this area - Odelia is a Lebanese place. Not expensive and delicious. Google “best … in Tel Aviv” March 2014

Places to drink-Rishon

Clubs: mostly in the old industrial area -Mami’s -Puppets across from the post office on Rothchild , גותה- Bars: -The industrial area has many -Barce, north on Hertzel -Binci is a chill bar on the corner of Hertzel and Remez -Otto, on Rothchild -Yes Planet is a movie theater with some restaurants and 55 Bar (55 beers on tap) -Temple Bar, at Cinema City we watch American football here. They have good burgers and , (הברון) HaBaron- wings (thai chili). The owners name is Ron and he is Dallas Cowboys fan... Just past the pedestrian walkway on Rothchild

Places to drink-TA

There’s basically a few main areas we enjoy. Florentine is south of the center of the city. It is home to some smaller pubs. The Center - Dezingoff, Allenby, Rothchild, Hayarkon, Ben Yehuda streets all have bars and clubs Ibn Gabirol is a long street with some bars and clubs Tel Aviv Port has a bunch of clubs check these websites for more: http://www.telavivguide.net/ http://www.telavivme.com/nightlife http://www.cityguide.co.il/what-to-do/nightlife/

March 2014

-Big Easy(EZ)- ALL YOU CAN DRINK. Thats right, they have a bunch of bracelets where you choose a price range from the menu and drink from a few different choices all night. You can even get the "Big Spender" and drink everything at the bar, unlimited, all night. The prices for all you can drink range from about 60-130 NIS. Go here(18 Bograshov, near Ben Yehuda) for a night you won’t/can’t remember.

Travel to Tel Aviv

Best Buses to take to TA (Tel Aviv) o 301 It’s an express that goes to the Central Bus Station(tahana merkazit) from there you can take a few buses to get where you need within TA:  4, 104, 204 all go the same direction on Allenby, which then changes into Ben Yehuda. These buses are all going parallel to the beach.  5- Habima Square and Dizengoff  89, 189, 289- takes a route slightly more westward through them you can easily access Habima and Rabin Square (***kikar=square***) o 174- second best line to take it goes directly to Tel Aviv, but it does not come as often o 201, 19,119 are all choices to go to TA, but all are quite slow