home away from home- my advantures in miami /by sarit adar A GREAT WEATHER EVEN IN THE WINTER TIME,BEUTIFUL BEACHS, AND A SENSE OF FREEDOM MAKES MIAMI THE IDEAL PLACE FOR A VACATION, ALSO, IN MIAMI THERE'S A LARGE ISRARLI COMUNITY' AND EVERY ISRAELI TOURIST WILL FEEL AT HOME/ i arrived to miami in a sunny afternoon ,i was tired from a long flight , the taxi driver welcomed me, and asked me: ' where are you from?' ,i was nervous, should i say i am israeli? how do the peple here feel about israelis? i had no idea . finally , the taxi driver noticed my magen david necklace, and said: ' oh, israeli? a lot of israelis here, you will feel at home..' 'i know, thats why i chose this location' i answered. the driver took me to my hotel at ocean drive, south beach, the view was amazing, and i felt like i am in paradise. i fell asleep the minout i got to the hotel, but the next day i went to aventura ave. which is where most of israeli migrants live or hang out. on aventura ave. there is a mall, where i met israeli girls selling dead sea products , i talked to them and l could feel how much they miss israel,.'i make good money here,but i miss home', one of the girls said. at the mall's caf'e, i met a group of israelis ,they were talking very laud,i they were discussing the recent teror attacks in israel, i asked them how long has it been since they left israel , 'almost 8 years ' one of them said. it amazed me that after 8 years away from israel , they are so up to date on what is happening . 'israel is always in our hearts' is what they kept saying , yoel, one of the israelies i met said: ' if i could make a good living and earn good money i never would have left' , he apparently is very successful in the real astate buisness. i felt that the israeli migrant left israel years ago, but israel never left them. i was hungry , so i asked the israeli group where can i find kosher resturant, they recommended'ezel izik ' resturant . ' go to 'ezel izik ', all the israelis eat there' its on dixie roud'. at ezel izik resturant i heared only hebrew , in the manu there is jachnun, shawarma , shakshuka, and on the wall the t.v was on israeli channel 10. for a minute, i forgot i am not in israel, i i ate a shawarma and spoke with some peple, every one ware very nice, and gave me recommendations on sites and places to see,like the jewish museum of florida, i took a walk ,and i found 'dash' - the kardashian sisters's fashion store, i couldn't belive i was actualy there! , the store is very neet and organized , and the clothes ara amazing but very expensive so i only bouht one shirt .then i relaxed at the beach. on collins ave. i saw a sign: ' aroma espresso bar' , even aroma , my favourite caf'e is here in miami, i was definitely home away from home. miami, i am going to miss you, it was fun visiting you ,but my real home is israel.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)Updated: