SynaGo-Go Dancing

I arrived home at around 6pm from work, to find Spencer in my room playing guitar. He seemed tired and bored and, to be honest, I was both of those things too. So we decided to cook a meal and eat dinner, keeping it simple and easy. We cooked, we ate, and then we sat in my room and played guitar together. Simple and easy.

At 11pm, the time I usually go to bed, we decided that we were both restless and should go for a short walk. We've been doing this art project ever since we we found an empty picture frame and an awkward painting of a man's face on t he sidewalk in Tel Aviv, where we take pictures of ourselves with the frame and picture in different locations in Israel. So we did that. You wouldn't believe how fun that can be.

Eventually, we found ourselves in one of Jerusalem's Orthodox neighbourhoods, and we heard very loud music. It was in a synagogue, and we debated whether or not we should try and go inside to listen to the music, seeing as how they are all dressed in suits and black hats while we were wearing shorts, sandals, and colourful clothes. Spencer and I played off of one another, as we alternated between being excited and reticent. In the end, though, a small boy motioned for us to follow him in, so we did.

We went into the main hall where the music was coming from. There was fire juggling, kids running around, groups of Orthodox Jews dancing in circles, and a band up in a stage. It was really funny to watch all the men dance, some quite graceful, but most terribly awkward.

I told Spencer "we should go soon, or else someone is going to ask us to go up and dance." Everyone who noticed we were there took their turn staring at us. It was uncomfortably clear that we did not fit in, which also means that we look intriguing. And then, as was inevitable, the request to dance came. Well, more like an insistence. And there I was, in the middle of circle of Orthodox Jews, dancing as awkwardly as the best of them. Everyone was smiling and clapping. Spencer and I danced for around 15 minutes before the music ended and we participated in a quick photo shoot.

It ended up, of course, being one of those stories we can tell where we did the crazy thing and it turned out to be hilarious. Spencer was even gifted a Kipa. The quote of the night was "Keep the Kipa!"