Reza and Adam
Adam wants to hire a surrogate to have a baby. The name of the place they go to inquire about surrogate services is called The Practice. WTF? Reza quickly notes that the doctor is sitting at a $10,000 desk. This is a boutique baby making business. #ItsExpensiveToConceiveHere Reza Adam wants to inseminate two eggs to be carried together as twins with two bio fathers. Reza is blown away by the six figure cost of the whole process. Adam thinks Reza is being cheap.
Later, Reza and Adam invite an adoption specialist over to learn about adoption. Actually, they will be fostering to adopt. When Reza hears about LGBT kids needing foster care and adoption he cries. Reza says his mom told him that she could fly to Iran with an envelope of cash and return with two kids. The adoption lady doesn’t know how to respond to that.
I will not recap MJ’s sick father. It’s just too heartbreaking.
GG and Shalom
Shalom makes an appearance on the show. I am so irritated that GG saw fit to mess with this media whore. He is such bad news. Tonight, GG introduces Shalom to her parents. Shalom should be happy this is happening in public and on camera. GG’s right hand is injured. Shalom should be happy about that too. Shockingly, her parents accept him.
Asa and MJ
It’s time for Asa to furnish a nursery and Reza is there to help. Reza is starting to get a tiny bit of baby fever while shopping. But he still wants to go the adoption route. Asa says she and Jermaine were not trying to get pregnant. But MJ already said that Asa went to her fertility doctor. So, I believe MJ in this case.
MJ is trying to get pregnant ASAP herself. She is checking her ovulation frequently,and she is worried she is not ovulating. She also thinks Asa got pregnant to let her know she needed to get pregnant before it’s too late for her. But, is it already too late?
Mike
We get to see Mike’s brother. I feel like he should have gone to Israel with Mike. Instead, he helps him pack. It’s been about ten years since the last time Mike was there.
I can’t be bothered with Sherv’s fake Australian girlfriend story.
The Trip To Israel
I am thrilled that we are getting on the plane at the thirty minute mark. I was worried the episode might end with a “To Be Continued” when they get detained. I suppose it could happen, but I’m slightly more optimistic about it now.
I knew immediately that Asa would demand first class because a pregnant woman in coach for 20 hours is uncool. Because of her, it seems they all got the upgrade. Drunk Reza makes up with GG again in the first class cabin. Love the flat beds. And by love I mean, I’m extremely jealous. It is like pulling teeth to use your skymiles on an International trip. I have yet to get my fat ass in a flatbed. In fact, the last time I went to Paris, I had first class and then got bumped and almost lost my mid section seat with the extra leg room. And I still flew next to a six-year-old that cuddled up to me in a full on cuddle while I was sleeping.
They arrive at “NatBag” the international airport of Tel Aviv and proceed to clear customs. A sleepy-eyed MJ and Asa are at baggage claim. But everyone else has been detained. Being detained is scary as fuck. Check out my experience in the shithole MIA airport here. I later found out that Curacao because of it’s close location to Venezuela is a drug hot spot and a single female traveling alone made me look like a drug mule. It was so NOT fun.
Asa and MJ have no compassion for those who are being detained. I hate that about people. Am I the only one who would feel concerned for my traveling companions in this situation? Also, is it weird that production is with both groups?
Why is Destiny even on this trip? I mean it’s fine. It’s not that I don’t like her. It just seems odd because I don’t think she is friends with anyone and has no storyline. At any rate she gets out of detention after two and a half hours. After three hours, Sherv is let through. After four hours, Mike is cleared. I was about to type that at least they are all being calm. Then, it is down to Reza and GG and GG is getting really on edge. I don’t blame her. It’s an awful experience. I kept trying to tell the Customs people that I travel internationally every year for my birthday and to please look at my passport stamps and date of birthday. I was not particularly calm and had multiple panic attacks which of course made me look even more like a drug mule. They have been on a plan for 16 to 18 hours and now have to sit in airport chairs for five more hours. After five hours, GG and Reza leave together. Why did it take five hours for them to get cleared?
This is not the Israel I visited as a child. My mother traveled with a book called Europe on Five Dollars a Day, Despite the fact that the latest version of the book was Europe on $25 Dollars a day. My parents were CHEAP. And died with all their money in the bank. Like ALL the money they ever made in their entire lives. While I do suffer from fear of being a bag lady, especially with my current risky and not so lucrative career, I do think there should be a balance between frugality and enjoying life. Anyway, they have a very nice hotel and Tel Aviv is very modernized. I don’t think we went to Tel Aviv. We were on sort of a religious pilgrimage if I recall correctly. Jerusalem (both countries) and Damascus, Syria and stuff like that.
There were definitely no nightclubs involved when traveling with a child. I did however go to The Milk Bar in Beirut as a kid. It’s a lot like the Moulin Rouge that I also got dragged to. The Milk Bar was much more scandalous. titties and an elephant. Quite the memory.
Asa decides to leave the restaurant because she is pregnant and everyone in the place is smoking.
I love me some MJ, so I will not comment on the orange skin tight catsuit. But I know you all will. At the club, they all go outside to smoke. Reza gets hot with MJ telling her she is 44 years old and the chances of her winning the lottery are better than her getting pregnant. Reza is right, but why is he such a cruel person?
The crew goes back to the hotel and drags a guy and a couple of random girls with them. Drunken MJ starts a game of spin the bottle. The locals seem horrified. The two local girls make out with each other, unprompted. MJ gets the pants of the guy and may or may not have done bad things with him. The hotel is trashed. Sherv leaves a Benjamin on the table for the maids.
Next Week: They go to the wailing wall and harass the locals. I’m all in!
I was surprised a film crew would be allowed to film in the detention center, especially in another country.
It looked like one of the crew also got detained and was filming on their cellphone, I can’t imagine they would allow someone in there with an actual camera, and it’s likely that they have at least one person on their crew who has a similar passport situation to them. Mike mentioned that they asked if he wanted to wait for the rest of his party I think.
MJ’s catsuit is standard MJ apparel. Nothing new there, but I will comment on the absolutely fucking ridiculous amount of cosmetics she travels with. I counted 11 lip glosses and I’m sure I missed a few, or five more. I’ll be the first to admit that I like some of the same choices while traveling as I have at home, but damn, even I would travel with three or four at the most, and I’m a lip gloss addict! I think MJ is becoming a slob and a hoarder. I’m no Reza fan, but he was obviously making the point to MJ that she should be so lucky at 44 years of age to conceive a bastard baby. Of course he has no tact and ends up yelling at a woman whose brain appears to be the size of a pea.
Yes it is Reza that is in the right telling a woman who desperately wants a child that she has a better chance of winning the lottery. Totally MJ’s fault for wanting to be a mother. HOW DARE SHE!
Reza knew MJ was throwing shade at Asa talking about her baby won’t be a bastard, that’s why he came at her like that nothing he said was false though. *shrug* MJ is 44yrs old, she drinks like a fish and smokes like a chimney her chances of getting pregnant at that rate is slim to none. I honestly don’t think she really wants a baby this is her storyline for the season.
Bastard Baby? What century are you living in? My daughters father died last year, when I applied for his Social Security for her the girl doing the interview asked me to prove she was his kid so I gave her the birth cert and when she saw my last name was different she called my daughter illegitimate. She no longer has a job. My point is a BABY is not a bastard and just because people dont get married that doesn’t make a child any less loved or more legitimate.
As for MJ hopefully she will never have a child because that woman is NOT going to be a loving nurturing mother. For her its about “having” a baby to fulfill HER needs. Its like a purse dog for her…
Even in the 21st centery, the terms bastard and illigetmate still have the same meaning. The fact that many children are born out of wedlock today does not change the meaning of words.
Here’s a copy and paste from dictionary.com :
noun
1. a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate child.
I’m willing to bet those who got detained, still have the same passport as when they went to Iran, and that was the reason they were selected for secondary screening.
How much do you want to bet? They never went to Iran.They went to Turkey. GG is the only one who has alledgedly been to Iran.
MJ needs to clean up her life and stop with the frequent binge drinking before she gets pregnant. I don’t think she has the maturity to be a mother.
Completely random reaction to a great post, but that was not first class they were in. It was business class. For an international long-haul flight, a 2 by 3 by 2 with flat beds is standard for business class. First, in these days, is almost always 1 by 2 by 1. Business is still sweet as you have a lie-flat bed and since that’s the major reason to try to get an upgrade, it’s not that much of a huge difference from first. I will say though – having used miles to get an international long-haul first class ticket before – it’s a nice bucket list thing to try for. The seats are really like little suites in the sky; you get your own pajamas and the food and service is too die for. (Plus the access to the flagship lounges when you fly first internationally is worth the mileage in and of itself!)
Business class is the new first class. I have no idea what airline they used but on Delta, where my mid six figure miles are stashed, there is no first class anymore, so “business class” is in fact the front of the plane.
I will admit that plane was not one I have seen before.
Ya know I go back and forth about MJ. She’s got a ton of stress and feelings of failure because of Vita’s constant refusal to accept MJ as she is. I can see why she’d absolutely be struggling to maybe keep an apartment clean, make it to work all the time, etc. But the obsession with adding a baby to the mix shows she also has detached from reality. She can have kids, sure. But now would be so hard on them all imho. But I do feel for her. She’s going through a lot.
Asa and this pregnancy are going to drive me flipping nuts. I can already tell. Baby is going to be vegan raw and wear all organic cotton clothing and, and, and…Good luck on that Asa lol.
Btw, wasn’t a big fan TT and then I read this article and I really enjoyed the personal background info. That was humanizing because often that gets lost in the world of reality tv and gossip.
The Shahs have already taken really cool trips even better than most of the Housewives cities.
I’m sure GG was detained because of her annual trips to Iran but I thought Israel would be friendly with Turkey (which is probably the last stamp from their trip a couple of seasons ago) so maybe that’s why they were held? Who knows but it’s crazy that they allowed the Bravo cameras in there.
By the way Tamara, I love when you share some of your personal experiences with your travels.
Reza is ridiculous at times. I get what he was trying to say to MJ but boy could he use some sensitivity and tact! She’s going through a lot right now and I think she’s doing better than expected given her circumstances.
I like Asa but she’s already starting to get on my nerves because she can’t just be happy she’s pregnant and stop trying to make it into some cosmic event unique to only her. MJ has already told us Asa saw her fertility doctor(and I believe her) so I’m already sick of Asa and the over the topness (made up word) that are her explanation points to everything in her life.
Looking forward to next week. The cast trips are always my favorite especially on this show because they actually do cultural things on their trips which is surprising for this group, lol.
Long time lurker first time commenter MJ is a slob that is all
I really wish they would take the bubbles off the names. I am terrified of ants, and it looks like ants are crawling on some scenes.
hahahahah!! I thought I was the only one who noticed that!! Yeah, super annoying/weird. I don’t get it.