Last Friday, I had an invite to spend the day at the beach in Tel Aviv with a couple of Israelis from the previous weekend but I chose not to go at the last minute. I finally would be going to Nate and Tobi Bach's for Shabbat and I did not want to be late since I'd have to shower and all that. It was fine as I had so much work to get done for Yad Vashem- I had repeatedly told my boss that I would have the project done by the end of May.... So I stayed in and worked for 4 hours, then quitted to buy some flowers from the street for the Bachs and to make a trip to the shuk in the center. I met one of my friends/classmates Liz on the bus so it was fun having company for the ride back- we made plans to work on our oral exam for Monday.
I took a cab down to the Bachs- still 25 sheklim though I originally asked for 20 (I think from now on, I won't settle for anything higher than 25!). Since it was daylight, I could see everything in their apartment and their view. It's stunning- you can see the western part of the Old City, including the Greek orthodox church and the Citadel, but not really the Dome of the Rock. You could see across Independence Park... just amazing. I helped Tobi set the table for Shabbat- it was so nice to do something like that! (It's funny how at one time it used to be such a hated chore....) She and I lit the candles together- apparently she knew a lot of different melodies- I didn't know anything. She also showed me pictures of her and Nate's family portraits from the early days in Palestine. Then all of us did the Shabbat blessings- the wine, the bread, and the hand-washing. We had soup, salad, some chicken with rice, and a little dessert.
Our conversations revolved around student strikes, the university systems, our families, the Israeli society, real estate in Jerusalem, and a few other things. It was just wonderful to see Nate up and around again- he had been very sick in the last few months. So when I finally was invited to see them- you cannot imagine how thrilled I was! They also told me of how they came to Israel- they had volunteered during the 1948 war and traveled/worked back and forth until they finally made aliyah in 1970. There really are a lot of people in Israel who made aliyah within few years after the 1967 war- I've lost count! I am also starting to see the differences in attitude towards Israel's prospects and future between the older and younger generations as we talk about history and politics in Israel.
Tobi told me to stay in touch and bring a friend next time. I am looking forward to that!
Saturday was filled with running, napping, working on creating dialogues with Liz, making dinner for myself and Naomi, studying for our final exam in EEJewry on Sunday with Naomi (though I was doing most of the tutoring), and trying to finish my project for Yad Vashem.
Sunday was the best and worst day. I lost my entire life- my wallet after I purchased a new mic combo headset for Skype. So I have no money, no credit cards, no check card, no health insurance card, no photos of my dear ones, etc, etc. Including my driver's license (right, when was I planning to drive in Israel?). Fortunately, I still have my traveler's checks that I didn't take with me to Prague to hold me until I get my cards. What fun. Someone's going to have a field day with over $100 to spend both in dollars and sheklim!
Nevertheless, using Skype to talk to my parents was the biggest highlight of the past week! I was so excited to be talking to them for free through the Internet. I really felt a lot better afterwards. I can't wait to do it again this weekend. Even if Mom gets restless and bored sitting at the computer when she'd rather be in the kitchen and talking on the phone at the same time.
Just download Skype from www.skype.com and buy and plug in a microphone, and just talk away! You can look me up under my regular name.
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