I am doing the Jerusalem ulpan to solidfy my Hebrew and to stay in Israel longer.
A lot of things have changed in my life in the past month that have created some difficulties- physically and emotionally. For most part, it has been dealing with friendships with best friends going off to the States. Also, though I have found my niche in Israel, it is a matter of trying to acclimate to the Israeli society by increased frequency in speaking Hebrew. Now, Hebrew is part of my daily language mixed with English. I automatically say basic Hebrew even though my answers are supposed to be in English like ken, lo, toda, akshav, le, meh, ha-yom, ma and so forth. I put together stories and personal accounts in my head as I walk along on the sidewalks. I conjugate the verbs while I'm preparing to speak in Hebrew.
Anyway, I got awesome new roommates for the ulpan. They were estatic to see a fully-furnished kitchen and bathroom. Here's the run-down of who they are:
Meredith K- Ohio State '08, Cinnancati, tried to hook up wireless using my DSL in the apartment but didn't ultimately work out, been to Israel once
Meredith M-Graduate, Utah, mormon, never been to Israel, has 80ish first cousins and knows them all, 5th child out of 10
Rebecca- Orthodox, high school graduate, plans to do yeshiva for the year, St. Louis, never been to Israel, has brother at Techicon (Israeli MIT)
Danielle- Orthodox, high school graduate (Exeter), plans to do yeshiva, been to Israel 3 times, volunteered for the Army and will do again in August until her yeshiva starts, Seattle
I like hanging out with them all. Tonight, I am taking most of them for chicken schwarma down in Emek Refaim (Germany Colony) where my family went. They are so excited! To be honest, I do laugh at them a bit quietly when I recognized typical American diet behavior such as breaking small bits of food in half, buying fat-free dairy products, and a few other things. I've learned that moderation is really the key as I haven't gained or lost any weight since I've been here. (I don't buy anything fat-free except for milk) Honestly, indulge yourself to dessert everyday if you wish as long everything else has been low in calories or fat.
I'm actually in alef shmone, the most advanced of all Aleph classes. I'm not bothered at all as I felt uncertain about moving up to bet after having so much trouble with the past tenses. I can focus more on mastering the vocabulary that I didn't before and getting everything down pat. My class itself is good. The teachers, Bosmat and Dana, are great! They're incredibly patient and I can see that they're serious, especially Dana, in getting us to solidfy our Hebrew for the level exam. I try to communicate with them in Hebrew when I have questions. The students are either A) high school graduates or B) Europeans. There are 2 guys from London, 1 woman from Belgium but studying at University College- London, 1 woman from Switzerland, and a bunch of French. There is no bell curve to describe an average ulpan student that's for sure. Very few people are in my position- American college student. So basically, the graph would look like a two-hump camel.
I just have to say that after being taught by 6-7 Hebrew teachers, there are no bad teachers in RIS's Hebrew language program unlike RIS's regular English program. They all just make you want to keep taking Hebrew there. The time can really fly by in class (of course, unless I'm really tired)
I am trying to look at my calendar for the rest of my time in Israel- trying to see my "families" and friends again before one of us go back to the States and just making the most of my time in continuing my assimilation to the Israeli society with Hebrew and Israeli behavior.
Oh, I have a funny cab story. I was all the way over to Giv'at Shaul, which is on the other end of the city and is a black-hat neighborhood. It has a delicious bakery which I found while looking for the computer service to have my laptop fixed. Anyway... after picking up my laptop, I walked over to the nearest main road to pick up a cab. I caught one and told the driver "'l'Har Hatzofim. l'sholishim hamesh shekelim." He nodded and motioned for me to get in. Wow- I lucked out since the other 3 drivers would only take 40 shekelim. So we drove and went on Begin North, which is an expressway like the Inner Loop in Rochester. He got off Begin North and drives up to Har Hatzofim industrial area. He pulled over to the left lane and began asking where to turn- "Here?" "iser! iser!" "Here?" "Iser.... iser..." "Where do you want me to turn?" "iser l'universitah iverit! You know.. Hebrew U??!?!" He went all "but there are two Har Hatzofims!" I muttered loudly enough for him to hear, "Every other cab driver knows that when someone my age asks for Har Hatzofim that they mean the university." He was nice enough to drive all the way over without charging me extra or anything. Phew.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Last Two Days of Vacation!
After the zoo, Juliana got in touch with two guy friends of hers who were at the Malka Mall, not too far. We walked over there to meet up with them- I didn't know that one of them was a soldier so he was wearing his uniform (pretty hot!). Then we took a ride over to their house in Efata, which is a settlement very close to Hebron. Actually, I didn't feel as if I was in danger at all. It was a pretty isolated area along the valley- very beautiful. Their house was just gorgeous.
Believe it or not, I was actually glad to be out of Jerusalem like that because there was a gay pride parade going on that evening. It is a very controversial event in Jerusalem because many people don't feel that Jerusalem is the right place- that it is too special and all the religion there basically condemn homosexuality. So every year the haredi community post threats of violence against the parade and the gay people. Last year was nearly canceled because of the Second Lebanon War and instead of the streets, the parade was held inside the stadium down in Giv'at Ram (one of Hebrew U's campuses). The night before the parade, at least 50 people were arrested for hostilties. The city was putting out a force of at least 7,500 security officers to handle the crowd while the parade marched from the center of the city towards Liberty Park. Just before I went into Juliana's friends' house, I received a call from Linda asking if I was planning on joining the parade. I told her, even though I support the gay parade, I wouldn't do the Jerusalem one- I'd rather do the one in Tel Aviv. She said it was a wise choice. I thought that was interesting that she called but I know that she's into demonstrations and such. Then a couple minutes later, Juliana booted up the computer to JPost.com site to find that a haredi man was found with a bomb. I texted my friends and new roommates right away not to go downtown that night- it was just not safe at all. When I finally came up, the JPost reported 19 arrests and one of my friends called and told me that cab drivers were charging 50-60 sheklim no matter what. I thought this whole scenario was insane-even more so than Yom Ha'atzmaut with the whole security and cabs thing.
Friday, Paige and I hung out at the beach for the entire day again. We took sheruts instead of the buses considering it was Friday and being a big travel day. Israel is a small country- I saw Moti and his friend, the same shady hotties from the week before, again towards the end of the day. At first I liked them but now I think they're definitely sketchy. This week, my friends and I will have to move to a different area of the beach! Especially that his friend kept asking where was Hilary (at work, making up a sick day).
For Shabbat, I "crashed" at the hotel with the ulpan dinner. I met several new people from different parts of the world. I can't generalize an average student.... I did meet a lot of smart kids from Ivy League schools- including several from Yale. Scary!!!!
I'll talk about my awesome new roommates in the next post. :)
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Biblical Zoo!
As silly the idea of college students going to a zoo, people raved about it over the semester. So I sort of just waited around for someone who might want to go with me. And Julianna called on Thursday morning to see if I'd like to join her. I was so excited- I hadn't seen her in two or three weeks! I love her- she's a sweetie. So we coordinated the timing of the buses so she'd get on the same bus as me since she was living in Ramat Eshkol in her grandmother's apartment.
This is the bird who was supposedly Winston Churchill's. Juliana tried to get him to curse the Nazis by saying "Nazi" to him.
Then we saw more animals like Persian cheetahs, lionesses, elephants, polar bears, chimps, etc. There were two sauctaries- tropical and avian which I certainly did not go through. Juliana and I were patient with each other over my fear of birds. We loved seeing all the baby animals- I had a theory that there are so many baby animals because this is Israel where population is encouraged and a place for rebirth. We went through an "African safari" which wasn't really what I expected. We saw a rhino and some gazelles and a few zebras. The visitor's center was built like Noah's Ark- pretty cool.
We didn't actually finished the entire zoo since we were getting to be late for lunch (like around 3-3:30) and we didn't want to be starving. While we ate our sandwiches, we watched the workers set up a huge catering party for zoo donors. It looks like it would be a fancy one.
The day was soooo hot that we finished our water nearly before our lunch break. I really like the zoo because it was simple- the information about the animals weren't overwhelming and we didn't feel pressured to see the entire zoo because there weren't that many animals as say, in Bronx or the National Zoo. I was kind of disappointed that there weren't any information about the babies- I would've loved to know about their ages and when were they born.
The ride felt like forever but it wasn't too bad, only a little over half hour to the other end of Jerusalem to this pretty isolated area in the valley. We paid our way in with our student IDs. First, we saw little animals like little monkeys, snakes, rodents, and the like. The next exhibit contained my least favorite animals- birds. I have a huge phobia of
birds, especially if they're just sitting on something other than the ground or flying. I tried not to look at the pretty parrots- they were bigger than I thought. I shuddered. I read up their information instead and here's a very interesting one.
This is the bird who was supposedly Winston Churchill's. Juliana tried to get him to curse the Nazis by saying "Nazi" to him.Then we saw more animals like Persian cheetahs, lionesses, elephants, polar bears, chimps, etc. There were two sauctaries- tropical and avian which I certainly did not go through. Juliana and I were patient with each other over my fear of birds. We loved seeing all the baby animals- I had a theory that there are so many baby animals because this is Israel where population is encouraged and a place for rebirth. We went through an "African safari" which wasn't really what I expected. We saw a rhino and some gazelles and a few zebras. The visitor's center was built like Noah's Ark- pretty cool.
We didn't actually finished the entire zoo since we were getting to be late for lunch (like around 3-3:30) and we didn't want to be starving. While we ate our sandwiches, we watched the workers set up a huge catering party for zoo donors. It looks like it would be a fancy one.
The day was soooo hot that we finished our water nearly before our lunch break. I really like the zoo because it was simple- the information about the animals weren't overwhelming and we didn't feel pressured to see the entire zoo because there weren't that many animals as say, in Bronx or the National Zoo. I was kind of disappointed that there weren't any information about the babies- I would've loved to know about their ages and when were they born.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Countdown to America
Pretty ironic considering the fact that I love living and being in Israel but let's put it this way, there are just some things that Israel can't buy that kind of happiness of being in America. And vic e versa- only that Israel is worth millions more than America.
Things I look forward to and plan to accomplish within my first month back:
1) Driving the Audi and VW- sorry, Dad, not quite the Land Rover.
2) Mom's coleslaw
3) Real iced coffee from Starbucks. Made with real coffee, no milk or sugar or anything that makes iced coffee resembles coffee ice cream
4) Running on the pavement along the canal and the backroads of Hamilton
5) Netflix- endless string of DVDs in English with English subtitles
6) Salvatore's pizza and Wegmans' sushi
7) Sailing on the lake with GP and sleeping on the boat
8) Deli restaurants on Long Island
9) Wearing maroon and white, showing off Colgate spirit (Israeli students don't have school spirit at all)
10) Baking challah, making chocolate chip cookie dough, and grilling veggies
11) Reading labels in English
12) Using my nice cellphone with pretty layout and clearer connection... and unlimited text messaging
13) Screaming at Bank of America for leaving me nearly stranded without money for two weeks because they couldn't get my cards here fast enough and were unhelpful with customer service when I reported the cards stolen and issuing new cards.
This entry might get updated every once in a while....
Things I look forward to and plan to accomplish within my first month back:
1) Driving the Audi and VW- sorry, Dad, not quite the Land Rover.
2) Mom's coleslaw
3) Real iced coffee from Starbucks. Made with real coffee, no milk or sugar or anything that makes iced coffee resembles coffee ice cream
4) Running on the pavement along the canal and the backroads of Hamilton
5) Netflix- endless string of DVDs in English with English subtitles
6) Salvatore's pizza and Wegmans' sushi
7) Sailing on the lake with GP and sleeping on the boat
8) Deli restaurants on Long Island
9) Wearing maroon and white, showing off Colgate spirit (Israeli students don't have school spirit at all)
10) Baking challah, making chocolate chip cookie dough, and grilling veggies
11) Reading labels in English
12) Using my nice cellphone with pretty layout and clearer connection... and unlimited text messaging
13) Screaming at Bank of America for leaving me nearly stranded without money for two weeks because they couldn't get my cards here fast enough and were unhelpful with customer service when I reported the cards stolen and issuing new cards.
This entry might get updated every once in a while....
Diaspora Museum
Today I went to the Jewish Diaspora Museum (Bet Hatefutsoth) at Tel Aviv University. The whole thing took me about 90 minutes-ish. I thought it could use more light... I felt really unsettled in there when they introduced the Jewish people... how despite it all, we are still about community. They had some amazing models and several beautiful art pieces.
The biggest kick was the exhibit on models of synagogues from all over the world- from Cocohin, India to Worms, Germany to Newport, Rhode Island to Amsterdam to Venice to Florence (wow!). They were beautifully done and I wish I could take one of them with me back home (except for Elkins Park, PA one- the architect is Frank Lloyd Wright- ugly!).
There was another exhibit that really made you think. It came at the end of a quick history od the Diaspora- זכור (Remember) in big and bold letters on the wall preceding the exhibit. It contained the book called Scrolls of Fire, filled with poetry and writings with metaphors to different Jewish catastrophes accompanying by paintings and drawings. Of course, the first thought could be either the Holocaust or the destruction of the Second Temple. But no, Scrolls of Fire is all about martyrdom. Somehow the thought of 52 pieces of work for each week of the year made me swallow a bit. My forefathers survived so much. Would I be willing to uphold an act of martyrdom for my Jewish people? I felt like the Museum suggested that even though ultimately it is the person's choice on whether to commit this act or not, s/he should think about how many people sacrificed their lives for others (in other words, it wants to make you feel guilty) This is what Judaism is supposedly be about...dying so others can live and to peserve one's honor and dignity. Of course, one must ask the question about the Holocaust... the answer for it will never get resolved. There are so many scholarly debates. What about fighting in the IDF? Especially when your enemies want to wipe you and your fellow Jews off the map. So it was a moment that I kind of wanted to scream like if I had seen a spider.
I'm still disturbed over the fact that the Museum was so dark- no light. I didn't feel that it was truly celebrating the Jewish people- only that it asked for respect to all the achievements, accomplishments, and memories that the Jews have created over the past 2,000 years. The exhibits were definitely well done but... either it's the way the curator wanted or the place needed renovation like the Museum of American History (so old!). I think that Yad Vashem and the Israel Museum did a better job of celebrating the Jews with their architecture and interior layout.
The biggest kick was the exhibit on models of synagogues from all over the world- from Cocohin, India to Worms, Germany to Newport, Rhode Island to Amsterdam to Venice to Florence (wow!). They were beautifully done and I wish I could take one of them with me back home (except for Elkins Park, PA one- the architect is Frank Lloyd Wright- ugly!).
There was another exhibit that really made you think. It came at the end of a quick history od the Diaspora- זכור (Remember) in big and bold letters on the wall preceding the exhibit. It contained the book called Scrolls of Fire, filled with poetry and writings with metaphors to different Jewish catastrophes accompanying by paintings and drawings. Of course, the first thought could be either the Holocaust or the destruction of the Second Temple. But no, Scrolls of Fire is all about martyrdom. Somehow the thought of 52 pieces of work for each week of the year made me swallow a bit. My forefathers survived so much. Would I be willing to uphold an act of martyrdom for my Jewish people? I felt like the Museum suggested that even though ultimately it is the person's choice on whether to commit this act or not, s/he should think about how many people sacrificed their lives for others (in other words, it wants to make you feel guilty) This is what Judaism is supposedly be about...dying so others can live and to peserve one's honor and dignity. Of course, one must ask the question about the Holocaust... the answer for it will never get resolved. There are so many scholarly debates. What about fighting in the IDF? Especially when your enemies want to wipe you and your fellow Jews off the map. So it was a moment that I kind of wanted to scream like if I had seen a spider.
I'm still disturbed over the fact that the Museum was so dark- no light. I didn't feel that it was truly celebrating the Jewish people- only that it asked for respect to all the achievements, accomplishments, and memories that the Jews have created over the past 2,000 years. The exhibits were definitely well done but... either it's the way the curator wanted or the place needed renovation like the Museum of American History (so old!). I think that Yad Vashem and the Israel Museum did a better job of celebrating the Jews with their architecture and interior layout.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
חופש
Chofesh means vacation or freedom and that's exactly what I'm doing from June 11th to June 23rd! Just playing around in Israel. Originally, I was supposed to go to Eilat with Naomi this week but due to the lack of personal credit cards and Naomi's unfinished end-of-semester work, we couldn't go. So while she worked on her papers in Jerusalem, I've been venturing out to Tel Aviv's beaches. The weather and the water are just beautiful. I managed to stay in for 40 minutes on Thursday- it was that nice. Only on Wednesday, I stayed in Jeruusalem for the purpose of picking up my first package from home and my cellphone- I later went out to the Malka Mall (where I got smacked hard by a baby's head on my right eye- almost got a black eye if I didn't run over to the food court for some ice!)
Mom told me that when I was little, I used to get so tan that I was called her "brown baby." Now I understand what she meant by that! It's unbelievable. I've never seen myself like this in my recent memory. My faical skin isn't golden tan anymore. The change is so drastic that i don't know how to feel aobut it.
Nevertheless, I'm still going to the beach this week because in America, I have zip access to those kind of places. And it's really fun being able to catch up with my summer reading- I just finished I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis- it's about Renassiance Florence in 1490's. Now I'm starting on Jane Austen's Emma (only because I' ve been encouraged to try Austen again after I expressed my dislike for Pride and Prejudice).
I saw Tobi and Nate for dinner last Tuesday- Tobi made salmon cakes! Yum! We had some very in-depth discussion that put a new perspective on applying what I've seen in Israel to certain American Jews. I love them, especially Nate. They're definitely my 'Israeli grandparents" (though they are Americans).
Then I saw Phyllis, a friend of Zev's, for brunch on Friday before I dashed off to Tel Aviv. She's such a wonderful, sweet woman. She bought me a little piece of cake for Shabbat treat. Funny thing is that I didn't realize how North American she was until I dined with her in the restaurant. Just some little things just didn't seem to make her an Israeli.
My time in Tel Aviv on Friday was kind of short compared to other days but it was very worthwhile. I was happy to see Hilary again. She looked like she was still getting over the cultural shock but seemed to be settling in well. She complained of the heat and loved the water. I smiled and coaxed her to soak in as much water as she could because she wasn't used to the climate yet having only arrived just recently and I've been here for 5 months and used to the weather. A bunch of high schoolers hit on us- mostly Hilary (because we're so cute). Eventually they left us alone when the waves got a bit strong for us to talk as a group. After we laid out in the sun, we got hit on again by two guys our age from Jerusalem. They were very hot- I couldn't keep my eyes off one of them- he had the most amazing eyes I had ever seen. Unfortunately, they were smokers so Hilary and I kept our conversations pretty casual even though they invited us to go clubbing with them.
I think Hilary was more than happy to leave the beach- leaving the hot sun and the Israelis when it was time for me to catch the last bus back to Jerusalem. Oh, I tell you, catching the last bus back to Jerusalem is a total madhouse- you can feel the crowd swaying and pushing towards the doors of the bus. All I kept thinking was that i had a round trip ticket and ought to be on the bus this instant!
For Shabbat, I visited Morris and Dalia's in Malcha. Dalia's cooking totally reminded me of Mom's- very homemade with a natural touch of gourmet. She made schintzel fish with sweet and white roasted potatoes, some beans, and some veggies from chicken broth. I enjoyed their company very much. (See the post "Fun with the Israelis!!!" under April for more info about them) For some reason, I felt quite emotional when I talked to them about my feelings and experiences in Israel... the same kind of feelings that I had when I first saw Israel back in January. How much I loved Israel and how much Israel brings joy and happiness to me. And to be sitting and eating and conversing with the Israelis in the same room was just a bit much but it's really the best experience anyone can ask for when living in a foreign country (though Israel s not a foreign country to me!).
To a new week. L'shavua chedeshah
Mom told me that when I was little, I used to get so tan that I was called her "brown baby." Now I understand what she meant by that! It's unbelievable. I've never seen myself like this in my recent memory. My faical skin isn't golden tan anymore. The change is so drastic that i don't know how to feel aobut it.
Nevertheless, I'm still going to the beach this week because in America, I have zip access to those kind of places. And it's really fun being able to catch up with my summer reading- I just finished I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis- it's about Renassiance Florence in 1490's. Now I'm starting on Jane Austen's Emma (only because I' ve been encouraged to try Austen again after I expressed my dislike for Pride and Prejudice).
I saw Tobi and Nate for dinner last Tuesday- Tobi made salmon cakes! Yum! We had some very in-depth discussion that put a new perspective on applying what I've seen in Israel to certain American Jews. I love them, especially Nate. They're definitely my 'Israeli grandparents" (though they are Americans).
Then I saw Phyllis, a friend of Zev's, for brunch on Friday before I dashed off to Tel Aviv. She's such a wonderful, sweet woman. She bought me a little piece of cake for Shabbat treat. Funny thing is that I didn't realize how North American she was until I dined with her in the restaurant. Just some little things just didn't seem to make her an Israeli.
My time in Tel Aviv on Friday was kind of short compared to other days but it was very worthwhile. I was happy to see Hilary again. She looked like she was still getting over the cultural shock but seemed to be settling in well. She complained of the heat and loved the water. I smiled and coaxed her to soak in as much water as she could because she wasn't used to the climate yet having only arrived just recently and I've been here for 5 months and used to the weather. A bunch of high schoolers hit on us- mostly Hilary (because we're so cute). Eventually they left us alone when the waves got a bit strong for us to talk as a group. After we laid out in the sun, we got hit on again by two guys our age from Jerusalem. They were very hot- I couldn't keep my eyes off one of them- he had the most amazing eyes I had ever seen. Unfortunately, they were smokers so Hilary and I kept our conversations pretty casual even though they invited us to go clubbing with them.
I think Hilary was more than happy to leave the beach- leaving the hot sun and the Israelis when it was time for me to catch the last bus back to Jerusalem. Oh, I tell you, catching the last bus back to Jerusalem is a total madhouse- you can feel the crowd swaying and pushing towards the doors of the bus. All I kept thinking was that i had a round trip ticket and ought to be on the bus this instant!
For Shabbat, I visited Morris and Dalia's in Malcha. Dalia's cooking totally reminded me of Mom's- very homemade with a natural touch of gourmet. She made schintzel fish with sweet and white roasted potatoes, some beans, and some veggies from chicken broth. I enjoyed their company very much. (See the post "Fun with the Israelis!!!" under April for more info about them) For some reason, I felt quite emotional when I talked to them about my feelings and experiences in Israel... the same kind of feelings that I had when I first saw Israel back in January. How much I loved Israel and how much Israel brings joy and happiness to me. And to be sitting and eating and conversing with the Israelis in the same room was just a bit much but it's really the best experience anyone can ask for when living in a foreign country (though Israel s not a foreign country to me!).
To a new week. L'shavua chedeshah
Saturday, June 9, 2007
שלום שלום!!!
Shalom means hello and good-bye. I experienced both of that this week.
Good Byes
Everyone in my program is beginning to leave. I totally missed Aly by an hour when I came home from Haifa on Monday night. Then Gina left on Thursday. Finally Dena and Jess left tonight. Now I have the apartment all to myself! I also had a farewell Shabbat dinner with some of the Rothberg people last night- I took my last challah out of the freezer for the occasion. It was still delicious- was gone within 10 minutes and eaten before the store bought ones! I don't like to say good byes so I just make them quick. Technology makes communication a lot easier that it almost feels like you'll hear from them before you know it. You know? Anyway, most of the people are leaving tomorrow.
I also had to say good-bye to my now officially stolen wallet.
Hellos
The CJU (Colgate Jewish Union) Birthright trip came to Jerusalem!!! I walked over to their hotel (Olive Tree) in East Jerusalem and searched for them in vain for a while because they were in discussion groups in various places around the hotel. I chilled with Rabbi Dave for a bit after the groups broke up and then went off to do walking tours. When they came back, I hung out with some of the graduated seniors... I really thought that I wouldn't like to hang out with Americans again so much but these guys... even though I never met them before, they were so easy to hang out and talk to. I realized that Israeli guys really don't know how to create friendship with women. So I smoked some hookah and had great laughs with them. In a way, I forgot how much of eye-candies the Colgate guys were :) I saw Jess, Rob, and Brian (admittedly, I totally blanked out on his name when I saw him). I also met some people on the other buses including some guy who came to the States from Russia who ended up hitting on me (which really creeped me out- left him pretty quickly after he asked what I'd be doing later tonight). Even more wild was that I ran into Kelly and Sarah, my interpreters from my birthright trip two years ago!!!! They were on another trip. They couldn't believe that I was in Israel! I also met a student from RIT who used pad and pen to communicate with me and another one who asked about my cochlear implants. In call, those 7 1/2 hours at the hotel was mad insane.
Before dinner, I saw Hilary! I didn't think she'd be coming to Jerusalem but she did. So while the trip went off to listen to a speaker before going out to Ben Yehuda, Hil and I decided to go for drinks on Ben Yehuda. She acted like a big flirt when she thought she lost her wallet but the driver still wouldn't give us the price that I wanted (20 shekelim) but he gave her his card "in case she wanted to be pick up later on ." Boy, Hil still needs to know about bargaining with the drivers (She takes shreut around Tel Aviv). Anyway, I had a great time talking with her and we shopped along Ben Yehuda a bit. Then we met up with a couple of other people- including one Colgate girl who's working in Jerusalem.
When Hil (on the left) said that even though it's been a week, she already feels like she's been here for a month. I said, for me, even though I've been here for 5 months, it really feels more like I've lived here for a year and really am living in Israel. What I love about living in Israel and in Jerusalem, in particular, is that people come. I told her about how I went to the airport twice to pick up my family and the scene, really, is incredible when the people come out of the baggage claim and meet up with their loved ones.. it's a big lovefest. Though I didn't cry when I saw the CJU people but having them here made me feel very confident of myself, for being part of Israel... For me, Israel is really home and even though I don't need to say it to my visitors, but I feel like saying "Welcome to my home, I'm glad that you came!" It's very strange in a sense the way I felt when I hugged my friends. Of course, I missed them, but not in a way that I felt like if they didn't come, I wouldn't cry, beg, and plead to see them. You know? Like I can live to be here.
Not like as if I was living in Prague or London. I think what Melissa the American Olah (who I met a few weeks ago) said about have support in Israel to make living in Israel easier is absolutely true. It really helps a lot to have a network of family friends here to pull me out of deep water and to give me a home with homemade meals and lots of family loving when I want to get away from my (now lonely) apartment. (And of course, loans when I absolutely need it) I look forward to calling them and to seeing them. Once you have that, you don't feel the need to leave the country because you "have nothing." I am currently seeing my return to the States as a extended "visit." My parents and I are definitely glad that I have one more year of Colgate left... without Colgate, I'm not sure if I would've really left Israel unless I had something concrete back in the States awaiting my return.
Which is probably why I'm extending this internship with Yad Vashem- got turned down for everything in the States for the summer. If there's nothing in the States, then, why leave?
Good Byes
Everyone in my program is beginning to leave. I totally missed Aly by an hour when I came home from Haifa on Monday night. Then Gina left on Thursday. Finally Dena and Jess left tonight. Now I have the apartment all to myself! I also had a farewell Shabbat dinner with some of the Rothberg people last night- I took my last challah out of the freezer for the occasion. It was still delicious- was gone within 10 minutes and eaten before the store bought ones! I don't like to say good byes so I just make them quick. Technology makes communication a lot easier that it almost feels like you'll hear from them before you know it. You know? Anyway, most of the people are leaving tomorrow.
I also had to say good-bye to my now officially stolen wallet.
Hellos
The CJU (Colgate Jewish Union) Birthright trip came to Jerusalem!!! I walked over to their hotel (Olive Tree) in East Jerusalem and searched for them in vain for a while because they were in discussion groups in various places around the hotel. I chilled with Rabbi Dave for a bit after the groups broke up and then went off to do walking tours. When they came back, I hung out with some of the graduated seniors... I really thought that I wouldn't like to hang out with Americans again so much but these guys... even though I never met them before, they were so easy to hang out and talk to. I realized that Israeli guys really don't know how to create friendship with women. So I smoked some hookah and had great laughs with them. In a way, I forgot how much of eye-candies the Colgate guys were :) I saw Jess, Rob, and Brian (admittedly, I totally blanked out on his name when I saw him). I also met some people on the other buses including some guy who came to the States from Russia who ended up hitting on me (which really creeped me out- left him pretty quickly after he asked what I'd be doing later tonight). Even more wild was that I ran into Kelly and Sarah, my interpreters from my birthright trip two years ago!!!! They were on another trip. They couldn't believe that I was in Israel! I also met a student from RIT who used pad and pen to communicate with me and another one who asked about my cochlear implants. In call, those 7 1/2 hours at the hotel was mad insane.
Before dinner, I saw Hilary! I didn't think she'd be coming to Jerusalem but she did. So while the trip went off to listen to a speaker before going out to Ben Yehuda, Hil and I decided to go for drinks on Ben Yehuda. She acted like a big flirt when she thought she lost her wallet but the driver still wouldn't give us the price that I wanted (20 shekelim) but he gave her his card "in case she wanted to be pick up later on ." Boy, Hil still needs to know about bargaining with the drivers (She takes shreut around Tel Aviv). Anyway, I had a great time talking with her and we shopped along Ben Yehuda a bit. Then we met up with a couple of other people- including one Colgate girl who's working in Jerusalem.
When Hil (on the left) said that even though it's been a week, she already feels like she's been here for a month. I said, for me, even though I've been here for 5 months, it really feels more like I've lived here for a year and really am living in Israel. What I love about living in Israel and in Jerusalem, in particular, is that people come. I told her about how I went to the airport twice to pick up my family and the scene, really, is incredible when the people come out of the baggage claim and meet up with their loved ones.. it's a big lovefest. Though I didn't cry when I saw the CJU people but having them here made me feel very confident of myself, for being part of Israel... For me, Israel is really home and even though I don't need to say it to my visitors, but I feel like saying "Welcome to my home, I'm glad that you came!" It's very strange in a sense the way I felt when I hugged my friends. Of course, I missed them, but not in a way that I felt like if they didn't come, I wouldn't cry, beg, and plead to see them. You know? Like I can live to be here.
Not like as if I was living in Prague or London. I think what Melissa the American Olah (who I met a few weeks ago) said about have support in Israel to make living in Israel easier is absolutely true. It really helps a lot to have a network of family friends here to pull me out of deep water and to give me a home with homemade meals and lots of family loving when I want to get away from my (now lonely) apartment. (And of course, loans when I absolutely need it) I look forward to calling them and to seeing them. Once you have that, you don't feel the need to leave the country because you "have nothing." I am currently seeing my return to the States as a extended "visit." My parents and I are definitely glad that I have one more year of Colgate left... without Colgate, I'm not sure if I would've really left Israel unless I had something concrete back in the States awaiting my return.
Which is probably why I'm extending this internship with Yad Vashem- got turned down for everything in the States for the summer. If there's nothing in the States, then, why leave?
Monday, June 4, 2007
A Real Israeli Home-Stay!
Haifa
(I guess I'm getting really tan, more than I'm willing to admit due flourscent lights when I look in the mirror)I escaped Jerusalem to spend 3 days in Haifa and lived with a real Israeli family- the kind of experience that American students get in Japan, Europe, and Latin America. The kind that don't speak a lot of English and make you homemade meals. The kind that invites you to family affairs and errands to different shuks. The kind with a mother who nags you to eat her food and finish it.
Basically, I visited Mor from when Grandma, Zev, and I visited Haifa back over Pesach vacation to see her before she leaves for America next Friday. She lives with her mother, Hadar, her father, Itach, her sisters, Liora and Or, and her brother, Danny. Danny was home for the weekend from the Army from his base in south of Tel Aviv. Liora is a first year student at Haifa University and Or is only in 10th grade. Mor is just finishing up her pre-Army university education at Haifa University. Itach used to run his own fix-it business before he changed into real estate. Now he owns apartments and rents them out. Hadar used to teach history before becoming a school principal. Now she is a stay-at-home mom.
Hadar and I developed an interesting relationship though it felt like I was walking on water at times because I had to balance my American and Israeli behavior- trying not to be the American that Israelis can't stand- the "superficial" and "hypocritical" person but at the same time, trying to be a courteous guest. But I also wanted to show her what an American is pretty much like- independent, polite, and respectful but not to go as far as fitting in the stereotype that Israelis view American as. It took quite some time before she started figuring out that I'm also independent and have my own opinions, actually not quite until today. I also didn't know what Israeli mothers were really like (though I do dearly hope that they're all not like that because I'd rather steal my future Israeli mother-in-law's son back with me to America than to deal with ones like Hadar) because all other whom I've met were Americans. She had also never really met an American before- they've never had an American stay with them. So we both learned a lot from each other and I'm afraid that I've scared her to death about the physical size of the country and the American culture. She was amazed and fearful when I gave her approxmiate hours of driving between Rochester to NYC and from NYC to the Poconos and from Rochester to Chicago and from NYC to San Francisco and showed her the Google map of the United States. 4-5 hours of driving isn't too bad for most people but anything over it is considered long. For the Israelis, 4 hours is far. Everything just seemed so far to her. She's one of those people whom you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Nevertheless, she is a great cook- she made me Iraqi food. I enjoyed it.
But she literally piles my plate with food. Piles my plate. In addition to that, she also set out plates of more food on the table! My eyes were wide as saucers every time I came to the table. She always says in firm tone, "Come. Eat." and "You want more? " and "Why, you no like it?" And her children don't get the same treatment. I wanted very much to be treated equally. Finally, for my last meal when I saw tons of rice on my plate (and seriously hoping it was not for me though I knew it was). Then conversation went like this.
Hadar: This yours.Basically, I visited Mor from when Grandma, Zev, and I visited Haifa back over Pesach vacation to see her before she leaves for America next Friday. She lives with her mother, Hadar, her father, Itach, her sisters, Liora and Or, and her brother, Danny. Danny was home for the weekend from the Army from his base in south of Tel Aviv. Liora is a first year student at Haifa University and Or is only in 10th grade. Mor is just finishing up her pre-Army university education at Haifa University. Itach used to run his own fix-it business before he changed into real estate. Now he owns apartments and rents them out. Hadar used to teach history before becoming a school principal. Now she is a stay-at-home mom.
Hadar and I developed an interesting relationship though it felt like I was walking on water at times because I had to balance my American and Israeli behavior- trying not to be the American that Israelis can't stand- the "superficial" and "hypocritical" person but at the same time, trying to be a courteous guest. But I also wanted to show her what an American is pretty much like- independent, polite, and respectful but not to go as far as fitting in the stereotype that Israelis view American as. It took quite some time before she started figuring out that I'm also independent and have my own opinions, actually not quite until today. I also didn't know what Israeli mothers were really like (though I do dearly hope that they're all not like that because I'd rather steal my future Israeli mother-in-law's son back with me to America than to deal with ones like Hadar) because all other whom I've met were Americans. She had also never really met an American before- they've never had an American stay with them. So we both learned a lot from each other and I'm afraid that I've scared her to death about the physical size of the country and the American culture. She was amazed and fearful when I gave her approxmiate hours of driving between Rochester to NYC and from NYC to the Poconos and from Rochester to Chicago and from NYC to San Francisco and showed her the Google map of the United States. 4-5 hours of driving isn't too bad for most people but anything over it is considered long. For the Israelis, 4 hours is far. Everything just seemed so far to her. She's one of those people whom you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Nevertheless, she is a great cook- she made me Iraqi food. I enjoyed it.
But she literally piles my plate with food. Piles my plate. In addition to that, she also set out plates of more food on the table! My eyes were wide as saucers every time I came to the table. She always says in firm tone, "Come. Eat." and "You want more? " and "Why, you no like it?" And her children don't get the same treatment. I wanted very much to be treated equally. Finally, for my last meal when I saw tons of rice on my plate (and seriously hoping it was not for me though I knew it was). Then conversation went like this.
Me: Mine? No, it's way too much food!!!
Hadar: It's yours. You need to eat. You need to get fat.
Me: Me? I don't want to get fat. It's your daughter, Or, who needs to eat. (I point to Or) Not me!
Hadar: It's good to be strong and fat. Now sit and have something.
Me: It's not good to be fat.... (mutters)
Of course, I didn't finish the meal and she didn't say anything more about me leaving a quarter of food behind on the plate. Oh.... it didn't quite end...
Hadar: You finish! (points to the platter of ground beef patties- delicious)
Me: No. I've had enough. I'm full (I discovered that it's the best way to tell her off)
Hadar: But don't you like it?
Me: Ken but I'd rather take them back with me- l'Yerushalayim. (She looks a little confused, the girls get what I mean and explained quickly in Hebrew)
Hadar: Ah, okay, that's good, I'll send you some back to Jerusalem!
And of course, she bought me a falafel sandwich with extra falafel without asking me if I wanted one when we were in a Druz village doing some bargain shopping for Mor to buy things to give in America. Of course, I didn't finish it- the falafels were terrible compared to Hadar's homemade from the day before. I chucked half of it without her looking at our next stop in an Israeli version of Costco/BJ's. And Mor didn't get one.
I know she enjoyed the challenge of having me- working on her English and she did teach me Hebrew and helped me pronounce words right.
And she said before I left that I should forget about ulpan and stay with her and learn Hebrew from her because she was a teacher and knows how to teach. Great idea- except two things: 1) I'm not going to be able to keep up with the food argument every day and 2) Their apartment isn't situation in a great location for running. And I'm going to need a social life with my friends in Jerusalem.
All the children spoke very good English. Hadar's accent was pretty good when it came to English except for new and more difficult words but she didn't know a whole lot judging from her grammar and vocabulary. Itach was the worst of them all. He had a very heavy accent and his English wasn't so good. The women told me that they could not understand him when he speaks English. I pointed out to Hadar that it's only because she's used to fluent, unaccented English like mine and the television. I reassured her that most Israeli students don't like to talk to each other in English and told her a story of a Hebrew U student who told me that he'd rather practice his espanol with me than with his Israeli peers and teacher because the Israeli accent isn't very pretty in other languages.
By the way, on Shabbat, we went down to Caeseara to visit Hadar's uncle's villa for a family affair. It was amazing- to see the entire Iraqi clan there with their children, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc, etc. They grilled tons of kebabs- beef and chicken and hotdogs and served different salads. We had Hadar's falafels for appeitzers with pitas and hummus. I saw Rakel- Zev's cousin in Herzliya. I actually called Zev at 6:30 AM in his time and said, "You have a special guest" and put Rakel on my cellphone. The villa was just absolutely stunning- I would have a very hard time believing that these houses in these neighborhoods "10 Minutes away from Israel" cost only 1 million dollars. Everything was just beautiful- the architecture and the kitchen. It had a small, open courtyard in the middle.
Nevertheless, let me put this weekend in perspective: Israeli overseas programs should seriously consider giving an option of homestays to the students. It's an unforgettable experience- you learn so much more than in a classroom and the Israelis learn more about English and America. Perhaps I will do an overnight in July...
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