Last 24 Hours In Israel

When we got back to the kibbutz, I was sooooo exhausted that I just wanted to collapse on the couch and just decompress. It was also really hot outside and I didn't really want to walk around the kibbutz. So I just relaxed and listened to my ipod while Linda and Shlomi took care of some things. Shlomi had left the tv on and it was beginning to play an Israeli love soap with Hebrew subtitles! I quickly turned up the volume and just watched the show. I was amazed how much of it I understood and could relate. I actually laughed out loud! I also picked up some vocabulary/grammar usage.

Today, I met up with Shiri and we took a bus to Tel Aviv. All day, we spoke both in Hebrew and English- she was so patient in teaching me Hebrew and I did with her English. We found things in common and we just had a lot of fun. First, we went to the beach but it wasn't that great since it was soooo windy. The waves were back but not as high as they used to be. The lifeguards wouldn't anyone wander in too far- bummer. Nevertheless, we laid out for about an hour and half before packing to find some food for lunch. We just went across the street to Cafe Aroma. Afterwards, we decided that we'd walked over to the Dizgenoff Mall to see if Harry Potter was playing because we both had no real interest in going back on the beach with all the wind. So we walked all the way over there only to find that the movies didn't have Harry Potter! We shrugged and just walked up King George towards the Carmel Market to do some shopping. We browsed for a while and Shiri ended up buying these bamboo sticks with some crafts on them. She was exhausted but I certainly wasn't! I felt really, really good and had a lot of energy- she couldn't believe what a bundle of energy I was! So anyway, the hot weather forced us to slip into a cafe and ordered some ice coffee. We really began talking at that point.

Then, she wanted to head back to the beach and we walked there while talking about the recent news by the IDF that only 25% of eligible draftees did not sign up to be in the Army. She told me it's a real problem in Tel Aviv as much in Jerusalem. I was surprised and she explained that it's not really part of the people's minds- Tel Aviv's very urban and people just don't really think about going out and protecting Israel's borders in the desert and mountains. I could see why- Tel Aviv was certainly an Israeli bubble, the bubble of what the rest of Israel could be like if it keeps developing and really grow as an actual city. The main reason why drafting is currently a problem in Jerusalem is because of the large haredim population. Shiri's going into the Army in January- already has a job! She's very, very excited even though by that point, most of her friends will have finished . She started a year and half late because she wanted to participate in this program up North that gave her a deeper understanding of Israel. No regrets.

We took some pictures and just walked along the beach, in the water. I was so tempted to jump back in the water but I didn't have a chance of dry underwear... We found a nice sandcastle! It felt very peaceful as the air cooled off, people coming to relax after a long day at work/camp, and the sun slowly setting.

The idea of leaving Israel began to sink in a little. I wouldn't exchange this day for anything else- being with Shiri (and Ronnie and his friends from Friday) made me realize how lucky I was to be making connections with the Israelis that I could choose to spend my last few days with them. They just made me feel that I would be welcomed back and it wouldn't really be much of a farewell. With the Americans, I think, it would have been more of saying farewell to Israel because most will not come back for a long time and didn't have deep connections as I did (well, they do connect but mostly with the land of Israel). So we'd probably just run around all day, trying to do things one more time, and be talking about memories and leaving Israel. I never would have wanted to this because A) It's too depressing and B) I connected with the people and it's much more important to me that I made this my priority.

To me, Israel is more than the land, the ideology, and the history to me. To be consumnated with Israel means talking with its people, finding connections, and picking up the behavioral influence and the modern language. Instead of only hugging the land, I want to be hugging with the Israelis and marching step for step with them.

Here's a picture of me saying Shalom, Shalom by my flight's gate... I couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad... it's just a tacky picture, that's all. *smiles*

Last 48 Hours in Jerusalem

If one more person calls and asks if I have time to see them before I leave for Jerusalem tomorrow, I will have to be very sorry and tell him/her that it's not possible. I have soooo many things to do!!!









Last night, Rebecca, Me

redith and I decided to try again with the brownies. The two attempted to make "scrambled" brownies over frying pan a couple weeks ago since our toaster oven wasn't kashered. It tasted awful. So Meredith cooked the batter. We made two variations: gloopy clumps and pancake style. The gloopy ones tasted yummy- after all it is raw batter

!

Yay for brownie sundaes!

Today, I went to class to attend our ulpan party. Most people brought in a little something but I tried not to eat too much since I had a lunch date with Phyllis Pollack. Meredith brought her violin along and played some songs for us. She actually attempted to play Haktivah, Israel's national anthem. She was so good- she had never played it before but had people to sing it first so she could figure out to make music out of it. In the picture, Bosmat and Dana are on the far right.

After the party, I ran over to meet Phyillis down in the cute American cafe in Wolfson. We lingered over lunch and too-sweet iced coffee for over an hour. She kept staring at the dessert case so we shared a slice of cheesecake. Wow, that was a little too rich for me! When I told her of my woes in finding Ben an appropriate present from Israel, she told me to check out the Israel Museum.

Since the Israel Museum closed before Yad Vashem, I walked straight up there and found nothing. Then I went over to the science museum next door.... no gift shop! I was so disraught!

I took a cab up to Yad Vashem- unfortunately, I think I was ripped off by a couple of shekelim. I met with my professor for a bit and checked out the new exhibit on women's experiences during the Holocaust. It was all very audio-visual- not a whole lot of objects on display, more of reading the quotes on the walls. The museum was really nice to walk around after 4 when the sun was cooling off.

Afterwards and some farewells, I started heading back to the apartment, figuring I'd help clean a bit before the group dinner. But Danielle called to say that she was already on her way to downtown so I decided that I'd just meet up with her since i was already down in the area. I made a quick stop in the shuk to buy a bottle of red wine and a bottle of olive oil to take back with me to the States.

Meredith K, Meredith M, Rebecca, Danielle, Danielle's friend, and I all shared 3 dishes and a bunch of salads at Sima's. I did not get my Jerusalem Mixed Grill since I ate too much lately and didn't need an entire plate. Everyone thought the place was delicious and enjoyed themselves. After dinner, we went over to Ben Yehuda since both Merediths wanted some ice cream. Danielle, Danielle's friend, and I wanted to head back so we caught the cab....

I stayed up a bit to do laundry.... to pack... to putter around the apartment and picking up a few things...

This morning, I took my level exam, which wasn't too had at all. I hope I did better- I actually zipped through the essay portion! All the messaging and e-mailing that I had been doing in the past 6 weeks definitely paid off! After the test, I took the chance to head to the shuk one more time to grab a box of sweets from Marzipan's- I wanted to bring them back with me to the States. Finally, I came back and ate some lunch and finished all the packing before Linda and Ofek came to pick me up.

I never really thought about "wanting just to get out of there" when we were leaving Hebrew University. It's funny how when I was in the States for my schools, I was always anxious to leave and just be done. Not here, I just didn't really have a whole lot of energy/time to really think about actually leaving Jerusalem and Hebrew U. I was too excited!

Last Shabbat

Since I couldn't quite break my habit of going to Tel Aviv.... I went. Since I had already gone to the shuk and felt that I've pretty much done everything that I wanted to do in Jerusalem that's possible to do on a Friday, I didn't see any reason to stick around. I had enough of the Old City- it really felt like it was part of me and I would carry its magic with me all the time.

So I hopped on the bus to Tel Aviv- not crowded but every seat was filled. I was slightly disturbed by the young Israels behind me who heard me talking in perfect English on the phone with the Bachs, and wanted to practice their English with me. It was tough because they were all talking at once with heavy Israeli accents. Then the soldiers across from me tried to clarified some things.... they ended up wanting to invite me along with them to the beach. I said that I'd look for them if I wanted to join them since we're going to the same beach (Jerusalem beach). They were all very cute looking and super friendly because they wanted to share their grapes with everyone near them. I'm telling you, they wanted to hear more English because they demanded an explanation of why I didn't want their grapes (just didn't feel like it)! When I hung up with the Bachs, one of the girls shoved her phone to me and asked me to talk in the phone even though I didn't hear anyone on the other end. I rationalized that they just really wanted to hear more English!

I stopped at Super-Pharm to get some water and sun lotion (stupidly forgot!). I stayed at the beach for about 2 1/2 hours. I noticed how quiet the water was that people were literally sitting in the water and just chatting and relaxing. Just a month ago, there were roaring waves that could make anyone exhausted at the end of the day! In a way, I was kind of glad because now I'm good with the beach- don't feel the need to go more often now that the fun is gone. Also, when I realized that it was truly the end of July, it meant that summer was more than half over... I felt kind of sad. One more month and I'd be back at Colgate. I felt really happy that I was spending most of my summer in Israel.

Afterwards, I met up with two Israeli guys- a soldier and his friend. We just talked and walked around central Tel Aviv. I really liked them and it was fun for me to listen to their conversation in Hebrew to see how much Hebrew I could understand. I picked up words here and there. Like the kids on the bus, they wanted to talk in English with me- insisting that Hebrew's such a hard language to learn and I'd need more time... in a way, it was fine because my brain isn't used to switching like a light switch between English and Hebrew. Then we met up with their friends at the mall and hung out for a while until it was time for me to head back to Jerusalem. I really wanted to stay around and just catch the shreut but unfortunately A) I had already bought a round-trip ticket on the bus and couldn't afford to waste 15 shekelim and B) I had to be at the Bachs by 6:30 for dinner and I required a shower and a change of clean clothes.... So the soldier walked back to the shreut... He was the most beautiful Israeli I had met with a great English accent. It was awesome to finally have my own moment with a soldier after waiting all this time (though I did meet others but not like this). Of course, I didn't totally see him in the same way as most American girls do, to me, he's just a regular guy who is just serving in the Army like everyone else in his age.

On the way back, while attempting to read a few more pages of Emma, I kept thinking about my time with the Israelis in Tel Aviv and how far I've come in the past seven months. I realized that even though the language barrier is there but my comfort level is so high that I was willing to make an effort in blending in with the crowd. It's not to say that I didn't want to spend my last Shabbat with Americans but it was the point where I'd just rather spend time hanging out with the locals and listening in Hebrew and make the most of my time. It also made me realize that I could do it- really make friends with the Israelis and be part of their company. Sure, there are some things that I still can't get over like how late they stay out but for most part, I've accepted all the differences between the American and Israeli cultures and attitudes.

This also made me think back to my conversation with Victoria, a friend of the Ravids who I met back on Shauvot, on Wednesday. She made aliyah here in 2001-2002 and got her Masters in Israeli Studies at Hebrew University. Her advice made very good sense- she wished that she had done the 5-6 month ulpan and then enroll in the university directly and take regular university courses with the Israeli students instead of being isolated in the American bubble at Rothberg. I inclined to agree with her in that- I felt that all during ulpan, I just wanted to get out of the Boyar Building and go around the campus and hang out with other students during breaks.

I think this process is called "moving on." Essentially, time to really meet with the locals.

Unfortunately, that won't last too long as I have to put on the pause button and rewind back to my life in the States on Wednesday.

I don't think I'll ever forget that comforting feeling that I had hanging out with Ronnie and his friends. Even when I was just being slightly bothered by the young Israelis on the bus.

Even this feeling continued when I found two Hebrew U students near the bus stop by the station and cooperated with them to share a cab back. I didn't feel weird or have that sense of alienated feeling. It was funny though with the three of us attempting to speak a mix of English and Hebrew since they spoke terrible English and I with Hebrew.

My last Shabbat dinner with the Bachs was wonderful and special. It's amazing how my relationship with them has changed over the past 6 months, mostly in the past 3 months when I saw them more often. I viewed them as my eyewitnesses to my attitude and physical being in Israel for GP (my grandpa) since Nate is his best friend. I felt comfortable enough to bring up heated topics at dinner such as the occupation of the West Bank, the Arabs, etc. It got quite political between me and Nate that afer an hour, Tobi told us we had enough! She served delicious chicken by the way.

It was scary to hear Nate say that I'm in for a huge psychological shock when I return to the States. I knew that I'd be in for a reversal cultural shock but to hear it from someone else who knows me well sort of hit me in the heart. He must realized more than I do on how much part of Israel I am in that actually settling in American will be much harder than I will expect. I told them that I'm already in shock from living with my American roommates and receiving magazines from Mom. I am trying to ease a bit by actually reading the articles in CNN and NYT instead of scanning over the headlines so I can relate to the news better when I go back. Yes, that's right, my American roommates are still surprising me because of their behavior. I still haven't gotten over it even though it's been nearly 6 weeks!!!

I didn't quite see this feeling coming when it was time to say good night just because I knew that I'd be back in Israel. After hugs and kisses, I started walking towards the door, then I paused... hesitated... I got the feeling that I just didn't want to say good bye... I wasn't quite ready to let go of them. I turned around and Tobi and I hugged each other again. I quickly left as not to stay one more second. As I went down the stairs, I almost began to cry, realizing that if it was going to be this tough to say bye to the Bachs, I can't imagine how it would be when I leave the Ravids on Tuesday. I almost didn't want to leave them last time because I knew that next time I'd see her, it'd be my last 24 hours in Israel.

I don't know what to do. But Colgate and my advisors, Kira and Prof. Kepnes, await me.

Hiking in the Jerusalem Forest.. Wait, a FOREST?

For several weeks, Meredith, Rebecca, and I had planned on a trip to Masada/Dead Sea for a night tongiht. We would catch the 4:15 bus to Eilat (the driver would drop us off at Masada), check in a hostel (or find a place to sleep on the beach...?), spend the night, then get up. We would climb the snake path to watch the sunrise, walk around, and get down by 8 AM to catch the 8:30ish bus back to Jerusalem. We would stop at the shuk beforehand in Jerusalem to put together a picnic dinner.

All sounds good right? I even checked the Egged site this morning.

Unfortunately, the traffic ran very slow in Jerusalem that we got worried about missing the 4:15 bus (and we really needed to go to the shuk for food). So Rebecca called Egged to see if there'd be two buses running and Egged responded that the last bus for Eilat had already left for the day at 1 PM! We could not believe it!!

Quickly, I came up with an alternative plan that would fit in our timing- a hike in the Jerusalem Forest! So we went to the shuk anyway, and got our picnic dinner of pitas, eggplant, tuna, burekas, and some fruit. Then we walked over to the bus station to find a bus that would take us towards Ein Karem or Yad Vashem but we ended up taking a cab in order not to waste any time (it was already 5 PM). The driver dropped us off in middle of the forest...

We hiked for about an hour before settling in for dinner. The view was just beautiful- you were always looking out towards the south of Jerusalem. The forest reminded me of Maine so much with all the trees!!! I missed Maine at that point. It was hard to believe that we were even here- hiking in a real forest in Israel! Most people think Israel is all desert with some shrubbery here and there but... not a real forest. Actually, JNF (Jewish National Fund) was responsible for making Israel green with all the tree planting. The 1950's saw a lot of that (see the movie Sala Shabbati)

We found an old wine press- thanks to Rebecca the Archeaologist! Rebecca and Meredith explored a cave and found evidence that someone had slept there. That creeped both of them. We had considered just camping out in the forest for the night since we were supposed to spend overnight somewhere in the Dead Sea. Meredith was all picky about what kind of ground she wanted to sleep on but I told them that I'm kind of afraid of the dark in a forest and don't really want to do it. I was sure that it'd be lots of fun just getting away from the apartment with friends but not in a forest.

So we stopped for dinner- found a picnic table. We watch the sun set- it was beautiful!!! We decided that this was just as good as going down to Masada and the Dead Sea- only without the costs and just enjoying the hiking. It didn't even really feel like we were in Jerusalem since Jerusalem generally was visualized with the Old City.

Afterwards, we hiked about 30-45 minutes on this road. We didn't know where we were or going so we just followed a road up the hill, figuring that it had to lead us to somewhere. We all had our flashlights since there was basically no light exept on the other side of the valley, where the residential area was. We were very surprised to be walking past, below, Yad Vashem!!! It was a bit fightening to see the museum looming over me.

We managed to catch the bus. I joked with Rebecca that if she ever wanted to hike, all she'd have to do is catch a bus to Yad Vashem and just walk back down that road instead of taking a cab!!

Upon returning to the apartment, exhausted, we all took refreshing showers. Then the three of us just chilled while the other Meredith and Danielle went out to party in the city. The two planned, with their friends, to stay up until the sunrise since Israelis party so late. They never did- they collapsed by 3:15. So anyway, Meredith, Rebecca, and I played cards for nearly 2 hours until 1 AM. We felt pretty high... I think just a little excited to be awake on a Thursday night of being sleepy and I had forgotten how much I love just being AWAKE in the middle of the night, like the rest of the world is sleeping, you know?

Tis B'Av

Today is Tis B'Av (9th of Av) which is the day that the Romans took over the Second Temple and destroyed it. Every year, for thousands of years, Jews mourn on this day for the destruction of the Second Temple. It is a symbolic event because it was, what most historians consider, the beginning of the Jewish exile. The Jews moved out to the Diaspora, in theri own ways because they had no state, no government, no monarchy, to lead a Jewish empire. Jews fast from sunset to sunset and read the Lamentations. That's the gist of it.

I knew that I'd be around for Tis B'Av but I thought, well, I really don't pay much attention to it... I never did because of being in America as an assimilated Jew who spent lazy summers in the American way. Eseentially, summers meant time off from all the holidays except for the July 4th. Now I am in Israel, I became a little more aware of what it meant. I read several articles relating to this event and giving a modern perspective of how Tis B'Av relates to the State of Israel.

Now I have taken a position. Even though I see the "Second Temple" every day from Mount Scopus, I don't feel that it's necessary to mourn over this. It is upsetting to see that the Dome of Rock sits atop it- it's such a sacred place. I do think that the Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount is really sacred and therefore, I really don't feel comfortable going up there to "claim" it. I had an opportunity to go there but Temple Mount, for some hypocritical reason, is just too sacred for me to step my foot on it. I am much more satisfied over the fact that the Jews hold control of Jerusalem and that is good enough for me in terms of all the religion matters. Jerusalem matters more to me.

The other thing is that I don't believe that we need to do all the observances for Tis B'Av. I am much more stunned over the fact that we do have the State of Israel now, a real Jewish democracy. That is so much more powerful than the loss of the Second Temple. The Jewish democracy now is much, much bigger than it was back when the Jews had a civilization. You have 6 million Jews living on this land in comparsion to several thousand. How can anyone argue that? We fought in many modern wars to peserve the State, not letting the Jewish democracy fall again. The boundaries matter. Yes, I agree, we searched for 2,000 years for the State of Israel but now that's done, we should celebrate it. We celebrate Israel's existence by living and breathing everyday, and accepting the Jewish identity as a national identity.

Therefore, I didn't fast. Instead, I celebrated with French Hill fafafel. The rest of Israel and Jerusalem seem to think so. A lot of restaurants were actually open- as long they were not really certified kosher. Only 30% of Israel actually fast. The shuk was lively as ever (though some venders didn't show up).

On Tis B'Av, I met Sylvie at the Museum of Islamic Art. The collection is wonderful- better than the MET's! We learned a lot- like how the game of chess came to be, the religion, the meaning of the architecture, and how Islam spread over Asia and the consequences of it. We saw beautiful jewelry and glass. The exhibits are in chronological order... very, very long time, starting from Muhammed to the Ottoman Empire. Also, at the end, we saw weaponry. I did not know that it was forbidden in Islam for Muslims to kill another Muslim and they could only declare war- jihad- in order to conquer and to basically wipe out other religion, or at least, make Islam the way of life, the way of government law. They could only kill non-Muslims. I think if I could take my time to learn more about Islam, it could be really fascinating.

Sylvie was doing well- she seemed very much settled in, just basically beyond happiness just to be in Israel. She said, "Now is really the time to be in Israel." She was pulled by this kind of desire, not really anything else. She's observant but happily serving in the Army, living with a family on a kibbutz in the Galilee. She talked to me a bit about her aliyah and how she dealt with it with her family since she's been in Israel, which was my main concern anyway.

Street Performances, Beach, and the Feines

Last Tuesday, when Meredith, Rebecca, and I walked around Ben Yehuda, we watched some of the street performers. I casually joked that Meredith should come here and play her violin for some money.

Well, she did it!!!! She did it with her partner, Mika (an incoming freshman to Yale), who plas ethnic drums. I went with them before I met up with Paige just to help them get set up. Within 5 minutes of playing, they actually had a good crowd! I love hearing Meredith play her violin- she does it soooo beautifully and she's really passionate about it. Here are some of the pictures.

So they earned a grand total of 155 shekelim which is about $40- they each earned $10/hour. I don't know what they're planning to do with the money but Meredith can't wait to get rid of her agoras (the 1/10 of a shekel coin) tomorrow.

While they played, Paige and I went for some fabulous sushi at Sakura, a Japanese restaurant in Jerusalem Courtyard. The fish was unbelievably fresh!!!! Then we talked for a long time over coffee and chocolate afterwards at Cafe Hillel. I love doing this- girls' night out, enjoying good food and conversation.

Friday, I went off to Tel Aviv for the beach. I was supposed to meet up with Uri, an Israeli from May's trip, but I wasn't feeling so good and I didn't really want to meet with him. Fortunately, he developed a migraine and couldn't come in. That was fine with me. The water was really warm for some reason at 12 PM but it cooled down later on... it was just weird. I couldn't cool down for a while, yuck. There was also a volleyball tournament going on nearby.... Of course, I couldn't leave without an Israeli saying "hi!" in a super friendly way... The bus rides weren't bad at all- not as insane as back in June. I wonder why.

For dinner, I went over to the Feines' (Zvi and Ruthie) in Ramot. They had a view of Begin North in front of Jerusalem. It was SOOOO creepy because once I saw it, I knew immediately that before 1967, it was not possible to be standing here. It's one of those moments when you're in a country that fought so hard for land and pushed the borders to make it safer and you realize that you're in once enemy territory. It's really weird- you don't feel that when you're in the US because the US never had to be in that position (except for the Mexican Cession, but that was seriously long time ago and Mexico wasn't exactly a country who wanted to wipe another off the map). Anyway, Ruthie makes a mean goulash- I had double portion because I decided that I'd rather have another portion than to have some goulash AND chicken. She also made some chocolate chip cookies... thank goodness.... And yummy chocolate ice cream. Zvi told me a bit about his trip to Russia that he had just gone on, vsiting the Jewish communities in the Urals. The dinner conversation was all in Hebrew. Fortunately, since they are Americans, they speak like the Americans- slowly. So I could actually follow some of it! I even spoke Hebrew when I could! I noticed the difference in Hebrew between the older and younger generations. I reasoned that being in the Army can change how non-Israelis speak Hebrew since the older generations didn't really serve in the Army in the same ways as their children did. The young people spoke faster Hebrew and really as if it was truly their first language.

It's going to be a long road.

Got it

Cramming!!!!

The countdown REALLY begins!!!!!

On Sunday, I went to the shuk with Rebecca and Meredith to buy more food for the week and finished my thesis at night.... I was soooo glad to be done!! (Now I am waiting for the professor's comments). Actually, my class went to an archeaological dig which I already did in my winter ulpan so I just slept in a bit and worked on my thesis before they returned. I could've just skipped the whole day but I had the urgency to go to class because I love being around Hebrew and I wanted to see how I did on my test (which wasn't handed back unfortunately).

Then on Monday, I got the test back... I got an 87!! I was SOOOO happy!!! We had a lecture on biblical Hebrew alphabet which I slept through the second half... It was interesting while it lasted for me.

For dinner on Monday night, I got together with Nicole and Julianna. We went on a picnic in the park across from Kiryat Wolfson and Nahalaot, the White Rose Park. I made cucumber yogurt soup, bought some burekas, and took along some cantaloupe that I cut up the day before. The girls bought some hummus, grapes, chocolates, and all the paper stuff. It was so nice to see them again and it was the last time I'd see Julianna. It got dark pretty fast since we didn't really sit down to eat until around 7:30. We just basically caught up what we've been doing all summer- Nicole had been with Sar El- volunteering for the Army and is just nannying a bit. Julianna's been doing some research and shadowing at Hadassah hospital.

Yesterday, Meredith and I decided that we'd definitely go to Masada next week. As much I'd like it for this week but it was better for her and Rebecca to do next week. I also realized that Tuesday will be Tis b'Av, a holiday so no classes... so I'll get a chance to hit the beach then. We just pretty much stayed in for the afternoon. I laid out in the sun by the pool at the gym for a bit. Then for dinner, the whole apartment got together and made Italian- pasta with tomato sauce with real veggies in it along with some grated mozzarella. After dinner, Meredith, Rebecca, and I went down to Ben Yehuda for some dessert- I got cappachino frozen yogurt. It weirded me out since it does take like espresso but it's not brown, it's white... so my mind kept thinking it's vanilla while my taste buds said it's espresso!!!

Today, the three of us went straight to the shuk to restock for the weekend after classes because we needed to be back in the village by 4 PM to catch the bus. The bus took us to a Israel Baseball League game!!! It's up by Kibbutz Gezer... about 30-40 minute ride outside of Jerusalem. It's all basically Americans there- even the announcer spoke perfect English. The players are mostly Ameicans- a few AAA players and mostly DIII. It's not really a stadium but it was all more like watching a high school baseball game. It was between Modi'in and Tel Aviv and Modi'in, Rochester's sister city, won! What was so much fun about it was watching all the children!!!! They were soo into the game- literally climbing up the fence to get the balls. They were just so cute. Burger's Bar served as the concession stand so I finally had my burger after waiting a long time. We decided to go just because it's Israel.

Anyway, looks like my last days are going to be crammed with things that I want to do before I go- hanging out with Paige tomorrow night on Ben Yehuda, going to Tel Aviv on Friday to meet up with an Israeli from May's trip, having Shabbat with the Feines... Shabbat... there's next Tuesday for Tis b'Av, then next Thursday/Friday down in the Dead Sea and next Friday's Shabbat with the Bachs... I hope to get to the Museum of Seams and the Ammunition Hill sometimes next week. I'm definitely going back to Yad Vashem- the last Sunday before I go to see my professor, do my bookstore shopping spree, and visit the memorials, which I, sadly, haven't done since birthright.

And at some point, I have to keep studying through so I can pass the level exam this time!

Normal Life...

Thursday night, I had a girls' night out with Paige to Emek Refaim to Yo-Ja's for some delicious sushi and salmon teriyaki. My teriyaki came with a salad- normally, I don't bother with side salads but ohmigosh, the dressing was SOOOOO amazing that Paige and I actually finished the plate! Then we walked all the way back up to Ben-Yehuda for some coffee and dessert which weren't great at the place that she picked.

Friday, since the Bachs asked me every time I talked to them if I had gone to the bazaar yet in their neighorhood, I decided to take the opportunity. So I took a cab down (after quite a number of unsuccessful bargainings with the drivers who all wanted 30-35 sheklim and I wanted to stick to my 25) and saw the "fair." It was really interesting- lots of amazing gifts!!! I think I'll have to go on my last Friday if my trip to Masada is this week. Really beautiful jewelry... a guy even gave me a taste of cappacino liqueur that was really, really, really good... that it might be worth going back to give myself a celebrating drink before I leave Israel. (When will the airport security lift that annoying ban on liquid?!?!). Afterwards, I picked up the night's challah, a roll, and some yummy cheese buerekas for late morning breakfast.

Then I stopped to pick up a paper... and hopped on a shereut to Tel Aviv for some beach. When I was only 10 minutes away from Tel Aviv, I saw an article stating that Tel Aviv beaches were closed due to illegal waste dumping, I panicked and called one of my classmates who had invited me to join her in Tel Aviv the night before. She said it was fine...

Sort of. The beach was pretty quiet, unusual for 1 PM... eventually I saw lots of families and children. I guess the university students are studying for the finals or doing their reserve duty so I didn't get hit on except by a 16 year old who asked if we could talk back on the beach.... he looked really innocent. But I declined...

I only stayed for 3 hours and caught the shereut back... Strangely, the driver took us on a very different route back to Jerusalem. I think remember at one point when I looked up from the paper that there was a huge traffic jam ahead... so we drove through the Jerusalem forest. It's SOOOOOO green and it reminded me of being back in Maine. It's amazing. Then once we actually got to Jerusalem, I asked the driver to drop me off near the shuk.

WOW- the shuk was an incredible mess. Any other American would have flipped out and fainted at the scene. Apparently, the day had been incredibly busy and the merchants were in a rush to get home. Garbarge and waste was everywhere. I managed to swipe a chocolate crossiant and a couple of chocolate rugalech from Marizpan. Yes, I'm a real chocolate addict when it comes to Israeli chocolates- they're really for real.

I made myself some cucumber soup- pretty good and sooo refreshing!!!!

I watched Sweet Mud, a movie about the kibbutz movement of the 1970's, that's being played all over the world in Jewish and Israeli film festivals. It was a very deep movie like Million Dollar Baby with complex, equality issues.

Shabbat shalom!

Yemin Moshe/Old City

Yesterday, our class took a field trip to Yemin Moshe and the Windmill, a neighborhood next to the Old City. I've been meaning to go there but felt really, really lame. So I was happy that I had this opportunity to go. It's soooo beautiful that I'll have to learn to take my visitors there if I live in Jerusalem! My class actually just read about this in our textbook. I will actually translate that passage:


In the 19th century, the Jews in Jerusalem only lived inside the Old City. The conditions in the Old City were hard and the water was not clean. The apartments were small and families were huge.
Mose Montefiore, a rich Jew from England, loved Eretz Israel with great love. He came to visit Jerusalem in 1860. He saw the Jews' situation in the Old City and wanted to help them. He bought land near the walls of the Old City and built a new neighborhood- Mesheknot Sha'anaim. It became the first Jewish neighborhood outside of the city walls. the conditions in Masheknot Sha'anaim were great: The apartments were huge, and the water was clean, but the Jews did not want to come to live there because they were afraid. the new neighborhood was in the mountains, far from the Old City, and there weren't walls. What to do, Montefiore? He gave the people money and then they came to live there. In the painting only eight families came down to the new neigbhorhood. They came to the neighborhood for a day, then at night, they left the Old City.






In 1866, a difficult diease came to Jerusalem- cholera, more people became sick and died. Only in Mesheknot that no one was sick. Then the Jerusalamite Jews saw more good from outside the city walls.















In 1891 , a neighborhood was put in next to Mesheknot: Yemin Moshe.
Today, the neighborhood has quiet and beautiful streets and the houses are special and expensive. It is a center for music, restaurants, and hotel and the meals originate in Jerusalem. Writers and artists from all over the world come to visit and to live in the hotel in Mesheknot Sha'anaim.










The huge windmill in the neighborhood was used for grinding flour. The area is quite picturesque. Here are some of the pictures.

Then, today, I decided that I had done enough work to earn an afternoon off to romp with Meredith M and Rebecca. We decided to go into the Old City and I'd give them a tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (again!). In the past, I had forgotten my camera and the architecture in there is too beautiful that I have to remember it. I also wanted to find the Arab pastry shop. So at the last minute, a friend of Rebeccca who had just met on the bus, Talia, joined us. She made aliyah two years ago on a yeshiva and is engaged to be married in two weeks. A little scary for me- this girl, just my age, doesn't really have a full time job, is doing ulpan for the first time.... I don't know.

Anyway, we made it to the Church from the Damascus Gate, which I had never gone through. It's certainly huge and I felt like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz because outside, it was quiet, modern world. Inside was the bustling life of the Arabs that almost reminded me of being in Aladdin! It's so incredible- the Muslim quarter is truly nothing like the other quarters in the Old City, it's the heart of the Arabs in East Jerusalem.

The Church was fine.... nothing surprising. We let Meredith wandering around since she's Christian and what not.

Then we ran into a couple of American tourists looking a bit lost and wanted to get to the Jewish quarter. I took them with us as we headed back to the Muslim quarter since the main road would take them to the Kotel. I found the pastry shop- Jaffar and Sons Pastry. It's speciality was kanafeh, a slab of sweet cheese with grinded piastachos and grains with sweet honey syrup over it. It's baked on a pizza pan and served hot. I also bought some baklava. It actually became my dinner later- I didn't need anything else except it was so sweet that I had to have some bread afterwards! I wouldn't necessarily have it again... baklava is still my favorite Arab pastry. But I was actually kind of disappointed in the quality of these baklavas. Really homemade baklavas are the best, not from plastic wrapped covered trays.

So then we decided to wander around a bit so we did.... and eventually we actually ended up totally getting lost!!!! We walked and walked for what it seemed like forever around the Muslim shuk, trying to find a way out to Jaffa Gate or Damascus Gate. We actually ened up going through their food shuk, including their meat section. Oh, now remember Mom and Andrew talking about it on their last day in Israel... I was really amazed by the originality of the place. It's really like being in the Aladdin movie. The Arabs kept all the traditions and there's really no sign of modernity.

By the way, I stopped at a drugstore to buy some more ibuprofren so I wouldn't have to walk all the way to the center to buy them. Thanks to Paige's medication situation, I asked how many milligrams the ibuprofren pills that the guy was giving me. They were 600 mg- 10 of them for 15 shekls. I thought, hmm this is a huge bargain, I'll take it since I usually take 600 mg for when my hip acts up from running. Later, I did a unit price per pill math between this packet from the Muslim Quarter and a box from Super-Pharm. It came out to be whopping 75% savings by buying them in the Muslim Quarter!!! I think I might go in one more time next week... When I told Paige about it later, she asked if they were really ibuprofren or cheap drugs! I did double check later to make sure- they were definitely ibuprofren... I laughed to myself.

Weekend in Herzliya

Another weekend at the Kibbutz with the Ravids.


I invited one of my roommates, Rebecca, to join me for the weekend since the Ravids said it was okay to bring a friend. There would be quite a lot going on- especially that it's Anat's 25th birthday.


Rebecca hadn't been to Tel Aviv in a long, long, long time so we just walked around the central area. We met up with a couple of her friends from high school who were all in Tel Aviv for the summer - one doing research at Tel Aviv University, and the other two were camp counselors at their P2K (Partnership 2000) city's camp. We ate and shopped a bit on Shenkin Street- I was SOOOOOO tempted to shop but refrained myself (again). The sales here are unbelievable - the majority of the stores simply did 50% off... a few did 30% but everything was HALF OFF! I asked Rebecca if we could just leave the girls so I couldn't be tempted any more to get something for the Ravids since she asked if we could find something small. Fortunately, she was okay with that. She ended up just buying some chocolate crossiants.


Then we walked along the beach all the way from Allenby street up to the end of Ben Yehuda- probably at least a mile and half. I had never seen the beaches all along like this- now I have seen and walked all the way from Old Jaffa to the most northern beach. It was soooo hot and I wanted to be in the water badly but with the stitches still on my face, I couldn't just jump in.


(By the way, long story about the stitches- awful bureaucracy at Hadassah and Israelis have a different check-in procedure than Americans do)


We took a cab to the train station to meet Shlomi and Anat since Anat was taking a bus in later in the day. We drove back to the kibbutz. We chilled for a bit to cool off and while everyone prepared for dinner, I took Rebecca around a bit, including the horses.


Then we had a BBQ Shabbat dinner with Shlomi's brother's family. It was all mostly in Hebrew so I tried to pay attention. Rebecca's in Dalet, which is lower Advanced Hebrew... surprisely, she couldn't follow a lot. She said that the vocabulary was too much for her. They did switch to English on some important things that we needed to know- mostly about the Ravids' "adopted" Sudanese family who escaped from Darfur. It was a bit bone-chilling to hear Maa'yan talk about their plight and how close I was to know people from Darfur.


Shabbat morning, we had breakfast with Shlomi's cousins with lots of chocolate and French toast/crepes/sweet waffles... I think it was largely because of the two little girls. One of them had a birthday too. After breakfast, Linda and I took Rebecca to see the animal zoo. We learned some new Hebrew words for the animals- In Hebrew, they don't call the baby goat "kid" but gadya, not yaldi/ah as it means boy/girl. I even understood one of the rules (more like "suggestions" for the Israelis)- no petting free animals!

We had our lunch, mostly a mix of pasta and salads. Rebecca finally had some cream puffs that she couldn't have the night before (strictly kosher)- always yummy.

When the Ravids went to see their Sudanese friends, Rebecca and I walked over to visit the Shaloms, cousins of Zev's, who live just minutes away from the kibbutz. We were entertained by Shiri, Olga, and their father. Then Zev's nephew, whom I had never met, showed up. He was vacationing in Israel with his wife for six weeks. I wasn't too surprised that we both happened to be in Israel at the same time and met in Israel. That's the whole point of being in Israel, period- to play the Jewish Geography game. Rebecca and I mostly hung out with Shiri who told us all about some of the music that she listened to (Spanish/Latino), showed us her high school yearbook, and we talked about differences in Israel and America when it comes to viewing Judaism as a religion. It was a lot of fun seeing her. We saw Sarai, their other daughter, just for a bit.

We chilled at the kibbutz for a bit, had a third meal while watching the big concert in Tel Aviv on television, and then just headed home on the bus.

I think this weekend was unusually more difficult for me because a lot of the conversations were in Hebrew and trying to recouncile with myself as I was trying to grab hold to my last moments in Israel before going back to the States. The fact that even Rebecca, who understands a lot of Hebrew, could not understand a lot of what was being said opened my eyes to seeing how much more difficult Hebrew is than I expected. Linda told us that it took her two years to be fluent in Hebrew but even longer to be a willing regular participant in conversations. I was thinking, even when I make it to Dalet, it still won't be enough! Hebrew isn't anything like the Romance languages which basically takes less than a year to be fluent or Russian which takes just under two years. This is definitely a factor to consider for my graduate school application process. I also now understand why it takes people who do non-American history much longer to finish their PhDs because they have to study several languages, some in depth. It is amazing that I am willing to work hard in Hebrew and to take my time with it to ensure that I have it down pat before advancing. Mom calls it maturity. Maybe, but I think it's also because I am in Israel and I eventually want to be able to speak and to write well. Also, the Israelis know its a more difficult language and are much more likely to speak English to you... and who wants that? In any case, my second test grade went up from my first one- to a grade that I hadn't seen in a long time- to a 75!!!!

Independence Day?

Maybe it's because I'm in Israel. Maybe it's because I've been here for so long that I've forgotten the American spirit. Maybe it's because of what I saw on Yom Hatzamaut in Israel. In any way, I felt really apathetic towards attempting to celebrate the Fourth with the Americans here. Not that I know of any parties anyway. But I mean just hanging with them and reflect on the Fourth and imagining the fireworks. I think it's appropraite now to talk about what I saw back in April during the Israeli Memorial and Independence Days.

It's very difficult to describe in words on how I felt and what I saw which is why I wrote that poem. Unlike America, there is a real appreciation for the military and freedom. I am not saying that America does not care- we just take our power, freedom, and democracy for granted. I wanted to cry in pain and in joy with the Israelis. The emotional atmosphere on Memorial Day was so intense that I truly felt that I had lost close friends even though I didn't know anyone who was killed personally. When I watched the fallen soldiers' families take the wreath from two female Israeli soldiers and place it behind the flag against a small stone wall, I grieved with the families. I could barely pay any attention to the speeches, even a short one by a rabbi officer describing what the day meant to him. My mind kept focusing on the soldier and how they helped to defend Israel from harm. I imagined the guys who I dated, who were in combat, in their service and how they get through each and every day. And they were all in the Second Lebanon War. Seeing any young Israeli made me smile and thankful.

Now, even though Independence Day in Israel isn't truly that much more different than in America except there was greater excitement and every town and city had street parties. The only advantage of being in America for its Independence Day was the fireworks. Even though the fireworks in Jerusalem sucked, it was very well worth being out there, dancing, and laughing with everyone. It was the sudden change between the two days that truly made being in Israel for its own Memorial and Independence DAy much more meaningful and special. I relish on emotional rush and that what they were all about.

Now with the American Independence Day today, I felt nothing. I knew that if I was working in DC, I'd take a half day yesterday and definitely have the day off today. I'd probably be at my uncle's house for the day, going to the pool with the kids and having a BBQ somewhere. Then we'd find fireworks somewhere. The major difference in approaching the American and Israeli independence days is that America's based on historical tradition. Yes, we have been independent for 221 years but we're taking it for granted now. America is so powerful that no one can conquer us and make us a colony again. We remember our Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence, the Revolution, and the flag. But what makes Israeli independence day more special is that Israel is still fighting to maintain its independence. Yes, the Israelis remember May 15, 1948, David Ben-Gurion's proclamation speech, and the UN recognition of Israel as a State. But, threat was and is not far- it's coming from Israel's neighbors. Most of the Israelis fought for Israel's independence since 1948, even those who did not fight in the '48 war. When they are/were in the service, it's their job. Believe it that Israelis do remember their service to protect the country.

So that's one aspect, from my personal experience in Israel, of why I feel apathetic towards attempting to celebrate the American Independence. Why celebrate it when I'm living in a country that really needs support to maintain its independence?

There is another aspect and that's nothing new to my regular readers (you know who you are). I've become so distant from America- the only material connection I have with it these days is my English. When I got the crosswords from my hometown's local paper today in the mail, I was beyond happiness to see something other than political and military news in my hands (Mom didn't exactly cut out the crosswords, just sent me pages with them). I also got my TIME magazine. Yes, there are more important things to think about than Hollywood celebrities, how to make a Japanese bento box for lunch, Dear Abby columns, and the comics in Israel. I think there is something to be said to the Israelis why Americans are obsessed with this junk- we don't like to think about bad stuff. We like to be optimistic and dreamers. For me, it is important to stay current even though the Israeli media is quite sensational (I have told Zev not to believe anything unless that piece of news runs for several days). I always check the hard news before moving to the talking articles. Israelis are more realistic and don't want to mess around because any mistake in the government can cost Israel's freedom. The country is too vulnerable to relax. Anyway, I do now feel very far away from America. It is so hard for me to imagine going back to my life because I have changed so much more than I expected. I will definitely need a lot of patience and support as I attempt to make my transition back to the States. I'll probably moan at the prices of the produce but plop down $3 for iced coffee anyway.

As my AJ-IJ professor says, once a Diaspora Jew becomes so involved in Israel and has to deal with his or her identity with the home country, it's so easy to feel very lost. That's how I feel right now. I'm sort of glad that the friends I've made over the semester are moving away from my life for the time being so I can have these last few weeks to sort out my feelings. Sure, making aliyah seems like the easiest solution but that's just like running away from the problem. I have to recouncile with myself first and that is to return to America and try to adapt there.

Do I miss my family? Yes but not to the extent where I would feel homesick (though I was for a few days beginning of June when everyone was leaving the program). I have Skype, e-mail, and telephone to hear their voices and see any new pictures (I expect some NJ shore pictures, Mom and Dad!!!). But there is one person who I've missed all semester, in the past 6 1/2 months and that is my cousin, Ella. Even though there is a huge age difference between us, we are so close. I was always there for her since I laid my eyes on her when she was barely two weeks old nearly twelve years ago. Now she is away at camp for the first time this summer and just finished elementary school and will move up to midlde school in the fall. In any way, there's nothing like cuddling, laughing, talking, and playing with her. We always tease our parents upon separating that one of us would replace with her brother so we'd go home together. We hate to let each other go. I cannot wait to see her at all.

Ha'aretz Yisrael/Eretz Israel Museum

I had a very unlucky day on Thursday with a trip to the ER for some stitches on my upper lip after tripping over big time over a corner of a ledge. Fortunately, I was rescued by two cute Israeli students- I almost wanted to ask them for the number in response to their "Are you okay? Oh my, you need stitches...." question. They stayed with me until I was taken to the hospital by the campus security. It was kind of scary and lonely in the ER- I wished I had someone with me. I tried calling two of my good friends but they didn't pick up their cell phones. So I just called the Bachs and it was just good to have their voices reassuring me that things will be okay and I could do this. They asked to speak with the doctor after he took care of me. In a way, I felt ike I should've called the Ravids.... but I didn't... oops. Anyway, got the stitches (I think that was way more painful than when I had them done near my eye when I was little) and got the perscription for medication.



I stayed in on Thursday night with a dinner with my roommates and some friends. I made some apple crisp over the stove- definitely delicious- for the group. The dinner was just stirfry. I was sooooo exhausted that I just went to be a bit early... since I had such an ordeal.



Since I couldn't go to the beach on the account of the gashes on my lips and nose, I chose to seize the day by going out to Ramat Aviv to visit the Eretz Israel museum. I took a cab there- I got ripped off as I forgot how much closer this museum was to the bus/train station than to the Diaspora Museum- probably only by 5 sheklim anyway. I basically had the place all to myself! Some cool things I found:

1) Coin exhibit- When under a military seige, a new currency would be created to circle around the surrounded camp/town. So there were a number of currencies from WWI and various wars, including the emergency money from Israeli wars. Also, even though I'm a walking Holocaust encyclopedia, I'm always learning something new... so I learned that the ghettos (Terzin, Lodz, and Warsaw) actually had their own currency! The Jews would exchange their national money for the new ghetto currency created by the Germans. That was the highlight of my day there.

2) History of Postal Service- Even though I understood how post office works from the museum in DC, I never really understood how a country actually creates a postal service. So I learned about different postal services in Israel before 1948 and then how Israel started changing over to the State of Israel postal service several weeks prior to Ben-Gurion's proclamation of Israel as a State. There were a lot of military postal envoys during this period.

There were exhibits on ceramics, glass, bronze, and weaponry. Interestingly, these were more global than the rest of the Museum. The museum's name is rather bit misleading as I thought the museum would tell the story of Israel but it didn't really. There wasn't anything on the agricultural practices or technology or the IDF or even the culture. They also had an exhibit on folklore which was basically Jewish traditions. They brought over and restored a bimah from Italy and showed the process of conversation. Overall, they charged me right for my experience because I was actually kind of disappointed in its contents. I thought it'd be more like Museum of American History and Natural History together to tell the story of Israel in terms of society, culture, and land. I wouldn't recommend this as the first museum to visit in Israel.... but I think that my cousins would enjoy this since it's very visual. They also had a reconsstruction of olive oil and flour mills.

Afterwards, I decided to head downtown to Tel Aviv as it's been a long time since I've really been in the city. So I walked down a new street for me- Ha'Melech George. I liked this street a lot, probably more than Shenkin. Lots of cute boutiques and the Dizgenoff Center/Mall was on it. I shopped a bit at Castro's for some new earrings, a necklace, and a pretty top. I really felt like I should be going on a shopping spree to dress more like an Israeli but had to resist the urge as I have a month to go before I go back to the States where the clothes might out of place. Ugh!!!! Besides, the next time I'd most likely go back to Israel would be in January anyway. The mall was pretty packed- people wanted air-conditioning on a 105 degree day. I was definitely glad not to be on the beach otherwise I'd be in the water all day! I browsed through a few more stores then walked through Ha'Carmel market. I think I'll go shopping here on my last day if I don't find anything in Jerusalem's craft market on Friday. I picked up some laffa with yogurt, some Zatar spices, and a bit of olive oil for a snack. Finally, I walked down Allenby and found a DVD store with a big sale of 3 DVDs for 99 sheklim ($24.99). Cheap!!!!!! I found the DVDs that I wanted- Walk on Water (Lekvot beMamim), The Policeman (a truly bad movie but funny), and Sweet Mud, which I haven't seen yet but is part of the Israeli film festivals in North America this summer. I was so excited even though I had to pay another 20 sheklim for the last one since it was so new and not really part of the deal.

When I got back to Jerusalem, I decided to see how late the shuk would be open... considering that the city's pretty observant and it was beginning of Shabbat for the buses..... Surprisely, the shuk was at full speed!!! Every merchant was trying to get rid of everything and to prepare for Shabbat. I just bought some more hummus and burekas since I had already gone shuk shopping with Rebecca and Meredith a few days before. It was amazing and I loved it! I could feel the real thrill at this hour at this place... thrill of cutting close.

Even though I made myself a light dinner, I was dragged into a 10 PM Shabbat dinner with Meredith K, Natan, Elana, Aly, and Laura to several guys' apartment. It was pretty nice to be around a big group and I had a nice time getting to know Laura since she goes to Cornell and we knew people in common. And Meredith K bought the chocolate rugalechim from Marizpan... oh badddd idea since they're like Reese's Peanut Butter cups for me- once I eat one, I can't stop! I had never made so many kiddushim in one night- one for myself when Shabbat began, one with Meredith K and her friends when they prepared dinner, and the last one at the big dinner.

Oh, that reminds me now, I need to get more matches and Shabbat candles at the shuk.

Saturday, I did my usual Shabbat- running in the morning, studying, reading, and talking to Grandma and Zev.... I stayed in on Saturday night with Meredith M. We have so much in common- especially skiing! She invited me to visit her in Utah for some skiing this winter. I'd love to- we'll see what happens!