Prague Report

I took a last minute four day weekend trip to Prague, Czech Republic to visit Dane. She’s a friend from Smith who I dearly love because of her special qualities. From reading her blog, I sensed that she could use a friend from back home to visit her and I’ve always wanted to go to Prague. So it was a win-win situation from my perspective. We had a wonderful weekend together- she got to practice her tour guide skills for her parents who are visiting in two weeks. I give her an A as we rarely got lost.

We saw all the sights as they tended to center around the Charles River. I took lots of beautiful pictures- day and night. I tried all the Czech food- fried cheese, crepes (national dessert dish), goulash, dumplings, sausage, etc, etc. I had forgotten how good bread and meat tasted!

I’m going to stay to the point of the blog- discuss things that are relevant to Israel and Jewish stuff.

Dane and I shared a lot of things in common about living in Prague and Jerusalem. Both cities are in development, which is a fancy word for not having the luxuries that capital countries enjoy. We both must deal with the dramatic change in food quality and quantity. There’s no coffee basically- espresso is around. Drivers in both places are crazy- they drive on sidewalks. At least the Czech drivers stop to let pedestrians walk. I feel that you must be in Jerusalem and Prague to really feel for what I am trying to explain. Other examples are sporadic internet connection and the lack of customer service (Czechs don’t care much whereas the Israelis just seem to enjoy speaking English). Nevertheless, I loved Prague. I gave in to my temptation for a shopping spree at H&M- for once in a long time, the store had things that I actually liked. That’s how much I resent shopping in Israel.

I visited the Jewish Quarter to visit the Jewish Museum. What I came to realize was that the Prague Jewish Museum was broken up into six different synagogues, a ceremonial hall, and a Jewish cemetery. I ended up touring the place backwards as I realized that each synagogue told the story of the Czech Jews in different periods from the days of the Crusaders to modern times. I felt incredibly overwhelmed and exhausted as I read through the material that I didn’t even bother to do anything about the earliest Jewish history in Maisel synagogue. Most of the synagogues are no longer being used for services. The Spanish synagogue impressed me the most with its beautiful, rich colors and ornate interior décor. I loved the Klausen synagogue which held exhibits on Jewish holidays and traditions- I liked the dioramas of a typical Jewish kitchen and a Jewish dining room with explanations of Jewish dietary next to them. The ceremonial hall was very interested- it mainly focused on the Jewish burial rituals. I did not like Pinkas so much because it’s virtually empty but its walls were written with the names of Czech Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The white walls with black and red letterings just made me feel uncomfortable, especially when I climbed up to the women’s gallery where some of the children’s artwork from Terezin was on display. For some reason, this synagogue attracted more tourists than the others.

Outside of it, I went into the Jewish Cemetery. It was very freaky because now this was what I’d call a real graveyard. It looked like bodies were buried on top of one and another and headstones were placed around randomly. It’s not spacious- the headstones could not be more than a foot from each other (think about it, you’d have 3-4 right above your body instead of none). Also, the carvings in them were so worn but I could feel that these belonged to Jews. Somehow, as I thought about to how long the Jews have lived in Prague and around Czech Republic lands, way before I once imagined, I felt sad. This was for real. Eastern European Jews really existed. I was located in right front of evidence that Jews lived here back in the 1800’s, 1700’s, and way back to 1200’s. I tried to imagine what life was like and what the Jewish Quarter must’ve looked like to have this plot of land. It is not to say that I don’t believe that Eastern European Jews existed in my mind only because of the Holocaust and Czar Alexander II’s rule. It is more of seeing for myself that outside of the Holocaust and the Pale Settlement issues, the Eastern European Jews had their own lives. I don’t need that photographer who created “The Vanished World” to tell me that the Polish Jews lived a vibrant life before the Holocaust. I know they existed because of the novels and memoirs that I read for class. But to see that cemetery touched me to my heart that before the tragedies, the Jews had their own lives that they were able to bury their own dead, not someone else to do it for them (by no choice). That the Jews lived long enough to see their own natural death and the whole community to do so, not a just a good portion of it (due to pogroms and such). I did not think that the Jewish cemetery would impress me so just because it’s a graveyard but just seeing the sight of it told me that the Jews truly once lived here for their whole lives.

The day before, I went to Terezin, about 45 minutes away from Prague with Dane’s program. A bunch of us climbed in a large van with a survivor, Dr. Kolmer. I don’t remember much of his life as he didn’t speak as well as he could be for me. He went through a bunch of camps including Terezin and Auschwitz. He gave us the tour of the entire ghetto. Terezin was not just a concentration camp but also a ghetto and a death camp. Terezin used to be a small fortress and the Nazis took over that to create a camp. First, we went in that fortress area to hear of how Dr. Kolmer lived there. He showed us the women’s quarters and the men’s quarters, the showers (real ones), the Nazis’ offices, the barracks, the washroom, and the sick rooms. He also told us of specific moments that he had including where he was beaten. There were also isolated cells- so incredibly claustrophobic! I took very few pictures as possible as to respect the victims (which is why I get so peeved when I see visitors at the USHMM take pictures of the shoes with their camera phones). There was also a graveyard for the last 600 victims who fell very ill after liberation. He showed us where executions took place. I tried to imagine this place being packed with dying, frail workers and the Nazis with their dogs. I tried to smell the filth, the stink, the mud, and any other offensive odors. I tried to taste the sourness of the food and body odor and the bitterness of bloody beatings. I definitely felt very cold and thought, I’m wearing my sweater under this parka, and these people had no clothes that could possible keep them warmer than this parka could. If anything, I know that they would not move as much as to conserve their energy and I could see myself huddling against one of these walls, away from the draft. Also, I listened for any soft murmuring in Eastern European languages, loud barking from the officials and the dogs, and the clattering of the feet moving about. Despite all that, I felt nothing. Dane complained of hunger but thought she was being a paradox because we were in a location were food meant everything in the world to the victims and how could she complain of hunger? Her bread, which she bought for a snack, tasted wonderful to her all of sudden.

Next, we went to the Jewish ceremonial hall. Everything was basically written in Hebrew. Visitors walked down this tunnel, which opened up to several rooms filled with several Jewish artifacts and plaques commemorating the dead. I had a feeling that this place mourned over how these victims could not make it to Palestine as they were supposed to. All the Hebrew just seemed to point out that message- no Yiddish or Czech or English.

Then we toured around the Jewish cemetery and the crematorium. The crematorium was not what I had imagined at all. There were only few ovens- how could they burn 3,000 bodies in one day? The graveyard around it mostly held WWI soldiers but eventually, the Jews. Before things came chaotic, the Nazis used to allow the Jews to hold funerals for the dead. Then they moved to mass graves. Eventually, the land became too full with dead people that they had to build the crematorium to burn the rest. Yet, I looked out and around, the land was perfectly flat. No such evidence of mounting heaps of dirt covering the skeletons like the Prague Jewish cemetery. I couldn’t get close to any of the headstones to see for myself.

At one point, we visited a place which had a model of a typical barrack in the ghetto.

Afterwards, we went off to the Ghetto Museum. Finally, I was warm again! First, we saw the propaganda film for the Red Cross from the Nazis of the Terezin ghetto. Their lives seemed so normal but somehow, it felt very panicky. These people were forced to behave the way they did or else. Then we went upstairs to tour around the history of the Holocaust. Most of us skipped through it until the end where the presentation seemed a little more unique with data and maps of different countries and their Jews and the relevance to the Holocaust.

I asked the guide, if he still had the senses that he experienced during his stay in Terezin- the smell, the taste, the noise, and so forth. I don’t think he understood me but he replied that he was able to give tours of Terezin because “compared to Auschwitz, this was easy.”

That was a very, very strong statement to describe Auschwitz. For all we knew, Auschwitz was the worst place to be even though there were other very difficult camps like Mauthausen. But to put it that way, I could not possibly imagine what kind of specific activities went on at Auschwitz that it must earn that awful, awesome reputation that it stood out from Terezin that much. I felt like this was only a baby step before I’d visit Auschwitz eventually in the future. Dane had been to Dachau and she did not experience such strong feelings and reactions to Terezin as she did for Dachau. She was not sure if she had become more mature or she just knew more. I know that her visit to Auschwitz this month will reveal the exact factor.

Unexpectedly, I simply felt no emotion towards Terezin. Could I have been so desensitized to the Holocaust that coming to Terezin was simply a visit to memorialize the victims? Normally, I am very emotional, sensitive person with slightly delayed reaction. I don’t believe that my age is a factor. Maturity? Maybe, sometimes I cry when I read over the translations of the mass murders in Soviet Union or listen to survivors’ testimonies that touch me as a woman. Could words be stronger than action in this case? I don’t know. I am having such a terrible time sympathizing when I am expected to. For me, sometimes the Holocaust seems surreal. Other times I think, whatever happened, it happened. Then that’s not fair to the victims who want to say “never again” and to tell the future generations about their horrible experiences. But that’s what I’m doing already- ensuring that the public gets the right facts and understands that as surreal this event appears to be, it happened. Terezin is an evidence of the Nazi atrocities. Sometimes I wonder, because I have this no-nonsense attitude about the Holocaust, am I the right person to take on a job in the Holocaust field? I always imagined that the person must be sensitive and empathic but I don’t think it’s always the case. The person’s there to give facts, probably preferably without emotion, so that the audience may choose how to react.

Which is why the USHMM doesn’t give guided public tours. Neither does Yad Vashem.

Total Cultural Exchange on a Netanya beach and in a Jerusalem coffee shop

Yesterday, I went to Netanya, about 20 miles north of Tel Aviv. The bus ride took about 90 minutes. I left early but the rush hour in Jerusalem was so awful- we ran into a gigantic gridlock that took forever to get through.

Anyway, Netanya felt like a beach town. There’s one main street that runs from the central bus station to the beach- Herzl Street. It meets Kikar Ha’atzma’ut (Independence Square) where there’s a huge water fountain (with no water?) and lots of benches around it. Cafes and restaurants line along the sides with outdoor seating. There’s quite bit of French in here- seemed unusual. I found the tourist office and got a map and a guidebook. As I sat down to figure out what to do, I called the Diamond Factory and the Ranch for a diamond factory tour and a riding time. The Diamond Factory was closed. Then the ranch told me to swing by around 2. I had 2 hours to kill. Then I tried calling the Bee and Honey place- a bee farm. The person wasn’t too helpful and said something about not doing tours for day. Then I decided to try checking out the Iris Garden and the Winter Pond and ducked in a small hotel for some help. He told me to take a shreut for 5 NIS since walking would talk 90 minutes. So, then I walked to look for a shreut. It was a madhouse near the bus station where I was supposed to catch this specific one- buses waiting, honking, blocking my view, cars and shreuts driving through. I got honked at because I blocked a car while looking for my shreut- people seriously drive on the sidewalks! After waiting around for 15ish minutes, I gave up. I needed to eat some lunch before going out to the ranch. So I wandered back to Ha’atzma’ut Square to look for this terrific vegetarian restaurant called Yotvata. I ordered grilled eggplant sandwich and very freshly squeezed apple juice. The portions were very generous but they were delicious!

I had to take a cab to the ranch, not the bus as originally planned since my guidebook said you could do it. The tourist office told me it’d be a 45 minute bus ride. For a beautiful day, I’m better off riding for 5 minutes in a cab. So I got there a little after 2ish. The ranch people told me that I could chill in the lounge behind them and put my stuff in the ranch house. I asked about when to pay, they said never mind now (very Israeli way to put business off). So I chilled around since they wanted to wait to see if other people showed up (pleeeasssseeee, it’s not exactly in the heart of the town nor Israel is in a high season). Mork, who would be my guide, fed the horses first. I just wandered around, observing the horses’ body language and petting them. The horses looked to be in healthy condition and the place was tidy. It was just wild to see horses right by the sea as the ranch sits atop a cliff to the sea! I felt a bit like a barn rat- born again

Finally after what seemed like forever, Mork and I got on our horses. I ripped my favorite pair of Levis mounting my horse (just in the inner thigh area, not the classic butt rip). I figured that it was time for me to admit that these jeans really needed to be thrown away as they’re very worn in with some holes…. You know? Anyway, we set off to ride down to the beach.

It was a great hour. I had just realized that, since I had him all to myself, I could talk and ask questions about his life and Israel. He’s around 24 years old and came from a horse loving family up in the North. He served in the combat in the Army for three years, then studied computers, and then worked for HP before coming to work as a ranch hand. He gave up the luxury job because he missed horses and open space in the country. As I listened to him describe his background and views about his life, I felt more and more connected to where he was coming from. Looking out at the water and the strip of sand ahead of us, I then realized that I really like this scene. It’s not just the beach; it’s just the lack of commotion and people. I would do this kind of life if I can. I like to sit around and to forge friendships rather than making superficial connections just because a city has a big network. I appreciate the beauty of vast land and love running/riding around it. Mother Nature gives me a chance to live as naturally as possible rather than trying to destroy it with cement and steel. She offers natural entertainment like mountains for me to ski and thousands of acres of land for me to ride and long, flat roads for me to run. All I need is a pair of sneakers or skis or a horse with a bridle. I feel so peaceful when I am in this kind of setting- it is one of the major reasons why I love Colgate (despite Dad’s lamentations of how there’s nothing to do in the town when we visited in March 2005). I enjoy living a simple life. I don’t listen to my ipod on the commute. I prefer to walk over to take a bus. I do fine just reading books as I don’t need television. I don’t mind owning one wardrobe (as I do now in Israel) if I don’t need to own more clothes to get dressed up for. Heck, I always look forward to my next kibbutz visit after I leave Linda and Shlomi.

Anyway, going off tangent. Mork and I talked about how his father’s family made aliyah from Belgium (I think) and he met his mother here in Israel (How typical is this romantic story?!?!), compared American and Israeli lives in our young adulthood, and horseback riding in Israel. He said that riding took off in about 2003-4 and is becoming very popular with the kids. He found me so fascinating and said that my life is so interesting when I told him what I like to do for sports (skiing, riding, and running) and about my family’s sport hobbies. Golf, hockey, skiing, and lacrosse are still novelty or unheard of in Israel. We also exchanged some horse knowledge and he learned about my riding history. I told him that there are horses all over the United States. I was really happy to meet a very friendly and eager Israeli in my age since I hadn’t met anyone like him since coming to Israel a month ago. We did some trotting and cantering on the beach but mostly walked on the cliffs since our conversation was going deep.

After riding, I took a cab back in town. Since Netanya is really a beach town and I’d have to take cabs to other places anyway, I went down to the beach to take a walk on Herzl Beach. After walking for some time, I took off my sneakers as the water looked really good and felt warm. If I had known that 70 degree weather and the water’s temperature, I would totally have brought my bathing suit and towel! It’s actually still a little cold for the Israelis but coming from hardy weather like Rochester, this was nothing to sneeze at. I rolled up my jeans and just splashed and walked through the water, letting it and the sand go through my toes. I saw a couple of beach runners going by without running shoes. I would love to try it as it’s supposed to be very good for your feet since the sand gives in to the shape of your feet.

The sun was going down. I looked both sides of me to see how far I could see the pomegranate. As the waves gentled rolled in to the shore, the peaceful atmosphere gave me a hint of why Allie still misses her Haifa’s beaches. I imagined that she had come down almost everyday after her classes and perhaps did some walking on them with her Israeli boyfriend. As I said, the beach is one of Mother Nature’s gifts. We ruined her by building sidewalks to talk long walks on. I’m making a vow to do more visits to a beach once the weather starts getting nice (after all the family visits).

After browsing a couple of stores on the way back to see if I could find a new pair of jeans, I took the bus back. By the way, Netanya’s shopping is soooooo much better than Jerusalem! Less tacky trendy clothing, more stylish trendy stuff. Also, Mork told me that Netanya is largely a Russian community (which I figured by its name) but many of the immigrants are not Jews, which sort of explained why my map didn’t show many synagogues. I thought about attending Becca’s birthday dinner but I was too tired and wasn’t hungry so I headed straight home. I texted her to tell her that I’d be too late anyway and wished her a happy birthday.

Today, I was supposed to go food shopping with Tobi as I still don’t know my way around a market in terms of packaged stuff. She gave me a call at 7:30ish to see if I realy wanted to do it (I had already woken up, thinking I’d go) and I decided that it’d be better for me to go another time since I was leaving for Prague for the long weekend. So I slept in- very much needed.

After doing my weekly long pool running (I keep it to 90 minutes, equivalent of 10 miles because it does get that boring), I showered and walked up to the campus to meet Professor Bankier for lunch. He showed me what he wanted me to do- proofreading an English translation of a book on Romanian Jewry that Yad Vashem wants to publish and doing some research with oral testimonies relating to various Soviet Union states. They looked interesting and I felt the history buff instead me screaming to take the projects. This is definitely important work that I’d be proud to throw on my resume, especially that the book is almost 400 pages long. I took the job.

Afterwards, I went to downtown. I almost doze off because I missed my stop and had gone all the way to the central bus station. Fortunately, the walk back to where I needed to be was only 10 minutes. I shopped around the shuk to find stuff for Dane in Prague. She told me that there’s no good cheese or spices (no spices!!??!). I thought I’d just buy bottles of spices at Mister Zol’s and buy cheese at the shuk as there’s a guy there who I like. I randomly walked down an aisle and found a stall with large barrels of stuff in bags. I thought they contained tea but they didn’t smell like tea. I asked the seller if those were tea or spices- he said spices. Then I asked with a smile, “Any chili powder?” (#1 item on Dane’s wish list) and he nodded his head. I said I wanted some. After pouring some in a bag, I asked if he had any sage. He had some. Basically, I reeled off every spice on Dane’s list and they had everything that I needed. I was really excited as I wasn’t sure if they’d actually sell chili powder. The spices smelled so good! My mouth watered as I thought about bringing Mom here and she could buy them in large bulk. Mom would be in heaven in this shuk- the very place that she didn’t really want me to go into when she gave me lists of no-no’s in Israel. Seriously, about a 1/2 gallon of spices (filling up a plastic milk jug) only cost me 27 sheklim- $7. A lot cheaper than the bottled ones in the stores. Afterwards, I went over to Marizpan to buy chocolate rugalech for her and her roommates. I admit it. I’ve become a shuk addict. I can see most of my money going to this place.

I met Kobe, a friend of one of my high school classmates (via creepy yet incredible Facebook). He really wanted to meet me and offered to take me out for coffee. We actually had lunch at Café Hillel. We just sat there for almost three hours, just talking away. He loved learning about America and I asked questions about his views of Israel and his Army life (in combat!!!). Basically, it was a cultural exchange. He taught me some slangs and I taught him some. One of them was JAP- Jewish American Prince(ss). I told him to be careful using it in the States as it’s a racial slur for the Japanese. He knew it but didn’t know that I didn’t know that it’s an inside slang in the Jewish world. He’s originally from Moldavia and made aliyah with his family when he was 9. So he spoke fluent Hebrew and Russian and very good English (great American accent). Slowly, I’m learning Hebrew from him that I don’t think about learning for the sake of getting around. When we said good bye, he offered a Shabbat invitation for next Friday. I told him that I’d have to take it as a rain check as I already promised to meet with some of Zev’s friends. Nevertheless, he wanted to visit me more as he’d likely be studying at Hebrew University in the fall and wished to learn his way around Jerusalem. I know that this internet encounter was totally random and risky but I checked with my high school classmate to see if he was good or bad news- she said he was fine. But this is one Israeli who’s dying to learn more about my beloved country (or so will be when Hillary Clinton takes the White House in 2008) and is attracted by personality and Natalie Portman look-alike (I can’t say how many times I’ve met Israelis who say so!), I figured why not. Plus Allie told me to chase down Israeli men anyway.

End of Ulpan!

It's done! I'm done! The last few days went by very fast. The way the teachers prepared for the end... well, it didn't exist. No review except for the last half of class yesterday on verbs. I was surprised that they didn't devote a whole day for review since we learned so much and move so fast. There was basically no pressure to do well. Fortunately, I am taking this only Pass/Fail as I want to enjoy learning Hebrew at start before really cracking down once I start classes. And I am passing just fine. The passing grade is only 49 out of 100. My American and Canadian friends were surprised as I was- we were used to the 65 cut off mark.

I'm glad that I have this chance to study a new language in a new country like this. Now I know that I don't want learn a new language in its mother country- there are so many distractions!!! There's the cultural shock aspect that needed to be settled too. Now I am over it and I actually really studied this weekend for the final. I would not definitely want to learn German in Germany since there's probably still a lot of English. French in Paris... I don't know. But I know that if I study Spanish in a Spanish speaking country, I'd be fine as I know enough Spanish to get around instead of worrying what I am going to say next.

Today, we had a end-of-ulpan party for my classs (all Aleph classes except for those trying to pass out did it). On Sunday, we did our food shopping at Mister Zol's (our French Hill supermarket that's 2/3 smaller than Pittsford Wegmans). I was paired up with Elliot and we had to buy some stuff for the party and to fill out the worksheet that included finding the cheapest item in the store (cucumbers and oranges) and the most expensive produce (artichokes and strawberries for 11 sheklim). The party was fun. We played musical gift where the "it" had to unwrap one layer of the gift and read the post-it in Hebrew and then pass it on. We had good food. Good times.

Then the test came- it was so much easier than last Thursday's which felt like a final exam.

So what have I been doing outside of class? Sunday and Monday, I stayed on the hill. On Sunday, I was invited over to Michell's for dinner to talk about the trip to Petra. Moti invited me to join him, Mitchell, Nora, and Laura for the drive to Petra this week (before I'd go to Prague). We didn't actually talk about it right away as we had Sam and a couple of other people over. He and Sam made chicken schintzel, curry rice, stir-fry veggies, and artichokes. Nora brought over a delicious strawberry pecan salad. It was a great meal- I told Mitchell and Nora that I owed them a Shabbat dinner. Then Monday, I wasn't feeling well with a bit of a sore throat so I slept in the afternoon.

Today, after the test, Melissa suggested that we go to Mea Shearim. We donned in our long skirts. We walked along a street that we thought was Mea Shearim but when I doubled checked the map, I realized that we just happened to be in an orthodox neighborhood, not Mea Shearm. So we walked to that proper street.

It's basically a narrow street, almost a feel of being in an alley. It supposedly reminds people of a Polish ghetto. I don't know as I've never been to an Eastern European Jewish area. It was actually sort of quiet compared to Jaffa Street. When I go to Prague, I'll have a better idea. There were a lot of cheap applicance stores and Judiaca shops. Towards the end before we turned around, a shop sold olive tree wood goods. They were beautifully crafted! I took several pictures without letting other people notice. You're not really supposed to use your camera- if must, do it discreetly. There was only one restaurant- I had hoped that perhaps they'd keep their Eastern European roots by having such a restaurant. Alas, it's not the right place.

Then Melissa and I shopped along Jaffa a bit before eating an early dinner (I didn't have anything since the party and she was hungry). We ended up eating at El Gauncho's,, a South American restaurant off Hillel, behind Ben Yehuda. It was delicious and a refreshing break from all the vegges, cheese, pita, hummus, etc. I think America is the only country where the waiter puts the check on the table without asking if you want to pay yet. And where water and bread are free.

Tomorrow, I may be off to Netanya for a day trip. I'm excited especially that there's horseback riding on the BEACH. And the weather's going to be sunny and in the 70's!

Finally, I spent all day today exploring Jerusalem. I mean, really exploring the city. I have heard from friends who went abroad that they spent so much time traveling outside of their host cities that they never really get a chance to get to know their area. I don’t want to go home and say, “Oh… um, I didn’t really get around much… I don’t really know how far away Ben Yehuda is from the Jaffa Gate, one of the gates to the Old City.” Or “Oh yeah, that’s definitely the Arts and Crafts Lane” and then have my visitors go there on their own and then find out that it’s not really where it is on their maps. (The answers to both: 1) It’s about 5-7 minutes walk from Ben Yehuda/Jaffa St intersection all the way south to the Jaffa Gate, which takes you in the Armenian Quarter, and 2) It’s not an actual street, you have to go across the park to the other street and walk north). I used my map very well in this area that it’s literally falling apart now! I need to get one of those waterproof ones that Mom and I had for Madrid.

I started off by riding the bus with Nora and her roommate, Laura. They invited me to come over for Shabbat since I said that I didn’t really have anywhere to go (Zev’s friends all had good excuses for not being able to meet up). I offered to bring some chocolate covered strawberries for dessert (Dinner would be meat). I nervously followed them to the shuk because it’s Friday and Shira told me that it’s a madhouse. Well, Agrippas was definitely crazy but inside the shuk wasn’t as packed as I fear. Israelis still pushed their way through. We bought lots of vegetables for the stir-fry and vegetable soup. Challaot were abound and people just take them off the bakery carts and put them in bags. After seeing such amazing quality of the produce on a Friday, I decided that once I get back and start classes, I will shop through this madness for great food instead of early in the week.

We ran into a girl who is Laura’s best friend. She’s one of those stories that my parents fear- studied abroad for a year, met an Israeli boy, graduated college, married him, and then make aliyah last July. She isn’t going to serve in the army because she aged out and her marriage status also affected her eligibility. She was really nice and so we talked a lot while Laura and Nora shopped for some household goods. We discussed how common English is in Jerusalem versus Tel Aviv. I guess I didn’t do a good job of researching cities with various levels of spoken English- she said that Jerusalem has the most English speaking people than any other cities. I thought Tel Aviv would win because of one of my professor’s comments that Tel Aviv is much more like New York City- fast and never stops. Oh well, I’m still glad that I didn’t go to Tel Aviv because I didn’t like it as much and there’s quite a bit to do in Jerusalem anyway. Also, despite having lots of English here, Jerusalem is much more real and cultural.

After we finished food shopping, I ditched the group since they wanted to go back and I didn’t. I wanted to have a sabbiyah, a fluffy pita sandwich filled with eggplant, hard boiled eggs, some humus, mint, little bit of onions, some Israeli salad, and yogurt. It’s all cheap for only 15 shekels ($3.75). So in an Israeli fashion, I eat my sandwich on the street as I walked towards the Great Synagogue on King George V. Israelis simply eat their sandwiches in a paper bag and stand there- there’s basically no sitting down service like McDonalds. It’s bit of an art to be able to eat these big stuffed pitas without spilling anything all over myself. The sabbiyah is really good- I think I might actually prefer it over a schwarma.

The Great Synagogue was amazing. For some reason, I felt like I could be really proud of this place. It is huge and beautiful with a dome on the top. As I finished my sabbiyah, I read the inscriptions on the building. Certain portions of the synagogue had donations in memorial of some of the Holocaust victims. In large, the synagogue was a memorial to the Holocaust victims as the large inscription read: “This house of prayer for the Jews of the World is dedicated by Sir Isaac and Lady Wolfson to the memory of all those who died so that we, the Jewish people may live. To the six million Jewish victims of the European Holocaust and all those Jewish men and women who sacrificed their lives and in defence of the State of Israel.” There are a lot of memorials in Israel for the Holocaust and State of Israel’s War of Independence- Jews don’t forget their tragedies. Six million. Six million. I feel that Israel likes to make the world feel guilty that if they had stopped Hitler from taking over Europe and killing all the Jews, those six million could have made it to Israel. Anyway, I went inside to see what it was like. Since it wasn’t really open for anything, it was mostly dark. I couldn’t find any signs that would lead to the shul but I did some wandering around to see if I could find that big room. No such luck- only found a small one and a Torah reading room. I found a sign about services at the synagogue and I hope that I will get a chance to join in sometimes during the semester as I’d like to experience “religion” in there. They have a talk by a former US Ambassador to Israel for tomorrow night. The topic was nothing new- Israel in Conflict. I’ve already heard this kind of talk several times when I was interning in DC.

Then I made my way down King George to Kikar Plumer (a square). I walked past Dan Panorama, where my parents will be staying for Passover. It’ll be quite a walk to Kiyrat Wolfson for them but not so bad for to downtown Jerusalem though it’ll be uphill. Then I made a turn up to King David St where the famed YMCA and King David Hotel were. I almost did not realize that beautiful complex on my left was the YMCA. It was nothing like I saw in the U.S. where they tend to house in old 1970’s architecture buildings. Here, the YMCA’s architecture was beautifully blended with Islamic, Byzantine, and Art Deco styles. The Empire State Building’s architecture firm actually designed this to reflect the cooperation of different communities under one roof. Straight in front of me was the tower which I tried to get climb up but the reception desk said that minimum of two people was necessary for the tour. Ugh, oh well, I can always come back. I saw the repilica of the London Room from when the YMCA was founded in 1844 in the lobby. Remembering my experiences in Spain about the importance of looking up to the ceilings, so I did. The ceilings immediately reminded me of the cathedral in Cordoba- different styles and beautiful colors of fresco.

Then I went across the street to King David Hotel (bottom picture). Shira told me that it has one of the grandest lobbies that she had ever seen. Personally, I thought it was quite grand only for Israel, not for the U.S. It was kind of dark- no beautiful chandeliers to light up the area. It did have a luxurious library style sitting area in the back of the lobby with leather chairs and dark wood furniture. The hotel had two wings so I walked up and down. Mostly they contained jewelry displays from various jewelers around Jerusalem A business, H. Stern, housed in one of the wings. I followed down to check out the lower level services including the beauty parlor and fitness center (pretty well air conditioned!!). Before exiting the hotel, I saw a poster listing some of the world’s top hotels. For Israel, the most prestigious ones were King David and Tel Aviv Dan. I searched Washington DC and NYC- Waldorf Astoria didn’t make it! I tried to find out who make up the list- no such name.

Once outside, since the weather was still undecided between cloudy, light shower, and sun, I kept going. I followed one of the streets down to find the Hutzot Hayotzer Arts and Crafts Lane. It took me down to Yemin Moshe, one of Jerusalem’s little enclaves. It looked like I would need time to fully explore it and it was a little after 2 PM. Public buses stop running about 2 hours before Shabbat starts so for today, they should stop running by 3 and I was nowhere near my bus stops. Time to start looking for them.

I made a shortcut through a small park to get on Hativat Yerushalayim, a road that would eventually turn into Jaffa. I walked next to the walls of the Old City. I felt really spiritual when I saw the old walls looming over me. As I walked up, the signs for the Arts and Crafts Lane appeared. I took a peek into the lane and realized that it wasn’t really a street but just a market area for shops. Obviously they were closed for Shabbat. I made a note in my guidebook about its location. As I continued, I noticed a little domed tower and wondered if that was either the Christian Quarter or the Muslim Quarter but figured it was Christian since there were a lot of signs relating to Christianity. I entered, what I didn’t realize then, through the Jaffa Gate by following the signs for the Tower of David. Immediately, I could tell just by looking at numerous CHANGE shops and signs for tourist information that this was not exactly a good place to be in terms of my wallet’s safety. I hugged my purse closely as I walked along the cobblestone streets to the Tower of David (figuring why not get a quick look). It was closed so I turned around and tried a street, thinking it would take me out towards Jaffa. Then I noticed signs for Armenian goods and taverns. Holy cow, I had walked into the Old City’s Armenian Quarter by accident and this would most definitely not take me where I needed to go. I really wished that I had more time to see more of the Armenian Quarter but I turned around quickly and walked towards where I had entered. Noticing a lot of men and not so many women, I sensed that I needed to get out of their way and I shouldn’t be on these streets at this time when Shabbat was coming to close and all the women were at home preparing for Shabbat, including me.

Back on Hativat Yerushalayim, I consulted my map to make sure I was heading in the right direction. I wasn’t so sure because I had that parts of Jerusalem wasn’t exactly pedestrian friendly and I had no idea of this busy road (sort of like an expressway going under a tunnel towards Mount Scopus). Actually, it is but there’s a road that breaks off that follows along with the Old City’s walls which is Jaffa. There weren’t signs indicating the change in the name or even for the Jaffa Gate itself. I was surprised. Anyway, I quickly found out pleasantly that the Old City is not seriously far away from the busy area of Jaffa St that most people congregate- only about 5 minutes walk! Basically, where I usually get off the 4 bus, it is only 5-10 minutes walk to the Old City. Things are not truly that far from each other in Jerusalem as the map likes to believe its users. Cool. I can visit the Old City a lot easily then.

I caught the bus just fine and made it home without it dumping me in middle of some random street in Jerusalem where I’d have to figure out my way home.

I really am learning a lot about how Jerusalem works in terms of finding places. If you can’t find it on your first try, it will just come to you naturally- whether it is only a few minutes or days later. A lot of times these places are tucked away from public view. The signs aren’t clear or obvious. For example, the other day, I was looking for this bakery called Samboosak which sold stuffed breads. Well, it was further up Jaffa from where I was looking for it, not as close to the intersection as my guide said. Since I was walking from the opposite direction, I saw it. The place looked fabulous and I made a note of its location in my book. Patience is the key here. I hope to find many of the places before I leave Jerusalem in June, especially before my family comes next month so we can go straight to it instead of wandering around looking for them.

Tonight, I went over to Nora and Laura’s place for Shabbat. Moti was there and so was their roommate, Michelle. It was a very nice evening especially after Moti blew out the electricity and we used candles. We tried to fix the fuse box to reset the electricity but it didn’t work so we ended up lighting a bunch of candles to light up the table. It has been so long since I’ve eaten by candlelight like this and it was a nice change from the harsh normal fluorescent lights. Nora served vegetable soup with homemade matzoh balls, baked chicken, stir fry vegetables, beets, and pasta (I skipped that so I could eat more challah!). Moti did all the prayers, being the guy, and he did them really nicely. After dinner, we tried the fuse box again and called up the maintenance (24/7 on call) to come and to help us. While we waited, we chilled out on the couches and talked for a while. After the guy came to fix the electricity, Nora served dessert with my chocolate covered strawberries (everyone was very pleasantly surprised- it’s still a novelty!), chocolate croissants, and some kind of strudel. We talked for quite a while and then the neighbor, Ryan, came over to hang out.

I still can’t get over how much I love Shabbat in Israel. I love how people just share a good meal and quality conversations that last for several hours. No more being alone on Friday nights because people want to party and to drink instead. Shabbat is meant to bring people together to celebrate just for the sake of being together. I really can’t wait for Grandma and Zev to come so I can invite my friends over for Shabbat so they can meet them even if it’s really probably just one time.

On Sunday, the class is taking a field trip to Mister Zol's, our local supermarket, to do some food shopping for our little party! It won't be fun and games as the instructors are going to give us a worksheet to do-a scavenger hunt.

Spending Valentine's Day in Unromantic Israel

Israel is not a romantic country. So Valentine’s Day went by- didn’t even really notice though it was on my mind when I walked in my class just because I was thinking how I’d wear something pink or red (but I didn’t because I was wearing my last shirt- today’s laundry day). Melissa did invite me to her apartment for a stir-fry dinner (hey, I may not like Chinese food but at least it’s homemade dinner!) in honor of Valentine’s Day. Just a little celebration. I knew everyone in the party- those I wasn’t friends with, I met them earlier in the ulpan at one point or another. I really liked this group- down to earth, a little academic, and good flow of conversation topics. I thanked Melissa for the dinner.

What have I done since Sunday? I went to the shuk to do my grocery shopping for the week- all produce and some cheese. I probably spent $20 or so. The cheese guy was really patient and friendly when I ordered cheese from him. When I showed him that I didn’t have 6 ½ shekls, only 6.3 left and after a little pouting, he took the coins off my hand. He also gave me a sample of smoked cheese which I bought home- sooo good with eggs and mushrooms. Some merchants will leave mushrooms and strawberries loose and will either scoop them or you scoop them into the container instead of packaging. I just realized that there is no spinach or dark, dark green or yellow zucchinis. Baby carrots don’t exist in Israel- so much for finding something to snack on.

On Monday, I took the number 28 bus that was supposed to take me near the Knesset and Kiryat Wolfson. I ended up riding it all the way out to Gi’vat Ram, the other Hebrew University campus (mostly science and agricultural). The area is so gorgeous- it’s in the valley and is surrounded by lots of trees. It’s much closer to the nature than Mount Scopus. Anyway, I almost got kicked off at Gi’vat Ram because the driver said it was the end of the line. I told him that I paid to ride the bus to get to near Kiryat Wolfson. Then he drove me to this other bus stop (in the meantime, I though I had succeeded in this argument) and told me to get off. He was so rude about it- he’d shove me if he could. I tried to ask for a transfer ticket if he was going to push me off the bus but he just insisted that I get off and get on number 9. I got off rather bit annoyed. I caught the 9 and rode it up to Kiryat Wolfson and passed the Israel Museum and White Rose Garden Park on the way. I realized that the park was where my birthright group had our last group discussion about being in Israel and how or if the trip made us feel more Jewish or not. Cool to know the number of the place at least. I asked a woman next to me to tell me when to get off when we reached Kiryat Wolfson- we conversed a bit in English. Then I noticed a couple of tall white buildings over looking the valley towards the Knesset and then I realized that those were what Professor Bankier had described to me when I mentioned where Grandma and Zev would be staying. I pointed to the buildings and asked the woman about it and she said that’s where I should get off the bus. Finally.

Kiryat Wolfson is a very pretty residential neighborhood. It reminded me so much of being in Florida with lots and lots of palm trees, greens, small houses hidden behind white stone fences, and the general atmosphere. All I could keep thinking aside from “being in Florida” was where’s the nearest supermarket? There’s nothing- only a mini mart here or there but really no restaurants or small shops. I finally got to the street where the high rise apartments were and to my dismay, there were five of them and I had no idea which one it was. I thought, whatever, at least I know where they’re going to be. Then I decided to be smart and to find the nearest bus stop for my bus to Mount Scopus. I saw number 19 go by and followed the bus to the stop. It was only about a 5 minutes walk. After circling the spot on my map, I followed Ussishkin to Bezadel which intersects with Ben Yehuda and King George streets (only about 15 minute walk). I could basically take either 4 or 19 from my apartment to downtown and Kiryat Wolfson.

Let me tell you another exciting thing- when I was wandering around Ben Yehuda, I found a bookshop and decided to go in and see how much English language books were. As I browsed through the store, I found a couple of English language magazines including Glamour, Cosmo, TIME, and Newsweek! I was so excited!!! By the way, the prices are just a bit higher.

Yesterday, I didn’t do much as it was raining out. The biggest accomplishment was getting connected to the Internet. This is really the Israeli way- they just keep putting off and tell you “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.” I finally put my foot down and told the office that I had been waiting for three weeks for Internet connection. They immediately call the guy who was supposed to take care of it. Basically, it took 2 ½ hours from the phone call to the guy leaving my room with my Internet hooked. Normally, I don’t care much for getting things done on time but when it comes to my basic necessities, I want it right then. Now I’m set.

Sort of. I just turned on my laptop today and it tells me that I have invalid username and password. Great.

I am starting to find out the reality of ulpan. Most of my friends are frustrated with their classes. They want to pass or do well if their GPA would transfer over but they’re not doing so hot. Also, some of them are looking to take their level tests so they can move on to the next level. As for me, I’m not the first to admit that I’m not doing as well. Part of it is that I really want to enjoy my time here in Jerusalem before real classes start. Another part is that the tests are deceptively hard. The last part is that my credits are not going to transfer anyway. I know that I have learned a lot more Hebrew than I could ever thought in only 3 weeks. There is just so much vocabulary- I have been making little flashcards and try to use them when I ride the buses (even if it makes me look a little suspicious when I pronounce words under my breath). Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to study my GRE words here when I have to work on my Hebrew. But I’ll see how the pace goes once we start the semester when the classes are not as intense. Ah, so much, so much, so much. I really am trying to focus on the grammar aspect since that’s all I really need to know in order to pass my graduate school language exams.

Oh, I just booked my flight to visit Prague for next weekend to see Dane! I am totally bouncing around! Thank you, Mom and Dad for your blessing!

Tsfat and Mt Hermon

First off, I must make a note to myself. Israelis literally celebrate Shabbat with not one, but two feasts. One big dinner on Friday night, then a long Saturday lunch. Last weekend’s Tel Aviv visit was certainly not an exception. Therefore, I must change my diet during the week accordingly to prevent weight gain.

Anyway, the Tsfat trip was amazing. After checking my spam folder on Thursday at 1:30, the e-mail for the trip said to meet for the bus at 2:15 PM. I ran out of the main campus back to my room since I hadn’t packed or eaten lunch yet (even though I was a bit filled from my breakfast avocado sandwich earlier). I got there on time but there were not many people yet. Strange but more people eventually came and I saw a lot of my friends. I was really excited and happy knowing that I’d have a great time with these people. I sat with Sam- she was just so nice, curious, and helpful. Did I mention generous too? She bought food to share with everyone- deli turkey, a huge bag of sliced peppers, and awesome Belgian chocolate wafers. The bus ride was uneventful. It took about 3 hours as we left a bit after 3 PM and got to Tsfat around 6:30. I spent a lot of time thinking about traveling and what I want to do after graduation. We went through Tiberias along the way- good to see the Sea of Galilee. I also saw Decks’ restaurant- a big upscale place that gives vouchers for the dance/party boat that goes around the sea in warm weather. By the way, the chaperones brought their children along, including a 3 month old baby. She was soooo sweet the whole weekend- not very fussy.

When we got to Tsfat, we stayed in at Tel Aviv hotel. For some reason, the whole scenario reminded me of arriving at seemingly sketchy hotels from my birthright trips. Israeli hotels, real ones, aren’t as fancy or poshy as European or American ones. They are simple and clean (though later one of the people complained of mold in the bathroom). We just dropped out stuff in the lobby as the program rented out the entire place for us. Pretty neat.

Before dinner, we made a trip to Safed Candle Factory (Safed is also another name for Tsfat). It was soooooo cool to see decorative wax art on the walls and in glass cases. The candles were gorgeous and I bought some for gifts figuring that I probably would not get a chance to come back here. I was really impressed with the woven wax mats on the wall, wondering how fragile they were. After purchasing my candles, I ended up walking back with a girl named Leah, who was from Tel Aviv University. That’s when I found out that we were not the only school going on this program. Apparently a bunch of people from Tel Aviv and Beersheva (Ben Gurion University of the Negev) joined in the fun. She told me that she was from Canada, close to Toronto area (I have been meeting a lot of Canadiens…) and majoring and minoring in the exact same subjects as I was!
Dinner was really disappointing- only pita with humus, salsa, and meat along with chips and soda. I felt a little sick- I just had pita and humus for lunch! Lexi, Sam, Aly, and I decided that we’d be roommates for the weekend. So we headed up to our rooms to put our stuff away. The room had four twin beds- two side by side and two as bunk beds. Sam and I shared the bunk beds (me on the bottom since Sam’s really tall). The toilet was separate from the shower/sink- on opposite ends of the room! The room was also cold- the heater was no but there was no circulation. I felt like I had been spoiled up to this point in terms of staying in decent places. Sam reminded me that as long the room was clean, it’s fine. They did provide towels and linens (which later I actually had to make the bed).

Our evening activity was to take a “mystical tour” of Tsfat, which meant night walking tour. I definitely brought my flashlight (Thanks, Mom….). Somehow some of us got separate from the group after a while. I met Liora, also from Tel Aviv. Like Leah, she had been here since August. When we griped a little about dinner, Liora compared pita and humus being like America’s PBJ sandwich. Good point as I had been making similar comparison about falafel and schwarma in Israel being like hot dogs and hamburgers. I exchanged a couple stories about my trip to Spain as she told me that she’d be meeting her mom and sister in Spain for a week during Passover. She helped me find our way back to the hotel.

During the night, I was freezing in my little corner. I had so much trouble falling asleep that the night just seemed to take forever. I had even brought my black stadium Colgate blanket and that did not help t o trap in my body heat. I thought that maybe I had turned the heater the wrong way so I got up. When I stood in front of the heater, I felt a tap from Sam. I realized that she was sleeping with her head towards the heat and there was also a working portable heater that felt so toasty warm. Then I switched around the bed so my pillow was towards the heat. I slept well after that. (By the way, Sam wasn’t actually sleeping the direction I thought- she was just up and coming in from the outside because people were being obnoxiously loud).

We arose at 6 AM for our 6:30 depature to Mount Hermon. The breakfast was very Israeli style- fish, yogurt, cottage cheese, et cetera. We also had to make our own lunches at another table. Since it was dairy I made myself a tuna sandwich. Then we climbed on the bus and made a 2 hour trip to the North. I slept for about an hour. It was really exciting getting closer but also pretty nuts because we were in middle of a busy traffic heading towards the mountains. When I saw the snow, real snow, my jaw dropped. The view was simply surreal to see- snow in Israel. Yesterday, I had been in the desert. Linda had told me that the area had some recent snowstorms but I did not think that they would dump so much as those in the United States. The roads were obviously plowed.

Mount Hermon was basically wild. That’s the best word I can describe it as every moment I had there was every man for himself kind of situation. I had to buy a headband to keep my processors from flying off my ears- fortunately they had Columbia brand ones so I could get a blue one that matched my jacket. Then we waited around a bit for the chaperones to pay for our ski rentals. We all got our skis and put our stuff in the lockers. I shared with Ellen since the lockers cost 10 shekls to rent and I just needed someplace to put my lunch and boots in. The entire lodge was a madhouse- who knew that even Israelis loved to ski!

Because of the locker sharing, I ended up hanging out with Ellen for the next three hours. That’s right, we skied/snowboarded (she did) for the entire time. The chairlift stations had no line markets so it was a big crowd- no one stood in straight lines and taking turns. Ellen and I literally hung onto each other so we’d ride up together. The first run was rather difficult because the trail was not very well groomed and also I had not skied in two years. We both rated it high intermediate or low black diamond.

Mount Hermon, like I said, is a jungle. It became very important to watch other people to see where they were going and how they were handling the trail. There are no trees and not very many fenced off areas. You chose how you wanted to go. A lot of times, we found ourselves doing some cross-country type of skiing on the mountains to find another path to go down. There were also more lifts behind the first one that we had just gotten on. One or two of them were bars- it was a hilarious sight. The bars could push up two people but they had to be skiers. Snowboarders had to have the bar to themselves and more than often, they could not make it all the way to the top without falling off their boards. Ellen got left behind each time. The second time, she simply hiked up with the snowboard under her arm. While I waited for her, I took the time to take in the view around me. It was just simply breathtaking and gorgeous. Beautiful white snow stood against vivid blue, cloudless sky with crisp lines separating the two natural elements. The sun was out and it was not very cold- perfect skiing weather for Mom. I only had my jeans, long sleeved shirt, sweater, and parka on. I doubled my gloves- wearing my liners underneath my regular cashmere gloves. Anyway, I felt so incredibly lucky to be in Israel and skiing in this gorgeous setting. It was just so amazing to be on the top. Actually where we were was on the back side of the mountain. When we approached this part of the jungle, I felt pretty nervous because nothing was marked, there were no real trails with names and I just had no idea where we were going. It felt pretty easy to get lost!

Ellen and I stayed up on the top for another hour before heading all the way back down. The trails on the very top were kind of easy- it was great for snowboarding with deep walls on the sides. Then we did a couple of lower runs- they were actually much more challenging. I did not think that they were groomed at all as the snow felt pretty heavy. I had a lot of difficulty making the back of my skis turn well. The snow was not powder. A Colorado skier in my program said that the equipment wasn’t that great… I didn’t know it was Salmon brand. I actually ended up bending of the poles from hitting something very hard- I can’t remember now. The Israelis on the mountains were better at skiing than driving, thank goodness. After all, I am here, unscathed and not traumatized by my amazing experience. Elle and I would love to come back here and do more skiing. We just went all over the mountain- never taking the same trail twice (it was hard to anyway). I also took some pretty great shots.
We left around 2:45ish due to a delay with another fellow participant’s injury. So many of us were so tired and I actually did fall asleep after we passed Tel Dan, where I had hiked 18 months ago. The scenery changed so fast, within about 5-10 minutes of where we were to the town from lots of snow to beautiful green nature area.

For Shabbat, we went to makeshift services on the top floor of Tsfat’s visitor’s information center. It was set up in an orthodox fashion with women on the right and men on the left. The nice part of our side was that we had lots of windows overlooking the hills of Tsfat. Several wooden dividers with laced drapery over the windows separated the women from the rabbi and his men. We sang some prayers and danced out of our plastic chairs. It was pretty unexpected as I was used to sitting down the entire time (except for certain prayers like the Amidah). Nevertheless, it was fun to get up and moving around and doing all the Jewish dances that we did at bar mitzvahs and weddings. Apparently, Shabbat in Tsfat is really a celebration- as it is true that the Jews allude the Shabbat as the bride (hence the “Shabbat bride” term). Towards the end, one of the rabbis did a sermon about how we had traveled from desert to sea to mountains in one place and talked about Shabbat in Tsfat and Israel. I am not sure if I am ready to make that big of a deal out of Shabbat like that yet.

For dinner, we feasted on a four, five course menu of appetizers with mixed salad, bread, geefilte fish, and potato burrecas. Then we had chicken soup which I saved my challah for dipping. For the main course, we had baked chicken (very dry), carrots, and rice. For dessert was sorbet (of course, I did not touch it). Our last course was served in another room where we sang more songs with chocolate crossiants, cinnamon rolls, strawberries, and some chocolates. The whole affair was extremely loud that my hearing aids kept going off and I had a lot of difficulty keeping up and understanding the conversations around me. A group of men in one corner felt so jolly that they kept singing songs and did get up at one point to dance. Then some of the girls, including me, got up and danced around an empty buffet table. I sat with Sam, Aly, and Lexi with both of the rabbis’ families on either side of us. One of the rabbis told us of how he made aliyah and his decision to become a rabbi. Interesting story. I was so full and tired afterwards that Sam and I went up and hit the sack at 10:30. Plus I was tired of all the loudness.

My roommates and I slept in the next morning. Being the first one to get up with time on her hands, I bravely took a shower. Notice that I used the word bravely because yesterday, Lexi went to shower after skiing before Shabbat, she screamed in the shower because the water was freezing cold. She came out looking pretty traumatized. I said that I’d wait until the next morning since I take forever anyway. However, my shower experience was just fine- I had nice, hot water the whole time. The tub was very, very small that you could not step forward or backwards or side to side.

I joined a girl, Nicole, to downstairs to hang around before Shabbat lunch. Then Julianna came in with someone from the services. She and I sat together during lunch along with a couple of guys from Buffalo and I think, Westchester. I was able to follow a little better as I took advantage of several quiet moments. We did Kiddush and feasted on same appetizers as the night before. Our main course was chicken schinztel, potatos in brisket stew, and some kind of kugel. I liked the lunch better especially that chocolate/vanilla soy ice cream was served for dessert. We talked on several topics including our family trees and where our families came from before America. The only annoying part was the son of one of the rabbis had sat across me and kept kicking me. Of course, I kicked back hard to get him to stop but being mischievous he was, he kept going. Julianna tried to scold him in Hebrew, then, his parents made him elsewhere. Ugh, don’t little Jewish boys ever behave?

After lunch, we broke up into discussion groups. It was okay as my group discussed Esther and the Purim. Our leader read an article that was recently printed comparing the Purim story to the current Middle East situation. Okay, whatever. She did tell us a bit about how Purim is celebrated in Israel.

We did a Shabbat walking tour of Tsfat. I visited the synagogues that I had been in and walked the same paths as I did on birthright. I just mostly listened to the conversations around me. I met a guy who’s a graduate student from San Francisco and so we talked a little bit. Then I met Jenn and just as we were heading back to the hotel, some guy in our program came up to us and told us of what happened to him last night. He said that he only got two hours of sleep because he partied and got so drunk that he just punched through a window without thinking. Then one of the rabbis found out and woke him up at 5 AM. I asked him where he was from and he said Canada. Go figure.

I played cards with Becca and Ellen. I’m glad that Ellen remembered her cards as I forgot to bring mine from home. Then we had a light Shabbat dinner- the pasta they served was soooo good. I also exchanged numbers with Liora.

We got back on the bus and left around 7:30. Jerusalem greeted us at 10:45 PM, an hour earlier than I expected.

Archeology and Yad Vashem

Today, in class, we took a mini field trip to an archeological park to do a “dig for the day.” The lecturer spoke about Mount Moriah, where Temple Mount once stood. The focus of this program was to collect the archeological objects from this area. Actually, all the dump were removed from the site so we were not actually on Temple Mount. This was a bit of a controversy between the Jews and the Arabs because Temple Mount is now a mosque for them. The Muslims didn't want their cultural icon to be examined and touched because of the cultural signifiance. I agreed with the Muslims- it's the same idea that the U.S. had with the Native Americans- did we have the right to remove parts of their cultural history? As pretty the objects might be in a museum, I just don't feel comfortable. That's why I don't really go into the Native American Museum in DC very often- only with friends who want to check out the cafeteria.

What was interesting was that the lecturer switched back and forth from Hebrew to English to help us learn Hebrew. Afterwards, we went into another part of the tent to see a huge area of tables and buckets filled with digs from the site. We broke up into groups and each took a bucket. Essentially, we were helping the archeologists to find pieces of glass, pottery, bones, mosaics, and so forth within these small rubbles of stones. It was obvious that the site held beautiful architecture because the stones were of different colors ranging from white to reddish to pinkish. This is what people call the Jerusalem Stone- very hard to touch but beautiful to look at. You cannot quite find anything else like this elsewhere. I worked with Melissa, who enjoyed the whole process very much. I had already done this in the Negev on my birthright trip- that was a lot more exciting because we got to go into caves. Here, it was just in a tent! The park is situated in south of Hebrew University campus in the valley. We did have to climb down the muddy valley to get here- our shoes were caked with mud. I got a good laugh in watching people in front of me trying to pick up their now-heavy sneakers. I wore my rain shoes, fortunately.

The weather here certainly is not any better than what my loved ones are experiencing in New York. We get a lot of rain here and it’s just awful to walk around in because everything is slippery. I have been wearing my raincoat and rain shoes since Sunday. Not only do we get damp weather but also bone chilling winds. I should not be surprised that we get a lot of wind up here because we are on a hill. Same situation as Colgate! I do question myself sometimes if I really want to go to the downtown… if the wind would be any better to walk around in…

After class, Melissa and I dashed off to catch Bus 23 to Yad Vashem. It was a 45 minute ride- very uneventful. When we arrived at Yad Vashem’s gates, a cab driver offered to give us a free lift to the museum since it’s about a ½ mile walk to the actual building.

Yad Vashem is a complex filled with memorials. While the history museum did go through major renovations in 2005, it is not quite the center of the place’s attention. This is Israel- this state rose out of the ashes of the Holocaust. There is a Children’s Memorial, Partisans’ Panorama, Monument to the Jewish Soldiers and Partisans who fought against Germany, the Garden of Righteous Among the Nations, the Cattle Car as a memorial to the deportees, and my favorite and the most powerful memorial I have ever experienced- the Valley of Communities. The Valley of Communities is literally dug out of the bedrock to create canyons with its walls engraved in all Jewish towns and cities that were affected during the Holocaust- including those that disappeared off the map. The extensive list of places is mind-bogging because it is difficult to believe that the Germans really came and conquered all these little towns, effectively destroying the Jewish life there. Even if a Jewish victim’s name was not recovered but it is at least a memorial to all Jews. Yad Vashem sits atop Mount Herzl, overlooking a valley of settlements. The view is just breathtaking and brings the person to reality that they are in Israel, a Jewish homeland, a Jewish haven.

The history museum was certainly not what I expected. The building is shaped like a triangle. When I entered, I immediately felt a bit disoriented with the walls coming to an upside down “V” shape with a skylight for the narrow ceiling. The view to the other side was there but a person cannot go straight to it until she makes a zig-zag between exhibits that branch out from the sides. There are different obstacles in the middle such as tv screens displaying the start of the Nazi regime and a display of banned books. Basically, visitors weave in and out of the exhibits. The set up told a narrative story of the Holocaust starting with the President Hindenburg’s appointment of Adolf Hitler in 1933. The aesthetics of the museum surprised me since all the exhibits were very well light- no darkening spots to lower the visitors’ morale. There were a lot of pictures and tvs showing video clips from those days speaking in Hebrew with English subtitles. I was very much drawn to the testimonies and new information that I had not seen at the US Holocaust Museum. Yad Vashem’s design reflects its concern for the arts as many images of the ghettos and concentration camps were actually pieces of artwork done by the victims. Everything from the photographs to artifacts to drawings to information boards were arranged carefully in an artistic fashion with lots of thoughts put in. While the visual effects were very pleasing and reflective of the museum’s modernization, the content and choices of testimonies overwhelmed me. I was not bothered by pre-1939 material but once I browsed through the ghettos’ beginnings, I started feeling the pain. I must say upfront that there were very graphic pictures of starving children in the Lodz ghetto and testimonies of how the survivors’ family members died of hunger. I felt absolutely disgusted by the descriptions and images- the children’s frail bodies rivaled those who are starving elsewhere in the world today. The exhibit on the Germans’ march in the Soviet Union left me slightly speechless as one woman described her near death experience of the pit. As a seven year old watching her grandmother and aunt getting shot, she could not forget how the Germans could still hear the screaming and crying from those they missed while firing with automatic machine guns and proceeded to shoot down the pit until all were quiet. If anything, these parts were the museum’s biggest strength.

The concentration camps were not as bad. The exhibit displayed a great wall of names as an example of a roll-call roster. Posters of different countries reminded the visitor of the sheer number of countries affected by the deportation process. In the beginning of this particular exhibit, to your right, a display of 16 different artworks depicting the concentration camp life by various artists (created in 1943-1944). They were absolutely beautifully done and well-preserved that they could have been done recently. In addition, the museum had portraits of different people’s lives and told of how they lived during the Holocaust. For this particular artistic section, it used the artists’ self-portraits for pictures and told of how the artists hid their artwork, mostly burying underground, from the Nazis and to save for the future generations. More than often, the artists or their spouses survived to return to find these pieces. As an artist, I could very much appreciate their efforts and artwork. Yad Vashem also has an art museum devoted to the Holocaust art in which I shall return to see it. I simply had never seen so many original artworks in a Holocaust museum. Anyway, in the later part of the concentration camps area opened my eyes as there were several small television screens with testimonies and different walls representing the major camps. I stood there for quite some time to watch the survivors talk about their experience when they got off the train to the separation line. One survivor talked of how she and her sister attempted to hold their siblings and to stay together. One guard stopped her and gave her a long, gazing look and then separated her from her family. She was sent to labor while her family perished- such a close call. As I made my way around, I stopped halfway through my step when I looked down to see a pit with glass over it. The pit was filled with shoes.

The next exhibit was about liberation and the end of the war. Yad Vashem did not show anything about the actual concentration camp experience- no stories of back breaking labor and food stealing before the next room displayed the death march. Yad Vashem set up the death marches area like a cemetery with black headstones blocking your way through. You had to dodge like you would on a death march around fallen bodies. There were also testimonies about it. I thought the presentation was terrific- emphasizing the horrors of these desperate attempts to survive to see the war’s end and to kill before the war’s end. It made me feel like I have really overlooked this particular subject.

By the last room, I was seriously speechless and overwhelmed by the museum’s power to drain all the life out of the visitor. The last exhibit, while supposedly joyful with liberation and freedom after the war, struck home for me. I watched this large screen television of a woman describing how the Holocaust deeply affected her. She said, “I went to the gynecologist and he told me that I was three months pregnant. I jumped off the table like a madman and asked him if I was really pregnant. The doctor told me yes and then I broke down crying and pleaded him to do an abortion. I would pay him anything to have one. He said that he did not do abortion. I told him that I could not bear to hear a baby cry. I heard so many babies cry at Auschwitz. Then I went home and put a towel over my belly and then put a hot iron over it. It didn’t work. For the next few months, I did everything I could to have a miscarriage so I would not have to hear a baby cry. When my son, Moshe, was born, I told him that Mommy would tell him everything that happened to her. I never did tell him.” Just to hear this particular story of how deeply affected she was by her Auschwitz experience and how it made accepting her motherhood so difficult made me cry. How could you not want to have children after six million Jews were killed? She did go on to have some more children.

I found the Hall of Names on my way out. When I read about it in my guide, I gasped as I looked around the circular room. The bookshelves were lined with black binders filled with worksheets that Yad Vashem developed to record testimonies. I had no idea how many there were but somehow all the binders reminded me of how many people were involved in the Holocaust. I pretended that these binders were simply filled with names and imagined that all six million names were in there….

Not once did I look back as I walked my way out to the beautiful valley ahead of me. The scenery held a trance over me. You see a small civilization a bit ahead of you as an allusion to Israel’s birth after the Holocaust… a new beginning. Visions of the Holocaust overlapped in my brain as I stood outside… all the horrors, the screaming, the pain… How can that place be so intense inside when the outside is so tranquil? It felt like an adrenaline rush. How could “I” have survived those terrible years and then still be alive? That’s the feeling that I was experiencing.

Melissa and I headed back with our stomachs feeling like they’ve been punched hard. I was so overwhelmed with feelings that I could not describe my experience at Yad Vashem immediately. I rode the bus… then a cab (after a cranky, tired bus driver told everyone to get off after 10 minutes on the bus), then to my room where I laid there for 15 minutes. I did not feel hungry at all for dinner. I had never experienced this kind of heaviness, not even after my first and second trips through the Permanent Exhibition at the USHMM.

Later, I went to an Ethiopian event with my friends about the Ethiopian Jewry in Israel… I did not pay much attention as I was still distracted by my visit.

Working it through the week

Basically, this week, I decided to take an easy since I have been busy traveling and will be traveling again this weekend for some major excitment. The Jeff Siedel Student Center is hosting a trip to Tsfat along with skiing all day Friday at Mt. Hebron! It's only for 200 shekls- or $50 for lodgings, food, transportation, tour around Tsfat, and all the meals. Pretty sweet deal for skiing and a Shabbat in Tsfat. I know it's going to be soooo amazing since Tsfat is where Jewish mysticism began. I'll tell a lot more once I come back.

Yesterday, I met with David Bankier, my professor for Contemporary Holocaust Issues. We had lunch (which was a bit surprising for me considering that this is a huge university and the reputation for professors being scarce.....) in the meat cafeteria. I stuck with a tuna salad since like I said earlier, everything looked rather unhealthy. We discussed a possible internship with Yad Vashem. When he told me that I wouldn't be working at the museum since it's a hour long bus ride and he doesn't want me to bother with it, he'd give me some translation proofreading work. Only because I'm fluent in English. We decided to meet again in two weeks since he wanted more time to think about what I could do and to bring me some examples. When I left, I didn't know what to do with myself. It wasn't what I had expected but I had to remind myself a couple things:
1) From my experience at USHMM, translators and proofreaders are always needed for making foreign language works accessible to the English speaking public. For Israel, the language is Hebrew and the people need English speakers so they can publish things for the readers of English.
2) The Army's attitude is: Even if the job isn't what you wanted, it's still important, you're still doing something for the state.

My new friend, Melissa, seemed to think that I should do it anyway because it's Yad Vashem. She worked the USHMM as an intern in the spring before I first started so she understands.

I took a spinning class last night. It was.... different. It was good but just different. First, the instructor (a female) shut off the lights and turned on the disco ball and its lights so it's basically like a disco/dance floor. The spinning bikes are different- which made my ride a lot more challenging that I was literally sweating like a pig within 20 minutes and dying after 40 minutes. Also she switched around a lot of different music (which was very good and really upbeat) and mostly concentrated on long, steep hill intervals. Not my favorite thing as I like to stand on the bike. What was also surprising was that the front desk told me that I had to pay 10 shekls and book in advance. They let me get away with it but I still owed them 10 shekls (I don't bring money with me to the gym). Well, overall, I thought the class was worth taking only maybe once a week or just a couple times a month, not twice a week every week.

Tomorrow, Melissa and I are going to Yad Vashem!!! Expect a good post.

The American Media Lied to Me.

Nothing eventful has happened since Saturday. But I did do a bit of thinking of my life here. During Shabbat lunch, Shlomi’s friend asked Shlomi why did he move back to Israel when he had a good life in America. I also met up with his daughter, Anat, and her friend. They gave me some perspectives on the realities of the Israeli life, particularly in Jerusalem. I am also still thinking about how much Ruhi, an old friend from Smith College, changed when I ran into her last spring. She had gone abroad to Israel in the previous fall (2005) and it was very odd. Before going, she was so excited at the idea of returning to her homeland and to be around other Jews. When I saw her, she really sobered up and would not talk very much about Israel. She went to Beersheva though- very different from Jerusalem.

Life is very hard here. You can’t argue with me over everything because those matters have become trivial. They are not as important as other issues. The most important thing to the Israelis is that they are alive each and every day. The country is still very much a third world so a lot of things that came easy to me in America have become frustrating to deal with. For example, my bone scan is impossible to get done. Linda gave me the correct medical terminology and I told the x-ray people what I exactly needed before my appointment later in the day. They told me that I was at the wrong place and would need a doctor’s form. I could not believe it. A hospital, attached to the medical school, has no bone-scanning technology. I did receive a number to the place with the technology somewhere else in Jerusalem. By the way, it's for my stress fractures that I got from my marathon training.

It’s just not medical technology that’s sporadic but simple things that we take for granted such as the Internet. It takes the company over a week to get their customers registered. Additionally, any technology help for my computer seems to take forever. Israel is certainly not technologically advanced as one might expect from its powerful Army’s tools. People also conserve power because back in the 1970’s, according to Anat, the government imposed a million little rules about what people could do and could not do in terms of using water and electricity. Nowadays, people foot their own bill in which they have full control over. When I was at the Bachs’, they kept their lights low around the apartment, leaving the only light over the dining table on. Also, their apartment was not as warm as one might expect in on a rainy night. The source of electricity tends to be gas. I do not think I’ve been in a warm place since I left Spain.

When I travel through Jerusalem, I often think about how I am not enjoying it as fully as I expected. I would certainly compare the environment to New York City back in the early 1990’s before the city really cleaned up in the last five or so years. The city, particularly East Jerusalem (which I had go through a bit of it for my trip to the U.S. Consulate), is not clean. But unlike New York, it does not stink, fortunately. The dirt and the fumes from the traffic penetrate into the old stones all around. You would need a very strong power hose to make the stones on Agrippas Street very clean and beautiful. The city is not lovely to walk around but its winding streets do make it interesting to explore. Once you move out of the arteries of the East, the West, and the Old City, you do come face to face with beautiful scenery and more green, open spaces.

The whole city is filled with the Army guards doing security check, particularly for cafes and restaurants. Wendy and I were even stopped for jaywalking on Jaffa Street by two guards. So with the huge security presence, environmental and conflict issues, and the general attitude of the people, this is certainly a country in a state of war and still struggling to move out of its third world status. Anat said that her international relations major would not let her to study Israel until her final year because it is such an emotional and heated topic. I suppose that for the best comparison to this would be America and the war on Iraq. Same idea even though the Americans do not exactly live in the same kind of state of war but there is still the same amount of intense frustration towards the government. Even personally, I have such strong feelings towards my country’s president that I cannot speak of it in a debate in a rational manner. Being a centered person, this is one of the reasons why I cannot imagine myself taking such an emotional international relations course. I did take a history course on international history with the U.S. as its focus but we never touched upon the current events in a serious discussion. I liked it that way- be able to study my country in an international perspective when things are done and over like the Vietnam War.

I think that Ruhi was probably mostly disappointed by the fact that 60% to 80% of Israelis are secular, not religious (if they were, it’s usually orthodox). Israelis either keep Shabbat or kosher, or both. I do think that the Shabbat practice is more prevalent since it pretty much governs the country’s Friday night/Saturday. I am really surprised by this fact too- this certainly made the American Jewry appear more religious!

It is not to say that I don't regret coming to Israel. But this is a warning that the birthright Israel program really does shelter its participants from the country's difficulties and realities. It's marketing, after all. At the same time, I don't regret going on that trip- it's made me more adventerous!

Weekend in Tel Aviv

I just spend the weekend in Tel Aviv.

Yesterday morning, I picked up some pasteries from the bakery down the street for Linda and Shlomi as a little gift for letting me to stay over for Shabbat. Then I hopped on the group bus to Tel Aviv. The ride was quite uneventful. Once we got to Tel Aviv, the bus drivers got a little lost trying to find this place to drop us off. It was really awkward, especially that the neighborhood that we were going through wasn’t exactly nice and looked a bit ghetto like in downtown Rochester where Alexander and Union streets are.

We walked to this hill that gave a really nice view of the city of Tel Aviv. It was so beautiful to see the Mediterranean waters. I also realized that we walked on grass on this hill and I began wondering what was the last time I walked on grass! It was just an amusing moment for me. Then our tour guide gave us a history lesson of Jaffa and how this area used to be under ancient Egyptian control. When he said that “we were sitting on the ruins of the Egyptians,” all of us must’ve been thinking the same thing (“We’re sitting on a bunch of dead people!?”) because we all laughed aloud and said “ew ew ew.” It was really hard to imagine how huge the Egyptian empire must’ve been if it extended all the way up to Tel Aviv. Then he showed us some ancient ruins. Because of a massive earthquake during the anciet times, much of the ruins around Jaffa collapsed. Also, people back then did not care much for architecture as we do today so the Romans slashed and burned down the entire city as so did Napoleon. Yes, Napoleon actually invaded Palestine. There are actually comical statues in the old Jaffa square of a French military officer holding an arrow sign “Historian Information.” Napoleon came but did not exactly conquered the city because he was losing control in other parts of Europe and he wasn’t interested by what he saw. After Napoleon, the Ottoman Empire took over. They built old Jaffa as it stands today with stones and built housing and a church.

After some people used the bathroom nearby in which they had to pay 10 shekls for, we went down to the actual part of the city. It reminded me a lot of Toledo and the Old City with lots of narrow alleyways and steps. There was a cat that almost followed us down- I think he was kind of hungry. At the end of this pathway, we came face to face with the Mediterranean Sea. Then we walked for probably a mile or so to the south of Tel Aviv. The guide finished up his history lessons by telling us of the division between Tel Aviv and Jaffa. The day was beautiful with lots of sunshine warming our faces.

Finally, he led us to Ha’Carmel market area where people could grab food and do a little browsing before leaving. I was too busy calling Linda to really pay attention what was going on but it was good that I followed some of my classmates. I ended up with Jessica, Ben, and his friend Josh to a restaurant. I almost freaked out because I thought they needed to go back within 10 minutes. They said they were staying in Tel Aviv. The restaurant was okay- pizza wasn’t great as it is in America.

After lunch, we all split off… I wasn’t expected to be desert. Jessica didn’t seem so interested in making sure that I’d be okay (even though she knew that I had NEVER been to Tel Aviv) and the guys went off in another direction on their own. So I was left alone in middle of this busy marketplace. Linda had said it was fine if I wanted to stay in Tel Aviv for a couple hours when I told her that she didn’t need to pick me up because I was having lunch. So I decided to make the most of my time in the city.

Ha Carmel market is in a very busy pedestrian area with security fences. Merchants and artisans set up their tables to sell their goods. I saw several street performances including a salsa dance, a Mexican band, and something else. Each performance in different areas drew a lot of people, upwards of 40-50 crowded around to see free entertainment. I did not want to stay for very long as I felt that if I am in a busy area in Israel, I must keep moving around to be safe. I also had my guidebook out (Thanks again, Aunt Nancy!) to see what was nearby and to look at the map. It said that Ha Carmel interacts with Allenby and King George streets, and these streets make up some of Tel Aviv’s best shopping area. I went out of the market to see Allenby and then began walking down south since I thought I’d like to see Independence Hall. As I walked along, I suddenly remember Max Brenner’s, a very good chocolate shop. I got some directions from several women and luckily, I was in the right direction!

Allenby Street did not certainly remind me of anything. After several blocks away from that busy interaction, it became a little quieter. I noticed a lot of Russian signs- I’m surprised that I still remembered how to read in Russian! I even walked by a bookstore called “Halper’s Books.” Close enough. Unlike Jerusalem, the street was lined with trees. By this point, the sky had turned slightly cloudy. If it would rain eventually, I had better not waste time wandering into stores! I kept on walking to Rothschild Boulevard, a gorgeous street that housed one of Tel Aviv’s first neighborhoods. The avenue had a green strip in the middle where people could walk in between cars like the Avenue of Americas in Madrid. It had the first stoplight, the first coffee shop hut, and the first water tower.

I finally reached Max Brenner’s- only about two blocks away from Allenby and Rothschild interaction. It was actually a restaurant! So I went in and checked out the menu and decided to have something. I ordered a cappuccino with milk chocolate and read my book. The place had quite few children… including two women with a 8 month old baby next to me. I shouldn’t be surprise as children love sweets like this. I want to come back here to try the hot fudge sundae. The little box that my check came in said “Money for Life, Chocolate for the Soul.” I noticed that the place tacked an extra shekl and I asked the waiter about it. He said for the security. So it was not a tip so I went back to the table to leave a tip.

Then I walked back up on Rothschild to find the Independence Hall. It was nowhere to be seen, not even this other building with a monument. Puzzled, I stopped a woman (which I probably shouldn’t have…). She was a little crazy but seemed to really want to practice her English with me because she held me a little longer than I wanted and kept asking what would the Hebrew equivalent and what other English words I could use to describe “Independence.” Finally, I got rid of her by staring off at this coffee shop hut and told her that I’d rather try someone else with better English. After no such luck there, I resigned myself to walking back up on Allenby. The guidebook mentioned that Gordon street had some high-end designer stores, including American designers (I was thinking Ralph Lauren…). The walk was long but very, very worthwhile because it literally stretches from good part of southern Tel Aviv to the most northern part of Tel Aviv worth exploring (after there are residential neighborhoods and then Tel Aviv University). I was really amazed by how much Russian I saw on the way. I even stopped in a Russian market to see if they had any of the candies that I liked. Oh, also Allenby turns into Ben-Yehuda and this is actually Tel Aviv’s main line. Once I reached Gordon street, I walked down there. Hmm nothing. Even though it was after 4 PM, I still wanted to check the area out. Then my book said to go down to Dizgenoff Street, two or three blocks over on Gordon from Ben-Yehuda, which was supposedly be filled with designer stores. So I walked back down south. I saw a few things including Lee and a jeans store selling DKNY, Diesel, and few other city brands. I had enough and even though Tel Aviv “never stops,” stores were closing up soon. So I called Linda for her to pick me up. While I waited, I walked down the tree-lined street a bit further to see the city center. Oh wow, this is interesting. There was a large, raised platform with a water fountain that had all the traffic going underneath it. It definitely reminded me of Dupont Circle with entrances from many different directions leading to this fountain and benches all over. You could see some of Tel Aviv’s high rise buildings here. Around the area were pavilions for outdoor dining for some of the restaurants. It was a pretty cool sight. If I was here during the summer, no doubt about it that I’d be hanging out here to read my books!

Linda picked me up and took me back down to Rothschild when I told her of my difficulties. She showed me the sights and gave me a little history lesson of Tel Aviv in its early days. Then we drove back to the kibbutz where Shlomi, Maa’Yan and her boyfriend were hanging out in the living room. I was really happy to see Maa’Yan again- I liked her a lot because she’s sweet and helpful in giving me her perspective since we’re the same age. Then Maa’Yan and her boyfriend went off to his house for Shabbat (I was kind of disappointed that she wouldn’t be joining us). Ofir, the son, came home from his soccer game. The four of us sat around for Shabbat enjoying some chicken soup, chicken with cherry sauce (Linda was big on celebrating Tu Be’Shevat), some potatoes, and Israeli salad. We discussed a lot of NFL since Super Bowl was on Sunday. After dinner, we watched an Israeli satire show. It was a mix of Saturday Night Live and Jon Stewart. They impersonated Condi Rice, the Syrian president, and this famous Israeli musician who would not stop playing his guitar, even after a security guard took it away. Then he would take another one out. It was pretty amusing even though it was all in Hebrew. In the left bottom corner, there was actually little window for a woman signing the Israeli sign language!

This morning, Linda, Shlomi, and I went for a walk to see more of the kibbutz. I saw the mini-market and the dining room. They also showed me their real house where we saw the occupant frantically packing his stuff. The situation’s really amazing. This guy had put in a lot of money in his new house, which I saw a few minutes later, and he was frustrated with the slow construction project. The new house had a small second story with skylights in the bathroom over the Jacuzzi (according to Linda). He wants to move his family in there ASAP and so do Linda and Shlomi into their old house (Long story of how this came to be…). After chatting with the guy, Linda and I continued on to see the fields. She showed me where they plant winter wheat, harvest grapefruit, and picked avocados. Since a storm recently passed, many ripe avocados had fallen onto the ground so Linda picked up about 12-15. Even though the kibbutz grew food for the community, they still sell it to the public. They would not take avocados that had fallen to the ground. I still couldn’t understand why, even if they were perfectly good. Finally, we saw the horses! They were mostly beautiful, healthy Arabs- certainly not surprising since they originated in the Middle East. Unfortunately the horses would not come too close to the fence because it was electrical. But I did manage to reach out to touch a few.

For Shabbat lunch, we went over to another family’s house. Linda thought I should describe this whole affair as watching a reality tv show. This was how Israelis lived and socialized. The husband worked in the kibbutz’s family while the wife, from Bulgaria and rolls everything that she said, was a high school biology teacher. Everyone spoke mostly in Hebrew but that was fine since I wanted to listen and to learn. The conversations ranged from why Shlomi wanted to come back to Israel after having a good life in America to the current trial of an Israeli soldier accused of sexual harassment to the war to how the Army was dealing with a big problem of Maa’yam’s generation being liars to get out of chores to dominant/recessive traits in genetics (that was mostly the wife). They talked about everything that you could possibly imagine over the span of 3 hours. We also had a huge lunch of soup, salad with lots of appetizers, chicken/salmon with potatoes, and some dessert. Linda and Maa’yam tried to translate what was going on. I also learned that whoever could yell the loudest has the claim to be right in a debate. The host family didn’t speak very good English so they spoke with very heavy accents and slowly. Nevertheless, they were just a lot of fun and very loving even if there was a lot of good yelling going on. Israelis do debate with lots and lots of passion. I think they could outdebate my high school self when I used to debate a lot…

The kids- Me, Ofir, Maa'Yan, her boyfriend

Me and the hostess (rather affectionate..)

My "adopted" Israeli parents- Linda and Shlomi

Then Linda took me back to the bus station for a bus ride back to Jerusalem. Very uneventful except for the fact that it was absolutely pouring out once I got to the station. When the security showed me where Bus 23 stops were, I thought, “Hell, I’m not walking in this pouring rain with my sneakers.” So I grabbed a cab. It was worth the $7.50 fare back to Mount Scopus. Especially that the bus ride was only $4.