"That was some strange trip!"

So said my dad when I came home. "You were this low, then this high, then this low..."

I nodded. As much I really hated to leave Israel, I just had enough for this year. Everyone who knew about my trip this year (or at least almost everything) could understand the situation of how I was feeling and why I wanted to get back to the States. I also really wanted to get my hands on my credit and debit cards! (Which are now activated and safe in my wallet.)

The last day was extremely hectic. I got up early again (annoying my roommate once again) to do my laundry so I wouldn't have to deal with doing laundry and I needed to roll all of my clothes in order to fit everything in my duffel bag. Then I went to class and learned a few new things. Somehow I felt that I had made peace with Naomi or something. She handed me my essays back and said, "Well, I didn't think you were doing anything in the last few weeks but you're actually doing good work!" I looked over the essays, there were some corrections but not as many as when I was finishing up Yiddish at Michigan. I noticed that I had improved my word order in my sentences and using proper cases (accusative versus dative). But my verb patterns were still off. I was happy! I was able to do decently in Yiddish while having a blast in Israel! I said that I would try to get the essays re-written this afternoon before I head to the airport (which I never did because time flew by too fast while I was trying to prepare to leave). I also told her that I was glad that my Yiddish reading and writing improved because I was getting daily doses of Yiddish for the last few weeks. Now I feel a bit better about moving on in Yiddish, taking my hand at the rest of texts that I have that I can practice for the month of August with Zev. Naomi was a good teacher, she's just mellow and easy-going.

During break, I went to the bookstore to pick up my copy of Night by Elie Wiesel in עברית!

After class, I met up with my old high school classmate, Mike, for lunch at Aroma. It was fun talking with him about Israel and what we're doing nowadays. It was just kind of weird to see somebody from Rochester here in Israel. Maybe that's just me to see any American in Israel on a visit. It's like, okay, our topics are going to have to be based on how many times and how long you've been in Israel.... This was his first visit back (I think) since our birthright trip in 2005. Certainly a lot has changed since!

Then I went to the office to check out. I needed to meet Shiri at 2:30 and by then I was getting to be late. The staff member said that he could meet me in my room at 3:30 but not later than 4. Dammit! So I called Shiri and tried to explain the situation. But it all ended up with me just walking over to the dorms while letting her just park at the mall and wait for me there. Once I got the dorm thing all checked out, I went over to the mall to meet Shiri.

We grabbed some late afternoon snacks- her some soup and bread and I with my last cup of iced coffee and a scoop of gelato. It was funny when she gave me a strange look when I made my order in Hebrew because she had expected me to speak English. She couldn't figure out what I was saying when I said gileda to the waitress (who was awful by the way).

After we said our good-byes, I picked up a few things around the mall for my family. I would've liked to bring back one of the cakes but my suitcase was getting tight.

I went back to my room to finish packing. Man, it was so hot and humid that I was literally sweating the whole time. I couldn't be bothered to shower at all because I would just sweat again.

The whole afternoon just flew that every time I looked at my watch to determine my next move, it was already getting closer to my departure time- 7 pm! I wanted to catch the 7:40 train to the airport so I'd get there at 8:05 to start standing in the line.

But problems with the guard ended up costing me some time. He didn't want to hold onto a bag of things that I had for the Ravids to give back and Shlomi called back at the same time. So I got the two of them connected and Shlomi won the argument. I took the digital camera out and left everything else with them.

Then I got my bags out of the dorms. Oh my god, the pink duffel bag was way, way, way too heavy! It was not close to 50 pounds but certainly heavier than 30. I had a little help getting it down the stairs to the curb. There, I waited for the bus. But I was getting anxious and began looking for cabs too. I eventually flagged down one.

The driver looked at me and my bags and said, "25 shekels." I looked at hime, pleadingly, "Give me a break, please, I'm trying to get to the airport!" He shrugged and said, "well you're putting these in my car! I can't do less. But I can take you to the airport." How much? "130 shekels." I shook my head. It was comical at that point because the two of us were just standing there, having a stand-off. Then I said, "Fine, I'll wait for someone else then." He began walking towards his door and looked back, "Okay, if that's what you really want..." Then I muttered, "oh fine, just get me to the train station for 25 shekels." He put the bags in the car. Off we go.

In the short 4 minute drive to the train station, he learned that I was an American and that this was not my first time in Israel, that I was studying at Tel Aviv University, that I have family friends.... it was all enough for him to beg one more time if I could just please look in my wallet for anything more than 70 shekels that I had said when we first started driving. I meant to pull out the 50 and 20 shekel bills but ended up pulling out the 100 and he saw that. Then he said, "Okay, you have a 100! I'll take you for 120, beseder?" I rolled my eyes, he was actually pretty good company and I'd pay for that (as opposed to a silent driver who'd prefer to listen to music and the radio chatter). So I said, fine, take me to the airport. I was also very nervous at the thought of trying to carry my very heavy pink duffel through the station.

We had a very good chat on the way. I just had to hope that I could make it out otherwise I'd be left with 50 shekels for the rest of my stay without borrowing money. He was originally from Spain and made aliyah with his whole family 25 years ago. His family knew that they were always Jewish. He gave me some opinions about Americans and Obama. He actually liked Obama to some degree. Unlike Hadar, he agreed that Sarah Palin was a terrible choice for Israel. (I was really amazed that the Israelis knew who she was!). Israelis really loved talking about American politics as if they could participate in the US' electoral system.

When I got to the airport, I bummed around for 20 minutes before going to the first round of security. My security guard was pretty good with me, waited for the PA to be over before talking with me again. He smiled when he saw that I had been in and out of Israel 5 times (4 times from the US, 1 time from Prague). I was basically harmless. So he let me through. I went over to the counter and found at least 5 or 6 groups waiting ahead of me. When I got to the counter, they said "Stand by number 12, go behind the wall to the ticketing counter." Uh oh. I had checked the number of seats before and there were 8.... When I got to the ticketing counter, there was a family, one woman, and one guy. The one guy was chatting with the ticketing counter person. Then the woman and the family decided to leave the line for... I don't know. So I moved up. I said, "This is for Continental stand-by right?" He said yes. While the one guy was on the phone, he dealt with me. He told me, "Okay you're on stand by but I don't think your chances are very good..." I said, "Where am I on the list?" He replied, "You're number two." Then I looked at him and said, "Two? Who's number one?" He pointed to the guy who was on the phone before. He and I stared at each other almost awkwardly and said, "Oh, hi there." We almost cracked up.

I spent the waiting time eating my dinner (leftover falafels and pita and salad from Hadar), talking to Mor on the phone, and re-writing my Yiddish essays, just for the heck of it. In fact, I stayed at the table for so long that one of the security guards came over to see what I was doing and asked for my passport!

When I got back up, I began chatting with the Number One to find out his situation. He had to fly back to Mexico City for an unexpected meeting the following day. Ok, that's legit. Then again, anyone could say that. We got talking about Maccabiah games as that's what he was doing in Israel- playing soccer for Mexico. I asked about swine flu and he said, it's all true, everyone really stayed home and all the streets were empty. He blamed the US media for overblowing the whole swine flu situation. In all, it was fun chatting with him. Boy, I was having a good day meeting random people! Then the airline staff called as over. We stood there, waiting with our passports. A whole family of 5 checked in and went with security to the gate. Oh no.... not good. Then a guy claimed a medical excuse and paid up. Then there were 6 of us left on stand-by. One of the staff helping out with the seats looked at us and her supervisor, "A'hat (pointed to the Mexican guy), shaim (me), v'sholosh (the guy waiting at the far end of the counter)." I realized that there must be three seats left and they were looking for them on the map. Finally they called the Mexican guy up and after tense three minutes, they called me up. Wow. Then I went to my bag to find my credit card.... my wallet wasn't in my backpack! I looked at them and freaked out, "I can't find my wallet! It's downstairs!" The supervisor said firmly, "No, you need to get on the plane now!" I groaned a little because I had enough of losing things.... but I kept it in perspective realizing it's only 50 shekels in there, plus my parents' credit card.

On the plane, I discovered that I would be sitting next to two children, probably about 6 and 8 years old. I gritted my teeth, I didn't exactly want to be sitting next to Israeli children (who typical did not behave very well). Surprisely, they seemed to be very quiet. My seat was also a window seat so I coaxed them to take it and neither looked at me and shook their heads, nooooo way. I couldn't believe it! These children didn't want to sit next to the window??

Actually, turned out that these children were Americans as I saw them again at the passport control in Newark. So that's why they were so quiet and well-mannered....

When I waited around Newark, I felt a sense of disappointment. I mean, one minute I'm in Tel Aviv, and the next I'm in the United States.

Did I make the right decision to leave Israel? Israel never makes life easy for me.

No Pictures

I was going to take some more pictures of my visit at the Nalaga'at Center. But it's just one of those things that you just have to be there to truly appreciate what's being done in this place and how these people are so thrilled to have a community and a place to demonstrate that they can do things too.

As it was time for us to part, quite a few of the deafblind came up to me to thank me, and wish me good luck, and say good-bye. One of them, Genia, took my hands into hers and touch signed while speaking in Hebrew to say her own good bye. It was so sweet and yet, it felt a little funny to have her fingers moving around in my palms. It's something to get used to. It was absolutely a Kodak moment however to see us smiling and communicating. I only had wished that Mom and Dad were there.

The Cook of the Best Falafels in Israel Wants to Move to America?

I could barely get up for class today at 8:45 AM. I couldn't wait for the coffee break to get some tea in hopes of getting some buzz. Fail! After class, I got an e-mail saying that I had to go to the Overseas Students office to fill out some customs forms in order to get my new cochlear implant. That was annoying to think about because I was really tired and I wanted to nap! So I spent some time filling out some forms and I was originally told that it would take some time for the forms to be processed. Uh oh. The marchariah called the customs to see how to expediate the process in case I fly out on Thursday. If I could get the form in today, they would bring the package tomorrow! Good! Then I was told to bring a copy of passport. Ugh.

So I went back to the room and had a small lunch. I intended to nap for 20 minutes in order to get back to the office by 3 PM to hand in my passport. I ended up napping for an hour! I threw on my running clothes quickly, packed my little gym bag, and ran over to the office. When I'm in a situation like this, I'm always happy that I can run effortlessly! And it's quite useful! So I got the copy in and everything was all set.

Then I went to the gym to run 4 miles on the treadmill. After some quick stretches, I went back to my room to shower and dress for my train ride to Haifa.

Mor told me to meet her on the train (or "first wagon north" in her SMS... which I corrected her later as in "first car"). I got to the train station just barely in nick of time so I basically rushed through buying my ticket that later I doubt that I got right change back. And I missed 2 calls from Mor, trying to reach me and tell me that she had to get on the next train due to some problems at her station at Azrelli Center. And I had already gotten on the train. So we just ended up meeting in Haifa. I was actually slightly grateful that we missed each other because people didn't really talk on the train. So we would just have been keeping each other company.

We drove to her house and met Or outside. She had just finished her driving lessons! How excited she was to be driving! Then we went inside and I greeted Hader. I could smell the falafels cooking. Mmmm... I requested that she make some falafels because I've never been able to find good falafels as hers since I tried them two years ago at a family BBQ. We set up the coffee table in the living room so we all could eat together. I really enjoyed it.

One of the first things Hadar said, "I want to move to America. I told my children to go to America. Study in America." I was surprised. Last year she expressed no interest and complained that America was too big. I said, why all of sudden? She complained about the security situation and really fears Israel. But her husband wants to stay. I told her that I didn't like Chicago, where her uncle lives, because it's all steakhouses and pizza...but whatever. Mor and Or laughed and told me that they told their mother that within one week, she'd be back on the plane to Tel Aviv. True.... I mean, later, I mentioned that I heard from other Israelis that they felt that Israel was much safer than the U.S., and I was inclined to agree.

She was certainly all mad about me voting for Obama because "he's a Muslim! I don't like Muslims!" I pointed out that once I learned about Sarah Palin's views, I just couldn't do it. Not for women's rights. She shut up.

We tried to call Zev a few times without success so I just left a voicemail. We spent time watching the Israeli version of American Idol (Hebrew translates into "A Star Born") while eating some cake and fruit (and Or put together some ice cream...).

There was some miscommunication over whether I was staying for the night because before I had said that I could spend the night. I had meant if it was Thursday night, not when I have class the next day. So they were a bit disappointed that I was staying for a few hours... but I didn't want to get up at 6:30 AM to catch the 7:!5 AM train with Mor!

They also bought me two tops. Hadar bought a nice printed top that looked pretty good on me actually. Mor and Or shopped in Tel Aviv and got me a black dress. They admitted that they liked their mother's choice. I felt so bad, they're always giving me gifts and I never have anything for them from the States! Next time, I must get something from the U.S. for them.... hmmm....

I'm frankly surprised to hear every Israeli, as much they love and enjoy me, tell me to go home and see my parents when the heard how my summer was playing out. Yes, I was and am having a crazy but fun summer of traveling but it's important to see my parents for my parents' sake as being parents. But that's also very Israeli- family is number one, family come before friends.

A Day with an "Old Lady" and old friends

I got up early this morning to catch a ride with Shlomi to school to drop off my stuff. I got on the bus to Jerusalem about 9:30 so I arrived there around 10:15.

First, I walked to the shuk to get some pastries from Marizpan that I had been looking for. However, I decided to stop in a spice stall to find this Moroccan spice for Grandma. The first two didn't know a thing. The third, the largest one, had it. So I began my shopping spree for spices for me, Grandma, and Mom. I got them all, about 8 or 9 of them, for less than 1/2 kilogram per bag at about 50 shekels. Pretty darn cheap. Then I went over to Marizpan and ate some of the pastries on the way to Phyllis and Moshe's place. Uh oh, Marizpan had gotten rid of the spinach burekas because what I thought was spinach, ended up being olives. YUCK! But the pizza ones were just fine!

I managed not to get lost on the way to their apartment. Moshe greeted me and we talked for a bit while we waited for Phyllis to come up. We mostly talked about Zev's living situation and health, as well as my thesis project in San Francisco. Then Phyllis came home. We got ready to go back out to spend the afternoon together.

First, we stopped in a bookstore at a theater near them, thinking that we'd have time for lunch before her dentist appointment. We didn't so we browsed around a bit. She offered to buy me a book so I tried to find one, even though I really didn't need another book at the moment. But we found an appropriate book- The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million. Then we went to her dentist appointment and I read some magazines.

Finally, we took a cab (or two...) to the new Mamilla mall next to David Citadel hotel. Toby had told me how beautiful it was so I was curious. I was very impressed. It almost felt like walking in the mall near Stanford University in the open air, surrounded by white stone. In other words, this would what the Old City would look like if it's scrubbed down to the last layer of dirt and grime). The place was combined with residences as well so it was "upscale" as Jerusalemites described the mall. It was certainly filled with foreign stores like Nautica, North Face, Tommy Hilfinger, and coming soon, Israel's first GAP! It's not that upscale but in Israeli terms, it's certainly was. I know that the Israelis will be happy to see the Gap since they're always asking their American families and friends to bring back quality clothes.

While we walked, I could really smell the spices! I apologized to Phyllis, "I'm so sorry but can you smell the spices that I bought?" She said "Yes, what did you buy???" I explained why I got so many spices... The bags' ties weren't pulled tight enough so I had to stop at some point to get them tighter to trap the scent.

Phyllis and I sat down in a cafe to have lunch. I got some eggs- very happy to be eating them after not having had them since I left the U.S.! We had a very nice conversation about a lot of things and I appreciated her perspective as a long-time Jerusalemite and occupational therapist. She urged that I order dessert even though it was getting late and I wanted to be hungry for dinner. I gave in and ordered a white chocolate filled chooclate mousse cake, which was delicious. Afterwards, I mentioned that I needed to get some olive oil for Mom. So she took me to this Liv-O, a specialty store in olives and olive oil. The oil also came in a tin can, which was convinent for flying but I worried that the taste might be different. So I stuck with glass bottle and got it bubble-wrapped.

After I left much appreicated Phyllis who thanked for taking the time to spend a whole afternoon with "an old lady". I said it was not a problem at all and I appreciated spending time with her as well. I went over to the Old City to find that olive wood store to buy that horse. On my way down to Via Dolorosa, I ran into Meredith and her friend, Ted, from her program who was studying Arabic in Alexandria, Egypt. It's always so funny running into people around Israel! We tried to find the olive wood store and walked up and down the annoying steps at least 3 times until we figured out that this pair of closed doors belonged to that shop and it was closed. Maybe it wasn't meant to be!

Then we began walking towards the shuk and detoured through Ben Yehuda. There, we ran into Rebecca even though we didn't need to meet her for another 45 minutes! We all headed up to the shuk to do some shopping. I stopped in Marizpan to get 25 rugalechs as a gift for the Nalaga'at group as I was extremely thankful for them, and a few little treats for me later on. Meredith did her own shopping for a few things. Then we began walking down Jaffa, which was extremely difficult because the sidewalk was destroyed so there were lots of bumps and rocks along the way. I had a hard time looking at Rebecca and talking to her about her national service. She was volunteering in a home for Holocaust survivors and just basically being there for them. She told me how National Service worked and it sounded like a very nice option. As we walked along Jaffa to a vegetarian restaurant, I realized that the road was pretty much closed. Soon enough, I think, buses and cars won't be able to travel along this section as the light rail will take over (Phyllis thought it was all a waste of money and time).

At dinner, we all talked about the Middle East and Ted's life experiences (he's 31). It was unbelievable to hear what he had done in his 20s- gone to Colby for undergrad, went to Indiana U for MA/PhD in German but dropped out after 2 years, converted to Mormonism, went to Italy for missionary work, then he taught ESL in China, and then came back to the US to start the Middle East Studies program at U of Utah (that's how Meredith and Ted knew each other). And while living in SLC, he taught some languages, mainly German and Italian, in high school. It was enough to make me dizzy. With his degree, he hopes to work in the government even though he really enjoyed teaching and having meaningful dialogues with students. We also attempted to book a ticket for him to go back to Eilat in order for him to get back to Cairo to pick up his bags for his Wednesday flight back to the U.S. He had been traveling around Jordan and Israel in the last week... lucky him for being a guy!!! He reported that the Arab countries are loving Obama and have signs and such devoting to him like "We (heart) Obama!!!" It was shocking. Even more so, they now love Americans and treat them with more respect. I guess, finally, after 8 years, it's safe to be in the Middle East an American without getting harassed. (Ironically, I had read an article about Bush's After Life in Newsweek while waiting for Phyllis at her appointment... it was strange that we survived him.)

Then it was getting late for me as I still needed to get back to Tel Aviv. So I left the group and took the bus to the CBS. Normally, I'd walk but I was so tired that I couldn't think about navigating Agrippas and onto Jaffa. I caught the 9:30 bus and made it back to the University dorms around 11....

I'm so ready to sleep for a whole week after Friday.

Is this Rochester? No, this is Israel!

Wednesday was just another day... until I decided that I wanted to go for some grilled meat in Hakivah Quarter at Busi's. There's only one bus from Ramat Aviv to there so I got the feeling that it would indeed take a while for me to get home. The restaurant itself was just okay, nothing spectacular as the ones in Jerusalem (granted, this was my first in Tel Aviv). I just got lamb shilshik rolled in lafta bread with hummus, Israeli salad, parsley, and chips (how fancy the Israelis are to call fries "chips" like the Brits). When I waited for my bus (#7) to come, I saw so many 16 buses that I wondered if it would be more convienent if I took one of them to the CBS and get on #27 to Ramat Aviv. So I got a shreut around 9:50. I got off at the CBS and went inside to find it. Unfortunately, the last #27 was at 9 PM and the next one would be at 7 AM the next day. I sighed. Then I went out and caught #5 to Allenby where I walked quite a while to the bus stop on HaMelech George to catch the #25 or #24 back. What I thought said #24, I got on. I fiddled with my Blackberry a little. Then I decided that maybe the bus ride felt a little too logn so I looked around. Everything looked unfamiliar so I went to the bus driver and inquired if we were still in Ramat Aviv. The passenger next to me said that we had passed it a bit ago. I almost broke into tears because I absolutely hate getting lost at night because of my nightblindness. The bus driver was nice enough to write a short note on my pass to give me a transfer. I got off and went searching for the bus stop. I found one for the bus that I was on to go back. I called the Dan hotline to check out the time table. Every 30 minutes. So I decided to find out where the hell I was. Then I saw #24 zoom by in one direction perpeticular to the road I was on. So I went over to that road and looked for the bus stop. Then I found one with an Israeli guy waiting. He looked to be around 17 or 18 and spoke decent English. He was heading back to Tel Aviv so it was the right stop. As soon we talked a little, I felt much less alone. Just the presence of another decent human being made me feel a lot better because then he's there to help when I need it. Turns out he's 23 and is an university student. When #24 came by around 11:15, we got on together and sat together to TAU. Then I got off.... one stop too soon. So I actually didn't get home until almost midnight. That was probably my most scary night in Israel for as long I can remember! Yet, I knew it could be far, far worse... like what if this was in the United States where crime rates were much higher?

Then Thursday night, I got a special treat. My angel, Karen, got me and this man from Jerusalem connected. His name was Mordy. So we agreed to meet at Azrelli Center as I didn't feel like making the trip all the way out to Jerusalem, given the journey I had the previous night. So we met up on the bridge over Begin. I followed him inside and to Yohavta restaurant (fantastic, I love that place!). I noticed immediately what he could see with his current vision field. I almost felt like asking him if he needed help guiding through the mall but I stayed behind and watched out for him. I just wanted to see how comparable his vision was to mine. So we went in the restaurant and he stopped to chat with a waiter... in Israeli sign language. Cool, I thought, there's a deaf waiter here! I realized that it was perhaps the reason why he wanted to meet here instead of some cafe in Tel Aviv. We chatted for a while before making our orders. Then another waiter came by and talked to him in ISL. Two! Then we caught one waiter to take our orders but he was beng an idiot so the first waiter came back to help us out.

Throughout the next two hours, I was so surprised to see a lot of deaf waiters. Mordy counted about five or six of them. I told him that the hiring manager must have some ties to the Deaf community as it often happens in Rochester. We talked a little about our families, background, education, and so forth. He mostly used ASL and used his lips to talk. It was really challenging for me so I think I got probably at least half of what he said. I used some ASL that I could remember and talked at the same time. We talked about our connections to the Deaf culture and community. Like me, he didn't have many Deaf friends growing up due to our living environment. Now he's in Israel and has been able to connect with the Deaf community here. He said that eight of his friends had Usher's. I was excited when I heard that. We talked bit about the reasoning behind why Israel has quite a number of deafblind Jews- one of the genes traced back to an Ashkenazi Jewish community in Germany. He was from German Jewish family, and I... my family suspected that somebody on my grandfather's side had to be German because of the last name. I felt that he was opening more doors to the community in Israel and I was just amazed. It became harder for me to think about returning to the States where I'm shunned from the Deaf community for my CI. I told him that I wanted to embrace my deafness so much but with the politics in the Deaf community in the US, how could I? Like the people at Nalaga'at, he respected my oralness and CI. He understood that CI was no by means a miracle nor a solution to deafness. He had Telex when he was young but never liked it so like my friend, Jeff, he just never wore hearing aids. Also, since he was 10 years older than me, it was understandable that he probably would've have heard much about CI in the early 1990s.

On the same note about treatment from the Deaf community, I asked how was it being treated in Israel as compared to the United States. He pulled out his disability card that he shows if he needs accomodations, including riding buses for free. He felt that sometimes Israelis ignore him and make fun of him because he couldn't hear. I said, "Well, isn't it like that in the States?" I've seen it when I'm with my Deaf friends, maybe to slightly less extent. I told him that all these times I've been in Israel, I've been treated nothing but respect. He was surprised that it's one of the reasons why I love Israel and another reason was all the haggling and arguing involved in the culture. I knew that my CI gave me an advantage in being able to communicate with the Israelis, but still, there's always lip reading.

Like other deaf I've met, he hated speech therapy and said "NINE years! Nine years I was in speech!" I looked at him and said with a smile, "Try seventeen years!" He was shocked. I told him that my parents were very intent on having me to become oral and wanted to find solutions to everything. We talked about our blindness. I asked him how he got around and what did he do at night. He didn't really have any answers. I told him that it's possible to "see" at night because of memory image reconstruction from walking around a lot during the day. I didn't think he believed me, but just have to try it to believe it. I admitted to him that if I was suddenly put in a new place in the dark without having a chance to see it during the day, then I have a lot of trouble and have to ask for help. Then he asked about hiking trips on Taglit and we could just relate on that! We loved seeing the nature but hiking had become to difficult for us to handle. Then we laughed about glasses on table, running into glass doors/walls, cars, etc. He didn't really learn to drive and was happy to learn that I still could drive (with limits of course). He encouraged me to keep driving just for as long as I could. I was inclined to agree since driving was such a big part of American culture and symbolized freedom. Also, it's always good to keep a driver's license for emergencies.

Then I had to call it quits since I had to get back to do some laundry. He was sad and asked to keep in touch. I walked away from him feeling very happy about myself that I had a chance to practice some signing without reproachment for my oralness and CI. And I was finding my own group in Israel, at last.

Friday, I had class. Then I went to the beach for a couple hours. I missed the last bus to Herzliya so I had to fight with other people for shreuts in Ramat Aviv. But too many shreuts were full and there were about five or six of us waiting and then Linda called to see where I was. She decided that she'd just come over and get me. I brought her some flowers and Jerusalem Post (My guess is that she doesn't read Hebrew well enough to be able to read a whole paper from cover to cover). Anat and her boyfriend came over for dinner so it was all good time.

Today, I slept quite a bit, read the paper, ate meals, and talked with my family on Skype. While the Ravids went out to demonstrate in Tel Aviv for the protection of illegal foreign workers (mostly Sudanese) who were going to be deported, I went out for a 12 mile run. I had to do six laps around the mall, about a mile away.... fun. It wasn't so bad at first but once the sun started going down and it was getting cooler, I was very hot so it wasn't all that helpful that the air was becoming cooler! Seeing a few other runners kept me going. Oh the things I have to do sometimes to keep up with my marathon training, especially those long runs.

Not By Bread Alone

I am absolutely entranced. I'm just so speechless. Although this trip has been miserable in some respect, this has been the most amazing one as well. I mean, all of my trips to Israel have been absolutely wonderful because I'm always finding new experiences that change my perspective of Israel... all making Israel an even more beautiful place to be than ever. I have to quietly thank my department for sending me to Israel this summer even though I'm spending much more time learning from the Israeli society than in my classroom (Don't worry, I'm still learning new things from Naomi!).

So tonight, I stuck to my vow to visit the Nalaga'at Center to meet the actors. I texted messaged with Omer, the restaurant manager, to set up this opportunity and he told me to come by around 6. So I spent a few hours at the beach which was kind of iffy because it was so windy that the waves and the tide were unsually high. Then I took the bus down to Jaffa.

When I entered in the center, Omer found me and he took me to the back and said that the group was very excited to meet me. First, he introduced me to my interpreter, Feige. She became my oral interpreter although she signed ASL at the same time (which was actually helpful as I remember some of the familiar signs). So I came to a room where all the actors and intepreters sat in a circle. First, the leader covered some notes for the meeting before introducing me. She asked Omer to explain how he met me. Then I came around the room and shook with every actor's hand. Before I knew it, they started drilling me with questions. I was sure that because they're Russians, they joked that they felt like the KGB, investigating me so much. I told them it's not a problem at all. They asked some common questions that Israelis ask about Americans, then they asked me about my vision and hearing. One of them didn't know what a cochlear implant was so I went over to her and put her hand on my processor. They asked about my parents, my schooling, and of course, my travels. They were marveled that I was here alone- actually, that was their first question, "Are you here in Israel alone or with your parents?" They said that they had been to the United States twice for performances but had never heard of Rochester. I said, "Really? It's the deaf capital of America!" One asked if I walked with a cane, I said, "no" and they all went, "Mmmmm!" Another asked how much could I really see and I said, "Let's put it this way, I can't see steps or chairs." Then I was followed up with, "Well, if you can't see steps, then how do you know they're there?" I responded, "I just trip the first time!" The comment enticed some laughter and a few said that they thought they could see just as much as I could. I also mentioned that it's very scary going to a new place so I walk around a lot during the day so my feet "learn their way around." Then I go out and let my feet take me where I need to go. I feel with my feet.

Then it was my turn to ask. I asked them how old they were when they found out about Ushers or when they went both deaf and blind. Many of them had been told about Usher's probably only 5 to 15 years ago. They all told me what their limits were in terms of vision and hearing. One of them, with Usher's, fit in my profile. I asked them, once they found out, how they lived with it. Most of them said "We just live with it. You just accept it." They all expressed how happy they were and they weren't really complaining about anything.

Then they had to get ready for the show and invited me to come back afterwards. So I joined them for pre-show dinner. It was just astounding to be sitting with them, just knowing the feeling of silence because we all understood each other. We had vision problems and we couldn't look at each other and eat at the same time. One of the interpreters, Shani, came over and talked with me. She told me what some of the actors had been saying among themselves, they couldn't believe how "courageous" and "brave" I was to be traveling alone. Yes, it's true and that's why I want to see the world now before I have to become dependent. Then she told me that I should learn Braille and ASL when I can. Some of the actors eventually learned to read Braille. I asked about ASL and touch sign. I told her that I didn't want to learn ASL because I thought touch sign was a different language and I wasn't sure how it would all work if I learned ASL anyway. Shani explained that it's all the same- "you just need to be more specific". Hm, if it's certain that my efforts to learn ASL won't be wasted as my vision declined, then so be it that I should learn it when I can.... whenever I get a break from my research languages!

Fegie came back and showed me around the theater. She showed me the metal bumps on the floor so the blind could "see" where they're going. Oh fantastic. The theater was small, probably could hold about 300 people. There was a screen where Hebrew, English, and Arabic subtitles could be on display throughout the play. After everyone would be seated, they'll bring a chair in for me.

The cafe's served by deaf waiters and waitresses. On each table, there was a whiteboard, a marker, and an eraser so communication could be done. The menu had some simple signs as well. While I had a brownie and mint tea in the cafe, Omer came over with his cappaccino. We began talking. Omer's hearing by the way and just happen to land this job because they just had a position open. He had to take some Israeli sign language classes and practiced with the deaf. We talked about differences in quality of life for the deaf in America and in Israel. I said that the Israeli deaf people were so lucky that they read subtitles a lot on tv because so many shows were in foreign languages. On a different note, what about job opportunities? We also discussed the ease of technology like SMS. We talked about movies too.

Finally, it was time to see the play. I have to say that I was completely entranced by the first minute they began introducing themselves. I don't want to give away too much but they spoke for me. They talked about touch and the importance of hands. Touch from another human being made them feel less lonely. They talked about their dreams and acted them out. All this time, the bread was baking in the oven and it smelled so good. They moved so nicely across the stage (with some help of the interpreters with their positions and props). Just watching them made me feel that if I could live here for a while, I could act and tell everyone about me. A few of the actors were particular excellent in their skills that I couldn't help but admiring them for their passion of being on the stage.

I completely agreed with them on a lot of things regarding being in a "dark and silent" world. Touch's very important to me. I much prefer to living things than inanimate objects to find my way around. It's part of the reasons why I love being around horses and dogs, they made me feel less lonely, even if they couldn't talk. When they talked about their dreams, I questioned myself, "What's my dream?" I was living my dream of being in Israel but what's really my dream as a deafblind? I blanked out on that thought. I just shook my head a few times in amazement that, here, there was a small group like me right here in Israel who was already giving me so much support. Another excellent reason to make aliyah or find an opportunity to be in Israel for a year or so.

After the encore, they invited everyone to come on the stage and enjoy their bread and dip. The bread tasted fantastic as it smelled. I spoke with one actor with same level of Usher's as me. He told me that he had an experimental surgery a few years ago to help him broaden his vision field. It helped a little but not by much. He said his vision remained mostly stable but certainly on the decline since he was a child. Seeing a man in his late fifties, sixties, born with Usher's, with stable vision, gave me hope. But everyone's different.

Afterwards, Omer showed me the "Blackout" restaurant. I had to laugh when we walked in. It was seriously pitch black and it didn't matter!

Lastly, I came back in the room. They had a few comments among themselves about the play. Then I gave them praise and made some comments about a few profound moments like the importance of trust and touch. We didn't have time to talk because it was already getting so late. But they were just thrilled and invited me to come back whenever they were open. They said that their hearts were open for me and I had become part of their family. They couldn't stop smiling and almost everyone came to give their thanks and said good night. I talked with one of the interpreters who was serving in the army for national service. I told her, that this has to be better than doing the computers (intelligence work)!

They sent a cab for me and took care of the fare. I left... still entranced.

Miracles

Yesterday, I went down to Jaffa to find this bakery to grab something for lunch. First, I stopped in a liquor store to ask about this bakery but I saw that they had free maps of Jaffa. Perfect, an ancient city like Jaffa was bound to have an annoying layout of streets. Using the map, I found the bakery- Abulafia. I knew there was something awfully familiar about the stand when I approached it- I realized that they had another store just across from the beach. D'oh, the trip was unnecessary. But I got a cheese filled pastry (sort of like calzone) and some baklava. The guy who helped me obviously had a crush on me as he couldn't keep his "oh my god, you're so beautiful" eyes off me.

I took a walk along the promenade from Jaffa to my beach and it was quite nice. A little windy but it was wonderful to see the waves crashing against the rocks. Then I spent the rest of the day on the beach. While I studied the Jaffa map, I found a landmark, Nalaga'at Center. I immediately got excited because it's a center for the deaf-blind and it's open to the Deaf and blind people as well. It consisted of two different cafes- one deaf cafe and one "BlackOut" restaurant for the blind. It also ran theater performances, acted by blind and deaf actors and actresses. I made a vow to visit it ASAP.

So today, after class and a (n uninterrupted) hill running session, I went down to Jaffa to check out the Nalaga'at Center. I walked around a little and could see that Jaffa was just basically a run down city where people just lived with whatever they could get. Yet, there were quite bit of construction and I could see hints of the usual beautiful Israeli architecture. It'll look great in like...5 years. I walked along the port to find the center.

I found it. I peeped inside even though it was closed (they open on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays) out of curiosity. I saw two people signing. I looked at the material on the walls about the Center and I found someone sitting at the desk. I blanked out on my ASL and the woman offered me a piece of paper. I wrote, "I am forgetting my ASL. I am very happy that there is a place for me. I have Usher's." The woman looked at me and asked, "What's Usher's?" I quickly gave her the sign that Karen showed me last week for Usher's Syndrome. She got it. Then a guy came over and saw my CI and we began conversing (orally). I told him that I was from the States and I was happy that there's a place where I can take my parents on their next trip to Israel so they can experience a bit of my world on the blind side. I mentioned that I had Ushers. His next question was, "How much can you see?" Then we got into talking about the theater. He said that there were 11 actors, all deaf and blind and just over 50 years old. I asked if any of them had Usher's. His response? Eight of them are living with it. I was shocked. I asked how much could they see. He admitted that not very much at all. We agreed that next time I come, I could meet the actors firsthand and speak with them. He gave me his card and instructed that I send him SMS to tell him that I'd be coming.

It's a date for tomorrow night... I can't wait for Thursday night!

For dinner, I stopped at Haj Khailal's for some shwarma (READ THIS MOM) and I must say, it was a little dry (probably halal meat) but quite tasty. They put in hummus, fries, Israeli salad, and turkey in the pita and I topped it off with some cabbage. Then I went back to Abulafia's for some baklava. A different guy helped me out... and probably had a crush as he threw in an extra piece of baklava. Thank goodness that baklava in this country is practically bite sized, not a big piece as in the United States!

I was filled with endless thoughts on my bus ride home as I watched the sunset. I thought about what I was seeing at the moment and what it would mean to connect with another deaf-blind. Even if I wouldn't become legally blind for at least another 10 years or so. But to know that I could be practically blind by the time I'm 50, it's a little scary but yet, a bit urgent as I'd like to see as much of the world as I can. I don't want to wait for my retirement- what am I going to do and see if I won't see much then? I'll probably just get a horse and ride at a therapeutic center. I also thought about how could I explain to my advisor about my time in Israel when she asks about my trip (or any other professor for that matter). I mean, every time I go to Israel, the whole country is my classroom, whereas the program just serves as a filler. I mean, look at me, I'm going out and trying to meet with the deaf community, and I'm always learning from my Israeli friends about Israel.

Earlier today, while checking my e-mail at the gym (yeah, that's how spoiled people are), I saw an e-mail from the Overseas Students office saying that someone had contacted them about my wallet. I was stunned and immediately called the person who found my wallet. It took some time figuring out how the wallet could get to me. After quite bit of talking, we agreed on meeting in front of the dorms at 9 PM.

He was really late and was getting ready for his date with his girlfriend whom he was meeting up at the same time he'd meet with me. His girlfriend found me just as I was going to call him to find out where he was. Anyway, he finally showed up and handed over the wallet.

All of my money was in there. It's just too bad that my cards are cancelled!!!

So, it was a miracle that my wallet was returned to me just as I lost it in terms of money, cards, etc. It was also a miracle that I was able to find this Nalaga'at Center where, for the first time in this country, I met people who knew exactly how to communicate with me. It was also a bit surprising that my CI was receiving more attention here in Tel Aviv whereas in Jerusalem and Haifa, it was ignored. I mean, I was getting stopped several times a week now by curious people who wanted to know how I liked it and how well it worked for me...

Now, let's see about my camera....

Bad Karma? Go to the Beach!

I don't remember having such a streak of bad luck! I've attempted to change each bad luck around with some kind of compromising solutions to make my life a little more bearable. As Mom said, it's good thing that this trip wasn't paid with my own dime but my department's. No, I'm not saying that I think it was a waste of time being here. Being in Israel has never been a waste of time for me. It's just all these minor annoyances that are tripping things up on this trip.

Yesterday, I planned for a day for shopping at the Ha' Carmel shuk and the bargain piles off HaMelech George, and perhaps stop at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art if I had time before it closed. First, I went to Ha'Carmel and dropped like 50 shekels for food, including burekas for today's lunch, baklava for dessert, and labeneh in pita sprinkled with zatar for lunch. I was bad as usual... I also made a conscious decision to buy a plate and some silverware since they're cheap as well (20 shekels total for a plate, 6 spoons packaged together, and 1 knife). These household stalls were crazy about silicon, like it's the best invention ever. I also got around to buying 2 packages of 50 tea candles for Shabbat for 15 shekels (whereas in the US each bag is like 8 dollars or 32 shekels). One woman saw my CI and asked about it because her brother wanted to get one. She asked how much it costed and I said, "if it's for the first implant and your brother is qualfied, the insurance takes care of it." I mean the whole process, while it's not much of a sticker shock as a cardio surgery, it's still surprising.

Then I browsed through Ha'Carmel crafts fair. I saw some gorgeous pieces of art and I thought how great some of these would make for wedding gifts. I'm still thinking about this one particular artist for my friends even though their wedding isn't for another year. They're Jewish so I kind of would like to get them something from Israel. She said that she's there every Friday when she can. I just hope that she'll take a credit card....

I eventually made my way to the "bargain street" which is a small street off HaMelech George, two blocks away from HaCarmel that's filled with cheap-as-hell clothes. My favorite green skirt, I'm sad to say, was getting bleach spots (probably from walking around Old City and shuks in it during closing time when some venders throw bleach on the walk to clean up their messes). So I needed to get a pretty new skirt. I found two that I liked but I picked out a patterned purple skirt- it's so long that it touches the top of my feet! It'll probably get a little short after a wash. For 20 shekels ($5).

Okay, I'm going to sound a bit like one of the graduate students in my program who's addicted to crafts. I've learned to look for patterns when I'm shopping in Israel because so many pieces clothes are unique that you can't really order for more if there isn't one in your size. Like I've said way before, Israel isn't into "trends" so if you're looking for trendy Israeli stuff, it's not really easy. However, I've come to admire Or's dresses that she wears on her Facebook profile for their patterns. There are so many pretty and interesting patterns here that the style of the clothing doesn't really matter just so as long the pattern is eye-catching. Also, a lot of clothes with beautiful patterns are actually simple. In the US, I almost never look for patterns because American designers are much more into fabric and sewing detail (like v-neck, crotching, ruffles) that basic plain colors will usually do for me.

So back to reality. When I reached into my bag to find my money to pay for the skirt, it was gone. My wallet was gone! I flipped out and raced back to Ha Carmel to find it where I had stopped for a minute to adjust my purchases in my bag to keep some stuff from getting squeezed. Not there. I backtracked to a couple of stores that I stopped at on Allenby, nobody saw anything. Some people didn't understand the word for "wallet" so I called up Meredith to ask her. After getting the word, arenok, Israelis began to understand. Well, unless you're a security guard. I asked five different security guards and two cops and they were all helpless, lazy, and slightly idiotic. They couldn't be bothered to radio each other... sheesh. Then I ran into Mike, an old high school classmate and a fellow birthright participant, in the center of HaCarmel. I knew he was just in Tel Aviv but that was just totally random to see him on a Friday afternoon.... He tried to help out a little and offered to give me 200 shekels that I had lost (I supposed that he overheard me telling the guard that I had just under 200 shekels in my wallet when the guard asked what was in it). I was very, very relieved because it meant I could actually get out of Tel Aviv without walking like 5 miles back to TAU. We exchanged numbers and wished each other Shabbat Shalom. I can't say how happy I was to see a familiar face from America there.

I finally got home around 4 with all the purchases, plus stops at the supermarket and minimarket to get some food for dinner and water for the weekend (I've been such an idiot not to buy a case of 6 1.5 liter bottles for 14 shekels before when they're sold for 7-9 shekels). The market was all out of chicken so I settled for some herring and cottage cheese.

I waited around for almost an hour before someone could come to let me in my room (as I lost the key as well... which was attached to my wallet...). Finally, around 5:45, I went out for my weekly long run. The roads would get quieter and the weather would, hopefully, get a little cooler. I ran 2 miles to the HaYakron river and another 2.5 miles along the river. It was like running along the Erie Canal at home- the water was so serene. The whole run was calming, maybe it would be much more so if there weren't little kids riding their bikes and a bunch of rollerbladers around (there are people rollerblading in Israel???). I saw a camp-out by a camp as well. The run was so hot, according to the calculations, I ran in 91 degees heat index. I took it all very slowly, just putting one foot in front of the other.

I came home, showered, ate dinner.... I was really tired so I went to bed at 11:30 PM.

This morning, I got up around 9 and ate my cereal. Then I went out to Namir, the main road, to catch a sherut. Sheruts do run on Shabbat and usually they're traveling between main cities like between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv and Netanya. So I caught one that was coming from Netanya. It's so much cheaper than taking a cab- only 6.5 shekels as opposed to probably 30-40 shekels for a cab. I stopped off at HaMelech Shamuel to see the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

The museum was beautiful and very open. I really liked the architecture- how the exhibits flow from one to another that you're almost constantly in something instead of wandering down some halls. They had two special exhibits. One was "Valley on the Road to Kfar Yehoshua" by Elie Shamir. I was very impressed with his style- a bit dramatic with the colors and shadows, yet the paintings had calming demeanor about them. This one has to be one of my favorites: You can see some more of his works here. They almost feel real but yet really. They're great contemporary pieces of art. He also had about 30-40 portraits of his family members and himself. He had a few that were reflecting- meaning that he did a few portraits of him painting his subject.

The second exhibit that they had was called "The Fragmented Mirror Exhibition of Jewish Artists, Berlin 1907." I found this very interesting, especially that I took a methodology seminar last fall exploring the subject of "who" and "what" is a Jew and we're always exploring the topic of what consists "Jewish" and what makes the person or object "Jewish." In other words, just another perspective on Jewish identity. This exhibit was interesting because it's in Berlin and the folks asked 5 or 7 Jewish artists around Germany to see if it was possible to create works that wouldn't seem Jewish, or perhaps there was a Jewish style in the art? The exhibition was "reflecting the Berlin Jewish community which sponsored it, it was replete with contradictions and paradoxes: Jewish, but not religious; nationalist, but not Zionist; assimilated and German, but also with works by Eastern European Jews." Several artists chose to focus on Jewish images like rabbis and scholars studying in yeshivot and shuls or placed tiflin around men's shoulders. One artist did a portrait of several couples with young children and titled it "After the Pogrom." What struck me about that one was that you wouldn't know they had endured a pogrom except for a bandage around a man's head. I looked at the children and the wives, they looked a bit nervous and sad. The backdrop was just plain beige in color. Some other artists used urban landscape to demonstrate where they belonged as Jews. Certainly since science at the time was concerned with the concept of race, the artists wanted to see if their pieces had a distinct marker of their race. I had to say, yes, there was. Many of the people painted had similar coloring- I didn't remember seeing anyone with fair complexion. Also, from an anthropological sense, the people had certain facial features that were distinctively Jewish. So I think if I didn't know, for most part, that the artists were Jewish, I would say that they were paintings of Jews.

The rest of the museum had two or three major collections of impressionism and post-impressionism with a fair amount of modern art, with their paintings arranged in chronological order. I was surprised to see that they had at least 10 Picassos! They also had 4 Jackson Pollacks (but not those huge ones). Many of the painters were from Germany, Italy, and France, as well as few Americans. So I would say that for Israel, their modern art collection was impressive.

I tried to find posters or postcards from the temporary exhibits but the store didn't have any and weren't planning on publishing them. I was sad as I like to collect posters of works I've seen from museums that I visit. Maybe next time.

For the rest of the day from 1 to 6:30ish, I hung out on the beach. It was great and very calming. There were lots of families there so I felt pretty safe with my things. The water had very few jellyfish as there were a lot of people in there and I got stung lightly just once. The sun was indeed shining but not as intense as it could be with the temperatures around 85 to 90 with some light wind. So you could say it was a good weather at the beach. And it was a great opportunity to exfoilate my skin so now it's nice and soft!

Afterwards, I just walked around Tel Aviv a little bit. It's always really nice to walk around when the sun is going down. Especially when it's Shabbat and things were little quiet.

I do love being in Israel. I enjoy all the shopping, food, people (when they're not being schizophrenic anyway), and weather. It's a wonderful place for me to vacation and relax because I've got friends here and as a a poor graduate student, I get the bang for my buck. So I don't have to travel around South America or Thailand or something all alone. It's also a very safe place for me to travel around alone- way more so than in the US (confirmed by Israelis and Americans alike about traveling in different countries but we do all agree that Japan and China have to be the most hairy places sometimes because of the language barrier!). Why so dangerous/tricky in the US? Because it's a BIG country with lots of logistics to figure out. It's also expensive because we have no hostels here so to really get a bang for your buck, it's best to travel with a friend or two to cut down the costs. Sometimes I'm amazed at myself for being able to travel around America and that I have to be able to study public transportation maps, research different airlines and trains, and figure out where I'm going to stay that's most reasonable in terms of costs and locations.

Tomorrow- to the beach. Another full day- no classes as people are on a three-day trip in the North. I chose not to go because I've done at least 3 hikes up there. While I had good times, I really needed people to help me with hiking and doing these take up a lot of concentration energy. I'd really like for people to enjoy the hike and not worry about me because the Galilee is so pretty.

The Israelis and Sholem Aleichem

Last November or December, my advisor and I talked about what it meant to study American Jewish history and why should I study modern Jewish history anyway. She made a point that much of influence for American Jewish history came from European Jewish history. European Jews brought their traditions, culture, language, and history with them to the United States. Then they infused it with American traditions and culture to create American Judaism. None of us (American Jews) could imagine our lives without Yiddish phrases, gefilte fish, songs, shtetl, socialism, and other remnants of central/eastern European Jewish life. They brought dreams and values that they passed down to their children such as education, importance of class, and social mobility. Yes, it made sense to learn about European Jewish history in order to understand American Jewry. And sometimes if we looked at American Jewish culture first, we could nitpick what was “American” and what was not American, which then was part of the baggage from Europe.

I also wrote a paper two years ago for my American Jew/Israeli Jew: A Comparative Perspective course on “Are We One?”. I concluded that Israeli and American Jews are not one people today or have they been. I saw so many contrasts between the two communities that it’s stunning how there have been cooperation to develop programs and friendships across the Atlantic to create a relationship between American Jews and Israelis.

It struck me today while sitting in JC’s lecture on Sholem Aleichem. Mind you, I was in a class full of Israelis with several Poles and Americans. The Israelis were quite participatory with their opinions and questions in their attempt to understand Yiddish literature. Their previous questions had been mainly related to literature analysis and understanding of the language. Today, their questions were different.

Sholem Aleichem was a man who wrote for the folk, the common mass. In this manner, he glorified Yiddish while his rivals tended to write for the highly educated and urban Jewish population across Eastern Europe. One of his strategies, Sholem Aleichem often wrote with a variety of voices and situations that Jews could relate to. In his collection of short stories or episodes, one could make sense of the life and culture of the Jewish world in the Pale Settlement, may the setting be in a shtetl or a city like Odessa. Personally, I never really quite picked up history books on Eastern European Jewry, simply because of Sholem Aleichem’s stories. They’re vivid and rich with details, voice inflections, quotes and idioms, and patterns of common Jewish behavior and grammar structure. Frequent themes were always played out such as politics, religion, God, pity, and so forth. In essence, Sholem Aleichem was your window to Eastern European Jewish life but not necessarily the policies of the czar. So I suppose that if you read his stories while studying Russian history, you’ll get a pretty good grasp.

That said, this was my, perhaps, fourth or fifth discussion on Sholem Aleichem over the last five years since I first read him in JC’s class. When I read a variety of stories for today’s class, I was amazed just how familiar the framework was, even more so than I remembered. I could just hear American Jews of immigrant generation doing all of this. It was almost like witnessing American Jewish experience in a different setting. I saw so many connections in terms of themes, language, and reactions. For example, most American Jews would flinch at the thought of anyone choosing to convert out of Judaism. American Jews are now fine with intermarriage because it’s not the end of the world- they can always raise the kids Jewish and they’d still have Jewish blood anyhow. For Tevye, he practically disowned Chava when she chose to convert to Russian Orthodoxy in order to marry a non-Jew. But he accepted Hodl’s marriage proposal to a non-Jew because of his progressive, world political views that were enriching Hodl’s mind. Also, there was another story called Menchem Mendel and it’s about a Jewish man who abandoned his family in order to travel and make money through stock exchange. This story was a series of letters between him and his wife. His thirst for wealth and success as well his obsession with urban life in Odessa tied with American Jews’ search for social mobility through wealth and success, and love for big cities like New York City and Los Angeles, filled with excitement and entertainment. Who wanted to live in a sleepy town? So reading Sholem Aleichem stories brought out a lot of mirroring with American Jewish life.

Now to the Israelis. They had trouble grasping the notion of Jewish identity in Eastern Europe. They asked if Tevye’s move to Israel was because of Zionism, or was there even Zionism in Sholem Aleichem’s works? Was Tevye religious man? JC said no. Well, was he secular? If he was secular, then he must be a Zionist, right? JC said no. Then what was he? JC tried to explain that he was just a traditionalist and perhaps Sholem Aleichem was more secular than Tevye. The Israelis were puzzled- either you’re religious or a nationalist. I tried to relate to them by saying that there just wasn’t an idea of a Jewish nationalism and what Tevye inherited was from his forefathers, just all the traditions of practice and wisdom. JC picked up on that and tried to elaborate what it meant to be “just” Jewish with understanding of Judaism.

This moment struck a chord on just how our understanding of Jewish identity contrasted each other. And how my advisor was right as well another moment of confirming my thesis that American Jews and Israelis aren’t one people. As American Jews, JC and I understood all the varieties of Jewish identities and thus could relate to different Jewish characters in Sholem Aleichem’s stories and in Yiddish literature. For the Israelis, they generally categorized three different Jewish identities: the ultra-Orthodox/haredim, modern Orthodox (usually American olim and Sephardim), and secular (all the rest). The secular Israelis saw Zionism as their religion. For them, their story of Jewish identity began with the origins of Zionism and early settlement in Palestine. In America, our Jewish story generally dated back to the Pale Settlement, where most of our relatives were from. Some American Jews, especially of German origin, might reach further into the mid-nineteenth century. Also, American Jews preserved some forms of Yiddish culture over the years whereas Israelis have rejected it upon their arrival in the Land of Israel and adopted of Zionism.

Just the notion of being Jew without being secular or religious (as in Orthodox) just confounded the Israelis. It’s no wonder why they can’t understand American Jewry. If you can’t understand American Jewry, you’re not going to understand Sholem Aleichem. Or vice versa.
I mentioned this to JC after class. He responded, “They just don’t know their European Jewish history!” Very true. I began to wonder how much my Israeli friends know. I do recall them saying that when they studied European history, the only “Jewish” thing they learned was the Holocaust. If they were studying “Jewish” history, it would be the history of Zionism and Israel. If they read “Jewish” literature, it would be Zionist or Israeli literature. Anything “Jewish” they learned, it was relevant to the Land of Israel and tanakh.

It’s one of these moments that makes me very glad to be in Israel and witnessing the Israeli mindset. While I’m not going to be doing any research on Israeli history or society, these moments and my experiences in Israel in general enriches my own research and understanding of American Jewry and the Diaspora. It’s especially important when I write about the American Jewish response to the Holocaust in terms of actions in the 1940s and consciousness. I think, “What would my Israeli friends say about Israel if it was Israel, not America? What makes American Jewry different from the Israelis?” Israelis are very proud of all the aliyot, rescues to help Diaspora Jews in distress like the Soviets and Iraqis, and protection of Jews abroad as well as the Law of Return. They challenge me, “Where was America?” Then I think of the tensions within the American Jewish communities among the Jews as they negotiated their dual-identities as Americans and Jews.

Sometimes I do get exhausted of always being in Israel because I’m just far away from my family and have been missing out on some summer traditions for the last three years. But I have to remember that my visits to Israel are important in terms of maintaining my relationships with my Israeli family and friends and my perspective as an academic in order to continue bringing in material to my seminars and discussions with colleagues. Many of my colleagues haven’t spent much time in this country or cultivated friendships with Israelis as I have so I bring a lot on the table.

Oh, and the guy who asked the first question about Tevye’s Jewish identity or notion of Zionism in Sholem Aleichem’s stories? He’s a lecturer/director of the Hebrew language program at Michigan. I was stunned. I thought he had been in America long enough to understand the complexities of Jewish identity. Evidently, I was wrong.

An Angel On the Wrong Bus

I stayed a bit longer this morning to have cereal with Toby. I felt very content to be in her apartment and presence. I could feel our friendship growing that I just wanted to stay and wrap things up neatly. She's such a sweet woman that I adore her and her quirks. As I looked out to the Old City once again, I noticed something that I hadn't quite noticed before- the windmill in Yemin Moshe. Even if this apartment couldn't see the walls anymore, it could at least still see one of Jerusalem's treasures.




My day truly turned around, I think, on that 480 bus back to Tel Aviv. Since I was one of the last passengers, I ended up standing in the aisle with a few other people. Just as the bus made its way onto Highway 1, a woman passed through a couple of standing people to me and asked about my cochlear implant. We then divulged into a long conversation that lasted nearly the entire bus ride. It was as if God sent an angel to me in unlocking some doors to make my dark world as a deaf-blind a brighter place.

This woman was a mid-50s divorcee from San Diego. Her name was Karen. She was on her third trip to Israel (one 2 years ago, first one back in 1971) dong some medical volunteer work in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem with Israel Volunteers. Karen wanted to make aliyah so she was using this trip to explore different cities where she could wind up living and working with deaf children as some sort of social worker or educational professional. She had just returned from a visit with a deaf man in Jerusalem who was teaching her some Israeli sign language. She told me that it's going to be a challenge to learn both Hebrew and Israeli sign language (only 30% of the signs are American Sign Language). When I asked how she got interested in this whole Deaf business, she said it was from her experience as an 18 year old camp counselor working with blind children and there were two deaf-blinds at camp. Upon hearing this particular story, I said to her, "Have you heard of Ushers? I have Ushers so I'm partly blind and...." Then she said that particular man in Jerusalem had Ushers as well! It was as if fate met its destiny. I got her e-mail so I can e-mail her for this man's information so I can talk to him. She told me that he was very happy to be in Israel. He made aliyah from Manhattan, I supposed, a bit ago. I was amazed and in awe that he had such courage to do it as a deaf-blind. I mean, I'm still relatively lost in the world of the deaf community in Israel because resources seemed so scarce. He even had a job! (Even if it's in the post office). Finally, finally there was someone with Ushers a little older than me who can maybe give me some support on dealing with my new identity as visually impaired.

We also talked about aliyah and new immigrants' experiences, including challenges of Hebrew. I reassured her that once she finishes Bet, she should be able to function in the society. Once she gets into Dalet, she'll be able to read the newspapers. There was still a lot that she didn't know about moving to Israel and how to move forward once she's there. So I gave her plenty of helpful hints that I've picked up from living in Israel and other olim.

As we got closer to Tel Aviv, she asked if we were getting close, and I said, "Oh, yeah, it looks like we're hitting the rush hour though.... maybe another 10 or 15 minutes." She said that she needed to meet her group in Tel Aviv's CBS. I thought, "CBS? That's not right..." I responded, "Wait, you mean the Central Bus Station as in downtown?" She nodded. I smirked, "You're on the wrong bus then. This goes to the one north of Tel Aviv... you should've caught the next bus over- the 405." She was so embarassed. I told her, "I've seen and gone through worse things than this."

I was so elated that I didn't even care about anything else today. Not even the news of Naomi, my teacher, being hospitalized could bring me down from the sky. I am now a little concerned but I trusted the director's words that we would continue to receive excellent instruction. We had liked our subs, Irit and the guy, anyway. They definitely didn't expect much from us except to be eager learners in the classrooms. I am just very grateful that I'm not in a situation where I do need to have credit- I mean with Naomi gone for some time, there's just no way I can get a fair evaluation anyhow.

Who Blew Up Jaffa Road?!

I got to Hebrew U by around 11:45 and met Meredith at the gate. It was so wonderful being back in Jerusalem. I had considered stopping by the shuk on the way to pick up some rugalechs and hummus but I wanted to see her more. Meredith and I got some lunch at the new Burger Bar on French Hill. I was excited as I love Burger Bar's burgers and chips! That's one thing crossed off my list of places must eat before I leave.

We got together with one of her friends, Becky, for a walk around the Old City. Becky, from Salt Lake City (they didn't know each other before), had only visited the Jewish Quarter with the school the day before. So we showed her the Christian and Muslim Quarters, mainly just wandering around the shuk and the Church. I took quite a few pictures to replace all the pictures that I lost of Israel when I reformatted my computer last winter. It was a gorgeous day- not too hot! If anything, it was so cool for me that I had to put on my button down shirt over my tank. I supposed that I was getting used to Tel Aviv's hot weather...




We walked into this store that sold beautiful olive wood sculptures and pieces. Many of the pieces were related to Christianity. Meredith fell in love with The Last Feast piece. The guy persuaded her to buy it and said it was 300 shekels. Meredith resisted and replied that she didn't have 300 shekels. I whispered to her, "200 shekels," as she looked at him and complimented on the piece. Then he said 260.... he was so pushy that I walked away and encouraged her to come with me and Becky out of there. As I stepped out, I found her still standing there, trying to get out of this man's face. Then I heard that she had agreed to buy it and then the guy sent his little boy to help her find an ATM machine to get the cash. I couldn't believe it. After the whole transaction was done, I asked her, "How much was it?" She responded with a smile, "200 shekels."

We stopped in a beautiful spice store. I had no idea that there were spices for a variety of dishes like chicken, rice, beef, etc. The zatar was done beautifully like Jerusalem's valley. I'll have to consider buying some spice to take home with me for my cooking.
We stopped in the Church of the Holy Schelupre to show Becky around a little. I re-took some of my pictures. Here were a few that came out quite nicely and I liked the compositions. The Church was hardly crowded at all, which surprised me. I wondered if tourism was really going down this year or something.


As usual, because of Meredith's long, red hair, and her sweetness, merchants tried to coax her into buying their pieces. So it took a lot to keep her moving and ignoring all the "cat-calls." I know that because of my dark complexion and likeness as a Jew, nobody would bother me if I walked through here by myself. Sometimes her hair could pay off well in terms of bargaining, I think. One of the things I noticed was that there were a lot of brown sandals! I had been trying to find a pair of nice brown sandals in the United States but they were hardly anywhere. I didn't know why I just never thought of finding a pair in the Old City. I thought about all those brown sandals as we spent time around the Old City. Finally, we stopped in one place and looked at them. I found a pair that I liked and Meredith found a pair that she liked. At first the guy said, "one shekel!" in a joking manner. Then he offered us 70 shekels for them. I told him, "Eh, 50 shekels." He said, "70." I decided that I could think about it and come back another time. But Meredith continued to talk with him and complimented on the sandals. I guessed that she did want those shoes. Then he said, "Okay, I'm giving her 55 shekels so I'll give you 55 shekels, okay?" Well, that's close to my asking price so I got a new pair of brown sandals! YAY!!!! (Toby later evaluated the shoes and thought they were extremely well made for such a bargain price).

We came out of the Jaffa Gate and began walking down Jaffa Road. The whole road was a serious disaster. The construction for the new railway (more like a tram as it looks like from the tracks) had indeed begun. The fact that they even made it all the way to the Old City from the Central Bus Station last year, it was progress. I kept saying, "wow, this is progress!" Essentially, Jaffa had become a one way road. It'll still continue to take a long time because of archeaological excavations that need to be done to ensure that nothing of value would be destroyed. We caught the 19 bus back to Hebrew U after walking through Ben Yehuda a bit. I was amazed to see more of rail construction on Bar Levi, another major road.

After changing and picking up my stuff and the flowers, Meredith and I headed over to Toby's by bus and got there a bit after 5. We chilled for a bit while we waited for dinner to begin. We had a lovely evening of talking about ourselves, families, religion, and academia. It's always interesting to learn more about Mormonism and how she lives within her religion. She also talked a bit about her studies at her university in Middle Eastern Studies. We chatted for quite a while that it was time to send her on her way after 2 1/2 hours of sitting around and talking!

I was so exhausted that I read a few pages of my book before falling asleep.

On Shabbat, Toby and I went over to her friend, Soushana's for lunch. Soushana used to live in Manhattan and made aliyah when she was 18. She wanted nothing to do with her life in the United States after high school. She had her mother (who made aliyah recently) there along with a friend and a young family, both recent olim from California. It was pretty interesting sitting and thinking there how these olim gathered together like this, to talk about their challenges as new immigrants of Israel. Although Toby had been here as an immigrant for the last 9 years, she still faces difficulties at time, mainly with bureaucracy and Hebrew. As much I think olim should spend time integrating within the Israeli society, they do really need the support of the olim community, especially in their neighborhood. There will be things that olim will just not *get* like the Army experience and internal emotional attachment to Israel as sabras. And of course, Israeli Hebrew.

(Some pretty pictures of the Baka neighborhood)

After lunch, we walked back along Emek Refaim and Toby pointed out some new places that had popped up recently. Yo-Jan, my favorite Asian restaurant ever, changed its name to RYU. I do hope that the menu and quality is still there!

It seems to me that the more I come back to Jerusalem each time, the bond grows. I see myself living there more and more as Jerusalem continues to strive for improvement for the young and secular. You have Talipot, a neighborhood south of the city that's famous for its nightlife. The budget for cultural activities have doubled. The construction, despite the fact that it smears the city view, continues to produce gorgeous architecture of Jerusalem stone. The whole city is essentially made of Jerusalem stone that the only way you can tell by how long the building has stood for is to look at how dirty the walls are. The recent fight over a parking lot to be used on Shabbat makes me comfortable knowing that there is indeed a secular voice in this city. I love living with history and each time I walk around and look at Jerusalem, I'm just reminded of the city's survival over the last 3,000 years. Although it's a holy and spiritual city and I'm not much of a religious person, I'm more for the preservation of the city's architecture, culture, traditions, and historical spots like Mehane Yehuda shuk and Mea She'arim (yes, as much I don't like the haredim, that neighborhood is important). And it's just always beautiful. I do hope that when I do live in Jerusalem in the future and when people send me mail that says "Jerusalem, ISRAEL", I hope that they think that I live there not for purely religious or Messianic reasons, but a great place for me who appreciates history, culture, and politics.

Gee, I hope I don't really have the classical Jerusalem syndrome. I mean, I left the city, didn't I?

Are Things Shaping Up Yet?

Overwhelmed is no longer the right word to describe my first week. Lost is more like it, I think. I just suddenly had no idea what to expect after the first class. I am so used to heavily structured Hebrew ulpan that the whole concept of "no exams" seems... foreign, yet refreshing.

My American teacher, Naomi, came yesterday (Wednesday). Her pace was just right for me so I decided to stay in class. We talked a little today about what to expect and how to move on from here. She explained that second year Yiddish was just what it was- just more of texts and conversation and no much on grammar since "there isn't much to Yiddish, it's not that hard." So I will be mostly building up my vocabulary this summer, then, and getting comfortable with reading in Yiddish.

When I asked about credits or grades or something (because I loathe quizzes), she said there's none of that. But if I needed credit, then she would do an evaluation at the end. Um, no thanks, I don't want a test. I just want to be able to handle short stories by the end. So the idea that I can skip a class or two seem quite good to me. Without guilt. But the Jewish guilt will probably come to me later on.

I surveyed a few non-Israeli people who moved between intermediate classes to see how they were coping and following Hebrew. They thought their classes were appropriate but complained about Leah's rapid-fire Hebrew and Yiddish as well. I was glad that I was not the only one who felt that way. Many of the Americans who I talked to had their prior experience at YIVO's summer program. So we're all really on the same level.

It's quite bit of an adjustment to be in such a diverse class of Israelis, Eastern Europeans, and Americans of different ages. In my class, it's most Israeli with maybe 2 or 3 Polish, and 2 or 3 Americans. So Hebrew is still largely spoken but the Israelis are happy to accommodate for those of us with weak grasp of Hebrew. But when it comes to grammar lessons, they have to be in Hebrew because our grammar section has some English explanations and translations. Like for today, when deciding the appropriate translation for megn (may, with permission), the Israelis got into a "discussion" of what could be the right Hebrew word (I whispered, "guys, it's afsher and just leave it that..."). Everyone is helpful to each other, especially with page numbers!

What I do love about this is that I realized that I can continue to improve my Hebrew while I build my Yiddish vocabulary. For example, I get really mixed up with question words and some English words with multiple meaning like "to know" and "to meet", Hebrew makes much better sense. In Hebrew, the definition is more specific (and that's where English speakers flunk in foreign languages). So I am creating three columns for my vocabulary building- English, Hebrew, Yiddish. I also found that if I wrote down the Hebrew equivalent of Yiddish and not English, it's less of a headache to be reading one way and then the other way. I can simply read from right to left the whole line.

Classes start at 9:30 so I get to sleep in! It's also good because when I return to the United States, I have to go to California within 4 days of arrival. That's 10 hour difference of adjustment! So if I can stay up later and sleep later, all the better.

So my day typically will look like this:
8ish AM- get up, eat my Cinni-Minis (Nestle version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch), get dressed
9:30 AM to 11 AM- class
11 AM to 11:30 AM - coffee break (I get tea and some crackers and few chocolate filled wafer cookies- very popular! Yum!)
11:30 AM to 1 PM- class
1 PM to 2 PM- Lunch
2 PM to 4 PM - On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have lectures. Other days, I go to the pool for some sun time.
5 PM to 6ish PM- gym
7:30ish- dinner
Rest of night is whatever I feel like doing.

I've decided that until I finish these particular lectures, I'm not going to go all the way out to the beach. It's like a 30 minute bus ride. Besides, I'll probably be here for a whole week before I return to the United States so I'll go to the beach everyday then.

For the lectures, my old professor from Smith, JC, is here! He's teaching us basic introduction to Yiddish literature. He's just great as a teacher who knows how to engage and know his stuff. I'm learning a lot. It's helping me to appreciate the short stories and folk tales that I have to read. I respect this guy a lot so he's just the right person to try and inspire me to appreciate and like Yiddish. I thanked the director of the program for inviting him. JC was definitely very glad to see me.
Today, he asked how everything was going and if I was studying hard. Since he isn't my professor anymore, I honestly said to him, "No, not really..." Then he said, "Great, don't need to stress out, just enjoy it, have fun! You study hard during the year!" Wow, a professor telling me that I didn't really need to study. He's done this program as a teacher so he knew. All it mattered, he said, was that I get that certificate of completion.

Last night, I met up with the cousins for Sarai's summer concert at TAU. Mor, Or, and the whole Shalom family were there. So it was very nice to get out a little and enjoy some music. The musicians even played a song from the West Side Story (that everyone seemed to be excited about...). Sarai played the saxophone and percussion. She wasn't a music major- just her hobby at school. Unlike the concerts I've been to at Michigan, video-recording and photographs were permitted. Mor and Or played with their video camera quite a bit until the battery died. There were quite a few Israelis doing the same thing...

After class today, I decided to go into Tel Aviv and walk around the southern part and Jaffa. Jaffa was as run down as you can get so where I walked today wasn't that great to see. But I'm learning my sense of direction and the streets. I ended up walking from Jaffa on Ben Zion (I think) to Herzl and up on Herzl. I stop in the Florentine neighborhood to check out a few eateries that I found online. One of them was Hommus Beit Lechem. I ordered a plate of hummus with hard boiled egg on it. It was quite good- warm and creamy. (I'm ashamed to admit that this was my first pita and hummus of this trip!) After that, I continued up on Herzl and through the Ha'Carmel shuk. I just had to grin at myself when I surveyed the scene. It was about 7 o'clock at that point and everyone was trying to close up - meaning an aisle of mess! Garbage, food scraps, water.... You can imagine how dirty my feet got. I picked up a bunch of seedless purple grapes on the way out.

I'll try to explore a little more of Tel Aviv in the coming weeks. But really, with my budget, I can just afford hummos places and cafes. It's also that I've walked around quite a bit from my previous visits that I don't have a lot of interest in going in unless I need to shop or feel like doing some people watching while eating dinner. So that's why my schedule is like that for now.

Off to Jerusalem for Shabbat. I am so excited about it!