Downtown & German Colony

January 30, 2007

Wow, time is flying already. Ulpan really does take up half of the day and an another hour for lunch afterwards… so essentially, I don’t get myself together until after 2 PM. Sort of like back in the old high school days. I’m getting the hang of getting up at 7:30 to attend a 8:30 AM class…. The class does really go by fast.

Yesterday, after class, I decided to take the bus to Jaffa Street to the Ministry of Interior to get a student visa. The bus ride was really entertaining because this bus (19) goes through Mea Sha’rim, a very Orthodox neighborhood. The people looked like they were transplanted from Eastern Europe to Israel. I saw a lot of children as the bus stops at a yeshiva. Just seeing the image of this Orthodox community captured my attention because not only did their dress stood out but also how their way of life differ from most part of Israel. Most of Israel is either conservative or liberal Orthodox (by this, I mean that the dress is less formal, more colorful). But this community literally shuts up on Shabbat- they place cones on the streets to prevent cars from going through. This neighborhood does have a reputation (by my guidebook) for having the best Judaic gifts.

After the bus driver told me to get off where I need to get off, I used my map to walk down Ben Yehuda. This street is a mall with lots of stores, mostly geared towards tourists. I figured out that Castro is Israel’s biggest shoe brand for dressy shoes as they seemed to be everywhere. I think international designers do feel that Israel is a big liability or it is still too much of a third world country. I found the falafel/schwarma shop that my birthright bus went for dinner called Moshiko’s. (Funny, I checked with the guidebook later and it’s definitely there and hails it as the best schwarma place in Jerusalem). I reached the Zion Square and made a right up along Jaffa. Jaffa Road literally goes from Jaffa Gate in the Old City to the city of Jaffa, near Tel Aviv. I imagined if there was ever a bike race.

The Ministry of Interior was a pain. I had to use my deafness as an excuse for I insisted on coming in to make an appointment when they mercilessly handed me the number to call to make appointments. The people at Hebrew University (which I did mention) told me that I was better off going to the office in person than to make a call which would take forever to get through. The first woman was helpful… the second one who helped me to make an appointment was so awful. Her English was terrible and she didn’t get why I repeated the date and time after her when she used them as a question. Basically, we both thought the other was an idiot. But I know that she doesn’t know that it’s customary in English to repeat in order to make sure that the person understands what the other says. Still, I felt pretty low after walking out that building. I began to think that maybe I shouldn’t bother leaving Israel after ulpan and just wait until Passover break. This way, I would not have to deal with this interview for a student visa.

Afterwards, I decided to walk back up on Jaffa towards Ben Yehuda. Downtown Jerusalem, from what I can see, is not the prettiest place to be- more of an eyesore. It’s very different from Madrid or Washington, DC. The products from the stores literally spill on the streets so there is almost no reason to go in the store. The store buildings are crowded together that it only takes several paces to walk across the front of a store. A lot of things are Israeli- no imports unless it was Nike or Puma. The only chains that Jerusalem has from the States are the Coffee Bean, Café Aroma, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Sbarro, and McDonald’s. You can feel that Israel, despite its modern technology, is still very much a third world country because of the living standards. Food is ridiculously cheap, especially cheese and produce. I bought a red pepper at Mane’ha for only 40 cents. A medium container of mozzarella cheese balls is $1.75. A large container of strawberries (perhaps around 2 quarts) is for only $3. And these strawberries around here are huge. All I could keep thinking that people who love produce and to cook would be in heaven.

I made sure to get back on the bus before sundown. I did stop by a bakery to buy some rugalech (Mom, where are your homemade rugalech? I’ve been asking for forever!), a chocolate crossiant, and a small cinnamon roll. The rugalech was terrible. The other two were delicious. In addition to the bakey, I stopped at Village Green on Jaffa, right near Ben Yehuda. It is the most amazing vegetarian restaurant that I have ever seen. I cannot wait to go back there with friends- they even sell whole grain breads!

Today, we had a language lab in the last hour of class. UGH!!!!! Fortunately, we only have two more to do for the rest of ulpan. We also had an academic orientation- the director of undergraduate studies at RIS, Yoel, is really great. He makes a lot of jokes and can connect with young people really well. I found out that Hebrew counts as a double class- 7 credits. We have to take a minimum of 16 credits- which I am used to do. So I can choose to stay with 3 classes including my internship or add another one…. I don’t know. Tomorrow, I am going to see my academic advisor. Yoel told us that Middle Eastern Studies political science classes and the Archaeology of Jerusalem class are super popular. The latter sounds interesting but it’s not worth it if the class is going to be huge. Someone asked about field trips- if there is one every week. Yoel reminded us that there is a lecture component so it’s not all fun and games….

Tonight, I went to Nathan and Tobi Bach’s house for dinner. The cab driver who took me wasn’t too knowledge about where their street was in German Colony. He was a nice guy though. But he did sort of rip me off because when I asked the cab driver who took me back to my apartment to turn on the meter, I was charged 10 shekls more. Humrph.

Anyway, Tobi welcomed me with open arms despite me being slightly late. They were simply wonderful and entertaining. She served butternut squash soup, some salad, salmon and potatoes, and some kind of fruit cocktail for dessert. Sophie remembered that I rode horses so she gave me some names for stables around Jerusalem. I was really excited to hear there- perhaps these stables might know of some horseback riding in the north and in the desert (I hate riding camels!) so I can explore Israel in nature. We also talked a lot about the Holocaust. The conversation flow was very smooth. Tobi told me a bit more about how to go about planning my breaks in terms of traveling, especially as women in Jordan and Egypt. They said that they would invite me over for Shabbat in April when Nathan feels better. I told Tobi that I would be more than happy to meet her in downtown for coffee or something. She did not let me go home without a box of cookies.