I finally made it to Hebrew U right around the time I predicted I'd be there- 5:30. Woot. I thought that we'd go out somewhere very Israeli (aka Sima's) for dinner but the girls wanted to eat everything in the apartment before they leave tomorrow night. So I met Melissa, an Evangalical from Idaho, who is deciding what to do for her masters, a girl from England, one from Washington (Seattle) who knew Jessica, my old roommate.... the British girl's accent wasn't very strong much to my surprise. So I asked where she was from and she said Norwich and her family's from the southern part of England. I told her about Anna, the girl in my Hebrew class who had a very thick British accent. She asked where she's from and I said "Birmingham." Ah-ha, she said, those people have very strong accents that even she can barely understand them herself. Cool, this was fun meeting the Brits and learning about the UK- definitely better than studying in London!
We had a big dinner of schintzels (frozen, then cooked), pita, hummus, lentils/couscous, beans/eggs, and vegetable pasta soup. We finished up with pancakes for dessert- yummy. Meredith and I both thought it was crazy but definitely not as crazy as our brownie fiasco from the year before. While talking about, someone popped in for something and she asked me where did I come from and I said that I just came in from Haifa. She had a friend there in the ulpan and apparently this person agreed with me- the girl said that it sounded like she was pretty lucky to be studying at Hebrew U instead of Haifa.
Unexpectedly, I ended up meeting my old boyfriend. To put it in short, we realized that our values clashed more than we thought and just parted ways on a neutral note.
I slept in for the first time since my first day back in Israel- until 9:30! I was soooo happy! Katie made some eggs with mozzerella cheese- she stopped going to classes after 2 weeks. She just didn't want to study anymore and would rather play. So she's been around Jerusalem and central Israel for the past 3 weeks and surprisely, still hadn't been to Tel Aviv! After chatting for a while, it was time for me to head out to meet Zvi Feine for lunch at the Joint (JDC). I wanted to walk. So I left her to finish cleaning out the apartment.
I walked pretty much from Hebrew U to Ramban/Diskin in the center along Route 1 (Bar Ilan). It didn't feel as long as my first time and I felt that if I came back here next year, I could do this on more regular basis. When I realized that I had about 5 minutes before I was supposed to meet him, I decided to catch a cab on a meter. My guess that it would cost about 15 shekel but the meter went to 17. Close enough.
JDC building is so weird but definitely as weird as some places in Tel Aviv. It was beautiful nevertheless. I met Zvi in his office and then we went for lunch downstairs. He told me about his trip to Poland, some stuff about the Ethiopian aliya plans, other people in the room, etc. He pointed out a guy who has been working for JDC since like 1944!!! I was so tempted to go over there and ask him to tell me about his early days on the job but I figured that he spoke only Hebrwe or Yiddish. Zvi also told me how he uses Yiddish a lot for his job which surprised me- including during his trip to Poland. "The older people speak Yiddish, the younger people speak English," he said. So if I can learn Yiddish, I might be able to get around a bit in Poland after all- don't need to know the Polish language! There's really something about Zvi that you can't help but smile how much he enjoyed his life and is proud of what he's done. Next week, he's taking his grandson on a trip to Tanzania to see the world's largest animal reserve park. So his schedule was tight as mine but I was glad that I saw him. Next time, he said, his apartment will have finished the renovations and I will be able to come over.
Afterwards, I talked to Meredith and it turned out that they needed to turn in the apartment by 4 PM and wouldn't be able to go to the shuk beforehand. So I thought that maybe I'd just walk to the Old City to pick up dirt cheap ibuprofren but at the end, I stopped on King George and caught the bus back. I helped the girls throw out the trash and whatever else they needed. I thought about going with them but given the time it takes and the fact I needed to get to Tel Aviv by 7 if I wanted Linda to pick me up with my heavy bags, I decided against it. So the three of us waited at the bus stop for 28 and I wanted to get an apple but was afraid of missing the bus. Meredith offered to run in Mr. Zol's and while she was in there, 28 did come by. But I could wait another 15 minutes. I didn't say anything to her when she came back out. We were sorry that we didn't spend more time together but hopefully at least if we're together again next year, we'll definitely have the time!
I went to the bus station without a problem as usual even though it was crazy time (5:30 PM). The bus drivers were definitely picky about not overloading the buses, especially that there were 2 480 buses going at the same time. Off to Herzliya/Tel Aviv for a week... thankfully because I don't really want to be carrying my suitcases for a good while...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Last Few Days in Haifa
I will never use Talk N Save to rent phones again. Ever. My phone finally came in today (after a week and a promise it'd be here by last Thursday). I might check around for my own Israeli phone but not buy one yet. I can my own permanent number but I think it just means that I have to get a SIM card.
In terms of ulpan, we're actually finishing the first half of the book. I think that the book is just badly organized and doesn't give clear explanations. I am amazed how Roni's very focused on little things that will help us decipher Hebrew when we encounter new words such as recognizing verbs as nouns (like I'm going "running"). All that will help me when I prepare for my reading proficiency exam in graduate school. I learn new random things in class from Roni like the Japanese don't have a word for "joke" because they don't know how to joke! I do actually feel good and am glad that we're moving along. Bet isn't hard as everyone says, maybe it's just Hebrew U is very intense. We also did a couple more presentations. The most interesting one was about Marshall Islands- yes, we actually have a student from Marshall Islands. So we asked more questions about it. My class is actually pretty diverse- 2 from France, 1 from Switzerland, 1 from UK, 1 from Germany, 1 from Marshall Islands, 1 from Greece, 1 from Sweden, and everyone else is from the US.
I am doing well in Hebrew, I think. Lilach, my roommate, is a big help. The other night, she seriously stood besides me while I finished up my Hebrew homework! She helped me to get it done quicker by translating some of the phrases/words I didn't know. We converse both in Hebrew and English and I learn to pronounce words a little better. When I asked her if she ever learned how to read/write in cursive, she didn't know what I meant until I showed her a list of all the states in cursive (doodling in class...). She couldn't believe it! Not that I care for cursive but it can make writing go a little faster with practice. We got into a conversation last night about how American Jews perceive themselves and how its divided by denominations like Orthodox and Reform/secular Jews face tensions because of different observance levels. She asked if American Jews cared about marrying someone who isn't from their background like a Sephardi marrying an Ashkenazi. I told her no, because 95% of American Jews is Ashkenazi so no one really thinks of it.
On Sunday after class, I just went for a walk down to Horev Center. It was a little too late to go to the beach and it was pretty cool out. When I came back, the program was showing the movie "The Syrian Bride." It's quite good and humorous and I recommend it.
Monday, I went to the beach for the last time even though I kind of had enough and I knew it wouldn't be quite warm down there. I was right- it wasn't. I did finish my homework there and took a walk along the shores, and then I packed up. I stopped by the Haifa Mall just for a bit while waiting for 46 to come along. I'm amazed how Israeli malls can be "all-in-one" like just about every one of them has a supermarket, big pharmacy, and some kind of a home depot. It reminds me of why and how much I like farmers market and more local stores because at least you're getting real customer service and interacting with people. When I came back, I went to a lecture on Israel and Feminism. I had expected that she'd talk about feminism in Israel in sense of cultural and social norms. I wanted to know what Israeli women think and view their roles in modern Israel. Instead, the lecturer gave a laundry list of women who contributed to Zionism and the State of Israel. I got a little research idea when she talked about Russian Jewish women contributing something during the Russian Revolution. I began wondering about Russian Jewish women- both observant and secular- and how they contributed and defined the women's movement in the Soviet Union in its early days (I did a paper on Soviet women in the gulags and how they were disillusioned by Stalin's propaganda by being arrested and sent to camps where the camps attempted to humilate them as women by stripping them of their female identities).
Tuesday, I did my laundry and packed. I was actually down to my last pair of underwear! It felt very strange to pack everything- I did a very good job of packing only the most necessary things. I had a few things that I never used/worn that I just put to the bottom of my suitcase. I was kind of sad that I brought only the basic stuff- no frills but I just hate overpacking.
Around 6 or so, I went to Mor's to see Or, Mor, and their parents for the last time. Hadar cooked me a sampling of her usual Iraqi food. We talked about Obama and Israeli politics and current events over tea. I am finding it interesting that the older Israelis are very staunch Republicans- in a sense they'd vote for McCain while the younger Israelis are more apathetic. I'm going to keep surveying in the next two weeks. Hadar thought that the Israeli government should give in Hamas' demand of releasing 1,000 prisoners that the IDF captured during the second intifada to get Schalit back. I also talked to them about getting an Israeli cellphone but found out that they're definitely not cheaper here (despite being very widely used). Hadar thought that my new phone probably cost about 1,000 shekelim ($330)- yikes!
On the bus ride home, Sylvia found me. It was pretty funny so we chatted on the way back. The ride seemed so short! When we came home, we found that our fridge was broken. Fortunately, I was leaving so I didn't care about the food so I told them that it's fine to throw out anything. In the meantime, I finished up packing and sorted out clothes I'd need in the next day.
In terms of ulpan, we're actually finishing the first half of the book. I think that the book is just badly organized and doesn't give clear explanations. I am amazed how Roni's very focused on little things that will help us decipher Hebrew when we encounter new words such as recognizing verbs as nouns (like I'm going "running"). All that will help me when I prepare for my reading proficiency exam in graduate school. I learn new random things in class from Roni like the Japanese don't have a word for "joke" because they don't know how to joke! I do actually feel good and am glad that we're moving along. Bet isn't hard as everyone says, maybe it's just Hebrew U is very intense. We also did a couple more presentations. The most interesting one was about Marshall Islands- yes, we actually have a student from Marshall Islands. So we asked more questions about it. My class is actually pretty diverse- 2 from France, 1 from Switzerland, 1 from UK, 1 from Germany, 1 from Marshall Islands, 1 from Greece, 1 from Sweden, and everyone else is from the US.
I am doing well in Hebrew, I think. Lilach, my roommate, is a big help. The other night, she seriously stood besides me while I finished up my Hebrew homework! She helped me to get it done quicker by translating some of the phrases/words I didn't know. We converse both in Hebrew and English and I learn to pronounce words a little better. When I asked her if she ever learned how to read/write in cursive, she didn't know what I meant until I showed her a list of all the states in cursive (doodling in class...). She couldn't believe it! Not that I care for cursive but it can make writing go a little faster with practice. We got into a conversation last night about how American Jews perceive themselves and how its divided by denominations like Orthodox and Reform/secular Jews face tensions because of different observance levels. She asked if American Jews cared about marrying someone who isn't from their background like a Sephardi marrying an Ashkenazi. I told her no, because 95% of American Jews is Ashkenazi so no one really thinks of it.
On Sunday after class, I just went for a walk down to Horev Center. It was a little too late to go to the beach and it was pretty cool out. When I came back, the program was showing the movie "The Syrian Bride." It's quite good and humorous and I recommend it.
Monday, I went to the beach for the last time even though I kind of had enough and I knew it wouldn't be quite warm down there. I was right- it wasn't. I did finish my homework there and took a walk along the shores, and then I packed up. I stopped by the Haifa Mall just for a bit while waiting for 46 to come along. I'm amazed how Israeli malls can be "all-in-one" like just about every one of them has a supermarket, big pharmacy, and some kind of a home depot. It reminds me of why and how much I like farmers market and more local stores because at least you're getting real customer service and interacting with people. When I came back, I went to a lecture on Israel and Feminism. I had expected that she'd talk about feminism in Israel in sense of cultural and social norms. I wanted to know what Israeli women think and view their roles in modern Israel. Instead, the lecturer gave a laundry list of women who contributed to Zionism and the State of Israel. I got a little research idea when she talked about Russian Jewish women contributing something during the Russian Revolution. I began wondering about Russian Jewish women- both observant and secular- and how they contributed and defined the women's movement in the Soviet Union in its early days (I did a paper on Soviet women in the gulags and how they were disillusioned by Stalin's propaganda by being arrested and sent to camps where the camps attempted to humilate them as women by stripping them of their female identities).
Tuesday, I did my laundry and packed. I was actually down to my last pair of underwear! It felt very strange to pack everything- I did a very good job of packing only the most necessary things. I had a few things that I never used/worn that I just put to the bottom of my suitcase. I was kind of sad that I brought only the basic stuff- no frills but I just hate overpacking.
Around 6 or so, I went to Mor's to see Or, Mor, and their parents for the last time. Hadar cooked me a sampling of her usual Iraqi food. We talked about Obama and Israeli politics and current events over tea. I am finding it interesting that the older Israelis are very staunch Republicans- in a sense they'd vote for McCain while the younger Israelis are more apathetic. I'm going to keep surveying in the next two weeks. Hadar thought that the Israeli government should give in Hamas' demand of releasing 1,000 prisoners that the IDF captured during the second intifada to get Schalit back. I also talked to them about getting an Israeli cellphone but found out that they're definitely not cheaper here (despite being very widely used). Hadar thought that my new phone probably cost about 1,000 shekelim ($330)- yikes!
On the bus ride home, Sylvia found me. It was pretty funny so we chatted on the way back. The ride seemed so short! When we came home, we found that our fridge was broken. Fortunately, I was leaving so I didn't care about the food so I told them that it's fine to throw out anything. In the meantime, I finished up packing and sorted out clothes I'd need in the next day.
Wednesday, I decided to sleep in a little given that I was up a little too late packing and was getting tired. So I came to class and Roni was giving last minute lessons on another future verb tense. Then we did the program evaluation together as a class and in Hebrew. Roni wrote down everything. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who actually liked the computer drills! People did complain a bit about the homework not being productive. I suggested that she assign more readings in the future rather than just grammar drills. After our break, we had a class party. That was cool and we finally did our final exam. I didn't think it was too difficult and was comparable to the midterm. I understood the entire text section so I'm sure I got everything right there. Oh well, I am hoping to get a B or better.
After class, it was finally time to finish up cleaning my room and say good-bye. Sylvia was the only one home so I said good bye to her. She wanted to help me carry my bags to the bus stop. I looked at her, a petite who's at least a head shorter than me, and declined her offer but if she really wanted to try... then fine. She attempted to pick up my smaller duffel and she could barely pick it up. I teased her if she even been in the army! I knew she didn't do the tough physical work.
For a send-off party, the program had the Druze over to make their special snack treat- yogurt and toppings wrapped in huge pita. Then I caught the 2 PM bus and took an uneventful ride to Jerusalem.
As I watched Haifa go by, I thought how fast those 3 1/2 weeks went by. It wasn't really all that terrible. I appreciated that I was able to speak Hebrew more easily with confidence and to ask for proper pronounication without embarassment. I found the Russian market, enjoyed the beach, and had gorgeous view all the time. The only real drawback was the location of the university and in relation to the public transportation system that makes going places take longer than in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. I would rate this program as "good" and for those very concerned with improving their conversational Hebrew skills (as I was). But not the program to do if people want to focus more on reading and less speaking. So I would do another month ulpan with Haifa but not my top choice. I also realized how much easier it was to reach anywhere in the North, including Tiberias, than from Jerusalem.
Anyway... off to Jerusalem!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Encore! Shabbat with the Israelis!
I left for Jerusalem around 12:15 after doing my long run (survived 9.5 miles..yay) . I made it just fine after an annoying incident involving a young family bringing a puppy onboard and the puppy makign some kind of yucky mess in two seats front of me. The mother decided to throw the puppy's mess in a plastic bag and put the bag in a garbage can right behind me. I tried adjusting the fan above me but it didn't work and I was only 20 minutes away from the city! I resorted to moving to the back of the bus. I just sat there, totally peeved.
I sighed with a relief when I walked out of the Central Bus Station onto Jaffa. I began walking along Jaffa, just taking in the cityscape. However, the sight of Jaffa, nearly sliced in half, one side being a road, and the other being a construction site, shocked me. As I studied the construction below, I realized that the new light rail will be running along Jaffa. For something that's been talked about for years and non-existent last year, it was incredible to see some work done! The light rail is scheduled to be completed by 2011... but this is Israel... who knows. I began thinking about how much Jerusalem will change in the next 10 years and maybe, just maybe, I will want to live here now that there will definitely be light rail connecting to Tel Aviv, more gourmet restaurants coming for my taste buds, and generally improving quality of life for me. The only problem will be housing, expensive housing.
I made it to the shuk and soaked in the craziness of people running around buying food for Shabbat. I picked up some pita (they're really terrible in Haifa- can't even cut them well to make pockets), a roll, and 30 shekelim worth of Marzipan's chocolate rugalechim. Half would be for the Israeli family as a thank you for coming to Israel, and the other half for my roommates in Haifa as a thank you for being great to me. The trick was to see if I could deliver these without eating them! I bought some pizza rolls as late lunch. Once I was out of the shuk, I began walking to King David hotel, where the Israeli family was staying. I smiled the whole way there. I didn't care if I had to carry my duffel bag for 1 1/2 hours from the CBS to the shuk to King David.
I met Aunt Nancy and the gang. Then Ron's cousin, Yehudit and her family came over to join us for some pool time before Shabbat. She had two kids, ages 10 and 13, perfect for Ben and Alec. She also brought along another cousin, Tamar, who's 14, for Ella. So all 6 of them played in the pool while all the adults sat on the deck and talked. They talked a lot about Max, Yehudit's brother, who lives in New York. It was getting cold after a while that I actually put my clothes back on- I shouldn't have changed into my bathing suit.
When we went back up to the room to prepare for Shabbat, I called up Meredith to see what was going on as I was planning to leave after dinner to Hebrew U. As it turned out, she wouldn't really have much time- the next day, she'd be going to the church until 2 (which I understood) and then leave right after for Ramallah. I froze a bit just hearing that and asked her questions. She and her friend(s) were taking a bus and their friend would pick them up in a tiny car. I decided, partly for comfort, partly for my safety, and partly the need to get back to Jerusalem by 8:30 to catch the 9 PM bus to Haifa, it would be best that I didn't go to Ramallah. She and my aunt both individually thought that I should stay with the Israelis for the night and just stay with them for the weekend, and then I would come back to Jerusalem on Wednesday after the end of ulpan. So that was that. I was a little smitten at the thought of being able to stay at King David for the night, even if it meant sleeping on the couch in their suite.
Around 6:30ish, we took cabs out to northwestern part of Jerusalem, to Chana's (Ron's aunt, on father's side) and Zoobie's (sp.?). They live in a small apartment building that they built in 1981 for their family. They live in one apartment, their son lives in another, and Max used to live in the third (and now some people rent it). They had a beautiful view of Jerusalem Forest, which equalled to a great sunset. The Israeli family and Chana went over to Ron's grandmother in her nursing home while I hung out with Zoobie and Etai, their grandson (who was very cute by the way!). They set up the BBQ and some of the dinner (isn't that nice, men taking care of the cooking a bit?). I took the opportunity to call Linda to update her and then I called Dad to say hi.
Finally, everyone came around 7:30ish. Aunt Nancy asked me if I had told Dad that she had let me with some strange relatives for an hour. I said to her that I was just so happy to be in Jerusalem that it didn't matter at all! So at dinner, we had about 25 or so people- half adults and half kids. It was all family and the atmosphere was quite inviting and warm. Dinner was lamb beef patties (Zoobie told me that generally ground meat in Israel is 50% beef and 50% lamb, which I wish I had known!), rice, stuffed peppers (Mexican style), carrots glazed with grapes, some Israeli salads, and pita. All so delicious that I wish I could take some with me! For dessert, Chana served parve cheesecake (it tasted parve...), watermelon, and chocolate cake loaf. Consequently with all the food, Nancy, Ben, and I did not sleep very well that night and had crazy, bizarre dreams (I dreamt of Cutie, my old pony, who I hadn't thought of in a while!).
I met a couple, the Yerushalamis, who had connections to Rochester Jewish community. The wife, Judy, who made aliyah 15 years ago, still has some relatives there. I told them that I worked on a thesis and am still working on it, relating to the Jewish community there. She gave a hint that she might be able to give me more clues of the German immigrants in the 1930s and 1940s. I got her email. That was quite exciting for me! In Israel! We also talked a bit about challenges of making aliyah like support and jobs.
We finally left after 10 PM. I pretty much crashed with everyone else.
The next day, we got up and went down for breakfast. The breakfast spread was just beautiful- they had cinnamon and chocolate brioche! We met Zvika around 9:15 and began driving. I was worried that the Dead Sea would be very hot and thought we'd need to go sooner so we wouldn't melt on Masada. As it turned out, it was pleasant weather! We drove through the West Bank and made a pit stop at this little tourist attraction- the Sea Level point. Remember, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth, below the sea level.
Aside from this little sign (and a big one), there was a man with a camel. Obviously, he took advantage of being the only guy to sell tourist stuff and photo-op with a camel. The kids got on it- all together! They had a lot of fun. I wasn't quite into it- just because I'm not a fan of camels. I think they're rude and arrogant. Anyway, the Israeli family all together managed to get a photo op. While they played with the camel, I took a picture of this:
It looks so much like a painting but it's for real! I love it. Afterwards, we all hopped back in the SUV and began driving non-stop to Masada. I wish I had remembered to bring my bandana- I thought I was not going to be going on this leg of the trip... So I ended up wearing a baseball hat and needed to buy water. Zvika was quite admant over everyone drinking water. I kept telling him that I've been here, not just in the desert, and I know how much water I need to drink! We took a cable car up. Before we went through the gate at the top, we went the steps on the snake path to see where the Jews stored water inside the mountain. I didn't remember seeing that. Then we did our tour. I felt that Zvika was very good in telling the history of Masada and knowledgeable of the area. Maybe I didn't pay too much attention to Ron, my parents' tour guide. I pointed out to Aunt Nancy and Ella the Roman ramp and the south side of the mountain where I had gone on my birthright trip. I told them that even though it's my third time on Masada, it's still important to me because that's when I made my kesher (connection) with Israel- through the martyrdom of the Jews in history.
After Masada, we went down everyone got orange and watermelon juices. I was still feeling a little full so I opted out of the watermelon juice. Aunt Nancy never failed to stop asking Alec if he wanted any juice (he's not a fruit eater). While waiting for people to use the bathroom, Zvika challenged me to a water chugging contest to see if I could drink more than what he had left in his water bottle (I had a big bottle and he had the medium size). I thought, "You're challenging the wrong person. If you knew about Colgate's reputation and my past as a milk chugger..." Whatever, I held out longer.
After Masada, Zvika drove into the desert a bit to show us the remains of the Dead Sea from thousands of years ago. On the way here, he had given us a lecture on the Dead Sea. The sight was amazing- I couldn't believe all the salt-rock formations!
We stopped at the Ein Gedi restaurant to grab some lunch.
It was also the same place that my family had lunch too. They didn't have chicken schinztel so I just got baked chicken. Then we went across the road to Ein Gedi Reserve Park. Again, I felt a little unprepared given that I didn't bring my sneakers to walk in. Fortunately, we didn't have to walk very far to the waterfall and pool we'd be dipping in for a bit. I was literally sweating when I got there 15-20 minutes later! Ella was a very good help by offering her shoulder for balance support while I navigated in my birkenstocks. The water was cold but felt great! Zvika said that the Israelis call this the "second waterfall" because the really good ones were up further (where my friends and I had gone several weeks ago). I'm glad that I know where this waterfall is now so I can take my family there next time they come back to Israel. The kids explored behind the rocks (not shown here) while I sat on the rocks observing the nature. They had watershoes on and I was going barefoot so I couldn't really join them. Also I get a little nervous around water when I don't hear anyway.
Finally, we drove out to the Dead Sea- to the beach fairly close to the West Bank chekcpoint- Desert Oasis. It was a very small, narrow beach. I liked it- at least I can go down here from Jerusalem quickly instead of riding all the way down. The water was very warm. The twins and I floated together. Alec floated for a bit but his skin was... too sensitive so he went to the showers pretty fast. It seems like the more time I spend in the Dead Sea, the tougher I get! Ron has all the pictures, by the way. I was on the look out for mud but it didn't really seem to be in plain sight anywhere. So I got out of the water and showered off and then when I came back, the kids and Ron found some mud. So I joined in. We didn't leave much time for the mud to completely dry as we had to get going back to Jerusalem. Before we left, we met Zvika in the bar restaurant and he was smoking some hookah. He explained how the hookah worked. I didn't give a whirl- hookahs aren't really my thing.
I closed my eyes for a bit on the way. When we reached the hotel, I thank Zvika for everything and it was a pleasure to meet him. We all went upstairs to shower and pack. I told Aunt Nancy that I couldn't really leave until Shabbat was over anyway. So I stuck around and had a light dinner with them. Alec and Ben were facsinated by the chocolate syrup decor on their chocolate milk. No one seemed too thrilled that there wasn't anything hot to eat because of Shabbat so most of us ordered tea for drinks. It was also getting very cool out and we were sitting outside on the deck- at the same table where my family had drinks a year ago! I mentioned that to Aunt Nancy and she thought it was funny.
After good-byes and thank yous, I set out to walk to the bus station. I had about an hour. I figured that buses wouldn't actually start running until I would be close to the bus station. But I was just so happy to be in Jerusalem that the bag felt lighter than it did the day before and the walk didn't seem very long even though it was about 45 minutes. At the CBS, things were starting to get nuts! I couldn't get on the 9 PM bus to Haifa and had to wait for the 9:15 one (the next one would be 9:40). I was a little worried that my round-trip ticket would be no good because it was supposed to be good for 23 hours but I knew I could argue that it was still Shabbat at 12:!5 PM! The bus driver took it without problem thankfully. The bus drivers, I noticed, for both buses were carefully not to allow any standing room, given that its a two-hour ride and the buses were running more frequently than on a typical day. I wound up sitting next to some weirdo girl who watched some kind of strange sci-fantasy movie on her laptop.
When I got back to Haifa, I saw that the first bus, 133, I'd take wasn't going to leave for another 20 minutes, I decided that I just wanted to get back to the university before I fall asleep on Horev Street, waiting for 37 to take me back to the university. So I nabbed a cab. I learned my lessons about cab drivers in Haifa- they're actually very fair and won't rip anyone off because this wasn't like Tel Aviv or Jerusalem where there are many ways to different places. Besides, the standard price in general seemed to be around 40 or 50 shekelim anyway between the university and French Carmel/Carmel Center and the universitty and the CBS.
I am very glad that the Israelis were able to visit Israel while I was there. I am thankful for the opportunity to see other parts of Israel that I hadn't seen before. I wanted to do this because I know that once I go off to graduate school in Michigan, it will be more difficult to see them other than Thanksgiving (and the upcoming bar mitzvah). So I didn't just go for the sights, but to spend time with them.
I realized, from this experience, that although it sounds easy to point out things that are important to me, it's hard to convey my emotional connections. I have to really explain why and how. Maybe it sounds easy because I have such vivid imagination. Or maybe sometimes I expect too much. I think that all I want for my family and friends is just to see what I appreciate about Israel and why, however they're feeling about being in this country. For example, when I stood out on the balcony at Chana's watching the sunset over Jerusalem forest, I largely thought about what it had meant for me to live in Jerusalem and to be able to overcome the large stereotypical picture of the city as "very religious" to a picture of a beautiful city where old meets new and changing demographics. I also didn't need to be in the desert to see this beautiful sunset either. How Jerusalem had become much more than the expectations that people have of the city- as very old, ancient place situated in a desert where it's just all sand...
I sighed with a relief when I walked out of the Central Bus Station onto Jaffa. I began walking along Jaffa, just taking in the cityscape. However, the sight of Jaffa, nearly sliced in half, one side being a road, and the other being a construction site, shocked me. As I studied the construction below, I realized that the new light rail will be running along Jaffa. For something that's been talked about for years and non-existent last year, it was incredible to see some work done! The light rail is scheduled to be completed by 2011... but this is Israel... who knows. I began thinking about how much Jerusalem will change in the next 10 years and maybe, just maybe, I will want to live here now that there will definitely be light rail connecting to Tel Aviv, more gourmet restaurants coming for my taste buds, and generally improving quality of life for me. The only problem will be housing, expensive housing.
I made it to the shuk and soaked in the craziness of people running around buying food for Shabbat. I picked up some pita (they're really terrible in Haifa- can't even cut them well to make pockets), a roll, and 30 shekelim worth of Marzipan's chocolate rugalechim. Half would be for the Israeli family as a thank you for coming to Israel, and the other half for my roommates in Haifa as a thank you for being great to me. The trick was to see if I could deliver these without eating them! I bought some pizza rolls as late lunch. Once I was out of the shuk, I began walking to King David hotel, where the Israeli family was staying. I smiled the whole way there. I didn't care if I had to carry my duffel bag for 1 1/2 hours from the CBS to the shuk to King David.
I met Aunt Nancy and the gang. Then Ron's cousin, Yehudit and her family came over to join us for some pool time before Shabbat. She had two kids, ages 10 and 13, perfect for Ben and Alec. She also brought along another cousin, Tamar, who's 14, for Ella. So all 6 of them played in the pool while all the adults sat on the deck and talked. They talked a lot about Max, Yehudit's brother, who lives in New York. It was getting cold after a while that I actually put my clothes back on- I shouldn't have changed into my bathing suit.
When we went back up to the room to prepare for Shabbat, I called up Meredith to see what was going on as I was planning to leave after dinner to Hebrew U. As it turned out, she wouldn't really have much time- the next day, she'd be going to the church until 2 (which I understood) and then leave right after for Ramallah. I froze a bit just hearing that and asked her questions. She and her friend(s) were taking a bus and their friend would pick them up in a tiny car. I decided, partly for comfort, partly for my safety, and partly the need to get back to Jerusalem by 8:30 to catch the 9 PM bus to Haifa, it would be best that I didn't go to Ramallah. She and my aunt both individually thought that I should stay with the Israelis for the night and just stay with them for the weekend, and then I would come back to Jerusalem on Wednesday after the end of ulpan. So that was that. I was a little smitten at the thought of being able to stay at King David for the night, even if it meant sleeping on the couch in their suite.
Around 6:30ish, we took cabs out to northwestern part of Jerusalem, to Chana's (Ron's aunt, on father's side) and Zoobie's (sp.?). They live in a small apartment building that they built in 1981 for their family. They live in one apartment, their son lives in another, and Max used to live in the third (and now some people rent it). They had a beautiful view of Jerusalem Forest, which equalled to a great sunset. The Israeli family and Chana went over to Ron's grandmother in her nursing home while I hung out with Zoobie and Etai, their grandson (who was very cute by the way!). They set up the BBQ and some of the dinner (isn't that nice, men taking care of the cooking a bit?). I took the opportunity to call Linda to update her and then I called Dad to say hi.
Finally, everyone came around 7:30ish. Aunt Nancy asked me if I had told Dad that she had let me with some strange relatives for an hour. I said to her that I was just so happy to be in Jerusalem that it didn't matter at all! So at dinner, we had about 25 or so people- half adults and half kids. It was all family and the atmosphere was quite inviting and warm. Dinner was lamb beef patties (Zoobie told me that generally ground meat in Israel is 50% beef and 50% lamb, which I wish I had known!), rice, stuffed peppers (Mexican style), carrots glazed with grapes, some Israeli salads, and pita. All so delicious that I wish I could take some with me! For dessert, Chana served parve cheesecake (it tasted parve...), watermelon, and chocolate cake loaf. Consequently with all the food, Nancy, Ben, and I did not sleep very well that night and had crazy, bizarre dreams (I dreamt of Cutie, my old pony, who I hadn't thought of in a while!).
I met a couple, the Yerushalamis, who had connections to Rochester Jewish community. The wife, Judy, who made aliyah 15 years ago, still has some relatives there. I told them that I worked on a thesis and am still working on it, relating to the Jewish community there. She gave a hint that she might be able to give me more clues of the German immigrants in the 1930s and 1940s. I got her email. That was quite exciting for me! In Israel! We also talked a bit about challenges of making aliyah like support and jobs.
We finally left after 10 PM. I pretty much crashed with everyone else.
The next day, we got up and went down for breakfast. The breakfast spread was just beautiful- they had cinnamon and chocolate brioche! We met Zvika around 9:15 and began driving. I was worried that the Dead Sea would be very hot and thought we'd need to go sooner so we wouldn't melt on Masada. As it turned out, it was pleasant weather! We drove through the West Bank and made a pit stop at this little tourist attraction- the Sea Level point. Remember, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth, below the sea level.
Aside from this little sign (and a big one), there was a man with a camel. Obviously, he took advantage of being the only guy to sell tourist stuff and photo-op with a camel. The kids got on it- all together! They had a lot of fun. I wasn't quite into it- just because I'm not a fan of camels. I think they're rude and arrogant. Anyway, the Israeli family all together managed to get a photo op. While they played with the camel, I took a picture of this:
It looks so much like a painting but it's for real! I love it. Afterwards, we all hopped back in the SUV and began driving non-stop to Masada. I wish I had remembered to bring my bandana- I thought I was not going to be going on this leg of the trip... So I ended up wearing a baseball hat and needed to buy water. Zvika was quite admant over everyone drinking water. I kept telling him that I've been here, not just in the desert, and I know how much water I need to drink! We took a cable car up. Before we went through the gate at the top, we went the steps on the snake path to see where the Jews stored water inside the mountain. I didn't remember seeing that. Then we did our tour. I felt that Zvika was very good in telling the history of Masada and knowledgeable of the area. Maybe I didn't pay too much attention to Ron, my parents' tour guide. I pointed out to Aunt Nancy and Ella the Roman ramp and the south side of the mountain where I had gone on my birthright trip. I told them that even though it's my third time on Masada, it's still important to me because that's when I made my kesher (connection) with Israel- through the martyrdom of the Jews in history.
After Masada, we went down everyone got orange and watermelon juices. I was still feeling a little full so I opted out of the watermelon juice. Aunt Nancy never failed to stop asking Alec if he wanted any juice (he's not a fruit eater). While waiting for people to use the bathroom, Zvika challenged me to a water chugging contest to see if I could drink more than what he had left in his water bottle (I had a big bottle and he had the medium size). I thought, "You're challenging the wrong person. If you knew about Colgate's reputation and my past as a milk chugger..." Whatever, I held out longer.
After Masada, Zvika drove into the desert a bit to show us the remains of the Dead Sea from thousands of years ago. On the way here, he had given us a lecture on the Dead Sea. The sight was amazing- I couldn't believe all the salt-rock formations!
We stopped at the Ein Gedi restaurant to grab some lunch.
It was also the same place that my family had lunch too. They didn't have chicken schinztel so I just got baked chicken. Then we went across the road to Ein Gedi Reserve Park. Again, I felt a little unprepared given that I didn't bring my sneakers to walk in. Fortunately, we didn't have to walk very far to the waterfall and pool we'd be dipping in for a bit. I was literally sweating when I got there 15-20 minutes later! Ella was a very good help by offering her shoulder for balance support while I navigated in my birkenstocks. The water was cold but felt great! Zvika said that the Israelis call this the "second waterfall" because the really good ones were up further (where my friends and I had gone several weeks ago). I'm glad that I know where this waterfall is now so I can take my family there next time they come back to Israel. The kids explored behind the rocks (not shown here) while I sat on the rocks observing the nature. They had watershoes on and I was going barefoot so I couldn't really join them. Also I get a little nervous around water when I don't hear anyway.
Finally, we drove out to the Dead Sea- to the beach fairly close to the West Bank chekcpoint- Desert Oasis. It was a very small, narrow beach. I liked it- at least I can go down here from Jerusalem quickly instead of riding all the way down. The water was very warm. The twins and I floated together. Alec floated for a bit but his skin was... too sensitive so he went to the showers pretty fast. It seems like the more time I spend in the Dead Sea, the tougher I get! Ron has all the pictures, by the way. I was on the look out for mud but it didn't really seem to be in plain sight anywhere. So I got out of the water and showered off and then when I came back, the kids and Ron found some mud. So I joined in. We didn't leave much time for the mud to completely dry as we had to get going back to Jerusalem. Before we left, we met Zvika in the bar restaurant and he was smoking some hookah. He explained how the hookah worked. I didn't give a whirl- hookahs aren't really my thing.
I closed my eyes for a bit on the way. When we reached the hotel, I thank Zvika for everything and it was a pleasure to meet him. We all went upstairs to shower and pack. I told Aunt Nancy that I couldn't really leave until Shabbat was over anyway. So I stuck around and had a light dinner with them. Alec and Ben were facsinated by the chocolate syrup decor on their chocolate milk. No one seemed too thrilled that there wasn't anything hot to eat because of Shabbat so most of us ordered tea for drinks. It was also getting very cool out and we were sitting outside on the deck- at the same table where my family had drinks a year ago! I mentioned that to Aunt Nancy and she thought it was funny.
After good-byes and thank yous, I set out to walk to the bus station. I had about an hour. I figured that buses wouldn't actually start running until I would be close to the bus station. But I was just so happy to be in Jerusalem that the bag felt lighter than it did the day before and the walk didn't seem very long even though it was about 45 minutes. At the CBS, things were starting to get nuts! I couldn't get on the 9 PM bus to Haifa and had to wait for the 9:15 one (the next one would be 9:40). I was a little worried that my round-trip ticket would be no good because it was supposed to be good for 23 hours but I knew I could argue that it was still Shabbat at 12:!5 PM! The bus driver took it without problem thankfully. The bus drivers, I noticed, for both buses were carefully not to allow any standing room, given that its a two-hour ride and the buses were running more frequently than on a typical day. I wound up sitting next to some weirdo girl who watched some kind of strange sci-fantasy movie on her laptop.
When I got back to Haifa, I saw that the first bus, 133, I'd take wasn't going to leave for another 20 minutes, I decided that I just wanted to get back to the university before I fall asleep on Horev Street, waiting for 37 to take me back to the university. So I nabbed a cab. I learned my lessons about cab drivers in Haifa- they're actually very fair and won't rip anyone off because this wasn't like Tel Aviv or Jerusalem where there are many ways to different places. Besides, the standard price in general seemed to be around 40 or 50 shekelim anyway between the university and French Carmel/Carmel Center and the universitty and the CBS.
I am very glad that the Israelis were able to visit Israel while I was there. I am thankful for the opportunity to see other parts of Israel that I hadn't seen before. I wanted to do this because I know that once I go off to graduate school in Michigan, it will be more difficult to see them other than Thanksgiving (and the upcoming bar mitzvah). So I didn't just go for the sights, but to spend time with them.
I realized, from this experience, that although it sounds easy to point out things that are important to me, it's hard to convey my emotional connections. I have to really explain why and how. Maybe it sounds easy because I have such vivid imagination. Or maybe sometimes I expect too much. I think that all I want for my family and friends is just to see what I appreciate about Israel and why, however they're feeling about being in this country. For example, when I stood out on the balcony at Chana's watching the sunset over Jerusalem forest, I largely thought about what it had meant for me to live in Jerusalem and to be able to overcome the large stereotypical picture of the city as "very religious" to a picture of a beautiful city where old meets new and changing demographics. I also didn't need to be in the desert to see this beautiful sunset either. How Jerusalem had become much more than the expectations that people have of the city- as very old, ancient place situated in a desert where it's just all sand...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Exciting Conversations!
Ulpan is picking up a bit, slowly but surely. My partner, David, and I did our class presentation yesterday on Eliezar Ben-Yehuda. We turned it into a skit. I played an unhappy talmud student and David was Ben Yehuda and it was Ben Yehuda's job to make the student excited about learning Modern Hebrew. We did pretty well and Roni didn't interrupt too much compared to other presentations- yippee. It was our goal. The room we were in was soooo cold that I had to get a cup of cappuccino to warm up!
Roni finally taught the future tense today but I didn't think she taught it too well. She was trying to cram two concepts instead of separating them. Like there's a common tense but certain final letter of the shoresh reqires a slight change in the first and second persons. At least we're moving on. In the final period of class, we went to the children's section in the library. We formed groups and each read a book and acted out in front of the class. Danna, Naomi, and I read Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham (actually in Hebrew it roughly translates "I'm Not Hungry, I Don't Like It" (לא רבע לא אוהב)) Obviously the story didn't rhyme but it was great. Danna acted out while Naomi and I took our parts. Other people picked Where the Wild Things Are, The Giving Tree, and Good Night Moon. It was the best part of ulpan class so far!
I went to the beach yesterday. I totally missed the 46 bus so I hopped on the 37 to transfer and just missed the 133. So I waited like half-hour for the next one, ugh! The waves were still good but very strong that I actually ducked underwater when the waves came over! I almost lost my bikini bottom (I guess my body has changed quite a bit since I was 17 and had more fat on my body, even though I weighed less then!). The beach where I was was very busy that I didn't get a chair for a while so I laid out on my towel as usual. I definitely wished that I had a surfboard!
When I came back, I made my dinner and Sylvia and Einuat also made their dinners. The three of us actually sat down and talked about Israel and our backgrounds. My apartment is very diverse but everyone (except for Liora) is Sephardic. Einuat's father immigrated from India and her mother came from Egypt (and her lineage go back to France in 1880s). Sylvia's family was from South Africa (though she's white like us). Bat-El's parents were from Yemen. And Lilach's from Iran and Iraq. They're all quite traditional in their practices with Bat El and Lilach coming from Orthodox families. Einuat and Sylvie also talked about their opinions towards the Israeli government and the Second Lebanon War. Contrary to my beliefs and the grapevine, they, as young Israelis, don't care for either presidential candidates- they think Obama is a good person.
Today, I had planned on going to Tiberias after class as I had been hankering to go for a couple hours. But I ended up having lunch with Rahel and her friend. Rahel's from Switzerland and has the most lovely accent so I love listening to her talk. She's not Jewish but her mom's very into Jewish culture and also gave one of her brothers a Jewish name- David. The girls were curious about my cochlear implant and thought it was a very cool thing that it existed and that I could lip read.
Afterwards, I went to the international student office to see if my cell had come in yet. Nope. I need to try again on Sunday. Sigh.
Then I went back to my room and got dressed quickly for the beach. I caught the 46 today-
yippee! Bat-El was also on the bus so we sat together to the station. A girl in front of us said that it was her first time riding the bus to the beach and one thing after the other, I learned that she's a Smithie! Her name's Chantel and she's from Santa Barbara. Go figure that she loves the beach. We decided to buddy up and go to the beach together. We spent the next 2 1/2 hours talking and doing our Hebrew homework. Even though I know I left Smith, I still love meeting up with Smithies. She also lived in Albright and has Justin Cammy, my old Jewish Studies advisor, for her advisor. She's studying Hebrew this summer to fulfill her major requirements for her Jewish Studies major. I'm proud of her!
Now I'm glad that I didn't go to Tiberias! Maybe I'll try again on Monday or next Wednesday though... I want to do it from Haifa- it's just easier to do it than from Herzliya or Jerusalem.
Tomorrow, off to Jerusalem!!
Roni finally taught the future tense today but I didn't think she taught it too well. She was trying to cram two concepts instead of separating them. Like there's a common tense but certain final letter of the shoresh reqires a slight change in the first and second persons. At least we're moving on. In the final period of class, we went to the children's section in the library. We formed groups and each read a book and acted out in front of the class. Danna, Naomi, and I read Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham (actually in Hebrew it roughly translates "I'm Not Hungry, I Don't Like It" (לא רבע לא אוהב)) Obviously the story didn't rhyme but it was great. Danna acted out while Naomi and I took our parts. Other people picked Where the Wild Things Are, The Giving Tree, and Good Night Moon. It was the best part of ulpan class so far!
I went to the beach yesterday. I totally missed the 46 bus so I hopped on the 37 to transfer and just missed the 133. So I waited like half-hour for the next one, ugh! The waves were still good but very strong that I actually ducked underwater when the waves came over! I almost lost my bikini bottom (I guess my body has changed quite a bit since I was 17 and had more fat on my body, even though I weighed less then!). The beach where I was was very busy that I didn't get a chair for a while so I laid out on my towel as usual. I definitely wished that I had a surfboard!
When I came back, I made my dinner and Sylvia and Einuat also made their dinners. The three of us actually sat down and talked about Israel and our backgrounds. My apartment is very diverse but everyone (except for Liora) is Sephardic. Einuat's father immigrated from India and her mother came from Egypt (and her lineage go back to France in 1880s). Sylvia's family was from South Africa (though she's white like us). Bat-El's parents were from Yemen. And Lilach's from Iran and Iraq. They're all quite traditional in their practices with Bat El and Lilach coming from Orthodox families. Einuat and Sylvie also talked about their opinions towards the Israeli government and the Second Lebanon War. Contrary to my beliefs and the grapevine, they, as young Israelis, don't care for either presidential candidates- they think Obama is a good person.
Today, I had planned on going to Tiberias after class as I had been hankering to go for a couple hours. But I ended up having lunch with Rahel and her friend. Rahel's from Switzerland and has the most lovely accent so I love listening to her talk. She's not Jewish but her mom's very into Jewish culture and also gave one of her brothers a Jewish name- David. The girls were curious about my cochlear implant and thought it was a very cool thing that it existed and that I could lip read.
Afterwards, I went to the international student office to see if my cell had come in yet. Nope. I need to try again on Sunday. Sigh.
Then I went back to my room and got dressed quickly for the beach. I caught the 46 today-
yippee! Bat-El was also on the bus so we sat together to the station. A girl in front of us said that it was her first time riding the bus to the beach and one thing after the other, I learned that she's a Smithie! Her name's Chantel and she's from Santa Barbara. Go figure that she loves the beach. We decided to buddy up and go to the beach together. We spent the next 2 1/2 hours talking and doing our Hebrew homework. Even though I know I left Smith, I still love meeting up with Smithies. She also lived in Albright and has Justin Cammy, my old Jewish Studies advisor, for her advisor. She's studying Hebrew this summer to fulfill her major requirements for her Jewish Studies major. I'm proud of her!Now I'm glad that I didn't go to Tiberias! Maybe I'll try again on Monday or next Wednesday though... I want to do it from Haifa- it's just easier to do it than from Herzliya or Jerusalem.
Tomorrow, off to Jerusalem!!
I know, I look ridiculously tan. Maybe the Olympics on tv will keep me out of the sun while I stay with the Ravids...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Immigration Museum and Elijah's Cave
I felt so bad this morning. I tried to get up for the gym but the monitor didn't get there on time. Other people and I waited for a bit but after half-hour, I just really wanted to go back to bed. I didn't want to go to class. So I went back to sleep for another hour or so. I woke up very refreshed, especially with a shower.
First, I went to the secretary's office to tell her which phone I wanted. TalkNSave would be sending one out today and I'll get it tomorrow or Thursday, before I go to Jerusalem. Yay!!! Then, I went to class. Apparently, everyone knew that I got stung by a bee. I guess my classmate told everyone why I didn't show up. Roni was cool with it. Then she went on *gasp* another "therefore" lesson... all the stuff she posted for lessons today were repeats. So much for progress. Some people improved while others still struggle a bit to speak more naturally in Hebrew. I felt that my conversations with Lilach helped me out because I just snapped a sentence or two out of the air when we had to say sentences.
After class, I ran off to my room and quickly packed my lunch and began waiting at the bus stop. The Immigration Museum would be closing at 4 and I had no idea how long the ride would be or how big the museum was. I mistakely stepped on 36 bus when I should've taken the 24. So the 36 bus took me to the north bus station. That was good for me to know though when I want to head out to Tiberias for a day. (Haifa has two central bus stations- one in the south to serve all places south of Haifa and another one in the north to serve the Golan and Galilee areas). I switched to 114 that would take me along the route to the south station. I went too far past the museum so I ended up having to walk quite a bit.
The Museum was a bit tricky to find as I had to stop at the Maritime Museum to ask for directions. As it turned out, I had to go down the stairs. I hated the stairs- they're the very gradual kind and it's hard to step down without short-stepping or gliding. The security guy was very frisky- he really checked me over and asked for my ID (passport but I gave him my student ID). My ID was almost unacceptable!
I paid 5 shekels and went in. First, I went to see the audiovisual movie. It was a little hard to understand but it talked of the illegal immigration of DPs. After that, I walked the exhibits (I had about 30 minutes left). Almost everything was in Hebrew.
"Aliyah Bet" was an illegal immigration operation to save thousands of DPs and Holocaust survivors using the ships, which were later converted for the Israeli Navy to fight in the 1948 war. At that time, Palestine was still under British Mandate with heavy Jewish immigration restrictions. Only up to 1,250 Jews could immigrate legally to Palestine. Britian had planned to expand immigration and partition the state to a Jewish state and an Arab state but the Arabs shot down the idea in 1939. To pacify the Arabs while needing the oil and weaponry for the upcoming war against Hitler, Britain abandoned any ideas or promises to give Jews more opportunities to be in Palestine. Jews were very unhappy especially that the Jews in Eastern Europe needed a place to escape. During the war and after, the British Navy created a blockade to prevent any illegal immigration to Palestine. Aliyah Bet operated in the 1930s and from 1946 to1948, bringing in 50,000 safely to the shores of Palestine. Another 50,000 were captured and deported to Cyprus by the British. Many of the ships and resuce efforts came from American and Canadian Jews.
The ship, which held the audiovisual movie.
The exhibits themselves were alright. I saw photographs and objects from the operation and camps in Cyprus. There were also a bunch of old Ha'aretz newspapers.
What a dwelling looked like at a camp in Cyprus
Finally, I walked into an exhibit on the history of the Israeli Navy. I thought it was very interesting that the Israeli Navy was literally born out of claudestine immigration (PC term used by those involved) because they used the same ships and basically some of the people who participated in Aliyah Bet became fighters for Israel in the War of Independence. The exhibit covered many of the major battles fought- in 1959, 1967, 1973, 1982... The Navy also captured many terrorists. It was definitely the most interesting part because it seemed like Israel really prided on its navy to protect the fragile state and there were some pretty cool operations against the Egyptians and Syrians.
After the museum, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity of being across the street from Elijah's Cave. So I put on my white button down shirt and went up the stairs/ramp. I was expecting a big, big cave. Like a real cave that you see in Biblical movies. Instead, it was like a synagogue in a moutain. Elijah was one of the prophets and rumor had it that he stayed here on his way to a momentous confrontation with the prophets of Ba'al on the Carmel. "And Elijah said...Now Therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel." (I Kings 1B). This is one of Israel's most sacred caves.
The view from across the street
Men's side
Women's side
After the cave, I set to walk along Allenby Street towards Hadar to catch a bus back. It was a longer walk than I thought but mostly flat, thankfully. I decided to catch a sherut when I got tired but oops, I should've kept going to another bus stop because I finally saw a 37. Oh well. So the sherut dropped me off near Herzl street. Much, much to my joy and this greatly lifted my spirit- a Russian market!!! As I've mentioned Haifa has a pretty large Russian speaking population and I have yet to find an ethnic market until today. So I went in to look for Russian chocolates. I sampled one but it wasn't what I was thinking off. Then I looked in the refridgerated cases and looked at the prepared foods. Yum... one of the young Russian girls gave me several samples, which were all yummy. I picked out two potato pancakes and a sweet pancake. I also got several pieces of chocolates for Aunt Nancy to give to her on Friday and some chocolate covered marshmallows. I also picked out what I thought was a slice of honey cake (but later found out it wasn't). I was very happy and nothing seemed to matter for the moment.
By the way, here's a picture of McDonalds' on Herzl and thought you'd enjoy the little "McWall" sign. In Israel, the Israelis don't say "take-outs." Instead, they say "take-away." I would imagine it'd be confusing in a restaurant if you wanted to tell the waiter to "take-away" your food as in clearing the table..
While e-mailing with another graduate student, she talked about her research papers and such and I mentioned how I hadn't done anything this summer. Then I realized that when I'm in Israel, it's so hard for me to even think about research project ideas. Everything relating to graduate school is basically thrown out of the window when I land in Tel Aviv because my mind warps to "survival-mode." Whether it's a matter of being able to understand Hebrew or just... survival in a semi-state of war country, I just don't think about anything except making it to the end of the day alive and gaining more knowledge of Hebrew. No wonder why I wanted to make aliyah so badly a year ago- it was too hard for me to imagine any research ideas or maintain my interest in the Holocaust or American Jewish history. Or even want to go to graduate school. It's funny because when I was in Germany or Czech Republic (or Japan and Spain), my train of thought keeps running. In Israel, the tracks go nowhere in particular.
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