Friday morning at 6am and 60 international students are all getting onto a bus so that we can hike a few kilometers in the middle of the Negev Desert. Are we crazy? Maybe, but we are certainly fun. On the bus ride to our first desert stop, the Lower Wadi Zafit, many of us slept while the rest of us rocked out in the early morning sun and our rasta drivers excellent music choices. When we arrived, shortly after 9am, we split into two groups. Taking breaks every half hour or so to drink form our 3liters of water, we hiked a fairly popular trail that allowed us to see some of the most amazing views in the world. What was very exciting was that it also allowed us to learn about ourselves. Who's afraid of heights, who has small bladders...lol.
After finally finishing our hike at 1pm, we took a break for lunch and then headed to Aran. This small factory town in southern Israel is very simple, but the youth hostel we spent the weekend in was very comfortable. Fridaynight we had services, followed by an activity where we had to argue what is the core aspect of Shabbat. Is it community? Spirituality? Fulfilling Gods commandments? Family? Connecting with our past? Giving the enviorment a break? Well, we all made excellant points. This was followed with a delicious Friday night meal, but the evening would only be concluded after a few more hours of fun and games like Taboo and Shesh-Besh (Backgammon).
Saturday morning I went with two friends to a very small synagauge a 5 minute walk from our youth hostel and the services were amazing. It wasn't the Chazzan's (cantor's) voice, it wasn't the rabbis speach, or the physical synaguage. It was the fact that for the first time thus far we were experiencing an undiluted aspect of Israeli culture. There was no english, no Americanism, it was simply Israeli. After the services a Lubavitcher Chassid in the shul invited my friends and I for a small Kiddush of wine, crackers and Chummus. We felt obliged to attended and discovered just how persuasive Rabbis can be when they want you to take a shot at 10.30am. It was past 12 somewhere...maybe. The three of us went back to the Youth Hostel where we continued our prelunch snack with some cake, cookies and company provided by Aran, a new addition to the Madrich team.
Lunch, more taboo, Jeopordy and a stroll around the neighborhood led to the end of Shabbat and we headed back to Yerushalayim. Upon our return it started to rain. Suh-weeeeeeet!!! And now, on a beautiful Sunday morning, I'm going to head out the library. I have a busy day ahead of me.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
baby, that burns.
I'm staring out at Yerushalayim and I can see almost the entire city, it really is the City of Gold. This city, this country...I'm truly mesmerized. I've been noticing lately that I feel somehow handicapped here. It's not the language, I can maneuver my way with basic conversation, it's more the culture, the way the city is laid out and the fact that I feel very detached from everything. Two examples are most striking: I once again took the bus down to the center of town, Mirkaz HaEer, and passed through a number of neighborhoods. But the streets here curve this way and that way, they merge and re-emerge, they twist and turn. This isn't a planned/grid city like those I've been used to (Scranton, NYC, Binghamton) but rather it's a city that is constantly building upon itself. Every few years there's a new neighborhood springing up on yet another one of this citys numerous hills. And the thing is, each neighborhood really is distinct. They all have their own identities, histories and personalities that they are almost like their own towns. Of course, there are similarities between the communities, but still, they remain separate. HaHevdelim haim lo kol kach katanim. The differences aren't that small. The second example happened just last night. While making dinner I poured a pot of boiling water all over my foot. Before continuing let me just say that I'm fine, but at the time I got a bit nervous. Of course I rushed myself to the bathroom and thrust my leg into the shower, welcoming the cool rush of water. Nervous, I called one of the Madrichim and asked if there was anything more I should do. I had done all I could-and should- and lacking Aloe the next step would simply be to keep it in open air. Looking back at the situation I feel ridiculous. If I was back in the States I wouldn't have thought twice about what to do. Thrust the burn in cold water, let it dry, add neosporin and aloe as necessary and if I were to notice any problems go see a doctor. But here even something as simple as going to the emergency room would be hassle. In the states I could call a friend to drive their car, drive my own, call an ambulance. Here not only do I not only have my own car, nor do any of my friends, but I don't even know the 911 equivalent. Well, now I do (101, for all you folks planning on making a trip here), but its just the fact that I feel very exposed, very...out of control.
Other then that everything is really going well. This past weekend wasn't what I would have wanted it to be, but I'm just going to write it off as a learning experience. Thousand watt smiles everybody! I did actually bump into an old friend on Friday night and Sunday met up with Janet, a very dear family friend who had brought my contact lenses from the US. Oh, and I also went back to the Souk and got fruit and vegetables. Which, by the way, would have easily cost me nearly $20 american, but cost not even half that here. I know, "WOW" is right. I still have to work on figuring out where to buy dairy and meat as well as how to cook it all (need to buy at the very least one more pot and frying fan). Monday night I attended a Salsa class and though I'm so obviously a small town white boy (no hips) I do plan on returning next week. I also had the pleasure to attend a roundtable discussion of former US-Israel and Israel-US ambassadors and listen to them discuss the Israel-US relationship. Very cool! I'm also doing a bit better in Hebrew, but its still a lot of work.
Nehiyeh B'Kesher-We'll be in touch.
Other then that everything is really going well. This past weekend wasn't what I would have wanted it to be, but I'm just going to write it off as a learning experience. Thousand watt smiles everybody! I did actually bump into an old friend on Friday night and Sunday met up with Janet, a very dear family friend who had brought my contact lenses from the US. Oh, and I also went back to the Souk and got fruit and vegetables. Which, by the way, would have easily cost me nearly $20 american, but cost not even half that here. I know, "WOW" is right. I still have to work on figuring out where to buy dairy and meat as well as how to cook it all (need to buy at the very least one more pot and frying fan). Monday night I attended a Salsa class and though I'm so obviously a small town white boy (no hips) I do plan on returning next week. I also had the pleasure to attend a roundtable discussion of former US-Israel and Israel-US ambassadors and listen to them discuss the Israel-US relationship. Very cool! I'm also doing a bit better in Hebrew, but its still a lot of work.
Nehiyeh B'Kesher-We'll be in touch.
Friday, January 23, 2009
new apartments, old friends
I did end up meeting my mother for lunch. Following her Ulpan, my friend Molly and I took a bus down to the central bus station and then walked to a small shopping mall right next to it. There we met up witih my mother and Devo (shortendd hebrew version of the english Deborah). It was avery nice lunch, and I thoink we all enjoted it. Of course, thats wthout me mentioning the fact that because of traffic jams (P'kakaim) the bus ride, which ususally takes about 20 minutes, took about an hour. Ouch. Yeah, it was a bit painful.
Sunday evening there was an activity with my Madrichim (counselor/ra thing). It was fun, it was definitely a twist on some of the icebreakers and team-builders I've seen. Also during the activity I was speaking with Heather, one of Tobeys (a friend who came with me from the states) apartmentmates and this blog came up, so I promised her a shout out! I went to bed early that ngiht, all just to make sure that I'd be completely fresh and well rested for my Ulpan (hebrew language course). Well, Monday rolled around and I just bumped around for the first part of it, after all there isn't that much to do on a college campus when your not in class and don't know the area well...yet. My first day of class was actually fun and I felt really confident that I was in the right level (section 2 of intermediate). The past few days of Ulpan, however, ahve made me reconsider, but I'll get to that. Monday evening there was an opening night of a Toah study program where if you come on Monday nights and study a jewish topic with a partner for a bit then you get dinner. I went with a bunch of friends and had a really wonderful time. I found an awesome view of Jerusalem, won a bottle of wine in a raffle and spoke with some really cool people. I left being unsure if I would sign up for the program or not, I don't want to have too many commitments during my "semester off". Whatever. Tuesdays Ulpan was okay but at times I did get a bit lost and on Wednesday during break I met with the teacher to get an extra bit of help, something she said shed be willing to do whenever I needed. It was also on Tuesday that I signed up for the gym (sooo expensive, but I need it) and on Tuesday night I went to a really cool concert. It was right here, on campus, and was free, atleast for international students. What was really cool was the factthat it wasn't simply some no name band, it actually a very well known and repsected Israeli musician. Also at the concert was this blonde girl with dreadlocks that make Bob Marley look silly. It was cool because she had been working at the cafe that I went to last Thursday night. Wednesday I really wasn't feeling well and decided that I would need to go to the doctor. That was also the day that completely bombed a quiz. Not my greatest moment. The fact that I'm struggeling with Ulpan really bothers me becuase of how I usually do in classes, but its so tough when Im missing key background information. After Ulpan and my bombed quiz I went to see if Elain, Hillel at HU's liason to international students and a really cool gal, could help me figure out the whole doctor thing. We figured it out together and then I helped her develop a program, which was later nixed. That evening I worked on some hebrew and hung out with some israelis.
Thursday, yesterday, was a bit hectic. I had Ulpan at 8.15, a doctors appointment at 11.30, an activity fair from 12-3, my friend Yael was coming to visit, I had to move, I wanted to go the gym and that evening I was supposed to hang out with Molly and a friend of hers from the military. It all went well. To sum it up, the Israeli medicine system is strange, the fair was cool, I love how BU jews basically create our own fmaily that spans class years and continents, the gym will take adjusting too and sometimes the best times are getting lost in cars and not finding a place to sit.
oh, and I love my new place!
More to come, I miss you all! *shout out to BU, WNEC, ADK, and UofS people that i miss terribly*
Sunday evening there was an activity with my Madrichim (counselor/ra thing). It was fun, it was definitely a twist on some of the icebreakers and team-builders I've seen. Also during the activity I was speaking with Heather, one of Tobeys (a friend who came with me from the states) apartmentmates and this blog came up, so I promised her a shout out! I went to bed early that ngiht, all just to make sure that I'd be completely fresh and well rested for my Ulpan (hebrew language course). Well, Monday rolled around and I just bumped around for the first part of it, after all there isn't that much to do on a college campus when your not in class and don't know the area well...yet. My first day of class was actually fun and I felt really confident that I was in the right level (section 2 of intermediate). The past few days of Ulpan, however, ahve made me reconsider, but I'll get to that. Monday evening there was an opening night of a Toah study program where if you come on Monday nights and study a jewish topic with a partner for a bit then you get dinner. I went with a bunch of friends and had a really wonderful time. I found an awesome view of Jerusalem, won a bottle of wine in a raffle and spoke with some really cool people. I left being unsure if I would sign up for the program or not, I don't want to have too many commitments during my "semester off". Whatever. Tuesdays Ulpan was okay but at times I did get a bit lost and on Wednesday during break I met with the teacher to get an extra bit of help, something she said shed be willing to do whenever I needed. It was also on Tuesday that I signed up for the gym (sooo expensive, but I need it) and on Tuesday night I went to a really cool concert. It was right here, on campus, and was free, atleast for international students. What was really cool was the factthat it wasn't simply some no name band, it actually a very well known and repsected Israeli musician. Also at the concert was this blonde girl with dreadlocks that make Bob Marley look silly. It was cool because she had been working at the cafe that I went to last Thursday night. Wednesday I really wasn't feeling well and decided that I would need to go to the doctor. That was also the day that completely bombed a quiz. Not my greatest moment. The fact that I'm struggeling with Ulpan really bothers me becuase of how I usually do in classes, but its so tough when Im missing key background information. After Ulpan and my bombed quiz I went to see if Elain, Hillel at HU's liason to international students and a really cool gal, could help me figure out the whole doctor thing. We figured it out together and then I helped her develop a program, which was later nixed. That evening I worked on some hebrew and hung out with some israelis.
Thursday, yesterday, was a bit hectic. I had Ulpan at 8.15, a doctors appointment at 11.30, an activity fair from 12-3, my friend Yael was coming to visit, I had to move, I wanted to go the gym and that evening I was supposed to hang out with Molly and a friend of hers from the military. It all went well. To sum it up, the Israeli medicine system is strange, the fair was cool, I love how BU jews basically create our own fmaily that spans class years and continents, the gym will take adjusting too and sometimes the best times are getting lost in cars and not finding a place to sit.
oh, and I love my new place!
More to come, I miss you all! *shout out to BU, WNEC, ADK, and UofS people that i miss terribly*
Saturday, January 17, 2009
apartments and friends
My last post ended last Sunday evening, when I was hanging out with some friends from school and when my sister got engaged. A lot has happened since then! Monday was quiet, I went to the Tayelet (Hass Promenade) and took a bunch of photos, of which most are being uploaded to Facebook. I think it was that evening that I went to my grandmother because my uncle was going to be on the radio and it was pretty cool. We only caught the last few minutes of it becuase there was a musical performance at her apartment building, but both the music and the interview were really cool. Tuesday, my friends, was a really crazy day.
Lets start with the fact that m y mother was supposed to arrive on a 6.40am flight and my uncle drove the hour to the airport to pick her up. After waiting there for approximatly two hours, during which we heard nothing from my mother becuase of her lack of a phone card and a cell phone, he gave up and went to work because he was already very late. The only one at my uncles house, I was waiting by the phone hoping to hear from her, but to no avail. After we hadn't heard from her, nearly four hours after her arrival, a few of started getting nervous and started making phont calls to everyone from airport security, to the airline, to the airport cab service. CRAZINESS! Of course, after we all flip out she calls from my grandmothers. Apparently my uncle and she just missed eachother and she took a cab into the city. Oh well. The rest of the day was spent with some hectice wedding plans for my sister. That evening we (my mother, one of my uncles and I) were back at my grandmothers place. At first there were three languages being spoken, dutch, english and hebrew. The conversation simply flowed between the three but since I don't understand dutch I was a bit out of it. THen my great uncle stopped by. Originally swiss, he speaks hebrew and german but no english or dutch. At this point I was actualyl able to converse because I ahve my basic level of linguistic skills in both. It was fun and he was glad that we had those two languages we could communicate in. Wednesday my aunt drove me to move into the dorms and register with t he university. All fun and games until I actually stepped into the apartment. The guys (Eitan, Brahm, Hillel and ______blanking on his name) are all really chill but are all really really messy and the level of kosher is questionable. I ended up meeting some really chill people and found a study abroad buddy, Molly. We have a bunch of friends in common and neither of us want to hang in American places so its been cool. That night we went to the mall and I got a pillow for my bed and the spiciest Shwarma (an Israeli meal consisting of slivers of lamb in a wrap http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawarma). I crashed pretty early and Thursday consisted of a brunch, a trip to the market of Machaneh Yehudah, and then orientation, followed by a trip to the grovery store. Its gonna be an adjustment getting used to the difference in prices and what foods are cheap. That night Molly, my apartment mates and a friend of Brahms went to center city were we split up, Molly and I meeting up with a soldier friend of hers in a small but amazingly fun cafe and the rest going to smoke hookah. (hookah=blech). We got back at like 1am and I called it a night becuase I was planning on going to the kotel (western wall) early in the morning. I did end up going and spent a nice bit of time there, after which I bumped intoa bunch of people from my program and ended up showing them around parts of Jerusalems old city and the safe way to get to the market.
That eevning was a communal dinner I had bought a ticket to at a nearby hotel. I ended up sitting with vevry relaxed crowd and while walking to there as well as to prayers I spoke with the represenative from Hillel International, who actually thought I should continue Shmoozing With Shmuel here, but I told her I wouldn't have the time. Dinner was buffett style and at my tabel was one of my Madrichim. A Madrich, as explained by them, is a cross between an RA and a camp counselor. They plan program and help with adjustment and any questions, but aren't there to really enforce University policy. Anyway, I was sitting with my Madricha, Rotem, and her boyfriend, Nir, as well as with Aran, Molly, Scotty and Molly. So we are there sitting and the Hillel girl, Elian, and Eli, a male Madrich, wanted me to help lead a song. So they get up there and they are trying to get everyone to sing, but it really doens't work, so I helped out and we all had a really fun time. Later on I edned up spening a good bit of time chilling with some of the girls on the program as well as with Eli and all in all it was a fun evening. Saturday morning I went to services at 8.15, which finished at 10.45. Since lunch wasnt going to start till 11.30 I decided to take a short nap...and woke up at like 12 something. I decided to go the second lunch but that didnt really happen so I ate some food I had bought on Thursday and went to sleep until it was time to end the Sabbath. After that I went to prayers and then grabbed my wallet and went to my uncles house.
Both my uncles, my granmother, and both my aunts (including the one I hadn't yet met) were all there as there was going to be a small early-birthday party for my mother. 4 of my cousins ended up coming and I got to meet my cousins son as well, which was really cool. Hes cute. A few more people trickled in throughout the night and my Aunt Netta lent me blanket because the one I had brought with me really wasn't warm enough for the Israeli winters.
Hmm, so then I ended up getting a ride back to campus with my great uncle and aunt and spent the evening hanging out with Molly and Tova. And now its Sunday morning, most people are in class but I dont start Ulpan (hebrew language courses) until tomorrow. I may be meeting my mother for lunch.
Lets start with the fact that m y mother was supposed to arrive on a 6.40am flight and my uncle drove the hour to the airport to pick her up. After waiting there for approximatly two hours, during which we heard nothing from my mother becuase of her lack of a phone card and a cell phone, he gave up and went to work because he was already very late. The only one at my uncles house, I was waiting by the phone hoping to hear from her, but to no avail. After we hadn't heard from her, nearly four hours after her arrival, a few of started getting nervous and started making phont calls to everyone from airport security, to the airline, to the airport cab service. CRAZINESS! Of course, after we all flip out she calls from my grandmothers. Apparently my uncle and she just missed eachother and she took a cab into the city. Oh well. The rest of the day was spent with some hectice wedding plans for my sister. That evening we (my mother, one of my uncles and I) were back at my grandmothers place. At first there were three languages being spoken, dutch, english and hebrew. The conversation simply flowed between the three but since I don't understand dutch I was a bit out of it. THen my great uncle stopped by. Originally swiss, he speaks hebrew and german but no english or dutch. At this point I was actualyl able to converse because I ahve my basic level of linguistic skills in both. It was fun and he was glad that we had those two languages we could communicate in. Wednesday my aunt drove me to move into the dorms and register with t he university. All fun and games until I actually stepped into the apartment. The guys (Eitan, Brahm, Hillel and ______blanking on his name) are all really chill but are all really really messy and the level of kosher is questionable. I ended up meeting some really chill people and found a study abroad buddy, Molly. We have a bunch of friends in common and neither of us want to hang in American places so its been cool. That night we went to the mall and I got a pillow for my bed and the spiciest Shwarma (an Israeli meal consisting of slivers of lamb in a wrap http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawarma). I crashed pretty early and Thursday consisted of a brunch, a trip to the market of Machaneh Yehudah, and then orientation, followed by a trip to the grovery store. Its gonna be an adjustment getting used to the difference in prices and what foods are cheap. That night Molly, my apartment mates and a friend of Brahms went to center city were we split up, Molly and I meeting up with a soldier friend of hers in a small but amazingly fun cafe and the rest going to smoke hookah. (hookah=blech). We got back at like 1am and I called it a night becuase I was planning on going to the kotel (western wall) early in the morning. I did end up going and spent a nice bit of time there, after which I bumped intoa bunch of people from my program and ended up showing them around parts of Jerusalems old city and the safe way to get to the market.
That eevning was a communal dinner I had bought a ticket to at a nearby hotel. I ended up sitting with vevry relaxed crowd and while walking to there as well as to prayers I spoke with the represenative from Hillel International, who actually thought I should continue Shmoozing With Shmuel here, but I told her I wouldn't have the time. Dinner was buffett style and at my tabel was one of my Madrichim. A Madrich, as explained by them, is a cross between an RA and a camp counselor. They plan program and help with adjustment and any questions, but aren't there to really enforce University policy. Anyway, I was sitting with my Madricha, Rotem, and her boyfriend, Nir, as well as with Aran, Molly, Scotty and Molly. So we are there sitting and the Hillel girl, Elian, and Eli, a male Madrich, wanted me to help lead a song. So they get up there and they are trying to get everyone to sing, but it really doens't work, so I helped out and we all had a really fun time. Later on I edned up spening a good bit of time chilling with some of the girls on the program as well as with Eli and all in all it was a fun evening. Saturday morning I went to services at 8.15, which finished at 10.45. Since lunch wasnt going to start till 11.30 I decided to take a short nap...and woke up at like 12 something. I decided to go the second lunch but that didnt really happen so I ate some food I had bought on Thursday and went to sleep until it was time to end the Sabbath. After that I went to prayers and then grabbed my wallet and went to my uncles house.
Both my uncles, my granmother, and both my aunts (including the one I hadn't yet met) were all there as there was going to be a small early-birthday party for my mother. 4 of my cousins ended up coming and I got to meet my cousins son as well, which was really cool. Hes cute. A few more people trickled in throughout the night and my Aunt Netta lent me blanket because the one I had brought with me really wasn't warm enough for the Israeli winters.
Hmm, so then I ended up getting a ride back to campus with my great uncle and aunt and spent the evening hanging out with Molly and Tova. And now its Sunday morning, most people are in class but I dont start Ulpan (hebrew language courses) until tomorrow. I may be meeting my mother for lunch.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
and it all ended with an engagment...the friday through sunday post
A whole lot can happen in three days. Friday was pleasant. I went grocery shopping with my aunt and besides that didin't really do much. What actually proved really interesting was Friday night when all of us (my uncle, aunt and cousin) all went to shul (synagogue) together. I had been to this shul nearly five years ago, when it was new, and remember remarking howmuch the interior looked like an art gallery and how they should really put some art work up. Well, apparently I wasn't the only one who thought that way because now there are beautiful modern paintings and pictures all over the place. Also on Friday night the shul had a visit form a contingent of lutheren ministers from the US and Canada and it was fun to have them there, atleast I thought so.
Saturday morning we returned to services, which was also nice, and then went to my grandmothers for a quick visit and then to friends of the family for lunch. As it happened, they ahd other guests there as well and I ended up having some common friends with both of them. Following lunch I decided to take a nap...and ended up waking two hours laters for the end of Shabbat.
After Shabbat I called Tova, a friend of mine who is in the same university as me both here and at home. She had stayed close by for Shabbat but because we werent sure exactly where we hadnt arranged to meet up durin the day. Anyway, we made up to meet up at 9 oclock that evening when I had finished attending a small social event with my grandmother and she had finished visiting a friend who was in the area. Let me tell you, its times like those that make me really ancious to get my cell phone for Israel already. I finished with my grandmother earlier then expected (after hearing a funny story being told about upstate new york and I totally knew the highway they were refering to...go rt 17) and called my friend from a pay phone. Well, she hadnt yet finished visitng her friend but told me to somply walk over, get through security and then we would all go for dinner together. I somehow managed to get directions to the place and when arrived found my friend and three others all sitting around outside of the security booth. So it was Tova, her best friend--and a really cool person--Beth, Beths brother and a friend of all of them from high school, who lived where we were hanging out. After a bit we all decided to go down a few blocks to grab dinner at the neighborhood social street (kind of like a shop/restaraunt village), which on saturday night is covered with Americans. So we went and ended up grabbing pizza. *Side note: Last Tuesday night at my friend Tobey we had gone to pizza and I had remarked that it would be my last American thing before leaving the country. Ha. We were sooned joined by around six other friends of theirs from highschool and were sitting at the table right next to the daughter of the friends we ahd seen for lunch. After pizza all of the other people had to go back to their respective schools, but Tova, Beth and I walked the half mile to our respective hosts together. All in all a very fun evening.
Sunday: My wake up was my sister, telling me that it wasnt official yet but she was engaged. It would be official soon and only then could I tell friends and relatives. It was akward when I had to walk my uncle and aunt and not tell them anything about the phone call. I went back to sleep for a bit and when I fianly got up just hung around the house waiting for it to be 2pm here, 7pm EST, so I could call my mother and ask her a few questions, some aboutt he angagment and some about random stuff. Following that conversation I headed towards the center of town to find the ministry of tourism so I could get a free map.
THe bus ride was fun, I met an American (we are all over the place) and found the place i needed quite easily. Then it started to rain. I'm not talking about a drizzle. I go to school in one of the rainiest cities in the US and I still thought this was intense. In the rain I started running back and forth across the ministry court yard and security guards kept on telling me to go to different places. Fed up and soaked through and through after about forty minutes of that I went away, found the nearest bookstore and unhappily shelled out the cash for the map. At that point I really really didn't want to do anything else. I was happy it was raining, Israel needs it, but unhappy that I was so wet anduncomfortab;e going into a store to find shelter because I didnt want to leave a huge puddle in the otherwise clean shops. And I couldn't go home because I was supposed to be meeting friends in about two hours. I ended up finding cover under an archway and waited there until the storm had passed. Then I began to explore.
I had intended to find the ultra orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, but instead got a bit lost and ended up in Machaneh Yehuda. It literally translates to "the encampment of Judah" but today ti is one of the largest and most famous market sites, well reknown for its cheap wares and well priced fresh foods. I was happy I had found it. My friends and family all rave about it but I myself had never been. After getting bored there (why do I always end up in fun places alone?) I went to the place my friends and I werer all planning on meeting for dinner. Oh, thats right, pizza again! Well, I was really early but saw a sign advertising (thats sounds a bit too commercial, it was more announcing) the fact that the first shul to be constructed outside of the older part of Yerushalyim was just down an alley way. The entire day I'd been hoping to find a place which I could just duck into for a few mintues to say the afternoon prayers, so when I found this place I was really happy. I went in and at first was just going to pray by mself, but one of the men there told me that the communal prayers would be starting in a few minutes and I should really just wait.
I walked into the main prayer room and found the rabbi giving a class. near the end of the class he started telling this story where at one point he refered to people calling him " Rabbi Slonim". Well, Rabbi Slonim is the name of one of the rabbis on my home campus. He and his wife so a lot of programming for the students and I have eaten countless Sabbath and Holiday meals at their table. Asking the man sitting next to me if I had heard the name correctly, I waited till after prayers and then went over the rabbi, asking him if there was any relationship. Relationship? It was this was the rabbi at my schools father! We spoke for a bit, me in my somewhat broken hebrew, and he asked that I return at some point with a bunch of Binghamton people so he could tell his son he has met us.
I then went to meet up with my friends but at 6.20 when no one had shown up sat down to eat by myself. It was kinda sad but when I finished I called Tova from the shop next door (aaaaaaaaaaaah, no cellphone yet) and found out that atleast she and Ayla were on their way. While waiting Chasida showed up and we all got in contact with one another but ended up eating at a differnt location. Well, thats not entirly true. We started off in another pizza place but then ended up going to a bakery restaraunt. Before heading over to the bakery, however, we were all sitting down when my one friend, Dan, started to wish me congratulations. I was like "excuse me?" and so he said it was on my sisters engagment. Shocked, not knowing that it was offical yet, I asked him how he knew and he said that my brother Zvi had posted int on facebook. "I guess its official then" i said, and told the other four what was going on. Two of us ordered real food, two of us (meself included) split abag of AMAZING pastries and the last two were just there for the company. It ended up that the one guy who was with us, Isaiah, had been mugged a few days before so w e all gave him a bit of cash. He had a place to stay, thank goodness, but no one wants to be without money. All in all we had a really fun time, at one point seeing a couple on a date and maybe a bit too loudly discussing how cute it was.
We were all heading in differend directions so I walked with Chasidah and then hailed her a cab, after which I myself headed to a bus stop. @nd thing that always happens to me: I get lost on bus routes. Seriously, all the time. Love cars, hate buses. Blah. So I go on the bus which says its heading to my uncles neighborhood but start dozing off a bit and when Im fully conscious realized it was the end of the line. I get off the bus and ask some people for directions, but they werent entirly sure and the directions I got werent that clear. Pulling out m y map (thank goodness I had that thing) I found where I was and proceeded to head in what I thought was the right directions. *BUZZER SOUND* wrong direction. After walking for about a mile I was surrounded by nothingness except for a highway and, in desperation, hailed a cab. Well, I was on the right street, heading in the wrong direction. It cost me about five dollars to get home but at that point I really didn't mind. Arriving home my aunt wason the phone with my mother bach home and it was obvious that the engagment had become official. Yays. We spoke about that for a bit, I checked my email, facebook etc, and then went to bed, hanging my still soaking wet pants up to dry. And now its today. lol
Saturday morning we returned to services, which was also nice, and then went to my grandmothers for a quick visit and then to friends of the family for lunch. As it happened, they ahd other guests there as well and I ended up having some common friends with both of them. Following lunch I decided to take a nap...and ended up waking two hours laters for the end of Shabbat.
After Shabbat I called Tova, a friend of mine who is in the same university as me both here and at home. She had stayed close by for Shabbat but because we werent sure exactly where we hadnt arranged to meet up durin the day. Anyway, we made up to meet up at 9 oclock that evening when I had finished attending a small social event with my grandmother and she had finished visiting a friend who was in the area. Let me tell you, its times like those that make me really ancious to get my cell phone for Israel already. I finished with my grandmother earlier then expected (after hearing a funny story being told about upstate new york and I totally knew the highway they were refering to...go rt 17) and called my friend from a pay phone. Well, she hadnt yet finished visitng her friend but told me to somply walk over, get through security and then we would all go for dinner together. I somehow managed to get directions to the place and when arrived found my friend and three others all sitting around outside of the security booth. So it was Tova, her best friend--and a really cool person--Beth, Beths brother and a friend of all of them from high school, who lived where we were hanging out. After a bit we all decided to go down a few blocks to grab dinner at the neighborhood social street (kind of like a shop/restaraunt village), which on saturday night is covered with Americans. So we went and ended up grabbing pizza. *Side note: Last Tuesday night at my friend Tobey we had gone to pizza and I had remarked that it would be my last American thing before leaving the country. Ha. We were sooned joined by around six other friends of theirs from highschool and were sitting at the table right next to the daughter of the friends we ahd seen for lunch. After pizza all of the other people had to go back to their respective schools, but Tova, Beth and I walked the half mile to our respective hosts together. All in all a very fun evening.
Sunday: My wake up was my sister, telling me that it wasnt official yet but she was engaged. It would be official soon and only then could I tell friends and relatives. It was akward when I had to walk my uncle and aunt and not tell them anything about the phone call. I went back to sleep for a bit and when I fianly got up just hung around the house waiting for it to be 2pm here, 7pm EST, so I could call my mother and ask her a few questions, some aboutt he angagment and some about random stuff. Following that conversation I headed towards the center of town to find the ministry of tourism so I could get a free map.
THe bus ride was fun, I met an American (we are all over the place) and found the place i needed quite easily. Then it started to rain. I'm not talking about a drizzle. I go to school in one of the rainiest cities in the US and I still thought this was intense. In the rain I started running back and forth across the ministry court yard and security guards kept on telling me to go to different places. Fed up and soaked through and through after about forty minutes of that I went away, found the nearest bookstore and unhappily shelled out the cash for the map. At that point I really really didn't want to do anything else. I was happy it was raining, Israel needs it, but unhappy that I was so wet anduncomfortab;e going into a store to find shelter because I didnt want to leave a huge puddle in the otherwise clean shops. And I couldn't go home because I was supposed to be meeting friends in about two hours. I ended up finding cover under an archway and waited there until the storm had passed. Then I began to explore.
I had intended to find the ultra orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, but instead got a bit lost and ended up in Machaneh Yehuda. It literally translates to "the encampment of Judah" but today ti is one of the largest and most famous market sites, well reknown for its cheap wares and well priced fresh foods. I was happy I had found it. My friends and family all rave about it but I myself had never been. After getting bored there (why do I always end up in fun places alone?) I went to the place my friends and I werer all planning on meeting for dinner. Oh, thats right, pizza again! Well, I was really early but saw a sign advertising (thats sounds a bit too commercial, it was more announcing) the fact that the first shul to be constructed outside of the older part of Yerushalyim was just down an alley way. The entire day I'd been hoping to find a place which I could just duck into for a few mintues to say the afternoon prayers, so when I found this place I was really happy. I went in and at first was just going to pray by mself, but one of the men there told me that the communal prayers would be starting in a few minutes and I should really just wait.
I walked into the main prayer room and found the rabbi giving a class. near the end of the class he started telling this story where at one point he refered to people calling him " Rabbi Slonim". Well, Rabbi Slonim is the name of one of the rabbis on my home campus. He and his wife so a lot of programming for the students and I have eaten countless Sabbath and Holiday meals at their table. Asking the man sitting next to me if I had heard the name correctly, I waited till after prayers and then went over the rabbi, asking him if there was any relationship. Relationship? It was this was the rabbi at my schools father! We spoke for a bit, me in my somewhat broken hebrew, and he asked that I return at some point with a bunch of Binghamton people so he could tell his son he has met us.
I then went to meet up with my friends but at 6.20 when no one had shown up sat down to eat by myself. It was kinda sad but when I finished I called Tova from the shop next door (aaaaaaaaaaaah, no cellphone yet) and found out that atleast she and Ayla were on their way. While waiting Chasida showed up and we all got in contact with one another but ended up eating at a differnt location. Well, thats not entirly true. We started off in another pizza place but then ended up going to a bakery restaraunt. Before heading over to the bakery, however, we were all sitting down when my one friend, Dan, started to wish me congratulations. I was like "excuse me?" and so he said it was on my sisters engagment. Shocked, not knowing that it was offical yet, I asked him how he knew and he said that my brother Zvi had posted int on facebook. "I guess its official then" i said, and told the other four what was going on. Two of us ordered real food, two of us (meself included) split abag of AMAZING pastries and the last two were just there for the company. It ended up that the one guy who was with us, Isaiah, had been mugged a few days before so w e all gave him a bit of cash. He had a place to stay, thank goodness, but no one wants to be without money. All in all we had a really fun time, at one point seeing a couple on a date and maybe a bit too loudly discussing how cute it was.
We were all heading in differend directions so I walked with Chasidah and then hailed her a cab, after which I myself headed to a bus stop. @nd thing that always happens to me: I get lost on bus routes. Seriously, all the time. Love cars, hate buses. Blah. So I go on the bus which says its heading to my uncles neighborhood but start dozing off a bit and when Im fully conscious realized it was the end of the line. I get off the bus and ask some people for directions, but they werent entirly sure and the directions I got werent that clear. Pulling out m y map (thank goodness I had that thing) I found where I was and proceeded to head in what I thought was the right directions. *BUZZER SOUND* wrong direction. After walking for about a mile I was surrounded by nothingness except for a highway and, in desperation, hailed a cab. Well, I was on the right street, heading in the wrong direction. It cost me about five dollars to get home but at that point I really didn't mind. Arriving home my aunt wason the phone with my mother bach home and it was obvious that the engagment had become official. Yays. We spoke about that for a bit, I checked my email, facebook etc, and then went to bed, hanging my still soaking wet pants up to dry. And now its today. lol
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Helloooooo Israel
Lets recap. Tuesday I left home and spent the night at a friend close to the airport. Fun times. LOVED her family, brother mother cousins, the whole deal. That ngiht we hung out and met up with a mutual friend to say goodbye.
The ariport was cool. I had drank come coffee earlier to be alert but it just make like every molecule in my body like zap up and I was uncomfortably wired and nauseous. Unfortunately, security thought I was on a birthright trip and put me in the group line. NOT cool. So anyway, Im standing there with my suitcases that weigh way to much and ended up talking with the woman who was behind me and we ended up being fast friends cus we ahve friendsvin common. uber cool. So anywya, we end up complaining to security that were no on BR and get bumped to the express lane. after check in and baggage weighing I was still coffee buzzing so I bought some water but had to down the entire bottle because the security check was right there. Oh, that was a minor issue.
Going through they hadnt told me to remove m laptop so I had to go through twice, take off my shoes (not the norm here) and then finally claim all my carryon stuff, which, by the way, was over the limit. so then i bump into a guy from school and then ind my new friend Shelley as well. yays.
Boarding was okay and at fist i thought i was gonna be in an aisle by myself, ha. wishful thinking. ending up sitting with two very nice survivors and in front of a nice quiet ultraorthodox family.
movies were okay, nothing too exciting but I couldnt get a single wink of sleep. oh, and we had awhole lot of urbulance which wasnt the best but we all dealt.
Arriving was also a breeze because of my student visa but while helping an old couple get their bags off the rack I by mistake lightly bumped this one woman and she wasnt too happy and bad mouthed my in hebrew to her hubby. she didnt think i uderstood. I couldnt decide whether to confront her or not but decided that I didnt want to ruin my first day with her negativity.
Anywho, took the cab into town with shelley and her daughter because they live only a few bocks from here and as they departed the cab anotehr woman was there and she is actually from my home town. Im telling you, we're secretely taking over the world.
the rest of the day I spent with my grandmother and family. I was at her assited living and then my uncle and aunts place and just tried to get adjusted to the time zone. I somehow lost 18 hours. its kinda awesome.
okay, enough for now, more later, missing everyone!
The ariport was cool. I had drank come coffee earlier to be alert but it just make like every molecule in my body like zap up and I was uncomfortably wired and nauseous. Unfortunately, security thought I was on a birthright trip and put me in the group line. NOT cool. So anyway, Im standing there with my suitcases that weigh way to much and ended up talking with the woman who was behind me and we ended up being fast friends cus we ahve friendsvin common. uber cool. So anywya, we end up complaining to security that were no on BR and get bumped to the express lane. after check in and baggage weighing I was still coffee buzzing so I bought some water but had to down the entire bottle because the security check was right there. Oh, that was a minor issue.
Going through they hadnt told me to remove m laptop so I had to go through twice, take off my shoes (not the norm here) and then finally claim all my carryon stuff, which, by the way, was over the limit. so then i bump into a guy from school and then ind my new friend Shelley as well. yays.
Boarding was okay and at fist i thought i was gonna be in an aisle by myself, ha. wishful thinking. ending up sitting with two very nice survivors and in front of a nice quiet ultraorthodox family.
movies were okay, nothing too exciting but I couldnt get a single wink of sleep. oh, and we had awhole lot of urbulance which wasnt the best but we all dealt.
Arriving was also a breeze because of my student visa but while helping an old couple get their bags off the rack I by mistake lightly bumped this one woman and she wasnt too happy and bad mouthed my in hebrew to her hubby. she didnt think i uderstood. I couldnt decide whether to confront her or not but decided that I didnt want to ruin my first day with her negativity.
Anywho, took the cab into town with shelley and her daughter because they live only a few bocks from here and as they departed the cab anotehr woman was there and she is actually from my home town. Im telling you, we're secretely taking over the world.
the rest of the day I spent with my grandmother and family. I was at her assited living and then my uncle and aunts place and just tried to get adjusted to the time zone. I somehow lost 18 hours. its kinda awesome.
okay, enough for now, more later, missing everyone!
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