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
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