On the First Night of Chanukah

My sister, Cheryl, and my mother planned to come visit me in Israel this winter so we have spent the past few weeks planning this vacation.

Now that they have finally come its time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We spend the last few days in Tel Aviv exploring and relaxing and took a day trip up north but I will get back to that later. For now I just want to discuss the first night of Chanukah.

 (Dead Sea Factory)

We drove to the Dead Sea area today and picked the perfect day to do so, they weather was amazing, 80 degrees and sunny. Stopped at the Ahava center and of course we were sucked into buying some lotions. Then we drove most of the way down the Dead Sea to picnic on the beach. The weather was absolutely perfect but the water was a bit cold so we just went in a bit past our knees. Afterwards we drove to our Kibbutz hotel in Ein Gedi. This place is perfect. It has lovely, clean rooms which give you the kibbutz feel, it has beautiful landscaping with gorgeous trees, it is surrounded by views of the Dead Sea and surrounding mountains, it is not overly packed with tourist and tonight the weather was just perfect to sit outside with a long-sleeved t-shirt and scarf and be perfectly pleasant. 

 

(chanukiah made out of coffee beans)

My mom, sister and I went to light Chanukah candles in the lobby this evening and there were other people gathering to do the same, the hotel was passing out sufganiot (donuts) and everyone seemed excited for the holiday to begin. Afterwards I went back to my room to do a bit of work. Although I was working on an article for my internship and not feeling completely free as though I was on vacation, I felt like it was the first time in a long time that I felt relaxed. What a huge contrast from Tel Aviv, where I was just a night ago. It was quiet all around me, it seemed as though the world had slowed down for the first time in a long time. I am not someone who usually enjoys alone time and silence but whatever was here tonight was perfect and I needed it. 

My cousins stayed here when they came and visited last year, Matt highly recommended it, I understand why, this is a perfect place for him.

 '
(Huge Tree on the Kibbutz)

I am looking forward to the next few relaxing days ahead of me and for 7 more tasty, bright, fun days Chanukah.

New Places and New Things the Past Few Weekends

A few weekends ago Idan's mom planned a nice horseback riding adventure. We drove up North of Tel Aviv to Hof Dor (Dor Beach) where there was a small community built on the water where you could horseback ride. The beach was absolutely beautiful. There were even a handful of people there and a few were even swimming. We hung out on the beach for a while then went riding. I was a bit nervous because as good as my hebrew is, I have never learned the vocab for horseback riding. The guy who helped me on my horse quickly figured that out so he helped me in English but the other instructors didn't realize. I think I may have missed the memo on how to get them to speed up but not really sure. They named each of the horses and when they wanted to talk to you they called the horses name, I was Albert for the afternoon.

We walked for a while in an area with brush and then came to the beach and walked along it for a while. It was the perfect day to ride along the water and the perfect time of day with the sun pretty low in the sky. Afterwards we went back to the beach to have a nice picnic. Idan's mom is a great cook so it was a lovely picnic with lovely company and a lovely view.

Two weekends ago I explored another new type of transportation in Israel. The community bikes in Tel Aviv. They have this new system where  you can rent bikes at different stations around the city. You pay a few dollars to take it but if you return it within the next 30 minutes you have no additional charges. It sounds simple and convienent but they still have some kinks to work out. First, if you do not have a year membership there are only some stations where you can take from - pretty inconvienent, or what if there are not any bikes when you want to rent. Well this weekend Idan and I had some nice and no so nice adventures on the bikes.

Friday we went to 3 stations before we found a place that rented fo daily use and had bikes available. Then we rode to the South end of Tel Aviv and at lunch at this fun tapas restaurant in a new, updated area of Tel Aviv. Its an old train station which they have redone and put lots of fancy shops and restaurants in. Nice place to explore. Luckily we docked the bikes there before 30 minutes so we werent charged extra and when we wanted to continue our adventure there were bikes available. After we rode down the beach to meet one of my Israeli friends who just returned from her South American travels. We sat and had coffee and heard all about her adventures. We had a beautiful view of the sea and the sun looked perfect in the sky. After we grabbed another set of bikes and rode most of the way up the shore then back around to Idans.

 

The smells that you pass in this city\country on Friday's are truely delicious. There is smells of the tastiest food coming from everyone's windows and in Tel Aviv the restaurants are hopping on Fridays, the combination made for a delicious smelling bike ride.

That night his whole family (cousins and all) were getting together for Shabbat dinner at his aunts. Lots of good food, company and hebrew. I am surprised how well I can keep up with the conversation but by the end of the night man am I tired.

Saturday we decided to go on another biking adventure with his cousins and friend. This time the Tel Aviv bikes took a bit more planning. He and I were going to rent at a station near Tel Aviv's "central" park. But at that station you couldnt do daily memberships so we walked to a station near Idan, got our daily membership tickets then drove to the park. But no, its not that easy, there were 10 bikes there and only 1 was working. We took that one bike and walked over a mile looking for another station. Finally I just sat down with our stuff and Idan went riding looking for the next station. A little while later he came back with 2 bikes. Good thing he did not send me to get us bikes. So we were off to find our new adventure partners in the park.

It was a beautiful day and the park was packed. Kids, adults, walkers, bikers, dogs...you name it, they were everywhere. Its the same park my sister Elyse and I ran a 10K in while she was visiting, much busier this time. We drove through the park and made it all the way to the beach. We decided to go North for a while and we spotted a bike station. We thought to return them and take another pair so we could start our time over and be charged less. When we went back to use our tickets to get 2 ne bikes, the ticket scanner was broken. There we were, outside the city, on the beach, on shabbat with no way to get our bikes back. A technician came to work on some of the bikes but he wasn't able to help us, and after calling the company and no help being provided we decided that I would run back to the port with Idan's cousin and we would there find another station. After that run I was temped to jump in - why not complete the triathalon? Lucky we finally found two working bikes and made it back to Idans car before we needed to move it at 4.

This past weekend I spend in Jerusalem. I was supposed to go to a Football game with some friends but the weather was horrible. Football you may ask, yes. There is a American football league here with Israelis and Americans playing. So instead of tailgating we just bbqed at my friends, Israeli bbq is always delicious. 

Friday I went to the shuk with idan and a friend from camp, we strolled around and had delicious kubbe. If you have never had kubbe before, look it up and find it or make it. Its kind of like Iraqi dumplings for your soup or you can eat them fried. 

 

My roomates and I are never all in Jerusalem on the same weekend so we decided to have non-traditional shabbat dinner together. We went out to the Jerusalem Cinemeteque and ate a tasty dinner and watched the movie 50/50. To no one's surprise was it that I fell asleep.

My cousins were in israel at the end of last year on a Federation sponsored partnership program with professionals in Modiin. My cousins parter in the program invited Idan and I over for shabbat lunch. I had never seen Modiin and always enjoy the experience to celebrate shabbat with new people so I was thrilled to join. We drove over midday and had a lovely dinner with 3 of the Modiin participants and their families - all lovely people. Modiin is such an interesting community. First, they are up on a hill so they have nice views all around the city and the city itself is only 14 or so years old. Everything is new and everyone is young and the real estate prices are going up. This could bring a lot of interesting issues to the city in the future. 

Now a week full of work before my mom and sister CK come to visit!! Yay!!

Academic Update

Here is an "academic" update on the last few weeks.

School has been going well. I had put together a presentation with a friend of mine on Non Profit Boards for the class and our professor really enjoyed our simulation. Whohoo.

I have been keeping busy with my internship at Hadassah. They are celebrating their 100th Year in the fall and they are building a new building for the hospital. Inside the hospital there will be a heritage center/interactive museum so I have spent the last few weeks doing research on Hadassah's history and some of their biggest projects over the year. I am actually interning for the head of PR for Hadassah so this week I will be doing interview with participants currently on Hadassah the internship program and I will write them up and hopefully they will be published in the local papers back where the participants are from, we will see where it goes.

Last year we were in a project class, I worked on the group trying to better acclimate young immigrants into Jerusalem. This year I switched groups to work with a team whose aim is to make Jerusalem greener. This week we are headed to a gree conference in Jerusalem to see who we can partner with and what assistance we can bring to help Jerusalem.

Midterms are starting to begin so I have a few interviews/mini projects a head of me which should be interesting...

A Tasty Week

Things have been calm and lovely here in Israel. The weather is close to perfect, I prefer just a few degrees warmer. I have been catching up with friends, settling into school and finishing up final details with my internship. Hopefully it will begin soon and be a nice experience.

Last week I had a lovely and delicious dinner with my roommates at an amazing Italian restaurant in Jerusalem. We went out to celebrate 2 of our birthdays that were missed over the summer. We had a delicious cheese appetizer – stuffed with sautéed garlic. I had gnocchis but they were really made from semolina, they were delicious. Then for dessert I tired the chocolate gnocchis. There was chocolate in the dough, stuffed with chocolate and covered in a coffee, toffee sauce, it was like nothing I have ever eaten before.

The next night my friend Eric from my Ashdod program came from the north to see me.  We walked around the city and then at dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant, tons of salads, majadara (rice and lentils), French fries and amazing kebabs. Delicious meal as well.
This weekend I went to a wedding with Idan in Ashdod, it was a very nice wedding- more appetizers than I have ever seen – always food before the wedding here, than short ceremony, than dancing and
more food – fish, chicken, salads, breads, desserts.

Friday I spent cooking with Idan and his mom. We made a chicken stuffed with rice, meat, raisins, parsley & nuts. It was a recipe he learned  in a cooking class he’s taking. We also made some beautiful challahs, one was even stuffed with cooked onions. Yumm…

This was a good week for food.

First Week of School

First week down.

Classes seem great. The professors seem lively, friendly and smart. I am very excited.

It seems a though this semester will be much more practical than theoretical which is great.

It was nice to be back and see all of my friends in my program, know where my classes are and how to sign in to all of the confusing Hebrew U websites. Yay to not being a "first year" anymore.

Last night we all hung out together, ate delicious desserts (I made chocolate chip challah buns) and played celebrity, what a game. Good times.

Today was my first shabbat back, it rained on and off all day so it was nice to stay inside, clean, go through emails and cook a bit. Friends from camp stopped by (Rebecca Brindza and Charolette Harkavy) they are both in Jerusalem for the year. Lots of fun to catch up with people, yet strange when they were your campers/staff and you know them from half way across the world.

Tonight I had dinner with my friends Leah and Jason, they love my challah so this weekend it was a double wammy. Afterwards we played games and hung out. Its amazing how time flies and its lovely having friends in walking distance on shabbat.

Looking forward to more relaxing weekends.

Happy Birthday CHERYL! Love you!

Shabbat Shalom.

Back In Jerusalem After A Long Summer

Towards the end of the year I became pretty lazy with my blog. There were a few Jewish holidays, end of the year parties, particularly one of the best was Bulabusta – in the Jerusalem shuk. Classes wrapped up and I wrote my papers. Right before I left a few of my cousins came on an organized trip. I met up with them a few times – took them out in Jerusalem and had a very lovely havdallah service with them overlooking the old city. After their program they extended their trip and traveled around. It was nice to have visitors and show them where I have been living. I even took them out in Tel Aviv – good times.

I went home for the summer, interned at the Federation, helped my mom and sister with wedding preparations. My sister’s wedding was wonderful, great weather, beautiful location, pretty flowers, delicious food, happy people. I could not have asked for anything more for them.

I took a quick visit to NYC to visit some friends. It was nice to have a chance to catch up with high school friends, college friends, camp friends and people random other parts of my life.

A short while later Idan came and visited me in the states. We packed in as much of the US as possible in about 5 weeks – Chicago, Washington DC, Rochester and the rest of upstate NY (Syracuse, Ithaca, Canandaigua, Niagara Falls) and Northern California. It was a great trip, sometimes Americans forget how beautiful our country really is. A few days of rest and we flew to Israel with a 12 hour visit to Warsaw.

(view of Half Dome, Yosemite National Park)

I am now back in Jerusalem, its weird but good. I went for a run in the park as usual and it felt so refreshing, people are still protest there (since the summer) regarding the expensive cost of living here and have seriously camped out there making it their home with couches and all. The park seemed cleaner today and I noticed more garbage cans. Not sure what happened to get that there but it made me happy. Caught up with a few friends and settling in. Classes start Wednesday for me. I am looking forward.

I will try to add a few more pictures.

I hope to write more and keep up with the blogging better, if you actually read this let me know and tell me to write more (:

Until next time…

PS - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Memorial Days and Celebratory Days!

The past few weeks there have been several memorial days and celebratory days in my life and the life of the country. First it was Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. I went over to a friend's apartment to watch the ceremony that takes place at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It is a very powerful ceremony but only one part is translated into English. They light six large candles in honor of the six million Jews who were killed and each is lit by a survivor and their story is told. Since the stories are prerecorded there are english translations. Obviously mainly survival stories exist, and these stories are really incredible. No matter how much I learn about the Holocaust the stories never cease to amaze me. Another intersting thing about this day in Israel is that nearly all of the stores and restaurants close, the country basically shuts down. 

The next day there was a ceremony put together by my school. It was an international ceremony with readings in English, Russian, French, German, Spanish and I am sure a few others. It was a really nice ceremony with songs, poems and even a dance. The ceremony commenced after a nationwide siren went off to commorate those who fell. The entire country stops when this siren goes off, no matter what you are doing, where one is driving, or what else is going on around them.

About a week later was Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Memorial Day. We had off school for this so I spend/commemorated the holiday in Tel Aviv, last year I was actually in Jerusalem with my parents for this so I was exited to see something new. Just before the national siren went off at 8 I started walking through Tel Aviv towards Rabin Square where a ceremony\concert was about to begin. I got to the corner of busy intersection just as the siren rang. The streets were mainly empty because the country had basically shut down again, but the few cars on the road immediately pull off the road. People were only outside if they were walking to Rabin Square or else they were inside probably watching tv, nothing was open, there was no other reason to be outside. 

As we got to the square we bumped into a few friends here and there, everyone went. The front half before the stage was packed with chairs for elderly people and the rest of the square was filled with young people, thousands of young people. Every was quiet and rather somber as people waited for up to an hour for the ceremony to begin. Basically there were different famous artists singing songs related to Memorial Day and different peoples stories of loss and in between they cut to video clips telling the stories of fallen soldiers. It was a really powerful ceremony and I was proud that I could actually understand a good amount of the stories because the Hebrew subtitles really helps. It was incredible to be among such a large crowd, all there for the same reason, at the same time for their own reason. People in this country really respect these days. I have never seen anything like it in the states.

The actual day of Yom HaZikaron there are ceremonies all over the country, mainly at schools and cemetaries. I went to a elementary school in the neighborhood to watch their ceremony, it was an arts school so it was actually an impressive, artistic performance put on by the kids. Another 2 minute siren started this ceremony as well. Its amazing how still and respectful even the youngest were. 

Most people do work this day but people do take the time to remember those who they have lost, because everyone in this country has lost someone. You really feel the heavy mood of the country. The interesting thing is that Israel has decided to put Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day) immediately following Memorial Day. There is a huge ceremony on Mount Hertzl (Biggest Military Cemetary in Jerusalem) in the evening and it immediately transforms into a Independence Day ceremony. The mood switches literally at the flip of a switch from the saddest day of the year to the happiest. Its really an amazing transformation to be a part of. People really are happy and celebrating.

I was inside at about 8 pm and all of a sudden I could hear fireworks going off. I immediately got dressed for the night and Idan and I went to stroll the streets. Its just what you do. Not many cars were out and even on the way to Rabin Square the road were closed because they are flooded with people. Everyone goes out to celebrate, young and old. The streets were filled with babies, parents, teenagers, everyone. There was dancing and singing at Rabin Square where just 24 hours earlier was the Memorial Day ceremony. There was so much going on that I just wanted to sit down and take it all in. As I sat on the curb what did I notice? I had gotten sprayed on my legs by one of the kids. They run around with this shaving cream type stuff spraying eachother, making a mess and having a good time. What a sight.

As we started to leave the fireworks went off again. I have seen alot of fire works in my life and these were pretty good!

We spent the rest of the night hopping around the city. First we went to a friend of Idans who lives on the top floor of a building off a main drag with a roof. We hung out there for a while and just watched people in the streets and people across the way celebrating and bar-b-quing. Then we stopped in a bar that had some great music, everyone was dancing, than we stopped by a burger joint for a bit to eat, pretty delicous! What a crazy night!

On the actual day of Independence Day everyone bar-b-ques. Everyone. Idan's army group has a bar-b-que on one of their friends moshavs every year so we went. Normally it would have been maybe a 45 minute drive but because everyone was headed somewhere it took almost 2 hours. Not fun and some of the good meats were gone before we got there but it was still a fun experience. Its interesting to see how people really keep in touch over the years with their army friends, it really replaces college friends that we have in the states and it is taken to the next level. Everything in this country turns into a cultural experience for me and its always fun to see how different people do things. 

That's all for the holiday update until next month!

Passover Break 2011.

A bit of an update:

A few weeks ago I visited a Modern Art/Architecture Museum in Holon, just outside of Israel. The main exhibit was all modern art that was made to look like objects from prehistoric time. Some of the pieces were pretty amazing looking.

The first weekend of Passover I spent in Jerusalem. I met some girl friends from school at the shuk and we bought a bunch of groceries and all came back to my place to cook for shabbat. It was a wonderful evening, nice to spend time with friends outside of school, delicious food and great conversation. I hope to do it again before the end of the year. 

The next day I drove to the Dead Sea with Idan. The ride is only about an hour from Jerusalem and it's a nice ride. Starting off in the hills of Jerusalem and before you know it you are in the dessert. The views are beautiful. We went to a nice beach, floated around a bit and relaxed in the sun before we headed back. It's always nice to escape the city.

 

 I spend Passover in Tel Aviv. In Israel there is only 1 seder and the holiday is only 7 days long. I went with Idan to his aunts house for the seder, there was about 22 people who came. Lots of delicious food, salads, appetizers, soup, big main course and desserts. The seder was not too long and pretty easy to follow. A few things were different than what I am used to and surprised me but it's always nice to see how other people do things. (Joy, they didn't do the pinky dip for the 10 plagues, I thought of you). After dinner we all went outside, ate dessert and sang a few songs, there was a really nice feeling among the group.

The next day we went back to the same house for a big lunch. Food was good and everyone just hung out and relaxed most of the afternoon. It took me a little while to figure out why we don't have a passover lunch in the states and then I realize, we all go to work and school the next day! It's nice when the Jewish holidays are national holidays. That night I went to a concert of the band "Hayihudum" - it was an intimate theater and we had good seats, it was great to be so close to the performers.

I took an elective class during 4 days of the holiday on Social Protection - pretty interesting stuff, look it up. So the next few days I spent relaxing, doing research for the class and meeting up with friends. My roommate Polina came to Tel Aviv and we had a nice lunch together and walked around the city. It's always nice doing new things with people. Also amazing how many places and people do not keep passover in this country. At the same time, when I was desperately wanted some pizza it was amazing to pass by a koshers for passover pizza place, and it wasn't half bad!

I was going to go camping the weekend during the holiday but there was a rainy forecast so that was postponed. At the end of the holiday I went to another dinner, in Israel its another "holy\religious day" for everyone the last full day of Passover so people meet up for a big dinner. Delicious food once again. 

The next few days I spent in Jerusalem going to my class and working on my paper. I chose to write about South Africa and their HIV/AIDS problem among the female population. Interesting yet depressing. Thank god almost getting somewhere with this paper.

This weekend we tried the camping trip again. Me, Idan and his best friend Nati. We left Friday afternoon and headed South. We saw a beautiful sunset as we approached our campsite. There was a car of young people where we were staying whose car was broken down and they were waiting for help. They had started to build a fire so we help and hung out with them until their car was fixed. It always amazes me how friendly Israelis are. 

When they left we made pasta for dinner and did the gaffen over the wine, it was shabbat after all. We wrapped up some plain potatoes in tinfoil and let them sit in the fire for a few hours, I wasn't sure that they would be that good but when we finally dug in the potato was pretty soft and tasty. I brought ingredients for banana boats (chocolate and bananas) and we made them in the fire. They were pleasantly surprised with my American treat. We played the guitar and hung out for a while before we went to bed. 

There was a bit of rain in the middle of the night and unfortunately we forgot our rain fly for the tent so in the middle of the night we jumped into one tent. Always an adventure in nature. 

The next morning we organized our breakfast food and went for a hike into the area. We found a great place to rest and laid out all of our stuff. Made breakfast and hung out for almost 5 hours. There were these amazing birds in the area and the place was so quiet. I took a nap, played games, ate. Truly relaxing and beautiful. 

Just as we were heading back to the car it started to rain again. Now this may sound normal but in the end of April in the desert it is not supposed to rain, let alone 2 times. By the time we got to the car we were soaked but it stopped just a few minutes later. We decided to go for a drive to and overlook before heading home. It was an amazing view of the crater in Israel and strangely enough there was crazy wind. The weather was so off, it was bizarre. Afterwards we headed back to Tel Aviv. I always love going on adventures.

Today is my last day of break and I am hoping to finish up my paper so I can move forward. Surprisingly is May 1 and school ends in just over a month. Next week we have 2 days off for Memorial Day and Independence Day and time is flying by. I am hoping to start and finish my final papers in a timely fashion so I can enjoy some free time in Israel before I head home mid July.

More updates to come! Hope you all had a nice Passover\Easter!

Random Thoughts & Experiences...

Two weeks ago I finally matched my schedule up with my friend Nitzan (she worked with me at camp this summer) and enjoyed Shabbat dinner with her family. It was a wonderful evening. Her father cooked a delicious dinner, my favorite was the soup with vegetables and beef in it. We spoke a bit in English and Hebrew and had a very nice evening together. After dinner family friends came over and we hung out in their backyard, this is what they do every Friday night, friends stop by, the enjoy fresh desserts and catch up on the week, very enjoyable. Its always interesting analyzing Israeli and American culture with Israelis, spending time with her family was lovely. It was so nice to meet another Israeli family and celebrate shabbat with them according to their traditions and customs.

On Saturday Idan had two birthday parties. Birthday parties in Israel always seem to be super fun or interesting in one way or another.

The first party was at a bar in Tel Aviv, a friend of his from the army. It was a party like you would never see in the states but I am not sure you would realize that unless you really began to analyze what was going on. The party was at a bar with karaoke sing along songs with an Israeli band. There were people of all ages singing and dancing ranging from at 2 to 72. The songs were of every genre but all famous Israeli cultural songs that everyone in the rooms knew most of the words too. The background to the songs were pictures of different landscapes of the country and the songs spoke about love, friendship, ordain things as well as a song praising the army. This party says a lot about Israeli society. People of all ages come, they take pride in the land upon which they live, there are endless Israeli folk-ish songs that everyone knows the words to and the army truly is an integral part of society, they even sing about it.

People in Israel seem to be up for a happy occasion to celebrate no matter the circumstances. As I stood there dancing and trying to keep up with the lyrics I remembered how just over a week ago my life in Israel seemed to stop with the attack in Jerusalem. People really do move forward here, life goes on as usual and this is a must. This society would not function without that drive to keep living and endless celebrations. It’s a crazy and beautiful thing what happens here.

The next part was a surprise party for one of Idan's high school friends. It was in a restaurant in Ashdod so we went a bit early to stop and see my host family from last year when I was living in Ashdod. It was so nice to see them and I hope to join them for a meal during passover.

So we get to the party on time because after all, it is a surprise party but what do you know, we are practically the first guests there, his family doesn't even show up for at least another hour. I am not sure if I will ever get use to people concept of time in this country but that's the way it is. So meanwhile we began to snack on the delicious salads and incredible laffa bread that was on the tables. The food was amazing. It was interesting to get to meet new people and see a different type of party. Slide show, a bit of dancing and traditional Israeli bar-b-que. The birthday celebrations are much more elaborate and interesting than the birthdays I've attended in the States. No simple birthday dinners with close friends here.

My roommates and I outside the rink.

This year Jerusalem has opened an ice skating rink up in the center of the city. Whoever would have thought ice skating in Jerusalem, Israel in April. Anything is possible. I went with my roommates and a few friends and it was quite the night. We were on the ice for 30 minutes and there were all kinds of people, American, Israelis, religious, secular, you name it. It was entertaining to watch the random groups of people who came to enjoy their evening on the ice. Afterwards we went to grab some waffles for dessert and stroll around the city center. Turn out to be a very enjoyable night. Let me know the next time you see an ice skating rink surrounded by palm trees, I can't imagine where else such a scene would exist.

Israelis on Ice!

On Thursdays I take a class called Voices of Israeli Society, a bit slow and boring at times but I love the topics and some of the readings are pretty interesting. Last Thursdays class was about different women groups in Israeli society and for the second half of the class we decided to go outside and enjoy the nice weather and sit in the gardens on campus that over look East Jerusalem and the desert. It was quite the backdrop for a conversations on Palestinian women, its amazing how different the Arab culture can be, the smallest cultural differences make a huge impact on relations and the ability to understand and sympathize with other cultures and people.

Last Friday I decided to run the 10K as part of the Tel Aviv Marathon, Elyse was no longer around to run so Idan decided to join me. It was a great track. Up Sheinken, a main shopping area, down and back on Rothschild which is a beautiful boulevard with a walking pass down the middle for pedestrians and than along the beach. Over 19,000 people showed up to run, the biggest in Israels history. There were people everywhere, the streets were flooded with people, it was an amazing sight. There was music along the track, water & people cheering. The city was filled with life and energy, it was an amazing event to be a part of. I truly enjoyed the run and I got a much better time than expected, 1 hour and 5 minutes. Not to shabby for me. Sorry no pictures, but I signed up for this facebook application and when I passed 2 places along the route a picture was snapped of me according to my running chip and uploaded on to facebook, what will they think of next? Happy Running!

Until next time. 

A busy month....Purim, Liz Visits and Elyse Visits

Purim In Israel. What's purim without hamentashen? This year we got creative, chocolate, jams, peanut butter and dulce de leche in every and any combination. Turned out well but after 2 days of eating them that was enough. 

This week my friend Liz from college was visiting her sister who was studying abroad. I got to meet her family and walk around the Old City with them and enjoy a nice meal in one of the Mamilla restaurants. It was nice to see some familiar faces and share my experiences so far with them. At the end of the week I met up with Liz and she joined me for a Purim party. Purim lucky fell on a Saturday night so one is able to celebrate the whole weekend. Similarly to Halloween, if it falls on a tuesday you do not necessarily get as long of a celebration. Thursday we went out to a birthday party\purim party. I dressed up as Where's Waldo (Efo Effie? in hebrew). It never ceases to amaze me the endless creativity of the costumes and the extreme price of drinks. One thing I love about Purim is that every dresses up and everyone clebrates, its not a holiday only for kids, adults or teenagers but a holiday for everyone. Another thing I like about Purim is that there is nothing scary about in, in fact its a rather nice holiday where people share treates with eachother and give presents to eachother. We were walking back from the beach and I saw this old lady with her walker and a mask in the front basket, sometimes I just love being extra friendly and I said "Chag Sameach" (Happy Holidays) to her. She was so caught off guard and equally happy to hear from me. There was such a holiday spirit in the air I am not sure why she was so surprised but it was nice to make her day. 

The funny thing about Purim in Israel is that there are often people dress up a bit out of the ordinary anyways and on Purim people do not just put their costumes on to go to a party, they put them on and wear them throughout the day, no matter there plans, no matter their age. I can't even begin to remember all of the bizarre costumes I saw or how many times I said to myself, is that person dress up for Purim or simply just wearing a unique outfit as any other normal day. Israel - nothing like it!

Elyes's Visit to Israel!

Monday morning after Purim Idan and I went to pick up Elyse from the airport and go on a mini adventure and vacation. Elyse hadn't been to Israel for almost 15 years so things were a bit different now. First stop, Nazareth. Why not shake things up from the usual Jewish Teen Tour of Israel. We drove straight to Nazareth and headed directly to the bakery\sweets shops. The pastries and cookies were delicious. Afterwards we visit the Church where Jeses was concieved and Marys fountain. It was a different experience being in Nazareth, definetly a side of Israel I have never seen. Its amazing how many tourist groups were there and how ever religion has it own special sights in such a small country. 

After we headed to Tzpori National Park. It was an old cite of an ancient Roman city. Their buildings and community were both equally impressive. The highlights were a mosaic that has been preserved from almost 2000 years ago and its incredible. It literally looks like a painting and its made out of little stones. There was also a huge water reservoir carved out to bring water from a local river to the city. It was an incredible sight and must have taken an enormous length of time to complete. After our visit we drove further north to a Tzimmer. They are upscale log cabins you can rent and they are all over the north often with beautiful views, hot tubs and a nice breakfast. 

Elyse almost didn’t make it there, on the drive up she would be asking us questions about Israel and barely keep her eyes open and head up to hear the response. We all took a much needed nap as soon as we got to our Tzimmer. That night we went to a delicious Lebanese restaurant, great food. If you are ever up North let me know and I’ll tell you where to go. We got back and all went to enjoy a glass of wine, snacks Elyse brought from the States and the hot tub. It was a full moon and perfect weather. It was nice to relax and all catch up a bit.

The next morning we took a nice ride back to Jerusalem. We started off by driving around the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to see the beautiful views, everything up north is green and lush this time of year, it’s absolutely incredible. Shortly after we are already driving along the Jordan border and see farms surround us on both sides and then soon after we are in the dessert. Its amazing how quickly the scenery changes.

The next day Elyse and I went to do some sight seeing in Jerusalem. We went to the Dome of the Rock and walked around the big plaza that surrounds the area. It’s a very impressive space which many people do not visit because they do not know that it’s possible.  We walked through the Jewish quarter, the Arab quarter and went to the Kotel (Western Wall). Afterwards we headed to Ben Yehudah to do some Judaic shopping. 

 

To our surprise, our plans for the rest of the day shifted a bit. We were on Ben Yehudah and as we walked out of a store we noticed people gathering around a TV in a shop. There was a terrorist attack in Jerusalem by the main conference center and bus station. We were in shock. As American’s we hear about these things happening in Israel but it is another thing to be there for it. What does one do? Where do you go? Is it a big deal? We quickly told our family that we were okay and walked back to my neighborhood. People were freaked out but after that day things return to normal. Its truly incredible how resilient people are here. Its something else.

We were supposed to run the Jerusalem 10K Friday morning but with all of the craziness of Jerusalem, the traffic nightmare and getting out for Shabbat we decided to head to Tel Aviv early and enjoy an extra night there. Thursday night we made delicious shakshukah (traditional Israel breakfast food) and went to bed. We were not going to give up on the 10K and we planned our own race in Tel Aviv and ran it the next morning together. It was a beautiful run through a major park in Tel Aviv and ended along the beach. We got delicious ice cream after in Neve Tzedek, a new up and coming neighborhood in Tel Aviv, went to the art market and explored Tel Aviv.

Idan’s family invited us for Shabbat dinner so we headed over to his parents house that is outside of Tel Aviv. We ate delicious food and had a nice cultural exchange. His parents enjoyed learning about what Elyse is studying and where she is headed in life and it was equally as interesting for her to explain her story and see their reactions. Life in the US and Israel is so similar, yet so different. We all enjoyed a night of good food and company.

Saturday we all went to the beach and met up with a few friends. A great end to a wonderful week with Elyse in Israel!

Updates! Winter Hybernation and Finals are Both Over.

As I finally finish my 5 papers from last semester I am able to live a bit again. Last weekend I did some serious adventuring. Thursday night I was not feeling so well and all of a sudden this black and blue puffy spot popped up on my face. Just to be cautious I headed to the “clinic” It was quite the experience in more ways than one. I was seen rather quickly by a nurse who was perplexed by my symptoms. I was then brought to a room to wait for the doctor. In the mini waiting room there were many people, all with very different backgrounds. One who was particularly interesting was this older religious man who was on a machine which prevented him from talking but he was still desparately looking for a prayer book. Unfortunately no one could find one. What a scene to watch. The doctor turned out to be a nice Jewish doctor from Montreal, Jerusalem really is an international city. They ran some tests and with little conclusions and worries they sent me on my way. A week later its finally starting to go away on my face, many people have asked who hit me but that will all end soon.

My boyfriend Idan happened to be over and after that crazy night we decided to make the most of that Friday. We left my apartment at 6:30 in the morning to head to the Old City. The Jewish quarter was very quiet and the stores were just starting to open up. We headed towards the Kotel and you wouldn’t even know it was 7:30 in the morning, plenty of people were up and praying. We walked out through the Arab quarter which was very quiet as well. Barely any stores were open but we walked by this open door way. I peeked in and noticed it was a bakery that was practically underground. They were baking all of the breads and sweets that are sold at the gates of the Old City, it was actually kind of nice to know they make those on site.

Afterwards we headed to Machane Yehuda, the famous shuk in Jerusalem. Friday is the busiest time at the market but it was pretty quiet at 9 in the morning. We grabbed some odds and ends and explored the market. I was looking forward to making shakshukah (a tomato, egg dish that is delicious) that weekend so we made sure to get the ingredients. I also took a bunch of pictures of the different fruit, vegetables, pastries, nuts and fish while there. Some of the shots came out well. After we headed to Tel Aviv…

I made Shabbat dinner with my friend Molly, she just moved to Tel Aviv from a kibbutz up north so it was nice to spend time with her.

Saturday we went to the port of Tel Aviv and walked around a bit. We stumbled upon this trendy new food market that is open on Shabbat, I bought some dried mango in honor of Cheryl’s love for it. Pretty delicious. As soon as Shabbat ended I headed to Ikea with a few friends to get some picture frames for my new pictures and get some additions for my apartment, then we enjoyed the best shakshukah ever. I’ll share the recipe if you would like.

Sunday I met up with Matt Jevotovsky (who is studying abroad here) and Alon and Amir (who went to camp this year). We went for a nice 8 km hike outside of Jerusalem. It was a beautiful day for a hike. Afterwards we drove to Abu Gosh for some delicious Arabic food, 10 different salads and lamb kabob.

 

Tuesday I went to a wedding with Idan, a friend of his from the army was getting married. Weddings in Israel are much different from Jewish American weddings. First, they are during the week. The chupa (ceremony) was in the same room as the party, not at a synagogue, the ceremony was informal – no seats, people were standing around, talking, watching, drinking, enjoying themselves. I do not think it was longer than 10 minutes. Afterwards immediately started some fun American music and dancing on the dance floor. No havah negilla, but they did dance in chair to random Israeli and American music. No big wedding cake, no wedding party, no speeches. Lots of food and music and dancing.

 

More to come.....