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!