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.