...Farewell

This will be my last blog entry.  I have decided that my life is fully in Israel now, and just as I didn't blog at home (in America), I will no longer be blogging at home (in Israel).  My life is still filled with Israeli moments every day (tree climbing to return a chick to its nest, free shots of Arak after lunch with the hummus bar owner; helpful passers-by in my flat tire incident), and these things still make me smile, laugh, cry, and sometimes all three at once.  If you would like to keep experiencing, come for a visit; I'd be happy to have you.

Thanks for reading,
Sondra

...when I wore shoresh (hiking) sandals to a...

A friend of mine got married on Monday night on a kibbutz in the Golan.  While not my first wedding in Israel nor my first wedding in Israel which involved Israelis, it was my first kibbutz wedding.  And it was great!  It was so great, that I even forgot to take pictures (so there aren't any in the post).  I danced the whole night away.

the invitation, with custom stamps (place & date of the wedding)

The invitation came in postcard form and advised wearing comfy shoes.  So comfy shoes, a black dress, and a sweater (which quickly came off) I wore.  I had been doing some field work in the Golan so after finishing for the day, I got showered and dressed, put my hiking sandals back on and headed to the wedding on a nearby kibbutz.  It had been raining on and off in the afternoon, and the sky looked a bit ominous--really dark clouds with a few rays of sun poking through and a rainbow in the distance as the rain drizzled down.

After following signs through most of the kibbutz, I parked in a maybe parking spot, and headed through a clearing in some trees.  The set-up was beautiful.  In the clearing were about 20 formal tables set up, a buffet, a bar, a dance floor and DJ stand, and a few low couches and tables.  There were trees throughout with paper cranes hanging from them, fresh plants were the center pieces, and natural paper pressed with seeds (which could be dissolved, freeing the seeds for planting) served as place cards.  Sheathes of wheat (in keeping with the Jewish holiday, Shavuot, celebrated two days later) made a pathway to the chuppa and the ceremony was held with a backdrop of the sunset.

Just like the setting was a mix of formal (fancy appetizers, bar, tables) and natural (outdoor setting, natural centerpieces, orchards to the left, and fields to the right), the ceremony was a blend of religious and personal.  Beautiful vows were exchanged and friends and family meaningfully participated.  The majority of the ceremony was dry (weather-wise, not eye-wise), but during the last of the sheva brachot, a light rain (just a smidge more than a drizzle) began to fall.  There was a beautiful lightning show, and the way the rain caught the lights set up around the wedding space (not a "hall" or "tent" because we were outdoors) was enchanting.  If ever it could be said than rain was perfect, in this wedding, it was.  As the ceremony finished, the rain picked up and the tropical shower rained upon the newly married couple and all of the guests for the first dance.  It was refreshing and so natural.  It let up just in time for dinner allowing for a completely dry meal with only one more drizzle later in the night.  I thought it was a magical addition to the night as did most guests--not a nuisance at all.

The night continued and everyone was dancing.  It was so Israeli that I could count on one hand how many people were wearing heels.  Jeans, shorts, and summer dresses were everywhere.  And no one was wearing a suit.  Not a single one.  Kids and adults were running around barefoot, and everywhere you looked, dance floor (read concrete slab) or otherwise, people were singing, dancing, smoking cigarettes (everyone) and drinking.  The party was still in full swing when we left at midnight, even though all of the tables had been cleared and folded up and the bar was starting to close down.    Everything about the night was really magical.  But here are a few more so Israeli aspects:

1. During the ceremony, no one sat on chairs.  There weren't even any set up.  Everyone just sort of crowds around the chuppa sitting and standing, as close as possible.
2. After dessert there was another course, mini pizzas, because it is known that everyone will be dancing for a while, and we will get hungry again.
3. There are bar tenders who walk around with bottles of alcohol pouring shots on the dance floor. They only take two shot glasses with them when they make the rounds though, so there is a lot of sharing.
4. There was an amazing, five star port-o-potty.  It had modern finishes (vessel sinks, sconces, "wood" floors), nice soap, and personal tv screens in each stall so that ambiant music can be set during each patron's bathroom experience.

Mazal tov to the happy couple, and thanks for such a fun night!

...I was on the way to returning my crutches, and...

I often say the reason I love this country is because of the people.  Here is a prime example: A few days ago, I was bringing my crutches to campus with me to give to a friend who was going to return them.  They were tied together with a string and I was casually carrying them in one hand.  I saw my bus coming and decided to run/jog (which still kind of hurts) the last few meters to the stop, crutches flailing precariously by my side.  As I got on the bus, the driver said something along the lines of "Wow! I'd love to see how you ran before the crutches."  I guess he was the only one who noticed my mini-sprint, though, because It was so Israeli when as I proceeded from the front to the crowded middle of the bus, three different people, including an older man, insisted I sit in their seats because if I had crutches in my hand, even if they were tied up and I insisted that I had already gotten over the injury, I must still need to sit.  The inherent respect for the elderly, the pregnant, and in my case, the injured, never fails to warm my heart.

...I went to the mall looking for a...

Today I did something people in the US don't do.  I went to pick up a gas mask.  It is so Israeli that even though everyone, in theory, should have a gas mask, finding information about obtaining one, and then finding the place from which to obtain it, are the most complicated things.  There is out of date information, irrelevant information, pick-up times only at certain hours, restricted pick-up dates (only one month in Jerusalem), and limited pick-up locations.  Once I tracked down the one location in Jerusalem, in the mall, I had to get there and find the distribution point.  It is poorly marked, and nobody knows about it.  I heard from a friend (thanks Rachel!!) that it was down some creepy stairs, and after asking a few security guards, going down some abandoned corridors, and working my leg muscles on quite a few stair cases, I finally found the distribution site, a large storage room in a big basement.  Below is a picture of what I received.  Hopefully, though, I will never need to use it.

...we had our third annual Yom HaAtzmaut BBQ

I will start this post on a topic other than storks and the Golan, but I cannot promise that it will stay there.

Sometimes I feel like I am still a new olah (a new immigrant), but other times, I feel like my first five months in ulpan, my summer in Kiryat Gat, and even my time working in preschool are ancient history.  I have been in my lab for over a year.  I have made so many new friends too.  A year ago, the vast majority of my friends were "ulpan friends," friends I met at Ulpan Etzion when I should have be learning Hebrew. Thankfully, I made those strong friendships in ulpan; those friends are probably the reason I stayed in Israel.  But as time goes on, I can now say that the majority of my friends are not "ulpan friends." I have friends from school and the lab, from other ulpans, from friends of "ulpan friends," and from friends of friends of "ulpan friends."   I am so glad to have such a strong friend group, they are all I have here--the people I celebrate with, study with, and do silly things with.

Our first year in Israel, we had a lovely Yom HaAztmaut BBQ in the park, and our second year in Israel we had another lovely BBQ in the park.  This year, we also had a lovely BBQ in the park.  It almost wasn't lovely, though.  The weather was gray and dreary, showers were forecast, and it was cold!  Over the years (3 now!!) we have learned to plan a good BBQ.  Sign-ups for food, requests of picnic blankets and sports equipment, bringing garbage bags, tongs, etc.  We never had to change the weather though. We had a few back up option for varying amounts of rain, and at 11am we made the decision: we were doing int in the park, the way the holiday was supposed to be celebrated.

The national showing this year at the park was much less than in the past, but that was good for us, because we have more friends now than in the past.  It was easy to find a spot and there were room for all of us.  And although it was cold and cloudy, there weren't more than 17 rain drops.  And I even managed to get sun burnt.

This year, the BBQ was different than the other two in that it was only about half "ulpan friends."  The other half were friends of friends of friends.  There were even people there that I didn't know and I organized it.  It is an ulpan/olim BBQ though, and as the year goes on, I know the group celebrating will fluctuate each year, but as one friend said (and I really hope it's true), we've made it three years, that means we have to do it forever, and in however many years, we're all going to be sitting around and our kids are going to be here barbecuing for us.  What a great wish for the future!

Everyone who came met new people, caught up with old friends (we have those now) they hadn't seen in a while, and left with a full tummy.  One of my (non-ulpan) friends made a video of the festivities (Thanks Eliyahu!!).  I have a sideways sitting part at about 32 seconds.  Enjoy.  (No storks this time.  We'll see about the next post...)