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| Channukia in front of the Kotel |
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| Christmas Day in the Old City (2007) |
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| Lighting candles... |
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| ...with the roommies |
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| The best sufganiyot in Israel. (Roladin Bakery) They even come with extra filling for you to squeeze in. |
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
we gathered together to light up the night....
Hanukkah has come to an end; so too, has my doughnut binge and my mini (2 day) vacation from work. This whole week, though, whether at work, out and about, or at home, I have felt the Hanukkah spirit and warmth. I spent a lot of time with friends and with my roommates. It was so Israeli when we gathered together to light candles as a family. Each night, I would look from window to window in the apartments across the street and instead of wanting that sense of family they all exuded, I felt that I too possessed it. My roommates and I tried to light candles together every night. Of course there were nights when we weren't home together, but coming together for a few minutes to light candles and sing and chat gave me such a sense of wholeness. Each holiday I spend here, I feel a bit less homesick because even though Hanukkah without my family and our Hanukkah parties and latkes from the box or (gasp) from the freezer are far away, my friends here have really become a part my family. Every holiday feels more and more normal here, and slowly I am incorporating new traditions into my life. Below are some pictures of a Hanukkah (and Christmas) in Israel.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
...a store-wide screaming match...
Swimming this week has been a bit more peaceful that last week. I was even offered a ride home from one of the nice old ladies Sunday night. The rest of me week, though, has felt pretty hectic, and as I write now, I am mentally preparing for the first night of Hanukkah. I will be lighting candles in a few minutes, and shortly thereafter, I will enjoy my first sufganya (doughnut) of the season. I don't really like jelly-filled doughnuts, but I found a bakery with caramel ones and vanilla ones right around the corner, so hopefully they're yum.
Also right around the corner is a grocery store. I do some of my shopping there. Big trips, I try to go to the "discount" store (a bit less money), and I got to the shuk for my produce (more on that to come), but this is good for the little things here and there. The problem is, it always takes forever, whether you have one thing or thirty one things. Usually if I just have one thing, I ask whoever is in front of me if I can cut the line. It's a pretty Israeli thing to do and most people say yes.
On one particular outing last week, I had 11 things. Too many to cut the line and too many for the express lane. I started in a normal lane. The person ahead of me tried to pay with a gift card and a voucher. Apparently he gave them to the cashier in the wrong order and she struggled a bit. Finally the supervisor came to set things right and yell at her employee. It was a pretty uncomfortable situation. As this was dragging on, I passed my things to the cashier behind me. The express lane had no line and she overlooked the fact that I was just over the limit. She began ringing my things up, and in the end, I was finished with my whole transaction before the gift card guy got straightened out.
As I was bagging my food, I saw that the place had really gotten crowded. It was so Israeli when a store-wide screaming match broke out. Customers were yelling at each other for cutting lines, cashiers were yelling at customers to settle down and customers and cashiers were both yelling at the supervisor. Some of the customer comments were interesting and well thought out (eg. "Maybe if you paid the cashiers a bit more or hired another one, everyone would be happier and we would get faster service"); others were not (eg. "I AM NOT WAITING ANY LONGER" as the person continued to wait). I got out of there as soon as I could.
My favorite place to shop is the shuk. It's just a cool place in general. During the day it looks like this:
I do my best shopping when it looks like this: filled with people and fresh vegetables, fruits, and spices. It is a very seasonal market, and it is exciting to see new fruits coming into season every couple of weeks. Strawberries are almost in, and that's the sign that I've been in Israel for just about a full year (Jan 10); they were coming in right when I made aliyah. Citrus is also in full swing, and pomegranates are winding down. I love them, but they've been here for a while, so I guess I'm ready for the next thing . Eating seasonally is fun because I never get sick of a fruit, and as soon as a new one comes in, I get so so so excited!
It is an eerie, empty place to wander through, especially because it is normally so lively. Monday nights at the shuk, though, are CRAZY. If you combine the dark closed desolate stalls with the swarms of people from the daytime crowd, you get something like this:
And this is a light night. Monday nights at the shuk are party nights. A bar stays open late, there is live music for a bit, and then afterwards there is a DJ. This week had a bluegrass-y feel. Everyone was jumping around and line dancing and being goofy. It was even more packed than in the above picture, and people, old and young, were out and about singing and dancing and having a good time. The shuk is becoming more and more of a culture spot/hangout. During the day, there are plenty of shops for food, but a couple of coffee shops, bars, and restaurants have been opening up here and there. It is a great place to meet friends for a bite, grab a beer, or dance the night away.
Also right around the corner is a grocery store. I do some of my shopping there. Big trips, I try to go to the "discount" store (a bit less money), and I got to the shuk for my produce (more on that to come), but this is good for the little things here and there. The problem is, it always takes forever, whether you have one thing or thirty one things. Usually if I just have one thing, I ask whoever is in front of me if I can cut the line. It's a pretty Israeli thing to do and most people say yes.
On one particular outing last week, I had 11 things. Too many to cut the line and too many for the express lane. I started in a normal lane. The person ahead of me tried to pay with a gift card and a voucher. Apparently he gave them to the cashier in the wrong order and she struggled a bit. Finally the supervisor came to set things right and yell at her employee. It was a pretty uncomfortable situation. As this was dragging on, I passed my things to the cashier behind me. The express lane had no line and she overlooked the fact that I was just over the limit. She began ringing my things up, and in the end, I was finished with my whole transaction before the gift card guy got straightened out.
As I was bagging my food, I saw that the place had really gotten crowded. It was so Israeli when a store-wide screaming match broke out. Customers were yelling at each other for cutting lines, cashiers were yelling at customers to settle down and customers and cashiers were both yelling at the supervisor. Some of the customer comments were interesting and well thought out (eg. "Maybe if you paid the cashiers a bit more or hired another one, everyone would be happier and we would get faster service"); others were not (eg. "I AM NOT WAITING ANY LONGER" as the person continued to wait). I got out of there as soon as I could.
My favorite place to shop is the shuk. It's just a cool place in general. During the day it looks like this:
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| Taken from this website. |
At night and on Shabbat, the shuk looks like this:
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| Taken from this website. |
It is an eerie, empty place to wander through, especially because it is normally so lively. Monday nights at the shuk, though, are CRAZY. If you combine the dark closed desolate stalls with the swarms of people from the daytime crowd, you get something like this:
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| Courtesy of my dear friend, Shlomie Behar! |
And this is a light night. Monday nights at the shuk are party nights. A bar stays open late, there is live music for a bit, and then afterwards there is a DJ. This week had a bluegrass-y feel. Everyone was jumping around and line dancing and being goofy. It was even more packed than in the above picture, and people, old and young, were out and about singing and dancing and having a good time. The shuk is becoming more and more of a culture spot/hangout. During the day, there are plenty of shops for food, but a couple of coffee shops, bars, and restaurants have been opening up here and there. It is a great place to meet friends for a bite, grab a beer, or dance the night away.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
...another older woman began a rant, mostly to herself...
My days are usually busy. I work, eat, visit my friends, research for an internship, and sleep a bit. I have also begun to consider graduate school options. When I need to relax, I usually head to the gym for a swim. I have been swimming all my life, and more recently, I was part of a synchronized swimming team both in high school and college. Just walking into my gym and feeling the chlorine fill my lungs as I wait for my glasses to fog up from the pool's fragrant steam brings me a sense of peace and sedation, better than any drug. I usually swim three days a week, and luckily must days, the pool isn't too crowded. I have never seen my pool look like this:
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| (actual picture of my pool) (http://tomerappelbaum.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html) |
I do my best thinking in the pool. Long division is a favorite pastime of mine. I have enough time to think out complicated conversions or work out my weekly budget while I am swimming because I have nothing to distract me. It's also fun to be able to solve difficult equations without a calculator...a kind of relaxing GRE. I also think of life plans, work on Hebrew grammar, and contemplate sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I usually come out of the pool with sore muscles and a renewed mind. I look forward to a hot shower and a smooth transition into the rest of my day.
Often as I am finishing up in the locker room, one of the old ladies will start up a conversation with me. Usually it is something light and easy to follow: how warm the water is, how relaxing it is, how it would be nice to swim for hours, how many laps I swam, where I learned that...what's it called--dance?, etc. Sometimes, though, the talk isn't as light.
Last week, I went for a swim after work at 630p, a bit after the gym opens to the public for evening hours. I came in and filled my lungs with the aroma of chlorine, expecting to continue my journey through the locker room and into the pool without a hitch; however, when I walked into the locker room, I was met with a roomful of religious teenagers. The fact that they were religious wasn't too striking, and I didn't think twice about it. What caught me off guard was the disorder in the locker room. There was screaming and a bit of fighting amongst the girls and their program organizers, and there were swimsuits and wet clothes everywhere!
I quickly changed and left the squalor behind, hoping that when I returned after my swim, there would be a sense of order. Upon finishing my swim, I came back to find a very dirty but mostly empty locker room. I was quite relieved! It was so Israeli when another older woman, who had also just finished her swim, began a rant, mostly to herself, but a little bit to me, about the religious community. She was complaining about a lack of respect as seen through the filthy locker room and then she expanded her assertion by commenting on the state of religious neighborhoods in Jerusalem and behavior of religious people on the whole.
I saw the locker room problem as a direct consequence of bringing one hundred teenagers to a public pool where the locker room is only designed for about 30 people. I did not see it as a religious or political problem. But then I considered the situation. While I do not necessarily agree with this woman, it made me realize how politically charged so many things in this country seem to be.
While the majority of the world sees the conflict in the Middle East as a struggle between Israelis and Arabs, it is impossible to ignore internal conflicts, as well. One of the many complexities of Israel is that it is a Jewish state for religious and non-religious Jews. It seems like an amazing thing, but of course, it is also a cause for disagreement and some often wonder if there really is religious freedom. The schism is something that I notice every day, whether walking down the street, shul hopping, sitting in a bar, and now, even at the gym.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
...I used my protectia to get effective customer service...
A bit of background: "In Israel, 'knowing someone' is EVERYTHING. It’s called protectia (you can imagine that this is translated as 'protection') and it gets you far. It’s someone knowing you or knowing someone who knows you, bringing you under their wing and connecting you to the right people. This is the system by which many things get done in this country. From meeting with the bank manager who is seemingly unavailable for the next 3 weeks, to getting a job interview, to getting a good deal on a T.V. set, it’s all about your aunt Ida knowing the boss—or being the boss, even better! (from Center for Intercultural Learning, Canada)
This past week flew. I worked most of the week, celebrated a friend's birthday with a night out, swam a few times, and had a couple of quiet nights in with my roommates. Shabbat was nice and restful; I had a weird 18 hour flu or bug or something, but on the whole it did not affect my eating habits. I thoroughly enjoyed copious amounts of food both Friday night at a friend's apartment and Saturday at my apartment. This week, our meal didn't have a theme (last week's was Mexican), but we threw together something quite yummy!!
Today, I had the morning off, and I decided to buy a hanukia (a menorah, the candelabra that is lit on Hanuka). During my gap year, Nativ, between high school and college, I spent about four hours a week volunteering with an organization called Yad LaKashish, Lifeline for the Old (http://www.lifeline.org.il/). The organization employs members of the elderly community, many of whom were immigrants, as artists to create unique works of art. The organization does more for the elderly community than just providing a place to work, and the art they produce is really magnificent. As soon as I decided to buy a hanukia, Yad LaKashish came to mind .
Today, when I went by the shop, there was a tour group visiting. To my surprise, it was a group from Chicago!! I knew one of the coordinators and we chatted a bit. Then I continued my browsing. There was a 1+1 sale (buy one get one free) going on throughout the store, and Chicagoans were milling about everywhere. I found two hanukiot I liked, and I took my choices to wait in line with the large group of Americans. I recognized the woman working in the gift shop as the woman I worked with several years back, and I could see that she was under a lot of pressure from the immediate overcrowding of the gift shop. I waited calmly and patiently (not very Israeli). When it was my turn, I was told that the two hanukiot I had chosen were both new models and thus not part of the 1+1 sale. She asked me if I wanted to make a different choice, and I said that I liked these the most. I casually mentioned the fact that I volunteered here a few years back (slightly Israeli, using a protectia, at its lowest form) and that Yad LaKashish was the clear choice for me to buy a hanukia. It was no surprise that the newest designs were my favorite. I liked my first choice and decided to stick with it; I did not however, buy the hanukia that I had chosen to be my +1. A few days earlier, I had received the quarterly Yad Lakashish e-mail update and recalled that there was a 10% sale going on for all purchases under $100. I asked if she could apply the discount because my choice was not part of the 1+1 sale, and she said she would check. She then asked me if I was part of the group that was visiting. I told her no, and she asked me if I could wait a few minutes.
I was in no rush, so I decided to wait (also not very Israeli), but a few minutes became five and five became ten. It was so Israeli when I used my protectia, my volunteering relationship, to get effective customer service. I finally turned to her very calmly but firmly and said "Rivka, I really need to get going." As soon as she heard that I used her name (our whole conversation, from start to finish, had been in Hebrew, which was probably to my benefit when up against a group of Americans; she wasn't wearing a name tag), she quickly finished the order she was ringing up and helped me: she gave the 10% discount, asked me what my name was, we chatted a few minutes as the rest of the group waited. At the end of the exchange, I walked out a happy camper, and she smiled because of the calm I was able to offer her from within the bustle of the tour group. I was pleased with my purchase, and also proud of myself for not getting pushed to the back of the line.
In Israel, it's all about protectia, using who you know to get where you need to be. In this case, it was simple protectio, but often it takes a bit more. It has never been my way to get something without putting in the necessary effort; I am not a social climber. But just as Israelis use protectia in all aspects of their lives, I am beginning to be more confident in incorporating the concept little by little into mine as well.
This past week flew. I worked most of the week, celebrated a friend's birthday with a night out, swam a few times, and had a couple of quiet nights in with my roommates. Shabbat was nice and restful; I had a weird 18 hour flu or bug or something, but on the whole it did not affect my eating habits. I thoroughly enjoyed copious amounts of food both Friday night at a friend's apartment and Saturday at my apartment. This week, our meal didn't have a theme (last week's was Mexican), but we threw together something quite yummy!!
Today, when I went by the shop, there was a tour group visiting. To my surprise, it was a group from Chicago!! I knew one of the coordinators and we chatted a bit. Then I continued my browsing. There was a 1+1 sale (buy one get one free) going on throughout the store, and Chicagoans were milling about everywhere. I found two hanukiot I liked, and I took my choices to wait in line with the large group of Americans. I recognized the woman working in the gift shop as the woman I worked with several years back, and I could see that she was under a lot of pressure from the immediate overcrowding of the gift shop. I waited calmly and patiently (not very Israeli). When it was my turn, I was told that the two hanukiot I had chosen were both new models and thus not part of the 1+1 sale. She asked me if I wanted to make a different choice, and I said that I liked these the most. I casually mentioned the fact that I volunteered here a few years back (slightly Israeli, using a protectia, at its lowest form) and that Yad LaKashish was the clear choice for me to buy a hanukia. It was no surprise that the newest designs were my favorite. I liked my first choice and decided to stick with it; I did not however, buy the hanukia that I had chosen to be my +1. A few days earlier, I had received the quarterly Yad Lakashish e-mail update and recalled that there was a 10% sale going on for all purchases under $100. I asked if she could apply the discount because my choice was not part of the 1+1 sale, and she said she would check. She then asked me if I was part of the group that was visiting. I told her no, and she asked me if I could wait a few minutes.
I was in no rush, so I decided to wait (also not very Israeli), but a few minutes became five and five became ten. It was so Israeli when I used my protectia, my volunteering relationship, to get effective customer service. I finally turned to her very calmly but firmly and said "Rivka, I really need to get going." As soon as she heard that I used her name (our whole conversation, from start to finish, had been in Hebrew, which was probably to my benefit when up against a group of Americans; she wasn't wearing a name tag), she quickly finished the order she was ringing up and helped me: she gave the 10% discount, asked me what my name was, we chatted a few minutes as the rest of the group waited. At the end of the exchange, I walked out a happy camper, and she smiled because of the calm I was able to offer her from within the bustle of the tour group. I was pleased with my purchase, and also proud of myself for not getting pushed to the back of the line.
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| My new hanukia. The windmill spins! |
In Israel, it's all about protectia, using who you know to get where you need to be. In this case, it was simple protectio, but often it takes a bit more. It has never been my way to get something without putting in the necessary effort; I am not a social climber. But just as Israelis use protectia in all aspects of their lives, I am beginning to be more confident in incorporating the concept little by little into mine as well.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
...the customer at the post office started yelling, and the clerk...
The past week was a relaxing and fun one. Work wasn't too stressful, the weather wasn't rainy, I got to see a couple close friends throughout the week, I had a festive Thanksgiving celebration, I had two delicious shabbat meals, and I got to see my roommate's play.
The beginning of the week was pretty standard. I worked Sunday through Wednesday and swam a bit. I had Thursday and Friday off, though, so my weekend started early! Wednesday night, I met up with an Israeli friend who I hadn't seen since the beginning of the summer. When we last saw each other, we spoke mostly in English, sometimes switching to Hebrew, but usually only at a basic level. When I met up with her for coffee this time, we spoke ONLY in Hebrew. And not even in basic Hebrew. Those of you who know me well know that I like to speak very quickly. My friend also does. About halfway through the conversation, she pointed out that not only was I able to follow her when she was speaking at her normal speed, but I was also speaking quickly, at a speed comparable to the speed at which I speak English. I had a great time catching up with my friend, and the feeling of accomplishment after having such a flowing Hebrew conversation lasted the rest of the week. I continue to surprise myself, especially because I never considered myself to be good with languages.
Thursday was a day of running errands. My morning started at the post office. I had to pick up two packages for my roommate. I had all the notices filled out and signed granting me permission to pick up the packages, and I wasn't predicting any problems. When I walked into the post office, though, my care-free attitude wasn't shared by everyone. I walked in to a cluster of people crowding around the clerk and speaking heatedly. I must have walked in at the end of the debate because a few minutes later, everyone sat down dejectedly, but the gist of the argument was that the customers who came into the post office were taking numbers (like in the deli department of the grocery store), but the postal clerks were just asking who was next in line without paying much attention to the numbers. It got sorted out, and whoever had the next number went up. After he was done, the clerk asked who was next in line. No one moved, so he asked again. The man next to me, the main screamer from the crowd before, started complaining under his breath. The clerk asked again, and when no one moved, he finally went back to the number system. The screamer happened to have the next number. It was so Israeli when the customer started yelling again about the numbers and the clerk began yelling back. The conversation went something like this:
I found it quite funny and giggled a bit. After this gentleman and a few others, my number was called, and with not too much trouble, I was able to pick up my package and be on my way. Apparently even with the form filled out, I am not allowed to pick up my roommate's packages, but with a bit of sweet talking, it all worked out. Afterwards, I had a relatively painless experience settling my apartment's property tax bill (it was my second visit to the office, though), and I got to do a bit of shuk shopping and have a quick swim before heading off to a Thanksgiving dinner.
Several years ago (the year between high school and college), I was a participant on the gap-year program Nativ. Each year, there is a big Thanksgiving dinner for all of the participant and any alumni who are in Israel This year, nine participants and one staff member from my group (two are not pictured) attended the dinner, and there are two other participants living in Israel who did not attend. In all about 10% of our group is currently living in Israel. It was nice to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in several years, and get a little taste of America.
Friday, I did a ton of cooking. The America theme continued. I followed up a hearty Thanksgiving meal with a delicious Tex-Mex shabbat. We had 10 people at our place on Saturday for a delicious lunch, and I introduced my Israeli and Australian roommates to the cheesy goodness and spicy yum of Mexican. We made enchiladas, chili, and rice, and added a Mexican salad, chips, salsa, and bean dip. All in all, it was a yummy meal and a fun one to cook, too. I did a bit of reading and a lot of sleeping, and then Saturday night, I finished my weekend with a bang before going back to work today.
My Israeli roommate studies theater, and since I moved into the apartment in August, she has been rehearsing for a play, an adaptation of Kipling's (not Disney's) The Jungle Book. Earlier in the week, I called to order tickets. They were 30 shekels for students and 50 shekels for everyone else. My other roommate, my friend, and I are not students, but I was able to get all three of us tickets for the discounted price because we are olim chadashim, new immigrants. It was hard to follow the complex Hebrew of the play, but the scenery and costumes were very simple and the impact of the actors' movements and expressions helped us follow the story line. I enjoyed the interpretive play, and it was cool to see what my roommate had been working on for the past few months. Afterwards, we went of for hot drinks and then hurried home in the cold.
Now starts another week.
The beginning of the week was pretty standard. I worked Sunday through Wednesday and swam a bit. I had Thursday and Friday off, though, so my weekend started early! Wednesday night, I met up with an Israeli friend who I hadn't seen since the beginning of the summer. When we last saw each other, we spoke mostly in English, sometimes switching to Hebrew, but usually only at a basic level. When I met up with her for coffee this time, we spoke ONLY in Hebrew. And not even in basic Hebrew. Those of you who know me well know that I like to speak very quickly. My friend also does. About halfway through the conversation, she pointed out that not only was I able to follow her when she was speaking at her normal speed, but I was also speaking quickly, at a speed comparable to the speed at which I speak English. I had a great time catching up with my friend, and the feeling of accomplishment after having such a flowing Hebrew conversation lasted the rest of the week. I continue to surprise myself, especially because I never considered myself to be good with languages.
Thursday was a day of running errands. My morning started at the post office. I had to pick up two packages for my roommate. I had all the notices filled out and signed granting me permission to pick up the packages, and I wasn't predicting any problems. When I walked into the post office, though, my care-free attitude wasn't shared by everyone. I walked in to a cluster of people crowding around the clerk and speaking heatedly. I must have walked in at the end of the debate because a few minutes later, everyone sat down dejectedly, but the gist of the argument was that the customers who came into the post office were taking numbers (like in the deli department of the grocery store), but the postal clerks were just asking who was next in line without paying much attention to the numbers. It got sorted out, and whoever had the next number went up. After he was done, the clerk asked who was next in line. No one moved, so he asked again. The man next to me, the main screamer from the crowd before, started complaining under his breath. The clerk asked again, and when no one moved, he finally went back to the number system. The screamer happened to have the next number. It was so Israeli when the customer started yelling again about the numbers and the clerk began yelling back. The conversation went something like this:
- Customer: BLAH BLAH BLAH
- Clerk (maybe in his 40s): I don't understand. My father yells at me once a year, and I have to listen to you yelling at me every week.
- Customer: I have to yell in order for you to listen.
- Clerk: I don't think so. You just seem to enjoy yelling every time you come in. I never listen.
I found it quite funny and giggled a bit. After this gentleman and a few others, my number was called, and with not too much trouble, I was able to pick up my package and be on my way. Apparently even with the form filled out, I am not allowed to pick up my roommate's packages, but with a bit of sweet talking, it all worked out. Afterwards, I had a relatively painless experience settling my apartment's property tax bill (it was my second visit to the office, though), and I got to do a bit of shuk shopping and have a quick swim before heading off to a Thanksgiving dinner.
Friday, I did a ton of cooking. The America theme continued. I followed up a hearty Thanksgiving meal with a delicious Tex-Mex shabbat. We had 10 people at our place on Saturday for a delicious lunch, and I introduced my Israeli and Australian roommates to the cheesy goodness and spicy yum of Mexican. We made enchiladas, chili, and rice, and added a Mexican salad, chips, salsa, and bean dip. All in all, it was a yummy meal and a fun one to cook, too. I did a bit of reading and a lot of sleeping, and then Saturday night, I finished my weekend with a bang before going back to work today.
My Israeli roommate studies theater, and since I moved into the apartment in August, she has been rehearsing for a play, an adaptation of Kipling's (not Disney's) The Jungle Book. Earlier in the week, I called to order tickets. They were 30 shekels for students and 50 shekels for everyone else. My other roommate, my friend, and I are not students, but I was able to get all three of us tickets for the discounted price because we are olim chadashim, new immigrants. It was hard to follow the complex Hebrew of the play, but the scenery and costumes were very simple and the impact of the actors' movements and expressions helped us follow the story line. I enjoyed the interpretive play, and it was cool to see what my roommate had been working on for the past few months. Afterwards, we went of for hot drinks and then hurried home in the cold.
Now starts another week.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
...I went to track down my orchid only to find...
Since I last blogged, in no particular order, my mom came to visit me, I turned 22, I brought in a new year, I visited the States, I went to a couple weddings (mazal tov!), I started a new job, I moved into a new apartment (twice!!), I traveled Rome, and I had many more Israeli experiences. Without dragging on too much (I hope), I am going to try to catch you up on the past six months, and from here on out, I might actually update my blog a bit more regularly.
My ulpan experience, which was my primary excitement during my first five months in Israel, came to an end at the beginning of June. After a final test and a closing celebration, I could say goodbye do the dreaded 8 bus forever. It was a bus that never came often enough or on time, rain or shine, to ulpan or home. The route was a long one, and there were no other options. After many morning runs (to catch the dreaded bus) and minutes upon minutes wasted waiting, I am pleased to say that the horrors of the 8 bus are in the past. Since ending ulpan, I have yet to take that bus again. I did, however, familiarize myself with a few other lines over the past six months.
As soon as ulpan ended, my mother made a quick visit to Jerusalem. We spent our ten days eating, shopping, and walking. The weather was beautiful while she was in town, and because I was through with ulpan I got to spend the whole ten days with my mom visiting family (both real and adopted), eating at all the restaurants I couldn't afford, coffee shop hopping from one shop to the next, and sightseeing. We also made some progress on my summer shopping list, and one of the things we needed to buy was a fan. It was so Israeli when then salesman at the store, with whom I was bargaining, began to ask me about my personal life. When he had determined that I was single, he decided (with my mother looking on) to help me find my true love. He didn't make much progress, but that common sentiment of playing matchmaker to anyone and everyone was yet again fulfilled.
After an eating extravaganza, I packed up my apartment into four suitcases and a couple of boxes and moved down south. I spent my summer volunteering in Kiryat Gat. It is the same city in which I volunteered last summer. I have a host family there (my mom finally got to meet them), I feel comfortable with the city, and it is a great place to speak Hebrew. I also found a new "favorite" bus line, the 446, there. It is the line from Jerusalem to Kiryat Gat, and it takes FOREVER. I took it round trip at least once a week, often opting to spend my weekends in Jerusalem.
This summer my volunteer projects consisted of a bit of manual labor in a community garden and a more consistent project at the local absorption center for Ethiopian immigrants. I volunteered 3-6 hours a day with a group of first graders. The first part of the summer, I helped out with an after school program, and the second half of the summer, I helped run the center's day camp. As my volunteering continued, I not only became a more confident Hebrew speaker, but I also became a more central part to the camp's running, and by the end of my experience, I felt such a strong connection to the group of students I worked with that I was sad to leave. My most memorable experience was when we took a mini-field trip into the center of town. A carnival had been set up for a couple of days, and arrangements had been made to bring the children along with their parents. Many of these children had only ridden in a car a handful of times and had never even seen a carnival ride let alone ridden on one. The day was a magical one for me as I watched families explore the new experience with awe and glee.
Throughout the summer, while not volunteering, I spent my time figuring out what I wanted to do with the next several months of my life. I did some apartment hunting, looked for a job, explored Kiryat Gat and relaxed a good bit. I decided to take a year before beginning my graduate degree to work on my Hebrew a bit more, to save some money, and to really be confident in my decision for a graduate program. I was accepted to a program to begin this year, but in the end, I just wasn't sure if it was for me. While not making serious decisions, I checked off a few short term goals too.
One of these was to pass my driver's license test. From a previous post, you know that the process began as an arduous one. With all of the paperwork done, though, I was able to look for a teacher in Kiryat Gat, take a lesson, and hopefully pass my test. I asked around for a recommendation and was put in touch with a local teacher. It was so Israeli when I called him, and right away, he was thrilled that I was American and that I had moved to Israel. He was excited that I was spending my summer in Kiryat Gat, and he wanted to help me in any way that he could. The only problem was that he only taught on a stick shift car. He made a commitment to helping me out though, and he most definitely followed through. He found me a teacher with a fair price who would be able to schedule my test within my two week time frame on an automatic car. (I guess teacher's can only schedule a certain amount of tests each week.) The teacher he found me was nice, and my one lesson was fine. It was mostly just getting used to driving a new car, and I passed my test the next day. My teacher dropped of my temporary license later in the week, and now I am waiting for the permanent one in the mail. If only everything here was as easy as that test.
I had a fun adventure one evening with a friend getting to know the pizza joints of Kiryat Gat. If I was going to make the smal ltown my home for the summer, the hope was that I would at least have somewhere nearby to get a good slice of pizza. We went on a pizza tour of the town. We mapped a route, ordered slices and rate each one on various scales from taste to convenience to price. In the end, only one place was really worth going back to, but it was a fun night nevertheless.
My birthday also fell during my stay in Kiryat Gat. I celebrated with a friend at a (somewhat) nearby amusement park and then had a yummy dinner and dessert. I also celebrated in the States with my FAVORITE Deerfield's Bakery chocolate cake, and then again back in Jerusalem with more of my friends. A couple days before my birthday, though, I got an interesting call. The volunteer coordinator told me that someone had delivered some sort of a plant to me and that a neighbor picked it up for me. She gave me the neighbor's number, and I called him to try and figure out what was going on. We chatted for a few minutes, and I wasn't much more informed than before the conversation. He told me that someone had delivered a flower to me (maybe a boyfriend, he inquired?), and said that he would call me when he was home so I could pick it up. We touched base a little later, and he gave me his address. It was just a few street numbers away from my house, so I assumed I would have no problem finding it. That turned out to be an incorrect assumption. Another neighbor on the block saw me walking down the street, obviously looking for something, and asked if I needed help. I gave her the address and she directed me to an alley with a few house. I found the right one after a few more minutes. It was so Israeli when I knocked on the door and was greeted by a slightly surprised man without a shirt. At first I thought I was in the wrong house, but then he started telling me about the course of events of the day. It turns out my aunt, uncle, and cousins sent me an orchid for my birthday and the neighbor was near my house (which is a good couple minute walk down the alley) at the time of the delivery. He picked it up and watered it for me. I thanked him kindly and he wished me a happy birthday on my way out. (I guess he read the card).
The summer came to a close, and I packed up my four suitcases and a couple boxes, yet again. This time, though, the destination was unknown. I left my suitcases, boxes, and orchids (yes, it's still alive) with some friends, spent a day in Jerusalem interviewing for a job and apartment searching, and then I boarded a plane to the States. I spent my two short weeks away surprising my grandfather for his 80th birthday, celebrating a wedding and an engagement with friends, celebrating a birthday with family, eating and shopping (a common theme), and catching up with everyone in the States. I had a fun trip, but almost as soon as I landed in Chicago, I was ready to head back home to Israel.
On my way home, I had a 14 hour layover in Rome. I planned a full day of events and executed it perfectly. I visited the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, and the Jewish Quarter. I ate some pizza, had an espresso, and indulged in delicious gelato--twice. I walked around the whole day and had a really good adventure. The guide books I read before my trip warned of difficulties in crossing the street. I read that some cars and all motorcycles and scooters do not follow traffic signals. Thus, it is important to be aggressive in all street crossing endeavors, make eye contact with drivers, and when at all possible, follow an Italian. I tried to follow these guides throughout the day, but at one point in the afternoon, I found an intersection that I just couldn't cross. It was so Italian when (well maybe not--I am not an expert on Italians), I tried to cross, failed, made eye contact with another pedestrian, made a non-verbal pact to get across together, followed his lead across (with a bit of a sprint by both of us), and thanked him in beautiful Italian. He gave me a nice smile, and then we both continued on.
My day of walking, sightseeing, and eating exhausted me, and I was looking forward to a bit of rest of my flight from Rome to Israel, but I was out of luck. I was seated next to a religious, Israeli family with a ton of kids (six or seven). None of them spoke English, and the Alitalia flight attendants most definitely did not speak Hebrew. I was trying to tune out the family next to me and all of the other loud, Israeli families on the flight that were running back and forth and screaming across aisles and ignoring fasten seat belt signs, but even at one in the morning, sleep wouldn't come. At one point, after a brief exchange with a flight attendant, she gave me an exasperated look and just sort of shrugged. She was trying to prepare for landing and there were four children seated in the two seats next to me. She couldn't communicate with them so I translated for her. The girl next to me was shocked that I spoke Hebrew. She asked me where I learned, and then told me that she wasn't going to move seats. It was so Israeli!
I landed, though, safe and sound and tired. I slept at a friend's place for a couple of hours in the morning, and then, with some helped, moved into a new apartment. (The final arrangements were made from the States.) I am now living in a neighborhood of Jerusalem called Katamon. I live with an Israeli and an Australian who I met in ulpan. My favorite thing about the apartment is that we feel like a family. We get along well, but it's more than just three roommates living together. We also speak Hebrew which is a huge bonus for me. I settled in quickly after a nice welcome home shabbat and a few nights of solid sleep. Then I jumped straight into work. (Pictures coming soon...maybe.)
I am currently working full time in a Montessori preschool. I speak Hebrew at work with the children and also with the other staff. I get along really well with the women I work with, and the children are growing on me, too. I may or may not have favorites. The preschool is only a ten minute walk from my apartment, so that makes it really convenient as well. It is by no means a dream job, but I generally like it, and it meets my two requirements: it helps with my Hebrew, and it allows me to save money while I narrow my sights on a grad school program.
When I am not working, I always find a way to keep busy. I joined a gym when I came back from the States, and I have been swimming several times a week. I babysit a bit, and I see friends a lot. Building a strong community has been a priority. A couple cool coffee shops have opened up recently, so we have been enjoying trying them out. I don't live as close to the shuk as I used to, but I still try to go once a week on my day off. I also find time in the evenings to cook a bit. I have been really into quinoa lately. It's good with a bit of feta cheese, lemon juice, cucumbers, mint, and pomegranate seeds.
Thinking about pomegranates brings me back to all of the delicious food, pomegranates included, that I ate during chaggim (the high holy days). I spent Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, most of Sukkot, and Simchat Torah in Jerusalem. One of my roommates and I hosted a few meals for Rosh Hashana and then went out to several others. We did a lot of cooking and had a really nice holiday. We had some meals at home, some meals out, some meals with friends, and some meals with families.
One of our meals was quite an interesting one, mainly due to what occurred within the first ten minutes. We were supposed to eat with a family that my roommate knew. We met them at shul and walked with them to their apartment after Rosh Hashana services. Their building had a pre-programmed elevator which we piled into to go up to the seventh floor. (Rosh Hashana, like shabbat, is meant to be a holy day of rest: working, use of electricity, etc, are prohibited.) We managed to get stuck in it somewhere between the sixth and seventh floors, even though we were below both the weight and capacity limits. We banged a bit on the door and finally an angry neighbor came out from his meal yelling and screaming and helped us pry the door open. He continued to yell, though, even after we climbed out, because now the elevator was stuck in between two floors and could not be used for the rest of the two day holiday and shabbat (this was of course the first day). The only way to get around this was to find a non-Jew to call an elevator repair man. After standing on a corner for a good half hour, one of the guests at my meal found such a person who came up to the seventh floor (via the steps), assessed the situation, and made the call. Apparently it was his third such call of the day. As we were waiting for/with him we began chatting with the once angry neighbor. It was so Israeli when the previous screaming was completely forgotten, and instead celebration ensured (the occasion is still unclear). A bottle of wine was passed around from neighbor to good Samaritan to neighbor, and with the blink of an eye, everyone was smiling and toasting. After another fifteen minutes, everyone settled back into their respective meals to continue eating and patiently await the elevator repairman. From my understanding, everything has since been resolved. The rest of our meals, while not quite as entertaining, were equally fun, warm-spirited, and delicious.
The month of holidays was a fun one, and now that it is over, I am back into my weekly routine of working, swimming, and coffee drinking or eating with friends. Hopefully I have caught you up well enough for the time being....
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| Some of my classmates and our teacher, Mazal |
As soon as ulpan ended, my mother made a quick visit to Jerusalem. We spent our ten days eating, shopping, and walking. The weather was beautiful while she was in town, and because I was through with ulpan I got to spend the whole ten days with my mom visiting family (both real and adopted), eating at all the restaurants I couldn't afford, coffee shop hopping from one shop to the next, and sightseeing. We also made some progress on my summer shopping list, and one of the things we needed to buy was a fan. It was so Israeli when then salesman at the store, with whom I was bargaining, began to ask me about my personal life. When he had determined that I was single, he decided (with my mother looking on) to help me find my true love. He didn't make much progress, but that common sentiment of playing matchmaker to anyone and everyone was yet again fulfilled.
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| My host siblings and me: Ori, Gal, Tal, Sondra, and Itzik |
This summer my volunteer projects consisted of a bit of manual labor in a community garden and a more consistent project at the local absorption center for Ethiopian immigrants. I volunteered 3-6 hours a day with a group of first graders. The first part of the summer, I helped out with an after school program, and the second half of the summer, I helped run the center's day camp. As my volunteering continued, I not only became a more confident Hebrew speaker, but I also became a more central part to the camp's running, and by the end of my experience, I felt such a strong connection to the group of students I worked with that I was sad to leave. My most memorable experience was when we took a mini-field trip into the center of town. A carnival had been set up for a couple of days, and arrangements had been made to bring the children along with their parents. Many of these children had only ridden in a car a handful of times and had never even seen a carnival ride let alone ridden on one. The day was a magical one for me as I watched families explore the new experience with awe and glee.
Throughout the summer, while not volunteering, I spent my time figuring out what I wanted to do with the next several months of my life. I did some apartment hunting, looked for a job, explored Kiryat Gat and relaxed a good bit. I decided to take a year before beginning my graduate degree to work on my Hebrew a bit more, to save some money, and to really be confident in my decision for a graduate program. I was accepted to a program to begin this year, but in the end, I just wasn't sure if it was for me. While not making serious decisions, I checked off a few short term goals too.
One of these was to pass my driver's license test. From a previous post, you know that the process began as an arduous one. With all of the paperwork done, though, I was able to look for a teacher in Kiryat Gat, take a lesson, and hopefully pass my test. I asked around for a recommendation and was put in touch with a local teacher. It was so Israeli when I called him, and right away, he was thrilled that I was American and that I had moved to Israel. He was excited that I was spending my summer in Kiryat Gat, and he wanted to help me in any way that he could. The only problem was that he only taught on a stick shift car. He made a commitment to helping me out though, and he most definitely followed through. He found me a teacher with a fair price who would be able to schedule my test within my two week time frame on an automatic car. (I guess teacher's can only schedule a certain amount of tests each week.) The teacher he found me was nice, and my one lesson was fine. It was mostly just getting used to driving a new car, and I passed my test the next day. My teacher dropped of my temporary license later in the week, and now I am waiting for the permanent one in the mail. If only everything here was as easy as that test.
I had a fun adventure one evening with a friend getting to know the pizza joints of Kiryat Gat. If I was going to make the smal ltown my home for the summer, the hope was that I would at least have somewhere nearby to get a good slice of pizza. We went on a pizza tour of the town. We mapped a route, ordered slices and rate each one on various scales from taste to convenience to price. In the end, only one place was really worth going back to, but it was a fun night nevertheless.
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| Celebrating my birthday with friends in Jerusalem (above) Celebrating my birthday at the amusement park (below) |
My birthday also fell during my stay in Kiryat Gat. I celebrated with a friend at a (somewhat) nearby amusement park and then had a yummy dinner and dessert. I also celebrated in the States with my FAVORITE Deerfield's Bakery chocolate cake, and then again back in Jerusalem with more of my friends. A couple days before my birthday, though, I got an interesting call. The volunteer coordinator told me that someone had delivered some sort of a plant to me and that a neighbor picked it up for me. She gave me the neighbor's number, and I called him to try and figure out what was going on. We chatted for a few minutes, and I wasn't much more informed than before the conversation. He told me that someone had delivered a flower to me (maybe a boyfriend, he inquired?), and said that he would call me when he was home so I could pick it up. We touched base a little later, and he gave me his address. It was just a few street numbers away from my house, so I assumed I would have no problem finding it. That turned out to be an incorrect assumption. Another neighbor on the block saw me walking down the street, obviously looking for something, and asked if I needed help. I gave her the address and she directed me to an alley with a few house. I found the right one after a few more minutes. It was so Israeli when I knocked on the door and was greeted by a slightly surprised man without a shirt. At first I thought I was in the wrong house, but then he started telling me about the course of events of the day. It turns out my aunt, uncle, and cousins sent me an orchid for my birthday and the neighbor was near my house (which is a good couple minute walk down the alley) at the time of the delivery. He picked it up and watered it for me. I thanked him kindly and he wished me a happy birthday on my way out. (I guess he read the card). The summer came to a close, and I packed up my four suitcases and a couple boxes, yet again. This time, though, the destination was unknown. I left my suitcases, boxes, and orchids (yes, it's still alive) with some friends, spent a day in Jerusalem interviewing for a job and apartment searching, and then I boarded a plane to the States. I spent my two short weeks away surprising my grandfather for his 80th birthday, celebrating a wedding and an engagement with friends, celebrating a birthday with family, eating and shopping (a common theme), and catching up with everyone in the States. I had a fun trip, but almost as soon as I landed in Chicago, I was ready to head back home to Israel.
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| My street-crossing buddy |
I landed, though, safe and sound and tired. I slept at a friend's place for a couple of hours in the morning, and then, with some helped, moved into a new apartment. (The final arrangements were made from the States.) I am now living in a neighborhood of Jerusalem called Katamon. I live with an Israeli and an Australian who I met in ulpan. My favorite thing about the apartment is that we feel like a family. We get along well, but it's more than just three roommates living together. We also speak Hebrew which is a huge bonus for me. I settled in quickly after a nice welcome home shabbat and a few nights of solid sleep. Then I jumped straight into work. (Pictures coming soon...maybe.)
I am currently working full time in a Montessori preschool. I speak Hebrew at work with the children and also with the other staff. I get along really well with the women I work with, and the children are growing on me, too. I may or may not have favorites. The preschool is only a ten minute walk from my apartment, so that makes it really convenient as well. It is by no means a dream job, but I generally like it, and it meets my two requirements: it helps with my Hebrew, and it allows me to save money while I narrow my sights on a grad school program.
When I am not working, I always find a way to keep busy. I joined a gym when I came back from the States, and I have been swimming several times a week. I babysit a bit, and I see friends a lot. Building a strong community has been a priority. A couple cool coffee shops have opened up recently, so we have been enjoying trying them out. I don't live as close to the shuk as I used to, but I still try to go once a week on my day off. I also find time in the evenings to cook a bit. I have been really into quinoa lately. It's good with a bit of feta cheese, lemon juice, cucumbers, mint, and pomegranate seeds.
Thinking about pomegranates brings me back to all of the delicious food, pomegranates included, that I ate during chaggim (the high holy days). I spent Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, most of Sukkot, and Simchat Torah in Jerusalem. One of my roommates and I hosted a few meals for Rosh Hashana and then went out to several others. We did a lot of cooking and had a really nice holiday. We had some meals at home, some meals out, some meals with friends, and some meals with families.
One of our meals was quite an interesting one, mainly due to what occurred within the first ten minutes. We were supposed to eat with a family that my roommate knew. We met them at shul and walked with them to their apartment after Rosh Hashana services. Their building had a pre-programmed elevator which we piled into to go up to the seventh floor. (Rosh Hashana, like shabbat, is meant to be a holy day of rest: working, use of electricity, etc, are prohibited.) We managed to get stuck in it somewhere between the sixth and seventh floors, even though we were below both the weight and capacity limits. We banged a bit on the door and finally an angry neighbor came out from his meal yelling and screaming and helped us pry the door open. He continued to yell, though, even after we climbed out, because now the elevator was stuck in between two floors and could not be used for the rest of the two day holiday and shabbat (this was of course the first day). The only way to get around this was to find a non-Jew to call an elevator repair man. After standing on a corner for a good half hour, one of the guests at my meal found such a person who came up to the seventh floor (via the steps), assessed the situation, and made the call. Apparently it was his third such call of the day. As we were waiting for/with him we began chatting with the once angry neighbor. It was so Israeli when the previous screaming was completely forgotten, and instead celebration ensured (the occasion is still unclear). A bottle of wine was passed around from neighbor to good Samaritan to neighbor, and with the blink of an eye, everyone was smiling and toasting. After another fifteen minutes, everyone settled back into their respective meals to continue eating and patiently await the elevator repairman. From my understanding, everything has since been resolved. The rest of our meals, while not quite as entertaining, were equally fun, warm-spirited, and delicious.
The month of holidays was a fun one, and now that it is over, I am back into my weekly routine of working, swimming, and coffee drinking or eating with friends. Hopefully I have caught you up well enough for the time being....
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
...we sang the national anthem...
The past month or so has flown by. We had several big holidays here: Yom HaShoa, Yom HaZikaron, Yom HaAtzmaut, and Lag Ba'Omer. I have also took on a second babysitting job for a couple of weeks and have been studying a lot for my final exam (tomorrow!!) with the Ministry of Education. And because summer vacation has started in the States, I have been seeing a lot of friends who are visiting. I have really been keeping busy and having a blast, but I am counting down the days until ulpan ends and my mom comes because I will be finished with babysitting, and I will finally have a bit of time to relax.
Holidays here are quite special. Yom HaShoa is Holocaust Memorial Day. We had a ceremony in ulpan and a national moment of silence. The same was true for Yom HaZikaron, the memorial day for fallen soldiers, however I decided to spend the holiday away from ulpan. The evening of Yom HaZikaron, I met some friends at the Kotel for a tekes, a ceremony, commemorating fallen soldiers. It was a very last minute decision to go, so I ended up jogging most of the way. When I got to the Old City, I was comforted to see extremely heightened security. Every ten paces was another soldier or police man. When I got to the security area before I could enter the Western Wall, the gate was just being closed to prevent people from entering. It was so Israeli when the line (read mob) of people behind me kept growing and every person felt the need to yell at the security guards or explain why he should be allowed through even though nobody else could pass. Apparently we had made it right before the torch lighting ceremony and thus had to wait "a couple of minutes." In truth we waited about 20 minutes until the Mayor of Jerusalem came squeezing through the mash of people trying to get in (he touched me!). People began yelling at him, and it must have gotten through because when he passed through security, he spoke with the main guard, and the gate was opened, and we were able to enter. Lucky for me, a couple of friends had staked out a spot in the front row and I was able to join them. The ceremony, though in Hebrew, was quite moving, and at the end, we sang the nation anthem. That was just one of the many times over the next couple days that I would feel such a close and strong bond to my country.
The next day, I went with a friend to Har Herzl, the military cemetery in Jerusalem. There was another siren, and just like on Yom HaShoa, the whole country froze. Everyone in the cemetery stopped talking and stood silently for 2 minutes, buses stopped; people got out of cars. It was like pressing pause on life. After the siren, there was another tekes. The rest of the day was a relatively somber one, but that night began Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day. There were street parties throughout the country. I stayed in Jerusalem and just sort of walked around taking it all in. It is amazing to see such sadness followed by such pride and celebration. The day of Yom HaAtzmaut is a happy one filled with BBQ and frolicking in Israel's parks. I went to a couple of BBQs in two different parks. Everywhere you looked, there were people of all sorts (Israeli, American, religious, secular, young, old, etc). It was a great day with lots of eating and hanging out.
After that, things went back to normal. Ulpan picked up--we are currently cramming two thirds of our text book into the last two weeks of class. My friends and I are also starting to make post-ulpan plans. This summer I will be volunteering in Kiryat Gat. I will be helping out in a community garden and in an absorption center. I hope to really brush up on my Hebrew while I'm there. I'm also excited to spend another summer making connections and visiting with my host family. I stayed with them this past weekend and also celebrated Lag Ba'Omer in Kiryat Gat. Basically the holiday is celebrated by building ridiculously HUGE bonfires. The whole city smelled of fire. Before we left the house, we made sure to close all of the windows, but somehow the smell still permeated everything.
The next holiday here is Shavuot, I will be done with ulpan by then, finishing up with babysitting, and starting to pack up my apartment. These first five months have flown by, but I have loved every minute of them! I can't wait to see what the summer brings.
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| photo courtesy of Becca Gore |
The next day, I went with a friend to Har Herzl, the military cemetery in Jerusalem. There was another siren, and just like on Yom HaShoa, the whole country froze. Everyone in the cemetery stopped talking and stood silently for 2 minutes, buses stopped; people got out of cars. It was like pressing pause on life. After the siren, there was another tekes. The rest of the day was a relatively somber one, but that night began Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day. There were street parties throughout the country. I stayed in Jerusalem and just sort of walked around taking it all in. It is amazing to see such sadness followed by such pride and celebration. The day of Yom HaAtzmaut is a happy one filled with BBQ and frolicking in Israel's parks. I went to a couple of BBQs in two different parks. Everywhere you looked, there were people of all sorts (Israeli, American, religious, secular, young, old, etc). It was a great day with lots of eating and hanging out.
After that, things went back to normal. Ulpan picked up--we are currently cramming two thirds of our text book into the last two weeks of class. My friends and I are also starting to make post-ulpan plans. This summer I will be volunteering in Kiryat Gat. I will be helping out in a community garden and in an absorption center. I hope to really brush up on my Hebrew while I'm there. I'm also excited to spend another summer making connections and visiting with my host family. I stayed with them this past weekend and also celebrated Lag Ba'Omer in Kiryat Gat. Basically the holiday is celebrated by building ridiculously HUGE bonfires. The whole city smelled of fire. Before we left the house, we made sure to close all of the windows, but somehow the smell still permeated everything.
The next holiday here is Shavuot, I will be done with ulpan by then, finishing up with babysitting, and starting to pack up my apartment. These first five months have flown by, but I have loved every minute of them! I can't wait to see what the summer brings.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
...we had to leave the house by 5:30am just to...
So people are still asking me about how my Passover (Pesach) was, and even though I feel like it was ages ago, I guess it is a valid question. I had two weeks break from ulpan, and while the beginning was spent running annoying errands (see previous post), the second part was quite nice.
I spent the first days of my travels in Herzliya with close family friends. I enjoyed some beach weather, some slightly chilly weather, and a very nice seder. It was one of the longer ones I have been to, but I had a really nice night filled with LOADS and LOADS of delicious food. The highlight would have to be the afikomen (dessert) hunt. It is a custom to hide the afikomen. The custom varies by family, but either the leader hides the desert matzah and the child/children who find/s it wins a prize or the child/children hide/s it, the leader has to find it, often fails, and falls to bargaining with the child. The family I spent the seder with followed the first practice. As dinner finished up, the kids were told that the afikomen would be in one of two rooms. We slowly made our way upstairs and began the hunt. (Yes, I'm a kid too!) In the first of two rooms, I began my search in the dirty clothes bin. It was the bedroom of a teenage boy, and for both of our sakes, I didn't really want to go through his clothes. Instead, I took the lid off, poked around inside using the lid, and smashed about trying to see if I could hear the crumble of matzah. No such luck. After a bit more searching, we began to give up one by one. The minutes turned into hours, and the search dragged on. Finally, just around the two hour mark, the prize had been found--in the first place I looked. In the dirty clothes bin. Next time, I guess I'll have to look (and crunch) a bit harder.
After my stay in Herzliya, I traveled south for what I thought would be a couple of days. The plan was to spend two days with my host family in Kiryat Gat and two days with my friend on a nearby moshav. The first night in Kiryat Gat, I went with a friend to watch my host father's soccer game at the high school. The men were pretty good, despite the fact that my host father (he was playing goalie) always ended up on the ground. Half way into the game, I get a call from the friend I was supposed to visit the next evening. It turns out her family was going up to the North the next day, and I was coming with. No ifs, ands, or buts. I was thrilled, until she told me we were waking up early and leaving around 5:30am.
Well, I was going, so I decided to spend the night with her and her family. A bit after 5:00 her mom came in to wake us up. By the time we ate a tad of breakfast, had coffee, packed the car, and got stuff from the cousins (who live next door and were coming with but didn't have room in their car), it was already 6:30. We set off, and I promptly fell asleep. Around 8:00 I stirred and realized we'd stopped. At 8:30 when I actually woke up, I realized that we were still stopped. I got out of the car to join the rest of the family outside. It was so Israeli when we had to leave the house by 5:30am just to stop by the side of the road and brew some coffee. We had made a mini breakfast stop. A burner was going and we were waiting for the water to boil. It was nice to have a hot cup of coffee on the chilly morning, but it also made me laugh. After our mini breakfast (following the other mini breakfast we had at home), we continued the drive north to Gush Halav, an area near Tzfat. It was so Israeli when, upon arriving, we immediately pulled into a gas station, found a few free tables, laid out a table cloth, began peeling eggs, making salads, and laying a beautiful meal. We then proceeded to eat our third breakfast (maybe it was lunch, but it was only 10:30). When we finished the meal, we went on a two and one half hour hike on a trail that wound through some hills and valleys in the north. We saw goats and cows and old synagogue ruins; we treaded through rivers and slipped through mud, we got a bit lost, and we consulted an iPhone for help. All in all, it was a pretty low key but beautiful walk. Upon finishing, we had some snacks and then drove to a forest a little ways away. Apparently it was time to eat again. This time, we made an amazing bar-b-que. We made salads, mixed meats with spices and began to bar-b-que. It was so Israeli when we made the decision to have an impromptu campfire to keep us warm. It was an unseasonably cold day, so my friend and I began gathering sticks. When we had enough for a small fire, we built it near our picnic table (also donned with a tablecloth) and huddled around to stay warm. After an exceptionally large meal, we of course had to have tea and coffee before hitting the road. We also were able to gather a group for afternoon prayer services, mincha. It is cool to see that the Jews from all walks of life (more and less religious, younger and much older, Ashkenazic and Sephardic) were able to come together for 15 minutes in the middle of a forest. It was a nice end to a great day. A great day filled mostly with eating! Afterwards we headed home and tried to catch up on sleep.
The next day, I went back to my host family whom I had so abruptly left to go up North. It was a great way to end my week of travels, as I got to speak a lot of Hebrew, relax a bit, and eat a lot more yummy food. Saturday was my host father's birthday, so we snacked and visited with family all day long! After shabbat, I went back to Herzlyia for a friend's birthday party, and from there I returned home. I spent the last couple of days of Passover in Jerusalem with friends. And before I knew it, break was over.
I have been back at ulpan now for almost a week. Since then, we have gotten a new teacher (apparently only temporarily, but she is GREAT), I have started thinking about making summer plans, and I have been beginning to reconsider my plans for next year. Summer is still undecided but my options include spending another summer in Kiryat Gat volunteering and living with a host family, staying in Jerusalem and babysitting, or doing some sort of summer research, also most likely in Jerusalem. Volunteering will be the best for my Hebrew, and that is what I am leaning towards, but I still haven't made any decisions. In terms of grad schools, I have begun to consider a completely different program at the Arava Institute. It is a two year master's program in desert studies with a concentration in environmental studies. It also stresses the importance of dialogue in the Middle East and brings together students from several different countries and walks of life. It seems very interesting and relevant, so I have begun the application process. Lucky for me, Israeli university programs don't begin until the end of October and there aren't so many firm application deadlines. Hopefully in the next month or some I will know what I'm doing, but until then, I will try to keep you up to date with the other happenings of my life.
I spent the first days of my travels in Herzliya with close family friends. I enjoyed some beach weather, some slightly chilly weather, and a very nice seder. It was one of the longer ones I have been to, but I had a really nice night filled with LOADS and LOADS of delicious food. The highlight would have to be the afikomen (dessert) hunt. It is a custom to hide the afikomen. The custom varies by family, but either the leader hides the desert matzah and the child/children who find/s it wins a prize or the child/children hide/s it, the leader has to find it, often fails, and falls to bargaining with the child. The family I spent the seder with followed the first practice. As dinner finished up, the kids were told that the afikomen would be in one of two rooms. We slowly made our way upstairs and began the hunt. (Yes, I'm a kid too!) In the first of two rooms, I began my search in the dirty clothes bin. It was the bedroom of a teenage boy, and for both of our sakes, I didn't really want to go through his clothes. Instead, I took the lid off, poked around inside using the lid, and smashed about trying to see if I could hear the crumble of matzah. No such luck. After a bit more searching, we began to give up one by one. The minutes turned into hours, and the search dragged on. Finally, just around the two hour mark, the prize had been found--in the first place I looked. In the dirty clothes bin. Next time, I guess I'll have to look (and crunch) a bit harder.
After my stay in Herzliya, I traveled south for what I thought would be a couple of days. The plan was to spend two days with my host family in Kiryat Gat and two days with my friend on a nearby moshav. The first night in Kiryat Gat, I went with a friend to watch my host father's soccer game at the high school. The men were pretty good, despite the fact that my host father (he was playing goalie) always ended up on the ground. Half way into the game, I get a call from the friend I was supposed to visit the next evening. It turns out her family was going up to the North the next day, and I was coming with. No ifs, ands, or buts. I was thrilled, until she told me we were waking up early and leaving around 5:30am.
Well, I was going, so I decided to spend the night with her and her family. A bit after 5:00 her mom came in to wake us up. By the time we ate a tad of breakfast, had coffee, packed the car, and got stuff from the cousins (who live next door and were coming with but didn't have room in their car), it was already 6:30. We set off, and I promptly fell asleep. Around 8:00 I stirred and realized we'd stopped. At 8:30 when I actually woke up, I realized that we were still stopped. I got out of the car to join the rest of the family outside. It was so Israeli when we had to leave the house by 5:30am just to stop by the side of the road and brew some coffee. We had made a mini breakfast stop. A burner was going and we were waiting for the water to boil. It was nice to have a hot cup of coffee on the chilly morning, but it also made me laugh. After our mini breakfast (following the other mini breakfast we had at home), we continued the drive north to Gush Halav, an area near Tzfat. It was so Israeli when, upon arriving, we immediately pulled into a gas station, found a few free tables, laid out a table cloth, began peeling eggs, making salads, and laying a beautiful meal. We then proceeded to eat our third breakfast (maybe it was lunch, but it was only 10:30). When we finished the meal, we went on a two and one half hour hike on a trail that wound through some hills and valleys in the north. We saw goats and cows and old synagogue ruins; we treaded through rivers and slipped through mud, we got a bit lost, and we consulted an iPhone for help. All in all, it was a pretty low key but beautiful walk. Upon finishing, we had some snacks and then drove to a forest a little ways away. Apparently it was time to eat again. This time, we made an amazing bar-b-que. We made salads, mixed meats with spices and began to bar-b-que. It was so Israeli when we made the decision to have an impromptu campfire to keep us warm. It was an unseasonably cold day, so my friend and I began gathering sticks. When we had enough for a small fire, we built it near our picnic table (also donned with a tablecloth) and huddled around to stay warm. After an exceptionally large meal, we of course had to have tea and coffee before hitting the road. We also were able to gather a group for afternoon prayer services, mincha. It is cool to see that the Jews from all walks of life (more and less religious, younger and much older, Ashkenazic and Sephardic) were able to come together for 15 minutes in the middle of a forest. It was a nice end to a great day. A great day filled mostly with eating! Afterwards we headed home and tried to catch up on sleep.
The next day, I went back to my host family whom I had so abruptly left to go up North. It was a great way to end my week of travels, as I got to speak a lot of Hebrew, relax a bit, and eat a lot more yummy food. Saturday was my host father's birthday, so we snacked and visited with family all day long! After shabbat, I went back to Herzlyia for a friend's birthday party, and from there I returned home. I spent the last couple of days of Passover in Jerusalem with friends. And before I knew it, break was over.
I have been back at ulpan now for almost a week. Since then, we have gotten a new teacher (apparently only temporarily, but she is GREAT), I have started thinking about making summer plans, and I have been beginning to reconsider my plans for next year. Summer is still undecided but my options include spending another summer in Kiryat Gat volunteering and living with a host family, staying in Jerusalem and babysitting, or doing some sort of summer research, also most likely in Jerusalem. Volunteering will be the best for my Hebrew, and that is what I am leaning towards, but I still haven't made any decisions. In terms of grad schools, I have begun to consider a completely different program at the Arava Institute. It is a two year master's program in desert studies with a concentration in environmental studies. It also stresses the importance of dialogue in the Middle East and brings together students from several different countries and walks of life. It seems very interesting and relevant, so I have begun the application process. Lucky for me, Israeli university programs don't begin until the end of October and there aren't so many firm application deadlines. Hopefully in the next month or some I will know what I'm doing, but until then, I will try to keep you up to date with the other happenings of my life.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
..the two clerks--in two different rooms--got in a fight and...
So the past couple of weeks have flown by. Since my flood, I made a visit to Tel Aviv--it is already beach season here!! I went to the art fair and had a lazy day with some friends. It was a nice vacation, even just for the weekend. And it was really cool to be in Tel Aviv because it is so different from Jerusalem. There are all different types of people, and the city is a lot more European. But there is also the religious aspect too. After spending the day walking around on the beach, shopping a bit in town, and sitting in a park-y thing (a rather larger strip of grass and sidewalk between the lanes or traffic on a main road) listening to a really good band, we had a nice shabbat. We went a shul near my friend's apartment and there was a cool mix of young, religious people from all over the world.
Back to real life in Jerusalem, I took my big mid-term exam at ulpan. It went really well, but it is frustrating to know that despite my high score, I still can't function in Hebrew. I had the hardest time getting my haircut. I like it, and I managed, but I'm sure I sounded ridiculous. The only thing I could say was "just a little at the end." The hairdresser told me that he was going to make me beautiful and give me layers and all that jazz. I am not overly attached to my hair so we made a deal. He could cut layers as long as it was "just a little at the end." That was the start of my "spring break." I have mostly been running errands and getting babysitting. I got my hair cut, I applied for a temporary passport, I had a nice Wine and Cheese Party to celebrate vacation (some of my friends brought really nice cheeses, which was a nice treat!), and I have just been having a lot of fun seeing friends and enjoying the weather.
Not only do I have a hair dresser, now, but I also found a doctor I like. In order to get my American driver's license converted, I needed to have my eyes checked and have a physical. The eye check was an experience. The guy didn't speak any English, and by the time I processed and understood what he was asking of me, he usually got frustrated and told me it wasn't important. In the end, I think we only did 75% of the checks on the form, but he wrote that I passed them all. The doctor was another experience. Doctors here are currently striking in hopes of getting more money (last I heard the continuation of the strike has been postponed until after Pesach), so I wasn't sure if I would be able to get an appointment. I called though, and had no problems. I was able to get in to the doctor I wanted the same day. Apparently the strike is currently only affecting doctors in hospitals. Anyhow, the doctor was originally from England, and he participated in the same ulpan program as I am in now. We chatted a bit about the ulpan and the best way to learn the language. I asked him about the Medical Ulpan which teaches Hebrew but focuses on medical terms. He gave me some good advice and told me to feel free to contact him if I had any questions both medically related and absorption related. He also suggested the name of a driving instructor for me.
In order to begin driving lessons and schedule a test (yes, even with an American license, I have to go through some ridiculous process that costs a ton of money), I had to bring the form that the eye guy and the doctor stamped to the Licensing Office. It was quite an adventure. The first time I went, I waited an hour to find out I didn't have to wait because there was a special place to go for license conversions. The clerk told me this in Hebrew and in English and then pointed to an unknown location. I wandered around a bit, went back to her, and finally figured out where I needed to be. When I sat down to speak to the next clerk, I was told that despite the website I checked, I didn't need my Israeli ID; I needed the special ID saying I was a new immigrant. The fact that the two aren't linked with my ID number in some master system was mind boggling, but alas, what could I do. Today I returned to the office and went straight to the special clerk for license converting and she said that today she wasn't doing it because there weren't enough other clerks in the office. She sent me to "Yana." I couldn't figure out if "Yana" was a person or a place so I walked around a bit, asked a lady if she could help me with the conversion, was told "no!", and then went back to ask the clerk again. She told me "Yana" was a person. I returned to the office where Yana was (in a different room from the first clerk). It turns out that Yana was the lady who had told me "no!" just a few seconds ago. I told her I was sent to her and she said that she was doing other things and that I should go back to the other room. I told this to the first clerk and she told me to tell Yana that Ruti (or someone like that) told the first clerk that Yana had to deal with me. It went back and forth for a bit this way, and finally Yana just told me to sit down. A couple minutes later she called me up, yelled at me because she was mad at the other people in the other room, and then told me she would try to help me but she didn't think she could. It was so Israeli when she looked at my paper work, stamped my form, said Happy Holidays, and sent me on my way, all within a minute and a half of me sitting down. I'm glad I learned to be a bit pushy, and my Hebrew served me well this time too! Now is the hard part of passing the test in which Americans are purposely failed...
Back to real life in Jerusalem, I took my big mid-term exam at ulpan. It went really well, but it is frustrating to know that despite my high score, I still can't function in Hebrew. I had the hardest time getting my haircut. I like it, and I managed, but I'm sure I sounded ridiculous. The only thing I could say was "just a little at the end." The hairdresser told me that he was going to make me beautiful and give me layers and all that jazz. I am not overly attached to my hair so we made a deal. He could cut layers as long as it was "just a little at the end." That was the start of my "spring break." I have mostly been running errands and getting babysitting. I got my hair cut, I applied for a temporary passport, I had a nice Wine and Cheese Party to celebrate vacation (some of my friends brought really nice cheeses, which was a nice treat!), and I have just been having a lot of fun seeing friends and enjoying the weather.
 |
| My apartment before the Wine & Cheese Party Quite a Classy Occasion |
In order to begin driving lessons and schedule a test (yes, even with an American license, I have to go through some ridiculous process that costs a ton of money), I had to bring the form that the eye guy and the doctor stamped to the Licensing Office. It was quite an adventure. The first time I went, I waited an hour to find out I didn't have to wait because there was a special place to go for license conversions. The clerk told me this in Hebrew and in English and then pointed to an unknown location. I wandered around a bit, went back to her, and finally figured out where I needed to be. When I sat down to speak to the next clerk, I was told that despite the website I checked, I didn't need my Israeli ID; I needed the special ID saying I was a new immigrant. The fact that the two aren't linked with my ID number in some master system was mind boggling, but alas, what could I do. Today I returned to the office and went straight to the special clerk for license converting and she said that today she wasn't doing it because there weren't enough other clerks in the office. She sent me to "Yana." I couldn't figure out if "Yana" was a person or a place so I walked around a bit, asked a lady if she could help me with the conversion, was told "no!", and then went back to ask the clerk again. She told me "Yana" was a person. I returned to the office where Yana was (in a different room from the first clerk). It turns out that Yana was the lady who had told me "no!" just a few seconds ago. I told her I was sent to her and she said that she was doing other things and that I should go back to the other room. I told this to the first clerk and she told me to tell Yana that Ruti (or someone like that) told the first clerk that Yana had to deal with me. It went back and forth for a bit this way, and finally Yana just told me to sit down. A couple minutes later she called me up, yelled at me because she was mad at the other people in the other room, and then told me she would try to help me but she didn't think she could. It was so Israeli when she looked at my paper work, stamped my form, said Happy Holidays, and sent me on my way, all within a minute and a half of me sitting down. I'm glad I learned to be a bit pushy, and my Hebrew served me well this time too! Now is the hard part of passing the test in which Americans are purposely failed...
Saturday, March 26, 2011
...my roommate's squeegee skills blew mine out of the water...
Two months ago , I had rain in my apartment and promptly moved out. You must imagine how shocked I was to come home on Thursday, a rainy day, to an apartment flooded with water. Every room had about a five centimeter covering. I quickly realized that it was not rain this time, but rather a burst pipe under my sink. I was unable to shut it off from within the apartment , so immediately called my roommate hoping he would have some Israeli insight. He told me he would be home in 40 minutes and he would try to get a hold of a plumber. In the mean time, I called my landlord and left her a message. I then called some friends that lived near by. They were a huge help. One of them had a handyman that she had used in the past and he was able to tell us where in our apartment building we would find the main water shutoff. He also found us a plumber, as my roommate had been unsuccessful in that matter. Once the water finally stopped, the squeegeeing began. We knocked on a couple of doors to properly equip ourselves, as my apartment only had one squeegee, and then we started the endless task of moving loads and loads of water out of the apartment and onto the balcony. From the balcony, the water was able to drain from two drainage holes down seven stories. It was quite a site to see. As the squeegeeing continued, so did my calls to the landlord, but to no avail. By the time my roommate got home, we had been squeegeeing for a good twenty minutes and had made a bit of progress, but he sprang into action as soon as he set foot inside. It was so Israeli when he was able to do what when had done in 20 minutes together in ten minutes alone. The cleanup was finished in no time, and we turned on all of our heaters to get rid of the last of the dampness. As soon as we finished, a downstairs neighbor came up trying to find the source of the water. I guess our flood had spilled over to his apartment too. His place was fine, though, and ours was finally dry. We still couldn't get a hold of the landlord, but the plumber that the handyman called finally showed up. He worked for a bit, had some juice with us and then continued. I'm not quite sure what he did, but he still hasn't finished. We have no pipework or kitchen faucet as of now, and we still haven't paid him. Apparently he was supposed to finish yesterday (Friday), but as far as I know, he never called. Luckily, we have two bathrooms, so after some cleaning (I mean the whole apartment had clean floors; I might as well clean the bathrooms), it has become our makeshift kitchen. No damage was done in the flood, but it is frustrating that we still have not been able to get a hold of the landlord. We have, however, been in touch with her legal representative and have been reassured that we will not be responsible for the cost of the repairs. A couple weeks ago, we notified our landlord that the kitchen sink was leaking, and because she never fixed it, we are not financially responsible. In hindsight, it was a rather entertaining afternoon activity.
On a lighter and brighter note, my espresso maker was finally delivered, and I have been loving life as a coffee drinker. I am so over instant. I happened to be sitting in a coffee shop near my apartment when it was delivered. It was right after the bombing in Jerusalem, and I needed internet access (the internet in my apartment is quite shoddy), so I went down to the cafe knowing that my espresso maker was supposed to be delivered between four and six and assuming it would come later rather than sooner, based on the traffic rerouting and such. At about 3:55 I looked up from my computer and saw the mail truck parked on the sidewalk in front of my apartment. The mailman was trying to buzz up to me. I asked in Hebrew if it was for apartment 17, and he asked me how I could prove I lived there. I left my apartment in such a dash that I didn't have I.D. on me. I unlocked the downstairs door, though to go up and get it. It was so Israeli when he stopped me and told me it was fine. Apparently because I can get into my apartment building, my identity is confirmed. That actually worked out in my favor because when they translated my order from English to Hebrew, my name was changed from Sondra to Sarah. I'm not sure what would have happened if I had showed him my I.D. Regardless, it was a non-issue; I returned to the coffee shop with my huge coffee maker. Slightly ironic, but very exciting.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
...I called my friends in Israel and found out we are all safe!!
I wanted to let you know that I am safe. You always hear that after an attack, everyone calls to the area to make sure friends and family are safe. I never thought that I would be a recipient of those calls. There was such a crazy buzz and cell phone networks were swamped and kept fading in and out. I was able to see the building near place where the bomb was left from the roof of my apartment. There were swarms of policemen, ambulances, and helicopters. The street is now open to traffic, and life just keeps on going. Luckily, just about everyone I know is accounted for and safe.
On a lighter note, I forgot a very Israeli happening. On Purim, when I was at my friend's house for a festive meal, two 20-somethings came into our party dressed up and singing and dancing. It was so Israeli when they just joined us and started blessing everyone and wishing us luck in finding our marriage partners! You never know what you're going to find here!
On a lighter note, I forgot a very Israeli happening. On Purim, when I was at my friend's house for a festive meal, two 20-somethings came into our party dressed up and singing and dancing. It was so Israeli when they just joined us and started blessing everyone and wishing us luck in finding our marriage partners! You never know what you're going to find here!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
...this, that, and the other thing happened...
So my life has been pretty Israeli lately. I guess that's a good thing because I am Israeli too. He is a brief recap of the month and of the Israeli happenings.
At the beginning of the month, my new roommate, Asaf moved in. He is a law and economics student in Rishon Letzion, so we often have quiet nights studying and doing homework; I study Hebrew and he studies college-y things. Sometimes on Fridays we'll have coffee together on the balcony while watching the happenings of the city. Sometimes we order in pizza for dinner. His family lives nearby, so he bring us homemade food once a week. He also brings his laundry home to them. Living together has been great. We get along really well, and we are both respectful of each other's space. Hopefully we'll start speaking Hebrew too, but for now, it's just nice to have someone who can help me order things online in Hebrew and read my package slips from the post office.
This past weekend was Purim. It is a month long endeavor in the preschools around Jerusalem. Some days you see kids in crowns, the next they have face paint, the next is pajama day, the next they have crazy hats, and then finally a week of full on costumes. For the bigger kids and adults, the festivities last the better part of a week. We had a four day weekend filled with lots of yummy "Oznei Haman" (traingle shaped cookies), singing, dancing, and dressing up. On Friday, a friend and I went to a couple of bakeries and bought a few treats from each. After eating them on Shabbat, I decided which bakery was my favorite and stocked up for Purim. I went to a couple parties, both in the streets and at a friend's place, and I heard the Megillah read in a cool synagogue near my apartment. The person who was reading the story of Purim, the Megillah, used funny voices for the different speakers throughout the reading. The next day he kept the silliness to a minimum and managed to read the whole thing in just under a half hour. It was quite impressive; the previous reading the night before was just about one hour. It was nice to have a couple days off of work and ulpan, and I got to see a lot of friends from Israel and from home.
Aside from the festivities, I have been learning Hebrew, working, and cooking up a storm. I went on a soup kick for a while: veggie soup, lentil soup, etc. I want to try split pea next, but the weather seems to be warming up, so we'll see! I also finished my grad school applications. I have an interview at the Hebrew University next week, and I just submitted my application to the Technion, so we'll see where I end up!
Now. What you have been waiting for: It was so Israeli when...
...I was at the shuk, and I overheard a man telling his friend he had already had 8 beers that day. It was only 4pm and the guy must have been in his 50s.
...I was at the shuk, and after paying for strawberries and waiting for my change, I realized something was up. I had made the transaction in Hebrew and was worried that maybe I didn't understand something. The total was 11 and I payed 21. I kept looking at the guy and he kept telling me I got a good price. I kept saying I know. Eventually I said something. That I was waiting for change. I asked in Hebrew: Achat-Esrei, zeh 11. He said yes, and I told him I paid 21. (We were back to speaking in Hebrew after the word "11".) He promptly gave me change and thanked me so much for correcting him so he wouldn't owe me money and so it wouldn't be on his conscience. He must have told me 4 times that I saved him! Only in Israel do they thank you for correcting them.
...I was waiting for a friend when I saw a guy driving down the street with a mattress balanced on the roof of his car. There were no strings. He simply reached up to put his hand on top whenever he was about to stop.
...I was walking down the street in a costume for Purim and so was everyone else.
...My friends and I were on the roof for a Purim meal and we see a little child (maybe 2 years old) walking down the street. A couple of us go down to find some parents. No big deal. They were a block ahead of the little boy.
...I tried to order an espresso maker online. I got a call from a guy the next day, in Hebrew, saying that he can't accept an American credit card. After going back and forth and talking to his supervisor and calling me back, I think he accepted my card. I got a package slip in the mail two days later, and what I assume to be my espresso maker will be delivered tomorrow. My credit card still hasn't been charged, though. We shall see whats up!
...more Israeli things happened, but I was too Israel and too busy to write them down.
At the beginning of the month, my new roommate, Asaf moved in. He is a law and economics student in Rishon Letzion, so we often have quiet nights studying and doing homework; I study Hebrew and he studies college-y things. Sometimes on Fridays we'll have coffee together on the balcony while watching the happenings of the city. Sometimes we order in pizza for dinner. His family lives nearby, so he bring us homemade food once a week. He also brings his laundry home to them. Living together has been great. We get along really well, and we are both respectful of each other's space. Hopefully we'll start speaking Hebrew too, but for now, it's just nice to have someone who can help me order things online in Hebrew and read my package slips from the post office.
This past weekend was Purim. It is a month long endeavor in the preschools around Jerusalem. Some days you see kids in crowns, the next they have face paint, the next is pajama day, the next they have crazy hats, and then finally a week of full on costumes. For the bigger kids and adults, the festivities last the better part of a week. We had a four day weekend filled with lots of yummy "Oznei Haman" (traingle shaped cookies), singing, dancing, and dressing up. On Friday, a friend and I went to a couple of bakeries and bought a few treats from each. After eating them on Shabbat, I decided which bakery was my favorite and stocked up for Purim. I went to a couple parties, both in the streets and at a friend's place, and I heard the Megillah read in a cool synagogue near my apartment. The person who was reading the story of Purim, the Megillah, used funny voices for the different speakers throughout the reading. The next day he kept the silliness to a minimum and managed to read the whole thing in just under a half hour. It was quite impressive; the previous reading the night before was just about one hour. It was nice to have a couple days off of work and ulpan, and I got to see a lot of friends from Israel and from home. Aside from the festivities, I have been learning Hebrew, working, and cooking up a storm. I went on a soup kick for a while: veggie soup, lentil soup, etc. I want to try split pea next, but the weather seems to be warming up, so we'll see! I also finished my grad school applications. I have an interview at the Hebrew University next week, and I just submitted my application to the Technion, so we'll see where I end up!
Now. What you have been waiting for: It was so Israeli when...
...I was at the shuk, and I overheard a man telling his friend he had already had 8 beers that day. It was only 4pm and the guy must have been in his 50s.
...I was at the shuk, and after paying for strawberries and waiting for my change, I realized something was up. I had made the transaction in Hebrew and was worried that maybe I didn't understand something. The total was 11 and I payed 21. I kept looking at the guy and he kept telling me I got a good price. I kept saying I know. Eventually I said something. That I was waiting for change. I asked in Hebrew: Achat-Esrei, zeh 11. He said yes, and I told him I paid 21. (We were back to speaking in Hebrew after the word "11".) He promptly gave me change and thanked me so much for correcting him so he wouldn't owe me money and so it wouldn't be on his conscience. He must have told me 4 times that I saved him! Only in Israel do they thank you for correcting them.
...I was waiting for a friend when I saw a guy driving down the street with a mattress balanced on the roof of his car. There were no strings. He simply reached up to put his hand on top whenever he was about to stop.
...I was walking down the street in a costume for Purim and so was everyone else.
...My friends and I were on the roof for a Purim meal and we see a little child (maybe 2 years old) walking down the street. A couple of us go down to find some parents. No big deal. They were a block ahead of the little boy.
...I tried to order an espresso maker online. I got a call from a guy the next day, in Hebrew, saying that he can't accept an American credit card. After going back and forth and talking to his supervisor and calling me back, I think he accepted my card. I got a package slip in the mail two days later, and what I assume to be my espresso maker will be delivered tomorrow. My credit card still hasn't been charged, though. We shall see whats up!
...more Israeli things happened, but I was too Israel and too busy to write them down.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
...my life started moving a mile a minute...
Everyone says that Israelis are always rushing, and now I fit the bill, so I guess I am so Israeli. Between ulpan, babysitting, seeing friends, and having sucky internet in my apartment, I haven't been posting much. I have decided instead of worrying about writing a consistent blog, I am going to take a bit of a hiatus. I will probably be posting about once a month. I thought I'd just give a heads up.
Things are going well, and I am really pushing myself to speak Hebrew. My weekends have been relaxing. I have been doing a lot of cooking, and I try and see friends most nights after work. I am applying to a couple of grad school programs, and I am just trying to figure out where I want to be next year. My roommate moved out on Friday (she finished her internship at the prime minister's office and is moving in with family in Tel Aviv, so someone new will be moving in tomorrow or the next day. Aside from that, I have settled into a good routine. I bought a printer (I guess I'm staying for a while), and I went on a cleaning/organizing spree in the apartment yesterday. I am really enjoying myself here and I am keeping busy! I'll be sure to update when something beyond the routine occurs, but until then, plan a trip, book a ticket, and come for a visit!
Things are going well, and I am really pushing myself to speak Hebrew. My weekends have been relaxing. I have been doing a lot of cooking, and I try and see friends most nights after work. I am applying to a couple of grad school programs, and I am just trying to figure out where I want to be next year. My roommate moved out on Friday (she finished her internship at the prime minister's office and is moving in with family in Tel Aviv, so someone new will be moving in tomorrow or the next day. Aside from that, I have settled into a good routine. I bought a printer (I guess I'm staying for a while), and I went on a cleaning/organizing spree in the apartment yesterday. I am really enjoying myself here and I am keeping busy! I'll be sure to update when something beyond the routine occurs, but until then, plan a trip, book a ticket, and come for a visit!
Monday, February 14, 2011
...my bus driver...
I know it has been a while since I last blogged, but have no fear, Israel is just as Israeli as ever.
I have been getting into a pretty consistent routine now that I have a new place to live. I wake up every morning to this:
I have been getting into a pretty consistent routine now that I have a new place to live. I wake up every morning to this:
I leave for ulpan around 730, and my mornings are then consumed by Hebrew immersion. From 1245, when class ends, until 2, I transport myself to my babysitting job (either by foot or by bus) and eat lunch (either with a friend, on the bus, at a park, or in a cafe). Then I babysit from about 2-6 for a 7-month-old. Her mother teaches piano in the house, so we usually take a walk in the neighborhood for an hour or two. I also get to practice my Hebrew between lessons, which is a huge help too. While I still hang out with a lot of Americans and other English-speakers from ulpan, I have really been trying to speak Hebrew here and there--I have a lot more to learn before grad school. Evenings are typically spent with friends. Activities range from dinner parties to movie nights to cooking adventures to nights out in the city. I make it to bed every night (or at least I try to) by midnight, and the cycle continues. Weekends are relaxing, as always. Two weekends ago, I had a bunch of friends over for Shabbat dinner. I made a delicious soup that lasted the rest of the week, chicken, salad, and rice. A friend from ulpan stayed over and we just relaxed and read the day away. This past weekend, I went to Hebrew University and stayed with friends. We had a big dinner Friday night, and after eating way too much, I passed out. I slept from 8:15pm-9am. It was great. I spent the rest of the day in jammies just hanging out and eating.
Some highlights of the week--deviations from the routine:
I was walking to the bus stop and saw mine pulling up. I started to run to try and catch it, but I was too late. Another bus was pulling up too. He asked me where I needed to go, and I responded. His bus was not the right one for me, and we both knew that. It was so Israeli when the driver told me (in Hebrew) to hurry hurry so we could catch the other bus at the next stop. I got on; he didn't even ask for a ticket. He proceeded to speed up and pull in behind my bus at the next stop. I was able to switch over without a problem, all thanks to my spunky driver.
I took a day off of ulpan last week to run some errands. My errands included changing my address on my ID card and at the bank, buying a cell phone, and getting my Arnona tax discount. I can say that at least most of my errands were successful. The one that wasn't really wasn't, though. I had the biggest problems getting my tax discount. The whole situation was so Israeli. The first time I went to the municipality, I was told i needed to be living in my apartment for at least 6 months in order for the tax bill to be switched to my name and for me to receive my discount. Of course my lease was only for five months, which just didn't cut it. Luckily, my landlord was willing to work with me. We wrote up a second lease and an external agreement and I went back to the municipality. This time, I was told that the name on the lease (my landlord's) differed from the name on the tax bill. I assumed that this was fine because the landlord and the owner of the apartment have an agreement; I assumed it wouldn't be hard to get a copy of their agreement. Little did I know that this would be a huge problem. It turns out that the owner of the apartment (the gentleman who now resides in Florida) is not the same person as the name on the tax bill. The name on the tax bill is that of a women who passed away. Apparently when she passed away and her son sold the apartment, the tax bill never got changed. When I asked for a notarized letter from the owner in Florida explaining this situation, I was told that there isn't significant proof for him to change the name in the bill to his, so there definitely wouldn't be significant proof for me to add my name to the bill. What a balagan ("craziness").
I have a couple other stories too. Lots of craziness everywhere. Say "hi" on skype or send me an e-mail, and I'll fill you in.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
...my landlord said...
This past weekend was a really nice one. I spent it in Kiryat Gat with my host family from this summer. A friend from the summer who is studying abroad in Jerusalem also came to Kiryat Gat to stay with her host family. Between the two families, I spoke a ton of Hebrew and ate even more food! My host family only speaks Hebrew, and when you put the whole משפחב, family, in one room (aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, etc.) a ton of Hebrew is spoken. It was nice to be back with my family. I know the aunts and uncles and cousins, and I can (surprisingly--at least to me) understand about 85% of the conversations. It was comforting to be back in my old room from the summer, and having my friend at her host family down the block was great. For both Friday night at Saturday lunch, I had delicious, homemade food not once, but twice. I was of course eating with my host family, but I was also invited to my friend's family. Most people would have to choose one or the other, but I am not most people. Lucky for me, my family ate both dinner and lunch earlier and more quickly than my friend's family. Thus, marathon eating. The food was delicious; I only wish I could have fit more of it into my tummy. All in all, it was a great weekend filled with Hebrew, food, and a bit of much needed sleep.
I headed back into my routine, but it was thrown off slightly by the rain. In the morning, I realized there was a leak in the roof of my closet. I left a note for my roommate to call the landlord (I had not yet signed the lease) and went to class as usual. Ulpan all week has been good--we've been following the happenings in Egypt in Hebrew! And I feel like I am learning a lot. After class, I did a bit of grocery shopping in the rain. Not the most fun, but doable.
When I got home, though, the rain was more than a bit annoying. My roommate called the landlord, and it was so Israeli when he said that the "closet" is really a "sukkah" whose roof is not supposed to be permanent. Thus, the roof is "supposed to leak" and he will not be fixing it. Well that compounded with the fact that our power went out last week, there is the start of mold in the bathroom, there is a wet interior wall in my roommates bedroom, and the apartment is not registered with the city for taxing purposes made me decide to find something new. Sunday was the 30th. I told my roommate and the girl who used to live in the apartment that there were too many problems with the apartment and the landlord and that I would be moving out on the first of the month because I did not feel comfortable signing a lease.
So Sunday began the apartment search. The first ad I responded to ended up being the final one as well. The girl who placed the ad (she had moved out) called me within three minutes of sending the email, I called her roommate ten minutes later, and 6 hours later (after already having packed up my old apartment), I went to see the apartment and have a cup of tea. I loved the place and the roommate. I came back again the next night and met the landlord's liason. The next day, I moved in, and tonight I am signing my lease. While I am not sure if everything happens for a reason, if it does, then this was meant to be. The space is bigger, better kept, and more fully furnished than my previous apartment, and the price (before taxes--for which I get a 90% discount) is less! There are also rumors of discounts for young adults who live in the City Center, and this apartment fits the bill! I will be looking into that next week!
Things seem to be falling into place quite well. And I finally took some pictures. Enjoy!
I headed back into my routine, but it was thrown off slightly by the rain. In the morning, I realized there was a leak in the roof of my closet. I left a note for my roommate to call the landlord (I had not yet signed the lease) and went to class as usual. Ulpan all week has been good--we've been following the happenings in Egypt in Hebrew! And I feel like I am learning a lot. After class, I did a bit of grocery shopping in the rain. Not the most fun, but doable.
When I got home, though, the rain was more than a bit annoying. My roommate called the landlord, and it was so Israeli when he said that the "closet" is really a "sukkah" whose roof is not supposed to be permanent. Thus, the roof is "supposed to leak" and he will not be fixing it. Well that compounded with the fact that our power went out last week, there is the start of mold in the bathroom, there is a wet interior wall in my roommates bedroom, and the apartment is not registered with the city for taxing purposes made me decide to find something new. Sunday was the 30th. I told my roommate and the girl who used to live in the apartment that there were too many problems with the apartment and the landlord and that I would be moving out on the first of the month because I did not feel comfortable signing a lease.
So Sunday began the apartment search. The first ad I responded to ended up being the final one as well. The girl who placed the ad (she had moved out) called me within three minutes of sending the email, I called her roommate ten minutes later, and 6 hours later (after already having packed up my old apartment), I went to see the apartment and have a cup of tea. I loved the place and the roommate. I came back again the next night and met the landlord's liason. The next day, I moved in, and tonight I am signing my lease. While I am not sure if everything happens for a reason, if it does, then this was meant to be. The space is bigger, better kept, and more fully furnished than my previous apartment, and the price (before taxes--for which I get a 90% discount) is less! There are also rumors of discounts for young adults who live in the City Center, and this apartment fits the bill! I will be looking into that next week!
Things seem to be falling into place quite well. And I finally took some pictures. Enjoy!
Is it a closet...
...or a sukkah?
MY NEW PLACE!!
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