Simchas TOIREH! (9/29)

Today we finish reading the Torah and rewind it back to the beginning of the scroll to do it all over again!

Tonight, we went out around 6pm and started at Shira Chadasha, a "progressive orthodox" synagogue on Emek Refaim, a cool neighborhood near our apartments (I guess you could compare Emek Refaim to Union Square). We walked in during the middle of the "hakafot," each of 7 dances (mini ceremonies you could say), with the Torah. We got there around number 3 or 4, and although the men and the women were relatively separate, the curtain between us was very thin (i.e. see through) and kept opening anyways, so I didn't feel like it was so segregated. Not to mention, the person announcing each new hakafa/circle, was a WOMAN! Chick power. Do you dig it? There were at least 3 Torahs on the women's side; I have no idea how many were on the men's side. Song after song, there was so much ruach/spirit in the room, with jumping and dancing and singing and clapping and stomping and moving and everyone young and old was engaged. It was a really beautiful sight to see. (A couple of times we were close enough to the curtain that the boys poked one of our shoulders or we turned around to say hi. Call it scandalous, I don't care.)

Once we knew we were leaving (after hafaka number 6), the group started to head toward the door, and I saw one of my favorite people in the world - Esther Abramowitz! She runs all the Hillel Birthright trips so I have gotten to know her over the last few years. I tell her that I have to go; all my friends are waiting for me. "Ruthie, what are you doing for lunch tomorrow?" "Ummmm, nothing!" "Come over at 2." She tells me exactly which apartment she is in and in which building (although I already knew I could see her building from my window because someone we both know pointed it out to me a few weeks ago) and we call it a day.

We headed out toward another synagogue, but found them all out on the street before we even got there! This time it was only the men dancing with the Torah, so I wasn't so excited about this. Heaven forbid women should dance also and the men get "distracted" by our beauty and they stop being able to focus on the prayers and the Torah. Gimme a break. (This really is a sexist city; I can't promise to like it while I'm here but I think I will have to deal with it.) I was also starting to feel not so great again, so when everyone went inside to the synagogue, I left with Ethan and his girlfriend Althea (who is studying at Pardes, and who I had met before and is very lovely!). We started the walk back to the apartments, which included a few minutes walk on Emek. Ethan and Althea could not stop talking about burgers; either they were really hungry or just like burgers! Well just to Ethan's luck, McDonald's is open! The entire block is filled with restaurants, but because it's the holiday, everything is shut down. A few cabs and cars are driving on the road (it's not as quiet as Yom Kippur in this country) but everyone is walking in the middle of the streets and it's not really a time that businesses are open. Except for the double golden arches. So we go in, Ethan orders his burger, along with 3 cups of water of course; we all need to hydrate. A couple is in there ordering their food. The man has a huge gash on his elbow (we wonder if he even knows this!) and then see that he and the woman he is with are both on rollerblades. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he knows he has a gash on his elbow. They go and sit down to enjoy their fast food as well. Man, this place is hoppin!

We arrive back at the building and part our separate ways (Ethan is on the first floor, I have 39 steps to go) and I hang out in my apartment for most of the night with the exception of a short stop in apartment 5 where the Israeli girls live and are hosting a dinner. Lots of people gathered around the table; they gave me some soup to help settle my tummy! They are so good to me. Lots of people are around, sharing their Simchat Torah stories - some people stayed in for a meal; others went to synagogues. Josh of course went nuts somewhere. I head up to my apartment to get into comfy clothes and lie in bed. Rachelle comes up for a little bit so we can catch up - always fun times. I think sometime after midnight she goes back down to her apartment; I close up shop in the kitchen. I see Josh walk through the door and I say "hey" so he knows I'm in here. By the time he comes up, a few hours have passed since I saw him downstairs and I know people have been drinking (that's fine, hey if I felt better I probably would have had something to drink to celebrate as well!) so when I see he has an almost empty vodka bottle in his hand, I say, "Are you drunk?" "No, why would you think that?" [I point to the bottle.] "Blueberry Smirnoff? No way. This is like milk!" Priceless, Josh, priceless. And goodnight to you, my friend.

I can hear the music and singing from my apartment window...who knows when I'll get to sleep tonight, if I can get to sleep tonight.

Sick in Israel :( (9/27-9/28)

This morning was not fun. Not for one second. When you wake up, starting your day feeling like your insides are about to come up, you know it won't be a good day. I got ready for ulpan anyway, which was starting at 9am. On my walk to ulpan, my dinner from last night decided it wanted to make a special (although uninvited) appearance. Beautiful.

Like a champ, I continued my walk to ulpan, told my teacher Yael and classmates I wasn't feeling well, but I decided to try sticking it out anyway. At the midway point in the class, we are given a break everyday, and at that point, I went for a short walk outside for some fresh air, but came back in to ask Yael if I could be excused from class. She said that I just needed to speak to Yonit who could give me the permission to leave, and of course she did. I wrote down the homework assignment for the day and left. 11am back in bed, woke up at 3. My entire body was on fire (and this is not anything close to a euphemism). I took my temperature, and although my thermometer is without a full battery, I'm pretty sure my fever was over 100 degrees (yikes!) but still less than 102 (not dead). My back was hurting, I knew I was dehydrated, and I was burning up. Lying in bed. Fan on me. Sheets below my feet. Fan pointed away. Snuggling under my covers. Back and forth for a few more hours. Everyone came to check in on me to see how I was doing; it was very sweet. Marlowe and Suri, my roommates, kept asking if they could bring me tea or anything else. Rachelle found me on Facebook chat and told me she had pareve (non meat) cup-of-soup in her apartment if I wanted it. Josh came by and gave me a website to stream full episodes of Seinfeld to keep me occupied. I had it made! Drifting in and out of sleep, under the covers and over them, online and back offline, I was still in bed since 11am with the only exception of getting up to use the bathroom, and refill my waterbottle in the kitchen sink. Both walks made me feel lightheaded and exhausted.

At about 9pm I called Rachelle to see if she was in the building. There was no way I was walking down to her apartment only to walk back up again. As it was, I could barely get out of bed all day. Thankfully, she came to my rescue and came upstairs, and saw me in all my glory, sitting on my tuchus in bed. She went into my kitchen and put the hot water on, mixed up the soup, and brought it right to me. Rachelle, you are an angel! Danni, my Israeli next-door neighbor, also came in to say hi, because he knows I'm normally out and about being social, so he came to see where I had been. When I told him I had an upset stomach, he put some pita in the toaster and brought it over to me. Danni, you are also an angel! I stayed up until about 11, watching more Seinfeld until I crashed for the night.

Lucky for me, I slept until 10:40am, when the maintenance men came in to look at the blinds in my window (which, of course I had been complaining about for days, and they hadn't come, and now they come). They didn't know I was there nor that I was sick, but I couldn't believe I slept that late on my own. My body was craving this sleep after being so sick. After the maintenance men left, I think I kind of sat around/bummed around for another hour until people started coming back from Ulpan for the day. Josh came by to bring me my homework list; oy, like I even did yesterday night's homework for today? Nice try. Well the ulpan work will just pile up right now because I'm sick and I can't deal with it.

A few hours later, I finally started feeling like myself, about 75% back to normal. A little more energy, not as rumbly a tummy, and clearly well rested. By about 7pm I think I had my Hebrew books open with the audio files queued on my computer, so I could listen to the assigned tracks and attempt to complete two days worth of homework in one night. I was up until about midnight again, after spending a few minutes next door engaging in more Jew chat, but I knew my limit and put myself in bed before it was too late. Eight hours later, I woke up for ulpan refreshed and brand new, back to being me again - HOW FUN! Because, well, it really is fun to be me :)

Ulpan was great again, and Yael was happy to see me back and healthy and with energy. We did some more games, and listening, and self study, and practice. I really enjoy this ulpan thing. I'm learning a lot and if I keep up with the homework, flashcards, studying, and speaking, I will have this down in no time. Feeling very Hebrew inspired, I went to the bagel store after ulpan ended, and ordered my bagels (yes, plural, one was for lunch today, one is for tomorrow) ALL IN HEBREW! The only exception was to ask for the word "cream" in "cream cheese." I said to the clerk, "Aich omrim 'cream cheese' b'ivrit?" "Shemenet, like fat." "Ahhhh, like oil! Shemen!" OK, now I'm ready to order - got one bagel with regular cream cheese and lox, and the other with scallion cream cheese, and sliced cucumbers! When he gave me the total cost at the register "Arba-im v'taysha" (49 shekels), I gave him more than enough money, and he said in English, "Twenty more, please." I gave him a look (as if to say, ummmm no, I gave you enough, are you kidding me) to discover that he had a smile on his face; he was just joking. I said to him, "If anything, I know my numbers, you can't trick me on that!" I think he was impressed that as an American, I ordered everything in Hebrew. So now I have a new friend at the bagel store. I'm a Jew, so having friends at the bagel store is obviously very important.

Everyone is back at the apartment now, a few of us raced to do grocery shopping before they all close again for the fabulous and wonderful holiday of Simchat Torah (where we finish reading the Torah and rewind and start all over again in the same night), and we are preparing for a fun night of synagogue hopping around our neighborhood, hopefully with some singing and dancing (maybe in the street!). Ani ayefah (I am tired); it's time for a nap! Chag sameach again! Happy holiday!

Ulpan. Starts. Now. (9/26)

First of all, Happy Birthday to KEVIN!!! Even though you're back in the States and I haven't seen you now for over a year, I'm glad we can still keep in touch! Distance ain't gonna hurt nobody :)

This morning, we began our day with a fire drill from the building, at 8:30, and went over some emergency procedures. Important stuff, so I was happy to wake up early for it. We arrived to Beit Ar-El (our campus) for a 9am start to our classes. I was placed in Shlomit's class - she is completing her Master's Degree in Cognitive Science an Linguistics, and I was very impressed by her email from last week introducing herself to the 8 of us in the class; for an Israeli, her English was superb! I'm very excited to be learning with her. The 8 of us in the class include me, Ethan (who I call Eitan now, it just makes sense, and it's fun!), Abby, Isaac, Seth, Danit, Josh, and Ilyssa. We are intermediate. I think we have a fairly big range of abilities in this group but learning together will make it better and easier, utilizing each other for help, homework, questions, and more. I had a great time in the class; the lesson was fun and interactive and I learned some new words (always a plus). After ulpan was done at 12:30, a few of us went down the road to get some lunch - I tried the pizza place everyone's been raving about. As a picky NYer, I have to say it was pretty good - thin crust, nice spice in the sauce. I'll be going back again!

Upon entering our apartment building, I saw a sign saying "Take a fan if you don't have one already, from inside." Seriously? A fan? AMAZING!!! I got a fan :) And I also had the best 1 hour nap possible because of it.

I set my alarm with just enough time to meet Yonit in the moadon for my first 1 on 1 with her. Part of her job is to check in with each of us regarding our internship plans, apartment-mates, and how things are going in general. So it was nice to have even just 20 minutes to discuss these things with her. I even mentioned to her how well the ulpan class went this morning; Shlomit is a great teacher and I think the level at which I have been placed is a good match. I have to email Yonit to follow up on a few things we discussed, but we had a great talk.

I came up to my room and checked my email to see something from Yael, another instructor in the ulpan program. She says that our group of 8 has been split up into two groups, and along with Seth, Abby, and Josh, I will be in her class tomorrow. Shlomit's class will be the other remaining four. Bummer! I really wanted to stay in that class! Well I emailed Yael and Shlomit my concerns about being switched, and mentioned that I felt very comfortable in that level. I wasn't sure if Yael's class was at a higher level. Based on the students in her class, it would have been harder. But maybe those students are being switched around also. I think the ulpan staff is still trying to figure out where each of us stand, how to group us together, and make it work for all of us. By the end of the night, I got emails back from both Yael and Shlomit that explain everything will still be at the same level, we will just be split because the ulpan's policy is to not exceed 7 per class, and we are above that count. No big deal - I will go with the flow!

Tonight is a big exhibition of Ethiopian Jewry at the Jerusalem municipality sukkah, including food, crafts, artwork, and music! Rachelle and I walk to the bus around 6pm, arriving at the municipality around 7pm. We are still getting used to the bus routes here, so we weren't 100% sure which stop we'd get off at. Our bus turns onto Yafo Street, and we're pretty sure we should have gotten off at the last one. Whoops! We decide to get off at the next stop and just walk back. As we exit the bus, we see lights and hear some music, and realize that not only did we get on the right bus, but we got off at the perfect stop! We are right in front of the Jewish Agency, where this event is being held! What luck!

We walked in and around the giant sukkah (pics will be put up on Facebook soon) and explored the tables, music, crafts, and people. A group of WUJS people left a bit after we did, and Rachelle was planning on meeting up with them a little after 8 to see the live performance. I waited with her until they arrived, so they could enjoy the rest of their evening. I walked about 10 minutes to the Lion's Den, the same bar we ended up at last Sunday watching football. Some food and drink later (and a major Giant's loss, BOOOOOO), we head back on the bus to Tsipora 5. Night complete!

Shabbat in the big Jew city (9/24-9/25)

It's been a while since I last wrote anything, so I'm going to use this post as an opportunity to start catching up on the last 4 days.

Friday (9/24) was pretty much a laid back day - everything here closes early for Shabbat so Fridays are kind of like Sundays here. It's a weekend. Cousin Josh picked me up around 3 from my apartment, with Yael and Kerem in the car. They had a fun day in downtown Jerusalem (I think they were at the big sukkah) and they had a drawing made of them (caricature) and had some pizza (I got some of the leftovers, yum) and had a fun day! If I didn't have laundry to do, I would have joined them, but laundry is a must after almost 2 weeks and not so much clothing here. Ahhhh, nice smelling clothes again!

We got to the house and started getting things ready for Shabbat. Helen and Paul (Debbie's parents) are spending 2 weeks here including the holiday of Sukkot so it was really nice to see them and catch up over the course of Shabbat. It was very hot out, especially in the middle of the desert, but we fulfilled our many mitzvahs by eating in the sukkah (hut) just outside the house. The schach (branched roof) was decorated by the kids, and the table was set beautifully - white tablecloth, tons of food, and great company. A neighbor of theirs also joined us for dinner; she helps Yael with school! Fortunately she spoke some English, and I spoke some Hebrew, so we understood each other fairly well.

Yael (7 years old) has grown up quite a bit since I last saw her in January. She is in school during the day but also takes English lessons and now dance lessons as well. She told me a bit about her dance class while we were playing with Polly Pockets! What a lucky girl, she has about 15 dolls with lots of outfits, houses, bedrooms, and toys. We played with them before dinner was ready, and Kerem (4 years old) joined us as well! She was quite dirty from walking around in the dirt outside the house earlier. She kept filling a bucket with water and then pouring it on plants and dirt. Her feet were pretty gross! Shai (20 months) kept coming in the room as well, but he was not as interested in Polly Pocket as the girls were. He has also grown so much since the last time I saw him. His hair is long and curly and fantastic (can I get some of that, please?) and he has such a happy disposition. I would make faces with him, at him, and he would just giggle. He's ticklish, which is another way to get him to giggle. He's just a sweet little boy!

So dinner was lovely and dessert was as well. Most of us were happy to turn in early; Debbie even fell asleep on the chair in the living room while Helen and I read our books and also got caught up with each other. I think I was in bed by about 11pm. I slept in Yael's bed; she slept on the big orange "poof" which is like an oversized beanbag. Kerem was in her bed and Shai was in his crib. Somehow, I managed to sleep until about 11am on Saturday, despite waking up a few times to the kids coming in and out of the room and playing games in the house. I picked up my book again (hey, why not, it's Shabbat, a perfect time to just relax and turn some pages) and read quite a few chapters before and after lunch. Lunch was inside today (too hot to be outside) but we did say the kiddush (blessing over the wine) in the sukkah, yay for mitzvah points! Lunch had more protein than I've had in a long time - tofu, hummus, salmon, quinoa salad, it was quite a special treat. We cleaned up, I read some more, even fell asleep for a little bit on the poof. I think we all caught a nap sometime in the afternoon, except for Kerem of course. She played with Polly Pocket for about 3 hours straight - perfectly happy to entertain herself with outfits, dialogue, names, and props. We were all quite impressed. A quick bite after Shabbat was done, and Josh asked friends of theirs to drop me off in Jerusalem so I could get back. I'm learning my way around the city enough that when they dropped me at the Central Bus Station, I knew exactly where to go, right across the street, to wait for the number 18. I took it to Emek Refaim and walked back to the WUJS building.

Everyone had such different Shabbat stories to share, and different experiences. Josh was invited to a Chabad Rabbi's house with many children and many guests. His response to my question about how it went was, "I smell like a Hasid!" with a big smile across his face. Glad he had a good time! Isaac, who also lives in that same apartment, told me that he and some other WUJS people went to Yedidyah, a nearby synagogue, for services, and they ended up being invited to the homes of some synagogue members, for dinner. I guess every week, Shabbat will hold something different for everyone, and we can share our experiences together.

Saturday night was basically the same activity for all: ULPAN HOMEWORK! Although we had gotten our Hebrew assignments on Monday night, we were all SO busy between then and Saturday night, that almost no one had done their work before then. I sat on our patio (outside the kitchen) because the breeze was so nice and cool; I couldn't sit inside and actually focus on anything. I had my computer to play the audio tracks indicated on the pages of the book, and with only a few distractions from Facebook, I got the assignment done in about an hour.

The boys who live next door had some people gathered on their balcony (some smoking hookah, some doing ulpan hw, some eating) so I popped over to see them and hang out for a while. Of course the plan was to say hi for a few and I ended up staying over an hour. Can't seem to get an early night to bed around here!

Jersey Shore Fist Pumping (9/23)

The party was set to celebrate 4 birthdays, including my own. I went with Amy and her boyfriend Adam to the grocery store to get some vodka (yes, they sell this at the grocery stores here, Grandma and mom would be so happy), juices, snacks, and paper goods. Nicole, the unofficial head of the birthday committee wanted to make the Ron-Ron juice from Jersey Shore, seeing as we all agreed this would be the theme of our party. So we bought, with our communal birthday money, all necessary items. Two hundred shekels later, we walked back up the big hill on Rivkah Street, back to the apartments. We brought everything in to the Moadon (lounge) and set up the food. We're a really classy establishment so when it came to making the Ron-Ron juice, it was made in a big kitchen pot, stirred with a ladel. Go big or go home, right kids? Yeah :) (Pictures posted on Facebook. If anyone really would like to see the pictures and cannot, email me: ruth.kleinman@gmail.com and I will make sure you see the craziness!)

The boys set up beer pong in the classroom next door to the moadon, and people just kept moving back and forth to chat, listen to music, dance, play beer pong, have snacks, or just stand in front of the fan. Remember, we are still suffering in a heat wave here. No joke. It sucks.

By the end of the night, I end up in Olivia's room (she has the common room in her bedroom, I'm not just sneaking around in someone else's bedroom!) with Rachelle, which becomes Carolyn and some other people as well. The discussion grows and grows and we get into all kinds of crazy topics that are way too deep to discuss in one night: observance levels of Shabbat and keeping kosher, what mitzvot (commandments) women should/can/cannot do and which ones men should/can/cannot do. All in all, I probably sat there for 2 hours and there was no singular conclusion to the conversation besides - we are all happy to engage in thoughtful debate and conversation while we're here, and maybe even adopt some new customs for ourselves. I thought about it afterwards and this morning, and I guess I realized that all these times I've staffed Birthright trips, we've thrown out ideas at the students/participants, and hoped that on their own time, in a hotel room or on a bus or on a hike, they bring up the topics and share their opinions with each other. Well this felt a little backwards but in a very good way as the participant, not a staff member, on WUJS. A lot of the discussion on these topics stemmed from a sicha (conversation) that our madricha (staff member) Yonit brought to the table: observance of Shabbat and holidays. So she planted the seed and we are watering and nurturing it. Who knows, maybe my mind will be changed at the end (or in the middle) of the 5 months I'm spending here! Maybe I will feel differently about my Jewish identity and how I connect to my Judaism. Maybe I will come back home the same in this regard but different in others. I have only been here 11 days; if I am already having these intense and serious conversations with others, imagine what the next 5 months will hold! Lots of thinking and debate. Put me in coach, I'm ready!

Heat Wave! (9/23/10)

One of the reasons I came to Jerusalem (as opposed to Tel Aviv) in the fall (as opposed to the spring) was because Jerusalem is supposed to be a not-so-hot city.

Thank you global warming for messing up my plans!

This. City. Is. HOT!

Last night it was very hard to sleep comfortably, with no a/c in the apartment and no fan. Well, there was a fan in my room, but I tried using it one of the first nights I was here, and failed miserably. Even when it was unplugged, it was still making all sorts of weird noises. So I put it in the common room. I didn't want it making scary noises in the middle of the night and freaking me out! When Suri moved in a few days ago, she must have realized how hot it was in the apartment, took the fan in her room, and then realized that the fan didn't work either. I considered investing in a fan when I first got here because of the heat and humidity. It's just uncomfortable. Then I told myself, "Self, don't get a fan, it'll cool down very soon and be chilly during the winter." Well its still really hot! When's this heat wave going to end? Yonit says in a few days, and by Wednesday next week it should be cooled off. I hope she's right. Me + summer weather = not a good match. I just feel icky all the time. But just like on 4n4 every summer, the motto is, "If everybody smells, no one smells!" and everyone else has been suffering in the heat just the same; no sense in complaining for my own sake.

Our first required group event today was a kiddush in the sukkah at Beit Ar-El (the Young Judaea complex) at 11:30am. There was a Bar Mitzvah taking place today in the complex; there must have been 200 people there. Smells of spices and food filled the air; people filled the sukkot that were set up - ours from last night and even another one that we are supposed to be in but they were there instead! We waited outside in the shade until they cleared out of the one assigned to our group, made kiddush (the blessing over the wine/grape juice) and had some snacks and cake. Due to the hot temperatures and sticky humidity, we all moved inside to one of the classroom buildings. AIR CONDITIONING!!! We did a short activity talking about bringing things into the sukkah to share something about who you are - some people brought books, some brought games, some brought nothing. I brought nothing on purpose but of course I had my waterbottle with me - my super duper old school Nalgene that has faded writing and a new top (because the old one melted in the dishwasher a few years ago, darn), and explained that I thought it was interesting that I forgot to bring something intentionally, but that of course I had this with me. I've had that Nalgene for at least 12 years. BPA free? I don't think so. BPA full! I'm kickin' it old school :)

When the activity was over, I came directly back to the apartment. So going back to sleep. Two hours later, I feel a little bit more refreshed, but still really hot.

Go away global warming!

And another break in the routine (9/22/10)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SETH!!! Birthdays are first and foremost at this point, I guess you could say. Seth is a participant on the program from LA; he is in the 27 club too now!

Tonight we start the holiday of Sukkot - the Festival of Booths - which commemorates G-d providing the Jewish people with temporary shelter while wandering in the desert for 40 years. It is said that Sukkot is "zman simchateinu" or the time of our happiness/joy. Sukkot is definitely a fun celebratory holiday, one that comes after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, holidays that require some introspection which is, for many people, quite difficult. Last night, Josh and I spoke about the analogy of the holiday to different types of love. Sukkot is the big fat teddy bear hug that you give with all your heart and soul! It is truly embracing the community, embracing your fellow man, embracing your new self, what a great time. I have much to be thankful for, even though this isn't exactly a Thanksgiving holiday, but worth the consideration anyway.

Some of us took an optional trip to the shuk/market today at Machane Yehuda. Fresh spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, usually offered at a cheaper price to the grocery stores (although not always as I found out later). I needed to buy ingredients for a green salad I was bringing to the potluck dinner, and obviously my number one concern of the day was making it to Marzipan, the BEST rugelach I have ever had. I promised the group to buy 1 kilo of the cracklike substance, for the potluck tonight. So I had my work cut out for me - the market is busy because of the holiday rushing in and my list is not getting any smaller. We wander through the different aisles and alleyways of the shuk. It's a little too crazy and busy and intense for me so I try to just get in and out. We make all of our purchases (including many rugelach at Marzipan) and head down Agripas Street to the bottom of the hill to get falafel for lunch! I haven't had it in a while so I should keep up with my quota. It's only 12 shekels for falafel b'pita eem hummus, melafafonim, v'chatzilim. Falafel in a pita with hummus, cucumbers, and eggplant. SO YUMMY!

We hop onto the 71 bus going back toward Derech Beit Lechem where we boarded this morning as a group (yes, again as a group, this Birthright thing just doesn't want to leave me) and when we arrive we all drop off our new purchases in our apartments, some of us planning to head out to the grocery store for our last provisions before the holiday. I couldn't get all that I was looking for at the market so my list was fairly extensive. I think I tried to squeeze out everything in about 20 minutes. Then I spent about the same amount of time in line just to check out. Two grocery bags later (including one canvas one from my roommate Marlowe) and we are all heading back to Tsipora Street. Time to get crackin' in the kitchen! Unloading, unpacking. I really wanted to take a nap or a break and just relax, but I found out we are leaving at 4pm, not 5pm, to head to the Kotel/Western Wall. Not that much time left, I have to get to making this salad!

Salad's done just in time, I put on my skirt (with leggings underneath of course) and comfortable walking shoes. As a group, Nir tells us that our plans have changed due to security concerns, and we are walking, but to a different place, Yamin Moshe. There is a beautiful overlook of the Old City walls and the sun is setting when we arrive there. The clouds are beautiful in the sky, turning from yellow to orange to pink. We have a short group gathering and read some poems related to Sukkot before walking to The Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. I have passed it by and from the outside it looks beautiful; I'm sure this is a site not to be missed! We have to split up by sex; the women go upstairs to the balcony while the men stay downstairs. We arrive just a few minutes before the evening service begins. We are all using different prayer books so we are all on different page numbers, how confusing!

6pm - the cantor and choir begin the Ma'ariv/evening service and I follow pretty well. The siddur/prayer book I'm using is called Art Scroll, which has a lot of commentary and helpful information about the service. Naturally, I'm a bit distracted from the service itself, so I look at some of the commentary and sidenotes which I find very interesting, particularly about the Shema prayer which declares the unity of G-d. I don't have my own copy of Art Scroll but it might be a good investment. The service goes by very quickly and we all meet again downstairs at about 6:45 to walk back together to the Sukkah. By 7:15, we are all back in the area and I need to get to the kitchen to bring my food over! Dinner stars around 7:30 and our sukkah is packed to the brim. Every seat is taken, as we have many guests and friends joining us this evening.

The meal is lovely, the wine is all consumed, and Yonit has us playing a sing-off and charades all night. What a raucous group we are! It was really a blast to have had a potluck dinner created by our own hands and our own ideas. We had to include singing to Seth for his birthday, so with the extra Marzipan I bought at the store today, I created a pyramid of rugelach (his favorite dessert, and therefore his "birthday cake") and brought it out to his place setting. He smiled and laughed; I'm glad he liked it. Everyone had made my birthday so wonderful and I wanted him to be happy on his birthday as well.

We all left the sukkah, one by one, and for most of my evening, I spent time talking to Suri and Marlowe, my roommates. About lots of various topics (none of your business on here, blog readers) and we had lots of giggles. I'm lucky to be getting to know some people with significant insight on life and world experiences. It's only the beginning to what I know is going to be a great 5 months of my life.

Back to the routine (9/21/10)

Tuesday morning began with a 9:30am alarm on the phone. Snooze. 15 minutes. Best sleep ever. We met at 10:30 outside the apartment building, lunches and waterbottles in hand, ready to take the bus to the Old City. We walked to Emek Refaim to take the number 18 bus. How funny it is that I am finally here not on a Birthright trip and I'm still wandering around in a group of people.

We get off the bus and begin our long walk in the heat to the Old City. By the time we get to the entrance to the City of David, I am sweat-tastic. Drinking so much water. I have never been to the City of David; through all my other trips to Israel, I have never done this tour. We begin with a movie, 3-D with glasses and all. There is just enough room for us in the theatre; we are not the only group here today. The film describes the City of David as "Where it all began" in terms of the city of Jerusalem and a lot of activity in the Middle East. Having never been here before, I am intrigued! Nir, one of the WUJS program staff, is our tour guide for the rest of day (something I am very impressed with) and he guides us through some of the ruins. He mentions archaeologists who excavate and find remains of homes, rooms, pottery, of items that help them to figure out what actually happened in these places and what kind of lives these people must have lived. "The archaeologists think that this room here [he points] was a bathroom. Do you know how they discovered this?" Mumbles arise from the group. "Did they find some sort of water source?" "No, that's not it. They found poop, human poop. Well, it wasn't exactly poop." QUOTE OF THE DAY! SERIOUSLY! NIR IS HILARIOUS! He proceeds to explain that somehow, there was human feces preserved long enough for them to figure out this room actually was for toilet use. Thanks carbon dating! After a good long chuckle we continue to a viewpoint of Silwan, an Arab town on the east side of the City of David. For years, Jews did not live anywhere in this area, and just in the last few decades, some Jewish families returned to live here, under careful security. The land here has been ruled by so many different groups of people and empires: the Babylonians, the Romans, the Ottomons, the list goes on and on. It's crazy to think about all the fighting regarding this land; so many people claim it to be theirs. If only a solution to the problem were as easy as describing it.

After we see the ruins, Nir invites us all to walk through the channel that was built to allow water to enter the city. This is clearly below ground, and he tells us there will be water through the tunnel; we need our water shoes. The water might be as high as our thighs! Time to change into my new green Keds-esque shoes (with sequins on them!) from the Ein Gedi hike last week. These are so cheap and crappy that they have just become my water shoes for all water activities until further notice. We leave all of our valuables and bags with Yonit who is not coming on the tunnel walk. Ethan (my hiking buddy) mentions that he is not psyched about the walk back after the tunnel ends; I don't see the purpose of mentioning it since it can't be that bad and it's already pretty hot. We enter the tunnel knowing it's about a 45 minute walk through the tunnel that somehow leads us back to the entrance where Yonit will be waiting. I knew it would be dark so I brought my flashlight with me. My flashlight is a headlamp because, well, I'm a camp counselor, what else would I have? Some people bought a small flashlight keychain device that lights up when a button is pushed so they can use it in the tunnels. I'm scared of the dark as many people know, so I came prepared!

We climb down some of the stairs and then..."Holy crap this water is COOOOOLD!" I feel it running right over my feet, up to my ankles for starters. I am the last one in our group, so I'm trying just to keep up. No one is running but everyone is walking through this tunnel at a fairly decent pace. In most places, it is higher than my head so I can stand up straight, but the sides of the walls are just a few inches wider than the width of my shoulders, and my arms are gently sweeping the stone. I have to crouch down in some parts to avoid hitting my head. After walking in this tunnel that just appears to be more of the same, I get a bit bored. The adventure is fun and the water is so nice and cold on this hot day; I am certainly enjoying myself, but this is quite a long tunnel of just walking. And splashing. Oh the monotony. How dare I complain when I am not the one who had to dig this out for purposes of drinking water! I do end up having some time to myself, despite the fact that I'm with this group. We were all walking in a single file line and could not walk next to each other due to the narrow tunnel walls. Alone time and solitude are things that I haven't had too much since I've been here; it wasn't all that bad being alone with just my thoughts: why I'm here in Israel and the journey I have set out to begin, how this ancient history relates to my life in modern society, what kind of life I will have after I return home from this experience. A little overwhelming...no?

The tunnel ends and we exit from the water; we follow the exit signs from the tour to return to our belongings being carefully watched by Yonit. Walking up this hill, I now understand what Ethan was talking about! This is tough. The hill is steep, the pavement is not smooth, and I am out of breath. My buns are starting to feel like steel though; there is an upside. A few more minutes and many sweatbeads later, we returned to the top of the hill! We all catch our breath, grab our belongings, and Nir concludes this part of the tour. Our next stop is the Davison Center beginning with a film. Air conditioning!!!

We arrive at the movie theatre in the park, make a quick bathroom run, and get into the theatre. Now this is something I have seen a few times on Birthright. The video describes the Temple Mount and how pilgrims from all over the world would come 3 times a year to make sacrifices at the altar. The video is a bit cheesy, and has an English dub over the Hebrew. The biggest plus is the air conditioning. For sure.

Nir takes us to the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount; this is also a part of the Old City I have been to a number of times, so I won't describe it in too much detail here (I'd rather save it for the more fun stuff!). It's more ancient ruins including the stones that fell in the temple destruction at Robinson's Arch, on the Western Wall, but not the part where people pray. The wall is actually much bigger (wider and deeper) than the Kotel, where people pray. I have been fortunate enough to see this many times; for some in our group this is a very exciting first! We finish up this part of the tour and applaud Nir in all of his efforts to keep us focused and interested on a hot sticky day. Kol hakavod! Well done Nir! Now we are free to roam.

Everyone makes their own decision as to how to spend the rest of their afternoon. It's only about 3pm and we don't really have to be anywhere until 5:30pm for an optional decorating of the sukkah (hut). I knew I wanted to be there to contribute so my afternoon and evening plans were revolving around this. I walked with Ethan, Isaac (a participant on the arts track), Rachel Good (a Jerusalem Learning participant), and Olivia (doing the internship) to the bus stop so we can get back home. We had to walk all the way back through the Old City and get out before we could event attempt to get a bus. You know, when you are just dumped somewhere and you have to figure out how to get home, it really helps you learn the roads, the alleys, the turns, the routes. It took us a while but we found the stop for bus 18 to take us back to our apartments. Our collective brain did it together.

I had a few minutes in between arriving back at the apartment and leaving to decorate the sukkah. I just brought myself and my apartment keys. No wallet, no phone, nothing else, I didn't need any of it. I walked over with Suri, one of my roommates, and met just a few others there who wanted to decorate the sukkah. We made paper chains and lanterns and hanging stars and posters; we had fun like we were in 3rd grade. Colored pencils, markers, oak tag, scissors, folding, masking tape, glue sticks. What a special treat. At about 7 I think I left to head back to the apartment with Suri, not hungry for dinner but knowing dinnertime was coming shortly. I took a shower to wipe away the filth of the day (I'm sure everyone around me was thanking me) and had no further agenda for the evening.

9pm and the apartment is hopping. We are a college dorm - doors to everyone's apartments are open, people are up and down the stairs, music is playing, conversation happening everywhere. I apartment hop all night, starting in Rachelle's kitchen, eating salad together, and the conversation just keeps going and going! What our internships are going to be, about our families, health insurance and medical concerns while we are both here, the upcoming holiday and what it will be like to celebrate Sukkot in Jerusalem. We honestly could have talked all night! Danit and Josh came in so the three of them could have a meeting for the Limud (learning) committee. They have to prepare a bit of a teaching for the holiday, so it's time for me to leave. I am on too many committees!!! Bye guys!

I wander to Olivia's room to find Nicole, Denise, Carolyn, Isaac, Amy and her boyfriend Adam. We shared funny YouTube videos, talked about parties in DC (Nicole was convinced she had met Adam, was looking through Facebook pictures to try and prove it), and celebrity doppelgangers. Denise = Jordin Sparks. HOT!

A little after 11pm, most people are headed to bed, Olivia and I share our blogs together so we can keep tabs on each other (Olivia is a great photographer, I have to steal her camera to get some pictures for MY blog so you all can be impressed). Since the common space in her apartment is in her bedroom, I leave to let her go to bed, and go to the boys apartment, number 2. It's approaching the time to usher in Seth's birthday, so I keep myself occupied with blogging (from the previous day, of course, I still haven't been able to catch up, despite having told myself each night I would, and then getting distracted by people and conversation so it doesn't happen). Josh, Nicole, and I watch another You Tube video, Josh and I have some discussion about the meaning of the holiday of Sukkot. We butt heads a little bit but come to the conclusion that we can agree to disagree, but not have any beef! Tov, good, I'm happy with that. Many more conversations to come.

Midnight rolls in with the "Yom Huledet Sameach" chorus, and Nicole's birthday gift to Seth: 3 beautifully framed photos from back home in California. He loves it, says his goodnights to all, Josh says goodnight, and I turn in for the evening!

Another day in Israel - check.

Hayom Yom Huledet (Today is My Birthday!)

9/20 - My Birthday!!!

(Disclaimer: this post has not been edited after writing; it is far too late so it will have to wait until tomorrow. Read at your own risk! Edits will be made where and when appropriate. More blogging about today's adventures will probably be up tomorrow.)

Fortunately or unfortunately, I had to wake up for a purpose on my birthday - an interview with SPNI, the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel, at 10am, in downtown Jerusalem. I may arrange to intern there doing some environmental work as a part of my program. Yonit, the madricha/staff member on the WUJS program, made sure I was in a cab going to the right address. I arrived at 9:45, a few minutes early, and found my way through the courtyard. I walked into the first room I saw and asked for Pearl or Hodaya; the young girl directed me to the library around the corner. I found the library, but on my way I passed the lecture hall, and suddenly had a flashback from a Birthright trip in January 2008 (if I'm not mistaken) of being in that exact place for...a lecture called "Israel Goes Green." It's not the first time this has happened since being here; I have found myself in this predicament a few times. Approaching a street corner, walking past a fruit stand, entering a tourist site, a lot of things feel familiar. It's a good and strange feeling all at the same time, as I am living here now, not as much of a tourist as I have been in the past (even as a returner to this land). Anyways, I will continue the story of this interview.

I met Pearl (who goes by Peninah to Israelis/Hebrew speakers) just before 10am at her office and she tells me to wait in the library area again, so I head down there, Hebrew dictionary in my backpack, because, hey, if I have a few minutes, I might as well learn another word or two. She pops in, tells me to wait just a second because she needs to make a phone call...to make this long story shorter, she ends up on the phone and I'm waiting 45 minutes for her to come back. I take a minute to introduce myself, explain why I'm in Israel and what I'm looking for in an internship. We start discussing options that SPNI has for me in terms of work. She describes all kinds of projects they work on including community gardens, composting workshops, and a ton of information on "Sustainable Jerusalem" which is a green way of looking at cities, specifically Jerusalem, with green maps and bike trails and parks and recycling centers all listed in one central place. The community gardens volunteer coordinator is an English speaker, she tells me (great) and that I can get in touch with her via email after I think about what I'm interested in working on. This is all great news and I leave SPNI with a smile. Now I just need to figure out how to get to my next location.

Meir Panim is an organization that provides food and help for hungry people in and around Jerusalem. Before coming to Israel, I thought this place would be my internship site, as I had requested work with a non-profit organization helping to serve the hungry and homeless poor of Jerusalem. The work I have done with Midnight Run in NYC made me want to continue doing the same work here. I was thrilled to receive an email from Aliza, a staff member at Meir Panim, before I arrived in Israel, letting me know that I could contact her when I got to Jerusalem, to set up a time to meet. Once I was here, I did in fact get in touch with her to make an appointment, and she explained that Meir Panim welcomes volunteers who can come as frequently as they wish, but they will not supervise interns to report to anyone in particular, so it's a come-and-go as you please situation. At least I knew this part before visiting their site in the center of the city. So I went with this in mind, to see the site and consider just volunteering there every once in a while.

I called Aliza around 12:45pm after my long and hot walk across Yafo Street (including a stop at HOLY BAGEL, and no that is not a joke, that's really what the place is called), from the SPNI office to the Meir Panim site, a soup kitchen/restaurant. She met me right outside and walked me in to show me the facility. It is one of 14 restaurants throughout the country that serves anyone who walks in for a meal. They are open every day for a hot lunch and people are welcome to take items "to go" for dinner as well. This impressed me, but through my short discussion with her, I learned that some of the other aspects of Meir Panim that I learned about through the website, are only at the other restaurants or other branches throughout the country. All in all, I had a nice conversation with her, including asking about similar places that might take me as an intern or a volunteer. She is leaving her position shortly to move to another job, so she gave me the contact information of a woman named Esther who I can be in touch with if I choose, as well as the restaurant manager, Shmaryahu, who speaks no English. I think I'm going to look into some other organizations to see what type of work (either internship or volunteering) I might be able to do. Overall, a disappointment, but I'm not going to let it get me down. My SPNI meeting went well and really, I'm just a big hippie; I might as well attempt to save the world one tree at a time.

I leave Aliza after a nice goodbye and start walking to the central bus station. There was a chance I was going to walk back to my apartment after the Meir Panim meeting. Oh right, I'm in the middle of a huge freeking desert and it's hot as hell out here. No way that's happening. I just dream big. So I see a bus stop for the number 18 across the street from the central bus station. I'm pretty sure it'll go the right way toward my place. I get on the bus and ask, "L'baka?" ("To Baka?") and the driver nods. Then I ask, "L'Emek Refaim?" which is a main street near where I live; from there it's walkable. He nods again. Great! Now all I need to do is pay some semblance of attention to where we're going so I know where we are. I stay on the bus until just after Emek Refaim ends and we cross Pierre Koenig, the street to the south of my apartment that is a major road that I recognize. The walk is only a few minutes but I'm still really sweaty. I just need to get home! One quick stop at MEGA, the store I've been wanting to stop in for a week, and two items later, I'm walking to Tsipora Street to get in my place. I arrive around 2pm to a huge and beautifully made HAPPY BIRTHDAY poster on my door :)

Marlowe, one of my roommates, is there to greet me, and we kind of hang out and chat for a bit, others coming by to wish me a very Happy Birthday and ask how my interview went. Good news to report for the most part, so I'm feeling good. We had to get ready to go to the Ulpan "taster" at 5pm so around 4:45 I start getting ready - just change into some comfortable clothing, grab my notebook and dictionary and head downstairs and outside. I had forgotten that our Ulpan meeting was not actually in the building today; it is at Beit Ar-El, where Young Judaea has its offices, and although it's close, it's still a few minutes walk. I'm feeling very rushed so I race downstairs and EVERYONE in the WUJS program is there to surprise me! For my birthday! With cake! And a card! They sing, they even had candles! What a nice surprise. Wondering for so long before I even arrived in Israel, what my birthday would look like, and here I am, glowing. Thanks WUJS for the wonderful surprise!

OK but really, now I'm walking to Beit Ar-El with a cake in my hands, no plates or knives or forks or anything, so I'm just stuck with this thing for now. As I walk into the Ulpan taster, some of the teachers see the cake and the card and wish me a "Mazal tov" and a happy birthday; it's very sweet. The instructors split us up into 4 different groups, levels of some kind. I am placed in level 3 of 4 (I think that's a bit high but we'll see how this goes). We have 4 different sessions, discussing 4 different subjects in 4 different ways.

First, we are with Akiva discussing culture, so we go over some vocabulary including movies, acting, and music. I did pretty well with this activity, where he had us split up into 2 groups and create an advertisement for something cultural; my pair had the Idan Raichel project. At least I know who he is! Our second instructor tells us we are going to be discussing one of her favorite subjects, ochel/food. We go through some vocabulary about restaurants and menus, and we are each given 2 cards. One is the description of a character and his or her restaurant/food preferences. The other is the description of a restaurant in Jerusalem. We have to each read our cards to ourselves, and one by one, read aloud the restaurant description in Hebrew so that the others in the room can see if their character is a match. Well I like to eat, so I know a fair amount of vocabulary when it comes to food; this activity was pretty easy as well. Next, we move into a room where Hadas (I think that's her name) introduces herself and the activity - we will listen to a scenario on a speaker set, and again be split into two groups to have a debate on the subject: a private school in LA wants to charge a huge amount of money for tuition for the students so they don't have to go to public schools which are apparently terrible, and the city of LA wants the money toward this private school to go toward the public school system because it will help many more families. "Anachnu rotzim hakesef l' ha'anashim!" (We want the money for the people!) That was about all I could come up with to take a stand on my assigned side of the debate. Last but not least, we arrive in Yael's room (I think that's her name, but really, I could be wrong) and we are talking about transportation! I know about one-half to two-thirds of the words on the posters in the room, not too bad. Her activity for us is along the lines of improv comedy. Avigail and Danit volunteer to do the first scenario and are given a few small pieces of paper each to hold in their hands. They are given the background (one is a cranky bus driver and the other a passenger trying to go shopping at H&M), and when Yael claps her hands, they have to remove one of the pieces of paper which reveals a vocab word they must use in the skit. Works pretty well for them, great job! Then, Rachel and I are given our scene: we are a couple who has just arrived at Ben Gurion (the airport near Tel Aviv) and we want to go to Jerusalem for a romantic something or other, but by mistake we end up in some method of transportation to Tel Aviv. Well we have to use vocabulary words too upon each clap, but I have a lot of difficulty with the conversation. We're not getting graded on this so I'm not too worried, but I did notice a difference between me and the 3 other ladies in my group. We are all given scripts to a skit that we are told will be "performed" in front of all the other groups when they return to the same room. Each level, from 1 to 4, reads their skit and it's very nice to see everyone participating and laughing. After the last skit is read, Ya'ara, the ulpan coordinator gives us each new groups and homework assignments. Our 4 groups became 3 now, and I am in level 2, intermediate. Now I'm feeling a bit better. I didn't think that higher level was a good fit for me, but Ya'ara says we will all meet as our groups on Sunday and see how well we do. After that, we have the opportunity to switch to an easier or more difficult level.

Back to the apartment to drop off this cake in the refrigerator and get ready for the fabulous birthday dinner! Everyone gathers at 8pm outside the apartment so we can walk together to Caffit, a kosher dairy restaurant on Emek Refaim. I had called ahead to the restaurant to make a reservation for 10-15 people, letting the know that after 8 (and I knew how many people would be coming), I'd call to give them the update. We had 17 people! I'm in a brand new city with only one friend from my past NYC life (Aviva you are amazing!) and I have 15 new friends joining me for my celebration. We walk the short few blocks to the restaurant and are seated upstairs in an almost private room (I felt sorry for the other couples attempting to quietly dine). Yum, yum, and more yum! Josh and I shared an Asian noodle dish, and a ravioli dish. Of course, I sampled some other plates on the table as well! Carolyn, Rachelle, and I shared a bottle of Moscato (red sparkling sweet wine, not white!). Bill paid and we're out the door! Four of us decide to continue the evening at a wine bar up the road a bit more, and everyone else heads back to the apartment or to meet up with other friends.

Josh met the owner of Selinas a few nights before and suggests that this place is good. Apparently, his name is Yehoshua as well, like Joshua. What a match made in heaven. We sit down and order some more wine! Happy Birthday to me! Rachelle and I go in on this bottle of Moscato, again, only this time it's white. Marlowe and Josh share something red that I probably would not like. Yehoshua has the waitress bring over 4 shots of whiskey; maybe because we told him it was my birthday, maybe because he knows Josh, who knows. Ummm, right, like I'm drinking whiskey? I don't think so. It's hard to turn down drinks on the house but I don't play that game. Josh takes his shot; we leave the other 3 temporarily. In an hour's time, all 4 shots are in Josh's liver, and we are getting ready to leave the bar. The music's been great, the waitress has been lovely, and we are ready to say our goodbyes to Yehoshua. He wants to wish me a happy birthday so he gives us more shots (this time, he lets us select our own!) on our way out.

On our walk home, Josh bumps into another friend of his; I swear, this kid knows everyone in this town! Ayelet was a friend of his in high school, who was on the WUJS program last session, who decided to stay and be a madricha/staff person at the Young Judaea year course program. What a sweet girl; she introduces herself to us ladies, and Josh introduces himself to her friends on the other side of the road. It's after 1am at this point. "Yehoshua, yalla, let's go!" And back to the apartment we come.

Quite a special birthday in the holy land.

Erev Birthday

The day before the birthday. Anticipation. First birthday out of the country. First birthday in Israel. Maybe only the 2nd birthday out of New York state itself! Wow.

So as you can imagine, I was a little nervous about how this birthday was going to be, and if I was going to have fun, how I would celebrate, if I would talk to my parents or hear from my friends...

Well yesterday (9/19), most people in my WUJS track had interviews for their potential internships, including my roommate who was up and out before I was even awake. I had no agenda and nothing to do until...about 5pm. So I woke up, again, just on my own, with no real clue of how the day would go. I figured eventually I'd leave the apartment for some food shopping but that was probably it.

While I was eating my breakfast (cereal, shocker, right?), I decided to at least open my apartment door as an indication that I was around, people in the building could pop in to say hello and come in and chat for a bit. Good thing I did because Carolyn was walking back to her apartment from the office upstairs, and she passed by. "Hey, do you wanna go to the market today by any chance?" "Machane Yehuda?" "Yeah, the shuk." "YES!!! Give me 10 minutes to finish eating and get dressed." "Cool, Rachelle is there too after having her interview; we can call her to meet up when we get off the bus." Metsuyan! Fabulous!

Carolyn and I wait 15 minutes for the bus from Derech Hevron to the market, and during that time, we got to know each other a little bit better (this early in any program is great get-to-know-you time). We get on the bus, knowing we each need to purchase a card with 10-rides on it called a "cartisiya" but instead of saying anything in Hebrew, Carolyn gets on the bus and says to the driver, "Anglit?" Not, excuse me, do you speak English, or do you understand English, or, may I ask you something in English, just..."English?" Whatever, I thought it was funny. We both get our cards and we wait on the bus until we see the market. A nice woman on the bus helps point out which stop we should get off at, but by the time we get there it is so clear where we are.

We hop off the bus past a big purple tent (which, yesterday, we had no idea what it was...today I found out it is where they sell lulav and etrog, the species for the festival holiday of Sukkot/booths) and continue down Yaffo Street to the market entrance. Call to Rachelle; no answer. She calls us back and we meet up, at the booth we labeled as "chocolate and paste" - yes the most strange combination at one storefront, but who are we to complain. All over the place is fresh spices, fresh fruit, and fresh vegetables. Oh my god I LOVE this place! My purchases of the day: bananas, cucumbers, and MEESHMEESH - apricots! Found the cheapest one by walking around and looking at every sign. Oh, and how could I forget - we went to MARZIPAN! Best rugelach in the world. My first time at Machane Yehuda not on a Friday, so things were very calm, so calm I didn't know what to do with myself. I had some time to look, to smell, to think, to choose, what a privilege. I also found cereal boxes for 10 shekels, quite a steal compared to the grocery store's 24 shekel or 18 shekel. The shekel is about 3.7 times the dollar, so you do the math. Anyway it's great savings for a girl whose main food group was, is, and probably will always be, cereal.

Eventually we made our way out of the shuk/market and back to the bus stop, asking at one of the local stores for directions and which bus to take. We find out that one of them goes to Emek Refaim, close enough to our apartments that we can just walk from there. The bus is driving down Emek and we're planning to get off at the next stop (about halfway down the main area of this fun street) and the bus turns right! Uh oh...ok well we got off as soon as the bus stopped, and just turned around back toward Emek Refaim. Lucky for me, this stop was completely basheret/meant to be, because we saw a sign for RUTH STREET! If I knew how to upload pictures on this thing I would show you. Ummmm just check Ruthie Jewthie Kleinman on facebook and look at recent pictures. That'll prove to you that I was there. Of course, the other example of how basheret this extra stop was, is that we found the Marzipan restaurant on Rachel Imenu Street off of Emek Refaim. I had heard about it being on Emek and so close to where I am now living, and just by chance I happened to stumble upon it. Double basheret!!!

We arrive back at the home of the WUJS kids, with a bit of time to kill until the Ulpan meeting (Hebrew class) at 5pm. At 5, we all go downstairs to the classroom in our building, to meet Ya'ara, the Ulpan instructor, who splits some of us up into our indicated levels as per the evaluation. I was not able to do my evaluation prior to coming, so I listened to a short clip twice and told Ya'ara (b'ivrit/in Hebrew) what I heard in the story, and a little bit about me (also in Hebrew). This helped her to figure out which level I would be best fit. Done with ulpan for the day, time to get ready for our bar crawl starting at 7 led by Yonit. We all go to Derech Hevron to take the bus into downtown Jerusalem, near a street called Ben Yehuda. Most Birthright trips go there at one point or another, so needless to say, I've been there quite a bit. I recognize some of the areas we are in and some bars we go to, but really it was a new world to me, especially, and drum roll please...THE FOOTBALL!!! Seth and Josh, probably the two most sports loving guys on this program, find a bar in downtown Jerusalem, with NFL games broadcast from CBS. No freekin' way! This is like the best day ever. Yonit finishes up her tour of the bars for us (thanks Yonit!) and the group ends up splitting into smaller sections. I go back to this football bar called "The Lion's Den" and we schmooze with the bouncer (who apparently went to college at Arizona with Josh) and meet the owner, Yonah. They tell us that it's too full for them to let us in, but if we wait about 20 minutes, the customers in there watching the current game are going to clear out, and there will be space for us. As a group of about 8, we decide to split up for some food (I had a quick bite to eat before the bar crawl so I'm just happy to keep someone company). Josh wants hot dogs (great, right up my alley) so I keep him company while he makes his dinner purchase. We see another big NFL screen at another bar right across the street, and when we wander over to take a quick look, Josh sees a friend of his from school that is also living in Jerusalem. And so the story goes: Ruth meets yeshiva boys. No handshake, just a polite "Hey, nice to meet you." Since we're all there, we go inside (this places is called Kings) to see the game that's on, and Josh treats me to a pre-birthday beer (how nice)! One of the employees brings out a lit coal for the hookah and the fun begins. Nope, not for me, not my thing, but everyone else around me goes for it! We promised everyone else that after we got a bite to eat (and by we I mean Josh with his hot dogs), we'd go back to Lion's Den because we'd probably get seats. Well, another beer later and we're still at Kings. I somehow convince Josh around 10:30pm that we should go to Lion's Den; all our friends are there, or so we think. We head out, and we see 4 other WUJS kids who had finished their dinner from elsewhere. OK, time to head back to Kings because we had the party spot - a nice little booth right in front of the TV and the hookah! Another hour goes by and I drag everyone out with me, yeshiva boys and all, to go to Lion's Den to be reunited.

Turns out the buses in Jerusalem stop running at midnight, so plenty of people want to get back home before they feel abandoned by the public transportation. All I want is to be in a bar watching football at the stroke of midnight, c'mon guys! We fill up 1 table (everyone else went home) with me, Josh, Denise, and Amy, for some drinks and food to usher in the next year of my life. Midnight rolls around..."Yom Huledet Sameach, Yom Huledet Sameach, Yom Huledet Sameach...Yom Huledet Sameach." A chorus of "Mazel Tovs" come from the crowd; strange to hear something that's the equivalent of "congratulations" when you've aged another year. All that happened was the clock struck midnight, but hey I'll take any happiness I can get! Beer and food all gone; we head up toward King George Street to get a taxi home. Denise haggles with the driver for a set price - 28 shekels! Great deal, 7 each, not bad! Great cab ride home; hilarious driver, thinks Josh is going to marry one of us in the cab (although I don't remember who, maybe at one point he was married to all 3 of us)! To bed around 1am, not too bad! Tonight as I write this, that's another story. But I had to get the details of the day out of my head. More birthday shenanigans to report about tomorrow.

Yom Kippur in Jerusalem

Getting ready for Yom Kippur involved some advance thinking. In Israel, at least Jerusalem, most places close at 12pm before Yom Kippur so everyone can get home to have time with their families to prepare for the holiday. Fortunately, my roommate and I did some grocery shopping Thursday night. We went to SuperDeal, right on our corner, so we could price shop against Supersol which is also nearby, across from the mall. It's also a much shorter walk and Marlowe wanted to buy as much bottled water as we could carry back here. We were happy with our new purchases, but man, groceries here are so expensive!

Yesterday (Friday), I woke up at 10am (lucky me!) and bummed around until after 11 before doing anything, so when I decided to leave to go for a walk, everything was already closing down. I just ended up going for a walk around the neighborhood. A few minutes into my walk, Debbie called to tell me she and the rest of the Goldsmith/Wolf crew would be meeting me at Bagel Bite, a place on Derech Beit Lechem (Beit Lechem Road) and Yehuda Street, right in my neighborhood. Lunchtime with the fam! I finished my walk, came back to the apartment, and grabbed the few things that I was supposed to bring to them, including a sleeping bag they had lent me so that I had something to sleep on the first 2 nights I was here. When they parked the cars, Yael (now 7 years old) jumped out of the car. "Doof, I made you a necklace." It was beautiful and colorful. "Can I put it on right now?" She nods her head and I put it on. "OK Yaeli can I get a hug hello now?" Her arms go out and I pick her up and give her a big hug! "You cut your hair cousin Doof." "I did, I cut it last week, do you like it?" She nods again. I say my hellos to all the cousins and we walk the block to the bagel store. We all ordered our bagels (I ordered mine in half Hebrew, half English, hey, I'm working on it) and sat down together. I sat in between Yael AND Kerem (now 4 years old)! They are both so sweet. Shai (20 months old) sat with Josh and Debbie, and Helen and Paul. He has such long curly hair now! He is getting so big. Yael had seen the silly bands on my arm and when we got back to the car, she showed me what was apparently only a small collection of hers, about 25 in all different colors. All the kids climbed into their carseats and we said our goodbyes, only temporary though; we will probably see each other next week sometime during the next fall holiday, Sukkot (the festival of booths).

The other bit of preparation involved in this holiday is FOOD! Because most people fast during the holiday, it is customary to have a large dinner meal before sunset and before rushing off to religious services. Some of the WUJS participants decided to gather at 4pm (who are we, senior citizens in south Florida?) for a meal in one of the boys' apartments; they have an open room with 2 tables and lots of chairs, so they invited everyone to bring their own dinner, and eat together. Of course we all ended up sharing what we brought so it was very nice and communal. Marlowe and I decided ahead of time to attend services at Kol HaNeshama, what was labeled as a reform congregation with mostly English speakers, and an English sermon. We left a few minutes before everyone else left dinner (they were planning to go to the Kotel/Western Wall) so we could get there early and ask if there would be 2 available seats. We walked the few blocks, a short walk, and outside the synagogue, we heard more English being spoken than Hebrew! We introduced ourselves to some people who were very kind and helpful, and waited patiently as instructed to find seats. A few other WUJS participants came in after us, so we told them we were just waiting for seats; they joined us. The service was supposed to start at 5:15 but we didn't even sit down until about 5:40. I guess Jewish Standard Time is taken to the extreme here in Jerusalem! Anyways, the service began and so much felt familiar to me. Although the prayer book had no English, the rabbi sometimes said the page numbers in English (of course numbers are one of the few things I know relatively well in Hebrew and I didn't really need the translation), so I was able to follow the service with relative ease. Unfortunately, this so-called English sermon was all in Hebrew, so Marlowe and I did not follow a thing. We wanted to try and find some meaning in this crazy holiday of fasting and spirituality and contemplating, so we were a bit disappointed in this aspect of the service. Maybe their sermons are in English on Shabbat; I have a feeling I will be back there again at some point. Services lasted about 2 hours and we returned home to apartment 8 (and up the 39 stairs). I pulled out my book and read 2 more chapters before going to bed. Another relaxing night; can't complain.

Today I woke up on my own, no alarm, at 9:46, to some young boys bouncing basketballs outside on the street below my window. Really kids? I'm just trying to SLEEP! I lounged around with no agenda for most of the morning, said hi to Marlowe as she left for the Kotel around noon, and then picked up my book to read. Two chapters later, I was feeling pretty sleepy so back to bed it was, snuggled up in my covers, room dark, blinds closed. I woke up around 3pm and checked in with Marcus, a friend of mine who came to visit me a few nights ago, and who happens to live very closeby to me. We agreed on a time I'd come by, and I took the short stroll to his place. Along the way, I counted the number of cars I saw driving on Hevron Street, normally a very busy street, a main artery of the city from what I understand. A grand total of 3 cars. I thought I'd see zero, from what everyone had told me, but I figured there had to have been a few cars. Only 3. The road was so empty that people were walking in the middle of the roads and children were riding bicycles!

Anyways, I arrive at Marcus's place and he gives me the grand tour. Fun fun fun! His couch is really comfortable. While he was finishing something in the guest room, I picked up a magazine - Time Out Israel. Although it was from May, it was a great edition for tourism around the country. (I'm going to borrow it again and try and make some travel plans while I'm here to make sure I maximize my experience in this fabulous country.)

Around 5:40 we decided to head out for our walk to the Kotel/Western Wall, anticipating a 45-minute walk, to arrive in time to see all the services let out and people return to normal life. It took around that time to get there, but I think we overestimated the time until breaking fast. During our walk, I attempted to count more cars but it was already over 25 by the time I gave up. That may seem like a lot, but this was over a very long time period. This does not happen in America as far as I can tell. On the walk, Marcus pointed out a few shops that obviously were not open on Yom Kippur but would be open other times, including 2 24/7 shops, just incase I ever would need one. He also quizzed me on the geography and layout of Jerusalem (I think I failed miserably, I have a lot of work to go) and we practiced some of my Hebrew!

As we walked through security to the Wall, we saw tons of people all busy, some already eating and drinking; some were still davening (praying) at the wall or in minyanim (groups of people). We kind of stood there for 2 or 3 minutes just watching and trying to figure out what exactly was going on, and even heard the blast of a shofar (how cool!). When we determined that nothing in particular was going on, we decided to go get some water at the fountains on the north side of the plaza. The walk was long and we worked up quite a sweat! After a few sips, we found 2 chairs to sit down on for a few minutes and just observe the people, a variety of clothing styles and languages, large groups, children, individuals, embraces, laughs, the works. We heard a few more shofar blasts from different parts of the Western Wall plaza; they must have been from different minyanim finishing their prayers. We heard singing, chanting, and out of nowhere comes a group of probably 150 young men, all walking together from the yeshiva/school. What they were chanting, we have no idea, but they sure all knew what they were saying! They were so spirited and joyful; it was great to see. Another group of about 50 young men were right behind them, following them into the men's side of the wall.

All in all, we probably spent about 20 minutes there before making the decision to head back. Certainly we had already spent more time walking there than we did actually there, but that was part of the day's experience! Upon departing, we saw two signs: men and women, and we weren't sure what they were for until we approached the exit. It was bread! Marcus went to the men's sign, took a baggie with 2 small rolls in it and said, "Here, it's from the Jewish people." How true! We began our walk back, going a completely different way than how we came; this way Marcus could show me some different sights on the way back. We walked through Mamilla, a shopping area, he pointed out which way was toward Ben Yehuda Street (popular for tourists, clearly I've been there before on all my Birthright trips), and all of the fancy hotels on King David Street. I'm getting my bearings of this city. There is no logic to the layout so I have to just figure it out on my own. We got back to Hevron Street for a bit of overlap in our walk there and back; I recognized a few things from our walking tour a few days ago, and from our walk to the wall just a few hours prior. I'm getting the hang of it...I think. We veered off a bit from Hevron, just so I could see yet another different way, and we get back to the apartment around 8:20. Excluding the 20 minute break at the wall, we basically walked for over 2 hours non-stop! I am definitely not going for a run tomorrow (depsite considering it before). We tried to estimate how far we walked and it was probably about 5-6 miles total. Not bad, eh? Well lucky for me, Marcus likes entertaining, at least tonight he did. I got to sit on the couch looking pretty while he made a beautiful salad with, yes, Jason Bird, my favorite, melafafonim, cucumbers! And cabbage, carrots, peppers, bulgari cheese, and avocado (which, in Hebrew, is called, avocado!) and whole wheat challah bread, pesto sauce and tahini. What a treat. We watched CNN International for news (we don't get it in the States, so don't even try to find it on your cable network), Martina Navratilova's breast cancer story, followed by a few minutes of "Brothers and Sisters" (which I was shocked was on here!) and then a 2 hour episode of "Extreme Makeover Home Edition," which had no commercials so it was an hour and 25 minutes, lovely! We were both teary eyed by the end of it, and so exhausted. I think it was well after 11pm; he did me the favor of driving me back to my apartment. I hung out with some WUJS kids for a bit until I decided I should put this on the blog before my memory became too clouded. It's after 2am here but I've managed to stay up, probably because I slept half the day away.

Tomorrow I don't have to be anywhere in particular until 5pm, so hopefully I will make use of some free time and go to the home store to get a few more things I think I need to feel a bit more settled in my apartment. Wish me luck!

Finally finished unpacking!

With the drama of not having my luggage for 2 days, I was thrilled to finally have some time after I was cleaned up from our hike, to get settled.

Thanks to Jessica, my unpacking experience was hilarious. So far Jessica, I have found 18 purple post-it notes. I'm sure as I continue to go through my things I will find some more (hidden in pockets, behind zippers, or wherever else you stashed these things). Your notes made me smile, but I have to tell you I have not said hello to a camel yet, my feet don't smell, I will bring back some snap/crackle/pop chocolate, I have found many hotties in Israel, I am having fun, and I MISS YOU TOO!!!

I'm glad I picked the room with the smallest closet; I really was able to fit everything in it - sweaters, jeans, t-shirts, shorts, tank tops, everything! It'll force me to stay organized because I don't have any other place to put personal items right now. No shopping for me on this trip!

The only thing we still need to get for our apartment is a shelf or a set of small drawers for the bathroom, so we can all keep our toiletries there. I also hope to find some nice tapestries at the shuk (market) for my wall. My bedroom has a huge empty white wall which needs some pizazz, and the walls in our living room could use some as well.

I'm in apartment 8...

...which means I have 39 stairs to climb every time I want to go home. I should have buns of steel by the end of these 5 months. Daannng!!!

Some other random facts (about Israel in general, and my apartment specifically) to share with my non-WUJS readers...

Cats (hatulim) are so prevalent in Israel and in my neighborhood, they are on every corner, sitting in dumpsters, and one that I saw today was curled up on a motorcycle cover today. I think cats are gross (sorry to all you cat lovers, but I'm not really sorry) so I really do not enjoy seeing them. I usually say, "Go away hatulim!" when I see them around. The good news: no city rats!

Water is very important to Israel, as we are in the middle of a big freekin' desert. Therefore, toilets have 2 levels of flushing: 1 is for number 1s, and 2 is for, well, all of my blog readers are pretty smart, you can figure it out. Less water is used for each level 1 flush. Genius, isn't it?

Balconies: we have 2! One is outside our kitchen; the other is outside of our 2-part bathroom (one room has the toilet, the other has the shower and sink). There are 2 clotheslines set up on this balcony, so after I rinsed my hiking clothes from yesterday, I was able to hang them out to try overnight! No wasting money on the dryers in the building.

All for now, and once again, suggested blog topics are welcome! Email me what you want to hear about: ruth.kleinman@gmail.com

Beautiful (and hot) nature walk

I really love being outside in nature, especially hiking, so before I left home, when I saw that my orientation schedule for the first week, I was thrilled to see that Thursday, September 16th, we'd be going hiking in the Judean desert. (Going to the Dead Sea after the hike was on the schedule, but not so exciting when you've already been there 7 times and floated thrice. That being said, I went and had a smile on my face almost all day!)

Today was the first day we (the Jerusalemers) would be meeting the other WUJS participants (the Tel Avivers). Some of us briefly discussed yesterday which, if any, icebreakers we would do when we met them. We threw around some ideas but pretty much all agreed that the hike enough would be an opportunity to meet and mingle with our peers on the other side of the country (mind you, this is only about an hour away).

Wake up: 7:15am

Ready for the day: 7:45am

Actual departure time: 8:15am (oh well)

You see, all of the TAers had to board a coach bus much earlier than we did this morning (hooray!) and they came to pick us up, but our madrichim (staff) knew ahead of time that there would not be enough space on one coach bus for both sections. They ordered a smaller bus/minivan for about 15 people, which left room for about 10 of us on the big bus. I wanted to make the most of the drive by interacting with the TAers so I attempted to take advantage of the opportunity by waiting for the big bus to arrive. Yesh harbeh p'kak b'Tel Aviv v'Yerushalayim (There is a lot of traffic in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Therefore we waited very patiently.) I hopped on the Taglit-esque bus and said boker tov (good morning) and hi to everyone as I walked passed them. Unfortunately, because they were either not interested in making new friends, or it was way too early in the morning, or some other reason, they weren't as friendly as I was hoping! I didn't sit with any of them, but sat in a 2 seater, and Shoshana, one of the Israelis living with us in our apartment complex, sat next to me. We chatted almost the entire drive, about what we were both doing in our pre-WUJS lives, world travel we have both done, language (particularly English and Hebrew, shocker), people we have met in our program so far, and our respective families, among other topics. I really enjoyed the conversation, and realized it was so much better to get to know Shoshana; she lives in the apartment directly below me, so I'll be seeing a lot more of her than my peers in Tel Aviv. Despite descending from the bus together, I found a really great hiking buddy upon entering the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve!

Ethan, a participant in the Jerusalem track, hiked with me for just about the entire trail today! We had great conversation about Western NY (he went to school in Rochester), summer camp, hiking and other outdoor activities, and complained about hot damn hot it was! The trail started out as a dry dusty path, but 1.5 km later (or so we were told, I swear it felt like 5 km) we approached a small pool created by a stream; we had heard and seen parts of the stream while we were hiking. At this point, I was not feeling well at all. I knew it was from the heat, so I drank some more water, switched from my regular walking sneakers to my new fabulous awesome Keds-like green shoes - WITH sequins! Bought 'em last night from a shoe store in the Kenyon Hadar (the Hadar Mall) which is a 10 minute walk from my apartment. (Josh, who I went with, to the mall, couldn't find the same shoes in his size, and although we were very sad about this situation, we ended up at another store where he not only got pink hiking/water shoes, but got the clerk to cut the price in half just by asking! We now owe Osnat, the clerk, a picture of Josh wearing these fabulous shoes.)

New green shoes on, feet in the water, so nice, so cool, already starting to feel better. Snuck in a granola bar to the park, despite being told we were not supposed to bring any food in. I am a snacker so therefore I am a rule breaker. Suckers! Snack plus drinking water, sitting in the shade - all a good combination. We go upstream about 50 more feet to a bigger pool and waterfall area. I was one of the first few people to drop my backpack and get in the water, dunking even my hair. It was pretty clear water, very refreshing, and made me feel so much better. The Jerusalemers and Tel Avivers were still not mixing very well (with some exception, I will say) but we all had a lot of fun dunking and splashing and taking some pictures (of course I forgot to bring my camera on so far, the most exciting and beautiful day of being here, but I will hope to get my new friends to post their photos on facebook for me to share with everyone back home).

The deal was this - we would hike the dry trail there, get in the pools and take the wet hike back. Mostly, the water was only just under our feet or to our ankles; a few times we just crossed the stream and were on dry land. Ethan and I ended up with PJ and Avi for a good portion of the hike back, so we doubled our hiking crew! It was great times. Avi and I even shared some feestookim (pistachios) on the trail. Yes, I broke the rules again.

We finished the hike going back on the same trail we started on (so really it was like a teardrop kind of shaped trail) and got back on the bus for a 5 minute ride to the Dead Sea. We had lunches ready for us in boxes as we got off the bus in the parking lot, and I sat with Rachelle at our own private romantic date bench in the shade. Actually, it wasn't romantic at all, but it was private. Everyone else had taken all the spots close to the bus! So we wandered to another bench to keep our distance from the crowd; Ethan was passing by so of course I invited him to keep us company for a few minutes and he obliged. Tuna sandwich, cinnamon roll, an apple and a bottle of mineral water. Can't complain!

I walked with Rachelle and Ethan down to the water. I promised her I would take some pictures of her floating in the Dead Sea. I figured it was the least I could do since I wasn't going in the water! Ethan and I sat on our lazy bums and watched everyone floating and putting mud on their bodies and taking pictures and falling over in the water. Fun times. Rachelle washed off in the shower by the beach, and we all walked back to the bus together for our return ride to Jerusalem. Most all of the Jerusalemers piled into the minibus while I boarded the big one, sitting next to Shoshana again, but really being bad company to her by falling asleep for almost the entire ride back! Fortunately, she was talking with other people for the majority of the ride.

We were dropped off back at Tsipora Street and got showered (yes this time, a real standing up shower, by the way my 2nd standing up shower since arriving)! Marlowe, one of my roommates, and I decided to do a quick shop at a grocery store nearby. It has its perks - it is MUCH closer to our apartment, and has bottled water at a great price, we discovered! Some items were cheaper than the Supersol that is across from the Hadar Mall; some items were more expensive. We just wanted to get some more essentials for Yom Kippur (pre and post meals people, not during the day!) and for Sunday, since the stores will be closing at noon tomorrow and probably not reopen on Saturday night after the fast is broken. 210 shekels later and I'm walking out with 3 bags of groceries. Man oh man this is getting expensive! But for dinner tonight, I had one of the items I purchased - schnitzel broccoli. Instead of breaded chicken breasts (typical schnitzel), this company makes schnitzel patties from broccoli, corn, and all sorts of other vegetables. So I gave it a whirl and really enjoyed it.

I spent the rest of my evening unpacking my 2 suitcases of clothing, sweaters, shoes, and toiletries. For the most part, it's organized, but we are hoping to purchase something for the bathroom to help keep our toiletry items organized, so right now, I'm a bit frazzled with all the ziploc bags I have around! Anyways, my next door neighbors were in their kitchen when I decided to take a break from unpacking. I heard one voice I did not recognize; it was Dani's voice, one of the Israelis who is living next door to me. PJ is the only American living in the apartment and only one I met so far, so I went to say a quick hello, and ended up staying there about 20 minutes trying to learn new Hebrew words. PJ started a list of new Hebrew words on his door! After the 20 minutes was up, I came back to do more unpacking, and when I wanted another break, I went in to either learn a new word or contribute a word to the conversation. Needless to say, by the end of the night, there was lots of Hebrew! I told the guys I was going to be like Kramer, barging in at all hours of the day (and maybe night) just to say hi! We'll see if I can live up to that challenge.

Well my bed is made nicely, sheets tucked in, and cleared off of all clothing piles which are now on the shelves of my closet. I've concluded another day's worth of tales and adventures, so it's time to call it quits. No alarm will be set for tomorrow; I will sleep until I cannot sleep any more. The Goldsmiths (and maybe the Wolfs) are coming tomorrow for a picnic pre-chag (holiday/Yom Kippur) and then I will be ushering in the holiday with some WUJS participants who are staying around the apartment complex and within walking distance. Saturday I plan to see Marcus, my fabulous Israeli friend who made aliyah from England a few years ago, and we are going to walk to the Kotel to see the balagan (crazy mess) that goes on there.

More blog updates to come. Topic suggestions welcome!

Luggage update part 2

I promised more details are here they are! Brace yourself for another long entry, if you dare.

I'll start with a brief recap of yesterday's events so everyone who is interested in keeping tabs on my adventures in Israel can still do so.

Because this entry is mostly about the luggage situation, I'll start by saying that I woke up yesterday wearing the same clothes I had been wearing since 3pm (EST) on Sunday afternoon and it was now Tuesday morning at 8am. You can either calculate the number of consecutive hours or just know that I literally wore the same pants until after midnight last night, which I calculated as 50 hours. The shirt is a bit of a different story.

I woke up to my cell phone alarm at 8am (why cell phone alarm? Because my travel alarm clock was in my...yes, you guessed it, suitcase!) and tried to snooze for a bit. First session was at 9am so I wanted to have enough time to have breakfast, collect my things in my bag and be ready for cousin Debbie to bring by a few things (including a Hebrew dictionary, bed sheets, and...drum roll please...a clean shirt! Hooray!) before showing up to the Young Judaea campus. I did a quick change in the bathroom there - so fresh and so clean clean! Ok maybe just fresh :) But I'm certainly not clean.

We discussed some security precautions and information about the program we are responsible for knowing, and then split up into apartments to do some shopping. We live a short walk from a local mall which is right across the street from a supermarket, so I will fortunately never be out of reach of necessities. Anyways, we made a communal list (sponges, dishsoap, papertowels, etc.) and we each bought some of our own essentials (for me: cereal, soy milk, yogurt, cheese, whole grain bread, and melafafonim, Hebrew for cucumbers - what a fun word!). We also grabbed lunch at the food court, so I went right for the good stuff - FELAFEL! Cheap and yummy! We returned to the classroom to attend a session on getting to know the neighborhoods in Jerusalem, played a fun game (that turned into quite a competition among the 4 teams that were created) that tested our memory of different neighborhoods we had just read about. Just pointing out that, at this point, I'm still wearing Debbie's shirt and my airplane sweatpants, I still haven't showered or washed my hair.

At the start of the next session, we met Mike, the director of the entire WUJS program, before heading out on a tour of the neighborhood, given to us by a lovely girl named Liyan, who is studying architecture at a school in Jerusalem and also gives tours. We made a few stops along our way, including some bus stops, cafes, stores, bars, and we ended on Emek Refaim, a popular street in Jerusalem with more Anglos (Americans/English speakers) than local Israelis! Emek Refaim has great restaurants and shops also, so it is very populated. I walked down the length of the street in search of a fairly quick sandwich to go, with Rachelle, another participant on the WUJS program. By this point, I'm so hot from the temperature, all the walking, and still being in these damn pants that I have tried rolling, folding, anything on these pants to try and stay a tiny bit cooler. Anyways, I bumped into my friend Aviva who is studying here at Pardes, and it was such a treat! I warned her about me being stinky, prior to the hug, as I thought that was appropriate. I'm so lucky she didn't care. She was so happy just to see me! And I was so happy to see her too! Rachelle and I continued to Cafe Cafe, where I knew I could get some good quality food. We walked and ate at the same time, because I knew cousin Josh would be picking me up around 8pm to FINALLY go to the airport and get my bags - HOORAY! We made it back with plenty of time to spare so Rachelle and I gave each other tours of our respective apartments (they are laid out a bit differently from one another). Josh calls at 8:26pm to say he's downstairs and I kick Rachelle out, say goodnight, and hop in the car! 45 minutes later, he's dropping me off at Ben Gurion. Finally, I will be rid of these sweatpants.

I walk into the exit of the arrivals level, so I can claim my baggage. I ask the first person I see where to go to pick up luggage from the strike yesterday, and she tells me to go to the Lost and Found. Man is it hard to find the Lost and Found! Ironic? Hmmmm. OK so I find the tiny little booth marked Lost and Found and there is no one in the booth and a phone on the counter. Some guy who walked up right before me picks up the phone and starts speaking Hebrew, so I think he's telling someone from the back that he is there to pick up an item. Well he hangs up the phone and leaves. Great. I choose to ask the young clerk in the store beside the Lost and Found how this all works. She explains that I have to look on the wall at the list of airlines, and call the number that corresponds to it. I'm game for this, here we go - I will get to speak to someone to sort this out! I pick up the phone and dial. There is an automated message indicating that to listen in English, you have to press 1. Easy enough, 1 pressed. "The Delta offices are open from 8am until 8pm. Our offices are now closed. Please come back tomorrow when the office will reopen." NO WAY! No freekin' way did I come this far to be turned away! OK I am not giving up; I am going to bother every single uniformed airport staff person until I get my damn bags.

I walk toward a huge sign that says "Do Not Enter" but there is another young woman sitting at a booth and I ask her in Hebrew if she speaks English: "Medaberet Anglit?" She nods, and I say, "Hi, I'm here to pick up luggage from the strike yesterday." A nice young man behind me says in his adorable Israeli accent, "Yeis miss, kam dees way." I turn around. "Passport?" I show it. He directs me through the so-called "Do Not Enter" doors (haha suckers) to a board and says, "You wait dare for a lady." The board indicates which flights have baggage where. I see Delta flight 268 listed for carousels 5-6. No lady. I look around for a lady. Still no lady. I try to sneak a peek down the middle of the 5-6 area to see if I see my flight listed on a sign. I wait some more. Still no lady. Aha, I see some uniformed staff. Why not go bug them? They are both busy but as I turn around I see another Lost and Found booth. I ask this other young lady again, "Medaberet Anglit?" "Yes." "Great, can I just go get my bags from the sign or do I need to wait for someone to walk me there?" By the way, I ask because, when it comes to Israelis and airports and security, you just don't mess with their system. She just tells me I can go get my bags and walk out! Who knew it was actually so easy. I go down aisle 5-6 and look for my flight number, and I see the sign! I see my duffel bag! I see my duffel bag! I actually see my duffel bag! So thankful; this is awesome. OK, where is my other suitcase? Oh my goodness, someone took my suitcase. Someone must have taken my freekin' suitcase! What the hell? Is this for real? OK, calm down, look around, take a deep breath. I walk a bit further back and see another sign for my flight and there is my suitcase!!! A huge smile comes across my face.

I walk out of customs, two bags in hand, straight out of the airport. YES!!!!!!!

It's 9:40pm; I walk to the area where people gather for a "nesher" or a shared cab. They pile up to 10 people in one minivan with all their luggage in the back, charge the same flat fee (55 shekels per person, about $15) to go any address in Jerusalem (45 minutes to an hour away, I think it's a pretty sweet deal). I tell the driver my address and hop in the car. I'm only the 3rd person so I know it'll be a while before we leave. I came prepared - I have a book. A man traveling by himself comes over, gets his luggage in the van, sits on the bench outside reading. Ok we're up to 4. Then we get 4 more in one shot (they are from Australia, I can hear the accents!). Wow, up to 8 already, fabulous. One more girl arrives. Only one more spot to fill! The driver tells that one girl after a few minutes to get in the other nesher. NOOOO! Now we have 2 spots to fill. What I didn't realize is that he asked her to leave the one seat so he could seat a couple in the last 2 spots. EXCELLENT - WE'RE LEAVING! 10:26 and we're on the road.

A nesher could easily have 10 different stops in Jerusalem, and the driver drops off passengers in the order that makes the most sense, not the order in which you stepped onto the van. I have a shot at being the first or last drop off, essentially. Because there was 1 couple on before I was on, there is a group of 4, and a second couple, there are actually only 5 stops. Well, as luck would turn out, I was...the last. Oy. Well I made it back at 11:37pm; thankfully 2 boys still awake on the bottom floor apartment generously just took my bags up to my apartment for me. "Thanks so much guys, I owe you each a beer, or...other beverage of your choice!" "Beer is good!" "OK, awesome, goodnight, sweet dreams, and see you in the morning." Home sweet home. With luggage. And clean clothes. And a towel. And shower stuff. Here we go. You'd think I'm finally in heaven, but of course there is one more twist in the evening's course of events.

I turn on the water, wait for it to heat up, and it reaches a nice temperature. So I pull on the knob to release the water from the spicket to the showerhead. My fingers slip right off. OK, 2nd try. Slips right off again. Hmm, ok, maybe it doesn't pull up, maybe it pushes down. I try pushing; all it does is leave an indent in my hand. Not happy. Let's try pulling it up again - third time's a charm. No success. Many attempts endure, including finding a piece that appears to be the cover to said knob that probably broke off at some point. I'm so frustrated I actually utter the words, "Is this for real???" With my sleeping roommate just down the short hallway, I try to keep my cool and keep my voice down. I eventually give up on the showerhead, but not the shower. I seriously smell bad. So, I did what any reasonably minded camp counselor would do - took a spicket shower. Shoulder leaning under the water, about a foot from the bottom of the tub. Hair flipped over so I can at least shampoo my hair. Splashing water so I can at least get it to reach my face. What a scene. Well, it was a pretty good equivalent to a shower, and after 3 days of basically the same clothes, it was a huge improvement.

When I told a lot of you about this blog being my way to share my Israel adventures, I didn't think it would actually be THIS adventurous! Let's hope for some more fun days ahead (including the hike tomorrow), but not as eventful as the last few!