All day at the Louvre (2/28/11)

I basically spent all day at the Louvre today. We got there a little after 10am to buy our tickets and our audio headsets; the boys had some "breakfast" at the cafe (I got my breakfast from Starbucks on our walk there so I was all set) and we started with the "Masterpieces" tour. This included 3 main highlights - the Venus de Milo (statue), the winged victory of Samothrace (a Green sculpture), and the Mona Lisa. It took about 45 minutes and had us follow certain paths of the museum according to instructions. It was a bit slower than we were hoping, but I did enjoy hearing about the different aspects of the pieces, not that I remember all of them. Specifically, I wouldn't have looked at the Venus de Milo statue from behind because looking at it straight on is just so natural. But because the audio guide had us each walk behind it to consider the artist's intent, I appreciated having the headphones.

I guess the audio tour built anticipation up to the Mona Lisa. We knew it was coming at some point during the tour, and we started to see the signs to that part of the museum. So when we walked into the room it was in, it was clear where it was by the crowds of people. I hate to say that I wasn't all that much impressed with it, perhaps because I don't like being stuck in a crowd and I just wanted to get out of that room as quickly as possible, but also I think because it wasn't that big and I've seen pictures of it so many times, that it didn't look any more authentic than the photos I've seen. It's a shame because the work I saw today WAS the original. It WAS authentic.

After that audio tour, we decided to go to the Egyptian exhibit to see some of the artwork there. We stayed together for the most part but listened to our own tracks. You can just enter the number of any artwork listed with a number, and the guide would give you the information about that specific item - history, context, artist critique, etc. I was clearly spending more time looking around than the boys, who I could tell were getting antsy. At about 1pm we decided to go downstairs and consider lunch. They decided to give back their headsets and leave for lunch and for the afternoon, so we just agreed to meet up later at our hotel. I stayed at the museum for another few hours, so I had lunch at one of the cafes there (which wasn't so great, and then I found out there was another eatery on another level which may or may not have been better), and headed back out to see more artwork. I took my time, wandering through the French painting section, Italian paintings and Spanish paintings, and walked back through some of the sculpture, found Napoleon's furniture (which was absolutely stunning, although apparently not his actual furniture!). The museum was SO big and had 4 floors and many wings; it was very confusing! I got a little turned around a couple times, but eventually hit up the gift store on my way out. Seeing as the only souvenirs I really buy when I travel are collector's spoons, it only seemed natural to inquire about them. Unfortunately, they didn't have any. Out of luck. So I would need to find another place to get a spoon in this city/country.

On my walk back from the museum, I walked into 2 souvenir shops to look at spoons, and although neither had the ouvre specifically, they both had Paris ones and for the same price, so I went for it and got one with the Eiffel Tower because of how happy I was last night after the whole experience. I took a scenic route back to the hotel because I knew I had time to kill. I scoped out some restaurants in the area incase we were desperate to find something closeby tonight. When I got back to the room, the boys were already there, after their separate wandering around adventure.

We decided to head out for dinner and stumbled upon a sushi restaurant! The waitress spoke very little English, and clearly we still do not speak French, so once again it was kind of an experience. For the most part, we got what we ordered! I had some miso soup (hoping to thwart off the feelings of another cold coming on) and some really good fish! Normally I like tuna better than salmon but the salmon tonight was SO good!

Back at the hotel for a nice hot shower (followed by wrapping myself in the comfortably soft robes the hotel provides) before going to bed. The beds here are so comfortable; I will miss them! We are picking up our rental car tomorrow morning and heading to the south of France. Maybe stopping in Lyon for lunch and some adventures off the beaten path, and then toward Nice and Monaco. Totally relying on Rick Steve's book for some clues as to where to go, stay, eat, etc. Then we're heading to Italy so we're going to bust out the next Rick Steve's book for advice on how to plan our days. Just as I'm finally picking up some French, it'll be time to learn a new language!

French, Hebrew, What? (2/27)

I realized after a full day in Paris, in France, a French speaking country, although I can get by with the very minimal French I know, and the amount of people who also understand English here, I still have a TON of Hebrew in my head! I have really gotten accustomed to asking for directions in Hebrew, ordering in restaurants and cafes in Hebrew, and just making small remarks like "nachon" (correct/right) or "betach" (of course/sure). Adam and Erik don't understand any Hebrew besides Shalom so it's hopeless for me to expect them to understand me. It just caught me by surprise that I had so much Hebrew in my head. I guess when I know it's not an English speaking country, my brain automatically switches into Hebrew to make sense of being in a foreign country.

I do have to say though, I was quite proud of myself for ordering a drink at Starbucks today (not for me, for Erik), completely in French! It wasn't until the order came correctly, that I was really proud of myself!

Eurotrip Day 1 - Paris (2/26/11)

Flight was pretty good, didn't sleep much unfortunately. Arrived in Paris, started stumbling through the airport to get to baggage claim (which was a tram ride away). Meanwhile, this sign was lovely and welcoming:

Met up with Adam and Erik (my travel buddies) at the airport (kind of miraculously considering none of us had cell phone use and we came in at different terminals). We took a cab to our hotel, which is pretty central in the city, went up to our room to put our things down, and went to get some lunch. The first restaurant we stopped at just to see the menu, had a VERY excited waiter. He came right up to us and started mentioning all of the great things on the menu. We weren't 100% sold on it so we walked down the block a bit more, and ended up finding something that was a bit more affordable. Food here is expensive! Wow!

We started to do some wandering, saw the Academy of Music (aka Opera House, above) and walked to the Louvre (which we will probably go to tomorrow, it's only 10 euro, so cheap!).

Then we walked down Champs Elysses (which we all still don't really know how to pronounce), we could see the Eiffel Tower from there, and I took some pictures of the gardens and the tower in the distance.

Then we ran into EITAN (who was on WUJS) who I knew was in Paris but I hadn't called him yet to try and meet up. It started raining so we headed back to the hotel; Ethan went to his. We each took a nap back in our deliciously comfortable beds (which may or may not have been a good thing; I think we woke up more groggy then when we fell asleep) and met up with Ethan for dinner and some drinks in Paris! The American Dream restaurant/bar which we passed by before had live music and a pretty cool atmosphere, so it was a hit.

Already took some pictures today which have been posted to Facebook, so find Ruthie Jewthie online and check 'em out!

I made it past the passport police! (2/26)

I was so worried about the trouble the passport police might give me when leaving for Paris. Well lo and behold, I am sitting at the gate ready to board my plane for Paris, and I had relatively little trouble. Of course, the clerk at the counter was not so pleased that I was well over my visa (and I explained to her that I tried to extend it and even get the right visa to begin with), but she said it shouldn't be (at least) a major problem when I return, since I am only a tourist when I come back, no longer on an organized program.

Europe, here I come!

What being abroad has taught me (2/25)

Being abroad has taught me...

...that I don't need TV! The only American TV show I've kept up with while I've been gone is, of course, "Grey's Anatomy." I have been able to find a commercial-less stream every week to keep up to date. I gave up on "The Biggest Loser," among many other shows. I think when I go home I'm cancelling my cable and using my $80 a month for something else.

...that language is so crucial to communication. I've had trouble communicating ideas I have, when I am speaking with someone who doesn't understand English. Likewise, someone living in Israel who speaks only Arabic and Hebrew, must have a difficult time communicating to non-native Hebrew speakers. The way that children learn and play starts with verbal language, and of course nonverbal language. But speech is so crucial to development and relationship building. Although I assumed that by the end of 5 months of living in Israel, I'd be fluent in Hebrew, that isn't the case. I want to take Hebrew classes in NYC to keep up what I've learned and continue to learn more. Israel, Judaism, and Hebrew are all going to be a major part of my life in the future, so my knowledge of the language must not go to waste.

...that the conversation about religious versus secular (in Israel or anywhere) is not even the right place to start. Both words are spoken about like they are on opposite sides of a dichotomy, which never overlaps, never meets in the middle, doesn't even have a middle. People ask others all the time, "Are you religious?" but what does that really mean - do you believe in a god, do you keep/observe Shabbat, do you keep kosher, are you shomer negiyah (not touching the opposite sex), do you pray regularly? If you really want to get to know a person and you want to see how "religious" or "secular" they are, I think a better word to use is "observant" and even so, still isolating. Truly, ask a person what you want to know - if they believe in a god, keep Shabbat, keep kosher, etc. Putting people in one particular spot of a spectrum or on one side of a dichotomy is alienating and inaccurate. The Jewish people are comprised of many kinds of Jews who do and think very differently from one another, but we all need to recognize those differences in each other before we can expect the rest of the world to give us some respect.

...that I could probably live anywhere in the world (for a certain period of time) and survive. Maybe not be the happiest or at my best, but I certainly could survive. If the WUJS program were an 8 month program, I'd still be a participant, and I'd probably be very happy. I'd still be going on field trips, I'd still be learning and volunteering, and I'd still be content here. If I was transplanted to another country, another city, English speaking or not (hey I've learned a new language and adapted fairly quickly), I'd probably survive. Have no fear NYers, I'm coming back and planning on being there for a while, but, it was nice to learn that although I didn't LOVE being away from my family and friends for so long, I missed a lot of things back home (including my birthday, my sister's birthday, and my dad's birthday, among other occasions) and there was a language barrier most days, I could do it. I DID do it.

...that I really enjoy traveling! Not like I didn't know this. I have gotten 2 more stamps on my passport since I arrived in Israel - one in Turkey (traveled in Istanbul for 4 days) and one in Jordan (went to Petra for a day). Tomorrow I leave for Europe to acquire at least one more. We'll see what the EU decides to do with my passport.

...that I enjoy taking pictures! I have always been the one back home to rely on other people bringing cameras to parties, nights out, events, housewarmings, birthdays, hangout nights, and trips. Because I wanted to share my experiences here with everyone back home, I decided that I would take TONS of pictures to share on Facebook (which I have done pretty well so far, I think!), so people back home could follow my every move. I think I'm now addicted to the camera. This is either really good...or could become very problematic!

...that I enjoy writing! Keeping this blog has been a great way for me to process my thoughts, through writing. I write what I would say if I were speaking it out loud. For the most part. So I don't think it's all that poetic, or articulate. But it's been a great outlet for me, and the compliments I've received on some of my blog posts has been very positive! Maybe I have a new career or hobby in store for me!

My official miss/NOT miss list! (2/20)

Over the last week or two, I've seriously thought about what I will miss about life here. What I will miss about WUJS, but also what I will miss about Israel. You don't live somewhere, mostly happy for 5 months, and then just get up and leave. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Although I have sometimes complained about life here, I will definitely miss things. That being said, I'll also NOT miss a whole bunch of things. Ready for my list? I am! Here goes:

What I will miss about life in Israel and on WUJS:

-- Tsipora 5 (the dorm! the people!).

-- Shabbat lunches with everyone in the building, especially the Israelis, and especially outdoors in nice weather!

-- not having to rely on a car (I really like taking public transportation everywhere, for the most part!).

-- seeing my Goldsmith cousins every few weeks like I have, since I've been here.

-- being able to celebrate Shabbat every week with no problems (such as trying to get out of work early).

-- the lovely winter that does not involve a single snowflake. Oh how I will miss that next winter.

-- learning and improving my Hebrew. My confidence level has skyrocketed and I'm afraid it will decline, even just in a month of traveling through Europe. Hebrew classes in NYC anyone?

-- taking awesome field trips every single week, including some overnights. Never else in my life will I probably sightsee as much as these 5 months.

-- volunteering every week at the soup kitchen near the shuk, working in the garden in Talpiot Mizrach, studying at Pardes twice a week, and working at my eco internship.

-- being in the Holy City of the Holy Land, and realizing how lucky I am to have spent this time in a place where some people are never able to come.

What I will NOT miss about life in Israel and on WUJS:

-- the school bells that chime every 15 minutes in the mornings.

-- the garbage truck that comes to empty the dumpster in the 6am hour.

-- the cats that roam every street and dumpster. Yeah, cats are not pets in Israel, they are just gross.

-- the pushy Israelis getting on buses and in grocery store lines. Seriously, ever heard of a personal bubble and some patience?

-- having to start the work week on Sundays.

-- the craziness of Fridays when you can feel the rush and pressure of Shabbat coming.

-- cigarettes. They are EVERYWHERE. Outside of course, but inside too. It's illegal to smoke inside in Israel, but unfortunately no one enforces it. Way to go, Holy Land.

-- needing to speak Hebrew to understand nuances and detailed conversations. I'm by no means fluent so this is something very frustrating.

-- dealing with currency in shekels. The whole time I've been here, I still pull out my calculator on my phone and divide by the exchange rate to put things in dollars, just to make sense of it.

-- dealing with temperature in celsius, distance in kilometers, and weight in kilos. America really got it wrong when it decided to implement its own system of measurements, but I'm trained that way and it'll never change.

-- my Nokia Israel Phone. Really, I just want my Alias 2 back so I can text (unlimited!) on a QWERTY keyboard.

-- the lack of recycling here. They do only certain items here and it's not as much as in NY.

-- being many thousands of miles away from my closest family and friends.

Well that's what I've got for now; stay tuned for more to be added to the list.

WUJS is done (2/17)

Today was the last day of the program. Well, really, yesterday was our last full day. We've had a lot of "lasts" this past week:

Sunday, 2/6 - last Judaism class with Rachel Goldberg. So sad to leave her class.

Thursday, 2/10 - last Jewish Learning seminar.

Friday, 2/11 - last WUJS group activity - supposed to be a hike but due to inclement weather, we went BOWLING!

Friday, 2/11 - last Shabbat B'Yachad. I even cried.

Sunday, 2/13 - last time volunteering at the garden. The ladies got me a very sweet parting gift and a lovely card!

Tuesday, 2/15 - last (and first) WUJS Olympics, run by Dafna. Amazing. Seriously, one of the most fun times I've had in the last few months.

Wednesday, 2/16 - last group dinner, which happened to be at Burgers Bar (which is not my favorite) and happened to be a bit of a balagan/mess, but was fun nonetheless.

Tomorrow, Friday, 2/18 will be the last B'nei IKAR minyan I get to participate in, but this time I will be one of the drummers, which is something new. When I move out on Sunday, 2/20 it will be the last time I leave my apartment, last time I take a shower in good ole Tsipora 5, last time I use the kitchen for a meal, last time I sit on the chairs in the living room. Now I'm just getting overly sappy and sentimental. But for real, it's hard to do all of these "lasts" and all of the goodbyes.

It's hard to believe 5 months has passed so quickly and the time is really over. I've learned and experienced a lot through the program and my time in Israel, with new friends, in a new city, and although I'm sad to be leaving the program, I have a lot more to look forward to this year. In a week I leave for Europe to travel through France, Italy, Prague, and the UK. How lucky am I to have this opportunity? Many people in their lives don't even get the chance to travel abroad from their home country. Many who do travel abroad don't get the chance to come to Israel, let alone live for 5 months, or travel through so many countries in a one year time period.

I am unbelievably grateful for my experience on WUJS and being able to use this year completely 100% for myself. I'm taking in a deep breath as I unravel the next chapter of my life.

Mazal tovs! (2/10)

PJ and Avi got engaged today!!! He lured her to the Taylet (overlook to the Old City) to "take some pictures" and popped the question.

Mazal tov to both of you, your families, and everyone in WUJS! We are so happy for you!

Happy 24th birthday to Josh aka Yehoshua aka YOSH!

The Social Network (2/7)

I saw "The Social Network" tonight at the Jerusalem Cinemateque. I had to use up my one last "ticket" on my card there, since I bought en masse for the Eco Film Festival a few months ago and never used 'em all up. I wanted to see the film when it first came out but didn't prioritize it and ended up missing it. Thankfully, it was being played again today at 5:30 so I put it in my schedule and made it happen!

Some things I was surprised with:

How many people were in the theater - well over 100, maybe even 200. I thought I'd be one of very few people, because the movie is now "old" and even in the books as a 2010 movie. I know it's not SO long ago that it was 2010 but still.

The average age of the people who were watching were probably over 50 years old. When I first got to the theater and saw all of them waiting outside the same theater as me, I was shocked! I guess since the Cinemateque doesn't show the same film all that often, they heard about the craze of the movie and became interested like me, in making it happen.

The way the whole Facebook story went down. I knew some background from reading an article on the movie when it first came out. I know the film must be biased toward making Mark Zuckerberg look like a manipulator, but it sounds like this whole business deal went down in kind of a shady manner. I'm sure a lot of big businesses have plenty of shadiness going on. But, it just felt weird to come home and then log right back into Facebook, the "plague" that has taken our time from us (how many of us are addicted, literally, to checking Facebook? We are all slaves to it!), but has connected us with millions of people worldwide (so many benefits of staying in touch with friends!). How someone came up with this idea to begin with is beyond me. But glad I finally got to see the movie.

Ministry of Interior Part Two (2/7)

Today I went back to the Ministry of Interior for my 2nd attempt at getting a visa renewal appointment. They opened at 2:30 but I was able to get there by a little after 2pm. There was already a line and it was drizzling out, so I tried to seek cover under the awning of the makolet/corner store just next door. There were too many people pushing and shoving (in Israel? No way!), so I decided to go across the street for a slice of pizza at Agvaniya (which means tomato). Thank goodness I decided to get inside because after a few minutes, the thunder rolled in, the skies opened, and hail came down. Yes, chunks of ice falling straight from the sky. The ice was bouncing off of cars and the sidewalk. I was thankfully enjoying my pizza and mango juice.

Finally the clock struck 2:30 and I guess I saw the doors to the building open, but it wasn't a very quick-moving line. I waited out the continuing rain in Agvaniya, watching everyone push their way toward the door. The way I saw it, I was waiting either way. I could cross the street, wait in the rain, deal with the clump of impatient people trying to make their way in to an office, or I could wait under the awning of the restaurant, untouched, and just laugh at everyone clumped together seeking shelter and being obnoxious. I chose the latter.

At about 2:45 it seemed like the line was moving enough to make it worthwhile to cross the street and deal with the drizzling. I waited a few minutes before hearing my name being called. My roommate Suri was just behind me in the line. Apparently she also got the memo that you had to wait outside in the rain to get into the building to try and get an appointment for a visa that is no longer valid. So we kind of dealt with this whole together at that point. We made our way to the door, went through security, and somehow found our way to one of the offices upstairs. Of course, the signage was terrible, no one was helping us to find our way, who knows where all of the other people in line actually went, because we couldn't really find any of them. The building looked like a run down NYC public school. This is an official Israeli government office? Seemed pretty shanty to me.

We finally get to room 204, the visa room. The door is open but the sign on it says, "Leave your name and phone number and we'll call you back." This is the sign I've heard about that I thought couldn't actually be real. A sign up list? This doesn't seem very official. Well here it is! We could have just signed our names and left but the door was open and there were a few people inside. Since there is no such thing as customer service in Israel, no one comes to greet us or ask if we need any help, so we wait patiently for many minutes until one of the women says, "Do you need something?" When we respond yes, that we need to sort out our visas, she says, "I'm sorry, we're closed." Really? The building is open. It even says so on the outside of the building. You were closed the other day when I came by and I specifically came today at 2:30 because I knew you were open. You aren't closed. The building is open. The door to this office is open. You are sitting at a desk. You're closed? You look open to me. You sure as hell look like you are working. OK, fine, we put our names on the list and head back out of the building our separate ways.

Hopefully I'll actually get that phone call tomorrow setting up an appointment. C'mon Israeli government, show me your stuff!

Misrad HaPanim/Ministry of Interior (2/2)

Looks like the Israeli Government won today. I finally schlepped my tuchus all the way to the Misrad HaPanim office (the Ministry of Interior) where people get their visas renewed. After my drama of getting back into the country from Jordan in December, I was only given 2 weeks to renew, and I have technically been here illegally for the last few weeks, knowing that I'd obviously sort this out before I leave the country and encounter any major trouble. Well it's not that easy for me to just go to the office; it is not close to my apartment nor anywhere else I really spend any time, and hey, I kind of have a life here. I couldn't skip a group day, I didn't want to skip my volunteering or internship days, nor any other activity I do here. But now I'm at the point where I really need to sort this out. So I finally figured out that I could go this morning. Last night, I spent some time looking at the website, and make sure I had the right address and phone number.

Well, I hopped on a bus this morning heading toward Shlomtsion HaMalka, only to find out that the office was closed. Apparently they are only open on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings (not Sunday THROUGH Thursday mornings as it says on their website) and in the afternoons on Mondays and Wednesdays. I guess I'll be heading back on Sunday for take 2. Even though I certainly feel beat out, Israeli Government 1 - Ruthie 0, at least I managed to not waste any time and used my ma'avar (transfer) so I only paid for one bus ticket!

Second Trip to Hevron (2/1)

Today was my 2nd trip to Hevron, my 1st with WUJS, and also the 1st that I heard from a specific organization on the left side of the political spectrum.

Shovrim Shtika - Breaking the Silence (http://www.shovrimshtika.org/index_e.asp) is an organization of former soldiers who served in the occupied territories during their military service, who speak out against the various ongoings in the territories. They are made up of soldiers from the 50th Nachal/Brigade, people who served in Hevron mostly, approximately 700-800 members/former soldiers.

Our speaker was Ayal, 28; he was a combatant and sergeant, combatant again, finished the army, did his BA, is doing his MA now, and finally after 7 years he broke the silence which was about a year and a half ago. Along with his fellow former soldiers, he is trying to bridge the gap between what the audience "knows" about the west bank...and reality. Where is the green line? What is a military law? Where is area a, area b, area c? There is a great misperception within Israeli society about the West Bank and the cities within it. Below are some of his comments and my thoughts, to help me process this "new" and "other" and "different" side to what I have heard about Hevron. It's not the first time I'm exposed to more "leftist" ideas in Israel, but so far, it has not been very often.

Road 60, the main road in the West Bank, was closed to Palestinians until 2006, and many Israelis didn't know this. That's one of his examples of Israeli society not really knowing or seeing the full situation. They know the security rationale and narrative, of the Israelis, but not the Palestinians. The army poses a moral question - what's our line? What's our limit? Israeli society sends them (the soldiers) there without them even knowing what they are "getting themselves into," which is quite scary.

The Israeli military is controlling 2.5 million ppl in West Bank, doing what Israeli society tells them to do, in order to bring soldiers safely back home at the completion of service time. Hevron is the 2nd largest city in West Bank, after Ramallah. There are 160,000-180,000 Palestinians, and 700-1,000 Israelis, with 1,500 Israeli security forces. What is the purpose of the military presence....protecting the settlers? Protecting Israel? Hunting for terrorists? Perhaps it's not such a simple answer; it is multi layered.

The only group that they have no criticism towards...is the settlers. The soldiers in Shovrim Shtika believe that the settlers are following the ideological movement.

Extreme news (like murders, rapes, etc.) reaches the masses and the public, but not the daily typical stuff, common happenings.

In the 1970s, the Dayan plan -was to put "fists inside cities." The Alon plan was 2 security "stripes" outside main areas of the West Bank. Hevron was not in Oslo Bet, which took place in 1995 because there is a settlement inside the city - so what to do with it? For years and years, the planning of use of this area has been a huge mess! What an understatement!

I have said it before and I will say it again. I think that "the few" have and still are ruining it for "the many" - terrorists ruining it for citizens/civilians. The second intifada in particular created a society where you can't trust anyone - everyone is a potential threat. This is one of the reasons why history has happened the way it did.

The question/gray area/line of what is moral and what is for the purpose of safety/security?