Hafta'a

Surprise!
I'm sure all of you know (and were there), but I successfully surprised my whole family in Michigan for my cousins' wedding. I am gloating a little here, but I still can't believe that I pulled it off. Since my dearest older brother convinced me that there would be no wedding without me, I did the unthinkable and booked a plane ticket. Over 12,000 miles traveled in a number of hours that I don't really want to calculate, a shock from seeing snow, and an amazing 5 days in the States was completely worth the obscene plane ticket (feel free to refund me if you feel the need). I don't think I can even begin to describe the shock on my dad's face and even if he won't admit it, I saw a few tears and my aunt Sherri's vocal announcement of the shock was right on par. Despite seeing me and gripping me with her ultra-grandma strength, my grandmother could still not get over the fact that I was not on a moshav in the Negev (being the quick thinker that I am, I told my family that I was at a volunteering seminar on a moshav in the Negev and that my phone wouldn't work). And as expected- Grandpa cried.

I'm a little surprised that my dad actually thought I would listen to him after he sternly told me that it was out of the question that I make an appearance at the wedding- c'mon dad, after 23 years, you thought I would listen? I think this is a good place to add a special congratulations to Andy and Jenn (the two of you better start reading my blog).

Landing in Chicago on the morning of the 1st with, to my surprise, no working cell phone, and a gust of snow to the face, I was hit with relief when I saw Molly's car pulling up to the airport. For those of you that don't remember (or know), Molly and I lived together last year in Boston and were part of the same AmeriCorps program. (She now lives in Chicago and goes to the Adler school of psychology). I spent two stealth days in the states, wandering through American stores with awestruck eyes (missing the Christmas spirit) and a constant itch to reach for my wallet. Unfortunately American money is not as fun to spend as the Israeli shekel and definitely doesn't go as far. I must say that I did miss walking around all bundled up with a hot coffee, preferably in a Starbucks holiday cup. On the morning of the 3rd, after a night of $10 sangria pitchers, I met up with my cousin who I had not seen in almost 10 years and embarked on the 4 hour drive to Michigan. It could have been the sangria or maybe it's just my normal self, but I'm pretty sure I talked the whole time. Sorry David.

Arriving in Michigan and relying on the intense spying skills of my younger brother, I snuck into the hotel and planned my method of surprise. At this point, I was too excited and anxious and resorted to knocking on the door- obviously covering up the peep hole to make it even more mysterious. Thus entering the room to Sherri's yelling and my dad's utter shock was the ultimate ramification of the surprise. Next, it was off to surprise the grandparents- I have to add that I was a little skeptical to do so, considering that they are both on the older side and I really didn't want to scare them too much. I believe my grandmother had the greatest reaction when seeing me asking "how did you get here and what happened to the moshav?" "A plane grandma....a plane...and no, I am not on a moshav in the Negev. I have been in Chicago." All in all the surprise was a great success. I could not have missed this weekend for anything, and the bonus trip to Urban Outfitters was definitely a plus. Dad- I promise, I am on the lookout for the perfect gift for you, so don't worry! So happy I was able to spend Hannukah with my family.

photo of the march

Thankfully, I didn't suffer too heavily from jet lag and was back hitting the Tel Aviv night life on Tuesday. I pretty much had the whole row to myself, so sleeping for the majority of the 10 hour flight was pretty easy. Because of Hannukah, most of my volunteering sites were cancelled so I had the whole week to clean, do laundry etc. This past Friday, I participated in a Human Rights March, walking from Levinsky park to Kikar Rabin (news article on march). As a side note, Levinsky park is located right next to the central bus station and has become the localized spot for African asylum seekers. In current news, the Israeli government has decided to cease stamping work permits, forcing asylum seekers into an even deeper stagnation. So in eye of the relative situation, this human rights march came at a perfect time. Joining the thousands of asylum seekers already marching, we quickly caught on to the chants of "I am a refugee, I need protection." Thousands of asylum seekers represented themselves in the march, as well as people demonstrating gay and civil rights. At one point, I looked up to see a man standing at his window holding a sign in hebrew that said "this is a Jewish state" opposing the purpose of the march. After having the audacity to print and hang the sign, the man tried to avoid confrontation and stepped back inside and failed numerous attempts at closing his window. Despite the gravity of the oppression that asylum seekers face, it was comical to see this man struggle to close his window.  Unfortunately the rally at the end of the march was cut short due to some much needed rain in this beautiful country.        


Speaking of rain, it has been nonstop since Friday. I suppose it is a positive occurrence, but living on the roof with extreme gusts of wind can be a little frightening, but it is an excuse to rock sweatpants and a sweatshirt all day. I will admit that last night Anna and I both woke up around the same time and told each other we loved each other just in case  anything happened. We did find one of the mattress form our terrace on the sidewalk this morning, so really anything is possible. This coming weekend we another group trip to the Galillee, so expect a blog post sooner than later.

Check out this short video from the march.

B'tayavon

I know this may be shocking to everyone that there are two blog posts within the same week, but I understand that they are in high demand (I thank my grandparents for being my number one fans).
This past Tuesday, instead of the usual hour and a half of ulpan, the day was filled with discussions on the nature of our volunteering sites and the clash between Israeli and American culture. I think it was unanimously decided that the Israeli education system needs to borrow some punishment tactics used in American schools. Apparently the lack of any real disciplinary system has led students to believe that school is a free for all and it's okay to act ballagan (crazy).

After what felt like days of talking, when in reality it was only 5 hours, we boarded a bus to Jerusalem. I know what you are thinking, 5 hours without food? Don't worry, we had a lunch break that I took full advantage of. Since we were in Yaffo, we decided to roam the streets for the cheapest falafel. To my surprise, I decided to put falafel on the back burner and try a סבח (Sabich) sandwich. סבח is an Israeli dish that consists of fried eggplant, hard boiled eggs, and the myriad of Israeli salads stuffed into a pita and topped with french fries. So, for ten shekels, I couldn't resist (10 shekels is less than $3). With this delicious meal you are also given a plastic bowl that you can fill up at the salad bar. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be free refills, but the bowl was way to small to fit everything in one round. It is hard to say no to a bowl full of pickles.

So with a full stomach, I got on the bus, had enough energy to turn on my ipod and then passed out (waking up at the gas station for the sole purpose of getting ice cream- I had been craving it all day, so it was really inevitable). We arrived in Jerusalem at the office of our dear friend Rabbi Ron Kronish at the ICCI (the Center for Interreligious Encounter with Israel). We had first met Ron on our trip to Abu Gosh, where he facilitated our tour of the village and the meetings had with the residents. At the ICCI, Ron heads coexistence programs that bring together both Arabs and Jews to address the conflict and move from dialogue to action. Ron organized a group of current participants and alumni, from a range of ICCI programs, to share their experiences of voluntarily partaking in such programs. The panel consisted of both men and women from a range of ages and professions, who were very receptive to our questions and they had no reservations when speaking about the differences encountered throughout their programs.

After the panel, we engaged in informal conversation over a delicious dinner of REAL bagels and Israeli salad. (Disclaimer: despite the shock to finally see real bagels, the promise of there being lox was not upheld and we were all a little upset). I was speaking with this girl who currently goes to an extremely religious all girls high school in Jerusalem, who considers herself to be the most liberal in the school. Unlike her fellow classmates, she is out of six who is enrolling in the army and taking a gap year to volunteer with at risk youth. We also had a lot to talk about because her parents are from the States and she often goes back to visit family in Brookline. No matter where I go, Massachusetts will never escape me.

Speaking of the States, I need to explain the combination Thanksgiving/Shabbat that we had this past Friday (Friday was easier because we all volunteer on Thursday and there was no way we would all be able to cook). We held Thanksgiving dinner on the terrace of my apartment and everyone brought dishes that their families make at home. Of course, I made sweet potatoes with marshmallows. It was amazing to have everyone over and the spread of food was unbelievable. Surprisingly enough, there can be a Thanksgiving with no turkey . The nice part of having the dinner at our house was that it really promoted us to clean the apartment so people didn't have to see the pigsty that our apartment can become. Anna and I took charge cleaning the terrace in what I have to say to be the most unconventional way. Apparently mops are few and far between in Israel, so using a squeegie, a cloth and a lot of water we managed to do a pretty great job cleaning. I believe Anna refers to this as the Russian way of cleaning.  (Nothing beats cleaning, drinking a beer, and being out in the sun). We were worried that there wasn't going to be enough food, but rest assured, everyone was in a food coma by the end of the night.

I realize that most of what I talk about involves food, but I have one more story. My friend Marissa, who also teaches at the ARDC with me, arranged a night with her students and some of us in the program to meet up and speak English. One of her students, Ezzo, just opened up a restaurant in Tel Aviv, close to where we all live, so we all met there to enjoy delicious Sudanese food. Ezzo was so nice to all of us and insisted on serving us a myriad of drinks and food. There were a lot meat dishes that I was too afraid to try, but I ate some delicious rice and beans that when combined with a pita was pretty unbeatable. I have to say that the best part of the meal was dessert. Ezzo brought out a tray consisting of a bowl of barley, halva, chopped bananas, and rose petal syrup. The trick was to get the perfect ratio of the mentioned ingredients to make the most delicious dessert ever. Halva is a sweet dessert made from sesame seeds and sugar and is extremely tasty. For the second night in a week, we had all reached food coma status once again. We all knew that the trickiest part of the evening would be paying Ezzo for the food and his amazing hospitality. Despite our insisting and pleading, Ezzo refused to take the money. I even went as far as to run back to the restaurant to put the money on the counter to find myself being locked in by Ezzo outside, refusing to let me out unless I took the money. Finally we retreated with the money back in our pockets, understanding that Ezzo was beginning to take offense that we wanted to pay him. To make up for this, we all plan on going back to eat at the restaurant and leaving a lot more than the bill. Ezzo has been in Israel for the past two years and the past year has worked two jobs in order to save enough money to open his restaurant. Having just opened up the restaurant a week ago, I think he was very excited to be able to entertain all of us.

Some of the students in my class. 

Tonight is my last English class of the semester, and unfortunately the Dec/Jan semester is being cancelled because ARDC is moving locations and will not have enough space for the entire semester. Trying to convey this message to my students was not easy and once they understood they did not take it well. They informed me that they didn't want any other teacher but me and they are willing to take time to do one on one tutoring. Here is a picture of some of my students, but for some reason they aren't smiling. The little girl in the front, Laura, just turned two and is so adorable. I can proudly say that she can sing "Hello Goodbye" by the Beatles. Her mother, Khardizya, thinks it is really funny when Laura holds my hand and wants to stay with me. She keeps joking that she is going to give Laura to me so I can be her mom. I think I have made it clear that there will be no babies for me. Last week, my students shared their stories on how they reached Israel from Sudan and it took a lot for me to hold back the tears. I can't believe that some of the them are so close to my age and all that they have gone through. I plan on staying in contact with all of them after class ends.

In other news, I'm sure everyone has heard that my bike was stolen. I can't cry over it because it was probably my fault considering that I found the lock completely in tact. But good news is that I am getting a free bike from a friend. I ran into this girl whose sister I went to preschool with at B.I.- again, another MA connection, but I can't complain because I am getting a free bike out of it. I realize it is almost the end of November, but I spent the day at the beach yesterday. I'm still waiting to hear that my family has booked tickets to come and visit....

סופ''ש (weekend)

no fear. 

Anna and I being
our ridiculous selves 

Sorry for the delay in posts, blogging isn't exactly the easiest thing to do...mainly because I usually find myself catching up on tv shows from the states (has anyone been watching Dexter!?). This past weekend the group and I headed off to the Judean desert, to what I think has been our best trip yet (I may be a little biased since I did take some of the lead on planning this one). Packed into five cars, the best being the silver Hyundai that had this MA driver behind the wheel, we drove about 35 minutes out of the city to conquer our first adventure of the trip- rappelling. Armed with a harness, helmet, and pretty bad ass yellow bandana, I was ready to fearlessly walk backwards down the cliff. I can thank sky diving for making a dent in my fear of heights, allowing me to easily trust the harness and nice Israeli man facilitating my way down the cliff.  Don't worry, I had complete control of my speed going down, and I even had the courage to look over my shoulder to take this picture. It was a really great experience and the half naked Israeli's climbing next to us only added to the excitement. 


After rappelling, we got back on the road, passing through Jerusalem heading south west into the heart of the Judean desert and out to the Dead Sea (ים המלח= Sea of Salt). Typical of Israelis, our madrichim had told us it would take about 45 min- an hour to reach the Dead Sea spa...well, close to 2 hours later I finally was able to switch on my left blinker and part with the endless road lining the Dead Sea. We didn't realize how much time had gone by thanks to the amazing English radio station that we were picking up from Amman, Jordan. Speaking of Jordan, as we drove next to the Dead Sea, the mountains of Jordan were so clear and beautiful on the other side of the water. So, as we arrived at the Spa that we were going to have to pay for to get treated to all of the amenities of the Dead Sea, the staff wouldn't let us in due to the fact that we were late and they were closing relatively soon. Don't worry, that did not stop us. We were all jumping in the Dead Sea regardless of the added spa treatment. We drove the 5 minutes up the road to Ein Gedi (a free beach, with non-free bathrooms), located on the southern part of the sea, quickly changed into our bathing suits and headed into the sea. Most of the other people in my group have been to Israel before and had the pleasure of going into the Dead Sea, but for myself, it was an unreal experience. I guess everyone forget to mention that your body floats in the Dead Sea due to the extremely high salt content of the water. Surprise! Unfortunately, I couldn't exactly get used to this floating factor and the fairly easy movement needed to switch from from front to back, so I accidentally tasted the water. Worst decision ever. Let me just say, holy salt! It took about 5 minutes and some pretty interesting faces to recover. But, the floating factor did have its upside. Before I knew it, we all had our hands on each other's shoulders and had made a floating congo line, becoming the hot spectacle in the Dead Sea- even getting a compliment over the loudspeaker from the lifeguard (at first we thought he was yelling at us because of the harsh nature of the Hebrew language, but we rest assured when we figured out he was saying "good work"). The true test in this spectacle was when we all decided to  flip from our stomachs to our backs- I'm telling you, it is not as easy as it sounds. I will just say, we made some great entertainment for those standing on the beach.

dancing with flags. 

Dried off and caked in salt, we once again piled into the cars and headed to the place we were staying for the night, which thankfully was only 30 minutes away. As we pulled up to the rather large Bedouin tent, we couldn't help but notice that there was a group staying there as well (I will get back to this later, but basically the tent had a mesh barrier in the middle so two groups could stay there). After unloading the cars, my fellow leaders and I took charge to get dinner ready. With the help of one of our madrichim, we created a delicious dish of poike- which is basically a ballagan (chaos) of vegetables, chicken, and spices thrown into cast iron pots which are then placed into the fire to cook. In the meantime, we made dough to make fresh pitas on the fire, which we then all lathered with labneh and zatar to make a delicious appetizer. With our stomachs somewhat held over, we had a non-traditional Shabbat service thanks to Leah's guitar accompaniment. Now this is where our neighbors come into play. So we had found out at some point that our Israeli and South African neighbors were Jews for Jesus. As we sang our Shabbat songs, I couldn't help notice the Jews for Jesus coming over to our side to watch us and then a man, who I'm guessing is their leader, brought over some hand made flags for us to wave around. He was even so kind as to demonstrate the proper way to dance with the flags and explained to us the reason for the specific fabric- aka so the flag would always be moving. Now, I'm not entirely sure if these flags had a specific Jews for Jesus meaning, but they definitely added an amazing element to our service. 
Finally, the poike was done and we all filled up our silver camping bowls with delicious rice smothered in the fire cooked poike. Delish. Now onto dessert. We were all so full, but our dessert depended on the fire, so we had to make moves and ignore are bulging stomachs to indulge in delicious banana boats. For those of you unaware of what a banana boat is- it consists of a banana, graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate all wrapped into a piece of tin foil and placed in the fire to cook. No denying how appetizing that sounds. After I packed the banana boat into my already full stomach, it didn't take long for me to roll out my sleeping bag and try to catch some shut eye, but unfortunately for me a few people in my group snore a little too loudly for my liking, not to mention our neighbors who should definitely buy some nasal strips asap. 


As a leader of the trip, I got to do the 545 am wake up call to those in charge of breakfast and lunch and the 6 am wake up call to all of the late sleepers. Carrying the bags of vegetables to wash in the kitchen, I found my feet stopping as I was memorized by the amazing sunrise in front of me. I have pictures, but I feel like they do little to capture the majestic nature. What can I say, I am a sucker for sunrises. Maybe it was the sun reflecting on the Dead Sea, but I have never seen such bright orange and reds and 6 in the morning...mainly because I am never awake then, but still. We all sat around eating our cornflakes staring out at the beautiful sky while mentally preparing ourselves for the long hike that awaited. By 730, we were all packed and ready heading our to meet our fabulous hiking guide, Rayut (not sure of the spelling in English but I think that makes sense). She led us on our previous trip on Mt. Carmel and she is extremely knowledgeable about the land. Each armed with 2+ liters of water, we set off under the sun and into the expansive Judean desert. In order to make this hike a little more exciting, we decided to introduce a game of assassin into the mix. So basically, there was a carabiner floating around, and if in your possession, you had to try to get rid of it as stealth as possible. Throughout the hike, we would stop and ask who had the carabiner, and if you had it you had to face the circle and complete an embarrassing task.  Starting off with the carabiner, I couldn't help but try to get Anna stuck with it, so being the fast thinking I am, I told her that her bandana needed to be retied and I sneakily attached the carabiner to the back of her bandana, winning 10 (imaginary) points for creativity. Thus I started the game of assassin and our hike officially began. Watching someone doing the funky chicken at 9 am is pretty entertaining. 


We hiked for almost 6 hours through the desert, making sure to stop to hydrate and snack on the delicious trail mix that we made. Rayut led a discussion on the future of the Dead Sea and the current proposals on the table in response to its threatened state. We ended the hike at an amazing spring that no joke, appeared out of the woodwork as we descended down the mountain. After staring at desert all day, it was a little shocking to sea green foliage and a spring- I really thought Rayut had been lying to us all day just to motivate us to finish the hike. It really was an amazing hike, but having woken up at the crack ass of dawn from getting very little sleep, I was ready to man my position in the front seat and pass out- I strategically drove the first day, so I would be able to sleep on the way. Call it sneaky, but I just call it smart planning. 


I tried to add more pictures to the blog, but it was taking too long and I only had little patience. But all of my pictures are on picasa, so now that I finally updated my blog, the pictures should make more sense. I have more to say, but since this blog is getting a little lengthy I will spare you for the time being. 


Oh, but first, some exciting news. I have signed up for my first half marathon. On March 25, I will be running through the streets of Jerusalem in the first Jerusalem marathon. Might I just add that Jerusalem is a lot like Worcester in the fact that it has so many dam hills. Training begins now. 

אני אוהבת את המוס'קה של עידן רייכל

I have found my first Israeli music obsession- Idan Raichel. I am in debt to my roommate for constantly playing his music and obsessing over his piano playing stance. Thanks to her, I was well prepared to see him in concert. 

Candid on the steps by the church.

On Monday, we took a break from our usual Ulpan and study day and headed off to the Arab village of Abu Gosh, 10 km from Jerusalem. Might I just add that this fantastic village was in the Guinness Book of world records for the largest dish of hummus (jackpot)! So naturally as soon as we were off the bus we were off to taste this delicious treat. As we passed each restaurant each respectivet owner ran out into the street in hopes that we would try his hummus, a group of my friends and I decided on the restaurant that advertised itself as #1. I mean, how could we go wrong with that? There is no shame in advertising that you are above everyone else- it certainly caught my attention. The hummus was delicious as ever, considering that we only had ten minutes to order and eat- not exactly a problem when there is hummus and fresh pita in front of me, not to mention the complimentary pickles. 


After our hummus break, we were met by Rabbi Ron Kronish, president of the Interreligious Coordinating Council of Israel (side note: he showed all the signs of a typical Florida Jew). He hosted a discussion between us and a local Arab from the village, Isa. Isa opened up the floor to the current Arab/Israeli conflict and with the possibility of an Arab state, the reactions that he foresees among the Arab populations. We then set off to visit a church tucked away in the folds of Abu Gosh that has been acquired by the French Government in 1899 and now provides residence to 12 Benedictine monks and nuns. Brother Jean-Michel met us as we stepped through the stone doorway that divides the church grounds from the rest of the village. As he guided us through the grounds to a place where we could talk, his white robes flowed against the green and flowered landscape. He spoke to us about his feelings having lived as a brother in this particular church for close to 16 years. He also touched upon the reactions and impact of Pope John Paul 11's visit to Israel in 2000. He led us down to the entrance of a crypt below the church and then up the stairs into the main sanctuary of the building. Although faded, the artwork popped from the walls and created a beautiful and antique atmosphere within the walls of the church. 

looking down into the crypt

We left the church and headed to the fairly new community center of Abu Gosh. There, we met with a group of Arab women who spoke with us about the ongoing adaptations to traditional Arab culture in respects to their place within the structure. These women spoke about the influence the community has played in their lives. Only a few years ago they were unable to leave the house and now their husbands' know that on Mondays they are busy at the community center. The women are eager to learn about healthy living, especially in raising their children, and are hoping to learn English in the near future. I couldn't help but be in awe of these women. Their radiating faces and passionate speech highlighted the positivity brought on by their new place within the community and their ability for growth.


We said our goodbyes to the women and once again loaded onto the bus to head into Jerusalem for the MASA opening event. (MASA is the foundation from who I received my scholarship and also sponsors a number of programs in Israel). After some free time to wander the streets of Jerusalem and enjoy some dinner, we all met to go to the Jerusalem International Convention Center. The event began with speeches by members of the Jewish Agency (in my opinion a few of the speeches bordered a little too closely with brainwashing) and short segments on four current MASA participants. Each participant's short film was followed by a dance performance including fire dancers and rope climbers. It was a pretty flashy experience. All this entertainment was simply setting the stage for the man himself, Idan Raichel. Along with Idan Raichel himself, the band includes members from all over the world that fuse together to create incredible melodies. My favorite has to be the Uruguayan drummer whose hair is nothing short of out of control and his drumming skills do not fall short. You can listen to one of my favorite songs here: Chalomot Shel Acherim (Other People's Dreams). I will be shocked to hear that you were not dancing while listening to this. 
I can even picture my dad's dance to the beginning beat. Let me know what you think. 


The concert was amazing and proved a great success to the MASA opening event, considering the fact that I thought I was going to have to drink the Kool-aid 5 minutes into the speeches. We arrived back in Tel Aviv close to midnight and crawled into bed in order to function enough to get back on the bus at 9:15 the following morning to head to the Druze village of Isfiya on top of Mount Carmel. Our tour guide provided us with very open commentary to the Druze lifestyle. Here's a little background on the Druze culture: At the age of 15, a person chooses to be religious or secular. If one chooses to be secular, he/she can never open the Kitab Al Hikma (the holy book) and are not even allowed to enter the place of worship. As a secular, one can attend discotheques and do not have to keep their heads covered. The Druze believe in 5 prophets, each represented by their own color. The Druze believe in reincarnation and this applies whether or not one is religious or secular and, unlike the Hindu belief in reincarnation, the concept of karma does not exist to the Druze. Once the physical body is no longer, the soul immediately reincarnates into another human body. If a Dru marries a non-Dru that person is excommunicated from the village, and there is no possibility of conversion into the Druze religion. There are only about 2 million Druze people located around the world,  including Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. 

Our delicious lunch at the Druze village. 

That is just the basics behind the culture and I find the rest to be extremely fascinating. We walked through the Druze village, about 600 km above sea level, and experienced the physical differences between the religious and the secular first hand. I can't forget to mention that we were treated to tea and delicious date-filled cookies The Druze belief really hit me as visited the village cemetery. We walked up a hill to find ourselves looking out onto, as strange as it seems, a beautiful cemetery. The stone covered graves had intricate plaques covered in Hebrew and Arabic. The guide informed us that these were the graves of the soldiers. (I forgot to mention that the secular Druze fight in the Israeli Defense Force). The gravestones depicted the young ages to which these people were taken from the world and a metal structure housed a candle in front of each one. This cemetery remains strictly for soldiers. The tour guide then led us behind a wall and into the "normal" cemetery. I cannot even describe the shock of what stood before us. It was basically a parking lot, cement and all, that stretched the distance covering the bodies of past Druze. To the Druze, burial is not a ritual, there is no mourning the dead. Once they are gone, it is believed that their souls are immediately reborn, therefore the dead body has no purpose. He even explained that after a few years, they have no qualms digging up a dead body and burying another one of top of it. Sitting there looking out on this nonconventional graveyard, I finally felt the unique spirit that resides in Israel. There are so many different culture and beliefs in a relatively small land. It is unbelievable to me. After the cemetery we headed back to the the guide's house to enjoy a typical Druze meal. I know this sounds strange after visiting a grave, but we had been looking forward to this lunch the whole day. We sat down in the living room and after separating into groups of five, a large silver platter was set down in front of us that balanced the plates of hummus, rice, and various vegetable and meat dishes. I don't think it will surprise anyone to hear that I took full advantage of this free and delicious lunch. The meal ended with another round of the flavorful tea and even better date cookies, powder sugar on top and all! 


We once again loaded back on to the bus and fell deep into food comas, making the ride back to Tel Aviv more enjoyable. In other news, the animals at the nature school I volunteer at have some sort of fever because the are babies popping up every where. Right now there are 4 baby rabbits (Arnaveem) and 9 chicks. I am going to start volunteering at a fourth organization, SACH- Save a Child's Heart. SACH is an organization that supports families as their child travels to Israel for heart surgery. Families travel from countries in Africa, Asia, and the West Bank to benefit from this amazing group. This was an organization that I really wanted to volunteer with, but I was unsure how my schedule would work out. I will start volunteering there on Wednesdays from 4-6. I will begin visiting the SACH house and eventually make may way to visiting the hospital. 


I am continuing to explore the different areas of Tel Aviv and have been taking note of any delicious restaurants just in case someone decides to come visit- is that incentive for anyone?

Hiking, kabobs, and sandal tans...

And I survived my first group trip. As the five rental cars hit the road with Anna and I screaming loudly in they way back of the minivan-true little kid style-the 26 of us headed north to Cesarea. (I think there is a reason why the two of us were confined to the bank of the van). *I'll just note that we left an hour and a half later than scheduled time, traveling in true Israeli fashion. This is one aspect of Israeli culture that I am having a hard time adjusting to. I guess I can thank my parents for instilling promptness into my every move. First stop on the trip, Binyamina winery. Of course 11 am is an appropriate time to bring a group of twenty somethings to a winery. After the tour and the wine tasting (I have to say being the wine connoisseur that I am, the wine was just okay), we set off to the Arabic village of Faradis. The trip there was a little hazy considering I passed out in the back on the van (a little wine and the hot sun= immediately passing out). 

Anna and I in the back seat of the van

We arrived at Faradis to speak with an Arabic woman who has spent the majority of her life sticking it to the man (literally, since the Arabic society is male oriented). Although her name escapes me at the moment, this woman has and continues to make an impression in her community as well as worldwide. She spent time learning about meditation and peace circles and now conducts these ceremonies with the women in her community. In Arabic societies, their "politicians" are decided based on clans or families. The men are nominated within their clans and the deciding factor directly relates to how many members are in the clan. With that basic description of the system, it should be clear that is impossible for a woman to be involved. Well, this particular woman did not feel threatened by this traditional process and she did the unthinkable; she ran for office. Despite her persistence throughout the village, she knew that the she would still hear one of the village men rejoicing in his victory, but this daring move made a serious impression on the sexist barriers present in this particular Arab society. 


After the Faradis village, we headed to our campsite located in the Carmel mountain north of Zichron Yaakov. The ecological campsite branched out from the most beautiful tree that created an oasis of shade from the hot sun beaming down on Mount Carmel. The trees branches, just barely skimming the surface, created a shelter to the woven mats, wooden tables, and tapestry-covered mattress that decorated the open floor. The owner of the campsite has dedicated his post-army life to living on the other side of the line- to live his life as ecologically friendly as possible. As he stood in front of us, he prefaced his talk by apologizing for his basic English, but as he started with "My mission is to create sustainability..." we all couldn't help but burst out in laughter. I wish my basic Hebrew included words like mission and sustainability... 

The campsite included a full outdoor kitchen, ecological showers and toilets, and a whole lot of hammocks. As the dinner crew cooked up a hot pot of turkey chili, the rest of us laid around, the smart ones claiming their hammocks for the night ahead. After dinner and eating a delicious chocolate and walnut bubke that my genius of a friend Katie had baked for the trip, we all sat around smoking nargila (hookah), drinking homemade tea from the local herbs, and singing songs to Leah's guitar melodies. This night could not have been more relaxing- special thanks to the massage circle. Thanks to the time limit of the generator, we all found ourselves curled up in our sleeping bags around 10 pm. Let me tell you, getting into a sleeping bag laid on top of a skinny hammock is not the easiest thing to do, but once I accomplished this feat I was ready to lay under the night sky. Laying in my hammock listening to my friends, with the bright moon shining above, the talk came to a stop and we all succumbed to the peacefulness of the outdoors. The hammock cradled me through the night, sheltering me from the falling acorns. Apart from the tense in my lower back, sleeping in a hammock was a clutch choice. I woke up to homemade coffee cake and a nice spread to make sandwiches for the day's hike. 

Ready to hike. 

Armed with sneakers, bandannas, and a whole lot of water (and an amazing hiking backpack), we were ready to conquer the downhill hike of Mount Carmel, leading into an Arabic village, and ultimately ending on the beach looking out at the Mediterranean Sea. After watching a movie about Baron Rothschild and his contribution to the land of Israel we strolled through the gardens that he generously and carefully created (the place that would ultimately be the resting place for he and his wife). What we saw of the gardens, due to a tight schedule, was beautiful and I hope to return and visit all of the different gardens. 
We hiked about 6 km down Mount Carmel, passing ruins of wine presses, eating Carob from the tree to hold us over until lunch, and trying to watch our steps as we stared out at the town below and out to the sea. Thanks to my new hiking shoes, I avoided falling down the mountain. 

Anna and I

After the hike we drove to another beach to relax for a bit then corralled back into the cars to head back to Tel Aviv as the end of Shabbat came near. Covered in dirt, still armed with our bandannas, myself and a few others went to this restaurant about a 5 minute walk from our apartment. For 22 sheckels, Anna and I split a chicken kabob sandwich, with our choice of delicious fillings, and an endless Israeli salad bar. This is now my new favorite restaurant- I can't deny endless pickles, eggplant, salad- and the fact that it opens on Saturday night after Shabbat has really pushed it to the top. 


This pretty much sums up the main events of the first group trip. Last week the majority of the group met for a pot luck Shabbat dinner that was delicious. One of the girls is an excellent baker and her challah is superb. She is going to teach me her tricks, so hopefully I will come back to the states being able to make something that somewhat resembles her challah. I joined a gym (tonight) and could not be happier. I need to work off all this hummus and pita somehow. Volunteering has been taking up a lot of my time and I am really happy with my placements. I spend a lot of time preparing for my English class and I love going to teach. My students are so eager to learn and are the nicest people. Here's one funny story from class for you: On the first day I went over introductions and how to express one's age. I have one student who is no doubt older than the rest and when I went up to him to ask his ask, he responded with 25. I think that he just repeated what the other students had said and didn't necessarily understand the concept of age, but my friend Marissa who had been helping me in class, burst out laughing as we explained to him that he couldn't be 25. His grey hair really gave this away. Since then, Mustafa, has worked so hard to keep up with the class and he always has the biggest smile on his face. The majority of my class is from Sudan but I have one student from Ethiopia. Two of the woman who are sisters, bring their children to class and despite the random screaming breakouts, the children have also become my loyal students. Except instead of writing exercises in the book, they prefer to draw all over the wall...in pen. They really keep class interesting. The other night I introduced a Beatles song and went over the lyrics with them. I'm trying to keep class interesting and the more classes I teach the more I realize how confusing English is! 


I would just like to point out that it is almost the end of October and I still have an extreme sandal tan. I love the nice weather, but I am over this tan line. I know this is a petty complaint, but that's what a blog is for, right?

מתנדבת

Sorry for the delay in posts, but it has been hard to find time to sit and write since my days consist of going to the beach, napping, eating, rummaging through the shuk, and the occasional night out (and lazy morning after). Living so close to the beach has been quite the perk. In a strange way, believe it or not, the beach reminds me of Fenway. As you lie there trying to fall asleep to the somewhat melodic noise from beach paddle ball, it's hard to ignore the people walking by trying to sell food. (Ang- we need to perfect our game before trying to compete with the Israelis). I have been tempted to buy the ice cream more than once, but so far I have resisted the 5 sheckel banana chocolate delicacy. But I'm sad to say that my beach days may now be restricted to Friday and Saturday- the Israeli weekend, I still haven't gotten used to starting the "work" week on Sundays. Despite the decrease in beach time, I am excited to start volunteering. I don't think 20 hours a week can compare to the 45 I was putting in last year. 

Picture courtesy of Sara. 

For the next 9 months I will be volunteering at three places. On Sunday mornings, my friend Sara and I will walk the whole 5 minutes from our house to the Multipurpose Day Care Center. We went yesterday to introduce ourselves to the staff and found ourselves 2 hours later sitting at a table with 6 toddlers eating soup and pasta. I must say I am very impressed by their ability to get most of the food into their mouths. Sara and I were a little surprised that we weren't given bibs (I'm sure pretty sure I left with some soup on my shirt. Not sure if it was my fault or one of the kids...). After 3 hours of getting balls thrown at my head, playing telephone, and trying to put together a puzzle, we learned that there are some crucial phrases that we need to learn in Hebrew. It is hard enough to understand kids in English, but now I will be trying to decode their Hebrew jibberish. Good thing they don't know how to read yet, because they asked me to read them a book and I pulled the terrible move of reading select words on the first page and immediately turning to the last page. The girl didn't really seem to mind because she was using the book more as an object to throw around.  I'm sure after volunteering here for the next nine months I will be a pro with kids, just in case anyone in the family is thinking about having a little baby, perhaps a little aaron or raquel? (hint, hint)  

On Sunday and Thursday nights, I will be teaching a beginner (abc level) English class to a group of African Refugees. This class is set up by the ARDC (African Refugee Development Center) and I will be teaching with this adorable 60-year old Israeli man named Avi, but unfortunately he is roaming the streets of Italy right now and has left me to teach the first weeks by myself. He did leave me with the encouraging words that he think I will do a great job. My students are mainly from Sudan, but I have a few from Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Colombia (not sure how the latter fits in yet). After calling all of my students to remind them of the class days and time, I realized I will be jumping into this sans training. My previous mentality of -well English is something I already know (somewhat well), how hard can this be?-got a little shake when I hung up after calling my last student. I do believe the phone added an extra obstacle to the communication level, but it did provide situations in which my broken Hebrew came in handy. My friend Marissa is also teaching an English class at ARDC and we took the opportunity to go to the delicious Aroma to order their addicting ice coffees; a necessary procedure in order to  formulate lesson plans. In less than 8 hours, I will be at the front of the class, speaking only English, to a group of people eager to learn, who may or may not understand anything that I'm saying. I have to say that good thing I have a lot of expression because that may save me, and don't worry dad, I will not mumble. 

On Wednesday and Thursdays I will be at Beit Bateva, which is an establishment that focuses on nature and natural living. Kindergarten classes from all over Tel Aviv take field trips to Beit Bateva to learn about plants, animals, and food, among other things. I know that little L 5 years old Lisa would have loved to take a field trip to Beit Bateva (and a 23 year old Lisa). I hope that I will be allowed to play with the chinchillas, rabbit, and guinea pig, but I think I might stay away from trying to pick up the the chicken. I am actually going to visit Beit Bateva in an hour to figure out the times I will be volunteering and the expectations. I really hope there is a kindergarten class there so I can join in on the fun. You are really never too old to play dress up or make a paper mache volcano. 

On Mondays and Tuesdays I will continue to have Ulpan and also discussions about Jewish identity and Israeli life and one Tuesday a month is set aside for a day tour. Now you guys can know what I am doing....most of the time. 


I finally put pictures up on my wall and I hate to break it to everyone, but Gertrude and Edward have the highest picture ratio. Really no surprise there. I mean who can resist looking at those precious faces? I will post pictures soon to give you guys a visual of what's going on. 

New Wheels

After an unsuccessful night of haggling with the bike man, I caved in and bought a bike. I would classify it as a vintage (it may just be old, but I'll stick with vintage) foldable bike with a sweet bell- hence why I ended up buying it. I need to let people know I am behind them and I have no shame in ringing it. I have to say, the bike has been one of my best purchases thus far. Riding a bike in Tel Aviv is similar to riding a bike in Boston, minus the constant fear of getting hit by the T, but the drivers are just as crazy. Let's just say, I think a helmet should be my next purchase.                

Regardless of the recklessness of the Israeli drivers, one of my favorite nights so far has been on my bike...on Yom Kippur no less! Let me explain the events leading up to this night:

Some of the girls of Tel Aviv in the Old City
(dressed appropriately of course)

On the night of the 16th, the program organized a night tour of the old city in Jerusalem, which despite the fact that I could hear my stomach growling through the whole tour, was amazing. The tour guide never spared a detail in the ancient stories and had a careful path leading into our entrance into the old city and the Kotel. Unfortunately, it being the eve (of the eve) of Yom Kippur, we found ourselves among thousands of others headed to the wall. Just as we got to the spot overlooking the wall, and coincidentally the end of our tour, the time was 12:01 aka my birthday. My friends and pretty much everyone else around us joined together to sing Yom Huledet Sameach (happy birthday). I have to say, it was                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               a pretty amazing start to my birthday.                                                                                          

The Kotel 

Since in Israeli time midnight is just the beginning of the night,  a few of my friends and I hit the streets of Jerusalem to celebrate. We found ourselves at a great outside bar that offered free hookah with any drink purchase, so we obviously couldn't turn that deal down. We spent the most of the night in Jerusalem going to different bars and around 4 am decided it was time to head back to Tel Aviv. We hopped in a Sherut (a bus/taxi that runs 24/7 to make up for when the buses stop running) and for 27 sheckels we found ourselves back in Tel Aviv, walking home as the sun came up. Let's just say the next day we spent sleeping and eating preparing for the holiday. 

The street next to the Boardwalk.
notice- no cars. 

By the time the sun went down on the eve of Yom Kippur the entire city of Tel Aviv had shutdown. Nothing was open. No buses were running. No cars on the road. The streets were filled with bikes and people walking every which way, paying no attention to the click of the streetlights from green, yellow, to red. I have never seen anything like this. A few of my friends and I attended a non-traditional roof top service hosted by Bina (the organizer of Tikkun Olam). Normally, sitting on a rooftop in the center of the city to host a service would never have worked, but the silence of the city surrounded us as we joined in in songs, prayers, and poems commemorating the holiday. 

After the service we decided to explore the city. Julie and I headed back to our apartment to get our bikes and join the festivities on the street. As we entered our neighborhood we could not believe it- it felt like we were walking into a block party rather than the holiday of atonement. Everyone in their white shirts, paraded the streets with their families either on bikes or on foot. It was amazing.

Julie and I are on our bikes. 

Breakfast on our terrace.

Julie and I hopped on our sweet bikes and headed out, riding up the boardwalk and into downtown Tel Aviv. We ran into our friends who had taken the opportunity to go night swimming in the Mediterranean. I can say that we explored Tel Aviv on the best night and didn't have to deal with the constant honking that is typical on the streets. We spent most of the day of Yom Kippur sleeping and watching episodes of Sex and the City- not exactly the same as if I was home. Considering the fact that nothing was open on the holidays (a downfall that we had experienced during Rosh Hashanah), we planned ahead and bought food to break the fast. As 6:21, to be precise, rolled around the house started to look like a hot mess as well all hurried to make food to break the fast. Considering our budgets, a feat of challah french toast, fruit salad, and a makeshift birthday cake was not too shabby. 

Happy Birthday to me! 

It has been a great few weeks so far in Tel Aviv, despite the two major holidays and too much resemblance to a ghost town. I have also started Ulpan, which we have from anywhere to 3-5 hours a day, usually three days a week. Ulpan, for those who don't know, is an intensive Hebrew class. Basically you go in knowing not a whole lot and hope to come out able to by speaking Hebrew. I have been putting in some extra effort, so hopefully I can use some of what I learned (even though most people speak English). Well I am off to the market to buy some fresh food for the week. 

Anna and I with our new family in Tel Aviv! 

Apples & Honey

This is where I live in relation to downtown and of course the beach.
(I am the "A") 

I moved in to my apartment in Kiryat Shalom on Tuesday. I am in the bigger apartment out of the two and there are a total of 10 of us living here. There are two floors, two kitchens, three bathrooms, and a pretty amazing terrace. Anna and I share a room on the second floor and despite the size our room has a door leading outside which makes up for everything. I can't complain when I can just walk out my door and look out on a spectacular view of Tel Aviv.  Not to mention there is a little store below are apartment which comes in handy in case we really need something.

Living in the city has definitely been an adjustment from the Kibbtuz, but is so nice to have my stuff unpacked. 

Last night my roommate and I went to a host family's house for Rosh Hashanah dinner (the pairing was set up by the program). I cannot even explain to you the house that we went to. The family lives in North Tel Aviv, very close to main branch of Beit Daniel- which runs Tikkun Olam. On holidays the buses don't run, so there are Sherut which are taxis that basically run the route of the buses. So for 6 shekels you pile into this taxi van and just hope you are going where you need to. Thankfully it worked out for us. 

We went to the house of Eli and Tamar- who were both born in the Israel, but lived in the states for about 20 years so they both spoke english very well. Their three children were there with their husbands/wives and grandchildren. I can't even begin to describe the food because I don't want to drool on my computer, but let's just say I did not hold back and they even gave us food to take home. They invited us over again and I hope they know I will take them up on the offer. 

We came home with purses full of papers with emails, phone numbers, and secrets to living in the tel aviv. Their two daughters are in their twenties so we will definitely be meeting up with them in the future. It's nice to have some connections in the city.

I celebrated the holiday sitting on the beautiful beach, so I really cannot complain. It takes about 45 min- an hour to walk to the beach, but I will hopefully be getting a bike soon so I can cruise all over the city.

Kasui Sand Dunes

Tonight is our last night on Kibbtuz Ketura and let's just say we are leaving in style.

As we once again braved the extreme winding road that borders the kibbutz, we found ourselves going in the opposite direction. We ended up around 300 feet above the kibbutz and the Arava Valley where we exited the bus to a 20 min up hill walk (not too bad thanks to these new shoes I have). Besides the view being amazing, I had yet to see any sand dunes...but a mere 5 minute walk changed my whole perspective. 

I wish I could describe the vast landscape that lay in front of me. With not a footprint in sight on the rippling dunes, my group and I proceeded to rip of our shoes and socks and jump full force into the softest sand I have ever felt. This was not like Revere beach sand.

After we reverted back to being little kids for a half hour, we composed ourselves and each went to sit in our own spot on the dunes. In our hands we had a piece of paper stapled together and a black paper. When our Kibbutz leader David (who is the most interesting and captivating New Yorker I have ever met) sang out a traditional desert song we all opened our papers and read the most beautiful quote...that I can't seem to remember right now. Basically we all had an amazing reflection experience while we sat silently on the sand dunes. I couldn't hear anything but the wind. 

In order to get to dinner we obviously had to all run down the dunes. We then walked and found ourselves at a campfire in the dessert where yes, we made our own pita! I have never tasted anything so delicious. We flattened out the dough and put that on basically turned over woks over the fire. In less than 5 minutes I was eating hot pita covered in hummus, labneh, falafel and of course, pickles! The food here in unbelievable. 

We then split up into our separate groups and sat in the pitch black only able to see the glint of each other's by the flickers of the lanterns. We took this time to share our reflections from the dunes. Not to rub it in, but we looked up and saw as clear as day the big dipper and the casiopea constellations. I missed seeing stars!

I have pictures soon to come, but unfortunately they are not going to do this night justice. 

Kibbutz Ketura

Right now I am sitting outside at Kibbutz Ketura in the middle of the Arava desert. We are here for a 5 day orientation to the program and it is beautiful...and extremely hot. After the stressful bus ride through the one winding road that connects Be'er Sheva to Eilat we arrived at the Kibbutz. So far the experience has been incredible. Everyone on the Kibbutz has been so friendly and I'm sure they are wondering why we are here eating all of their food....it seems as though we have bottomless pits for stomachs because I always find myself holding a pita with hummus. 

So far we have just been doing ice breaker activities and sessions to learn about the program. Everyone on the program is so nice and I have already found my group of friends (which of course includes my friend from preschool that is here). Today we climbed this rock (I'm not really sure how to explain it- but it over looks the kibbutz and the valley) and let's just say thank goodness for my hiking shoes- loose rocks are not your friend. But despite the climb, from the top of the "rock" I could see the whole valley and to my surprise, I learned that we were less than a mile from the Jordan border. In fact, there are a bunch of date trees that are technically in Jordan, but Israel leases the land so they can claim ownership of the trees (everything was messed up when the official borders were drawn). 

It's funny to think that I am in Israel because so far we have only been speaking English, but as soon as we get back to Tel Aviv we will be jumping headfirst into Ulpan.

I'll send picture soon...but I'm not sure if anyone wants to see how dirty I am. Living on a kibbutz really has no pressure to shower or wear real clothes and I'm not going to lie, I could get used to this (I can see why my dad liked it so much). There are also so many cats running around the Kibbutz, thanks to the brilliance of the British Mandate, and they are disgusting!! If there is any sign of food they are there and they are not pretty. I keep thinking that my dad would be the first to run out of his hut and shoot them. 

The Israeli air has really done a number on my hair and I have succumb to the fact that it cannot be tamed. 

Ok. I think this blog is long enough. I will keep everyone updated and I miss you guys so much (but I also love Israel)!