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.