January 22, 2009
Hey all!!
SO a lot has happend int he past couple of days since my last entry. I have a feeling that the last one was just to let you all know that I am alive, which is always good, but not exactly what you want. Wagner sent me some questions to answer first, and then I will get into the good stuff...not that Wagner's questions are not informational and fun, I just have a lot on my mind and I dont think that those questions will cover what is up.
So here you go Wagner!!!...
1) After a week in Israel my first impressions are the same as they were when I got here. AMAZING..I wish that I could use a better word, but I can't, everything is just so incredible that it can't be described any other way. I say to my friends on facebook that I feel free, and that everything that I left in the states can't touch me here. Everyday is a new experience, and it never gets old. I walk outside with my roommate and all we can say is that we are just two college girls walking around in Jerusalem, going to school in Israel. The people here are welcoming and wonderful, and I have already had offers from communities in the area that want to have me over for shabbat dinner, which is extrordanary. It truely makes me feel excepted and at home.
2) The things that I love about my new home is everything visually. I look out my schools windows and I can see ALL of Jerusalem, like I am on top of the world. Plus, the weather is always BEAUTIFUL so you feel like you can see until forever, as if you are looking into an endless desert. I also love that you can walk practicly everywhere. If you go to the Shuk (market) in Jerusalem, you can walk for 10 minutes and be in Ben Yehuda street which is one of the most popular shopping/bar/resturant/etc. area in Jerusalem (SOOO MUCH FUN!!!).
3) The food is GREAT!...I love being a jew in Israel and haveing no problem eating the best Hummus, pita, falfel, shwarma, etc. in the world. When I went to the shuk the other day I went to the bakery with a group and they literaly take out a steaming hot batch of rugula and serve it to you right there. You bite into it and feel so warm and happy, it's doughy and choclaty and amazing all in one. The food at school is good too. We have several cafe/cafateria's on campus and right next to my dorm room. Cafe Aroma has great coffee, which I pretty much get EVERY morning. The cafateria's on campus are seperated between milk/meat/and parve. So if you keep kosher you are in great luck, these places also have a lot of differnt things so you are never stuck with the same choice every day.
4) Honestly, I dont think I dislike anything. If I dont like something in the beginning I normaly like it later. I let myself try new things, and I WANT to have new and crazy experiences.
5) I made a great group of girlfriends that are american (Shaina my roommate, Sarah M., Sarah, Ariana, Nicole, Becca). They are great and we hang out everyday. I also have a lot of friends that are Israeli. I go to a jewish overnight camp during the summer so all of the Israeli's that work there during the summer are planning on getting together with me A LOT. They all mostly live in Tel Aviv but some of them have cars, and it is not expensive to take a shuttle bus there (takes about 40nis (10 dollars) to go from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv), and about an hour to actualy get there, sometimes less depending on traffic.
6) At the moment I am takeing Ulpan, which everyone is required to take before starting classes. Ulpan is a hebrew language intensive, I have class every morning for about 3-4 hours. It is a little bit hard but I am working hard and figureing things out as I go. My roommate knows a lot more then I do so she can help me with anything that I might need. It also helps that I have Israeli friends that can help me. Always fun!!
7) Many funny things have happend. Mostly silly things during the course of each day, such as; counting and nameing all of the cats/kittens that we see EVERYWHERE in Israel. Seriously they just run around free, and it isnt like a couple in different areas, it's like 10 cats everywhere you go, they cross your path, get into your garbage and sometimes enter your building and hangout outside your rooms just for fun (mostly because people forget to close the main entrance to our bulding. My friends and I have also had some fun moments exploring our area. We went for a walk last Friday to find the market to get food for the week. One of my friends Becca said that she knew the area and that she could take us right ot the market we were thinking about. We ended up walking in a circle for about a half hour and passing the market on our way. It was so funny, we got to the market and colapsed in front of the market and had to take a moment to regain out strength, both of body and sanity.
OK!!!...now that I have answered some Wagner questions let get to some fun stuff that I did in the past week.
I started Ulpan, which I said earlier, and I have finaly gotten a handle of where everything is on campus. We start registering for semester classes in the next couple of days so I am really looking forward to that. My roommate Shaina and I have really just been chillin, doing homework, and getting to know each other a little bit more then we probably should...hehe...I love her, we get very silly together, especially before going to bed everynight. Then on Thursday my Cousin Debbie who lives about 20 minutes away from my school picked me, Shaina, and Ariana up and took us to her home. We had a birthday dinner with her, her husband Alon, and children; Shai, Gil, and Guy. Their oldest Avigal works in the airport so she could not be there, but I am sure I will see her soon. It was really lovely, we made dinner, did our laundry, and watched some television.
THEN THE FUN STARTS!!!...Friday was my 21st Birthday!!!!...we slept in on Friday went out for a birthday breakfast, went food shopping for the week and went back to our dorm. Around four o'clock we started getting ready to go out. Since Jerusalem is mostly dead during Shabbat, it is really hard to get a bus from place to place. we had to get a taxi to take us to what is called a Shirut service (Taxi Bus) that takes you from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, which is compared a lot of the time to New York (how wonderful for me!!!). We got to Tel Aviv and took another taxi to my friend Aviv's apartment to put my our stuff away before going out for the night. We went to two bars, and a club, and ended our night around 3am. OY it was a night to remember, I had sooo much fun, and I can't even imagine how I would have spent my birthday in the states.
My friends and I came back from Tel Aviv the next morning the same way that we got there. We got back to our dorms around noon and fell asleep until around 4pm. At that point my roommate and I just hungout did our homework, had a quick dinner, watched a movie, and went to bed.
I am haveing the the best time, and I know that there will be so many more amazing times to come. Have fun checking out theses great pictures (there are many more but there is only so much I can put onto one page). I love and miss you all sooo very much and I hope everyone is healthy and happy. I know that I am!!!
B'Shalom and Blessings,
xoxoxo
Em
January 19, 2009
Hey all!!
So I got to Israel about 6 days ago and I havent really gotten a chance to breathe. Which is why I am writing my first blog entry on my roommates computer, because I have NO internet...I am going a bit crazy, but hopefuly I will have my computer up and running soon!!
Anyways...Israel is amazing, I arrived last Wednesday at 6am in Israel, which was about 11pm U.S. time. I was sooo very tired but I knew that there was so much to do. I met my roommate on the flight and I was so excited to see a friendly face. Her name is Shaina and she is from Boston, and goes to UMass. She is very sweet and every since we met I dont think we have separated. Our new friends here have been calling us the mommy's, and that we are like an old married couple.
When we finaly got to the Hebrew University campus Shaina and I received our dorm rooms. we had to truck out HUGE bags up six flights of stairs (OY, WE WERE TIRED), and keyed into out room that would be ours for the next 5 months. When we walked through the door we were shocked. I think that Shaina refered to it as a jail cell, and I was syaing it was nicer then that, at least a reform school dorm. We then decided that instead of complaining we would make the room our own and decorate it with everything possible. Plus, we finally realized that WE ARE IN ISRAEL!!!!...O MY GOD!!!!...I think complaining about anything at that point was just silly.
During the net couple of days we went to orientations, saw the campus (which is beautiful, pictures wll be coming shortly), went food shopping with our new friends; Sarah, Ariana, and Becca, and just explored untill our first day of Ulpan.
My first day was on Sunday the 18th. It was a bit scary considering that I havent looked at the aleph-bet since hebrew school, and only god knows how long ago that was, and I havent spoken any hebrew at all since camp last summer, which I dont even know a lot from anyway. Thankfully I was in a class of about 10 people, all with different levels, some who had never seen a word of hebrew in their entire life, a couple that already knew a little bit of script and some words, and me with some others that needed some reminding and a fresh start on the alphabet. It is a little bit hard because our teachers do not speak/teach in english, only in hebrew (ivrit), which is a bit concerning but I am sure I will be able to keep up. I am having a lot of fun and I cannot wait for the weekend, it is my 21st birthday and I am going to be spending it with my family in Reut, and friends from all around to take me out for some Israeli night life...wish me luck!!!
Blessings,
EmFish
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Hey All,
So because I am writing on a Tuesday instead of a Sunday this week, I am going to TRY and get together ALL of the stuff I did last week going into this week. Simplicity isn't really my thing, but those of you who actually enjoy reading my blog (or are procrastinating in other subjects) will have a lot to read.
Sooooo.....
LAST WEEK WAS PURIM!!!!
I had class on Monday night and then rushed back to my dorm to get dressed. For those of you who don't know what Purim is (and without getting into the historic background of the amazing Jewish holiday) it is a mix between St. Patrick's Day and Halloween (oy...I know). I got back to my room, did some quick homework, ate dinner in lightning speed, and dressed up to go to Tel Aviv. I dressed up as Bleeker (M. Cera from the movie Juno), Shaina was a Tiger, and my friend Sarah was "The Dead Sea." We ran to the bus stop that is just outside of our dorms, and took it to the central bus station, where we again ran to the bus that was taking people to Tel Aviv. We were some of the first people to get on the bus, so we got seats right away. Once we got to Tel Aviv we called some of our friends that had left a bit earlier. We were supposed to meet them at the main street where all of the craziness was happening (.). When we got there, it was packed with MILLIONS, and I do mean MILLIONS of people. There was music going on everywhere, people dancing on cars, on buildings, lights flashing, and probably anything else that you could possibly imagine. We found our friends at the "beginning" of the street and linked arms to work our way through. We attempted to get through at least one block without getting separated, but clearly that wasn't going to happen. Some of us kept breaking the chain because other people were trying to get through (not noticing that there were two arms linked in front of them), we would then call out each others names, and try to identify someones clothing as something to follow. We got through one block and had to rush into an open alley in order to not get trampled on by unknown characters. When we got through, I called one of my Israeli friends (Daniel) and had him come and find me so that we could hang out for a bit. It took forever for him and his friends to find us, and by the time they got to where we were, all of my friends were exhausted and wanted to go back to Jerusalem (it was 3am already). I really wanted to hang out with Daniel so everyone else left and Shaina and I stayed. Daniel said that we should walk to a frozen yogurt shop that was only a couple blocks from where we were, so that seemed like a good idea. We ended up walking for an hour trying to find this place, and by the time we got there, it was closed. Then Daniel suggested that we get some sushi, and by this time Shaina and I were SOOOOO tired, so I said my goodbye to Daniel and told him that I would be back very soon to hang out with him again. Shaina and I then took a cab to the Sheeroot (taxi-bus) station and headed back to . By the time we got back into our room and into bed it was already 5am (OY!!!). However, even though it was a long night of craziness, we needed to experience it, and we ended up having a pretty OK time.
On Tuesday, my best friend Andrew (who is studying abroad in Tel Aviv) came to . His family, of whom are my second family basically, were here to visit him for 2 weeks. So they gave me a call when they got into , and I met up with them on . After they had lunch we walked around, and went shopping. Karen (Andrew's Mom), Sara (Andrew's Sister), and I stopped in a lot of places, while the boys (Andrew and his dad Lou)(I think I spelled that wrong) walked around waiting for us (some of the time). After being on Ben Yehuda, we walked to the Shuk to do a little more shopping before dinner. Karen took us to a GREAT Israeli restaurant on Machaneh Yehuda called "Sami's" which was really great, when we got there we ended up meeting with one of Andrew's Camp Ramah friends that goes to Hebrew University with me as well. After dinner we walked all the way to Emek Rafayeem (about a 15 min. walk from Ben Yehuda) to another restaurant called "CafeCafe" to get some coffee. It ended up that my friends Sarah, Ariana, and Leah were there having dinner for the second night of Purim before going back out. I sat with Andrew and his family, and then when they wanted to leave to go back to Tel Aviv I stayed behind to hang out with my friends. It was really nice seeing Andrew and his family for the day. I had been getting really homesick in the past week, so being able to get a "mommy hug" and a "daddy hug" was really helpful.
After my girls were finished dinner, we walked BACK to Ben Yahuda street and found again MILLIONS BEYOND MILLIONS of people celebrating the second night of Purim (forgot to mention that within these two days, aka Tuesday and Wednesday, I didn't have any school)(yay for Jewish holiday breaks). We tried walking through the many crowds but it was even crazier then Tel Aviv. We could get through the crowds of people this time, but it was even noisier, and even younger people. Which basically meant that they were running around, bumping into people, and light firecrackers ALL NIGHT!!. Some even got really close to where we were walking and made an incredibly loud noise right next to us. By this time it was midnight, and we were ready to go back to the dorms. I went to bed right away because I knew that I needed to get some sleep that night into Wednesday before the rest of the week.
Thursday was back to classes (which didn't really make sense because after that we had the weekend, aka no classes on Fridays because of Shabbat), I breezed through them and went right back to my room and hangout with Shaina and Sarah. That night we went out with our friend Becca and her boyfriend who was visiting her in for a bit. We went to again and just sat in a pub to talk. We didn't want to stay out too late so Shaina, Sarah, and I went back to the dorms early(Shaina and Sarah were getting up early Friday morning to go to a weekend retreat "Shabatone" which I didn't get a chance to sign up for so I wasn't going)(I was assured that there would be more int he future). All day Friday was Emily time. I slept in, made a good breakfast, did some homework, took a LONG shower, watch a movie (or two, or three), made Shabbat dinner for myself and then went to bed. The next day I go up and again made some breakfast (shakshuka, aka tomato's and other lovely vegetables and pouched eggs), then walked to the student village to spend the day hanging with my friend Larissa. Larissa and I know each other from camp, and we had not been able to truly have Larissa and Emily time since we got here, so it was nice to hang with her, listen to music, watch a movie, and just talk for a bit. Larissa then decided that we should go to a waffle bar for dinner/dessert, so we got a couple of people together and took a bus to Ben Yehuda to eat some AMAZING waffles (waffle with chocolate ice cream, and a waffle with warm cinnamon cream cheese spread on top). After we were finished I got the best phone call of my life, the EYH trip (Expand Your Horizons) from (my school yay) was here.
I left Larissa and friends, and met up with the group, I was so very surprised when I saw some of the girls that live on the Earth/Green floor with me. It was so exciting to see people from school, and Kathryn Steingraber, who was the person that truly helped me with EVERYTHING that I needed to get here. I showed them around Ben Yehuda and showed them where the night life was. We went to "" so they could see where a lot of the parties go on (clubs, bars, etc.). We sat down in a pub for a bit, and talked about my time here a little bit. They asked a lot of questions as to the classes I am taking, what the school is like, and what I have truly been up to during my already two months here. I then left them to hang out on their own. I had class the next morning so I needed to get to sleep.
On Sunday, Kathryn came to two of my classes (Religious Foundations of Judaism, and In the Community: Israel Case Study, aka my internship course). After my first class, I took Kate to a salad bar that we have on campus that I love, and chit-chat about my time here so far. We then had a little bit of time before the second class, so we walked to my dorm so that she could check out my room. I think she liked it, and said that it seemed cozy. We then went to my second class, and we both took many many notes. That day we were talking about the structure of different organizations. Everything was VERY clear to me because I am studying management in the arts, so I take classes about how different organizations work. Kate was taking notes on what the professor was saying, as well as how the class connects to the things that Wagner is looking for in a study abroad program (I have a feeling that she got more then she needed). After the class, I met with my teacher so that he could know how I am doing in my internship. He liked that I was happy in what I was doing, and to contact him or my advisor with any problems that I might be having (we were told this many times, but it feels good that they are so concerned). Kate and I then went out to dinner. I took her to Fococcia Bar, which is a Tuscan grill like restaurant off of Ben Yehuda. We had a great dinner, and talked about how to endorse the study abroad to program, and the experience that I am having here both as a regular college student, and from a religious point of view. It was a really great opportunity for us to debrief about the program, and really have some down time from the rest of the group, and from school.
The next day I had class bright and early. I couldn't concentrate all that much though because I knew that the Wagner group was coming to to get a personal tour of the campus by me. I got them through security, and we walked to the building (Boyer building), where we took a quick picture of all of us in front of the beautiful view from the top of the school. I then took them inside, where they had a brief introductions to the RIS program, and the things you can do on campus. I then took them through the building, around a couple of court yards, through the forum, and then took them to the Botanical Gardens that are on campus. I thought that would be a nice last stop so they could see how much, not just my school or , but cares about the environment, and the immense amount of natural agriculture that is here. I explained to them the takes pride in their land, and that everything here is properly nurtured, and taken care of so that all can enjoy it. we then left and went to the Community Center in Pisgat Ze'ev for lunch with Karen Kalif (my internship advisor). They learned about the community and what the center does, and what kind of internships you can do there. I then had to head out because I had my last class of the day very soon. I said my goodbyes, and wished everyone a great rest of semester, and that I would see them next fall (Senior Year!!!).
I ended my Monday night with my internship, and had a great time playing some Theater games with the girls and getting them a little bit more prepared to go to . I love being with them, and they seem like they enjoy being with me as well, and I hope that I am making a big enough impact on them that they will go on their trip with a positive frame of mind.
I have a feeling that this was really long, but then again like I said in the beginning, I am not really a simple kind of girl.
I hope everyone is well and happy, and had a great St. Patrick's Day!!!
Blessings
xoxoxo
Em
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hey All,
Not gonna lie, pretty boring week. Especially because my last post was on Tuesday. O well, so this will be short, then you can catch up on my other long posts that you haven't finished (giggle giggle).
The rest of the week I had classes, and for some reason they felt even longer then they normally are. Hebrew in the morning, and classes right after. I really love my classes, but now that mid-terms are coming up, I am getting even more homework, study material, and essays that want to take over my life. I have a 5-6 page paper for my Holocaust due in a week about the bombing of Auschwitz, complete with commentary from MANY European sources. Plus, I can't just write about the bombing of Auschwitz, I have to create my own topic on the subject, and expand on it using new sources other then one's that my professor gives me. Can you say OY?? I then have a midterm for my art course, which will be my professor showing us 40 different art pieces that we have seen, and we have to choose 6-10 pieces (maybe), and identify the artist, and write everything that you know about that piece (aka biblical text stuff, and artistic composition). My other midterm that I have is for my religious foundations course. It will be all multiple choice, and we are going to go over the answers right after everyone is done, so that we can discuss our answers and use the midterm to study for a final in the future. I absolutely love this class, we get into the best tangents with the professor on the most random things, then always end up connecting to the original subject. We are also going on an ALL DAY trip to the North to look at some religious areas that relate to the different movements in Judaism.
Wednesday night I then went with Shaina and Sarah to Margot's apartment to make pasta and salad, and watch Grey's Anatomy. We all had missed so many episodes, and Margot found some way to collect all of them on her computer so we could watch FULL EPISODES instead of bits and pieces from YouTube. It was great, we watched 3-4 episodes, and we were laughing and getting way too excited the entire time. We then left around 9:30 or so because both Shaina and myself had to do homework for Thursday.
The next day I breezed through my classes, and got ready to go to my cousin's for Shabbat. My friend Becca was coming with me, so when I got back to my room she was already there with her backpack ready. We met Debbie outside of the building and we went right to her house. When we got there I through a load of laundry in the wash, and we sat around snacking and watching Israeli television. We then realized it was only going to be four of us for dinner that night (Gil was included in the four) so we made tuna melts and onion soup. We then sat around the dining room table eating our comforting dinner and chit-chatting about children's movies we used to love. We then sat in front of the television for a bit watching something silly until we got tired (yay for comfortable beds!!). The next morning Becca got up a little bit earlier then me and watched some stuff on her computer, and I slept for another hour. We then went up to get some breakfast. Debbie came into the kitchen and was taking requests for breakfast, we all had eggs in a hole, and sat a our the kitchens mini TV and watched mindless soup opera's. The rest of the day Becca and I sat outside and did some studying for school, and just enjoyed the cool but sunny day. We then watched Mona Lisa Smile's and hung out until I started making dinner.
I decided that I wanted to make a big Shabbat dinner for my family, so Debbie went out shopping for some lovely chicken, and I cut them up into strips and made lemon chicken, pasta, and veggies for the family (Debbie, Alon, Avigal, Avigal's boyfriend Yonaton, Guy, and Shai)(Gil was sleeping at the farm that they have horses at so he was not at dinner). It was wonderful, and it seemed like they enjoyed the food (pleasepleaseplease). It was nice to spend more time with my family on a more intimate level instead eating and running around. We ate dinner, and sat and talked (a little bit of Hebrew and a little bit in English). Everyone else then went into the living room to look at pictures and I got to sit at the table with Avigal. We hadn't been able to really talk since I got here, so we talked about school and the things that I am doing here, and many other things. I was so happy to spend some one on one time with her because she works late nights at the airport so whenever she is home she resting before her next shift. I hope that soon we can go out, and hang out with her boyfriend and our friends (we are the same age). That night Becca went to bed early, and I stayed up with Debbie and Shai watching old episodes of CSI:Miami, and drinking hot Shoko (Israeli chocolate milk, it's AMAZING).
Saturday morning Becca and I woke up and made ourselves some eggs. Shai got up around the same time as us so she joined us. I made Shai and Becca eggs over easy, and a tomato, onion and cheese omelet for myself (which Becca ended up having half of because she was still hungry). We then sat in front of the television for a bit watching a soap opera (that I don't even remember the name of), and cleaned our stuff up to get ready to go back to school. Debbie took us back to school, and we thanked her for a great weekend, Debbie then said that she would be in touch with me not only to check in, but also to let me know about their Pesach (Passover) Seder on the first night of Pesach. Debbie and I thought that it would be nice for me to come to spend the first seder with them. I completely agreed, and now I am so excited to spend my Pesach break (spring break) in Cyprus and with my family. That night I relaxed, watched a TV show that Sarah, Shaina, and I normally watch before bed, and made some pasta and veggies for dinner.
Hope that was short enough...hehe...hope everyone has a great week!!!
Miss you all very much!!!
Blessings
xoxoxo
Em
March 28, 2009
Hey All,
So this has been a really long week, and as I sit here on my bed writing my new blog post on a Saturday instead of a Sunday I starts thinking about how long I have been in Israel. It has been about 11 weeks since I was on that airplane coming to to study abroad. I have been here almost 2 months and 3 weeks, and I only have 2 more months left. This seems so crazy to me, I feel like last week I was home sitting on my floor with my friend Kristina picking out clothes for me to bring while I am away. Which is probably why I can't remember what I did last week. I guess I can try to remember though considering that this is the reason that I have a blog in the first place.
Sunday and Monday we very slow. I had a field trip to an art museum on Sunday morning for my Biblical Figures.... course. It was really nice to take a break from sitting in a room and taking notes about a million different slides. The room that we went to was filled with classical and modern art all representing "the binding of Isaac" (the part in the Torah where G-d tells Abraham to kill his only son Isaac to show how much he respects G-d). It was absolutely amazing, I think I was standing in front of each painting for 10 minutes each just taking in the art piece as a whole. I had a feeling that not everyone in the class was as into it as I was, but then again that's what happens when you come from a small town art community and artistic family from . After the museum we went back to school and I had my Judaism course, and that was it. Monday was also a very slow but kind of fun day. My internship was rescheduled for Thursday night so I didn't have to leave my Holocaust class early. Plus, we didn't even have a real class that day. We had a field trip to a movie theater to see the movie "" as a class. It is the story of the Bielski brothers, and how they hid Jews in the forest and created a community while hiding during the Holocaust. We had to read the book for class and then our professor bought the entire class tickets to see it in the movies. It was absolutely amazing!!! The movie was really well made, and held true to A LOT of the book and the actual history of the Bielski brother's and what they went through in order to survive. I would recommend it to anyone that like true historical stories, and if you haven't seen a good holocaust movie since Schindler's List or Life is Beautiful.
Tuesday was really nice because after my classes I got to hang out with Shaina's Mother and Brother who came to visit her here for a week. After they settled into the Bed and Breakfast that they were staying in, we went to the old city and walked around the Arab quarter. From there we walked down to the Kotel (the western wall) for a bit. It was such a site to see. We got there and there was a graduation ceremony for the soldiers that had just finished there training before doing their service. They were all lined up in the center, right in front of the Kotel and their commanders were yelling instructions to them and they had to respond. After going to our separate sides of the Kotel to touch the wall and pray for a bit (there is a men's side and a women's side to the Kotel, they are not allowed to pray together, and the womens side is A LOT smaller then the men's side) we headed back up to the Arab quarter so that we could catch a cab to Ben Yehuda street. As we were leaving the soldiers were still there waiting for the end of the ceremony I guess. It then started to rain a bit, and got a little cold, good thing we were on our way to get some dinner in a nice warm restaurant. We went to Foccacia Bar for a good meal, even thought Shaina's mom and brother were so tried from the trip that they could barely keep their eyes open. Shaina and I were also pretty tired because of the weather and the busy week we had a head of us.
Wednesday morning Shaina's family came to our dorm room for breakfast before we went to classes for the day. e had some cereal and fruit, it was actually really nice because normally Shaina and I are so tried in the morning that we barely talk, and just kind of drag ourselves to class. That morning we were a little bit more peppy, and up, and ready to go. After my classes on Wednesday I came back to the room and started reading/studying a bunch of articles in order to start writing my first paper for my Holocaust class. I think I sat for a good hour in silence just reading and highlighting and taking notes on the material. The paper is due next Wednesday but I really needed to get started early because I had absolutely no idea how to write this paper (and the professor was not all too much help in that department either, everything that he told me to do was completely broad and impossible to understand).
All of Thursday I was reading my articles again and barely paying attention to anything else. At the end of my day I had to go back to school to go to a meeting about possibly singing for a Yom Hashoah remembrance event (Holocaust remembrance). I got there and told the main person Amichai that I had to leave early because I had my internship that night instead of the day that it is supposed to me on. He was fine with it because all he needed from me was to hear me sing so that he could get my voice type. I think he really liked me, and my friends in the other room could hear me and were also really impressed. He said that he would find something for me to do, and he did. My friend Margot told me that night after my internship that he wants me to sing a duet in Yiddish with one of the other girls in the group. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to get started the next week. Anyways....my internship that night went really well, not all the girls were there again, but the ones that were there had a great time, and they are really making a lot of progress, and I am very sure that they are ready to go to London for their dance re-treat with no problems.
That night I met Margot, Leah, Ariana, and Sarah N. at a sushi bar called Japanika. We had a great dinner, and it was nice to hang with my girls before having to work on my paper ALL weekend. After dinner we went to out for a couple of drinks, and some girl talk. We had a great time listening to fun Israeli music and being in the center of some great Israeli culture. We ended up staying a little bit later then we wanted to, so we got into some cabs and went right home to go to bed to get ready to stay in my room for the entire weekend to study and write my paper.
Friday I sat in the room reading, and studying, while Shaina and her family went to the shuk to get food for Shabbat dinner. When they got back we just hung out in the room for a little bit, and then started making dinner. We made chicken fajitas with veggies, chicken, three different cheeses, and laffa bread (large pizza type doughy bread, usually you eat it with shwarma). It was really good, Shaina and I are definitely going to be making it again in the future. I am also thinking about buying some extra veggies and chicken breasts so that I can make chicken soup (which lasts for a long time). After dinner we ate some ruggala and watched a movie on my computer. Shaina's family then went home to get some sleep because they were going to be getting up early the next morning to go to Tel Aviv. The rest of the night Shaina and I were just doing some work on our computers, and then got ready for bed.
The next morning, Shaina got up early to meet her mom and brother to go to Tel Aviv. I slept in for a little bit longer then started typing my paper. It is really hard to decide what information is the most important because to me everything that I have read proves my ultimate point. So by the time I got to four pages I had finished talking about the first article out of four that I was focusing on. I have a feeling that this paper is going to be longer then six pages long. I just hope that my professor notices how hard I worked on it so that can get an OK grade (I have been told that he is a really difficult grader, and that he is sometimes unpredictable when it comes to grading papers).
That's all for this week...I just have one more week to go before I go on Pesach break. Next Sunday I leave for Cyprus for my three day cruise. I am soooo excited, and I don't think I am going to be able to concentrate ALL week. Wish me luck!!!
Much love!!!
Blessings
xoxoxoxo
Em
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Hey All,
So the couple of days before my cruise to were really boring. Class after Class, Midterm after Midterm. I had a feeling that writing about those couple of days for that coming Sunday would be pointless. SO I figured that because my cruise started last Sunday, you all would want to know mass detail about my cruise.
On Sunday (April 5th), I got up early to meet my girlfriends at the to catch a bus to the Tachana Meer'kazeet (Central Bus Station), to then get on a bus for 3 hours to get to by 2pm. We ended up getting there around 1pm instead, so we had three hours to kill before having to check our baggage and get on the boat. So we walked to a small cafe down the road to have some brunch. It was really nice to sit and relax with the girls and get to know them a little bit better. I had known a couple of them from classes, and such, but two I didn't know very well so we all got to sit and chit-chat and talk about how amazingly excited we were for the cruise.
Around 3pm we walked back to the terminal and checked in our bags. We had to separate ourselves by room because that was the way that they were putting us through security. In my room was Nicole, Ayala, and Justin (Nicole's cousin), and in the other room was Hannah, Hannah (pronounced Honnah), Lindsey, and Molly. Justin's friend Jess also came, but because he got there at the last minute he was in a room by himself on a lower level.
When we got on the boat we got our room keys and set off to check out our rooms. We opened the door and we were in shock. I didn't know whether to cry in disappointment or laugh. The room smaller then a single bed room at , with bunk beds. We had NO room whatsoever to move around without being on top on each other. We figured that our ridicules room would be the least of our problems, so we sucked it up, put our things away and explored the boat. We went to the main deck where there was a pool, hot tub, snacks and drinks to start the cruise off. Hannah brought her cards and we all played a couple games before the boat started moving. There was then a huge crash of music, and a man announcing "THE ROYAL IRIS DANCERS!!!!" Yes, this was all real, there were 4 female dancers standing on the outside parts of the pool dancing to the electric slide "remix." I swear it was like a car crash, we wanted to just look away and laugh, but we could not pull our eyes away.
After the "pre-dinner entertainment" we ate dinner together and hung out in the front of the ship, looking out over the dark water and no land ahead. I felt complete relaxation at that very moment. I felt free and happy and realized for the first time that I was on vacation. The rest of the night consisted of running around the ship, discovering new rooms, going all the way to the top of the ship (where we almost got thrown off the boat by the wind), and then ending the night with a midnight meal. Yes I said it, a midnight meal. The cruise included 4 meals a day; breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a midnight snack/meal that I think we all went to EVERY night. It just hit the spot after a long night of fun and complete craziness.
The next morning we had arrived in , YAYAYAYAYY!!!! It was absolutely beautiful, we docked at the sea port, and got all of our stuff together to go to the beach. I think we walked for about 2 miles before reaching the beach. We all then got so sunbeds that were sitting around, and put our stuff out. Hannah, Justin, Jess, and I then ran to the water and dove right in. The water was perfectly cold, definitely not freezing, and the sand bar went out for at least a mile, we then got really tired and walked back to our chairs. Right when we got back there was a man that was asking for our tickets to use the sunbeds. We told the man that we didn't know that we had to pay for them, and that the only money we had on us were Shekels (Israeli money). We also told him that we tried to exchange our money for euros but that the bank would not let us. He then started yelling at us saying that Israeli's are so rude and disrespectful, and leave their trash everywhere, and don't pay for things, among many other crude comments. I then opened my big mouth, which I probably should not have done, and said that we are also Americans and we have a lot of respect for countries that are not out own, and that he can clearly see that we have no trash on us except for our water bottles, which still had water in them. He still just would take it, and we said that we were sorry and then left.
Everyone else wanted to explore Cyprus a little but more, but Ayala and I were just so angry about what had happened that we walked back to the boat and sat on the deck for a little bit before getting ready for dinner. That night some of the girls were not feeling well, so a small group of us got dressed up and walked to a fun bar right next to the beach. We spent a good 3 hours there just hanging out, talking, and enjoying each others company. We got back to the boat around 2am and went to bed.
The next morning we all got up early to have breakfast together, then we all got on a bus that was taking the people on the cruise to another beach/touristy area. It was incredibly sunny out, but also amazingly windy, so we all had our sweaters on, and our hair flying everywhere. Then the funniest thing happened. As we were walking through the little strip of shops a puppy started following us. It was a stray puppy, and attached himself to us right away. He ran on the beach with us, and then slept in the middle of the group and would not move until we left. It was so cute, he was so sweet, and fun. He kept getting into our stuff or chewing our clothes (because the wind was blowing it everywhere), and when we had to get back onto the bus, he just sat staring at the buses leave. We all felt so bad, and we didn't know what was going to happen to him, we all secretly wished that we could hide him in our bags, and sneak him onto the boat.
When we got back to the boat we were all so exhausted that we took a 3 hour nap until dinner. It was crazy, we woke up so groggy, and found that the boat was moving (we were heading back to Haifa) so we all ended up feeling a bit sick from the boat rocking back and forth. The rest of that night consisted of a quiet dinner, a little bit of dancing in the boats disco, and chilling out side for a couple of hours before going to bed.
The next morning we were woken up at 6am by an announcement saying that we had arrived in and that we had to leave the boat in an hour. Basically, we got to two hours early, and they were kicking us off the boat because of that reason. We all rushed to get our stuff together, and eat a very fast breakfast before running to catch a bus to the central bus station, to then get on another bus to take the 3 hour ride back to . The cruise was really nice over all. There were definitely some parts where I was not happy with the organization of everything, but when we were actually having a good time, it was a REALLY good time. I loved hanging out with my friends that I already knew, and then making new friends that I hope to hang out with in the future during my last bit of school that is left.
It is now Pesach and I am spending the first Seder with my Cousins, and I am so very excited!!!
Pesach here I come!!!
Much Love
Blessings
xoxoxo
Em
Hey All,
So all last week I had crazy class stuff, papers to start writing, and an oral presentation to start preparing for. I feel like all my fun stuff happens at the end of the week, it a bit weird, but interesting at the same time. I work really hard during the week, and keep myself awake long enough to realize that I don't have anymore homework, or things to study for. I realize I stay awake really late during the week because I can't make myself fall asleep any other time. I guess that means that I have gotten used to a new time schedule in Israel, I wonder how that is going to work out when I have to go home in 3 weeks!!!.
Thursday, Shaina and I had a field trip to the north with our Biblical Figures and Stories in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Art class. We joined another class that was learning about some of the same themes as our group. We got up at 5am and packed our breakfast and lunches for the day (and 2 LARGE bottles of water) and headed to the bus. Everyone was absolutely exhausted, so much so that some of us were even laying on the sidewalk while we waited for our bus to pick us up. When the bus finally got there we got on and snagged our own seats before anyone could sit with us, we all wanted to be able to sprawl out on the seats and sleep on the way. The bus was completely silent, and I feel asleep so fast that when I woke up we were at our first destination, Bet Alpha. Bet Alpha is an ancient synagogue that has the most amazing mosaic floor built by the Romans, hence the amazing combination of Greek/Roman and Jewish art. The center was of the Zodiac which is a Greek ideology, but the seasons and the actual zodiac names were in Hebrew. We then headed to Tiberias to see another ancient synagogue with the same mosaic as Bet Alpha. Then we went to a church that had another set of amazing mosaic art, which was all Jewish depictions, which was kind of interesting. After that we went to Tzippori where we saw again the same kind of mosaics as before, however, we were told that this particular mosaic was thought to be the "Mona Lisa" of mosaic art in the north. By this time we were all so exhausted. Shaina and I even turned to each other and compared this trip to being on Birthright because we just keep on moving with no time to rest, and that we were being filled with so much information that we were not only physically drained but mentally drained. Our last stop was Bet She'arim, which is a place that I had been to with my family when I was in Israel in August, so I already know what was going on in this place but it was still fun to be there and remember how much fun I had with my family. We then all slowly got back onto the bus and passed out hoping that we would also sleep the entire ride back, I was wrong. I woke have to go the bathroom. I walked to the professor and the driver and asked how long it would be until we got back to school and they said not for another HOUR!!! I then asked if there was any way that we could pull over or if there was a rest stop coming up. They then told me that we were on the main highway and that there was no rest stop for another half hour, and that we were not allowed to pull the bus over because the driver could get a fine. I then told them that I could try an hold it until we got to a rest area, but that we needed to think of something quickly because I was about to pee my pants. I tried holding it for a bit, and the professor came to me to ask how I was doing, I told her that we have two choices right now; either I pee in a bush on the side of the road, or I pee on the bus. I think that the driver over heard me because he immediately pulled over and I asked if any one else needed to go to the bathroom, thank god we stopped because another girl on the bus had to pee as well. We ran off the bus and went down a small hill and took turns shielding each other so that we could take a "nature pee." It was absolutely hilarious, we got back on the bus and everyone was congratulated us for our amazing "nature pee" experience. We then spent the rest of the ride back to school talking about other "nature pee" experiences. When Shaina and I got back to our room we put all of our stuff away, and then went straight to bed.
Friday was amazing as well. I slept in until 11am, and then did some work on my computer. Then I got a phone call from my friend Margot who was at the shuk getting food for shabbat. She called me to see if I wanted to have a laundry party with her (aka do our laundry together) and then stay at her apartment at the student village for shabbat dinner with some of our Israeli friends. Right away I said YES, not just because I did need to do my laundry, but I also had yet to have some alone time with Margot for so long. I scrounged around my room looking for food to bring to her apartment that I could make for dinner, then I put an insane amount of laundry in my rolling suit case and headed over to the student village to meet Margot in the laundry room. I think this was the most fun that I have had doing my laundry, I plugged in my computer, and we blasted my music through the entire laundry room, people were walking past and just staring at us. When we got towards putting our wet clothes in the dryer we found that the machine that is supposed to take our money in order to start the dryers was not working. It was crazy, we called the maintenance people at least 5 times before anybody actually came. We then put our wet clothes into our bags and walked to the dorms that were around the corner in order to dry our clothes. Margot decided to make the most of our adventure though, and brought colored sharpies so that we could decorate her laundry bag while we were waiting. After our clothes were good and dry we went back to Margot's apartment and watched some T.V. shows on her computer while cooking dinner and waiting for our friends to come. When our Israeli friends (Uri, Ofer, and Shai) , and Sarah got to the apartment we started eating right away, we were all so hungry, and everyone brought something that looked so good. The entire dinner was filled with Israeli humor, American humor, and just all around craziness. I don't think there was a point in our dinner where we were not holding our stomachs in laughing pains. After dinner, Margot and I cleaned up and we all sat in the "living room" to watch Wall-e, which was so much fun because none of our Israeli friends had ever seen it so it was great to see their reactions to every little part of the movie that Margot and I absolutely loved. By this time it was about 1am, and we were so tired. I packed up my stuff and Uri insisted that he take both of my bags, I argued with him about it but he just kept on telling me that I was being silly and that I shouldn't have to carry two heavy bags back to my room by myself. So Uri, Ofer, and I went back to my room and hung out for a little bit. They ended up staying until about 3am and realized that going to sleep was a really good idea. The boys left, and I stayed up for a little bit longer to put my clothes away, and talk to some friends online. I then got a phone call at around 4am from my cousin Julia. Julia's Bat Mitzvah was that Saturday, and my entire family was at her home in Baltimore the Friday before to get ready. It was so exciting to talk to Julia before her Bat Mitzvah, I was so upset that I couldn't be there, but all the people that passed the phone around to talk to me said that I was there in spirit, and that they are counting down the days until I come home.
Saturday was a very relaxing day. I slept in, and then got some homework done. I then went to hang out with my friend Sarah Nager at the student village. We sat around listening to music and drinking cranberry tea. It was really nice to relax with Sarah for a bit because we barely get to spend time together because our classes are all at different times. It started getting dark and a bit cold outside so I headed back to my room to get some more work done. I ended up sitting at my computer playing more music and playing games. I feel like I have no motivation to do any work at this point. I just want to be finished with school so that I can travel Israel more, and make the most of my last 3 weeks here.
Blessings!!
xoxoxox
Em
P.S.
There are so many pictures from this week that I can't choose the ones that I want to put in this blog. If you have facebook you can see all of them, if you don't hopefully I can send pics out to people if they really want them.