Rainbow Golden Sunshine

2009-07-17T20:18:00.001+03:00

I'M HOME!

Homeward Bound

2009-07-13T17:44:00.002+03:00

I have been trying for about a week now to write a "wrap it all up" post and have been having a pretty pathetic time of it. Which I guess it moderately appropriate because I don't really think that any of this is especially suited to being wrapped up. So I guess I will give it a shot when I get home. Wish me luck getting through the airport. (I just found out that when you go through security in Israel they give you a number from 1-6. 1 is a Jew on birthright 6 is a terrorist. Last time I was a 5. Somehow I still made it in.)

A day in the life

2009-07-08T22:07:00.003+03:00

The Palestinian circus at its finest.

Yea you know. I live here.

A blury picture of a super sweet Palestinian rap show we saw: DAM

MY CLASS!!!!! They are so incredibly sweet.

love!

Write a story about Nablus...

2009-07-05T15:16:00.003+03:00

I should write a short story about life in Nablus but I won't because I can't write simple sentences about a complicated and very funny life in Nablus. But I will tell you something about life in Nablus, and its that we love life. I know that lots of people believe that I'm not telling the truth, but for instance, when the Israeli army comes in and destroys a house and goes away, just wait a few hours to see that the owner of what is left from the house and his neighbors start a process of cleaning the area to rebuild the house. I know homes that have been destroyed several times and each time the owner rebuilds it. Eventually the army gives up and leaves him alone. This is our life . The Israelis can come and destroy everything we love in our life. It's ok. We will find a new passion to love life more and more.

You should listen to your elders....

I don't know actually. I think that the elders have more experience and wisdom than the young, but there is no one who is always right. So, in my opinion, we could have used all of that wisdom and knowledge from the elders but we have to try doing things the way we want. It's okay if we were wrong. The important thing is that we learn from our own and also other's mistakes, because if we always listen to our elders, when we grow up we won't have that experience and the wisdom which the elders have. With time, we will start to forget that advice, but no one can forget his own mistakes and what he has learned from them.

We went to a Palestinian hip-hop concert last night (for the fourth of july... don't tell anyone). It was amazing. Everyone was so excited and the performance was awesome. I wish you all could have been there. They are called DAM if you want to look them up on youtube. It's in arabic, but I think there are some english translations.

I'm home in 9 days, 7 hours and 24 minutes!

LOVE

Livin' the Dream...

2009-06-29T19:22:00.005+03:00

some of the artwork-comics done by the students here- not my students- but they are really amazing!

the street i live on!

Nablus city center at its finest...

I'd like to apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes. The more I teach English, the more I forget what the language is exactly supposed to sound like. I hear things like "before five years" instead of "five years ago" so often, that I'm starting to lose my ear for which is normal. Its actually pretty disconcerting. And having only a few words of Arabic, some fuzzy Spanish and the now forbidden Hebrew, my fall back options are not looking too promising. oh well... I talk too much anyway.

So what inspired me to write was my lesson today. We were talking about giving your opinion and the phrases that you use to do so. They were all pretty comfortable with the concept, so I read a few controversial statements and asked everyone to either agree or disagree. The results were pretty normal until I read the statement, "Women can do any job that men can." Guess who was on the agree side? All the men. On the disagree side? all the women. "We can't build things. We aren't that strong." "It's too hard." "Our bodies can't do hard things." And the men, "Why do we have to fight for your rights? You don't even want to stand up for yourself!" "There are ways for women to do hard jobs- machines, things like that." On and on. Until I read the statement, "Men can do anything that women can do." All the men disagree. All the women agree. "Men can learn to cook and clean." Men: "I can't be nice. I don't know how to be nice to children." I was beside myself. To imagine this debate happening in the states. And then I tried to explain how things would be exactly opposite in the states, and they thought it was HILARIOUS! Ha.

I also read the statement that "I think all my friends should be from my same background." Everyone agreed except one guy, who said that everyone in America thinks all Muslims are terrorists and it is impossible to be friends with someone like that because they can't understand you. You can be nice to them, and try to show them that that is not true, but you can not be friends because friends are supposed to care about you and support you and he wouldn't be friends with someone who he was scared of. And everyone else got furious. "How will we ever change things if you don't even try!" Wow. I had no idea what I was getting into.

Finally, they all wrote about Nablus for homework and I got some really amazing and poetic answers. Some quotes:

"Everytime you think or try to see Nablus, you get the strange feeling about it, where it seems like the Old City will talk to you."

"Nablus is the only city in the West Bank which still has its private history within the hands of her sons and they are still holding it. We will still be faithful to it until out last breath. We will not forget out beloved country which is living in our hearts."

"Almost every week, each family in Nablus gets together, laughing, talking, playing and listening to the grandfathers and grandmothers. I think that all of this makes us special. I hope that every nation in the world has the same tenderness and happiness that we have."

It is such a struggle being here. To have every moment of everyday focused on this incredibly painful situation. It's exhausting. But it is also amazingly beautiful. I oscillate between wanting to say forever and wishing I could leave today. Bizarre. Wonderful. Confusing.

I have also been feeling EXTREMELY guilty about being here. Guilty that I came here after making such wonderful friends in Israel. Guilty that I made such wonderful friends in Israel, now that I am here. Even feeling guilty about being guilty! I don't know how much of this is in my head or how much of it is real. It is definitely hard to live amongst the volunteers. Sometimes I think that the Palestinian people themselves are more understanding than the people who come to help them. This conflict has so many shades of grey, I think the only wrong position is one that is black and white.

...I hope your coming weeks are full of the same tenderness and happiness that they are so proud of here in Nablus....

love!

Homework

2009-06-22T20:57:00.001+03:00

One of my classes is an advanced English class for adults. Most of them are in the class because they have gotten their undergraduate degree, and in order to continue their studies need to be able to take courses in English. They are so sweet and really funny. Yesterday, I did a lesson on "This I Believe," which is an NPR segment (www.thisibelieve.org) and is basically just essays from people around the States giving anecdotes about the principles which guide their lives.

Here is an essay from Samed. He has his degree in interior design as well as an awesome nineties spike boy band haircut. Today after class he came and asked how he could work on his listening because "I can understand movies, and I can understand the radio, but I can't understand you." I don't think that's his fault:

Firstly, I believe in myself because I am an optimistic person who can look at things in positive terms. I am an enthusiastic person, but my enthusiasm is reasonable. Therefore, I leave the possibility of a reversal of expectations. Second, I believe in my leadership because I am an artist and I believe that I can see things differently than the perspective of other people. So I can advise people with the right tendency to take it. Third, certainly, I have a good ability in my major, interior design. Therefore, I can make something different in my country through designing many houses and rooms and my evidence of my ability that I had the highest mark in my graduation project so I can make our country splendid by planning to design a lot of projects in the near future.

This is from Edmeh. He is the best student in the class and studies architecture. He is very confident, good looking, well dressed, but when I told the class we were going to watch a little bit of Kung Fu Panda today, he told me it wouldn't be good practice for him because he had memorized all the words. It's his favorite movie. Go figure.

I believe that hope is the key of life. I grew up in an occupied country and through our journey toward freedom a lot of difficulties stand up in front of out dreams. However, we keep faith in the sacrifice of all the things we love: in life, in loyalty and dedication and in the wisdom to accomplish our dreams in our own free country. We became more flexible under any conditions, and now we are confident that our dreams are starting to be more realistic than ever. Without hope we could have given up our dreams years ago. It was hope that kept us on the right track and gave us a dream of an independent country when we had lost everything. Honestly, I'm not that deep of a thinker to see that hope is the key of life. Years ago, a friend on mine made his regular visit to his doctor. He found that he had cancer and the doctor estimated what left for him to live between 2 to 3 years, not more. However, now, after almost six years, he is still standing with a normal life. It was not medication nor the long and painful treatment that kept him alive, it was hope and having all the faith in that hope to life. I still remember his words when i was checking upon him. He said, "Do you know the difference between the cancer and I?" I said, "What?" He continued, "The cancer is like a machine. It doesn't have the faith nor the hope to kill me, but I have know that I am stronger than it. Yes, I understand that all I have right now is just a small hope to be normal again, but I have the biggest faith that this hope will someday become real." Years later, he was right. So in hope, yes I believe, because when we lose hope we lose everything. Name any thing you want and with just a rethinking of that thing you will see hope. Because of that, please don't lose hope.

Another thing I learned today- The call to prayer every morning (at 4 am) starts with (in arabic of course): wake up wake up, its better to pray then to sleep. Then for midmorning it goes: get up get up, it's better to pray than to eat.

Love! I wish you all were here.
p.s. i didn't ask for anyone's permission to share these, so if you know any Palestinians please don't say anything.

Are you a Bedouin?

2009-06-18T21:03:00.001+03:00

For reference to the term Bedouin, see the Petra post. The two tiny men smiling... Bedouin.

I decided to take my nose ring out. This is because I was in one of the camps, and a little boy came up to me and asked, "Where are you from?" "I am from America." "Really?" "Yes." "Where are you ORIGINALLY from?" "What?" "Are you a Bedouin?" Later it was explained to me that he was confused by my nose ring. Then, yesterday, one of the adult students in my english class (maybe 25) asked me about my nose ring. "Why do you have that?" "What?" "In your nose" "Oh. I dont know." "We don't do that here. Its not nice." "Oh." "Do you have others?" "Just in my ears." "Those are ok. Those are beautiful." Also on the first day a bunch of girls in my class were giggling at me. I discovered that was why. Oh those crazy Americans. So I hope none of you are too heart broken. Parents please keep your celebrating to a minimum.

So I have started my teaching. Yesterday. By myself in a huge class of adults. The first lesson was on personality adjectives which they quickly informed they knew. One man started asking me about the present participle. I thought I was going to be teaching little kids. Ha. But today was a lot better. I was much better prepared. We discussed "small talk". It was pretty funny. Very indicative of the culture here. Every conversation ended with, "sure, I can take you there" or "would you like to come over for tea?" That is not small talk! After class one girl asked me for my phone number to hang out and practice her english. Also after class, I walked outside to see one of the men trying to fix one of the women's shoes. I asked if she was ok and she goes, "It's ok, he is my husband." Not really what I meant, but ok.

What else? I just got back from eating the most delicious falafel I have ever had. (2 NIS here, instead of 15 NIS in Israel). The guy who sold it to us was about 17 and chubby and maybe would be gay in another time and place. When we ordered he clapped his hands together and turned his head down to his shoulder with this huge smile. It was so cute. Reminded me of what the sultan in Aladdin would have been like in his glory days. After that, we went and got kanafeh which is goats cheese covered in like sweet corn meal and sugar and doused in syrup. Sounds disgusting. Tastes amazing. Unless you eat more than three bites and then you slowly slip into a diabetic coma. But it's native to nablus, so what are you going to do? Eat it every day. I wish i was kidding.

I also discovered a library here. I haven't been yet, but it seems promising. This weekend, I am hanging around and trying to figure out what to do for my art project.

Oh! I also had my first arabic lesson this morning! I'm so excited. Ana min America. Isme Rachel. And they have sun and moon words. How beautiful is that? I wish I could describe to you all the generous, ernest, smart, sweet people I have met in these first few days. Its amazing how two such beautiful peoples can be so at odds. I wasn't really prepared for how hard it was going to be to switch sides so quickly. I was talking to one of the volunteers today about being caught between israel and palestine and she said "You don't have to pick. Your job isn't to pick. Your job is to help those suffering." But it isn't just the people in Palestine who are suffering.

ANYWAY...Off my soapbox. I miss everyone and can't wait to come home! What I wouldn't do for a slice of boriello brother's. love.

i totally forgot to mention that i went and saw the opera in nablus. probably because i still haven't been able to fit this little gem into any sort of believable reality that i could exist in. it was pretty cool... all in italian with arabic narration. they had local little kids in one scene and they were all wearing hijabs. so cute. la boheme the way it was meant to be.

my apartment.I live on the other side of the white stairs, but there is a common room thing upstairs that you can go sit in and go out on the balcony.

my bed! known fondly by the entire flat as "the squeaky bed". not very creative, but you get the idea. Taking me back to my plywood bed at home.

view off the balcony into Nablus.

LOVE!

Nablus

2009-06-17T09:37:00.002+03:00

Hey everyone-

Sorry it has taken me so long to write. Things have been pretty crazy since I have arrived here. I am still having trouble wrapping my head around it. I got here on Monday after having my wonderful friend Jess escort me to Nablus. We didn't have any trouble, as Hawara checkpoint is out of commission for people coming into Nablus. Going out, however, is a different story. Anyway, once I got here I was immediately shown around the old city. Its really beautiful, with huge old walls and mosques and little shops and really cute kids running around all over the place. Apparently 70% of the population of Nablus is youth. This means that most of the people here were raised on the second intifada. All over the street there are these posters of young men. They are martyrs. There are also many plaques and photos commemorating places where people were killed by the Israeli army. I haven't seen any Israeli soldiers since I have been here, though. This is because they only come out at night and it is too dangerous for us, especially as women, to be out after dark. This makes for some pretty long nights. Last night though, we went to the Hamam. It was the one night a week where women are allowed to go. We went in and some of the people went to the spa, while others just sat around and talked, smoked hookah, and got henna done. All the arab women took off their hijabs and wore shoulder-less tank-tops and short shorts. It was so bizarre. And they were all dancing this crazy bellydance dance to crazy music. It was pretty fun. The first time I have felt glad to be a woman since I got here. Also, it is so hot here! And I have to wear full pants and long sleeves at all times. Sometimes you can get away with tshirts but only if you aren't going to any of the camps. This brings me to what I have done so far. Yesterday I got to go help paint a mural with the cutest little kids of all time. They live in al-asqar refugee camp and are unbearably cute. They all got to make their hand-prints on the mural, so I basically spent my day painting little kids hands and lifting them up so they could make hand prints. I also went yesterday to sit in on an English class. Which seems really cool, but also really hard. Which is why I am terrified for today. I have my first class all by myself. I have a lesson plan, but I have no idea what level my class is at or what age they are. This makes it awfully hard to be prepared. I am pretty nervous. But I have four classes today so hopefully that will get me into the swing of things. After that, I think I am going to be teaching some art classes. If anyone has any ideas for 12-14 year olds for about 6 lessons, let me know. I also might be teaching a creative writing class if I can get people to go for it. We will see.

I miss you all so much, hope all is well.

love.

The Golan

2009-06-12T16:34:00.003+03:00

The past few days we spent in a yert stuffing our faces with freshly picked cherries and visiting cows on kibutzes. Doesn't get much better than that.

The lady on the far right is Anat. She has been my Hebrew teacher the whole time I have been here and also happens to be the most adorable woman on the planet. And she also lives on a kibbutz.

Outside the Yert. The lady who owned this hostel basically had a midlife crisis which resulted in her forcing her family to build five yerts outside of their cow shed.

inside the yert. air conditioned.

on the way to cherry picking.

cherry "picking"

ALSO- give it a try...

2009-06-09T16:07:00.000+03:00

http://www.sporcle.com/games/world_results.php

TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

2009-06-08T20:38:00.006+03:00

The official at the Jordan-Israel border laughed at my passport picture. He actually laughed.

"Rachel?"

"Yes?"

laughter

"This does not look like you"

more laughter

For all of you out there who have ever complained about a bad passport picture.... i win. Unless you have been laughed at to your face by a beautiful thirty year old Jordanian. And even if you have, you have probably never had a picture of you with your eyes closed in the yearbook. Ahhh the sweet taste of victory...

ANYWAY

Jordan was awesome. Especially because ELLEN is here. She got into Tel Aviv the morning of my last final and managed to navigate her way to my house. We did a little exploring of Jerusalem and the off to Jordan. So without further adu, Ellen Jennings herself:

Shalom. Damn I am good. My Hebrew has really been picking up out here but I have to give credit where credit is due. The 1st grader block letter alphabet and my 10 word, religiously themed vocabulary has not been helpful in the least bit. Good thing Rachel and Jenny are pros at pretending to know what people are saying when they are yelling at us in Hebrew.

We have spent the last four days making our way around Israel and Jordan, swooning over the beautiful men and trying our luck at speaking the native languages. My D+ in my Arabic class has been seemingly more legitimate after trying to communicate with Bedouin boys and Jordanian taxi drivers

Everyone in Jordan was exceedingly nice, perhaps because Rachel and Jenny are both total babes, but I could be wrong. We recieved a special tour of Petra which included every last inch of land that we could possibly explore.

Needless to say, i probably exerted more energy in the last 3 days then I have since playing every game on Plamer Varsity.

Snorkeling in the Red Sea was incredible. I had never been but I am guessing the 100 degree day and the nice cold water had something to do with it. The fishies looked so tasty... I mean beautiful. It was nice to have a day at the beach after so much hiking.

Getting back to Jerusalem was, cheap and, um safe? Don't worry parents, people here and more then happy to pick up hitchhikers so at no point were we stuck in the desert.

Next on the adventure list, North to the Golans. Can't wait to see what else Israel has to offer.

Hope you are all safe and well back home. Wish you all could be here. Love. rach and ellen

2009-05-23T00:02:00.004+03:00

Sorry I haven't written in so long. It's starting to get hot, school is almost over. Being here is getting less and less bizarre. Which is kinda bizarre in and of itself. I found out today that you can get culture shock coming home. Which makes sense. I'm not sure I'm ready for Big Macs (so not kosher) or being able to understand everything everyone is saying (its surprisingly nice to only get a limited amount of extraneous information everyday). In fact, there is quite a bit that you can do in Israel that wouldn't really fly in America. Like make huge bonfires in the middle of a city park. This is a pretty typical Israeli holdiay (Log B'Omer or somthing like that. ) Its when all the cute little religious boys get their hair cut for the first time and move from the care of their mother to that of their father. It is also when everyone builds giant bonfires pretty much wherever they feel like it. Doesn't get much more Israeli than that.

You can also pretty much just camp wherever you want. Even if it is on a beach where you are "not allowed to camp". I guess they have more important things to worry about than a few misplaced tents.

Get free grapefruits. We went to Haifa this weekend to go camping. We wanted some grapefruits for breakfast. So we sent Jenny to go ask one of the juice squeezer men we saw if we could buy a grapefruit from him. And he just gave it to us. fo free. So we decided to try it again on the next juice squeezer guy. Again. For free. Oh the beauty of traveling in a group of four American girls.

Chill with the pope. He pretty much just caused a lot of trouble. The helicopter he was in landed at my school because apparently we have the most secure helicopter pad. We got a day off from school and a lot of traffic headaches.

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do without popes and free grapefruits and spontaneous bonfires when I come home. Drown my sorrows in a Big Mac I guess... love you all.

Bethlehem

2009-05-08T20:10:00.005+03:00

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY (where Jesus was born)

HEROIAN- King Herod's tomb and favorite weekend getaway.

this used to be a swimming pool... 2000 years ago... in the middle of the desert.

Bethlehem: The Dividing Wall

2009-05-08T18:44:00.005+03:00

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1221/p07s02-wome.html

Just some of my favorites...

Camping at the Sea of Galilee

2009-05-03T12:44:00.003+03:00

We had a really great trip, only slightly tarnished by that fact that no one managed to walk on water (but not for a lack of trying).

Jess (she's Australian)

Our tent pitched, we discovered in the morning, in a swamp

Helping? start the fire

Beautiful huh?

Jess and Misha enjoying the watermelon that Jenny carried all day. Worth it. For us at least.

De-nile...

2009-04-29T12:44:00.003+03:00

So we went on a boat ride on the Nile.... and this is it. Yea.

A little more Egypt

2009-04-24T20:19:00.005+03:00

a mosque in downtown cairo

jenny and mischa infront of our hostel

the taxi ride from Taba to Cairo

eating something fried in a pita.

turns out fitting five people into a cab isn't as hard as you might think.

one more pyramid picture

the appropriate dress we were given to enter the mosque

Gimme an I!

2009-04-23T21:05:00.005+03:00

I- Irresponsibility. Although ostensibly this could be referring to not booking a hostel in advance, showing up in Istanbul, finding out it was the weekend of a music festival, calling every hostel we could find, being turned down from all of them, debating sleeping in a park, and finally following some random men who "had a place to stay" to a really beautiful unlisted hostel, it isn’t. No no. What, my dear friends, I am actually referring to is much more dangerous. Dessert. Turkish delight, turkish chocolate, turkish coffee, bachlavah, "Barack"lava (chocolate bachlavah)... and.... two desserts which have been anthropomorphized to something resembling a best friend and a first child, respectively. #1: The Waffle a.k.a my new BFF. Unlike a child, the waffle gives you an incredible amount of choice: spread (white chocolate, regular chocolate, dark chocolate, nutella, hazelnut spread...), fruit (kiwi, strawberry, banana, candied oranges....), and additional toppings (almonds, candied walnuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts....). You just point and somehow end up with pure happiness grasped between your hands. #2: Raspberry Chocolate Thing: This was much more dangerous because it was across the street from our hostel. Think a chocolate shell tube thing filled with chocolate mousse, cake, and dark chocolate, topped with raspberries. Unconditional love.

S- Sultanamet. This is the place where we stayed. It’s a pretty touristy area, but the Aya Sophia, Blue Mosque and Palace were all within walking distance. I felt a little like I was living in Narnia with all the turrets and castles all over the place. It’s a pretty big shock after the Jerusalem stone. It also always smelt like fall because there were these little carts all over the place selling roasted chestnuts and corn on the cob (which, as I found out, sound way better than they actually are).

T-Taxim. The major party area of Istanbul. We went here to watch the big soccer game. It was pretty funny. I have never seen so many grown men so intent on anything, and I live in walking distance from the kotel.

A- a millionaire. Kim has friends studying in Istanbul. They have a friend who goes to this restaurant a lot. Somehow this friend made friends with the owner (who apparently is a millionaire and owns a bunch of really nice clubs in Istanbul/is likely in the mafia) a couple years ago and now has basically free reign of the place. We just showed up at this place and all of a sudden someone was bringing out a fruit plate and hooka and dinner and hot chocolate and tea. All for free. Just because we were friends of friends of this guys friend. Now that’s Turkish hospitality for ya.

N-national junior cycling champion of iran. We met him. One day, we walked out our front door and couldn’t cross the street because there were barricades and bikes all over the place. Turns out it was the Istanbul stage of the Tour of Turkey (the poor man’s version of the Tour de France). We stayed and watched for awhile. It was pretty cool. They were doing about 10 minute loops so we got to see a bunch. And we were trying to pronounce the name of the race in Turkish and they guy next to us, first laughed, then told us how to say it and we started talking and turns out he is the junior cycling champion of iran trying to make it big in turkey. what did you do today?

B-Bikes. This is defiantly one of the highlights of the trip. We took the ferry to one of the islands off the coast and it was beautiful. We rented bikes and road around the island in the sun and found this little tiny beach and went wading and had a rock skipping contest with some Argentineans we met on the ride. It really was one of the most beautiful places (and men) I have ever seen.

U-underwhelmed. By the Grand Bizarre. Maybe it was just some weird manifestation of Jerusalem pride, but our market is way cooler. Smaller, yes. Less English, yes. But when you pick something up and then pretend to walk away because its too expensive, they call you back. Not in Istanbul. They just let you go man. Also Kim got food poisoning and threw up in there. Definitely bizarre.

L-landing in Israel. I don’t think I have ever been as freaked out as I was when I first landed here in January. And now it feels kinda like coming home. I never thought I would be so happy to hear someone choking angrily in my general direction (aka speaking Hebrew).

Also. My new address is

13 Nisim Behar, Nachlaot, Jerusalem, Israel 94509

Love

P.S. I can't believe I almost forgot this but we went to a Turkish bath. I'm not exactly sure who is reading this blog anymore, so I'm not really sure how much detail I want to go into but lets just say that a huge half-naked Turkish women slapped my butt, and leave it at that.

TURKEY

2009-04-21T20:22:00.002+03:00

walking by the water.

drinking chai tea on the roof of our hostel

the Aya Sophia: a church built by Constantine that later was transformed into a mosque.

washing up after the call to prayer

beach on Prince's Island.

Are you looking for a nice Egyptian husband?

2009-04-09T17:22:00.006+03:00

that face pretty much says it all

we walked in here and asked for a menu. They looked at us like we were crazy and proceeded to plop five of these bowls down in front of us. best decision i never made. seventy five cents for lentils chick peas pasta fried onions tomato sauce....

cool right?

little cheesy right?

sufi dancing!!!!

I would just like to preface this by saying that this might not make much sense. i was there and i'm still trying to figure out what exactly happened.

so after midterms on thursday, we all ran home, packed, and jumped on the bus to eliat. Eliat is a town in the far far south of Israel and is somewhat comparable to Las Vegas. We stayed there for a night in order to catch the bus to Cairo in the morning. We woke up at about 5 and took a cab to the egypt border. we waited in line for about an hour while we got all the necessary stamps and visas and what not. Then we walked across the border and to the bus station. We found out that the only bus left at about 10 and it was currently 6. The bus also takes about 3 hours more than a taxi. So we took a taxi. After a 7 hour cab ride crammed into the back of a sixteen passenger van with a bunch of men we picked up on the side of the road because their taxi broke down, we made it to cairo. The driver dropped us off at the central bus station and drove off. we figured our hostel was in the middle of town with all the other hostels and spent about and hour wandering around looking for it. eventually we came to realize it was in an entirely different part of town all together and we decided to take a cab. after flagging down a taxi and hopping in and managing to communicate the address to him, the cab driver drives off.... to some coffee shop. where he proceeds to go in and ask the owner where the address we gave him is. at this point, Mischa got out of the cab and went in, and they managed to find it on google maps.

so- we made it to our hostel. called Arabian Nights. classy. anyway- they were so nice. there was a rooftop balcony and they brought us tea and breakfast and moved us around until they found us all rooms together and helped us figure out places to go and come and hung out with us when they weren't working. one girl even walked us down town. it was so nice. I can't do them justice, but we really really lucked out. and we were in the middle of islamic cairo so we got a much more down and dirty experience than the other hostels. it ended up being really nice.

the same day we got there, we went to the market. it was so cool. kinda like the markets in israel, but in arabic. i can't count the number of times someone said to me, "are you looking for a nice egyptian husband." or "i will make you a special price because you are so beautiful." It was especailly funny becasue it was four of us girls with Mischa. Men kept saying, "ah- how lucky to have four wives." or "you have four, can I have one? how do i be like you?" The best response i heard him come up with was "I actually have six, two are at home sleeping." It was pretty silly. At one point, someone offered 200 egyptian pounds for me. needless to say, I'm glad we had a guy along on our trip. but honestly, once you got past all the surface stuff, people were incredibly nice and willing to talk with you. we met tons and tons of really interesting and kind people.

the next day we got up really really early and went to the pyramids. I still can hardly believe I was there. They were SO HUGE! i'm starting to understand why people claim that they were made by aliens. anyway. we hiked around and climbed inside the great pyramid and rode camels and it was really really amazing. all the little egyptian girls who were walking around kept wanting to touch us and saying "welcome, welcome". there isn't really much to say about the pyramids except wow. also we saw the sphinx- really cool. really really cool. that same day we also walked around and explored downtown and the coptic churches near by. we also got invited into a beautiful mosque as the sun was setting.

AND THAT NIGHT- we went and saw Sufi dancing. I think this was maybe the most incredible thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Sufism is a branch of islam and they do these really amazing dances. Usually you aren't allowed to see but there was one sect which lets you watch. It was so beautiful. You walk into this beautiful mosque and these men come out all dressed in white, playing different instruments and dancing. They were amazing. There were a couple drummers and a guy who played the finger symbols and all sorts of weird instruments. and they were so happy. before they even started they were sending these little mischievous glances at eachother and as they were performing, kept breaking out into these HUGE smiles. it was so cool. my favorite guy looked all super serious at first but at the end was just grinning like a little kid. it was amazing. AND THEN. these guys came out and started spinning. for like 30 minutes straight. it was really unbelievable. and they have these beautiful skirts which they do all these amazing things with. it was just so beautiful. and it is this really special religious experience for them. it was just really really incredible.

the next day we went to Alexandria. it was an absolutely beautiful city. on the water, really colorful neighborhoods. we took this wild break neck cab ride through the city. i can't believe we didn't hit anyone flying through these packed side streets listening to crazy music at top volume. there are no road rules here. there aren't even lines on most of the roads. and in order to cross the streets you just have to run. but there is never really a break in traffic, so you really just have to run across and hope that no one hits you. and no one does. but its really scary. REALLY scary. anyway- alexandria was really cool. we went and climbed around in some tombs and then we went to this really beautiful citadel overlooking the ocean. we also stopped and had lunch at the fish market. it is this really fancy restaurant where you go and look over the sea and pick the fresh fish that you want to eat- 10$. it was great. we also went and saw the library. Obviously it wasn't the old library but it was still amazingly beautiful. one of those places that you could just walk around for hours. the only bad thing about alexandria was the stares. if we stuck out in cairo, we REALLY stuck out in alexandria. every single person we walked passed would either start giggling or give us a really dirty look. mostly just giggling. we were defiantly the only women without head scarves and also the only women with bare ankles. i never realized before what it felt like to be so alienated. i can't imagine what it would be like to be in a position like that every day. it was really lucky we had Mischa along because he was really good about keeping our spirits up and making me really think about why it bothered me so much. it really does make you feel ashamed to be stared at like that. anyway- we took the train home and collapsed into bed.

the last day we went to the nile and to the egyptian museum. it was so fun. the museum is unbelievable. there are just rooms upon rooms of old egyptian sarcophaguses and these beautiful necklaces and sculptures. there is so much stuff there. its like a giant warehouse where they just threw all this incredible stuff that they keep unearthing. its actually kinda a shame that they don't leave the stuff where they found it, because when it is all grouped together like that, it makes it really hard to appreciate how amazing each individual thing is. while we were there we saw the mummies. so cool. they actually look like people. its incredible. we also saw mummified animals, including a fifteen foot mummified crocodile that they used to keep as a pet. i mean come on.

after the museum we went to the nile. we paid two pounds (less than fifty cents) to go on a boat ride down the nile. it was pretty silly. there were all these teenagers who were belly dancing and laughing and throwing things. it really confused me more than anything. then we went up to a nice hotel by the nile and sat out on their balcony and looked over the river during sunset. it was amazing.

the trip home was a little hectic. we actually had to run across the border and caught our bus back to jerusalem by literally one minute. but we made it all in one piece.

i just got back from seder at jess's cousin's house. they live in modain which is a little town about forty five minutes outside of jerusalem. it was really nice. we all sat around and read out of the torah and talked about what everything meant. they have a son who was really really cute (5) but didn't speak any english so we had to talk to him in hebrew- really good practice. they also had a son and a daughter who were our age, and in the army. it was really interesting talking to them. today we went for a walk in the park. it was just really relaxing after all the smog and excitement of egypt.

tomorrow we are leaving for turkey. i was really hoping that i could write this while i washed my laundry but everything is closed for passover, so i guess i am going to turkey with a little bit of egypt with me.

hope you are all well. sorry this post was a little discombobulated. i am exhausted. i love you and miss you a ton!

Nile, Alexandria, Pyramids

2009-04-08T00:03:00.001+03:00

April Fools

2009-04-01T19:42:00.003+03:00

I almost forgot the best part of my day.

In Hebrew class we had to act out the passover story. Being in Hebrew is really a little like being in first grade again. We even sang passover songs today and my old roommate volunteered for a solo in front of like sixty people- the only volunteer- and she nailed it in this crazy opera voice. who knew? anyway...I was Moshe's dad who doesn't really do much (because maybe isn't even in the actual story) but say MA?MA? LAMA? (what? what? why?) to the mom who dumps him in the river. We all acted out our parts and when we got to the end, the jewish slaves who were supposed to go with Moses decided to stay with Pharaoh. APRIL FOOLS. People laughed, I was confused.

I hope your april fool's day managed to measure up... doubtful.

2009-04-01T15:13:00.003+03:00

This weekend was the Israel-Greece soccer game. It was pretty fun. The main cheer was just "IS RA EL WAR". They don't really tip-toe around stuff here.

Besides the soccer game I have just been taking midterms and doing work. And running around Tel Aviv trying to get our visa stuff sorted out. Apparently there is only ONE Egyptian consulate in Israel (in Tel Aviv) and it is only open from nine to eleven in the morning. Obviously they are pretty eager to have Israelis come to Egypt.

Also the picture that isn't of soccer is of a shabbat dinner we had awhile ago. I'm a little afraid of coming home and actually having to work on the weekends.

I will write more when I get back from Egypt and Turkey but right now it is just life as usual (in Jerusalem). Miss you all!

2009-03-22T10:33:00.000+02:00

Far beyond the moon and stars, twenty lightyears south of mars...

2009-03-19T11:31:00.001+02:00

I feel a little like I have been living on another plant for the past week or so. Good and bad. At least it was a planet with oxygen. I think. Maybe it was laughing gas. Anyway.

A few weeks ago I went to the Dead Sea which is AWESOME. It is by far the wierdest place I have ever been. It really does look other worldly: no waves, no real beaches, no greenery, no animals. Just this huge expanse of hazy water. In the middle of nowhere. And a bunch of really fat really old german tourists. and there is nothing but these fat german tourists because the water is so salty that nothing grows. AT ALL. and, mom you will like this, there are no animals in there. so you don't have to worry about sharks and fish and things. And the sea is crazy. There are all these salt deposits that have built up and are really sharp and you can't step on them or else you cut yourself and IT BUUURNS. So much. And floating is the most bizarre thing. I told someone here that it was like being an astronaut and they just looked at me and then went on talking. but it really is. you can't put your legs down or else you flip over on your stomach. its just so silly. and eveyone gets all covered in mud. which smells really bad. its just the strangest cross section of humanity you can imagine.

Or so I thought. But that was before Purim. Way wierder. Its like Renn Fayre/ Halloween Israel style. Meaning everyone is way more intense about it. There were huge street parties eveywhere you went and people dancing in the streets and dressed up as everything. i think the strangest thing I saw was a guy dressed up as an Arab (you think that isn't PC?- i saw several people just straight up dressed as black people), dancing on a balcony, waving his gun (maybe fake, but this IS israel), DJing to a huge crowd of people dancing madly below. Just on some random street. I guess it was in Tel Aviv but come on. And during purim it is a mitsvah (good deed) to be drunk. So all the really religous people get drunk. Its just a huge party. We just strolled around. There was also a huge party on our street. Appaerntly we are at the center of the Nachalot neighborhood, so there were fire crackers and herbrew sing alongs and people dancing on top of the cars who were trying to drive through the crowd. quite literally right outside my window. it was fun, a little annoying at about 4am but mostly just fun.

We also had a house warming party recently- it was really nice. eveyone brought food and we all just sat around and relaxed. it is so cool. although my room is a little absurd in and of itself. i found out that it leaks when it rains and that it gets unbelievabley bright at first light. but i'm not too worried about it. actually i'm not worried about it at all. its kinda like camping. you have to get all bundled up to go to bed and then you wake up and its like a million degrees and your foot is in a pool of water. and then you can take a shower in the fresh spring water (code word for really cold unless you wait for it to heat up which i can never seem to do). But it really is great. I feel so lucky every day when i get to go home.

Oh yea. also I'm going to school. I always forget about it. Its really fun. I absolutely LOVE my classes. It is so incredible to hear about things from people who are living them first hand. Everyday I come out with a totally new viewpoint then what I had going in. Its so interesting. Sometimes a little overwhelming, but I am so incredibly happy to just be here and listen to what people have to say. I don't want to sound cheesy, but its hard not to when you are enjoying youself.

Lets see. I think that's it. Actually that's not it at all, but for now. That's it.

LOVE YOU ALL!
(and happy late birthday molly and ellen- your presents are on their way)

Sometimes pictures are just better than words...

2009-03-18T20:16:00.002+02:00

house warming party/potluckarming party
our street on Purim
Dead Sea
Purim costumes

Bait Sheli a.k.a my brand new beautiful house!

2009-03-09T19:28:00.003+02:00

my room from slightly behind the doorway
kim and jenny

my room. i was standing in the doorway when i took this picture.

I will put up more pictures as soon as we get everything arranged/I get internet.

THE MOVE BY NUMBERS:

1: number of OVENS!

2: number of walls in my bedroom which actually the stone from the outside of the building

3: our apartment number

4: number of burners being shared by 3 (not 15) people

5: five goooooolden rings

6: the time in the morning I realized curtains might be a good investment

7: the number of minutes it takes to walk to the shuk (market= fresh fruit/fresh bread/fresh anything) if you stop at the coffee shop across the street on the way

8: number of full length windows I have in my room.

9: almost the bus I take to school (19)- but I usually only see the nine because I have to chase it down the street- I did that today- and I caught it.

10: shekls for a load of laundry at the laundry mat across the street

15: How long we have to turn on the hot water for, before we can take a shower

30: approximate square footage of my room

45: time it takes to get from sitting in my bed to sitting in a desk at school (10 minute walk, 30 minute bus, 5 minute walk)

50: number of times you multiply my love of salsa to get my love of this apartment

more soon- LOVE LOVE LOVE

Oh Israel

2009-03-02T13:10:00.005+02:00

"Well it's Israel."

For some reason I have found myself saying that a lot lately. Most recently about five minutes ago... Over the past three or so days, I have been on a mad internship hunt. I signed up for the internship class and got an internship with a researcher I was really excited about. Cool. Well it's Israel. Two days after I heard from her, I found out she didn't need an intern afterall. But they were signing me up with my second choice. Cool. So I got all ready to start and the day before I was supposed to meet her, turns out SHE doesn't need an intern either. So now I am left with the very last researcher available (all the other intens had been placed). He is studying widows. Interesting, but not 8 hours a week interesting (to me at least). So I thought, maybe I should do something besides an internship. WELL it turns out that you can't drop classes after Thursday without getting a W (a Withdrawal) listed on your transcript- not a pretty picture. So for the past few days I have been trying my hardest to develop an interest in widows. And frantically emailing NGO's in the area to see if I could get an internship with them. Not going well. BUT... I had forgotten one important thing... It's Israel. About five minutes ago I got a call from the internship lady saying, "Oh hi. It turns out a researcher who hadn't signed up for an intern initially just walked in and asked if we had anyone available. Also he's working on a RELEVENT and INTERESTING topic (sorry widows). Are you interested?"

WHAT IS THIS PLACE! Somehow nothing ever works out, but ALWAYS works out. I don't get it. I mean our apartment- there was no way that was supposed to work out. Everyone was really mean about it and we pretty much gave up- oh and then we randomly go to this perfect place in the perfect neighborhood with a landlord who is a professor at our school and is for some reason really invested in our well being. Another example- When I first got here I spent about two hours wandering around the Old City looking for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We finally gave up and decided to leave. "Which way do you think is the fastest way out?" "How about through there." "OK" Ten steps later- the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Well it IS Israel.

P.S. This is just a little tid-bit for all of you who had to put up with me complaining about my roommate's unbelievably loud snoring, or heard me detailing the many beautiful nights of sleep I have had since she has moved: One of my friends (who has heard me dramatize my roommates snoring on many occasions) came in to wake me up yesterday. Guess who was snoring?.... you couldn't write this stuff if you tried.

2009-02-28T11:12:00.003+02:00

These are all pictures from a hike we did called the Jerusalem Trail. It runs right past campus and up to the Jewish Cemetery. It was pretty awesome. The trail goes through the valley that separates Hebrew University and the Mount of Olives from the Old City and the Dome of the Rock. I love walking around Jerusalem because it really brings into perspective how dense the city is. Its actually kinda an eerie experience, because no matter how many times you have been somewhere, there is always the chance that there will be some little side-street that you hadn't seen before leading to a different universe. You just never quite feel like you are standing on solid ground here. Anyway, the hike was really interesting. We got to see the Jewish Cemetery, some kids having a picnic and making flower chains, the Garden of Gethsemane, horses, camels (You are beautiful. Do you want to ride a camel?), and the gate that the Messiah is supposed to come and break down. I'd say that's pretty good for an hour-long walk. The graveyard was pretty amazing. Except a lot of it had been destroyed during the Jordanian occupation. It's unbelievable how many important sites have been destroyed throughout the history of Jerusalem, and how resilient the three major faiths have been. For example, the Kotel, currently the holiest Jewish site, is just a wall that used to surround the actual Temple. No wonder there is so much resentment around here. The longer I am here, the more confused I get about what a lasting peace in Israel would entail. It's not that people don't want it, it just seems unbelievably unattainable. At least from the Jewish side, it seems less like hatred and more like exasperation and frustration. I made friends with a soldier the other night (pretty easy to do considering every Israeli my age is one) who just got back from Gaza. He very logically explained to me why there wasn't ever going to be peace for Israel. I'm constantly amazed by how willing people are to talk logically and calmly about all this. Coming over here, I had the idea that everyone was at eachother's throats, but in a lot of ways, people just want to live their lives. I haven't had much chance to understand the other side of the conflict. The only Palestinian I have really come into meaningful contact with is one of my professors, Nafez Nazzal. There is a little about him at http://www.jewishjournal.com/community_briefs/article/gathering_for_peace_20020830/ . He is really an incredible guy. He tells amazing stories about his life and the time he has spent trying to bring the Israelis and Palestinians together. I'm really excited about his class, because we are so sheltered where we are. Its really hard to get an accurate grasp on things.

Anyway, those are just a few of my thoughts at the current moment. Don't place too much stock in them, as I can't imagine they will weather this city unchanged for long. Love.

Walking the Jerusalem Trail to the Mount of Olives

2009-02-28T09:18:00.002+02:00

MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

2009-02-23T19:18:00.004+02:00

Technically yesterday was my first day of school, but the only class I had was something that is supposed to go along with my internship and its pretty silly. We learned that you should get to know the people you work with and understand the expectations of your boss. You should also know practical things like where you computer is... real insider stuff. Maybe when I'm feeling generous I'll share some more tips.. maybe. Anyway- even though the class is a little ridiculous, I'm really excited about my internship. It's at the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace (http://truman.huji.ac.il/about.asp) and is with Professor Ruth Roded who heads the Institute's division on "The Gendered Other: Muslims and Jews in the Middle East". She is doing a film project, workshops and a research project titled, "Muslim Women Transformed: Disseminating Islamic Gender Messages through Modern Perceptions of the Prophet Muhammad's Life." I think I'm going to learn a lot, to say the least. I'm really excited.

Then today I had Hebrew, which I really like. I still feel like I am writing in code or something, so that's fun. I also had Psychology and Religion which I am dropping. It was the most ridiculous class- it only focuses on Judiasm and on psychoanalysis, and our first homework assignment was to get in groups and talk about how religion and psychology are important in our lives- I'm not really doing the ridiculousness of this class justice, but we had to draw a picture about what we see as the relationship between psychology and religion- I think this is an interesting subject and I'm sure there is good literature on it, but COME ON (I think I'm just going to get the reading list and go it alone). It's the type of class where you study yourself... and learn how to look at the world in new ways (by looking at yourself?). Anyway- needless to say everyone here was quite enamored by it and couldn't understand why I would rather take Perspectives on Islam. Oh well.

The other class I had today was Archaeology. It seems so cool. We go on a field trip about every day. And the content is really cool- I mean it's Jerusalem, so... Archaeology is just like a fun puzzle. I'm really excited to try it out.

Tomorrow is Peace Building and Perspectives on Islam. Hopefully I will have it all figured out by then.

Oh- also today I found out we are moving in the 7th!! Yay!

A Room of My Own... or a closet

2009-02-22T14:16:00.002+02:00

(my street)
For those of you who don't know, the past week and a half or so, I have been apartment hunting. This has been a really interesting/stressful/funny experience: I'm sure a lot of you can relate, just with less Hebrew. Anyway, it has been really hectic with a lot of calling and calling back and finding friends who speak Hebrew and wandering around town and being told we we crazy. There was even one guy who had an apartment IN THE MARKET. Like you had to walk past a bunch of dead chickens to get to our door. We were supposed to have moved out by today, to avoid paying for the entire semester (classes started today! - more about that later), so we were getting more and more desperate as the weekend wore on. By Saturday afternoon we had one more place to see, and the chicken guy was our best bet- even though to live there I would have had to sleep in a closet- anyway, not important. So we go to see this one last place and it is BEAUTIFUL. Its in this incredible neighborhood on this amazing street next to the most adorable coffee shops you can imagine. And although it is listed as a 1 bedroom, it has two covered balconies, two sofas, a kitchen, a dining room- basically just a lot of space: enough that it is actually feasible for three of us to sleep there. SO- we were all really excited and told him we wanted it. The only problem was that the current resident didn't leave until March 17, but as the landlord- Yonatan- informed us, we could figure something out. He also told us he could lower the price because we are students and said even though he had another couple coming right them, he would tell them that we had priority. His generosity was all a little out of place until he told us that he was a professor at Hebrew University (and liked to help out students when he could) and his wife was a print maker (just like one of the girls I am going to be living with). So we scheduled to meet today and work out the final kinks. HOWEVER. There's one problem. Because of the gap in time between when we can move in and when we have to move out, we had to go talk to the university about extending our contract in the dorms without committing to the whole semester. This presented a HUGE problem because the university has been incredibly unhelpful in regards to our living situation: this is partially their fault, and partially the fault of the dorm authority who is a separate company entirely than the university people. So anyway, we went into see Yonatan today, and he takes us to his office and offers us tea and tells us about how he persuaded his wife to lower the price for the semester and how the washing machine is broken but he will fix it right away and how he can store any of the furniture we don't want, etc etc NICE NICE NICE. THEN he goes- well I can ask my guy to move out earlier and we can go talk to the school right now and try to figure out the difference. Umm, thanks random landlord who we just met two days ago. So he marches with us all over campus, cutting through red tape right and left talking about how we are his family and he doesn't want to have to get his father involved (someone high up in Hebrew U). So we get to talk to the main guy and he promises that he will take care of it and call us back tomorrow. And then about 15 minutes ago Yonatan called to check in on us and make sure things were working out ok. I still can hardly believe it. There is no way we would have been able to figure this out by ourselves. The first thing I'm doing when we move in is learning how to cook so we can invite Yonatan and Co. over to an awesome Shabat dinner.

So, the conclusion to this story is: Although its not 100% entirely positive, I am probably going to be living here for the next months: http://jerusalem.craigslist.org/apa/1031743736.html

Everyone please send good thoughts to Yonatan, and all the other wonderful people I have met here who have gone out of their way to help me- there have been a lot. Its really amazing to live in a place where everyone looks out for eachother so well.

2009-02-20T15:50:00.000+02:00

2009-02-20T15:04:00.003+02:00

Classes

2009-02-17T23:40:00.002+02:00

So... here is my tentative class schedule for this semester. I have to drop one or two. I don't want to be too busy to do cool stuff. On my current schedule I do have Sunday off, so its a three day weekend- very conducive to trips and such.

1. Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in a Divided Society: This course will focus on different peace building strategies utilized in the context of deep rooted conflicts and divided societies. Students will learn to identify and understand the characteristics of these conflicts and the nature of ethnic relations in divided societies; examine theoretical frameworks with underline certain peace building strategies and approaches and understand the complexity and challenges involved in implementing peace-building strategies and the context of the conflicts.

2. Perspectives on Islam-Religion, History and Culture: This course in an overview of Islam in its religious, historical and cultural context. We will focus on the beliefs, practices, sects, family organization, the status of women, and the relationship between religion and politics, the concepts of war, peace and human rights We will also examine Islam's encounter with the West, the impact of modernization and the rise of revivalism, fundamentalism and terrorism.

3. Psychology and Religion: This course will focus on the interactions between two major expressions of the human spirit, which are also two different attempts to understand the place of human beings in the world. Within psychology, our course will focus on psychoanalysis and other personality theories, while in the field of religion we will focus on Judaism and Christianity. During this course we will take a look at several meeting points between the two fields, stressing their common historical roots and philosophical underpinnings, as well as pointing out their distinguishing features.

4. Archaeology of Jerusalem: Jerusalem is a major center for the religious civilizations of mankind, possessing long and varied history. Through archaeological study and exploration, this history is revealed. This course deals with the development of Jerusalem from the Canaanite Periods through the First and Second Temple Periods to the Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods. The course traces the evolution of Jerusalem into a holy city for three religion, and how this was reflected in the shaping of the city.

5.Hebrew- maybe the intensive course- an extra two hours a week...?

6. An Internship at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace (I don't know if I have gotten this yet): The one I tried for was... Interns will work closely with me on my research project of "Palestinian youth culture in Jerusalem". This project examines Palestinian youth culture, from clothing, musical tastes, personal internet sites, dating and so forth as an expression of political, religious, social and gendered identities in a city fraught with nationalist and religious conflict.

I would love any and all input. They all sound too good to drop. Love!

2009-02-16T21:42:00.003+02:00

I just found out that I got into the Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Class that I really wanted to take (and that you had to submit an essay to get into)! I'm really excited for classes to start. But first I have to do two oral exams in Hebrew and a written final. (Keep in mind that I don't know how to speak or write Hebrew).

To relax this weekend I think we are going to go to the Jerusalem Book Fair and maybe the Dead Sea.

Also a funny tidbit: Everyone in my hall is trying to move out of our dorms into the new dorms (ours were recently offices that were quickly renovated to accommodate the overseas students they didn't have space for, and the new ones are apartment style with your own room/television/etc.). I have never seen so many people so upset about anything. Everyone's parent's are calling and people are crying. Two girls have gotten moved. One said her two year old ankle sprain was acting up and she couldn't climb the stairs to our hall. The other had her parents write a letter that said she was having mental issues from living in isolation from all the other overseas students. These kids are nuts. But they sure know how to get what they want.

(Don't worry- I'm managing to keep my psychological issues at bay, although having a bed and desk and heat and water and a kitchen is pretty unbearable. My sanity is defiantly solidified by the Israelis I meet every day- e.g. my substitute Hebrew teacher who had approximately the same hair cut I had when I was 10--mullet/rat tail/something? or the cleaning lady at the gym who I made eye contact with after we were both abruptly confronted with an older gentleman coming out of the locker room in a speedo)

Life here is good- Less balancing and more living. Hope the same is true for all you- love

A few random pictures..

2009-02-13T18:02:00.002+02:00

this is me on the ramparts of the Old City. You can walk around it for about 2 dollars. The guy who we paid had a very strange affinity for the word lovely. "You are students? Lovely" "Eight shekels, lovely lovely." And then as we turned the corner and started walking up the stairs we stopped to take a picture and from around the corner comes, "ah, lovely".

this is from Tel Aviv. Its like one of those claw machines that have stuffed animals in them, except that it has cigarettes in it. Something is wrong with this picture, I just can't quite decide what it is.

"....then I won't have to walk no more."

The Day to Day

2009-02-11T15:56:00.003+02:00

Here is a list of things that I might not have mentioned quite yet:

1. My roommate abbreviates Shalom to "sloms!" Taking into consideration that shalom is hello AND goodbye, I have already far exceeded my cute abbreviation quota for the year.

2. I can buy an artichoke for 1 NIS. For all you keeping score at home, that's twenty five cents.

3. Today in Hebrew my teacher asked what the family in the picture was doing at the picnic. I wanted to say drinking (shotim) but instead I said going the the bathroom (shirutim). And then I accidentally apologized in Spanish.

4. I have been proposed to at least five times since I have been here. One guy even gave me his card.

5. The pilates teacher stopped the entire class to tell me do to something different (in Hebrew). So i smiled and nodded and moved my legs a little. Then she said some more stuff to me and I smiled and moved my legs a little more. And then she came over to me and physically raised my arms up and rolled her eyes. All the middle aged women in pilates seem to think this was one of the funnier things they had ever seen (maybe it was- the people who go to these classes aren't exactly a barrel of laughs).

6. Somehow I am the "kid who matches his kippa to his tshirt every day" 's new best friend. (he even has pink and purple).

7. You can get a lot of peanut butter out of a jar that is "empty"

8. My class, the "you have never seen Hebrew before in your life" class is somehow passing the "I learned how to read Hebrew for my Barmitsva" class. It's causing a lot of tension (and confusion on my part)

9. One of the three showers on our floor doesn't have a shower head, so its basically like using a hose to shower. Admittedly, this is kinda a pain in the butt, but no enough to not use it. Especially when everyone else would rather wait for the other two showers than just deal with it. So I use it. And some one asked me how I could do such a thing. I said it was like taking a shower in a waterfall. And then everyone present stared at me like I was crazy and spent the next fifteen minutes telling me all the ways in which it was NOT AT ALL like a waterfall.... Yea. I know.

10. Jerusalem is awesome.

I'll write more soon, but I have a Hebrew test tomorrow and have to study. Love you all.

The Weekend

2009-02-07T11:23:00.004+02:00

Sorry its taken so long for me to write. My internet has been really spotty and I haven't really done too many interesting things lately.... Ulpan is starting to take over my life. Next week it goes from eight to one every day of the week (and i thought it was overwhelming now), so that should be interesting.

This weekend has been my first to just relax and stay in Jerusalem in quite awhile. It has been really nice. Friday we went to an English-speaking rally for one of the candidates for Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu (right-wing). I think we were the youngest people there by about fifty years- I’m not exaggerating. He talked a lot about how he was the only candidate who would not give try to make friends with terrorists and keep Israel strong. It was pretty convincing, I thought. It was funny though, because he was the most stereotypical politician you can possibly imagine. Huge fake smile and fist pounding. He even said, “and I promise to lower taxes” with a completely straight face. But however suave he was, he was also extremely candid. He didn’t read his speech and people from the audience shouted things out and he would respond to them in the course of his speech. It was so different from what we are used to seeing in the US. I guess in the states you just assume that the people running for President have some secret way of figuring out how to best solve all of our problems. The whole bit becomes really abstract. But here you get the feeling that everyone knows that no one knows what to do, so the politicians have to reason with people a lot more. They are much more humble and tentative about their policies, but at the same time much more egotistical and overbearing in their personalities. It makes for a very strange mix. At any rate, he was from the conservative party so we got a very interesting viewpoint on what the best way to solve Israel’s problems is. He wants to be hard on terrorists and not give any territorial concessions to the Palestinians- the only way to reach a peaceful solution is to stop looking weak by giving away territory. Although a lot of what he said made sense, it also seemed a little unreasonable. Yes, everyone here wants terrorism to stop. But the problem is how to make that happen. He didn’t really go into that much.

After that we went and got waffles at a waffle bar. They were pretty delicious. Mine was topped with cinnamon cream cheese. Then we went and saw some live music- a Balkan folk band with an accordion and flute among other things. It was pretty fun.

Yesterday we spent the day just walking around Jerusalem. We started out by having breakfast in this really awesome little hole in the wall restaurant in Rahavyia. This is such a cool neighborhood. It is the neighborhood that was built once the Old City started to get too crowded, so it is one of the oldest places in Jerusalem and because of that, it has a lot of trees. It is so pretty. There are all these little apartment complexes with flowers in the window boxes and colorfully painted doors. There are little book shops and restaurants and tailor shops and things like that all over. There is tons of graffiti and art all over. It’s so awesome. I plan on spending a lot of time there this semester. Anyway we got breakfast and it was soo good. Lochs and homemade bread still warm out of the oven and Israeli salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers and mushrooms/olives) and scallion scrambled eggs and fresh squeezed orange juice and goat cheese. All for about 30 shekel. That’s like eight bucks. And I was full for the whole day. After that we wandered around for the afternoon and just watched people and sat in the sun downtown. We decided to go to the old city and the Kotel for Shabbat. That was pretty cool. There was this one group of kids our age who were just running around and singing and dancing and jumping up and down and they grabbed up and we got swept into singing and dancing and jumping around. It was so fun, even though I was a little confused about the hand motions to a lot of the songs. We also got to go up to the wall. Almost every women we saw brought two things: tissues and a prayer book. There were also a TON of men there who are the ones who actually get to sing and dance. Women are not supposed to. Some one told me that this is because women are considered closer to God so they don’t need as many physical reminders of their connection. Men have to dance and sing and do many rituals (like wearing kippas) to be reminded of their connection to God. So it is a sexist religion, but just not in the way you think. That’s also why men and women are separated at the wall, because the men are weak willed and easily distracted by the women. I’m not sure if this is exactly the truth, but its pretty interesting at any rate.

Then I came home and fell asleep- my roommate is gone for the weekend so I can have my room all to myself- pretty luxurious. Hope you are all well- love!

2009-02-03T00:11:00.002+02:00

I just went to salsa class and had the most incredible time. I got to dance with the advanced guys and get twirled and dipped.

Everyone should go to a salsa class immediately. That's all that needs to be said.

Arad

2009-02-01T07:34:00.002+02:00

I just got woken up by some sirens. No one seemed too concerned. Last night there was a massive thunderstorm with hail and lightening. It made me feel like home. The morning sounds here are different. There aren't birds or someone making tea or something relaxing like in Portland/Csprings. Its always cars or my roommate shuffling through her makeup or someone banging their door shut on the way to the shower. But this morning- maybe because I'm up early and it rained so hard last night- there are birds. Its a nice way to wake up.

So, this weekend we went on a trip to Arad. This is a small, insignificant town in the Negev desert. We had to get on the buses at six (which was ok because they gave us chocolate milk in a bag) and to get there we drove through the West Bank. Its amazing how different the West Bank and Gaza are- before I came, I guess I just grouped them into one thing. The people who live in the West Bank don't even particularly like the people who live in Gaza, not just because of Hamas, but because they see themselves as two different peoples. Its pretty mind-blowing how complicated this conflict it. Anyway- once we got to Arad we drove to these bluffs that overlooked the Dead Sea and started the hike. Everyone thought it was going to be really easy and people were super unprepared (especially the girl who during an introductory activity where you were supposed to say something you brought with you and what it said about your personality, she said she brought her tan because she liked the beach and sitting in the sun). We started walking along this empty river bead but eventually we got down into this crevice that you had to ladder climb down and repel down using a sketchy rope that was attached to the rock. People lost it. I can't even keep track of how many people I told to put their feet where or how many cameras I climbed down with. That said, it was really fun. From the top of one of the bluffs you could see the Dead Sea and a lot of the desert. It was really beautiful. It made me redefine desert a little though. I have never seen anything so barren. Our trip ended at this weird compound with barbed wire around it that had a siren if you got too close- go figure.

After the hike we checked into our hostels and did the shabbat thing. I was ALMOST as lost doing as the tan girls were climbing down the mountain, so I guess it evens out. Interestingly the two people in my room were both shommer shabbas, so they couldn't do any work. I didn't figure this out until after I turned the lights out in the bathroom and one of them went pee in the dark. I felt pretty bad. But they also couldn't ask me to turn the light back on so awkwardly tried to do it but they felt bad making me get up- I was so clueless-it could have been a comedy sketch for sure. But we had dinner and a service and sang lots of songs (which I am starting to pick up) and just relaxed. It was really nice. I'm really starting to like this whole shabbat thing. What i'm NOT starting to like is that Sunday here is actually Monday. Meaning I have school in an hour. Shalom. I hope you are all well. Keep up the emails!

Ps. I forgot to mention that we drove past these huge factories which take minerals out of the dead sea water to use in beauty products. One of the byproducts is salt, so there were HUGE piles of salt all along the road- it looked like white sand dunes. Pretty cool. Oh. And I saw a camel. Also pretty cool.

2009-01-31T23:59:00.002+02:00

This weekend I went on a trip to Arad, a small town in the Negev desert. We went on a hike and then spent shabbas relaxing. I'll write more about it tomorrow, but right now I am exhausted and am going to bed. love

2009-01-28T19:47:00.000+02:00

More Tel Aviv

2009-01-28T19:43:00.002+02:00

Academic Advising

2009-01-27T14:52:00.001+02:00

I'm tried of getting laughed at. Somehow its funny that I like math and social science, that I don't know what I want to do, that I want to take two languages at once (which I can't/don't want to do now because they only offer colloquial arabic, meaning it is only useful in Jerusalem). Every single advising meeting I have ever had has consisted of raised eyebrows and chuckles. In response to my comment that I was thinking about studying Linguistics and later Neuroscience, this guy said, "Well you think outside the box, at least. Maybe the next generation will appreciate you." And then he laughed. They always laugh. Almost every person I have met here has laughed when I said I wasn't Jewish. Am I doing things so wrong that it makes people that uncomfortable? I just don't get it. I want to be an artist and understand what the great novelists were trying to say, and what space is made of and how my brain works and why math works so well. That's what I want to major in. So sue me.

Sorry about the negativity- I'm a little gun shy about advisors.

My schedule is:
1. Peace Building and Conflict Resolution- this class is in high demand so hopefully I can get it- only 25 students out of maybe 1000, not looking good.
2. Psychology and Religion
3. Perspectives on Islam
4. An Internship somewhere in the community- it can be almost anything I think- orientation is Feb 8- Maybe art or activism or something like that
5. Archaeology of Jerusalem- this class is also in high demand- we will see if I get in.
6. Hebrew

This is a lot of if's but that's generally how I work- I will have a more concrete schedule as things continue. Love!

The Roof of our Hostel in Tel Aviv

2009-01-27T00:04:00.001+02:00

2009-01-26T21:45:00.002+02:00

What a night. Not often do so many incredible things come together at the same time:

1. Lightning bolt murals.

2. Someone shouting Hebrew.

3. "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun

3. Bomb shelter.

4. Disco ball/black light/light show

5. Stationary bikes.

6. The female Carrot Top?

That's right. Spinning class. In an old bomb shelter. Painted black with sweet neon green and white lightning bolts and silhouettes of bikers doing wheelies. With a crazy lady who looked like carrot top yelling things in Hebrew (I learned the number "four" I think). And we cooled down to "Take My Breath Away". That all really happened. And the girl in front of me had her seat too low so it looked like she was riding a tricycle, and didn't change her resistance from "no resistance" the entire time, and peddled furiously. Talk about culture shock. It was like being in the seediest club you can imagine, but with exercise bikes. Man. That just balanced out/maybe overcame the fact that the laundry, internet, shower doesn't work. Life is great.

2009-01-26T11:27:00.000+02:00

2009-01-25T17:53:00.000+02:00

You don't want that.

2009-01-24T20:41:00.006+02:00

Last night I had a dream I was in a beauty pageant with those scary little kids they have on TV who are like 5 and wear a ton of makeup and get their hair all done and stuff. It was a little disorienting (and made me ask some uncomfortable questions about my psyche). Anyway, I mention this because I think this dream was a direct result of my brain trying to process the transition from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

They are relatively close together distance wise, but that's about all. It took us about 10$ to get to the hostel from my dorm room- bus from campus to the central bus station: 6NIS (divide by 4 and thats US dollars), bus from central bus station to Tel Aviv central bus station: 20NIS, bus from Tel Aviv central bus station to the hostel: 6NIS. It was interesting trying to navigate a huge bus station in Hebrew, but it turned out ok, and we only had to go in and out of security twice before we realized where we (me, Jenny and a new friend Ariel) wanted to go. The bus ride was about 45 minutes, and was really nice. They played a radio station- a weird combination of Israeli techno and terrible nineties music from the states- the whole way. The hostel was awesome. You could go up on the roof and they gave us free breakfast and were really nice. We were right in the middle of the main street and a two minute walk from the beach. It was so beautiful. We got settled in and walked down the beach. There was graffiti everywhere and joggers and people were lounging and relaxing. It was so different- I didn't see one M16 the entire time I was there. I physically felt myself relax. I didn't realize how tense I was in Jerusalem until I could smile at people and walk around and not be stared down everywhere I went because of my cloths or clueless expression. It was so nice. We walked to Yaffo which is an old port, I think. It was really pretty and a fun little area. There were lots of fancy restaurants and people going to parities and stuff. It was just so Mediterranean. Anyway, we were wandering around and we accidentally stumbled on this little outdoor cafe in some random back alley and decided to eat there. It was SO good. It was the first time I had eaten out here (besides falafel). The waitress was this oldish lady who looked like she used to be a gypsy and then decided she wanted to be a soccer mom. She took us back to the kitchen to meet her son, the chef, who was going to the US and sat down at our table and explained the menu and hugged me a lot. She was great. When we were ordering, Jenny said what she wanted, and she just flat out said... "You don't want that." So we ordered something else. I guess it had something to do with intestines. We had fresh squeezed lemonade and it was so warm out and there was candles. It was a little surreal. After dinner we walked back to town and wandered around. Everyone in Tel Aviv is beautiful. Super stylish and hip and confident and gorgeous. Its fun just to watch people. Anyway, we walked around a bit and ended up just going back to our hostel and hanging out on the roof. It was such a beautiful night, and you can actually see the stars.

The next day we got up early and went back to Yaffo where there is a flea market. It was so awesome! The stalls are just packed with anything you can imagine. There one was the was just full of jeans. You couldn't walk into it because there were so many piles of jeans- higher than my head, and just thrown around- pile is too orderly of a word. There were stalls just filled with metal pots/cups/who knows what. Nothing was really on display, you just had to go wading. And the shop keepers were so funny. If you were looking at a scarf they would take it off the wall and put it around your shoulders and tell you how beautiful you were. They are good at what they do. The coolest thing I found was this box of old letters and photographs. It was postcards from people who had been to Israel and were writing home.. years and years ago. They were so so cool. It was amazing reading these peoples letters- talking about the same sort of things I'm talking about, just fifty, sixty years ago. The guy who was selling them was so fun too. He was super super old and kinda reminded me of Mr. Miagi from the Karate Kid? He first asked me if I was Israeli (maybe the best compliment I have ever gotten) and then when I told him I was from the US, he immediately says, "Obama?" And I said, yea yea. And he goes, "But you probably didn't vote for him." And I said of course I did. And then he says, "Well then let me shake your hand." Its so cool to actually be respected for being an American- at least for voting for Obama. After that we went to the market (food) and then stumbled upon this really cool craft fair. It was like a giant street festival with magicians and street performers and painters and all sorts of stuff. It was pretty magical. Everywhere you looked there was something that just blew your mind. One of those instances that make you wish you had unlimited time to explore. So we walked back from there and went out for cheap pizza- they sell it by weight. You tell them how big of a piece you want and then they weigh it and charge you. it was delicious. Tel Aviv is so cool. We came to the consensus that it would be hard to live there though. Too much neon. But it was a nice change of pace. (I did miss Jerusalem by the end of it though- its just a little more mature?). This morning we woke up early and walked down to the beach- it was foggy and really pretty. We watched people surf and kite surf and waded a little. A surfer (maybe model in his spare time?) asked me, in Hebrew, to watch his surfboard for a minute and I managed to say yes (ken) and you're welcome (bavakasha) in Hebrew. I'm really moving up in the world. This afternoon we walked to the Tel Aviv bus station (maybe a mile) because taxies are too expensive and no buses run on shabat. Then we took a shroot (like a minivan/taxi thing) back to Jerusalem. And then I took a four hour nap. It was such an amazing trip. There were so many things that I wish I could describe better or show you or at least take better pictures of- like walking through the crowded market and buying a little pastry for a shekel to munch on while you shop for fresh fruit. This really is an unbelievable country. We met some people who were just talking about how Israelis are so good at everything they do, and it really seems true. They are just a super intense group of people-Like when we were leaving the beach we saw this guy doing the butterfly in the super choppy/freezing ocean.

It's nice to be back home though, I get to sign up for classes tomorrow so hopefully all goes well. Love.

2009-01-21T23:39:00.002+02:00

Now that Hebrew has started, my situation is starting to feel a little less dream-like and a little more real. I have my first quiz tomorrow, which is a little intimidating. It's so exciting to slowly be getting a grasp on what everyone is saying. For example, yesterday on the bus we were (a little) lost and we asked this girl for directions. She didn't really speak English, but she said a bunch of words and then "lo po". From my advanced Hebrew knowledge I happened to know this meant "not here". I was very proud of myself (but still lost).

This bus trip was to see the Israel museum which ended up being closed, so we just walked around. It is amazing how many different neighborhoods there are so close together. One second you are in a third world country and the next you are in some fancy European city. Its so cool.

I also watched the inauguration last night- pretty awesome. It was so cool to watch it over here. It really gives you a new perspective on the importance (and insignificance) of America. It must be weird to be living something that is seen as just an agenda item. I can't imagine all this fitting somewhere randomly on Obama's check list... but I guess that's the way world politics work. Anyway- his speech was amazing and I'm so glad I got to see it. It really made me believe we/I could fix a lot of things that have been going wrong.

I think I am going to Tel Aviv this weekend- I'm sure that will produce some interesting stories. LOVE!!!

Living the Dream

2009-01-19T21:43:00.002+02:00

Today was (finally) a pretty relaxing day. We had Hebrew in the morning and then went to the shook to get some vegetables. Trying to plan and execute meals in a foreign country is not an easy matter- especially when you have to light the stove with a match and were not provided with any dishes... Anyway- at Hebrew today I learned that he means she, me means who, and dog means fish. This is all really true. I mean COME ON! As if it isn't hard enough already. I am practicing a lot though and have made some flash cards. Its fun writing the cursive- kinda like doing art.

The other funny thing that happened today was at the shook. My friend Jenny went into this stand with rice and couscous and lentils and things of that nature. It was hard to tell what everything was, so she just got a little bit of a couple of things to try out. There were two men in the stall: one taking money who spoke English and another man working, who was speaking Hebrew to the first guy. When she went to pay, the Hebrew guy said something and started laughing. She asked the first guy and he said, "He wants to know if you are feeding a Barbie." She said no, she was just sampling stuff. "He says you look like a Barbie." She kinda smiled and then he leaned over (very seriously) and goes, "Don't worry. I don't think you look like a Barbie." We couldn't really decide who was being nice and who was being insulting. But it was pretty funny- it's better when you factor in the accents and the fact that hardly anyone else gave us the time of day.

Oh! I almost forgot- this morning I was woken up by the Muslim call to prayer. It is just this man being broadcast over this HUGE loudspeaker, yelling something in Arabic. It is so so cool. I took a recording of the sound when it happened tonight. I'm trying to put it on the internet, but you might just have to wait until I get home- but it was really really amazing. Made me feel like I was in Aladdin or something.

Well, tomorrow I have four hours of Hebrew, so I am trying to get some sleep. Hope all is well.

Aleph

2009-01-18T20:43:00.002+02:00

Today was my first day of Hebrew. It was a little overwhelming. In Hebrew everyone writes in script (kinda like cursive) and all books and street signs are in print. The problem with this is that the script and print alphabets look nothing alike. So, not only am I attempting to learn a new language, but in doing so I have to learn two new alphabets. It is also extremely difficult because the letters do not correspond to the letters in the English alphabet and they all make very particular sounds (many of which I have never heard nor made -on purpose- in my entire life). Somehow we are supposed to combine these letters into words and then be able to translate these words into meaning. At some point I suppose, we will learn how these "words" fit into a sentence, but I'm not holding my breath. So far I can say "I Rachel" ( there is no verb of being in Hebrew) and the words: wine, water, mother, sea, and gift. I've tried making sentences, but combining these words either produces something sounding painfully new-agey or awkwardly suggestive (maybe these are the same thing?).

However, I'm really excited to learn. Today in the grocery store we were trying to buy laundry detergent. Now detergent looks surprisingly like softener (and -eek-bleach). So we decided to ask the man walking down the aisle if he could help us. After ascertaining that he spoke English we asked him which was the detergent. He quickly informed us that, no he could not help us, because (and this is a direct quote), "My wife does that." So we bought something that had colored cloths on the front and are hoping for the best. It is amazing how hard it is to get around not knowing the language, even with English being so popular.

I have also been having to answer the "Why are you here if you aren't Jewish" question a lot. It's a very logical question, but my reasons are neither well articulated or something that I want to share with strangers (especially very religious ones). Today a kid just wouldn't drop it, and it actually upset me a little. I feel like an outsider at a huge church camp sometimes and its hard to know where and when I am welcome. Being non-religious I have the ability to do a lot more, but at the same time, it is really isolating. People are very dismissive of me and a lot of the time treat me like I am stupid/a novelty. I should have expected it, but there is really no one here that I can have any sort of conversation with about the significance of this place without being talked down to. I wish there was some one who I could bounce all my thoughts off who isn't going to be offended or try and convince me I'm wrong.

At any rate- It's beautiful here. I'm slowly feeling more and more at home- maybe it's the familiar stress of school starting. Hopefully I will keep having adventures to write about even though I am getting busier and busier. Love!

The Quarters

2009-01-17T19:56:00.002+02:00

Today was my first official shabat in Israel. Technically it started yesterday at sundown and ended today once you could see three stars in the sky (Apparently on cloudy days the way you tell is by holding two pieces of string, one black and one white, next to each other. Once you can no longer tell the difference between them, shabat is over). Last night they had a big shabat dinner at a fancy hotel within walking distance of our campus. It was fun to see everyone dressed up. I thought it was necessary to wear a skirt, but it seemed like as long as you looked nice, it was ok. Maybe it is different at someone's home. We (and by that I mean everyone else who actually knew them) said all the prayers and we all drank out of a wine glass and ate some hallah (which I discovered today is particularly delicious with Nutella). They also tried to lead songs but people were less enthusiastic about that part. After that, I just went to bed. They only turn the hot water on at certain times, so you have to be very strategic about your showers here.

This morning I woke up and tried to practice some Hebrew. I want to have my alphabet down for the first day (tomorrow). After that we decided to walk down to the Old City- you can't take a bus because everything is shut down today. Most people won't use electricity, spend money or do any sort of work. It is actually incredibly refreshing. It was explained to me as a day to appreciate your connection with God and the world he created. It's so amazing to be in a place where everyone is so committed to the same idea. There were a lot of walkers and no stores or restaurants were open. Even the internet I have been stealing from my neighbors was turned off this morning. Apparently you aren't even supposed to check your email or anything like that.

On the walk, I was initially wearing jeans but at the last minute changed into a long black dress and cardigan which was a VERY good choice. Not only did it make everyone around me more comfortable, it also made me feel more comfortable. My hair calls enough attention to me as it is. English is useful because so many people understand it, but at the same time it automatically labels you as an American. Although wearing modest clothing doesn't disguise my nationality, it makes people much more respectful. I'm not sure if this is true, but it felt like people were much less likely to try and scam you if you at least try to fit in. There were a lot of obvious tourists who had a much harder time getting directions and seemed much more awkward.

The walk was really really interesting. We are actually very close to the Old City but you can't go directly there, as you have to walk through a very poor Arab neighborhood. You also can't walk into just any gate because the Old City is divided up into quarters. There is the Christian, Armenian, Muslim, and Jewish Quarters. You are not supposed to go through the Armenian or Muslim Quarters. In a lot of places it is ok, because it is a market with lots of people but it is very easy to get into neighborhoods where people are not happy to see tourists... especially light skinned ones. The city is so windey that it is hard to keep your directions straight and there are no clear dividing lines to it is very easy to end up somewhere you shouldn't be. You just always have to be aware of what is going on around you.. what people are wearing, their countenance, what the shops are selling, etc. Because it was shabat, the Jewish Quarter was very quiet and you could not take pictures (this is considered doing work) so we mostly stuck to the Christian Quarter.

The Christian Quarter was incredible. It was much more ornate and well kept than the other quarters. There were a lot of churches. We finally found the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is where Jesus' tomb is and where he was crucified. It was unbelievably ornate. I went into the tomb which was a very small room with a stone that people kept kissing and a picture of Jesus. The two people I was with (Jewish) did NOT want to go in. The thing about the old city that is so amazing is how many things are packed into such a tight space. There is incredible juxtaposition everywhere you look- between religions, between eras, between people. It is just unbelievable. It seems like you can just walk around a corner and find anything. It's like there are all these little treasures hidden all over- there are no signs so it is almost impossible to get to anything directly. You are always wandering and running into these back alleys and all sorts of people who refuse to interact with each other but live feet away. Unbelievable.

Today we also stopped by the Wall again. This time we actually went down and I got to touch it. I was so glad to be wearing a long black dress. I blended in and felt ok, going all the way up to the wall next to where people were praying. There is a huge stand full of prayer books which people take and read (or recite from memory) as they lean against the wall. There are two separate sides for men and women and the women's side is about a quarter of that of the mens. There are tons of little pieces of paper with prayers, thoughts, etc. on them stuffed into the wall. It makes it seem like the wall is overflowing/growing when you first look at it. You have to walk away from the wall backwards, you can't just turn and walk away. It is so incredible to touch something so old. Just to think about all the people who have stood in that exact spot is amazing. I can't imagine what it would be like to come there everyday and base your entire life around this place and it's history. It is pretty incredible. It makes me understand why people are so unwilling to budge in this conflict. It really isn't about the people alive today- it is about the generations and generations. It would be so hard to surrender something that so many people had died to protect. It's not really their choice. Who are they to assume the responsibility of surrendering this place that has been fought over throughout the generations? And I'm sure I am only seeing the very tip of the iceberg.

I am so appreciative that I have six months to explore this place. I can't imagine "doing" Jerusalem in one day, or even a week. There is something amazing about living here and being able to go to these sacred places again and again, until you really get a feel for them- not just to see them. I feel so lucky and wish I was a better photographer. Hopefully my next post will be in Hebrew. Sorry this was so long. Everything is too incredible to leave something out. Love!

2009-01-16T14:31:00.002+02:00

sideways view of the old city hallway
the wall
the wall the dome and the paratroopers
joel and jenny
view from the campus

In the Beginning...

2009-01-16T13:47:00.003+02:00

So I finally have a moment to sit down and catch my breath. Everything has been so hectic the past few days that I have hardly had a moment to think- let alone realize where I am and comprehend that enough to write coherently about it. I got here on the 14th (a day ahead of the US). The plane ride was ok. Only ten hours. I was sitting in a middle seat with the very talkative "super jew" (as he called himself) next to me. At one point I dozed off and woke up to see him very near my face, trying to bite my pillow? Needless to say, I didn't sleep too much. When we got here, there where a bunch of people waiting to meet us and we got through security easily (much more quickly than leaving the US where all the non-jewish kids had to get extra questioned and their bags searched in an weird little back room) and onto the huge charter buses that were waiting for us. We drove from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and straight to the campus (on top of a huge hill in the center of the city). The drive was pretty amazing. There were tons of olive groves and old old houses and armed guards everywhere. It is just so different that what I am used to. Everything here is so geared towards survival and so much more aggressive. Even the landscape seems confrontational. I suppose that doesn't make a huge amount of sense, but that's just how it struck me. Once we got to campus we got settled in and got our roommates. Everyone seems very nice, but there are a lot of people who came on the trip together. I was thinking how cool it would have been, but at the same time it is great to be forced to meet all new people and just totally go it on your own. So after this we went to registration and on a shopping trip to get things that we needed for our rooms, and then everyone pretty much passed out. Yesterday, we did orientation and found out about the Ulpan. I'm in level aleph (the first level), but there are a lot of other people in aleph too, so I don't feel so out of place. I do feel a little out of place because there are only like five other not jewish kids in the program and certainly no other non-religious kids. It's awkward when everyone is always assuming you are something you aren't, but I don't want to just walk around all the time saying- hi my name is Rachel. I'm not jewish. Tonight is the first shabat dinner, so that will be interesting.

Yesterday we went and figured out how to take a bus downtown and found the market- a little hard not knowing Hebrew, but most people speak English even if they aren't too stoked about having to do it to American teenagers here on "holiday". But the market was amazing. It was just like all the pictures you have ever seen with tons of fresh food everywhere. There were so many colors and smells and tastes... it is impossible to write about. It was in this little ally that we stumbled upon, so at first we were out on a very quite street, then we turned the corner and it was this mad-house. No lines, no please or thankyou or excuse me. Just go for it and try and get something relatively close to what you wanted. We bought a bunch of dried fruit and hallah and pita and a scarf and vegetables and hummus. And it was all so cheap (and we were probably getting ripped off). Then we went and got falafel, which is delicious. After that part of our group decided to go back to campus and three of us decided to walk around a little. The first thing we did was go to the Wall, which was amazing. It was sorta the same thing as the market where we were walking through really quiet streets and then all of a sudden we found the wall and there were a TON of people there. It turns out, they were having a confirmation for the paratroopers so it was like an army assembled by the wall. I have never seen so many guns in one place before (more than one). Anyway, it was amazing. And during all this there were still people praying at the wall. you could also see the dome right there. It is amazing to see this place that so many people care so much about. After that we went out a little. I guess pretty much every night this one street turns into a giant block party, so we walked around there a little and made some friends.

Finally we got home in a taxi- 40 shekels for 5 of us... a pretty good deal. So now I am sitting in my room, trying to figure out what to wear for shabat dinner and how to act and feeling a little overwhelmed but still pretty excited. I'm finding the key to not being homesick is just staying busy, which doesn't take much effort here, except on shabat when everything shuts down. Hebrew starts on Sunday and I'm so excited to learn. I can't wait to be able to talk to people here. It feels like I have already been here for months and months, so hopefully the months and months I have left don't feel like years and years. I miss you all so much and look forward to emails and letters and anything else.

Shalom!