Wow, it appears that I've started failing at this blog thing. I guess I've been here so long that the blog has gotten less exciting for me.
Scary as it is, I have less than 15 days here! So I will try to recap what I've been up to since my last post:
- Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving here was an all around disappointing experience. I guess that's OK though. Thanksgiving is a home and family thing and Israel for me is really neither. That sounds sad, but it's not. I think it's important to realize where home is and can be, and where it can't. My idea of home has expanded since high school, but Israel has not become a part of it.
- Haifa! A few weekends ago Samantha and I decided to go up to Haifa for a night. It was really great! We got there friday night and shortly after checking into our hostel we met a new friend from Germany. She ended up spending the whole weekend with us, which was fun. We had a great dinner on friday night and some good views of the Baha'i gardens lit up at night. The next morning we got up and took a cab up to the top of the gardens. We put our name on a list for an English tour and wandered. The view was beautiful! The hilltop was so lively- there were families talking walks and couples drinking coffee, it was really lovely. Our tour was also really great. Going on a tour is the only way to actually go into the gardens, so it was definitely worth it. The Baha'i faith is really interesting. The was it was described to me makes it seem like the Unitarian Universalism of the Middle East. It's biggest tenant is Equality between all people. I should probably research more on this topic. Anyways, we spent the rest of the day exploring- we went to a sculpture garden, a zoo, and out for lunch. Then we decided to make our way to the beach for sunset which was really really great.
- Soccer game. I went to my first professional soccer game 2 mondays ago. It was a cool cultural stufy- I don't think i ended up paying much attention to the game itself. There were very few women at the game- in fact, we got our own ticket with a cheaper price for children, women, and soldiers. Also, when our group of girls went to the women's security check (because we were patted down, so men and women were separated) the guy overseeing it said: "too many girls! what are you doing here? go home!" weird. It was also interesting because the teams playing were the Jerusalem team and the Israeli Arab team. Beitar, the Jerusalem team, has a long history. Originally Beitar was a pre-state Zionist youth group- we learned about the group in Israeli History. The soccer team, Beitar's supporters still chant a lot of the pro-zionist chants of the early 1900s. It was kind of awkward when their team song included likes like "we hate all of the Arabs", though.
The last two week are basically a blur of work and roommate drama. We all really need a break- and it seems like things are only getting worse. I am so excited to go back to the dorms, even if it is musser, where there are other people in charge and in general everyone is more respectful.
There is more to update, but this post is long enough.
More soon! Or at least before I go home, I promise.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
November is Halfway over!
Well, Trent has bugged me a couple of times about updating my blog, so here it goes.
The most exciting thing about the past 2 weeks has been having my mom here to visit. She was on a mission through the Baltimore Jewish community and then stayed a few days past the end of her tour to be with me. It was really wonderful to see her! We spent a good amount of time shopping in and around the old city, which was a nice change of pace because I don't do nearly enough shopping here. We also ate good food which was also a change for me.
It was nice being able to do some touristy things with my mom as well. We went through Machane Yehudah (the market) with an Israeli chef which was really neat and delicious! We also went up Masada and down to the dead sea which is always fun.
The story of Masada raised some new questions for me though, especially after a paper I wrote at Carleton last year. The story of Masada goes like this: Back in the day the Romans were persecuting Jews and a group of Jews fled to the mountain fortress of Masada and lived there. Eventually the Romans came after them and took forever to finally get up the mountain to attack. Once it was clear that the Romans would conquer and capture them, they decided as a group to commit suicide. Each man killed his wife and children then himself. 900-some Jews died on Masada and only 2 women and 5 children escaped the massacre. This group of Jews are considered heroes. My problem with this whole story is that Judaism usually forbids suicide. Last year I did a whole project on Rabbinic Responsa during the Holocaust. When Jews asked if they could kill themselves rather than be captured by the Nazis, most Rabbis said no. Committing suicide represented loss of faith in God. So, why are the more than 900 Jews who chose to take their own lives instead of face the Romans heroes and not faithless cowards? I’m not saying that I would want to be captured by the Romans to be raped, enslaved, maybe even crucified, but I also don’t think the Jews who took their lives on Masada should be considered heroes either.
The dead sea was also really cool. Last time we were there it was late December at least 5 years ago and the water was freezing and not inviting. This time it was a lot of fun to float in the water for a while. It was also hilarious because swimming in the dead sea is unlike any other experience, thus we spent pretty much the first 8 minutes that we were in the water just laughing.
The next weekend was my birthday weekend- so we decided to spend the weekend up in a spa in the very north of Israel- near Rosh Pina. Our first mistake was deciding to rent a car and drive up there ourselves. The process of renting the car alone was a huge ordeal that was totally not worth it. Our second mistake was driving up north in the dark. That’s kind of self explanatory. Our third mistake was making a wrong turn that took us through the city of Nazareth.
Getting lost in Nazareth was the scariest experience I’ve had since I’ve been here, and the thing that is so upsetting about it is that there was not reason for how scared we were. Nazareth is best known because it is the ‘hometown’ of Jesus (in Rabbinic writings he is referred to as ‘Jesus of Nazareth’). These days Nazareth is a predominantly Arab town. As we drove around in what seemed like circles, in the dark, in the middle of the town, the only thing we were sure of was that we could not stop the car and ask for directions. Looking back it seems ridiculous, but in the moment that was simply not an option. I was petrified, wondering if we stopped to ask if I should ask in Hebrew or English, and which one would be received worse. My mom spent most of our time lost in Nazareth yelling, I spend most of it crying and shaking from fear. All I could think was that this was the worst country in the entire world and that I wanted to go back to the states now. I didn’t even want to go back to Jerusalem- just home. I kept thinking that this was a horrible place to be- where getting lost in a city wasn’t just unnerving, it was downright terrifying. It is horrible that we have been trained or brainwashed or conditioned to believe that stopping to ask for directions in an Arab town could only possibly result in something terrible. It’s not all without basis, of course. I can’t walk around my 2/3 Arab neighborhood without getting beeped at or called to from cars. There was no reason for me and my mom to think we would get treated any better. But, at the same time, there was no reason to think that we were in any actual danger by calling to someone on the street from our car, or by walking into a small shop and asking.
Looking back, our night in Nazareth is an interesting situation to analyze. One thing that I find really interesting is how immediate and innate our fear was. It was completely irrational and unprovoked. Also, it came to me and my mom independently of the other (what I mean here is that I wasn’t fine with everything until my mom started talking about how bad it was that we were lost there, I knew/felt it on my own). We didn’t really talk about what we were feeling or experiencing until we were out of the situation, it was simply understood. It’s simply amazing (in a horrible way) that everything we’ve read and seen on the news or experienced in person or heard about could have manifested itself in such a fear. It’s terrible that everyone only slightly involved in the conflict has been instilled with such prejudices. It gives me absolutely no hope for the peace process here- that someone like me who is not an Israeli or Palestinian, has not been directly affected by suicide bombings or the occupation, and who even claims to see and understand both sides of the conflict can be so entirely terrified when surrounded by “the other”.
Eventually we found our way back to the main road and got up to the spa with relative ease. Our stay was nice and very relaxing. Sleep, organic vegetables, cheese, and a bubble bath were all involved. It was a really nice escape from Jerusalem and life as a student.
So at this point I’ve almost finished up last weekend, but I think I’ve decided this post should be done and posted- it is a little intense and a little on the long side, and I don’t want to bore you. I will try to post in the next couple of days to talk about what has happened since I’ve turned 20!
The most exciting thing about the past 2 weeks has been having my mom here to visit. She was on a mission through the Baltimore Jewish community and then stayed a few days past the end of her tour to be with me. It was really wonderful to see her! We spent a good amount of time shopping in and around the old city, which was a nice change of pace because I don't do nearly enough shopping here. We also ate good food which was also a change for me.
It was nice being able to do some touristy things with my mom as well. We went through Machane Yehudah (the market) with an Israeli chef which was really neat and delicious! We also went up Masada and down to the dead sea which is always fun.
The story of Masada raised some new questions for me though, especially after a paper I wrote at Carleton last year. The story of Masada goes like this: Back in the day the Romans were persecuting Jews and a group of Jews fled to the mountain fortress of Masada and lived there. Eventually the Romans came after them and took forever to finally get up the mountain to attack. Once it was clear that the Romans would conquer and capture them, they decided as a group to commit suicide. Each man killed his wife and children then himself. 900-some Jews died on Masada and only 2 women and 5 children escaped the massacre. This group of Jews are considered heroes. My problem with this whole story is that Judaism usually forbids suicide. Last year I did a whole project on Rabbinic Responsa during the Holocaust. When Jews asked if they could kill themselves rather than be captured by the Nazis, most Rabbis said no. Committing suicide represented loss of faith in God. So, why are the more than 900 Jews who chose to take their own lives instead of face the Romans heroes and not faithless cowards? I’m not saying that I would want to be captured by the Romans to be raped, enslaved, maybe even crucified, but I also don’t think the Jews who took their lives on Masada should be considered heroes either.
The dead sea was also really cool. Last time we were there it was late December at least 5 years ago and the water was freezing and not inviting. This time it was a lot of fun to float in the water for a while. It was also hilarious because swimming in the dead sea is unlike any other experience, thus we spent pretty much the first 8 minutes that we were in the water just laughing.
The next weekend was my birthday weekend- so we decided to spend the weekend up in a spa in the very north of Israel- near Rosh Pina. Our first mistake was deciding to rent a car and drive up there ourselves. The process of renting the car alone was a huge ordeal that was totally not worth it. Our second mistake was driving up north in the dark. That’s kind of self explanatory. Our third mistake was making a wrong turn that took us through the city of Nazareth.
Getting lost in Nazareth was the scariest experience I’ve had since I’ve been here, and the thing that is so upsetting about it is that there was not reason for how scared we were. Nazareth is best known because it is the ‘hometown’ of Jesus (in Rabbinic writings he is referred to as ‘Jesus of Nazareth’). These days Nazareth is a predominantly Arab town. As we drove around in what seemed like circles, in the dark, in the middle of the town, the only thing we were sure of was that we could not stop the car and ask for directions. Looking back it seems ridiculous, but in the moment that was simply not an option. I was petrified, wondering if we stopped to ask if I should ask in Hebrew or English, and which one would be received worse. My mom spent most of our time lost in Nazareth yelling, I spend most of it crying and shaking from fear. All I could think was that this was the worst country in the entire world and that I wanted to go back to the states now. I didn’t even want to go back to Jerusalem- just home. I kept thinking that this was a horrible place to be- where getting lost in a city wasn’t just unnerving, it was downright terrifying. It is horrible that we have been trained or brainwashed or conditioned to believe that stopping to ask for directions in an Arab town could only possibly result in something terrible. It’s not all without basis, of course. I can’t walk around my 2/3 Arab neighborhood without getting beeped at or called to from cars. There was no reason for me and my mom to think we would get treated any better. But, at the same time, there was no reason to think that we were in any actual danger by calling to someone on the street from our car, or by walking into a small shop and asking.
Looking back, our night in Nazareth is an interesting situation to analyze. One thing that I find really interesting is how immediate and innate our fear was. It was completely irrational and unprovoked. Also, it came to me and my mom independently of the other (what I mean here is that I wasn’t fine with everything until my mom started talking about how bad it was that we were lost there, I knew/felt it on my own). We didn’t really talk about what we were feeling or experiencing until we were out of the situation, it was simply understood. It’s simply amazing (in a horrible way) that everything we’ve read and seen on the news or experienced in person or heard about could have manifested itself in such a fear. It’s terrible that everyone only slightly involved in the conflict has been instilled with such prejudices. It gives me absolutely no hope for the peace process here- that someone like me who is not an Israeli or Palestinian, has not been directly affected by suicide bombings or the occupation, and who even claims to see and understand both sides of the conflict can be so entirely terrified when surrounded by “the other”.
Eventually we found our way back to the main road and got up to the spa with relative ease. Our stay was nice and very relaxing. Sleep, organic vegetables, cheese, and a bubble bath were all involved. It was a really nice escape from Jerusalem and life as a student.
So at this point I’ve almost finished up last weekend, but I think I’ve decided this post should be done and posted- it is a little intense and a little on the long side, and I don’t want to bore you. I will try to post in the next couple of days to talk about what has happened since I’ve turned 20!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Athens!
On Sunday morning I got back from a wonderful visit to Athens, Greece. I arrived early on wednesday morning and made my way to Jessie's apartment in a neighborhood called Pagrati. It as so exciting! Jessie lives in this apartment with 4 other student in her program, 2 of whom also happen to be carleton students: Ryan and Joe. After being very excited and saying hello to everyone including Chuck and Lynsey who were also visiting, we headed out to get spanikopita and other snacks and see the program where Jessie's program is based. It was instantly wonderful to be with Carleton people again- nothing against the friends I've made in Israel, but these people know me so well, it's just natural to be wit them- it is so much easier than all of the relationships I have formed or attempted to form over the past three months. After hanging out, talking, and of course, checking our e-mail, we headed out on a walk around the city.
We got to see the center of town, Syntagma, and the parliament building and national gardens then we walked around the main shopping area, taking lots of breaks to sit and talk. Jessie and Ryan decided that we had to see the meat market- which was definitely a sight to see. Animal carcases were hanging everywhere. It was slightly disturing but also kind of appetizing, since there really isn't a great place to buy meat here that I have found, so I'm always craving meat. After that experience we decided to make our way to the Acropolis. Climbing up the Acropolis was cool and entertaining to hear Ryan and Jessie attempt to piece together the facts about all of the buildings. It was also the first chance I had to see the vastness of Athens.
Athens is a city of 3 million people and buildings are often no more than 6 floors which means that the city spreads out in every direction. After the Acropolis we went to chill at a cafe and Ryan left us to make dinner. That night he prepared a traditional Greek rabbit stew for us and some of his friends. Supposedly Ryan makes a differet Greek meal once a week- I was very impressed. Also, the rabbit was good- very surprising!
The next day Jessie and Ryan had class so Chuck, Lynsey, and I set off to attempt to go on an adventure to the nearest Greek Isrland, Agina. This didn't go as well as planned: first, the Metro was on strike so we had to figure out how to get to the port by bus. The we stayed on our bus too long and had to get off and backtrack. Then we barely missed an 11am boat and would have to wait another hour for get on an epensive boat so we ultimately decided to go back and meet Jessie for lunch. For lunch we ate at a little taverna and Chuck and I got a greek specialty, Musaka- it's a casserole of potatoes, eggplant, meat, and some cheese or eggs or something- it was very tasty. The we went back to Jessie's apartment and took a two hour nap while she was in class. That night there was a "Halloween" party at Jessie's school- really it was a greek party held on Halloween ever- it was a good time because we got free Greek food and got to watch some greek dancing (like Ryan Farkas!). Afterwards we got delicious gelato and sat by a small church near Syntagma where we chilled and took a bunch of pictures. That night the apartment was hopping because on top of the 5 usual residents, the 3 of us were visiting and one of Jessie's apartment mates had 4 friends visiting as well.
On friday Chuck and Lynsey headed back to Copenhagen and me and Jessie napped for a few hours after. Then, Jessie, Ryan, and I took a walk up Lykavittos Hill- the highest point in Athens. Of course, it was the hottest afternoon since I had been there, so the walk up the hill was particularly tought. The top provided more wonderful city views and the walk provided great conversation. When we got back to the apartmetn we met up with Jessie's mom and her friend for dinner and more Gelato.
Saturday Ryan and I were going to go on an Adventure to Nafplio, a town 2 1/2 hours away, but I decided that I wasn't up for it- so we stayed in town. In the morning I went on a solo shopping trip through Plaka, the tourist shopping area. I was really excited that Athens was so easy to navigate and safe and not obnoxious to be alone in, so I wanted to explore a bit on my own. I met up with Ryan for wandering and lunch and then we met up with Jessie and co. to go to the Archeological museum. We ended up getting to the museum only a half hour before closing, so we got in for free but had to rush through. We actually managed to see 6 of the top 10 items in the museum, we were pretty proud.. Then we chilled at a cafe for a couple of hours and returned to the apartment to pack. I ended my stay in Athens with a nice dinner at a Taverna with Ryan and a friend of his, Bri.
Basically, the best think about this trip was being with Carleton students in a place far away from Carleton. We spent a lot of time talking about our experiences away from school- there are a lot of things that differ but a common ground is that Carleton students are unique and there's not really anyone quite like them anywhere. This is a good exercise in meeting new people, but ultimately we want to go back, because it's really not the same.
I also loved being in a city that was respectful and accessible. We used public transportation twice- everything was within walking distance and we walked a lot. Also, we never got called our for simply being girls- it's such a nice relief. Even the store owners were not overly aggressive. Lastly, I really like that most greeks cross themselves every time they pass a church. I know its something potentially brainless, but it's also very spiritual.
Ahh! Carleton kids eating Bananas in the middle of Athens.
From the Acropolis
View of the ocean from the top of the hill.
My favorite little church in the middle of town.
Me, Jessie, Chuck, and Lynsey
The rest of the pictures are here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006368&l=9ba38&id=1229460136
We got to see the center of town, Syntagma, and the parliament building and national gardens then we walked around the main shopping area, taking lots of breaks to sit and talk. Jessie and Ryan decided that we had to see the meat market- which was definitely a sight to see. Animal carcases were hanging everywhere. It was slightly disturing but also kind of appetizing, since there really isn't a great place to buy meat here that I have found, so I'm always craving meat. After that experience we decided to make our way to the Acropolis. Climbing up the Acropolis was cool and entertaining to hear Ryan and Jessie attempt to piece together the facts about all of the buildings. It was also the first chance I had to see the vastness of Athens.
Athens is a city of 3 million people and buildings are often no more than 6 floors which means that the city spreads out in every direction. After the Acropolis we went to chill at a cafe and Ryan left us to make dinner. That night he prepared a traditional Greek rabbit stew for us and some of his friends. Supposedly Ryan makes a differet Greek meal once a week- I was very impressed. Also, the rabbit was good- very surprising!
The next day Jessie and Ryan had class so Chuck, Lynsey, and I set off to attempt to go on an adventure to the nearest Greek Isrland, Agina. This didn't go as well as planned: first, the Metro was on strike so we had to figure out how to get to the port by bus. The we stayed on our bus too long and had to get off and backtrack. Then we barely missed an 11am boat and would have to wait another hour for get on an epensive boat so we ultimately decided to go back and meet Jessie for lunch. For lunch we ate at a little taverna and Chuck and I got a greek specialty, Musaka- it's a casserole of potatoes, eggplant, meat, and some cheese or eggs or something- it was very tasty. The we went back to Jessie's apartment and took a two hour nap while she was in class. That night there was a "Halloween" party at Jessie's school- really it was a greek party held on Halloween ever- it was a good time because we got free Greek food and got to watch some greek dancing (like Ryan Farkas!). Afterwards we got delicious gelato and sat by a small church near Syntagma where we chilled and took a bunch of pictures. That night the apartment was hopping because on top of the 5 usual residents, the 3 of us were visiting and one of Jessie's apartment mates had 4 friends visiting as well.
On friday Chuck and Lynsey headed back to Copenhagen and me and Jessie napped for a few hours after. Then, Jessie, Ryan, and I took a walk up Lykavittos Hill- the highest point in Athens. Of course, it was the hottest afternoon since I had been there, so the walk up the hill was particularly tought. The top provided more wonderful city views and the walk provided great conversation. When we got back to the apartmetn we met up with Jessie's mom and her friend for dinner and more Gelato.
Saturday Ryan and I were going to go on an Adventure to Nafplio, a town 2 1/2 hours away, but I decided that I wasn't up for it- so we stayed in town. In the morning I went on a solo shopping trip through Plaka, the tourist shopping area. I was really excited that Athens was so easy to navigate and safe and not obnoxious to be alone in, so I wanted to explore a bit on my own. I met up with Ryan for wandering and lunch and then we met up with Jessie and co. to go to the Archeological museum. We ended up getting to the museum only a half hour before closing, so we got in for free but had to rush through. We actually managed to see 6 of the top 10 items in the museum, we were pretty proud.. Then we chilled at a cafe for a couple of hours and returned to the apartment to pack. I ended my stay in Athens with a nice dinner at a Taverna with Ryan and a friend of his, Bri.
Basically, the best think about this trip was being with Carleton students in a place far away from Carleton. We spent a lot of time talking about our experiences away from school- there are a lot of things that differ but a common ground is that Carleton students are unique and there's not really anyone quite like them anywhere. This is a good exercise in meeting new people, but ultimately we want to go back, because it's really not the same.
I also loved being in a city that was respectful and accessible. We used public transportation twice- everything was within walking distance and we walked a lot. Also, we never got called our for simply being girls- it's such a nice relief. Even the store owners were not overly aggressive. Lastly, I really like that most greeks cross themselves every time they pass a church. I know its something potentially brainless, but it's also very spiritual.
Ahh! Carleton kids eating Bananas in the middle of Athens.
From the Acropolis
View of the ocean from the top of the hill.
My favorite little church in the middle of town.
Me, Jessie, Chuck, and LynseyThe rest of the pictures are here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006368&l=9ba38&id=1229460136
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Jordan and Egypt!
Early last week I got back from a great trip with my dad to Jordan and Egypt. We did a lot of things, more than I can remember or recount here, so I think I'll list the things I learned or found interesting or surprising:
- Jordan. I basically knew nothing about Jordan and learned a lot about it on this trip. Jordan recognizes Israel as a country, so that's always a bonus for countries around Israel. It also sees itself as a neutral party in the middle east. It is really difficult to get Jordanian citizenship, supposedly. Also, the Jordanian Dinar is tied to the Dollar, and they accept both currencies, interesting. Also, everyone we talked to was very supportive of America and had a lot of pride in Jordan's relationship with the US. People in general were really nice to us everywhere, a store owner even gave me a mosaic as a gift, even though we didn't buy anything else at his store. Jordanian children also learn Arabic, English, and French in schools.
- Amman. Here are a few interesting facts about Amman (the capital of Jordan): Like Jerusalem, all of the buildings in Amman have to be made of the same stone. In Amman the stone is Limestone, and in Jerusalem its Jerusalem Stone (creative, I know). They are also trying to get rid of all traffic lights in Amman and replacing them with traffic circles to keep traffic flowing (my mom would hate it!). Lastly, motorcycles aren't allowed in Amman, actually I think this is true for all of Jordan, but it was most noticeable in Amman.
- Ancient Egyptian Death Rituals: Now, of course I knew about the pyramids and everything from ancient Egypt, but I don't think I ever really thought about the extensiveness of the death rituals from that time. The ancient egyptians went all out when it came to burying and preserving the dead- it's really incredible. I think the part that interests me the most is the belief behind it. I find myself wondering how they came up with the idea that everything put in a tomb with someone got to go to heaven with them. Or how they thought little model boats could become big boats for their owners to sail to heaven. Or even how taking out all of the internal organs of the person helped them be reborn into heaven. The belief was so deep and so detailed and exotic, it's really interesting.
- I mentioned this in my facebook album, but the coolest thing that I saw was Cheop's Solar Boat. Basically, it is a giant boat that was buried in thousands of pieces in a tomb next to one of the pharoah's pyramid. This boat was built solely to be buried for the Pharoah's soul to magically put together and sail to heaven in. That demonstration of faith and belief really amazes me.
- I am slightly claustrophobic. I've actually knows this for a while- I basically need to know my air source. So, I had some trouble in Egypt when it came to climbing in the pyramids- I basically didn't do it. I went partially up one of them, but then decided to stop. I don't know- the way I see it is that the pyramids were created to house the dead and their things, not for other (live) people to ever go in, so why would good ventilation be a priority? Thus I stay out of pyramids.
- Another interesting thing about traveling has been being able to talk to locals or non-American tourists about the US election. Everyone wants to talk about it. I think all of my traveling and talking to people has completely reinforced my decision to vote for Obama. Everyone has been so optimistic about the idea of Obama as president, and that kind of faith and hope for America redeeming its international image is a big plus for me.
It's about time to wrap up this post as I'm leaving for another adventure in Greece in 4 hours! Here's a preview of some of my favorite pictures from the trip:
This is the treasury in Petra, Jordan. What is incredible about this building is that it was carved out of the solid mountainside... no room for mistakes.
The sun behind the great pyramid in Giza!
As you can tell by the next two pictures, I really enjoyed re-learning manual photography techniques on this trip.
On the trip we did a 3 day Nile Cruise. The next few pictures our from one night when I got to watch the sun set from the top deck of our ship. It was beautiful.
The rest of the albums can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006290&l=39ee8&id=1229460136
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006291&l=2bb3e&id=1229460136
- Jordan. I basically knew nothing about Jordan and learned a lot about it on this trip. Jordan recognizes Israel as a country, so that's always a bonus for countries around Israel. It also sees itself as a neutral party in the middle east. It is really difficult to get Jordanian citizenship, supposedly. Also, the Jordanian Dinar is tied to the Dollar, and they accept both currencies, interesting. Also, everyone we talked to was very supportive of America and had a lot of pride in Jordan's relationship with the US. People in general were really nice to us everywhere, a store owner even gave me a mosaic as a gift, even though we didn't buy anything else at his store. Jordanian children also learn Arabic, English, and French in schools.
- Amman. Here are a few interesting facts about Amman (the capital of Jordan): Like Jerusalem, all of the buildings in Amman have to be made of the same stone. In Amman the stone is Limestone, and in Jerusalem its Jerusalem Stone (creative, I know). They are also trying to get rid of all traffic lights in Amman and replacing them with traffic circles to keep traffic flowing (my mom would hate it!). Lastly, motorcycles aren't allowed in Amman, actually I think this is true for all of Jordan, but it was most noticeable in Amman.
- Ancient Egyptian Death Rituals: Now, of course I knew about the pyramids and everything from ancient Egypt, but I don't think I ever really thought about the extensiveness of the death rituals from that time. The ancient egyptians went all out when it came to burying and preserving the dead- it's really incredible. I think the part that interests me the most is the belief behind it. I find myself wondering how they came up with the idea that everything put in a tomb with someone got to go to heaven with them. Or how they thought little model boats could become big boats for their owners to sail to heaven. Or even how taking out all of the internal organs of the person helped them be reborn into heaven. The belief was so deep and so detailed and exotic, it's really interesting.
- I mentioned this in my facebook album, but the coolest thing that I saw was Cheop's Solar Boat. Basically, it is a giant boat that was buried in thousands of pieces in a tomb next to one of the pharoah's pyramid. This boat was built solely to be buried for the Pharoah's soul to magically put together and sail to heaven in. That demonstration of faith and belief really amazes me.
- I am slightly claustrophobic. I've actually knows this for a while- I basically need to know my air source. So, I had some trouble in Egypt when it came to climbing in the pyramids- I basically didn't do it. I went partially up one of them, but then decided to stop. I don't know- the way I see it is that the pyramids were created to house the dead and their things, not for other (live) people to ever go in, so why would good ventilation be a priority? Thus I stay out of pyramids.
- Another interesting thing about traveling has been being able to talk to locals or non-American tourists about the US election. Everyone wants to talk about it. I think all of my traveling and talking to people has completely reinforced my decision to vote for Obama. Everyone has been so optimistic about the idea of Obama as president, and that kind of faith and hope for America redeeming its international image is a big plus for me.
It's about time to wrap up this post as I'm leaving for another adventure in Greece in 4 hours! Here's a preview of some of my favorite pictures from the trip:
This is the sun looking really neat behind a monument on Mount Nebo. Bible Trivia! Mount Nebo is the place where Moses stood and God showed him all the land for the Hebrews, unfortunately Moses was never allowed into that Land of Israel and he died somewhere in modern day Jordan.
This is the treasury in Petra, Jordan. What is incredible about this building is that it was carved out of the solid mountainside... no room for mistakes.
The sun behind the great pyramid in Giza!
As you can tell by the next two pictures, I really enjoyed re-learning manual photography techniques on this trip.
On the trip we did a 3 day Nile Cruise. The next few pictures our from one night when I got to watch the sun set from the top deck of our ship. It was beautiful.
The rest of the albums can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006290&l=39ee8&id=1229460136
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006291&l=2bb3e&id=1229460136
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Yom Kippur in Jerusalem
True, I just got back from a wonderful trip to Jordan and Egypt with my dad, but, I decided I should post about an experience I had before I left for that trip.
For those of you who don't know, Yom Kippur is pretty much the most important Jewish holiday. It is the day of atonement; the day where we apologize to God and each other for the bad things we have done and hope for forgiveness and mercy. We believe in a book of life and a book of death, whether these are real physical books is not really the point, the point of the day is to remember that ultimately, our life is not solely in our hands. God put us here and God can take us away, and if we are here, alive, on this earth for the next year, it is through God's mercy and compassion alone. Now, that seems like a strong, slightly ridiculous statement, and I can see a lot of you roling your eyes or maybe even being surprised that I would say this and believe it. Here's how it works in my mind: I believe in an all-powerful, all knowing God, but I also believe in free will, human choice, etc. I know that I am not perfect and that I make mistakes, and I believe in a God that allows that. I believe in a God who wants me to learn and grow on my own: to realize my problems and fix them, to struggle with my faith but always return to it. All the while I still believe that if God wanted my life to end here and now, it would. So do I think my name will be written in the book of death because I spoke behind someone's back or cut someone off in traffic? no. But I think Yom Kippur is the time for me and other Jews to remember that there is a force much much larger than us making these decisions.
Anyways, that was a very large diversion from the story I wanted to tell about Yom Kippur in Jerusalem. Kira's parents were in town for the holiday, so they made us a great pre-fast meal in our apartment. Then we drove into the city and got our rooms at a hotel near the synagogue we were going to. The interesting thing about Yom Kippur in Jerusalem is that every single thing shuts down. On shabbat, most things shut down, but there are still cars and taxis on the streets. On Yom Kippur, no one drives, the streets are completely empty. After Kol Nidre services (the night Yom Kippur started), we walked around town. We walked in the middle of the bussiest streets in the city. Other people were out, sitting in circles in the middle of the streets or strolling like us. The city was silent. Our fast was long and difficult (26 hours) and I'm not sure how I felt about the services we attended, but what really struck me was the trasformation of the city on that one day.
The problem is that some people in Israel took the holiday way to seriously this year (as I've heard that they have done for years in the past). A couple days before Yom Kippur my roommates came home from class saying that they had been told stories of people in religious neighborhoods stoning cars that were driving on Yom Kippur. Ambulances have even been stoned on their way to the hospital. I couldn't believe it. But, it turns out, this year was also not free from incidence. In a town called Accho, an Arab man was driving to pick up his daughter from relatives. It happened to be Erev Yom Kippur and the Jews in the neighborhood stoned his car. This started a riot between the Arabs nearby and the Jews in Accho. Police didn't respond for hours. There are different accounts- some claiming the arab man was playing loud music and causing trouble and others claiming this was a racist attack on Arabs. But the point is that this is where I dissagree with people who claim to practice the same religion as I do: I don't believe in a God that wants me to stone people driving on my holiday. I don't believe that wins me any points with God or will help me get into the book of Life. In fact, I believe in a God that would want me to repent endlessly for doing what the Jews in Accho did.
For those of you who don't know, Yom Kippur is pretty much the most important Jewish holiday. It is the day of atonement; the day where we apologize to God and each other for the bad things we have done and hope for forgiveness and mercy. We believe in a book of life and a book of death, whether these are real physical books is not really the point, the point of the day is to remember that ultimately, our life is not solely in our hands. God put us here and God can take us away, and if we are here, alive, on this earth for the next year, it is through God's mercy and compassion alone. Now, that seems like a strong, slightly ridiculous statement, and I can see a lot of you roling your eyes or maybe even being surprised that I would say this and believe it. Here's how it works in my mind: I believe in an all-powerful, all knowing God, but I also believe in free will, human choice, etc. I know that I am not perfect and that I make mistakes, and I believe in a God that allows that. I believe in a God who wants me to learn and grow on my own: to realize my problems and fix them, to struggle with my faith but always return to it. All the while I still believe that if God wanted my life to end here and now, it would. So do I think my name will be written in the book of death because I spoke behind someone's back or cut someone off in traffic? no. But I think Yom Kippur is the time for me and other Jews to remember that there is a force much much larger than us making these decisions.
Anyways, that was a very large diversion from the story I wanted to tell about Yom Kippur in Jerusalem. Kira's parents were in town for the holiday, so they made us a great pre-fast meal in our apartment. Then we drove into the city and got our rooms at a hotel near the synagogue we were going to. The interesting thing about Yom Kippur in Jerusalem is that every single thing shuts down. On shabbat, most things shut down, but there are still cars and taxis on the streets. On Yom Kippur, no one drives, the streets are completely empty. After Kol Nidre services (the night Yom Kippur started), we walked around town. We walked in the middle of the bussiest streets in the city. Other people were out, sitting in circles in the middle of the streets or strolling like us. The city was silent. Our fast was long and difficult (26 hours) and I'm not sure how I felt about the services we attended, but what really struck me was the trasformation of the city on that one day.
The problem is that some people in Israel took the holiday way to seriously this year (as I've heard that they have done for years in the past). A couple days before Yom Kippur my roommates came home from class saying that they had been told stories of people in religious neighborhoods stoning cars that were driving on Yom Kippur. Ambulances have even been stoned on their way to the hospital. I couldn't believe it. But, it turns out, this year was also not free from incidence. In a town called Accho, an Arab man was driving to pick up his daughter from relatives. It happened to be Erev Yom Kippur and the Jews in the neighborhood stoned his car. This started a riot between the Arabs nearby and the Jews in Accho. Police didn't respond for hours. There are different accounts- some claiming the arab man was playing loud music and causing trouble and others claiming this was a racist attack on Arabs. But the point is that this is where I dissagree with people who claim to practice the same religion as I do: I don't believe in a God that wants me to stone people driving on my holiday. I don't believe that wins me any points with God or will help me get into the book of Life. In fact, I believe in a God that would want me to repent endlessly for doing what the Jews in Accho did.
Monday, October 6, 2008
European Adventures!
I got back last night from a trip through Europe with two of my roommates, Kira and Erica. I have a ton of stories, and even more pictures, so I'll just cover the highlights in this entry. Each city has a corresponding facebook album that I've linked to, so check out the pictures if you want!
Our first stop was Vienna, Austria. The highlights:
-Our hostel, the Wombat. It was colorful, clean, and really funky. Also, they had the whole hostel running business down.
- Seeing the opera! We did the very Viennese thing of getting standing room tickets to the opera. This required us waiting in line for a few hours, bringing scarfs to tie our spots on the railing, and standing for the entirety of the 2 1/2 hour opera. Sounds a little bit like torture, no? Well, it was. But it was also really cool to have done. The opera was "The Flying Dutchman" and it was really strange, but I guess I get the impression that most operas are really strange.
- The Vienna Boys Choir- this actually wasn't that great, but I'm glad that we went. We got cheap seats that meant we couldn't really see the choir or any part of the chapel. But still neat.
- Food! There was a lot of pork in Vienna, so that was a bit hard to navigate around but we did have some really good food- primarily wiener schnitzel, Gulash, and dumplings. The desserts were also not bad, and we managed to make our way to the Sacher Hotel to try the famous Sachertorte.
- The Schonbrunn Palace- we took a carriage ride around the grounds and it was absolutely beautiful. We also did a 30 minute tour inside that was definitely worth it.
-Shopping. We found the main shopping street in Vienna, the Innerstaat, and enjoyed walking around and shopping. We also needed to do some shopping because we were not nearly prepared for the cold.
The photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006170&l=389e0&id=1229460136
Copenhagen! The highlights:
-The best part of Copenhagen for me, of course, was seeing Chuck, Lynsey, and Grace (for only a few minutes! sad times!). I got to meet Chuck and Lynsey's host families and see where they are living- and I stayed with Chuck at his house. Even though our visit was short, I got to spend a good amount of time with Chuck and Lynsey and had a really good time!
- The public transportation system: ok, maybe this is not a highlight- but I definitely got to know it well. Also it's a million times better than Israel's system so that was nice. I actually liked being able to understand the train system somewhat, and get around a bit on my own (especially when Chuck was lame and made me go into the city alone... kidding)
- The round tower! Its this tower in the city that was built so that the king or ruler or whoever of the time could ride to the top on his horse! So it was basically a big spiral all the way to the top. Pretty cool. Also, the views were great.
- The weather during our visit was pretty horrible, but I really liked Copenhagen! I would definitely go back- maybe during the summer would be nice.
Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006171&l=871db&id=1229460136
Paris! Highlights:
-First I'll say that I really loved Paris and didn't have nearly enough time to do everything I wanted. So I'll definitely be back.
- Free tour! Our hostel had flyers for a free tour of paris- it's given by college students who work solely off of tips. The tour took almost 4 hours but was definitely worth it- it was a great tour! I saw more of paris than I ever could have hoped.
- Notre Dame- since it was the first friday of the month, they had what they believe to be the crown of Christ out to be seen by the public. I didn't go up to see it in person, because it was mainly there for Christians to approach it and kiss it, but it was neat to watch people honor the relic.
- Monmartre Tour- this one was not free but I decided to go on it anyways. It was really nice- we got to see the cafe where Amelie worked in the movie (as well as the park and grocery store in the movie), the restaurant where Picasso traded his paintings for food, Van Gogh's apartment, and the beautiful Sacre Coer Church. It was really nice.
-The Louvre- it was really great to go, but overall I found the Lourve overwhelming and the Mona Lisa slightly disappointing. Still, I got to see some pieces of artwork that I studied in art history, so that was really cool.
- Things I wish I had time to see: The Musae D'Orsay- I tried to go, but the line was too long! I heard from 5 or more different people that it is the best museum in Paris, so I'm sad that I missed it!
The top of the Eiffel tour- the lines were also too long for that too, which was also a bummer. Oh well, i guess I have a reason to go back now!
Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006172&l=79e60&id=1229460136
Now I am back in Jerusalem, briefly, and classes started last night. It should be an interesting semester- and I think I'm looking forward to being in real classes again.
Our first stop was Vienna, Austria. The highlights:
-Our hostel, the Wombat. It was colorful, clean, and really funky. Also, they had the whole hostel running business down.
- Seeing the opera! We did the very Viennese thing of getting standing room tickets to the opera. This required us waiting in line for a few hours, bringing scarfs to tie our spots on the railing, and standing for the entirety of the 2 1/2 hour opera. Sounds a little bit like torture, no? Well, it was. But it was also really cool to have done. The opera was "The Flying Dutchman" and it was really strange, but I guess I get the impression that most operas are really strange.
- The Vienna Boys Choir- this actually wasn't that great, but I'm glad that we went. We got cheap seats that meant we couldn't really see the choir or any part of the chapel. But still neat.
- Food! There was a lot of pork in Vienna, so that was a bit hard to navigate around but we did have some really good food- primarily wiener schnitzel, Gulash, and dumplings. The desserts were also not bad, and we managed to make our way to the Sacher Hotel to try the famous Sachertorte.
- The Schonbrunn Palace- we took a carriage ride around the grounds and it was absolutely beautiful. We also did a 30 minute tour inside that was definitely worth it.
-Shopping. We found the main shopping street in Vienna, the Innerstaat, and enjoyed walking around and shopping. We also needed to do some shopping because we were not nearly prepared for the cold.
The photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006170&l=389e0&id=1229460136
Copenhagen! The highlights:
-The best part of Copenhagen for me, of course, was seeing Chuck, Lynsey, and Grace (for only a few minutes! sad times!). I got to meet Chuck and Lynsey's host families and see where they are living- and I stayed with Chuck at his house. Even though our visit was short, I got to spend a good amount of time with Chuck and Lynsey and had a really good time!
- The public transportation system: ok, maybe this is not a highlight- but I definitely got to know it well. Also it's a million times better than Israel's system so that was nice. I actually liked being able to understand the train system somewhat, and get around a bit on my own (especially when Chuck was lame and made me go into the city alone... kidding)
- The round tower! Its this tower in the city that was built so that the king or ruler or whoever of the time could ride to the top on his horse! So it was basically a big spiral all the way to the top. Pretty cool. Also, the views were great.
- The weather during our visit was pretty horrible, but I really liked Copenhagen! I would definitely go back- maybe during the summer would be nice.
Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006171&l=871db&id=1229460136
Paris! Highlights:
-First I'll say that I really loved Paris and didn't have nearly enough time to do everything I wanted. So I'll definitely be back.
- Free tour! Our hostel had flyers for a free tour of paris- it's given by college students who work solely off of tips. The tour took almost 4 hours but was definitely worth it- it was a great tour! I saw more of paris than I ever could have hoped.
- Notre Dame- since it was the first friday of the month, they had what they believe to be the crown of Christ out to be seen by the public. I didn't go up to see it in person, because it was mainly there for Christians to approach it and kiss it, but it was neat to watch people honor the relic.
- Monmartre Tour- this one was not free but I decided to go on it anyways. It was really nice- we got to see the cafe where Amelie worked in the movie (as well as the park and grocery store in the movie), the restaurant where Picasso traded his paintings for food, Van Gogh's apartment, and the beautiful Sacre Coer Church. It was really nice.
-The Louvre- it was really great to go, but overall I found the Lourve overwhelming and the Mona Lisa slightly disappointing. Still, I got to see some pieces of artwork that I studied in art history, so that was really cool.
- Things I wish I had time to see: The Musae D'Orsay- I tried to go, but the line was too long! I heard from 5 or more different people that it is the best museum in Paris, so I'm sad that I missed it!
The top of the Eiffel tour- the lines were also too long for that too, which was also a bummer. Oh well, i guess I have a reason to go back now!
Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006172&l=79e60&id=1229460136
Now I am back in Jerusalem, briefly, and classes started last night. It should be an interesting semester- and I think I'm looking forward to being in real classes again.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Recap of my week:
So, it's been a little while since I've posted about what I've been up to, so here's my past week/week and a half:
Later that night we went out to dinner with a friend of Kira's from Pacific and two of his Israeli Volleyball playing friends. It was actually really nice! It was good to talk to people and be normal teenagers out for the night. Unfortunately, when we tried to actually go out for the night, we found that most Tel Aviv clubs are 22-23+ which we, 18 and 19 year old girls, couldn't pass for (the guys were older, but they still couldn't get us in). On friday we ran some errands, had an absolutely delicious breakfast, went to a craft show, and spent an hour or so on the beach. Then we came back to Jerusalem in time for Shabbat.
We decided to do another home stay shabbat, and it was another interesting experience. We met up with our host, Reb Chaim, at the Kotel. Reb Chaim is quite a character. He's american orginally, and he's actually from Minnesota which was exciting, but immigrated to Israel about 5 years ago. He opens his home for shabbat every week. He had 15-20 guests that night, almost all pretty young people like my age. Half of the group were these girls from a Yeshiva in the south. They were all very sweet, but I couldn't believe some of the things they said. For example, at one point during the meal Reb Chaim made each of us ask a question, any question, as long as it wasn't related to Jewish Law. And one of the girls asked: "Reb Chaim, which do you think is worse: a Black president or a Woman vice president?" all of us on the other side of the table almost choked and died and Amelia muttered to me "How about the racist sexist person sitting across from me". Oy, statements like that really make me miss Carleton.
Reb Chaim also gave each of us a blessing, his blessing for me was that I should always have Peace in my family and that my parents should trust me and stop nagging me (sorry Mom and Dad!) There were many more awkward, outrageous, and interesting moments, which added up to a pretty entertaining evening and a unique way to spend a friday night.
I'm sure that I spent saturday doing what I always do: Sleeping, Cleaning my room, and doing work. I'm not sure what I will do when I go back to carleton without these completely down days, it might be rough.
The school week started pretty normally but I got sick starting sunday night and at it's worse on monday. I skipped class which was a tough decision since missing 5 hours of Hebrew kind of sets you back... I also missed class on Thursday to make my second trip into Tel Aviv to get my Tourist visa for Jordan and to pick up a package.
The mail system here is horrible, basically, any package that contains electronics, DVDs, or other expensive things gets held up in Customs in Tel Aviv, so basically, don't send me those things ever. While in Tel Aviv we also went shopping! That was ok, but a little scary. I find Israelis intimidating to begin with, but they're worse when they're trying to help you in a store. I just like to be left to shop in peace! oy.
On a really good note- I had a semi-light-bulb-aha moment in class on thursday, and I think I might actually be understanding the material! (a really good thing considering I have a 5 or so hour final on thursday...)
This weekend has more or less been boring. We had a very frustrating night out on Thursday, stayed in all day yesterday, and have been home today. Is it bad that I really like weekends like this? Last night we went to another home shabbat. This time it was within the walls of the old city- it was really powerful. For some reason as we walked out of the home where we ate and down towards the Kotel I just had a grin on my face. My roommate claims it was a side effect of the half-shot of whiskey I did with everyone else, but I think there really was something nice about being in the old city on shabbat. The coolest part was walking down to the Kotel at 11:30pm on Shabbat. It was virtually empty and silent. We got to walk right up to the wall, press our hands and our foreheads against the stone and have some time for silent prayer, really cool.
I'm about to start up the most hectic week ever- which will involve lots of cramming and studying for our final and planning the details of our trip to Europe! I really can't wait, it should be a really great time!
Oh my goodness! I almost forgot about the most important part of our weekend last weekend, our apartment flooded! Something under the sink broke and water poured out everywhere. We had standing water in almost every room- and one of my roommates had to run to security to get help. It was absolutely wild. Luckily I don't think anything was destroyed, but we have had many a joke about the "Great Flood" of apartment 151
Last thursday after ulpan me, Kira, Amelia, and Erica went to Tel Aviv for the night. It was actually my first time in Tel Aviv so that was pretty cool. We stayed at a hostel that was only mildly sketchy and had a nice time! The first thing we did once we were settled was go down to the beach right in time for sunset. Actually, we missed the sun by like a minute, but it was still beautiful. It was really nice to be in a city by the water, it felt like we could have been anywhere. 
(This is one of my favorites from that night at the beach)
(This is one of my favorites from that night at the beach)Later that night we went out to dinner with a friend of Kira's from Pacific and two of his Israeli Volleyball playing friends. It was actually really nice! It was good to talk to people and be normal teenagers out for the night. Unfortunately, when we tried to actually go out for the night, we found that most Tel Aviv clubs are 22-23+ which we, 18 and 19 year old girls, couldn't pass for (the guys were older, but they still couldn't get us in). On friday we ran some errands, had an absolutely delicious breakfast, went to a craft show, and spent an hour or so on the beach. Then we came back to Jerusalem in time for Shabbat.
We decided to do another home stay shabbat, and it was another interesting experience. We met up with our host, Reb Chaim, at the Kotel. Reb Chaim is quite a character. He's american orginally, and he's actually from Minnesota which was exciting, but immigrated to Israel about 5 years ago. He opens his home for shabbat every week. He had 15-20 guests that night, almost all pretty young people like my age. Half of the group were these girls from a Yeshiva in the south. They were all very sweet, but I couldn't believe some of the things they said. For example, at one point during the meal Reb Chaim made each of us ask a question, any question, as long as it wasn't related to Jewish Law. And one of the girls asked: "Reb Chaim, which do you think is worse: a Black president or a Woman vice president?" all of us on the other side of the table almost choked and died and Amelia muttered to me "How about the racist sexist person sitting across from me". Oy, statements like that really make me miss Carleton.
Reb Chaim also gave each of us a blessing, his blessing for me was that I should always have Peace in my family and that my parents should trust me and stop nagging me (sorry Mom and Dad!) There were many more awkward, outrageous, and interesting moments, which added up to a pretty entertaining evening and a unique way to spend a friday night.
I'm sure that I spent saturday doing what I always do: Sleeping, Cleaning my room, and doing work. I'm not sure what I will do when I go back to carleton without these completely down days, it might be rough.
The school week started pretty normally but I got sick starting sunday night and at it's worse on monday. I skipped class which was a tough decision since missing 5 hours of Hebrew kind of sets you back... I also missed class on Thursday to make my second trip into Tel Aviv to get my Tourist visa for Jordan and to pick up a package.
The mail system here is horrible, basically, any package that contains electronics, DVDs, or other expensive things gets held up in Customs in Tel Aviv, so basically, don't send me those things ever. While in Tel Aviv we also went shopping! That was ok, but a little scary. I find Israelis intimidating to begin with, but they're worse when they're trying to help you in a store. I just like to be left to shop in peace! oy.
On a really good note- I had a semi-light-bulb-aha moment in class on thursday, and I think I might actually be understanding the material! (a really good thing considering I have a 5 or so hour final on thursday...)
This weekend has more or less been boring. We had a very frustrating night out on Thursday, stayed in all day yesterday, and have been home today. Is it bad that I really like weekends like this? Last night we went to another home shabbat. This time it was within the walls of the old city- it was really powerful. For some reason as we walked out of the home where we ate and down towards the Kotel I just had a grin on my face. My roommate claims it was a side effect of the half-shot of whiskey I did with everyone else, but I think there really was something nice about being in the old city on shabbat. The coolest part was walking down to the Kotel at 11:30pm on Shabbat. It was virtually empty and silent. We got to walk right up to the wall, press our hands and our foreheads against the stone and have some time for silent prayer, really cool.
I'm about to start up the most hectic week ever- which will involve lots of cramming and studying for our final and planning the details of our trip to Europe! I really can't wait, it should be a really great time!
Oh my goodness! I almost forgot about the most important part of our weekend last weekend, our apartment flooded! Something under the sink broke and water poured out everywhere. We had standing water in almost every room- and one of my roommates had to run to security to get help. It was absolutely wild. Luckily I don't think anything was destroyed, but we have had many a joke about the "Great Flood" of apartment 151
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Scaredy Cat
I feel like I'm letting fear overrun my life right now.
My fear of rejection, or, even worse, awkward and repetitive introduction conversations keep me from socializing much beyond my apartment. (Please, just don't make me repeat that I'm from Baltimore, Maryland- and yes, I may or may not know your Jewish friend that lives there, that I'm a junior, just here for a semester, not a year, I go to Carleton College, never heard of it? yeah, it's in Minnesota, yeah, it does get pretty darn cold up there and I'm in the third level of Ulpan, yes, I can understand everything pretty well, no, my verbal skills aren't quite up there, etc. etc.)
Worse than that, though, is my complete fear of speaking Hebrew. To be more specific, it's really more a of a fear of making a mistake. I know enough Hebrew to know when I'm saying something wrong. So, instead of asking a bus driver a rough translation of "do you walk/"go" to Mount Scopus" because I don't know the words for "do you stop/drive/does your route include Mount Scopus", I just won't ask. I'm more afraid of being the idiot who messes up her Hebrew phrases than just being the American tourist. The worst thing is when I know about half of the words in hebrew, so I start up in hebrew and then get stuck and have to switch to English. Wouldn't it just be easier to start in English and save myself the embarrassment?
But how can I not have this problem? I'm trained in Hebrew, sure, but it's academic Hebrew, not Hebrew for the market on Ben Yehuda. I can write a 10 page paper in Hebrew about the influence of Holocaust survivors on their children in Israeli literature and film, but I can't name all of the ingredients I want in my salad at lunch. I can read articles in newspapers or listen to an entire lecture and take out the main points, but I can't ask someone on the street how to get on a bus to get to the central bus station. I have no worries about my writing, Stacy's class more than prepared me, and it's shown by my essentially constant A's on all written assignments here. But I do this well because I understand construction, and I've mastered the dictionary. On the streets, in the market, on the bus, I can't write out a rough draft- I get one chance, and if I do it wrong I end up in Elat instead of Tel Aviv, with a pet chicken instead of a chicken sandwich for lunch. But at least when I get there I can tell the first Israeli I find the story we learned in Ulpan yesterday, of Alegra and Jabra and their forbidden Jewish-Christian love?
My fear of rejection, or, even worse, awkward and repetitive introduction conversations keep me from socializing much beyond my apartment. (Please, just don't make me repeat that I'm from Baltimore, Maryland- and yes, I may or may not know your Jewish friend that lives there, that I'm a junior, just here for a semester, not a year, I go to Carleton College, never heard of it? yeah, it's in Minnesota, yeah, it does get pretty darn cold up there and I'm in the third level of Ulpan, yes, I can understand everything pretty well, no, my verbal skills aren't quite up there, etc. etc.)
Worse than that, though, is my complete fear of speaking Hebrew. To be more specific, it's really more a of a fear of making a mistake. I know enough Hebrew to know when I'm saying something wrong. So, instead of asking a bus driver a rough translation of "do you walk/"go" to Mount Scopus" because I don't know the words for "do you stop/drive/does your route include Mount Scopus", I just won't ask. I'm more afraid of being the idiot who messes up her Hebrew phrases than just being the American tourist. The worst thing is when I know about half of the words in hebrew, so I start up in hebrew and then get stuck and have to switch to English. Wouldn't it just be easier to start in English and save myself the embarrassment?
But how can I not have this problem? I'm trained in Hebrew, sure, but it's academic Hebrew, not Hebrew for the market on Ben Yehuda. I can write a 10 page paper in Hebrew about the influence of Holocaust survivors on their children in Israeli literature and film, but I can't name all of the ingredients I want in my salad at lunch. I can read articles in newspapers or listen to an entire lecture and take out the main points, but I can't ask someone on the street how to get on a bus to get to the central bus station. I have no worries about my writing, Stacy's class more than prepared me, and it's shown by my essentially constant A's on all written assignments here. But I do this well because I understand construction, and I've mastered the dictionary. On the streets, in the market, on the bus, I can't write out a rough draft- I get one chance, and if I do it wrong I end up in Elat instead of Tel Aviv, with a pet chicken instead of a chicken sandwich for lunch. But at least when I get there I can tell the first Israeli I find the story we learned in Ulpan yesterday, of Alegra and Jabra and their forbidden Jewish-Christian love?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
On Monday I went on two field trips: One with my Ulpan class and the other with a group of other sudents.
With my class I went to Mount Herzl. First we did a tour of the museum, which was actually really cool. We had a tour guide and we basically moved through all of these different rooms and screens came down from the ceilings and played movies and we had to keep turning around to watch different screens. It was very engaging. I think my favorite room was one set up to look like where the first Zionist Congress was held. It was 2 stories and we entered at the top and had to walk down and sit among these plastic figures. There were chandeliers hanging from the cielings and it was just really cool. But I was constantly worried that one of the plastic people was going to move and grab me, luckily they were not motorized.
It was cool because the entire tour was in Hebrew, the movies didn't even have Hebrew subtitles. While I'm sure that I missed some details, I got the main points of the tour. And I understood enough to be inspired to take a course on the History of Modern Israel.
Mount Herzl is also the home to a huge cemetery and Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial (but we didn't go there). To the right is Herzl's grave, he is buried at the highest point on the 'mountain'- so that he can look out into the country he worked so hard for.
After Herzls grave we walked through the graves of important political figures like Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin's grave is on the right, and it's different than the tombstones marking everyone else's graves because he was assassinated and did not die of natural causes. His gravestone is in Black and his wife's is in tan. They make a half circle to remind passersby of his unfinished life and work. Mt Herzl houses a large military cemetery as well as memorials for other groups of people (I'll get more into that later)
Above are pictures of Hannah Senesh's grave. She is a very well known Israeli parachuter and poet. The story goes that she was captured and tortured and her mother (who was not even living in Israel) was also captured and tortured, but she would not reveal information about Israel, and she was killed. When we got to her grave we all got together and sang her most famous poem "Eli, Eli" which roughly translates as: "My God, My God, I pray that these things never end: The sand and the sea, the rush of the water, the lightening in the sky, the prayer of the man". It's really a beautiful song. I also really loved how adorned her grave was.
We also walked through the memorial I have pictured to the left. This is probably my favorite picture from the day. This is a memorial for sailors lost at sea when an Israeli submarine disappeared. It was only actually found recently.
The layout of the memorial is really cool, though, because it's underground and kind of looks like a submarine. And every person from the submarine has a remembrance plaque, since the bodies were never found.
To the right is a picture of a memorial for people killed in suicide bombings. It was an incredibly powerful memorial because of its size. Imagine long walls filled with black plaques inscribed with hundreds of names, it's horrible.
There was even a plaque honoring those killed in 2008, it's scary to think about people still dying so much after the establishment of Israel, simply because they are there and there are people around them who don't want them to be.
To the left is a memorial that really caught my eye because of the projects I did last winter in Hebrew and Jewish Ethics about the Holocaust. This is a memorial for survivors of the Holocaust who were then killed as soldiers in the War of Independence. It's shaped like an upside down house, to symbolize the hope these survivors had of finding home and safety in Israel, that was then lost when they were killed defending it.
The second field trip of the day was to Hebron. I was really excited to go to Hebron because I did a report on it in Hebrew Class last year. It's also an incredibly important city for Jews, so much excitement.
Hebron is a very controversial city, however. It has a rich history of Jews settling and then being kicked out, and then coming back, etc. Right now there are 87 or so Jewish families living in Hebron. They live in the 20% of the city where Jews are allowed. The other 80% is run by the Palestinian Authority, and Jews cannot enter.
To the left is a picture of one of the many Israeli soldiers we saw in Hebron. They are everywhere. Since the Jewish population there is spread out into 4-5 different neighborhoods, there are guards everywhere making sure that things remain calm between the Jews and there Palestinian neighbors.
To the left is a picture of some Jewish boys playing. I thought it was pretty cute. It's really incredible that those 87 or so families equal over 1,000 Jews in the city. These are huge families and people are incredibly devoted to living in Hebron. Hebron is known as the place where Abraham and Sarah once lived as well as, much later, King David. Exciting stuff.
The big sight to see in Hebron is the Maarat Ha'Machpela (which I'm sure I am butchering in English, but I could write it in Hebrew, but then you wouldn't get it). Maarat Ha'Machpela is the supposed burrial place of the mothers and fathers of Judaism: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. It is mostly controlled by the Palestinian part of town, but Jews are allowed into a small section, including where Abraham is supposed to be buried. The picture to the right is Abraham's grave. It's a little confusing, because in fact, all of these people are actually buried underground, these shrines are built over their supposed burial spots.
Jews believe that about 7 steps up, next to the cave, is directly next to where the mothers and fathers are buried. (This comes from a whole lot of stories including Jews sneaking past Arab guards to go down into the cave and look for the graves). Many Jews gather to pray there, at the spot of the 7th step, to honor them. On the right is a picture of a man doing just that.
Our field trip also took us to the sight of Rebecca's grave, in Bethlehem. This was probably the weirdest experience because Bethlehem is right on or in the Gaza Strip. So, we entered the building with the grave, but outside were huge fences with barbed wire and guards. It was eerily quiet and, for me, just strange. It was weird to think of a whole other world beyond those walls, but still in the same country. The other weird thing was that we took a bulletproof bus for the entire field trip. The bus itself wasn't really all that different, except for the double glass in the windows, but it was just weird to feel like we needed to be in it.
With my class I went to Mount Herzl. First we did a tour of the museum, which was actually really cool. We had a tour guide and we basically moved through all of these different rooms and screens came down from the ceilings and played movies and we had to keep turning around to watch different screens. It was very engaging. I think my favorite room was one set up to look like where the first Zionist Congress was held. It was 2 stories and we entered at the top and had to walk down and sit among these plastic figures. There were chandeliers hanging from the cielings and it was just really cool. But I was constantly worried that one of the plastic people was going to move and grab me, luckily they were not motorized.
It was cool because the entire tour was in Hebrew, the movies didn't even have Hebrew subtitles. While I'm sure that I missed some details, I got the main points of the tour. And I understood enough to be inspired to take a course on the History of Modern Israel.
Mount Herzl is also the home to a huge cemetery and Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial (but we didn't go there). To the right is Herzl's grave, he is buried at the highest point on the 'mountain'- so that he can look out into the country he worked so hard for.
After Herzls grave we walked through the graves of important political figures like Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin's grave is on the right, and it's different than the tombstones marking everyone else's graves because he was assassinated and did not die of natural causes. His gravestone is in Black and his wife's is in tan. They make a half circle to remind passersby of his unfinished life and work. Mt Herzl houses a large military cemetery as well as memorials for other groups of people (I'll get more into that later)
Above are pictures of Hannah Senesh's grave. She is a very well known Israeli parachuter and poet. The story goes that she was captured and tortured and her mother (who was not even living in Israel) was also captured and tortured, but she would not reveal information about Israel, and she was killed. When we got to her grave we all got together and sang her most famous poem "Eli, Eli" which roughly translates as: "My God, My God, I pray that these things never end: The sand and the sea, the rush of the water, the lightening in the sky, the prayer of the man". It's really a beautiful song. I also really loved how adorned her grave was.
We also walked through the memorial I have pictured to the left. This is probably my favorite picture from the day. This is a memorial for sailors lost at sea when an Israeli submarine disappeared. It was only actually found recently.
The layout of the memorial is really cool, though, because it's underground and kind of looks like a submarine. And every person from the submarine has a remembrance plaque, since the bodies were never found.
To the right is a picture of a memorial for people killed in suicide bombings. It was an incredibly powerful memorial because of its size. Imagine long walls filled with black plaques inscribed with hundreds of names, it's horrible.
There was even a plaque honoring those killed in 2008, it's scary to think about people still dying so much after the establishment of Israel, simply because they are there and there are people around them who don't want them to be.
To the left is a memorial that really caught my eye because of the projects I did last winter in Hebrew and Jewish Ethics about the Holocaust. This is a memorial for survivors of the Holocaust who were then killed as soldiers in the War of Independence. It's shaped like an upside down house, to symbolize the hope these survivors had of finding home and safety in Israel, that was then lost when they were killed defending it.
The second field trip of the day was to Hebron. I was really excited to go to Hebron because I did a report on it in Hebrew Class last year. It's also an incredibly important city for Jews, so much excitement.
Hebron is a very controversial city, however. It has a rich history of Jews settling and then being kicked out, and then coming back, etc. Right now there are 87 or so Jewish families living in Hebron. They live in the 20% of the city where Jews are allowed. The other 80% is run by the Palestinian Authority, and Jews cannot enter.To the left is a picture of one of the many Israeli soldiers we saw in Hebron. They are everywhere. Since the Jewish population there is spread out into 4-5 different neighborhoods, there are guards everywhere making sure that things remain calm between the Jews and there Palestinian neighbors.
To the left is a picture of some Jewish boys playing. I thought it was pretty cute. It's really incredible that those 87 or so families equal over 1,000 Jews in the city. These are huge families and people are incredibly devoted to living in Hebron. Hebron is known as the place where Abraham and Sarah once lived as well as, much later, King David. Exciting stuff.
The big sight to see in Hebron is the Maarat Ha'Machpela (which I'm sure I am butchering in English, but I could write it in Hebrew, but then you wouldn't get it). Maarat Ha'Machpela is the supposed burrial place of the mothers and fathers of Judaism: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. It is mostly controlled by the Palestinian part of town, but Jews are allowed into a small section, including where Abraham is supposed to be buried. The picture to the right is Abraham's grave. It's a little confusing, because in fact, all of these people are actually buried underground, these shrines are built over their supposed burial spots.
Jews believe that about 7 steps up, next to the cave, is directly next to where the mothers and fathers are buried. (This comes from a whole lot of stories including Jews sneaking past Arab guards to go down into the cave and look for the graves). Many Jews gather to pray there, at the spot of the 7th step, to honor them. On the right is a picture of a man doing just that.Our field trip also took us to the sight of Rebecca's grave, in Bethlehem. This was probably the weirdest experience because Bethlehem is right on or in the Gaza Strip. So, we entered the building with the grave, but outside were huge fences with barbed wire and guards. It was eerily quiet and, for me, just strange. It was weird to think of a whole other world beyond those walls, but still in the same country. The other weird thing was that we took a bulletproof bus for the entire field trip. The bus itself wasn't really all that different, except for the double glass in the windows, but it was just weird to feel like we needed to be in it.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Travel Plans!
We're now in week 5 of Ulpan and, to be honest, I think we're all about ready to be done. It's pretty exhausting.
The most exciting thing about this past week has been finalizing plans for traveling in the end of september/october. Here's my itinerary:
- Thursday September 25th is our last day of Ulpan. We have a final exam that day until 1pm. The we'll go home, pack, party, whatever, and at 7am on Friday we'll leave Tel Aviv for Vienna, Austria.
- We'll spend the weekend in Vienna touring around and staying at a really cool looking Hostel then on Monday afternoon we'll leave and fly to Copenhagen. We'll be there monday night, tuesday, and wednesday (which is perfect because Chuck and Lynsey- and the rest of DIS don't have classes on wednesdays) and on thursday morning we fly out to Paris.
- We'll spend the weekend in Paris and fly back on sunday morning.
Here's where the month gets interesting:
-We fly in on October 5th and have our first classes on the 6th and 7th. Then we are off on the 8th and 9th for Yom Kippur. Then it's the weekend.
- We have classes on sunday the 12th and then we are off from the 13th-the 23rd for Sukkot.
- My dad flies in on sunday the 12th and will chill in Jerusalem for a day or so.
- On monday we'll drive down to Petra in Jordan and see the sights there for a day
- On tuesday night we'll fly to Cairo and tour around there.
- On friday we'll board a nile cruise until sunday/monday then fly back to Tel Aviv!
I'm so excited. No wonder I can't wait for Ulpan to be over...
The most exciting thing about this past week has been finalizing plans for traveling in the end of september/october. Here's my itinerary:
- Thursday September 25th is our last day of Ulpan. We have a final exam that day until 1pm. The we'll go home, pack, party, whatever, and at 7am on Friday we'll leave Tel Aviv for Vienna, Austria.
- We'll spend the weekend in Vienna touring around and staying at a really cool looking Hostel then on Monday afternoon we'll leave and fly to Copenhagen. We'll be there monday night, tuesday, and wednesday (which is perfect because Chuck and Lynsey- and the rest of DIS don't have classes on wednesdays) and on thursday morning we fly out to Paris.
- We'll spend the weekend in Paris and fly back on sunday morning.
Here's where the month gets interesting:
-We fly in on October 5th and have our first classes on the 6th and 7th. Then we are off on the 8th and 9th for Yom Kippur. Then it's the weekend.
- We have classes on sunday the 12th and then we are off from the 13th-the 23rd for Sukkot.
- My dad flies in on sunday the 12th and will chill in Jerusalem for a day or so.
- On monday we'll drive down to Petra in Jordan and see the sights there for a day
- On tuesday night we'll fly to Cairo and tour around there.
- On friday we'll board a nile cruise until sunday/monday then fly back to Tel Aviv!
I'm so excited. No wonder I can't wait for Ulpan to be over...
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