Three days, two nights in Jerusalem

All of the groups met up in Jerusalem for Tu B'Shvat. It was a great opportunity to talk to other people in other programs and learn about the different places and things going on through Oranim. It was also a great opportunity to run into Nick, a friend from Swarthmore, who is doing a similar program in Ness Tsyiona.

After planting trees, Natalie, our Guide gave us an overview of Israel and spoke briefly about the wall dividing Israel. Then we took pictures, one of which I posted below. You can see Jerusalem in the photo behind us.

This is the group in Ramla, a combination of those who have been here for a while, and those of us that just arrived.












After the Kotel, we went to City of David, where we did an awesome water hike in a covered tunnel.  It was pretty quick - about 30 minutes of walking.  At first, the water was freezing, but after a while it was rather pleasant.  I finally had a chance to use my water shoes also, which was fantastic.




When the tour ended, we left, and headed off.  At the Jaffa gate, there was a disagreement on which way to go.  Jeff and I decided to take a walk instead of just sitting there during the arguing.  We ended up going pretty far from the group, but eventually found the hostel.  You had to go through a fruit stand to get into the hostel, which I thought was awesome.  One time, the owner of the fruit stand gave me a free Clementine, which was really sweet - in both ways.



That night, we went out for dinner.  Steph, Nick, Jeff and I had spent the afternoon walking together, and lost the others.  We ended up eating with just the four of us at this great little restaurant near the American consulate in the muslim quarter, just outside of the damascus gate.  Delicious food, good tea, and very reasonable prices.  After, we caught up with the rest of them on Ben Yehuda street for some debauchery.

The problem with free shots with drinks are two fold.  They also give a free Nargila, but that's not relevant.  The problem is first that the shot, regardless of what you order, is some sort of rubbing alcohol.  The other problem is that you are mixing.  Beer - Tequila / rubbing alcohol - Beer - Tequila / Nail polish remover - Beer - Tequila / paint thinner.  I had a lot of fun, we met up with Nick's friend, we drank, we explored the area, and because it was very late, Nick crashed at our Hostel with us.

The next morning, we got up early and headed out, exploring the city.  I really liked the muslim quarter, which unfortunately, is not even mentioned really that much during taglit trips, so was new for me (though pretty similar to Souks in Morocco and Turkey.

We went for shabbat dinner with Charedi (very religious) family, it's something that is arranged by an organization in Jerusalem.  Just show up at the Kotel, and they send you with a family.  Of course, being the holiday for the trees, at the end of the meal we had to eat between 50 - 75 fruits, and nuts.  I was so full, I couldn't imagine eating more at that point.
I woke up early on Shabbat, it was freezing, in the middle of the night I put on gloves and a hat that I use when I go skiing or in the mountains, and extra layers.  Spent the day exploring, and ran into Nick by the wall.  Was planning to go for midday meal, but changed my mind when we didn't get out of the hostel in time.  I wanted to go to Havdallah, and so we went to the Heritage House.  I was only expecting to say blessings, and smell spices but was also treated to a wonderful dinner, and an interesting sermon from an orthodox rabbi relating trees and humans and traditions and connections.  I really enjoyed the talk.  It was nice to be able to share a meal with other jewish young people before leaving Jerusalem.  In the picture above, Izy (my roommate) tunes a guitar he bought in the souk while sitting on the rooftop with the Dome of the Rock in the background.  Ben reads while Jeff and Josh look on.

Watching International Holocaust Memorial Day Programming

I remember now where I recall the town of Ramla, Israel from.  It is the place of death for Adolf Eichmann.

Surprise!

Just got a facebook message that a fellow Swattie is on the same program, looking forward to catching up tomorrow when all of the groups converge on Jerusalem for a tour.  Also a great opportunity to practice some of my new Hebrew!

Slept this afternoon for a couple of hours, which is a little worrisome.  I hope that I am not coming down with anything.  Eating a lot of citrus fruits, and going to get fresh air in a bit before coming back.

I packed my bags, which is good, and took a shower this evening so I can just get up and leave.

Apparently, today is holocaust remembrance day.  Not mentioned at all here, which is rather surprising.  We looked it up, and there is another day set aside in March / April for Israel - it is a national holiday.  However, at the moment the international news is playing extensive footage showing the hangings from the Nuremberg trials that I have never seen before.  The footage mixes pre WWII and antebellum shots as well as some things from during the war, especially the earlier parts which shows some jews being killed on camera.  To say it is shocking to see the footage and the bystanders does not capture the moment at all.  It is something that all people should see so that we are not condemned to repeat history.  (Those who forget are condemned to repeat).

Ulpan and planning

Another great Ulpan this morning, and we are picking up the pace.

No mail arrived.

Ramla interactive map

View Ramla Map in a larger map

Thanks for sharing Nir!

More Ulpan and Tu'Bshvat

I woke up convinced that there was a goat roaming somewhere just under my window.  It started around 6 or 7 am, "BAHHH!"  It was only when I was leaving that I realized it was the young crossing guards (here in Ramla, the kids have flags, and make the cars stop).  I guess they were saying something to the other kids who were crossing.  I love these little cultural experiences.  I remember in elementary school at Amagansett we all had different responsibilities (putting up and taking down the flag was my favorite since if it started raining you got to leave class to go take it down - and come to think of it, the class gift when I graduated from our elementary school was a new box for the flag), but we weren't given the responsibility of dealing with the cars.  Considering my conversation with Hadeel and Noor, I am very impressed with the level of responsibility held by children here.

This morning, another awesome Ulpan with Michal.  I think people were tired from last night (I don't know if something was going on, we were in our apartment most of the evening) and so they had some coffee.  There was a buzz around the room that comes from over caffeination.  I liked the energy though, and we got through quite a bit, learning a few more letters (that might sound silly, but trust me, it's an accomplishment).  I remember watching students studying chinese in college who would just make the characters with their pens, caps on, over and over again - I do that, and still it takes a moment for the characters to register and a sound to come out of my mouth - but I am improving.  At the end of class we had short hebrew conversations amongst ourselves.  It was really exciting - I mean, I was able to only ask names, where people are from, where they are studying, living and volunteering - but combined, it's very empowering.  I wouldn't have understood any complex answers, so it was convenient that we all have the exact same vocabulary!

I talked in an earlier post about getting to know the shopkeepers after my experience with Susannah in Morocco - it was so cool how she knew everyone.  I have been introducing myself some more.  On the way home, I met Limo (pronounce the 'i' as 'ee') who runs a nice little falafel place (very reasonable, 10 shekel for a sandwich).  She wants to travel to Greece, and enjoys greek music.  But, she is waiting until her child grows up.  Anyway, the reason I share this is that I was able to start working in some hebrew to my introductions:

Ani Yonaton! Meh at? (I am Jonathan, who are you?)

Ani _____ (I am ____)

Na'im Meod (Nice to meet you!)

it's very rewarding.

I also stopped at the post office earlier and there was one thing in the communal mailbox, a letter for me!

Then across the street to the bank.  It was closed, but when I asked for my favorite Banker - Eti - they let me in anyway.  I told her about the email asking if I was still interested in Hong Kong (CTY emailed me regarding my application for the position in Hong Kong, I am keeping my fingers crossed).

You know if I go, I will have to stop in Thailand I told her.  You're torturing me, Eti told me.  We talked about traveling a bit, and then she told me I have to make sure to stop by every so often to say hi.  She also commented on my Hebrew (props to Michal for being a great Ulpan teacher).  I told her of course I would stop in.

While food shopping, the girls called because the internet was down.  But, luckily we were able to fix it without much hassle.  I am hoping that we can figure out the root of the problem and handle it soon.  I discovered that the short causing the blackouts in the apartment is in the organ.  I took back my converter, which effectively solves the problem temporarily since that may also be what caused the router issue (now fixed!).

Trip to Main office + connecting with Family

I got to go to the main Oranim office today.  I was hoping to see Mara and Kelly, after speaking with them so many times on the phone, I thought it would be great to meet them in person - but they weren't any of the people I was introduced to.

After the meeting with Ofir and Nir, we drove back.  It was nice to see the surrounding area.  Nir gave us really valuable advice the first day - sit in the back of the sherut, so we don't have to handle the money going back and forth, so I haven't sat next to a window.  I also only go back and forth between here and tel aviv at night.  Not dealing with the money though is definitely worth it - thanks Nir!

On the way, I asked Nir about the books that he wrote on his family.  Unfortunately, they haven't been translated into English he told me.  I will have to learn hebrew if I want to read them.

We had a meeting at 5 at the weizman apartment.  And I had a chance to meet the newest member of the group.  Rachel and her were watching "So you think you can dance" so we didn't have a chance to speak at any great length - but I am excited to talk to her about french politics and society in the future.  I don't know many jews from france - especially Paris.

The enrichment was interesting, we talked about symbols - finishing on the israeli flag.  I didn't know the connection between king david (dalet used to be written something like a triangle, and David is dalet vav dalet, hence the two triangles).  The crest was apparently used on the shields of his army.

The best part of today was that I got a response from Fani regarding family, she sent me information for some family in Jerusalem.  About an hour after I emailed him, Josh called me back.  I am going to be in Jerusalem on Thursday, so we are hoping to get coffee.  He has five children, the oldest is 20 years old, and currently in the army.  I am excited - and of course a little nervous.

One aspect of the definition of family for me is a group of people that have been in your life forever, and if you are older, then you have been in their life forever.  The concept of meeting family later in life takes a little processing on my part.  I was glad that on the phone Josh sounded as enthusiastic as I am feeling, which is very much.

Fani has offered to send me a list of other relatives and write a quick email introduction, which is amazing - Thank you Fani!  I am looking forward to connecting with everyone here.  I wonder if we will be able to connect back to lost family in Yosh in Romania as well.  Dad and I have spoken about going back, that would be a very cool trip someday.

First Ulpan

After returning late from Gossip late last night, and staying up after I got home, it wasn't easy to get out of bed.  Yet, it was well worth it.  Perhaps it was that my brain was tired, and thus, I could only focus on one thing, and ergo, was entirely focused on the Ulpan lesson.  I really enjoy our ulpan teacher, Michal.  I felt like I was learning quite a bit - I wonder if her methods of teaching, which is generally pretty active with lots of opportunities for participation, would have helped my German?

After Ulpan I walked with a few peers of mine and sat with them while they got lunch.  They went for hamburgers.  I passed.  They said they were amazing.

I walked back to Herzl apartments, and borrowed the mailbox key after lunch, and then, happened to run into Nicole which was nice since I had someone to talk to.  We went to check the mail, but much to my dismay, there was nothing in the box.  My phone remains at large.  We kept walking and chatting until I veered off towards the grocery store.

It was one of those trips that was necessary, and yet, I wasn't entirely clear what I needed.  I perused the aisles for a while, eventually picking up some potatoes (however, upon arriving home I discovered that the pressure cooker has a missing valve and the oven doesn't work at the moment), garlic, onions, a large tub of hummus, fine table salt, three bottles of red wine, and a 56 pack of toilet paper.  I wrote this because I want to impress the volume and weight upon the reader.  I got lost, and roamed carrying all this for about an hour around Ramla.  Imagine me walking up and down the streets with a massive bag of toilet paper, a backpack with two pockets for water bottles holding wine bottles instead, and frantically searching for something familiar.  I took the longest possible route home (without going in circles or repeating myself).

Once home, I made some pasta for Izy and myself along with sauce.  We opened the first bottle of the wine I purchased earlier.

We finished the first bottle shortly after with Argentinean Jonathan's help.

I stopped dinner to skype for the first time since arriving and check some details on this blog, which I haven't given credit on the name for.  Thank you JeeYoung.

Then the lights started turning off randomly, the breaker was flipping every few minutes.  I think it was the fault of the electric organ that we were playing with earlier.  Yes, we have an organ in our apartment, and a crazy mural over my bed.

During one of the power outages, we decided that resetting the router would be a good idea.  It wasn't.  Now we are stuck on default factory settings, and can't get online (this will be posted later).

Katie from Herzl showed up, I returned the post office key to her, and we opened another bottle.  Only now am I starting to really feel the affects of the wine.  I continued to eat Hummus and Pita to stave off the alcohol from taking any sort of control.

Conversation meandered, and that was the evening.

Meeting

The tension... I was brought to the Oranim office for a meeting with Ofer (ofir?) today.  Nir and his friend, Yassi (assi?) drove me up.  Now I am checking my email since they have another meeting to do first.  It's all very exciting, and making me a bit nervous - I wonder if it is good or bad.

I have another post that I typed last night (we lost power and accidentally reset the router to default settings I think in trying to get back online) which I will put up later.  We kept losing power, I think there might be a short circuit in the electric organ.