Adventures in the Motherland...

AAAND WERE OFF!!!

2010-02-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

Its here.

My last day in Israel.

I'm writing this on Michal's computer, as mine is currently packed away in a suitcase in ramat gan.

Guys, this is scary. and sad. I am SO bipolar about this--i want so bad not to leave, but i miss everyone. This sense of not wanting to leave is something we all share--so much so that my roommate has decided to live in mud huts in Mitzpe Ramon just so she can stay a little longer.

Here I go on my great travel adventure. I am scared, nervous, TOTALLY excited, and I cannot wait to get back and share my adventures here with everyone.

I guess this is my last blog post from Israel.

I hope you guys have liked journeying with me, through it all.

I hope I haven't been too emo, too delinquent, or too excited.

I'm really glad you have been with me through this all--in a weird way, it's really been comforting to have this outlet while I was here.

אהבה, שלום, ברכות, בריאות

love, peace, blessings, health,

CHELSEA

28 Days

2010-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

I began this post when I had 28 days left on the program.

As of today, I have 5.

(Implicit apology for not writing sooner) It's all been happening really fast, and a lot has been happening. let me catch you up on where I am:

1. law school. I'm done with my application to Georgetown--Signed, sealed, delivered. Just waiting to hear in the meantime, and potentially applying to a few other schools if this process takes longer than anticipated to happen (which is already happening, oof).

2. about 2 weeks ago we had some TORRENTIAL rain, VERY off character for the country, and the Negev desert got flooded. It really sucked because not only did our trip to the army base in the south get cancelled, we also had to cancel our camping trip to Mitzpe Ramon, the giant crater in the south, for Sarah's birthday. we were going to stay in bedoin tents---it would have been awesome. Sigh.

3. two shabbats ago, Michal and I decided to go on a jerusalem adventure to the artists market there. We wanted to see if it was anything like the one in tel aviv, which is AMAZING. We show up and, eh, its not so cool. BUT, there was a CHEESEMONGER there!! Ya'll, the cheese. After being basically starved of good cheeses for like 5 months, this WAS HEAVEn. Goat cheese wrapped in grape leaves, and even a BLUE that I liked! very weird. We got this "sampler plate" where we basically just pointed at stuff we wanted and got a ton of cheese all for like 20 shekels (about 5 dollars). It was amaaaaazing. After the little cheese break, we wandered around ben yehuda street (think main, judaica shopping street), and met a creepy/nice djembe player who was very friendly and enthusiastic. We hopped a sheirut back to tel aviv, and stopped at our little rinkdink grocery store. Who do I see, but this GIANT (had to be) basketball player, shopping in our store! So we get to talk to him, and it turns out hes playing for Haifa, and used to play for the celtics. I believe his name is John Thomas, but yeah. It was fun.

later that night, we had a multicultural shabbat. We all brought dishes from different countries and it was actually quite tasty. We made a greek salad in like 4 minutes with some toasted pita and really good tzatziki actually.

Sarahs birthday was also really fun--we went to an irish pub and just hung out together and had a generally good time.

4. laterthat week, we had an ISRAELI COOKING CLASS in our apartment!!! It was SO much fun, and we made stuffed bell peppers and shakshuka and tahina and it was amazinggg. yum yum yum, and really fun to just group-cook and learn.

5. THE KIBBUTZ
Dude, guys? This kibbutz was freakin off the hook. It was called Kibbutz Ketura, and it was in the middle of NOWHERE in the desert. Really, really, remote. But in the same sense, its own little oasis. Its near eilat, at the veeeeeeeeeeeery tip of israel, and i could probably throw a stone and hit jordan from their property. We hiked, wrote poetry in the desert, ate lots of fresh good food, had tu bish'vat services, and had an overall really really amazing time. we also got to see the algae factory, where they produce this insane antioxidant that is used in both cosmetics and in the natural foods industry, and baby cows and camels and cows being milked and date orchards! One of my favorite moments was from our reaaaaally early morning shabbat hike. We went out to exit the back of the kibbutz and climb a mountain, and the security guard for the kibbutz apparently forgot to unlock the gate, so our insanely hilarious guide named Marcello turns to us and says, "PEOPLE OF ISRAEL! we have a problem." haha he then went on to inform us that we had two options: shimmy under the fence, or scale it. This was a HILARIOUS sight to behold, let me tell you. Once we all got across, the hike itself was pretty rad. It was like STRAIGHT uphill, just straight hiking a mountain, and a sandstorm had begun that day so the wind was GNARLY and seriously trying to blow us off the mountain. but we stayed on, only minor injuries. It was funnn!!

5....b. This week was my last week at work. It was very sad, but we got a lot done. I got lots of really really sweet presents from my co-workers and on the last day they threw me a party and I FINALLY BAKED HERE (something I havent really done here at ALL), and it was really sweet. They presented me with all these gifts and it was very moving. Im going back to say bye this week--I am so lucky and so grateful for how taken-care-of I was there. It was really amazing, and an amazing environment to work in.

6. Last night was our last shabbat :(. It was really nice with everyone together, just talking and reminiscing about fun memories and "remember when so-and-so did thats" and stuff. We also made a BALLER dish--Drunken pasta (pasta Alla-Ubriesco?) cooked in red wine and finished with butter and onions and garlic and chives. It was amaaaazing. and it was purple pasta. so yeah, pretty nuts.

7. As my time here comes to a close, I'm just really trying to live it up. To experience everything, and to be totally grateful for my time in this wonderful city. Tomorrow night we have our surprise final dinner, which should be really nice. Afterwards, us crazy kids are camping out at a local pub to watch superbowl 2010. Which starts at 1:30 am here. HEHEEHEH.
On monday for Becky's birthday, we are going to the Blackout restaurant, which is a restaurant totally in the dark, where you are guided/served by blind waiters. Its supposed to be an amazing experience: you can read more here:
http://thisistheworldwelivein.com/2010/01/16/a-real-blind-date/

That's about it for now. I'm super excited for my trip to turkey(greece?), which is good because its taking my mind off the fact that I'm leaving Israel. Guys? I am so bummed about leaving. 6 months has gone by like 6 weeks, if that, and I'm just going to miss so many things. My little corner coffee shop, getting 2 shekel (50c) falafels at random hours, max brenner dates, trying new foods, giving directions in hebrew, actually understanding some hebrew, working at suzanne dellal, walking through neve tzedek every morning and afternoon, barth's crackers with carraway seeds in them, goldstar beer, SOUPS, my rooftop, having a shabbat dinner alltogether and then shabbat morning french toast with the roommates, laughing ourselves silly, exploring, and learning as much as possible wherever i can. On tuesday, ricky gave us the envelopes we wrote at the beginning of the program. In them, we wrote a note to ourselves '5 months from today...' and opened them, well, five months from when we wrote them. Most people wrote realistic goals, stuff about learning hebrew or getting a job--me? I wrote one word: change. It really hit home, that that was the reason I came here--to grow and mature in some way, to have this wonderfully difficult place open my eyes in a way I never could in the states, and to just take time to get to know MYSELF. To not have to define what I want at every second of the day--to just know that growth is my goal in any way that it happens.

I will be stateside the 23rd, and will probably try to blog once or twice more before I whirlwind leave for my travels. I already know I am going to be utterly culture shocked when I come home, so be prepared for me to be MIA for awhile. Im going to need time to process, heal, deal, and just re-define my life when I get back.

HWOTD: carli. it means "IM COLD" and has come in handy quite a lot this week.

its my liiiiiiiiife and its now or neverrrrr

2010-01-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

me playing in the sculpture garden at the TA Art museum

Zadok Ben-David's art, at the Tel Aviv Art Museum

The coolest art exhibit. Ever.

Alice in wonderland, anyone??

the everpresent posters for the local biannual fashion market.

IMSORRY i'm a delinquent. I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog to that, because its much more fitting for the blog. Believe you-me, I am definitely having adventures in the motherland. I'm just slackin hard on sharing them with you. Forgive me?? (insert brown puppy eyes here)

OK, so beginning where I left off. I'm going to try as hard as I can to stay chronological. We'll see if that happens or not. Last week, we went on a Siyur to Massuah, a holocaust museum in Israel (close to Tel Aviv, actually right near an Ikea which was hilarious to see). It was really informative--there was a whole section on the Eichmann Trial that happened in Israel--Really interesting. There was also an art exhibit that was very eye-opening and fascinating--I'm glad we went. It was nice to see Israeli manifestations of dealing with the aftermath of the Holocaust, because I have studied the American aftermath of it (from one aspect of Jewish American Fiction). I have also read a David Grossman book about it--he's a very prolific Israeli author. I also got to see a movie based off of a book by him, called Someone to Run With--it was one of those really beautiful innocent stories that's just so heartfelt and gripping. Really Nice.

Last Shabbat was also really really fun. Jacks and I woke up early and went with one of our Israeli friends Yoni, and we plated a rousing game of tennis. Jacks actually 'kept score' (in quotations becuase she was spacing, lol) and Yoni and I played. He's not bad at all, and I only got beaten 4-6 (and heck YES i got some aces in there). Pretty respectable for not playing tennis in, oh, about 8 months. The only BAD part of that excursion was that I went running for a crazy shot, and accidentally rolled my ankle. Hard. I dont know wether it was because I was already on advil for my sore muscles, or if it was the adrenaline, but for some reason it hurt really bad initially, but then it went away. And i played 9 more games on it.

After tennis, I went back to the Tel Aviv art museum with Michal and Jacks. I had gone with my mom and Joel, but we only had about 45 minutes there the first time, and there were a lot of exhibits that I didnt get to see. It was really really cool, and the Ben-David Exhibit? Well, I can't really put it into words, and since I have no hallucinatory-drug experience to rely on, I'm lacking, but the best I can say is: I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Or Dorothy, when everything goes from black and white to color. It is just AMAZING. I could have spent 10 hours in that one room with that one piece of art. WOW. The pictures above really dont do it justice.
It was at the museum that the pain in my ankle really kicked in--OUCH. So, me being the stubborn one about it, decided to walk home. THough, in the end I'm really glad we did becuase we happened upon this RANDOM store/apartment--it is like 3 struggling urban artists who have an apartment and turned the front half of their apartment studio into a store. And their bedrooms is the dressing room. What a surreal experience--like changing with a bunch of random girls in some random girls room. Hilarious, but very NOT what I'm used to!!! Michal got a really pretty shirt, and it was a really really cool experience. They had these kind of creepy dolls, and these pictures of these creppy dolls. I, of course, loved it--my roommates thought I was nuts. Awesome.

Other fun adventures of last weekend: me and Jacks bought tickets for an upcoming concert that we're really excited about--It's a group called balkan beat box, and they're from brooklyn/israel. Good songs. However, we had some problems getting tickets. We were so proud cuz we navigated the website in hebrew really well, figured out all the lines for Credit card info, and......nothing. I called the company--apparently you can only buy tickets online if you have an israeli credit card. The next part is good--I asked him, "So, how do we get tickets now?" and he said, "Oh, don't worry, I have a guy in Florentin (my neighborhood). Here's his number."

....you read that right. We had to meet some sketchy dude and complete this transaction straight out of Goodfellas. But, it's Israel. So naturally, Jacks and I don't blink an eye as we call the dude, set up a time and place to meet (in a square complete with cops, thank you. SO not sketchy, haha), and hand over some cold hard cash. For some tickets. HAHA I love it. Such a great/fun/sketchy/weird/totally Israeli experience. Yayyy.

FOOD SECTION!!!!
haha, what would a blog entry be without a section on food. I have made three great discoveries this week: first and foremost, Barth's Crackers. I do not know if it's going to be possible to get these crackalackers in the states, and that is going to be a really really big problem. I think they put crack in the crackers (ha, chelsea made a funny), becuase they are just BOMB. I first had them at a little wine bar around the corner (We call it the gaybar, becuase, well, I think it kind of is), and I was insistent that they made them themselves. And then the next day I found myself face-to-face with them in AM-PM, our local grocery hotspot. They're made in Petach Tiqva, I think, and the ones i am obsessed with have caraway seeds in them .They look like crepes, except really small and cracker-ish. I love them. ooh wah.

Next, and I shall lump them together becuase they are kind of similar: Jachnun and Malaweh (pronounched jock- or if you're really jewish, jochhhhh (with the throat throttle)- noon) (and malaweh; just think malawi and add an -eh on the end). They are Yemenite bread-shabbat foods, and they are GOOD. What I got about the gist of it is that you make some dough, roll it into logs, place some eggs on the tray, and bake it overnight at low heat for like 12-14 hours. And then you literally take a grater to some tomatoes, add some salt and garlic, and slice the eggs (which turn brown in the oven). Reallllly yummy dudes. And malaweh is just the not-logged version of it--looks more like a flat crispy yummy pita.

I'm really gonna miss food here. Everything is SO FRESH and veggies are omnipotent and SO cheap--its really easy to be a vegitarian here. Like, really easy. So easy I think I've almost turned into one. And the lemonade---oohwah. Everyhwere sells it, It's so cheap, and just so yummy. They do NOT make it like this at home.

The reason i had Jachnun for the first time this week was because of our siyur. Ricky, our madricha, took us to the park for a picnic and a boating excursion in the park (really fun on the paddle boats.) She made us Jachnun for her portion of the 'picnic' (read: potluck), and told us we would be 'sailing' (read: paddleboating). It was still really fun though--everything was normal and nice, minus the hilarious fact that we were all being circled by two ultra-orthodox men in a speedboat. SO random.

And how have I been working off all that jachnun, you ask?? By bellydancing, of course!!! It's been really fun--my friend amy and I found a class at our gym and have gone twice now. The teacher is this really interesting ex-pat who moved here like 30 years ago but still has the MOST american accent i've ever heard, and the class has a range from like 20 year olds - 70 year olds. Its really really fun though, and kinda hard I must admit, but COOOOL! hahah And, really, how am I supposed to pass up bellydancing in the middle east?? I'm not. Thats the correct answer.

Work is going really well--I am having a bunch of fun and i love working with my boss. I also especially love my walk to work every morning--i put on Israeli music and wander through this quaint neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, and just take it all in. People watch, wander, photograph: I am SO lucky.

Speaking of luck, it turns out I am going to be able to extend my ticket and travell around for a bit after the program ends. I am planning on going to Turkey and possibly Greece, and am SO EXCITED I cannot even stand it. We are planning it, and I am just stoked beyond belief. We have also enlisted the help of Michal's brother and friend, Smadar, in getting us the best deals possible cuz we be poor college kids!!! (I'm kinda ready for that phase in my life to be over, lol. Not being able to afford ANYTHING is so not fun!! aha)

This shabbat has also been really really fun. On friday, me, Jacks, Hallie, and Sarah went to loveat, an AMAZING new organic coffee shop that we found, and had coffee and sat on NachalatBinyamin watching all the birthright groups work their ways through the artists market. Then, jacks and I braved the shuk on a friday (Note: NEVER, EVER go to the shuk on a friday. Seriously. Its mayhem. I have to mentally prepare everytime i do it. Which I try to avoid at all costs.) to get veggies for our salad for shabbat dinner, and I accompanied her as she shopped her way through Nachalat. It was reallllllllly sad becuase i found this bench/winestorer/really cool piece of wood art, and its liek 75 SHEKELS HOLY COW (under $20), and my roommates arent letting me buy it. Why? becuase of the teeensy problem that I have no way to get it home. They said this about adopting a weimerainer puppy here too, for free. Stupid pessimists ;)

Shabbat shabbat was also really fun--we decided to have another themed shabbat, and the theme was "PJ SHABBAT!!!!" It was really fun, all of us girls and boys all cute in our PJs....oh I love us. We also made a BALLLLLER salad with dried cranberries and goat cheese and arugala (which I can't eat for the life of me properly) and spinach and other veggies. And i made a vinegarette for the first time. YAY! Today, we decided to go on an adventure. We had seen these really cool street arts around the city, this girl in hot pink all decked out, and it seemed to be some kind of sale. LAST NIGHT, michal figures out from her brother that it's the biannual artists and designer's market in north Tel Aviv, so we decided to go on an adventure to find it. Me being the broke college kid didnt buy anything, but it was SUCH a fun adventure, and such a nice day. Very cool to people watch and keep an eye on Israeli fashion.

My life this week, and last week, and well, lets be honest, my consciousness for the past few months has been consumed by my personal statement and application to georgetown law. I am so close I can taste it, but I am still not done. It has been a TOUGH journey, complete with tears and tantrums and procrastination and fights and writers block, but I am almost there. I hope to have my app in in the next 3 days. HOORAY. You all best believe I will be celebrating when it's over. And then, after i get my decision in three weeks!!!!!, either a celebratory trip to turkey/greece, or a pull-chelsea-out-of-her-sorrow trip to turkey/greece. I promise to keep ya'll posted.

Next weekend, we are taking a trip for Sarah's birthday--we are going camping at Mitzpe Ramon, a giant crater in the south of Israel. yes, CAMPING. you heard right. after all these weeks, I still haven't gone camping, and I have REALLY wanted to. So we are going camping in a crater!!!!!! YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!! In other random news, Romanian house music is really hot here. And has permanently stuck itself in my head. Example here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&v=p-Z3YrHJ1sU

I can't believe i'll be back in the states in a month. It's just surreal. I do NOT feel like I've been here that long, but I do feel the changes. I am stronger, more outspoken (oh shit, right mom??), and more sure of myself and what I want in life. I have made great friendships and have had surreal and mind-altering experiences. My eyes have been forced open wide, and I love everything I see. The good and the bad have taught me so much, and I am SO utterly grateful for this experience.

WooP.

HWOTD: muchan/ah? It means, "READY?!?!?!" I use this word a lot for my roommates. hahahah.

needs.

2010-01-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

I will pay someone BIG MONEY to send me mexican food.

That is all.

that little town o' bethlehemm

2010-01-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

WHOOOOOOOOOO what a ride it's been this week!! I've had some very fun times, some 'wow im super homesick right now' times, but overall its been a great week.

Our story starts in that little town of bethlehem. Actually, it doesnt, it starts in Jerusalem, on Christmas Eve morn. I joined up with becky and her family to go to Bethlehem for Christmas eve. Now, I know you must (might?) be thinking: why would 4 jews want to go to Bethlehem for Christmas?? Let me tell you--because its AWESOME. And, because its like one of those 'when in Rome' things. I mean, how am i NOT going to go to bethlehem on Christmas eve?? So anyways, I meet becky and her fam in Jerusalem, and we walk over into east Jerusalem and hop on a Palestinian sheirut to bethlehem. Now, this bus driver must have had some freaky in or some mad awesome back route or something because we didnt pass the checkpoint---we didnt go through the wall at all. SOMEHOW, we just ended up in Bethlehem. Shweet! After getting to Manger Square (ha ha), we were greeted immediately by a parade that we literally walked into. It was so cute seeing all the kids playing instruments in the parade, and i mean SERIOUSLY, i made so many bad 'little drummer boy' jokes it wasnt funny. So we watched the parade, and then we made our way to the Church of the Nativity--where they had a bunch of cooool old mosiacs and priests on cell phones (gotta love it) and a star on the rock that jesus was apparently birthed onto. There were also these underground grotto/cave things that were really cool, underneath like linking 2 churches, and that was fun to walk around in. I also practiced my latin (which i really havent used since 7th grade, so like, 10 years ago??) and managed to read a placard from a mosaic (something something sweet angel joseph something dream) hahaha I was proud....
We basically spent the day watching parades, people watching *what an interesting city to do that in* and exploring the city. It was so nice to feel some of that christmas cheer that is so contagious, and I have admittedly been missing in Tel Aviv. We decided to walk to rachel's tomb, which we actually never ended up being able to see, vut what we DID do was MUCH cooler: we walked along the separation wall and got to see all of the AMAZING graffiti that was along it. I took SO many pictures: to check them out (they are part of my facebook album, they are the beginning of the album) here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2334016&id=1516692&l=585337d2e0

So I had a nice Christmas--lounged, took it easy, cleaned, the usual for a shabbat. Lots of skyping with the family, and opening my Christmas stocking that my Gran sent, which was nice too. It was still weird for me, and it made me quite homesick, but it was still good.

This week was fun too--on Tuesday we took a siyur to the Supreme court of Israel (nerd me was rejoicing) and to the MFA (ministry of foreign affairs), the people who deal with israel's image and contacts with everyone else in the world. It was really interesting to see how blind study groups viewed Israel, and how they are now trying to market it with a more positive, less war-based image. The Supreme court was also really interesting--its so intriguing to me to see how another countries' legal system works, and comparing it especially to the US. I think once i get to law school (I KNOW I KNOW IM GETTING ON IT) it would be nice to take a comparative law class--i find that stuff very intriguing.

I had a really fun new years, even though I missed my sis a lot :( We all (and by all, i mean LITERALLY almost all of my program....oyyy rollin out 20 people deep is SO fun/not) We went to a Funk Revival party, at a venue called The Block, which was AWESOME because, well, it was funk music. It wasnt as groove funkayyy as I wanted it to be, but it was still really fun, and everyone came out and just had a BLAST. New years is called Sylvester's here, and it apparently is a big deal with my generation but is not with the older generation--its kinda weird having two new years in this country, ya know?? And there was also a street party that we tried to find, but ended up in the wrong place so oh well.

One of the guys on our program, Seth, has a brother who's currently visiting who started a blog, well, its more like a job, but just check it out: http://thisistheworldwelivein.com/ It's super interesting and a wonderful insight into places like the African Refugee Center, which I live right next door to. Yall should check it out. <3

At the Siyur last week, Ricky handed us our final calendar for the program. HOLY JEEZ we have like 37 days left (who's counting, im not counting, put 'em up, put-'em-uppp) and that realization is SO SCARY TO ME and I dont want to leave. There I said it. I mean, I DO want to come home and I miss everyone like crazy and this place is insanity-inducing but its quirky and fun and Im hiding from real life and I love it. Words literally cannot express how happy I am that I made the decision to come here, and all of the amazing times that I have had. The end is nigh, and i want it to be far farrrr away. Because I know, sneaky sneaky world, that 37 days might as well be 37 hours. But I'm going to rev it into full gear, and try to see as much and do as much as I possibly can in the next 37 days.

HWOTD: (well phrase) Hine ani ba- it means HEEERE I COME!!!!!

ok, you guys??

2009-12-23T02:41:00.000-08:00

Woah. Just, woah. Yesterday we had a siyur to a moshav right outside of the Ben Gurion Airport, which im gonna be honest was kind of boring but we learned about Thai workers working in farms in Israel which was kind of interesting and i spent 12 minutes trying to understand our guide when he kept saying "thais" and I kept hearing "ties" and it totally didnt make sense in context and then after 12 minutes i realized i was an idiot.

Hows that for a great sentence?!?! haha

Here comes the woah part: after we went to the moshav, Ricky took us to the Eretz Yisrael museum to see the World Press photo 09 exhibit, a photojournalist competition with submissions from all around the world. Mom and Joel, I'm really, really really really sorry. Im sorrier than I was about taking you to Ice Space. It's that bad, becuase this exhibit was THAT good. Ive had the privlege to see quite a few photography exhibits in my life, good ones at that, but you guys?? This is the best exhibit I have probably seen in my life.

I'm gonna link you to the website for press photo, so you can just get a taste of what was in this exhibit (and this exhibit was HUGE, and not only included the world press photos but local ones too which was even more moving/touching/inspiring/heartbreaking)

http://www.worldpressphoto.org/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=blogsection&id=19&Itemid=223&bandwidth=low

They're seperated by category, but holy MOTHER this was an amazing exhibit. My favorite picture was taken by Yasuyoshsi Chiba, who is, i believe, Japanese but works out of Kenya. You can't tell on the website how stunning this picture is, but when its blown up to about 5 ft by 4 ft on a black background, the red pops and it is just SO visually stunning, I was blown away. I must have stared at it for 10 minutes. It was also just so much of a reminder that its the 21st century, and these men are still fighting with bows and arrows. As much as I hate fighting, when you're surrounded by images of highly-technologically-advanced war as I am every day here, it was somehow inexplicably comforting...beautiful? (that sounds weird but I cant really explain it better) to see an area of the world so untouched by that. And the visuals of it, just stunning. I'm still trying to figure out why a picture of war was my favorite, but I'll let you know.

http://www.worldpressphoto.org/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=view&id=1429&type=byname&Itemid=224&bandwidth=high

(link to my fave photo)

Ok, thats all for now. Just wanted to give you a rundown on my day yesterday.

We also sat around last night and made hot cocoa and watched Elf, which we've been trying to do for awhile. That was Realllllly fun.

Miss yalll....

It's the mooost wonderful tiiiime, of the yearrrr (Or: overuse of the word Surreal)

2009-12-21T04:27:00.000-08:00

Shalom Kulam! Greetings from the Motherland. Its about 75 today, sunny, beautiful, I'm in a tank top...of course it feels like winter!!!! muahahaha, I kid I kid. It feels like summer and its TOTALLY throwing off my holiday vibe.

Let me catch you up on what I've been doing since the International Exposure at my work ended.... CHANUKKAHHHHHHHHH!!!

It's been really fun to experience the holiday in a country where a majority of people celebrate it: It has also really really thrown me. Walking around the streets seeing decorations everywhere and menorahs everywhere and candle lighting with strangers on the street or in big city squares--its very surreal for me. I enjoy it, and Its been so fun and nice lighting beautiful Safed candles every night in my apartment with all of my program-mates, but It doesn't automatically register to me that its holiday time. I think it's a mix of the weather, the general Channukah-everywhere-ish, and the general absence of my family that is making me feel like it's not December. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely grateful for this experience and think it's amazing, but the American in me is craving snow and fireplaces and Panera soup and red cups with snowflakes on them from Starbucks and ironic and corny red-and-green motifs everywhere. Sigh, ok enough whining.

Last week was adventure-tastic as Michal and I FINALLY WENT TO SEE NEW MOON SHE CAN"T DENY IT AND YES I"M A 14 YEAR OLD GIRL WHO LIKES TWILIGHT AHHHH. And then we sat like adults and sipped lattes and got on a sheirut (shared taxi) to Jerusalem to go see our roommate, Jax, and our friend Abby in the Jerusalem WUJS program play a show at a bar. It was reaaaaaally small and crowded but I'm glad we went, it was an adventure. Afterwards we got hot cider from my favorite little bar in Jerusalem, and had a very surreal experience there too as we lit Chanukkah candles in a bar on upside-down aperitif glasses, and everyone in the whole bar sang along. Very surreal. I don't overuse that word at all....haha

Work has been going well: both of my bosses are not here this week (Claudio is out of town and Rachel is getting an operation on her teeth) so I am winging it and being productive, yay. Michal also had a tough night the other night so we decided to get a light dinner at this little cafe around the corner from our house that we always pass and mean to go to but never find the time. I am so darn glad that we went--when I tell you people that understand that we got like an Aunt Martha platter of veggies, you must know what I mean--we got this platter that had little dishes of pickled something and just straight radishes and sweet butter and perfect wine crackers with some black something seed in them that i cant remember but was awesome, and light cheese and almonds and raw cauliflower and olives and salami for the carnivore (ha ha) and it was just the lightest most perfect veggie meal ever. And it was ridic cheap, which is always a plus when you're living like a college kid still in a foreign country. yayy.

Becky's parents are in town, so last night they took us out to a late dinner. This was, of course, after our weekly fun program of karaoke, which they had set up at the music school for us nextdoor. Really fun, but we invited some music kids to come and boooooy did they show us up. Haha always think twice about inviting actual singers to karaoke--OI. Anywaays, dinner. We went to moon, a sushi restaurant in Tel aviv that has gotten stellar reviews from both my friends and from magazines I have seen. Now, let me say something about Sushi in Tel Aviv. it sucks.

You heard me right, it SUCKS. Granted, I have only been to one or two sushi restaurants in Tel Aviv, and they've been on the cheaper end (duh), but its just not good. I dont know how to describe it, but if you eat sushi you know what I'm talking about. not. good.

Moon--totally changed my mind about sushi in tel aviv. not only was their miso soup stellar, but their rolls were good and inventive, the fish was just plain awesome, and they had masago (flying fish roe). Raven and I have this slight obsession with flying fish roe, and at moon not only did they have a piece of a roll just stuffed with flying fish roe, but they had WASABI FLAVORED ROE. i died. AND, the roll was wrapped in salmon, which makes me die more. It was really awesome of Becky's parents to take us out for sushi, and it was aweosme becuase it was the first time all four of us have been together in awhile, and it was a really nice time.

Enough about food--onto the holiday season. I think that I am going to join Becky and her parents in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve--not only is that a huge tradition here, but it will also be really interesting to see that part of Christian culture. Triply interesting becuase bethlehem is in the West Bank. I am quite excited to experience this, and will update you all on my plans. As of right now for Christmas, I am just planning to skype with the family and open my stocking that Gran shipped to me (!!!) And probably get some Chinese, just because it's a when-in-Rome kinda thing. Do like the jews do!! haha

Happy holidays, happy new year, and as always, Love from the Motherland.

HWOTD: Yom. it means day. i thought that was really necessary since you all get words of the day from me but prolly dont know how to say day. It can be used as in days of the week, or as in "fun day" (yom kef).

Really, Adventures in the Motherland.

2009-12-14T00:42:00.000-08:00

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/3934989966_ae64d1b003.jpg (picture i LOVE....streetart in tel aviv)

Ok, ok, I stink. You can say it--I stink at blogconsistency. Your well-guided angerannoyance can be directed at me: I accept it.

Now, wanna read some 'bout what I've been doing? Do ya do ya?

Ok, here we go.

Let's start a while back: Dum dum dum......Mom and Joel arrive in Israel. Their mission: to bring me a suitcase full of stuff. Hahaha just kidding. But that part did happen.
We started with a day (shabbat day, to be exact) in Tel Aviv. Mom and Joel got here in the afternoon and I went over to their hotel to collect them and walk them to my apartment, where my roommate Michal and I had prepared a fabulous Israeli breakfast-for-dinner for them, complete with herb chavita (kinda like an omlette-fritatta), tons and tons of awesome dips like turkish salad, eggplant and tahina, hummus ful, lebneh with zaatar, etc etc. And i made a bomb-diggity Israeli salad, shwangg! AND who can forget the best pitot ever?? ...apparently they can. They practically blacked out the whole night from exaustion/cultureshock/sleepdeprivation. Darn dinner--shoulda been smarter and made it for them the LAST night. There i go not being smart again...oh well.

The next day we hung out in Tel Aviv--they took their first city bus, and we travelled down to Yafo to see the sights. We checked out the flea market there, and also had a bomb lunch at Dr. Shakshuka. After we got back up to tel Aviv, we checked out the Carmel Shuk (big outdoor markety thing) and bought little treats and just wandered the streets--fun. Dinner that night was Falafel, quite good.

The next day was the trip to Jerusalem-- or as my mom likes to call it, "the (shiver) central (shiver) bus (shiver) station (shiver)". She was totally overwhelmed/grossed out by the Tel Aviv central bus station, which I will give to her isnt in the best neighborhood and is a bit big and dirty. I dont mind it that much--she is uber freaked by it. The only teeeensy sketchy part was when we got in an elevator with some rando ppl, and there were no lights in the elevator. Pitch black. Kinda sketchy, but we survived and got on our bus to Jerusalem just fine (what an easy 40-minute ride?) Once in Jerusalem, we used the last of the light left to scramble from our hotel to the Kottel, since M +J wanted to see it. They both thought it was pretty cool and we got to take some cool pictures from this overlook that I remembered how to get to (go my memory).

The next day we just did more of the old city- finding cute cafes, back to kottel, muslim quarter, church of the holy sepulchre (which was very dark and ornate). We also managed to make it to the Israel Museum, which was under construction but we got to see the dead sea scrolls which was pretty cool.

Then we bussed it down to Eilat--not so bad--and spent a few days down there seeing the sights, going to Petra in Jordan (which was a realllly cool experience), snorkeling the red sea (SUPER AWESOME), and generally relaxing. We ended back up in Tel aviv for a day, where we got to go to my fave restaurant in Florentine and to Max Brenners. yay!!! Overall, an amazing trip.

After a tearful goodbye, I got right into the swing of my international Dance festival at my work, the Suzanne Dellal Centre. It was so fun on opening night, dressing up and meeting everyone from around the world. I was impressed I remembered almost all of the names, and my only blunder was not knowing what Country Amsterdam is in. Amsterdamn.

Got to see a lot of interesting performances, including one with water (trout) which was pretty cool. We also had a chanukkah party at my apartment for the first night of chanukkah, complete with a gift exchange, a latke-off, and a dreidel tourney. It was really really fun, and I'm enjoying chanukkah in the motherland. If only I liked doughnuts!!!!

That's all for now--more to come later. Misses and kisses, Chelsea

HWOTD: siampti-- it meants im finished. I leanred this when my roommate pointed at her empty cup and said "siampti" which i heard "see, empty!" which helps me remember it.

Happy thanksgiving!!!

2009-11-26T12:58:00.000-08:00

Happy thanksgiving to all!!!

Just wanted to say that im thankful that I have this way to communicate with all my friends and family back home, and i am SO SO thankful that my mom and Joel will be joining me here in the motherland in TWO DAYS!!!!!

I am unbelivably excited.

Working hard, not a lot to update--getting ready for some travel-around-Israel time and then when i return and insanecrazyamazeballsamazing dance festival that I've worked really hard on--

Big Love.

HWOTD: Chamudah. it means cutie/sweetie-ish for a girl. quite a popular compliment here, lol.

REAL POST!!!!! I know, I know. You love me.

2009-11-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

Peace sticker at the Rabin Rally

random artist whos stuff I like
fresh pitot!

herd them sheep.

Hyssop and Sumac and Sesameseeds oh MY!

So much to say, so little time. WHOOF time has flown by here!! ive been here almost 3 months and it feels like nothing--i am having a blast and kinda-sorta getting into the swing of things.

Im going to try and update just a weensy bit on what I've been doing, etc, so you dont hate me. Don't hate me, K? Just because Ive been delinquent? Dont hate. Busy life ova hea.

Ok, so I guess the first thing to tell yall about is about a week and a half ago, there was an annual memorial for Yitzhak Rabin, who was shot in tel aviv by an extremist for his peace policies. The memorial is held in Rabin square, and Obama, Shimon Peres, etc all talked (well, Obams sent a video message. He wasnt actually there) and there were TONS of people and peace now signs, and i got a lot of cool stickers, and it was generally a really cool experience. Would have been cooler if i knew what all the speeches meant, but eh. The singing afterwards part was cool--the Israeli national anthem always gives me shivers its so beautiful. We also went to a gelatto shop and had the BRILLIANT idea since we are all living like poor college kids to instead of getting a kids gelatto for 13 shekels, fill up a HALFKILOOMFG of gelatto and split it and it would be 10 shekels each! We are SUCH good jews. hahaah. So, that was really fun and we had a very Sex and the City moment with us 4 roommates sitting outside of a gelatto shop chatting and fighting over which charachters we were--I know i got VOTED miranda bc of the whole law thing, but i SO do not have bad hair. Or a kid. Harumph, so there. After the memorial we had to walk back cuz no busses were running thorugh Rabin square, and i decided it was the perfect time to photograph my favorite graffiti that ihave ever seen EVER. and, as I approached, HORROR: the city of tel aviv had painted over it. In grey. becuase of the memorial, Im sure. WTF TEL AVIV SO NOT COOL. I cant really describe what it was like, it was a womans face, but just the cooolest piece of art i had ever seen. I would seriously hang it in my house. Sad.

I guess the BIG BIG piece of news is my new job at the Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance in Tel Aviv. Um, I LOVE MY FREAKING JOB. Everyone is so nice and its so fun and i am already making a huge difference there and just WOAH. I really really, lucked out. Im so glad i sad screw it and decided to work somewhere I wanted, somewhere fun. Right now I'm helping organize an international expo for works from tel aviv and people from all over are coming and I talk to this one dude in Belarus like 4x a day. Shweeet. I also get MAD FREE TICKETS TO INSANE DANCE PERFORMANCES. My life is amazing.

The first performance I got to see (ahem, THREE DAYS after I started working) was from Seoul that I already told yall about. The second one I got to go to was the world premiere of Barak Marshall's new work, Rooster. A little about Barak: hes from Israel/LA and he is very famous here and went to HARVARD for f-s sake and teaches at UCLA sometimes when hes not off being brilliant. It was a pretty spectacular piece, which my roommate incidentally made some of the props for (the opening was at the opera house), AND after the performance I got swept away by my coworkers to the back private reception in the depths of the opera house and got to meet Barak and OH i love adventures. Barak is also really close with my boss, apparently, and has showed up at my work. We chatted. Hes pretty awesome.

In other news, we've had some pretty good meetings with Sheldon, our teacher-dude-middleeastconflictexpert-exisraeli intellegence dude. Hes such a badass. And he knows a lot about alot--i cant tell you how good it feels to actually be able to understand a bit of what is going on with this super complicated conflict and to be able to describe to someone what the "middle east conflict" actually is. I know, right? Me liking history + geography? Go figure.

Speaking of history.....our siyur last week was to the biblical reservation. It was a place called Neot Kedumim - check out their website. Yes you read that right--a parcel of land here where they have tried to plant and keep everydamnedthing mentioned in the bible. Prettty cool. We played some games, herded some sheep (no im not joking--there was legit sheep herding. And goats. And that ish is HARD. For future reference, in case anyone ever needs to herd some shit in their life, pick the goats. They listen SO much better than the sheeps. Damn sheeps.) So, other than learning leadership lessons by herding things, we got to something even MORE FUN (I know, right? what could be more fun) and make our own za'atar. Za'atar (ok so thats the correct spelling, from now on its zatar becuase those damn two a's are just too hard to type over and over. i'm lazy, we know) is a spice made from hyssop and sumac and sesame seeds all ground into a powder. It is like THE spice here in Israel and we all are addicted---it is so good on EVERYTHING, pizza, eggs, chicken, toast... everything. Yay zatar. So, we got to make our own--walk on over to the hyssop plant growin in the rocks, pick some, walk on over to the (not poison) sumac plant, pick some, and grind it all up with a mortar and pestle. FUN!!!!! She gave us little baggies, which we filled with our new green spice, made the obligatory "can't go through customs with this" and "200 shekels a bag" jokes, and pocketed our fresh, homemade seasoning. After, we got to make our own pita over an open fire with these things that are really popular here that i can only describe as black, maybe cast iron, upside-down woks. you stick em over a fire and thats what ppl here make pitot on. Well, i got to make pitot and we cooked them and ate them with our zatar and it was soooo good. After the biblical part, we switched gears and went and volunteered with the Jaffa Instititue in Jaffa (DUH), a group that provides food for needy familes in jaffa and after-school meals and activities for underprivledged kids. We got to assemble boxes of food for families, and we also got to go to an afterschool center and play with kids for awhile. It was really fun, and nice volunteering like that which I havent done in awhile.

This week our field trip was about the Palmach, the pre-IDF israeli army when israel was not allowed to have one/attacked the day it was formed by like 5 armies. It was SO COOL the first part--they had a kibbutz, a real life kibbutz, and underground through a hole in the laundry room floor was a bullet factory. and no one on the kibbutz who didnt work there knew about it. How cool is that???? You all knwo me, I love secret passageways and doors and stuff. So in one room, the laundry machine slid out and there was a ladder down, and in the second room (the bakery), the whole huge OVEN slid across for like a bigger hole if needed. They just had to be so so sneaky!--they even had an ancient tanning salon in the basement so the workers wouldnt look like they were working underground all day. super cool. Then we went to the palmach museum which was pretty cool but too hi-tech for its message, i think. still really fun. On Tuesday we came home and tried to see the meteor shower, but it was REALLY cloudy and rainy=bummer. We instead watched the Wizard of Oz since it was the ANNIVERSARY of its release!! 70 years!!! and my roommate becky is obsessed.

Ulpan- Ulpan is going well. I think i am doing better, still trying hard to learn (I learn about 30 new words every day and about 2 stick. such is life). But I got a 92 on my first ulpan test so i feel like im not doing so bad!! yayy.

In the meantime, I'm just stickin to the daily grind--i love my walk to work every morning and afternoon through the BEAUTIFUL Neve Tzedek neighborhood in Tel Aviv, I am busy finding great new little local restaraunts on the cheap and finding amazing new food I havent tried, and am SO EXCITED TO HAVE MY MOM AND JOEL join me in Israel next week. I cannot wait!!!!

Oh, and...DUM DUM DUM. I had to put on a jacket for the first time this week. What a pity. Its still hot here, but I think ive acclamated, so 65 is cold for me now, lol. Hope yall are bundled up and surviving whatever nor'easters or other things that come your way!!

Im not sure if i did it before, but I just wanted to give a shout out to everyone who coordinated to send me birthday cards. I LOVE getting mail, and it was so special to have those lovely momentos from everyone in the states who thought of me. I love you all so much!!

HWOTD: mayim. As in, OMG there is a ton of mayim coming from the ceiling in my bathroom. Funny event this week--to this day we cant shower without the now=hole in our ceiling leaking. fuuuun times.

im a delinquent

2009-11-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

Im truly sorry to everyone for not being more timely with my blog posts. Life has settled into somewhat of a routine here, slash ive been super busy, but i will give you a quick 5-minute update on what has been going on just to tide you over until I can actually sit down and write again.

Currently, I am hard at work finishing my personal statement for law school. It has come a long way, but still needs a lot of editing/polishing so my trusty team of editors and I will be tearing it up.

I also started my new internship this week after saying goodbye to my time at the IVF clinic/stem cell lab/PGD lab, which was a very valuable experience. Hard, but valuable. Im so grateful that I had that opportunity there, and that it lasted as long as it did. I am so so so happy to say that I started work this week at the Suzanne Dellal center, which is the premier dance center in basically all of Israel. I am hard at work for the International Exposure festival coming up in december, where we will play host to journalists, choreographers, board members, and festival heads from around the world as they come check out Israeli dance. VERY exciting. I have already had the opportunity to see a (free, WOOP) performance, from Korea and it blew my MIND. honestly the best choreography i have seen in a LONG LONG time, better than anything I have seen live or on TV in the past few years. UNbelievable. It was a powerful male duet that was actually DANCED not just that modern crap that sometimes i really hate, and the Choreographer was Lee In Soo and it was called modern feeling. He danced it as well. I also found out that he won the 2008 Seoul International choreography festival grand prize, which he fully deserved. He is an amazing dancer and choreographer and I wish i could have taped that performance becuase it was kind of unreal. In sum, I am loving work, the neighborhood where i work is so quaint and has so much character (in a good way) and I am just loving life.

I'm posting a little update from my friend, skip the first and last part, but the middle is our halloween! which we were so excited to celebrate in israel. We caused a scene but had a fabulous time making-do here, and it was really exciting and fun.

Miss you all very much, and hope to see you soon!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&v=-44USOOIoKk

HWOTD: kaballah. no, its not kaballah. well, it is, but it means reciept. That was handy. :)

.A Haiku of Sorts.

2009-10-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so this is nothing like a haiku, except that it is (sort of) short and (sort of) poetic.

I just wanted to share with you something my roommate wrote, with a bit of additions from me/others, trying to explain what it's like to live in Israel.

Longer blog coming soon, but with my FAVORITEHOLIDAYHALLOWEENOMFG coming up, I gotsta get preparin. LOVE!

everything that doesn't really matter is totally relaxed. no one dresses up for any occasion. people wear jeans to weddings. no one's ever on time. plans are never ever concrete. everyone wants to help you all the time (read: nosiness). food-borne diseases aren't a concern. pushing is a way of life. getting from A --> B is never how you get from B --> A. traffic laws and safety regulations are universally ignored. but all of this is what makes it special.

48 hours in Israel

2009-10-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

Follow that MONK!!!

Station 5, Via Dolorosa.
BE A MENORAH CHELSEA!!!

REPPIN maccabi Tel aviveets a raace!!!

Wow, I can't even begin to recount how nuts and exciting and adventure-packed the past 48 hours have been. But I will try.

Thursday Eve: Where our tale begins. Becky decided to let us come along to an arts performance, for 29 shekels (woop! the equivalent of around 7-8 dollars). From what we had seen online, it was a dance-ish group. Weeelll, I think that title may have been a bit misleading. This was one of the more out-there arts performances that I have seen in a looooong time, well, maybe ever. The opening scene was stark sexual imagery, glitter included, one of the middle scenes included a man and a woman across the table from each other slapping each other in the face, HARD, and then hugging and old man in a teddy bear costume, and another scene included nose-flute playing and a fabulous 'single ladies' dance, which I'll attach the link to. It was an overall interesting experience to say the least--one of those things that I'm glad I went to but nevertheless was like uhhhh, what just happened??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1JvphQbZfw

After the show, we cabbed it over to Alice, a new club where WUJS was throwing us a party. It was quite fun, and the bar was on the 16th floor, so it had great views ofthe city. Becky and I planned on going to Jerusalem that night on the free bus back with all the WUJSers from jerusalem, however, this is the ONE TIME that something in Israel actually happened on time and we had a "walk out the door at 1am and see the bus pulling away from the curb and shout NOOOOOOOOOOO" moment. But really, what actually leaves on time??? Oy. So that was frustrating, but we decided we werent going to be thwarted in our plans for Jerusalem, so we did a J-ru take 2 plan, which involved waking up at 8 am and getting our butts in gear. So we did: 8am, rise and shine, and trekked it over to the central bus station and hopped a bus for J-town. We were armed with water, a compass, and a rather dinky map of jerusalem: these were our only luxuries. We both had already done all the touristy-stuff with Birthright, so we wanted to do a more "lets point our finger on the map and explore". The first place we decided to explore was the "big green patch to the left of the old city--OOH LETS GO THERE!!"...which, incidentally, just happened to be the Supreme court and Knesset area. Shweeeeet. After being sort of lostfor 4.5 seconds becuase there are like 4 central bus stations on that darned map (prompting becky and I to ask "eyfo the F anachnu" (translated: where the F are we??), we headed out for the grassy knole. Slash official government buildings. You know, whatevs. It was fun to wander: we got judicious pictures in front of the courthouse, helicopter pictures on the helopad (becky being the helicopter, of course) and menorah pictures in front of the Knesset. It was a fun explorey day so far, and then we decided to begin our epic spiritual journey.

let me explain: this spiritual journey was going to be all over the place. It was going to start with an orphanage, one that Becky's family donates money to and to which she got a mandate to visit. Using our deductive skills, the "greater Diskin Orphanage" would probably be on diskin street, right? After playing where's waldo with street names on a map, we finally found diskin and practically climbed a mountain to get there (sigh I'm such a flatlander). Diskin=an old person home street. No orphanage. Never fail, we hopped in a cab, and he knew the address. Taking one look at us (me with my elbows showing and becky in shorts), he was like "uhhhh, i think this is a really religious neighborhood. We'll see. If it is, you cant go in like that". We knew this, but didnt expect our beloved spiritual quest-ness to end or to be somewhere like that, so we trudged (cabbed) forward. Um, OY. Probablythe worst idea we've ever had. Thanks, Becky's grandpa. Haha, just kidding. Sort of. So, the gist of the story is we show up and its a beautiful building and we go through the gate and start taking pictures and then hear ANGRYYELLING in hebrew which I got the gist of: no orphanage was to be found here. This was an ultraorthodox yeshiva. oops. like, BIG OOPS. We attempted to hi-tail it out of there, but had to make our way back through the neighborhood first--Becky was like 'I feel like everyone is staring at my knees' and I said "ITS CUZ THEY ARE". It was a pretty scary experience, after hearing stories of people getting stoned in neighborhoods like that, we were practically running out. WHoof.

After that not-so-fun spiritualquestpart1, we decided to head to the old city, which had plenty of spirit. WOOOP. haha, anyways....we decided to give in and buy pashminas to cover up with--becky saronged hers, and I draped mine over my elbows-ish-area. Sigh, it sucked becuase it was HOT out too. Darned elbows. At least I got the man down down down on the scarves, paying about 25 shekels for them (about 6-7 dollars). I win.

Fresh off my monetary savvy, we stopped for lunch. Woah, did we get shammed. At that point, there was nothing we could do, but goshdarnpeople--I AM NOT AN AMERICAN TOURIST. I AM NOT ON BIRTHRIGHT. DO NOT THINK YOU CAN SCAM ME BECUASE I KNOW WHATS GOING ON. now, at least. It wasnt too bad but we got scamalamed, SIGH. We put up a fight and ended up getting money back, but that makes me SO ANGRY GRRRR. Oh well, live and learn. At least it was a good lunch.

After lunch, we had read about a special event on Fridays at 3, so to continue our spiritualquestpart2 (which may just have been a spirit other than ours: its still cool), we decided to walk the Via Dolorosa with Franciscan Monks and 8 bajillion people that come from around the world to walk it with them. Apparently the Via Dolorosa is the path of jesus's last walk, and they have about 14 stations along the way with various significance. Its also really interesting becuase the path starts in the middle of the Muslim quarter, which becky and I were instructed on birthright NEVER TOENTER BECUASE WE WERE AMERICAN JEWISH WOMEN TOURISTS. So, we chatted up a few policemen in the old city, told them what we wanted to do, and asked if it was safe today to go in. They assured us that it was, so complete with pashmina accoutrements, we trekked it into the muslim quarter. Gulp. Not so scary, but we got a bit lost along the path and saw a monk running and declared a national "FOLLOW THAT MONK!" movement, and ran after him. And then we met a nice australian man lookingfor the start of the tour too, so we found it together. Shwang. He was doing something really cool--reading through the bible and going like everywhere it went--he had already spent 2 months in Syria and 2 in Jordan I think--darned cool! So we followed the monks for a bit, listening to the stations in like 7 different languages and generally processing with a giant crowd through the old city. After the fourth stop, we decided to branch off, and 3 minutes later we were at the Kotel (western wall). I have some slight fundamental issues with that place, especially the layout and the seperation and how it is a blatant show of how women are second-class citizens there, but we went anyways. I'm telling you--what a fabulous place to people watch. After the Kotel we decided to wander the Jewish quarter for awhile, and found our way back to the Jaffa gate to head home. Whoof what a day!! I had read (smartly) beforehand that you can take a sheirut (shared taxi) back to tel aviv from Jerusalem at a place called Zion square, so we found it on a map and walked there (we were dead tired at this point because we had been walking for like 8 straight hours and it seemed entirely uphill and woosh.) I think the square was under construction, becuase it was all funky and there were NO sheiruts to be found, only a cab. Knowing that the sheirut was 30 shekels, we asked the first person we saw (just happened to be a cabbie) if he knew where the sheiruts were. A heated discussion ensued, as the cabbie tried to persuade us to get in his cab for 250 shekels ("um, the sheirut is 30 shekels. there is no way im paying 250 shekels for a 30 shekel ride." him:"but I have small car! 230 shekels for you!" me: (after already being scammed once today) "um, that still isnt 30 shekels.") For some reason his mathematical logic was not so hot that day, but fortunately a nice man stepped in and told us that becuase of the construction the sheiruts were around the corner. We couldnt take the bus back, I forgot to mention, becuase they stop running 1 hour before shabbat. All over the country. Talk about inconvenient!!!

So we found a sheirut and hopped it back home, just in time to make Shabbat dinner with everyone and enjoy it on our roof. Shabbat was spent lounging around and cooking, and then we decided to be super awesome and go to a Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer game!! it was apparently a big rivalry with Hapoel Ramat Gan, a neighboring town, and they won 3-1!! Im gonna have to post some video/pictures on here becuase it was NUTS. And, we also got slightly scammed becuase we learned afterwards that women can buy kids tickets (becuase so little women go). The game was AWESOME, and was just what I needed to pump me up (can you IMAGINE israelis watching soccer?? It was HILARIOUS!). That night was also the Nike 10K Night Run Tel Aviv, so we decided to go cheer on our 4 friends that were in the race. Not really knowing where the race ended, we went to the start and followed our noses (slash helpful local advice) to the end, basically walking a 6k while we were at it, lol. The way there was hilarous--we were still wearing our maccabi tel aviv garb, and got stopped on the street probably 44 times with people wanting to know what the outcome of the game was and what the score was. It was awesome! We also accidentally found our runners in a sea of Red Shirts--we were so convinced we werent going to find them after the finish line, but we did!!! it was so cool to see them and all of the runners, and was a great ending to a great night. And a jam-packed 48 hours.

The fun doesnt stop there though: Tonight we have a concert in Jerusalem (Idan Reichel--hes a very popular singer both here and in the states), tuesday is a field trip to a buncha embassies, and OH YEAH ITS MY BIRTHDAY ON TUESDAY WOOOOOOP! Im stoked. And, we are having a halloween party. We are gnna have to get pretty crafty since people here dont do halloween, but I think we can make it work. Wowww.

Ok ya'll, I'm out! Best wishes from the motherland!!!

HWOTD: lenamnem. To nap. A favorite activity of mine, but also we call it the 'cookie monster' word becuase if you say it fast it sounds like nom nom nom nom nom. hahahahah.

muevate, and urban(ish) hikes

2009-10-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hiking hiking hiking! And, being good girs and drinking Loooots of water! (it was HOT)

Happy 100 years tel aviv!!! Giant concert with everyone!!Graffitti. Love you mom.

Shaloooooooooooooom.

Its late, and im doing a quick little update on my life here, and what I've done the past week. Again. Aren't yall tired of me yet?? Like, really? Still reading?? sigh, ok fine. Here goes.

1: the move. Oh, the move. It was really hell. I mean, that ish SUCKED. But, we got through it (of course with nothing going the way we had planned and with lots of hurdles to jump over: welcome to israel) and now we are all very happy and settled. Honestly, its great being here becuase its newer, cleaner, closer to everyone and everything, and nice. The downsides are not living in our old neighborhood which was the bomb-dot-com (ohhh yes), having a MUCH smaller room (hello 2 ft of personal space), and living above a music college. Which likes to play rock music. Until 12:30 at night. hahah of course!!! No, but its really wonderful and open and i like the floorplan SO MUCH BETTER and IM GETTING AN OVEN OMFG!(*#@!YR%*!(@@. Yeah, a bit excited.

2: Work. Work is going pretty well: yesterday was a bit boring but I get to see really cool things like ICSI and IVF done all the time, and its just SO FREAKIN COOL TO SEE THAT, like really. And make babies. Ow owww, haha. And, we cant forget my bomb diggity scrubs vending machine, now can we???? SCRUBS OUT OF A VENDING MACHINE PEOPLE. WHY IS THIS NOT MANDATORY IN THE US!?!??! Lots of caps today--guess I'm excited. Work can get boring, and its SOo freaking early (I have to wake up at 6 am. you have no idea how much i must love seeing reproduction to drag myself out of bed at 6am. wtf.)

3: Last shabbat was our first shabbat in the apartment and was really nice. We had a wonderful roommate dinner all together and a nice little bubbly to celebrate our arrival/homewarming to our selves, and it was very nice. And my roommates made a trifle for dessert, which they were totally stoked about but I dont like pudding. I know, I'm the weird kid. After dinner we had a rooftop party on our sick rooftop and just hung out and played board/card games (come on people, we dont have tv. this is what happens. This and puzzles--ohhh puzzles). Does anyone remember playing Set, or has every played it? Its the best game ever, and me playing that as a 10 year old is probably what positioned me to my love for logic and figuring out answers and patterns. I havent played it in about 11 years, but I rocked at life. WOOOHOO MY BRAIN ISNT TOTALLY SHOT FROM UNDERGRAD WOOHOOO!! We also played shesh-besh, better known as backgammon in the states (still getting that one back) and I won BOTH games of RummiQ, thankyouverymuch (even though I had never played before). Woooooop.
The other funny story from that night is that Jacks and Becky, both my roommates, decided to invite their Israeli guy friends to join us on our roof. Ok, so this can get kind of confusing, but Yoni is Jacks' cousins' neighbor, in some random neighboring city, who she met (and got fake married to by a 10 year old, ahem) over the high holy days, and Amit was Becky's armed guard on her birthright trip, and they stayed in touch. So yoni walks in, says hi, sits down, and starts playing, and then Amit walks in a few minutes later. They look at each other, and Yoni says, "huh. That's my cousin."

.............UM, WHAT???!?!?!?

This revelation continued to shock us all night, although both boys seemed really unfazed by it. Apparently this happens all the time in Israel, but for the amount of random things to happen to bring those two together, it was just freaking us all out. And, totally hilarious to boot.

4: hike-a-thon. So, we were sick of lounging around on Shabbat doing nothing (OMG i know, me, right? who would have thought me=hate lounging), so we decided to plan a hike for Saturday afternoon! After Becky had talked to her cousin/uncle who knew some trails, we decided to hike along the Yarkon river north of tel aviv. We were under the impression that this hike was like a MAYBE 2 hr hike, back into tel aviv to the port: so we hop in a cab and go along. After about 3-ish minutes of talking, our taxi driver starts talking to us and somehow he starts telling us a joke about 3 junkies and a crocodile...hahaha. It was the best joke i've ever heard, but made so much better by the broken english drug-usage vocabulary ("so the first guy, the first was very much liking up. the cocaina, you know, the up!" us: "uppers?" him: yes yes, uppers!!") It was pretty much awesome. Anyway, we got a taxi to take us to like the mid-north of tel aviv and drop us off, and the plan was to hike back into tel aviv. Simple enough. However, as we started on the trail, and HIKED (and almost got run over by ATVs, which answered my question 'are there ATVs in Israel becuase this looks like an ATV trail') for about 3.5 hours (through orchards, along highways, on ATV trails, you know, the usual) I started being like uhhhh, hmm. We're hiking east. Im so glad i brought a flashlight. And, randomly, Becky's cousin came and found us on his mountain bike on the trail and led us to a garbage dump (um, hello Mt. Trashmore), and we hiked it at sundown to see a great view of all over. It was fabulous. And, then we figured out that we had hiked all the way to Hod Hasharon. Um, what???? That's two towns over. And i needed my flashlight. SHawang!!

After the hike, we bussed it back to tel aviv and made our way straight to the port (damn im a trooper) to do dinner and go to the concert/final celebration for the 100year anniversary of Tel Aviv. It turned into a mega-outside party concert-water-show and was awesome. We met up with some other program people there and had a real blast--the concert turned into an impromptu israeli parkinglot rave to random israeli techno and was just so much fun--i havent danced like that probably ever and it was just silly and ridiculous and wonderful. AND, i had real soft serve ice cream for the first time (they only have like frozen YOGURT here, or ice cream. blech.) which made my night complete. We were bushed, so we headed home and cinderella'd it.

Today, we had our siyur "field trip" and visited a kibbutz on the green line that has lived in coexistence with a palestinian village for many years. It became quite famous in 2000 when it fought for the rights and land of the Palestinian people, and unfortunately this made them the target of a terrorist attack. A gunman came into their kibbutz and picked a random house and shot a mother and her two young kids. Really horrible stuff, even more so followed by the message "there are no good jews or bad jews, only jews that have stolen our land." It was a 'message' to the cooperating parties, which is just awful. They have a hard time putting what happened alongside their ideology of equality, and it was hard to hear him talk about that. We also talked with an Arab Moslim Palestinian Israeli, who shared his side of the story and it was really really interesting to hear a perspective from the other side, even if it is hard to hear someone say to your face 'you shouldnt be here and israel shouldnt have been created'. It was also REALLY good for me to figure out all these buzzwords that everyone keeps throwing out here, mainly the identification as Arab-Moslim-Palestinian Israeli. We figured it out like this: it breaks down to race-religion-regional identification-country. Its the equivalent of a Filipino-Christian-Virginian-American. Whoof, much better. Here its just that religion and racial breakdown mean so much more, so people identify themselves as that, and also since everyone asks. The kibbutz is also on the green line, so it was interesting to see how the war has directly affected them (they talked a lot about how the social sense of Israel has really been put on hold for like the last 40 years, and all of the social developments like equality and figuring their own internal problems out have been put on hold---really interesting stuff). It was also really interesting to learn about the word Palestinian, and what it means, and how it was used (ask me if you really want to know) before 1948 vs after. We also went to the refugee camp for jewish immigrants to the British Mandate Palestine after WWII who tried to enter the area illegally--woah, never knew about that before, and its really scary to see how much like a concentration camp it looked. And to imagine the Holocaust survivors being sent there after living through Auschwitz or somewhere comprable. Wow, really eye-opening to see that in Eretz Yisrael. Learned a lot today, and definently mulling over a lot. I like our field trips.

In other news, ulpan is going really well. I finally dont feel totally lost in class, and though I still have problems forming sentences, I feel much more confident, so YAY!!! Also, shout out to the Russell-Zobels for my birthday card--it got here in record time and made me smile!! Especially the testosterone nation part--thanks for the well wishes!!! Miss you!!

Finally, I would like to tell you all: I got my first joke on a t-shirt today. In hebrew. I know, you should be SO PROUD. The t-shirt was a big duck and a little bear, with a voice bubble from the little bear saying "Ken. Ata Meumetz." Which means "yes, you are adopted". SO FUNNY AND I GOT IT!!!! hahahhaha

Love yall!!!

HWOTD: meumetz. obviously. it means adopted. Like my mom (snicker).

HOWWWW DO I GETTTTTTT YOU ALOOOONEEEE

2009-10-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Now, let me explain. No, I am not some creepy dude trying to get you alone. Merely trying to explain that since my apartment has discovered surfthechannel/megavideo, we can now watch tv shows. 72 minute limit per day, but still. Aaand, last episode of glee (DUH, we're all addicted to glee), they sang "alone" by Heart. And since, it has become our theme song for the apartment and we have generally been rocking out to 80's horrendousness/beststuffever.

"We built this city....we built-" I digress.

This past week has been long, and is still continuing on that trajectory. Today everyone in the Hertzl apartments took off of work and stayed home to pack up all of our stuff. MY MOM should be proud becuase it really didnt take me very long--everything was already organized into its respective places so i just shoved it back in my suitcases and was good. I was also proud becuase I only needed 1 more backpack to put stuff in than I came with, a good sign for when I actually have to leave this place (can you believe I'm 1/4 of the way done? and its almost my birthday???). We also have to pack up all the food and everything too, so schlepping tonight/tomorrow is going to be fun. Slash they hired a moving team and I am going back to work tomorrow, but still.

Speaking of work...
I had my first day on Monday. And may I just say, IT FREAKING ROCKED. I didn't really get to do anything hands on, but I really enjoyed watching all of the procedures and seeing stuff happen. After studying this area for so long, to see it going on right in front of me was AMAZING. There were some iffy moments, since I just came from a really sterile lab environment (ahem, using a long rubber tube and their own mouths for suction, ahem), but overall it was a wonderful experience and I cant wait to go back tomorrow. I will be in the IVF lab for the next 2 weeks, then in the Prenatal Genetic diagnosis lab for 1 week, and then the stem cell lab (you know, they just have their own stem cell lab, !!!) for 1 week as well. YAY!

And, can I just dork out for a moment and explain HOWFREAKINGCOOL the scrubs vending machine is F!@$&@(!@(#&!!!! I will say it again. SCrubs. vending. machine. As in, i get my uniform from a machine, that is automated. With a swipey card. SO COOL!

Other things that I've done in the past week:

*The Matisyahu Concert in Jerusalem: Unreal. It was the first time back in jerusalem for me this trip, and we were only there for a few hours, but it was still amazeballs. Matisyahu was a very dynamic performer, and the best encore that I have ever seen of any show in my whole life. Crowdsurfing, lulav-shaking...it was a blast. And all outdoors, right in the shadow of the old wall of the old city. In Jerusalem. Im such a lucky ducky.

*Hike to Mt. Meron and Rosh HaNikra: This was yesterday, and I think I'm going to ask Ricky, our leader, to start giving me a better idea of what to expect for our hikes. After the last sweaty, sticky, hot, desperate-climbing-oh-my-gosh-im-gonna-pass-out hike, all of us were expecting something along the same vein for this one (only some people came this time). No, totally wrong. We approached this GIANT mountain all sort of groaning, but were told 'oh, we're driving up and you're just walking down.' Um, what? So, we sort-of-kind-of walked downhill in the shade of big trees for less than 2 hours and we were done. Barely broke a sweat. Huh??? This was at the complete other end of the spectrum from our first hike, but we still had fun beucase of the view (right across from Sfat and, well, Lebanon) and becuase we played fun mind games on the way down. The first of these, thanks to Becky, was: If I'm holding a bee, whats in my eye? Let me know if you get it.... (hint: what are you if you're holding a bee?)
And then was a crazy one about "If he had seen the sawdust, he wouldn't have died." And we had to ask yes/no questions to get to the scenario. Took us awhile, but we got it! Really fun, lol. Slash im a huge nerd (shocker).

*Watched 1/2 of a bootlegged version of Inglorious Bastards: Woah, Quentin Tarantino is a madman/genious/freak. Like, what a whacked-out movie?? We only got through 1/2 and it was a baaad bootleg, but whoof. Yep. Thats about all I got to say about that (you know how I feel about blood peoples....oy!)

The only other things that are going on state-wise here are that the crazy mopedists/motorcyclists are staging protests becuase they are increasing their insurance rates. Becuase they are maniacs. Who try to kill me everytime I step outside my apartment. Becuase they drive on sidewalks when they feel like it. I digress...
The riot was pretty cool: A sea of riders coming down Hertzl street, honking and making a ruckus and waving flags and signs and wearing underwear and being generally rowdy. But people on the street were cheering them and it was really cute. It was like a 15-minute long constant stream, but pretty cool. The other thing going down here, which I have been chatting with Michal about, (and I am not sure if this is a local Tel Aviv thing or an all-of-Israel thing) is that they are talking about what to do with all of the illegal refugees who are here from all over: Ethiopia, Darfur, Sudan, etc. This directly affects Michal becuase these kids are in her schools, and the general talk right now is to send them back to where they came from (=not good). Its shocking that they have come to a decision like this given the history of the country with the law of return AND the fact that its a jewish state, Holocust, refugees...HELLO??? It's very tough to see this go down right now, but they are working through it.

That's all for now, I hope you all are safe and sound and staying warm (haha, suckers) while I watch my roommate pack and procrastinate doing my ulpan homework. Sigh. Maybe I'll begin planning birthday/Halloween shennigans for myself. Hmm, what am I going to get me for my birthday?? :)

LOVE FROM THE MOTHERLAND!!

HWOTD: balagan. It means crazy/hotmess/nuts. like, everythings balagan here. like WOAH.

ps. Stay out of corners ;)

Scribbity Scrabble, and other like adventures

2009-10-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

My scrabble board, where I finally beat Michal (SORRY she hates it haha). This gets filed under the "things we do when we don't have TV".

We had no fruit, nor a real sukkah, but what do we have? A porch and Jewelry!!! Plenty decorative for us!

Checkin out the streaming elections for the Olympics! We were out :(

Well hey ya'll! Howzit??
boy do I got a lot to update you on. I am going to attempt to do this chronologically, but I may fail. I'm just warning you--I've been battling some insomnia this week and I'm just.not.all.there.yet. To the batcave!

I guess first things first, I made the agonizing decision to cancel my LSAT. sigh. I did it in the last hour, after much deliberation, and while I dont regret it I don't think I am going to easily get over not knowing what score I would have had. Its one of my problems in life--I hate not knowing things like this. I also feel slightly failure-tastic and all-for-nothingish, but I think that will pass. I came to the conclusion after this whole mess that I am happy with my score, and am confident (enough) that it can get me into the school of my choice.

Sukkot started on Friday, and since most people were out of town,my roommate Becky and I decided to have a fruit-themed dinner, which turned into a mango themed dinner, and we cooked and had a ball and decorated our fake sukkah (ahem, balcony, ahem) with decorations (ahem, jewelry, ahem) in honor of the holiday. and had guests over, yeah us for being good jews! We made the most awesome mango-cilantro quinoa salad, and had lime-cilantro chicken and mango juice as well. What a wonderful night. And in "we have to live without TV part 2", we played texas hold em with whatever 'poker chips' we could find. These consisted of: agurot (israeli cents), an assortment of credit and starbucks cards, and unopened various razor blade cartriges. Us jews obviously came prepared in that area, hahaha. It was a really fun night, and fun knowing that I dont totally suck at poker (Becky, who had to help me buy back in, would not like to concede that point. haha I so hope you are reading this.)

In other "we have to live without tv" news, there have been some EPIC travel scrabble tourneys going down in this area. I mean, epic. See above picture--my fam should be SO PROUD. Michal and I are both fierce competitors, and neither of us like to lose. That makes for some funnn games, haha. When we're not tearing each other apart on the scrabble board, we got the opportunity to hang out this weekend and ventured into Yafo for some famous hummus ful. Now, americans, there's hummus, and there's hummus ful. Hummus ful has either beans or chickpeas like, in it, and its homemade hummus, and simply to die for. We went to yafo for arguably the best hummus around, at a place called Abulafia, which is also a famous bakery. It was a very fun adventure, especially since Yafo is a pretty Arab-centric place.

This weekend we also ventured out to the movies! I was so excited because we decided we were going to see Geshem Shel Felafel, or cloudy with a chance of meatballs (or, in Israel, Falafel), in 3D. we were STOKED, and so ready to go have a movie-and then-celebratory-falafel night. I got us to the movie theater without a hitch (yay my photographic placement-memory) and we bought our tickets (REALLY pricey here--45 shekels for a movie which is like over 11 dollars...whoof!) and waited for our other friend Jacob to join us. As we were waiting, Becky was just wanting to make sure that the assumption about movies in Israel that we had was correct, that they are English movies with hebrew subtitles. After Michal assured us that "Of course its in English!", we sent her to go check, and turns out, its the ONE MOVIE in the whole theater that is actually dubbed in Hebrew. Of Course (welcome to my life). So, we switched our tickets for Up, another Pixar movie, and it was good as well. There are assigned seats here in the movie theaters which was interesting to get used to, and the theater was VERY small, but other than that it was a good movie experience. Really wish we could have seen shel Falafel though. Sigh.

Yesterday my gym partner/friend Amy and I decided to be brave and try a class that our gym offers--we settled on vinyasa yoga. We somehow also talked our guy friend Matt into joining us for the fun. Let me tell you, not only was this class all in hebrew (both a fun way to learn how to say down dog in hebrew (chattarunga is the same!!) but also really funny interjections just for us of "PUSH FORWARD YOUR TUSHIE!") but it was also NOT a beginner class. I was sweating up a storm!! There were some really buff guys in the class too-intimidating! At least I havent totally lost all of my flexibility, lol. It was a really good experience but MAN have I been getting more progressively sore as the day goes on! Great class though--next we shall try pilates, and perhaps bellydancing after that?

Today we went on another field trip, this time to a childrens museum in Holon (south of Tel aviv). Our purpose there was not for the childrens part but to take part in an exhibit called...well, I dont remember what it was called, something about Silence. In the exhibit, you have a deaf tour guide/instructor, and they take you through the experience of being deaf/vocally and hearing deprived (because you can't ever really know what it's like to be deaf unless you are deaf). So, we weren't allowed to speak, and we were wearing heavy duty rifle-range-grade earmuff things, so we really couldnt hear. To tell you the truth, I was a bit apprehensive about this (in a totally closed-minded, I-am-going-to-embarrass-the-hell-out-of-myself-using-nonverbal-communication way) but I have to say it was the most eye-opening and wonderful experience. You moved through a series of rooms, where you had to communicate first with your hands, then with your facial expressions, then with your body, and then we learned a bit of Israeli sign language (different from ASL) and ordered coffee/water at a "silent bar" from another deaf waiter. It was such an eye-opening experience and really made you so aware of how sound and your voice affect communication and perception of life. It also, for me, was not the total embarrassment factor I expected, but was really nice to open myself up to this new way of thinking and problem-solve ways to communicate without a voice. It was also not as hard as I thought it would be--when everyone is communicating like that, and with SUCH an amazing deaf leader, it was much easier for me to pick up on what people were trying to get across than I expected. Really, really wonderful. They have another exhibit there called Dialogue in the Dark about blindness, and I would really love to go back to experience that as well.

I guess the only other big piece of news from this week is that we are definitely, 100% moving apartments, probably sometime next week. While I am excited for being able to have a closeness with the rest of the girls on the trip, and a REALFREAKINGOVEN, I am sad to leave our Hertzl apartments. My beloved City Cafe three doors down will now be a 10 minute walk, and our downstairs AM:PM (convience store) with the SUPER nice cashier ladies who give me hebrew and arabic lessons will no longer be. And our 10 shekel falafel stand on the corner. Oh, how Iwill miss this area. And our balconies--no balcony at the new place. But, I think we are all bucking up and saying it will be for the best, we just are DREADING PACKING EVERYTHING AGAIN OH NO. At least they are hiring a moving company, so all we have to do is pack up and they will move it, thank goodness. I was having nighmarish visions of schlepping 87 lb bags on top of taxi cabs. OY.

Tomorrow our group banded together and got tickets for MATISYAHU IN JERUSALEM--its going to be epic. This will be my first time back in Jerusalem since I came on birthright, and I am SO looking forward to this concert!!! I think it will be insanely fun.

Miss you all, and wishing you a happy sukkot and SORRY its getting cold there but I am just dandy in my shorts and tank top. and Mediterranean. hehe. Jealous yet?? COME VISIT!!

LSATs: The Israeli experience. Or: Yentl revisited.

2009-09-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

tel aviv, on yom kippur. This street would ordinarily be full of cars. EERIE.

angry baby graffiti.

Well, hello there.

It's been awhile...sorry for the delay, but may I just say, MY LSATS ARE OUT OF THE WAY. and yes, I know that rhymed. Snarky snark snicker.

Aaaaayways, so I am sitting at city with Michal, once again, blogging and writing for law school. I love this cafe--not only are their salads the most bomb thing ever, but they also play THE BEST MUSIC EVER. Like, moloko and dmb, two of my favorite bands. Thank you, lord. Today Michal and I made shnitzel-ed eggplant, which is seriously my new favorite thing ever. AND we made a sauce for it, out of tahina and zatar (my new favorite spice that we put on EVERYTHING and I am bringing a bucket of it back to the states) and it was heaven. We didnt even put it on plates, we just ate it straight out of the pan. UNREAL.

Now I must update you on my day without food: Yom Kippur. I actually fasted the whole time, which I was hesitant to do becuase of my LSAT the next day. The night before Yom Kippur, at like 4:30 pm of course, we had a pre-Yom Kippur dinner with all of the boys, which consisted of an AMAZING mexican burrito night. Now, that might not sound so special to all you lucky ducks in America, but let me tell you: Mexican food is the one genre here that is IMPOSSIBLE to come by. As is cheddar cheese. Cheese here, in case I havent explained it, comes in two varieties: White cheese, and yellow cheese. THere are hard-ish and soft varieties, but that's the whole shebang. So, the fact that we were able to have a real burrito night with cheddar and black beans and ground beef for the meatetarians, was UNREAL. we had all been craving it, and we finally had a fix. Nooooow, what was funny is that AS we were eating, we realized what a silly idea it was to have mexican as our 'last supper' before fasting, since it goes straight through you. Argh, blinded by the craving. After dinner, we decided to take a walk outside and it was UNREAL. No cars, no sound: just silence. And stoplights. We laid down in the middle of the street and legit played games, it was So much fun. But, since we were all hungry again by like 8pm, we all went to bed. And stayed in bed, as long as possible. The next day was allright: we mostly sat on our balcony and listened. And watched. It was just so STILL- its like new york city except on mute, and without cars. It was beautiful and eerie and SO cool. Before our break-fast, we walked around Tel aviv, taking graffiti pictures (see above) and listening to prayers from the various schuls arond the city. Becky and Jacks wanted to hear the shofar blow at the end of Yom Kippur, so we stood outside a shul for like 30 minutes waiting to hear the shofar. Honestly, I was fine until the walking and just straight standing for 30 minutes outside the shul--that, coupled with the heat, was when I was like, I have to go. So I headed for where our break-fast was, the 'new' apartments (which we will probably be moving to in a few weeks, ugh. moving.) It was a wonderful break-fast, which was ironically breakfast themed, haha. We had bagels and cream cheese and lox and onions and tomatoes and scrambled eggs and kugel and borekas (pastry-like awesomeness things that I avoid at all costs, haha). It was really really awesome, and so nice to break the fast all together.

That night was also quite fun becuase my friends Sarah and Jaks (both ironically canadians) taught me one of my favorite songs on the guitar, Walk Away by Ben harper. Its rather easy, and I'm tickled that I now know 1 (ahem, don't joke) song on the guitar. Yay!!

AAAnd, then was my LSAT. oh, what a day. The day started, instead of with a gentle wake up from my apartmentmates as they left for the day, with a JACKHAMMERRIGHTOVERMYHEAD. No, I kid you not: this is the day that my neighbors decided to begin renovations on their apartment. At 8:30 am. On the day of my LSAT. whoof. So, waking up with a giant pounding headache was fun, and not being able to escape it was even more fun. Hoorah. Then, on my way to the LSAT, I was nervously focusing on the bus, and as a rule i generally ignore Hebrew chatter (since, well, I don't understand it), but apparently the woman next to me on the bus had been asking me whether anyone had pushed the button to stop the bus or not, and I didnt answer her, like 4 times. So, she decided the best course of action was to jump up and start screaming at me in Hebrew. Being accosted on a bus is SO not fun, especially not when you're stressed. Shaken, I finally made my way to the LSAT, only to discover that I was going to take this 5 hour test in a performance space (there was a legit stage and piano at the front of the room) on a crookedy rattley old fold out table and chair. Fabulous. And, as I looked around the room: Holy hell i felt like Yentl and I'm not even kidding: There was one other girl, and like 17 yeshiva boys. Legit, yeshiva men: white shirts, black pants, tsittsit, peyes, yarmuke, black coats, the whole shebangy. WOW. It was very surreal. And, on top of it, the proctor was as Israeli as they get: I won't get too specific, but lets just say it was ridiculously unorthodox (hehe). Like, what, am I taking an LSAT now??? Craziness.
I am still deciding wether or not to cancel the test, weighing the options and perhaps contacting Georgetown Law, but for now we shall seee.

Love to all, Chels

HWOTD: mifchan- test. as in, i just took a meshugenah mifchan and am farblunget. Theres a little yiddish hebrew woah-now for you. :)

City of Concrete

2009-09-23T04:44:00.000-07:00

So, I'm going to preface this serious-face post with a little update, and a cute-as-a-button picture: my coffeeshop. I love it love it love it. They play good music constantly, and the people who work here are SO freaking cool. Yay for neighborhood coffee shops. We also were adventurous last night and walked to the end of the street our neighborhood is named for: Florentin. FINALLY, we found out why people think we live in such a cute neighborhood! The end of that road is HOPPIN, with a cute little sushi bar, lots of little bar/pub/restaurants, coffee shops, and gelatto places!! SO cute! There's another yay for exploring our neighborhood.

Ok, now to serious-face post. Since this is a politically touchy subject, I am going to try and present just my experience and a little of what I was told without trying to seem too biased or one-sided. Try, being the operative word here.

Soooo, yesterday we went to Sderot, a city in the Negev (southern desert) in Israel. This city also happens to be 1km (about .6 miles) away from the Gaza strip. Since it is so close, it is unfortunately subject to a lot of rocket attacks from Gaza, almost daily. Since 2001 there have been 10-12000 rockets that have hit the city, with many casualties. We were on a neighborhood block where every house had been hit by a rocket at least twice...very sad stuff to see. The people there can't really leave because their property is worth nothing, and everywhere in Israel is basically within missile range (VERY small country), and a lot have stood in solidarity trying not to cave to the terrorists aims: to get them to leave.

Honestly, all of us were a little apprehensive about this trip. There has been relative quiet in Sderot since May: that is, up until Rosh Hashanah 3 nights ago. Two bombs were launched on the city in the middle of the night, but thankfully no one was hurt. We got off of the bus, and Sheldon (our professor/leader) gathered us near the entrance to the nearest bomb shelter and explained to us about Tseve Adom, or "red alert". When Tseve Adom comes on over the loudspeakers, located all around the town, you have a maximum of 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter. He told us, "if you hear tseve adom, its not a time to discuss Hamas policy: I will point to the nearest bomb shelter and you will run. We came as a group, so if someone goes down, help them as fast as you can and get inside." Its mayhem: we watched a video of a tseve adom going off in a school yard, and it was panic and pandemonium. People have a visceral reaction to that sound here, I can't even imagine the terror that that evokes. I was scared and I never even heard it. Its also really sad that the kindergartners have learned to start singing at the top of their lungs as soon as they get inside the bomb shelter, to cover up the noise of the explosion. I cant imagine living like that on a daily basis: most everyone who lives in that city has PTSD, even the two year olds show signs of it. And what's even more horrible is that Israel really hasnt done anything about it: the families don't get any sort of help with rebuilding their houses completely, and the mental health facilities there which are sorely needed are all closing down due to lack of funding. Its a really really sad situation. After we had a meeting in the 'central' bomb shelter, we had the chance to go to the police station and see the rockets that had been recovered from the attacks. They are made from scrap metal and are very rudimentary, but i guess are 'kicked up' since a terrorist tactic is to load bullets, scrap metal, and any other sharp projectiles into the rocket so that they go flying on impact, injuring more people. It's ridiculous too, since these are all civilians. We also got a chance to stop at a school/playground in Sderot: the children basically play in painted bomb shelters because the playgrounds have gotten hit so many times. And the schools, everything is concrete. The good part is that you are never that far from a bomb shelter: the bad part is that it has to be like that.

After we left Sderot, we went to an outlook right over Gaza, where you can see almost everything. This was also quite scary since we were in sniping range, and couldnt bring cameras or anything that made us look more tourist-y. Its a beautiful view, but an unbelievably sad and frustrating area of the world. I dont know really how to describe it other than heartbreaking: and things weren't even presented to us in a sympathy-creating or overtly pitiful way. Everything in this country is so matter-of-fact about death and loss and their daily sacrifices and fears, it can be kind of disconcerting. It also makes me really grateful for how I live and for my quality of life. And for my life in general.

Sorry for the overtly depressing tone: what I saw there is something that you can't get out of your head very easily. If any of you want more info on Sderot or the conflict, they have their own media group with some interesting links, etc: http://sderotmedia.org.il/

Love you all--a more un-depressing post soon, I promise.

H.W.O.T.D: atzuv/ atzuvah (M/F): it means sad. rather appropriate.

10-12000 rockets have hit sderot since 2001: 250 of which have come in the past 8 months, during a 'cease-fire' with gaza.

children play in this bomb shelter on their playground.

Apparently there IS such a thing as a stupid question in Israel

2009-09-19T02:19:00.000-07:00

...for me at least. While this may be a broad generalization, it seems that if we ask a question with an (obvious-to-Israelis, at least) answer, we get glared at (we have learned that this means yes. well, it can mean no, too. see, its tricky--since you're supposed to know the answer, you're supposed to know the answer to the question, too. Sometimes we get thrown a bone with a blatant "...of course"--that's helpful). But in all seriousness, polite questions or "just-checking" questions here seem to be out of the norm, and get answered as such. While this may seem like I'm starting my blog with a rant about Israeli 'bad' manners, let me tell you, it may turn out to be quite the opposite (DUM DUM DUM....foreshadowing).

Let's see, what other tangents can I go off on before I get to the meat of this entry? Hmmm...oh! I know! My roommate has found a way to keep me from fainting. For those who dont know me intimately...see...I have this thing with blood. As in, I can't be around it or I have a tendency to pass out if I overthink it. As in, me popping blood blisters is a reallllly bad idea (ewwwww, I know. TMI. Just deal for a hot sec, ok? I promise this is going somewhere). So, my roommate saw me freaking out and was like "uh, uhhh, tell me what to do!" so I told her to distract me, to put on some music or something! To which she replies, "ohok!! What kind of music????" To which I, true to form as my mother's daughter, immediately scream the first thing that comes into my head: "PUT ON SOME TECHNO!!!!" It was just the most bizzare thing to pop out of my mouth, that we just busted into giggles and forgot all about fainting and ended up listening to I guess the closest thing to techno in Canada-- "another one bites the dust". Suffice it to say, it worked, no fainting spell. Although, it moves me to question my roommates taste in music (ahem, canadian, ahem) (JUST KIDDING JAKS).

One last tangent, which is not so tangental, I promise. So, the FLOWER SHOW WAS SO FREAKIN COOL. It was a legit carpet in the middle of rabin square made ALL out of flowers, and we got some pretty cool postcards and they even gave us little flower plants to take home!! Oh how I love the belgians. So nice. Be sure to stay tuned for pictures below!!

So, this weekend was the beginning of the Chagim, or high holy days. Rosh hashanah, to be specific. Happy new yearrr woooooo (insert annoying horn/shofar sound here). My first high holy days in Israel, wow. And what an experience! Friday night was Shabbat and also the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friend in Michal who invited me to spend Rosh Hashanah celebrating with her family in Ra'anana, which was wonderful (as is the word Ra'anana. I think it might be my new favorite hebrew word--On the way in the car, I kept saying 'I want to eat a bananaaaaa in Ra'ananaaaaa'. Sooo annoying, I'm aware haha). Her whole family is South African but they all live in Israel so they have these wonderful accents and are the most charming people. AND COMPLETELY BROKE MY STEREOTYPE: FORESHADOWING BOOYAAA. And now, of course, what would one of my blog entries be without the FOOD?!?!?!? Nothing I tell you, nothing.

So, the food. Let me start by saying that this was a pretty traditional Ashkenazi Rosh Hashanah meal, full of symbolic foods for a sweet and wonderful new year. Let me also say that my family eats maybe 1/2039482 of these foods, so although I knew about them from my Jewish studies classes, I had never experienced them. Shawwweeeet. Pardon my memory, but I am going to try to sum up what we had symbolically (and ALL covered in sugar, if you can imagine that) and (maybe) what it means:

spring onions
dates
pomegranate- following the commandments. oh, and sweetness.T
spinach omlette
apples and honey-sweet new year, apples are round like the earth
green beans
sweet challah- round like the earth. and the womb (fertility woop woop). oh, and sweet.
a whole fish--so as to be the head and not the tail of our endeavors. oh, and a sweet new yr.
roast pumpkin

Ok, so I got 4/9... I dont really know what the rest mean (curses on me, vanessa ochs would be so ashamed of me right now) but most are for defeating enemies, being leaders, money, and having a sweet new year. duh.

After all that shmorgasboard, the plates were cleared, and I was just feeling satisfied as....I was informed those were just the appetizers. Woah, nelly. THEN we proceeded to have even MORE of a traditional, symbolic, FEASTOFALLFEASTS and it was glorious. These included: chopped herring (sounds ew, but SO GOOD), stewed spicy fish (i wanted to makeout with whoever made this dish...jk but no really), spicy chicken, sweet chicken (with raisins and apricots and prunes, oh my!) and an overall shmorgasboard of potatoes: sweet and roasted and kugeled and all topsyturvy up in potato land. YUM. And, of course, I had to try my magical honey cake. It was good, I will give it that, but I was looking for, well, MAGICAL. and I think I am going to have to continue on my search for something that good--it was good, definently on the dense bread-y side of a cake, and rested so that I found the outer parts ever-so-dry, but still a rather successful adventure.

Rosh Hashanah dinner aside, spending the day in Tel Aviv was pretty cool. And by cool, I mean eerie. Imagine a city with traffic like NYC. then, imagine being able to walk down the middle of lex, and not get hit by a car. Like, woah. it was like being out at 4:30 in the morning on a Monday: except broad daylight. Verrry creepy. This was on our way to the beach, where we spent a wonderful day relaxing and dipping our feet in the Mediterranean. Oh, life. We also had a chance to watch another wonderful Israeli film this weekend, called Walk on Water. Really, really fabulous: again another one I would recommend.

The past few days I've been trying to be good and study for my LSATs, but days like today just creep in there and I say, you know what? I'm going to get in my friends car and go with them to hertzilya. I dont know why, but I shall. And it was glorious. I love how I'm amost always spot on with what I need at that moment. Almost. Tomorrow, for example. Having biiig reservations. We are going to Sderot, which is less than 1 mile from the Gaza strip. Aaaand Hamas shoots rockets into it, on a daily basis. As in, the last bombing was 2 days ago. Its a daily thing, really. So i'm a little skeeved about that, kind of feel like it may turn into a 'oops wrong place at the wrong time' kind of moment, but I'm staying positive and keeping an open mind and am going to go. Woop, field trips. Silly wabbit, these field trips are for grownups. gulp.

I know, right? what a great note to end this blog entry on. But, look at it this way. I am giving you a real glimpse of life in Israel. You have happiness and joy surrounding the holidays, with celebration in the air and vitality and love, and its immediately coupled with loss, and danger. It's always a theme here, and is inescapable. So yay, me, for being true to Israeli form.

Night kids, to bed we go.
AAND HWOTD: nachon. It means 'of course' or 'correct' and is rather appropriate given the title of this blog ;)

P.S. There are all of these Murakami-like flowers scattered as graffiti throughout Tel Aviv. I have decided that I am going to let the flowers lead me on a tour throughout the city: pictures to follow. For now, these are flowers i found on Hamelech George between Dizengoff and the Merkaz (less for you and more for me so I dont post the same graffiti twice!! ps, doesnt the word graffiti make you want to say Rafiki, and then start singing and quoting the Lion King? no? Just me? figures...)

murakamI?

flowerss

bloggity blog

2009-09-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Updates from the motherland....

Shalom Kulam! I hope everyone's doing well--I love getting little snippets of info about whats going on in the homeland, keep those comin'!

Updates, updates, updates. Let's see...First and foremost, I HAVE A NEW INTERNSHIP!!!!!!!! Hoorah!!! (that was fast, thanks to my insanelyawesomeamazing group leader Ricky). It is at Ichilov Hospital (I think, either that or Sourasky Medical Complex, lol...they might be the same thing but I haven't figured that out yet), and I am going to attempt fertility clinic #2. This one is more hands-on, so I am getting special medical coverage or something, but I am so happy! Ironically, I can't start work until Oct. 3rd, after Sukkot has started, since the High Holy Days are a big deal here (duh), but that is good for me since I am scheduled to take my LSATs here on September 29th! (GULP) Makes me keep in mind that it all works out in the end...:)

Some people in my group and I are also planning on renting a bus on October 7th and driving to J'lem to go see Matisyahu in concert!! Its going to be really amazing and I cannot wait. I love doing all of those little exploreybits: like tomorrow, not only am I doing a walking tour of Tel Aviv to go see a bunch of art exhibits that are open for Tel Aviv's 100 year anniversary, but I also get to go on a siyur (field trip) to Neve Tzedek, the cutest area EVER, to study Bahaus and learn more about Tel Aviv. I believe we are also exploring the Susan Dellal Center, which is like the big performance space here for dancers. I am STILL working on finding a dance class: I need to just bite the bullet and get it over with haha. I also took a tour of the gym here: its a bit small and pricey and male-dominated, but I think I am going to join. The rooftop views are unparalleled and they offer really fun-looking classes!!! (In Hebrew, thats going to be an adventure).

Speaking of adventures....

I am currently baking a 'magical honey cake' from my new "Book of Israeli Foods" cookbook that I just bought with Michal. It is a recipe for Rosh Hashanah and is the first cake that I have ever seen that needs to "rest" for 5-7 days...hmmm....this should be interesting. Did I mention that I am cooking from a recipe written entirely in GRAMS and I am baking this shindig in a TOASTER OVEN? Oh, I forgot that, did I? Oops. THIS is going to be hilarious. But, never fear, I have the fire extinguisher on hand.

I will keep you updated on how it went---for now, its nose to the grindstone for LSATs, law school app, personal statement, and, of course, learning Hebrew.

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!!!!!!

***2am UPDATE***

The cake. is. done.
Seriously people, if only you could be in my apartment right now. I don't know how my roommates aren't bouncing awake (maybe mine is just excitement-at-having-actually-cooked-something-edible-in-a-toaster-oven-induced), but this APARTMENT SMELLS SO FREAKING GOOD!! It smells like honey and goodness and warmth and Rosh Hashanah! I am just waiting up for the cake to finish cooling, so that I may "wrap it in tin foil and store it in a cool dark place for 6 days" haha. I have yet to decide what I am actually doing with this cake, since I was expecting for the recipe to make more than one (It talked like it did, but it was all talk), but something Rosh-Hashanah-y. I am joining Michal's family of South Africans for Rosh Hashanah and I am very much looking forward to it! Michal is a wonderful friend--on Sunday night we ended up watching an Israeli indie film called Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi, which was the most freakinfantastic movie I have seen in a loooong while (perhaps since VCB, gran?) I strongly suggest that if anyone in the states can get their hands on it, they do. It is WONDERFUL.

Finally, I couldn't let you all leave without your word of the day, could I? So here it is, H.W.O.T.D: sheket. It means shut up, and we get told this a lot in our ulpan since we are a bunch of A.D.D. twelve year olds. I think it might be slang, but nevertheless, there you go! I would also like to share with you a glimse of the "Who's on first" conundrum with Hebrew that I am working with, in the form of a little rhyme that my roommates taught me: "Ani is me, me is who, who is he, he is she, and dog is fish." Now say that as fast as you can and try not to say he when you really mean he which is really who which will leave yourheadspinningggg. LOVE!

yes, this is my oven. groan. buuuuut ittttt worrrksss!

ta-da!

my life right now:

2009-09-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

in one word: sweaty.

haha, no, I'm kidding. (kind of.) It's shabbat, and I'm writing you from a cute little cafe about 4 store fronts down from my apartment. I swear, their to-go iced latte cups are so damned cute, I may actually take up cold coffee. Maybe.

In a word, I am, at peace. Everythings a little mishegas here, but that is to be expected. I have embraced it. As you will read, I am letting it roll off of my feathers. Yes, that's right, I have feathers.

Good news folks, our AC is FINALLY FIXED. No throw-back-to-summer-camp-anti-Cold-air here! Now our porch is sweltering because our inverter has decided to output air at about 145F, but that's a "duh, we're in Israel" moment. I am becoming SOOOO good at figuring out those moments: Today, Michal and I decided to totally rearrange our kitchen to attempt to give ourselves at least 1 square foot of counterspace. We dragged a hall entryway table into our GALLEY kitchen, and made it work. Tim Gunn would be so proud.

In other news, I am really settling into life here. Our parents should be so proud: we youngadults took it upon ourselves to organize another shabbat potluck, and although it was a little all-over-the-place, we did it right. Pats on our backs. Shabbat has also been a welcome day in my life: nothing is open except for the AM/PM (our downstairs convenience store) and the coffee shop, so we get to have a chillaxin day. Oh, and the Mediterranean is open, I forgot to mention that. Saturdays are un/official beach days, even though today I made an exception for my mental health (I needed a day of organizing/cleaning/getting my shit in order). Sometimes it's hard for me to chillax if I have pressing matters. Like my blog. Of COURSE you take precedence over my LSAT studying, of course!

Ulpan has also been going well/interestingly. Although I may find it weird that we're learning to say "prince Charles is the prince of England" before the number nine, I'm sure it makes sense to Israelis. I can also now say "The chocolate is from Belgium" and "Madonna is from the United States." So useful, I know :)

I'm also still working on a dance class to take: trying to be e-to the-conomical, but still shake my groove thang. Yep, I got one of those. I found a studio that had some promising looking classes, but got a bit turned off when the secretary tried to sell me on the fact that irish dancing and tap were the same thing. The nerve!! haha.

Incidentally, this studio is right below my "work". Now, I use that word in quotation marks becuase I haven't actually DONE anything yet. The doctor who I am working for seems absolutely wonderful and brilliant and nice, but in his teeny office of one doctor and 5 secretaries, they literally seem too busy to have us help them. The language barrier is obviously a big issue, and will be a hurdle with anything that I try to do, but I am going to try to find something more productive to do than wait in a waiting room for 5 hours asking "is there anything I can do now?" at 15-minute-intervals. Don't worry, I'm ok. Keeping my mind and options open, and optimism is always the goal. The goal, I say.

I have also managed to find the equivalent of a "dollar" store in one of the main commercial centers here--I am fully planning on unleashing my artistic side on some canvasses and proudly nailing them to my wall. (well, maybe gumming them to my wall. Since they are concrete. And I dont have a hammer.) I also found the prettiest spools of ribbon in this one store and plan on throwing ribbon and superglue at my wall and seeing what happens. Just kidding. Maybe.

That's about all, folks! I would like to share one final revelation that I had this week: we were cooking our peasanty-shakshuka dish, which was unfreakingreal, and just throwing things in a pot to simmer, when it hit me: how spoiled I felt. Literally, not just lucky, or blessed, but honest-to-goodness spoiled. And that totally threw me: I can be here, with the bare minimum to my name, but be totally more-than-fine. And, to know that when I finally go home, I will feel spoiled also by all of the luxuries that I don't have here. Knowing that I can have such an amazing life when nothing is familiar and I have next-to-nothing just makes me very happy. Didn't really explain that too well, but the recap is that I feel spoiled here. And am ok on my own. And needed to know that. And now do.

p.p.s. Applying early to Georgetown Law. Gulp. Wish me luck, and DC-i-ans better get ready for this whirlwind.

hebrew word of the day: ramzor. It means stoplight! These are mostly disregaurded in Tel aviv, just so you know when you come here and drive and want to be a true tel avivian.

Oh, this port is 4,000 years old? ...is that all?

2009-09-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

waterfall at Ein Gedi
Us tiny ants hiking the big mountains
navigating my way over rocks!

Wheofweshhh the amount of history here!! It is unreal, unreal, unreal. And although I have a sore spot when it comes to my memory and history, the tales of these places I am literally minutes from are amazing.

I am deeply sorry to my readers for not updating you sooner: life here is BUSY. There is so much to see and to do, I just cant fit it all in. Yet I am getting used to the lifestyle: everything happens tomorrow, hours aren't really hours, and EVERYTHING is casual. Helping me slow down: exactly what I was seeking.

So, here's a little play-by-play, mano-a-mano, from me to you. Mundane? ...maybe to you, but I will try to cram it all in with as many exciting details as possible (trust me, it's been exciting). Ready, go!

Thursday we did our hike to Ein Gedi. It was SWELTERINGLY hot but I made it--and it was MAJESTIC. I have never been on such a hard/long hike in such HEAT but it was truly worth it. At the end of the 2ish hour hike we got to see a hidden waterfall, which was so beautiful and we got to swim in the little pool which completely refreshed me for the way back. After that 5 hour hike we went to the Dead Sea where people got to float (I didn't go in because I had just shaved my legs--big no-no). It was still around 104 F there, at about 4 pm, so you can imagine. A few people got hurt/heatstroke etc, but it was an overall wonderful trip. We also go to meet up with the other wings of our group that are in Jerusalem and I got to meet some pretty interesting people, like this Asian Jew who wrote the SNUGGIE infomercial. Best moment of my life!! Haha.

Friday was the first day that we had "off" to prep for shabbat. The rooms and I went to the shuk (Ha'Carmel Market: shuk means market) and went shopping to make guacamole and these traditional Israeli chocolate balls for dessert. Shopping in a market is SO CHEAP and SO FUN, and having Michal with us (my personal angel) with her hebrew skizzils was amazing. However, all of us are still learning how to buy fruits and veggies so the avacados that we bought, which are different here anyways and look kind of akin to zucchini, weren't ripe (we tried so hard). So, guac was out, but we ended up making a DELICIOUS israeli salad with all of the veggies. I am going to be damn good at making those when I come hope. But: about food later. Shabbat was a great experience: everyone looked nice and we all had a potluck dinner at one of the apartments and it was really loving and sharing and wonderful.
Saturday was our first shabbat here. It was really interesting to see what people do for Shabbat in a country of Jews: none of the public transportation works, most of the stores/restaurants/shops are closed, so what do people do? Go to the beach!! Our whole group trekked down to the beach, finding a farther-away beach this time but walking through a really cool little neighborhood called Neve Tzedek which is veryyy bohemian and artsy and quaint and European. It is SO awesome to explore and take pictures and walk around in wonder. The beach was, as usual, wonderful. The Mediterranean is a bit saltier, so my lips get all krinkly and weird, but other than that it was just a beautiful day. That night we came home and all got in our PJs and a group of us sat down to watch some Israeli plays that Becky, my roommate's, boss had given her to watch. The first thing we watched was called the Velcro Show: It was like mime-slapstick mixed with uber-inventiveness and was very cool. The next piece was called Eshet (Wife of) and was one of the most evocative and beautiful plays I have ever seen. The lead female was a dancer and it involves puppetry but was SO interesting. Imagine a serious Avenue Q but much more beautiful. It is apparently a BIG hit in Israel and is touring and is also based off of a story in the bible but I am not sure which one. Finally, we stuck in a little promo reel for an arts festival that Becky is helping put together here in Israel. For some reason, and I am not sure why for me, but Becky, Jaks and I all started bawling. We just literally lost it--it is really hard for me to explain my emotional connection to Israel and the struggle and defiance and bravery and passion and sacrifice of the people here, but it is there. Even though I can't define it doesn't mean that something doesn't draw me to this place--enough for me to move here and try to figure it out. If I can get my hands on a copy of that promo reel--just the beginning part--to show everyone, I would love to. It somehow sums it all up (especially for Jaks and Becky who work in theater and the connection to theater and emotions here is so strong).

Sunday began for me with my first encounter with a bus scare. Jaks and I decided to go back to the Shuk for some more veggies and we went to our normal bus stop, but we were stopped by police who had barricaded a section of the road and had a bus trapped in the middle of it. Traffic was at a STANDSTILL and it was very scary: probably just a suspicious package, but it makes you much more aware of little bags you see that could just be laying around unattended. It's also eerie to know that the reason there are no public trashcans in this country is because of bombs...it makes everyday life a lot more deliberate and wary at first. Sunday was also my first day of work, since the workweek here is Sunday-Thursday instead of Monday-Friday. I got to meet the doctor, which was very cool, and we talked a bit about what I would be doing. I think that I am starting out with editing for the English on their website, which I am happy to do, but I am also very interested in getting my hands dirty (haha what an off-color joke) and working in the sperm lab. I also want a chance to interact directly with some of the patients so I might shadow the doctor for a few days with his procedures in the hospital. I am really excited for the possibilities there, and even though it is a small dingy office with no space for me and no time to tell me what to do I honestly have evaluated it and couldn't be happier with my placement. That night, we also had our first meeting with Sheldon Shulman, an ex-Canadian who worked in intelligence for years in the states and then in Israel and is apparently very well-known and consulted. He is going to have sessions with us on the Jewish-Palestinian conflict which I am very grateful for, and I think he is trying to teach us with as many primary sources as he can so that we can draw our own conclusions. Even though we only spoke for an hour or so, I have already learned so much about the Palestinian mentality and how difficult finding peace is going to be. He also sent us documents like the Hamas charter, which was very very interesting to see. Also, there is a search engine that translates all of the middle-eastern media into english so that we can read Jordanian and Syrian press, etc, called www.memori.com I believe. VERY interesting to see their take on current events. I also have failed to mention that every time we meet, we are meeting in the Gay and lesbian center, which makes me feel proud that something like that can exist in the middle east but also a bit wary since it is the place that was shot up a few weeks ago. Then again, what place in Israel hasn't been shot up at one time or another.

Monday, Jaks and I cleaned our apartment (they don't have swiffers in this country, oof, so it was this cool Israeli mopping technique that was pretty effective) and tidied up a bit. Then, we decided to go with a few friends to explore the old city of Yafo, or Jaffa in English. It. Was. So. Freakin. Cool!!!! I love old places like that: winding stairways and cobblestones and narrow alleys and overall quaint-ness. I have such a reverence for places so steeped in history--It's mindblowing to think about how many years that place has been standing. American senses of time are irrelevant-its is so interesting to think about all of the BIBLICAL stories about this place. Monday night we also had our first ulpan, or hebrew immersion class. It was pretty hard since it is a legit immersion class so there were maybe 3 words of english spoken the whole time, but I think I learned a lot and it is going to help me a lot. Michal is also helping us label everything around our apartment so that we will be able to learn everyday things that way too.

Today we had our first siyur, or 'field trip' I guess, to Har Adar and Latrun (technically in the west bank), which are both historically strategic wartime vantage points for whoever holds them. We talked again with sheldon about the history of these places and more about what a two-state solution would mean for Israel if the Palestinians took control of these vantage points. Although Sheldon may be a bit crass and cavalier about death and obviously a bit biased, I think that he is incredibly knowledgeable and will be able to open our eyes to stop thinking in such a westernized manner and understand how politics and negotiations in the middle east occur. There was also a BEAUTIFUL monastery at Latrun but, of course, they closed just as we got there so we couldn't go inside.

WHOOF that was a pretty exhaustive "days-in-the-life-of-Chelsea", or HHHHHelsea as I am starting to be referred to as here, lol (there's no ch- sound in Hebrew). Last but not least, I wanted to mention to everyone the FREAKING AWESOME FOODS THAT WE ARE HAVING because of Michal here. Michal and I both share a love for the culinary arts and because of such we have been having the best and most authentic Israeli meals you can't even imagine. Just a short list, but so far we have had:
chatsilim up the wazoo (anything eggplant-y or mixed with eggplant)
those chocolate balls made from crushed cookie/biscuits and cocoa powder and oil H20
challah french toast (YUM shabbat breakfast)
chavita (these egg fritata-like things that you put israeli salad and pita and hummus on)
Hummus like WOAH (SOOOO GOOD HERE)
Borekas (kind of puff-pastry things with eggplant or mushrooms or potatoes inside)
TONS of Zatar, my new favorite spice that I am bringing tons of home
aaaand, tonight we are having Shakshuka!!! Which I am told is like the ratatouille/peasant dish of Israel but is a staple: it is (I think) poached eggs in this homemade sauce/mixture of eggplants and peppers and tomatoes and cucumber and everything! It is apparently an army staple and EVERY soldier thinks that they make the best shakshuka ever. I am SO excited that Michal is introducing me to an absolutelynecessary Israeli cookbook in english so that I will be able to take some of the things that I learn here home with me.

LOVING life and MISSING you all--my love from the holy land

Sign in Old Yafo

From atop Har Adar, where you can see all of Israel

The Port at Yafo

P.S. Hebrew word of the Day: ananas. It means pineapple!! And, is apparently the same in French. :)

Nothing Compares

2009-09-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Now, don't get all excited thinking that I will be updating this shindig every day. Oohhh no, you're not that lucky. BUT, today was an amazing day. A truly exceptional, perfect day. While everyone in our group was schlepping off to their internships for the first time, my roommate and I got to sleep in late (for the first time, like, all summer) and have a day to ourselves (both of our internships are not open on Wednesdays). What to do with this free time, you ask?

The MF-MEDITERRANEAN.

Oh, yes, you heard me. When you think Israel, you probably think bombs, falafel, maybe Bar Rafaeli, Jews, etc. What probably gets left out: Tel Aviv is a port. And, is right on the Mediterranean sea. Though it is a 30 minute SOLID walk in the humid middle-eastern heat to said location, it is absolutely worth it. Totally and absolutely beautiful. Beautiful beach, beautiful people, and the WATER--the water is beyond. The sand is white, fine; the water is blue, clear, and I was in heaven. This was probably one of the best days of my year, and it got topped off with my first falafel of the trip for dinner (my cherry on top). I am so glad that I am going to have some free time this trip--all of my free days will be spent there, relaxing and soaking up the sun and culture. I know it may not sound like much, but nothing compares to life here, to the experience that I know I'm going to have and am already having. Being here makes me excited just in and of itself, and I want more hours in the day!

Tomorrow we go hiking (at 5am, groan) in Ein Gedi down a riverbed to a secret oasis waterfall that dries up in the winter. The Jerusalem groups from our WUJS program are also coming, so it will be fun to meet them as well. I can't wait to use all my hiking gear, and am grateful that the heat is different in the desert (drier) so is something I may deal with better. Pictures from the hike will be included tomorrow, but for now, some from my perfect-beyond-perfect beach day:

ignore the random guy's head: these are my apartmentmates pictures!
me and justin trying to vana white the people learning to kitesurf

tel aviv from the beach area

p.s. I decided I need to have a hebrew word of the day on here. Thought it was necessary, so that you can learn with me!
H.W.O.T.D: kel-ev. it means dog in hebrew, and there are dogs here everywhere! It seems if you live in tel aviv, you must have a pointy-eared dog.

After all the warnings of safety and precautions in Israel....

2009-09-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

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...we have carabiners as locks on our windows and doors. HAHAHAHA. That pretty much sums up my experience so far! This trip, in the howevermanyhours I have been here, has been ridiculously hilarious and fun and amazing. I am jet-lagged, tired, hungry, whirlwindy, and overall overwhelmed, but I have not regretted this decision for one instant. I have already had so many laughs and learned so many things, it is unbelievable!! Today we went grocery shopping, and thank God for my apartmentmate Michal, who speaks fluent Hebrew, who kept us from buying tuna packed in oil and vanilla-flavored milk (like some of our other program mates). There are so many interesting people here, and I am so excited to have so many new friends from all over the world. We also did a walking tour of Tel-Aviv today, and we got to see the Carmel Market and the artist's market and all the famous places like Max Brenner's Chocolate place.

Our apartment is shitty--I expected no less--but my apartmentmates make it all worthwhile. We have already bonded (more than the other apartments, we think) so much and we all had dinner tonight together (I managed what I could with our portable double-burner-only gas top...which I had to light....and almost burned my hand off....hahaa) Tomorrow all of my group is going to their internships, but since my clinic is only open on Sun, Tues, Thurs, my roommate and I are hiking it to the beach!! I am so excited....pictures to follow. I have also been introduced to Geocaching...apparently its a hide-and-goseek with a GPS system for hikers...you leave something in a box (anything: a keychain, a sunglasses, a waterbottle) and you either take it, and put something else in the secret hiding place, or replace it with a new fun item!!! haha sounds crazy but It seems so fun for hikers, and as soon as we can get our hands on a GPS system we are totally tracking some down in Tel Aviv. I am also still trying to find a dance class (preferably tap) and my roommate agreed to take a class with me (yay!) so that is one thing on the to-do-list.

Its a bit interesting adjusting to life here--my immediate thoughts when people tell me "don't stand in long lines, don't stand in crowds, be aware of your surroundings" are of pickpocketers, but apparently here they are talking about suicide bombers, and they are serious. You can tell they aren't trying to scare us,and I appreciate their honesty, but it is a little daunting to be aware of my vitality like that.

My sincerest apologies for the incoherency of this posting: I am still jet lagged and not-all-here. Or there. Phasing.

Much love to America, to my fam and friends--I miss you all so much!! Bringing you on this trip with me in my own little way is the best I can give. <3

Prep Time

2009-08-17T08:06:00.001-07:00

There are an unbelievable amount of things that go into a successful trip. An truly mind-blowing amount of to-do lists, packing, re-packing, advice, shopping, you name it. For me, packing for a trip always has a hint of irony in it. I am so careful to make sure I have thought of EV-ER-Y-THING, and then I will arrive at my destination only to find out that I have completely blanked on something important--say, a toothbrush. Now, I am not one to loose much, and I try very hard to remember everything I have to remember, but sometimes I just feel that 16 years of accelerated schooling have made my brain so crammed-full of information (how I remember the Pythagorean theorem but not where I put my keys, I will never know) that I simply cannot fit anymore in there. It is a running joke with my father that I am going to get a post-it note tattooed on my hand so that I will have an organized space for my to-do-lists on my hands, which are one of the only things that keep me sane and on a somewhat-regular-if-always-hectic schedule. The point here is that I am so chock-full of random info that I need lots of lists and lots of help in order for a trip to go off without a hitch.

For example, my upcoming trip to Israel. I am leaving in approximately 13 days, and to this point have not been able to organize my way. I am scared. I am TERRIFIED--and it has left me immobilized. I am at a roadblock--how on earth am I, the notorious overpacker, going to be able to pack for 6 months in a foreign country, with clothes that have to range from serious hiker-style to beachwear to professional worker, in two less-than-50-lb suitcases? This has me stumped. This has me stressing and snapping and totally focusing on other aspects of my life than this impending trip. Let me clarify--I am totally jazzed about this trip. I cannot wait to go on this wonderful, crazy, life-altering adventure. It is NOT the trip that I am so scared by. It is the preparation. What happens if something goes wrong? I am quite obviously very deeply scared by this, since I am having recurring nightmares of me forgetting my passport in lieu of my poodle. Both start with 'p', right? It can work, right?

The irony so far in this is that I have been quite unwilling to accept help. I have been balking at the thought of people helping me clean my room, or helping me look for power converters. The kicker is, I have no idea why. What am I waiting for? This remains to be seen.

Through all my attempts, trials, mishaps, successes, adventures, and shenanigans, I will be updating this blog. To keep you informed, to keep me sane. Perhaps I can shoot a to-do list or two your way--you are probably better at them than I (though not for lack of effort, I promise). I can promise, however, that you will be with me through it all, whether you ask for it or not. So, here's to a fabulous trip, a bearable packing experience, and leaving Kirra at home :)