Dec 24th - Christmas Eve - went to Jeru and B'lem
- Started the day getting yelled at by the sheirut driver and yelling back at him and laughing. Meeting two Germans on the sheirut. They liked to ask a lot of questions, and we could actually answer some of them!
- spent the day at the Mehane Yehuda, J'lem's huge and beautiful market. We must have sampled everything that we could and bought little things every where
- On the way to the Wall, we ran into a complete balagan of Jews and Arabs at the market. I decided to be a smart ass and lead us away from the crowd and through some random narrow street. What do you know - We got lost in the Arab quarters in the Old City. The vibe changed instantly. The whole place is a damn labirynth, so don't even think about laughing until you go there and people don't speak neither Hebrew nor English and all I know to say in Arabic is "My name is Anna, I live in Tel Aviv, and I have a problem." Well I guess, looking back, that would have been pretty helpful.
- Finally we found a group of boys who helped us get to the Cotel - the Wailing Wall. On the way to the Wall there is a little market that outlines the narrow street that leads there. We went into a store where I saw pretty pashminas. The guy at the store was really adorable and he liked Lisa, it was hilarious. I saw a scarf I really liked but it cost 20NIS, so I told him that I saw the same one for 10NIS somewhere else. He didn't budge. Then I told him that I would give him 10NIS AND Lisa. He liked that idea. He said he would give me some camels in return. We shook on it and Lisa got really scared. To this day, for two weeks now, she telling this story, which actually doesn't get old.
When we finally got to the Cotel, we just plopped down on the ground and started writing notes to put into the wall. Lisa has never actually been to the wall with some time to spend. It was nice not to be in a group setting and just do whatever we wanted. I turned around for a second and saw thos two Germans from the bus, funny how small the city is and how everyone flocks to the same places
- We went to put the notes in the wall, there were pictures that also got sent out. When you leave the wall, you have cannot turn your back to it, so you are literally walking backwards.
-Our friend Tiff was meeting us at Damascus Gate to go to Beit Lechem. We started walking to meet her and got lost AGAIN! It was a miscommunication this time. We were definitely not in "Israel" anymore. I stopped two men on the street and asked them if they spoke ivrit, and one of them decided to be and say, "Betach anachnu medabrim b'ivrit" "Of course we speak Hebrew" I can't blame them for holding grudges, I can only blame them for not giving me directions!
-After making about 10 circles around the Old City, we finally found the bus station and Tiffany. Success!
-We finally found the bus that would take us to B'lem. I wasn't sure how this process was going to be because the last time I went, I was in a car. The bus made a loop and finally dropped us off in B'lem. The streets were packed with people. I recognized a street that we took last time to get to the Nativity Church so I decided to follow it with the girls. This street was not full so I was afraid I made a mistake, but we asked and I was right on. We found falafel for 5NIS and that's a deal we couldn't pass up so we had some falafel, amazing as always. Then we proceeded to go to the Nativity Church. We knew we were in the right place when we saw a sea a people all in one place. Most of them were Arab. The whole square was lit up with Christmas lights and there was a stage where songs were playing with Christmas melody but were sang in Arabic! So random! We got into the middle and were basically undressed by all the boys. Lisa was the most popular one. All the boys thought that she was Arab, but I just think she looks like a gypsy, I tell her this at least once a day. Suddenly, when we got closer to the Nativity Church, they pushed us out of the way. We didn't know what was going, but Tiffany speaks a little Arabic so she was able to find out that Mahmoud Abbas was going to be there that night. He is the PM of Palestenian Authority, for those of you who don't know. But WOW. He was going to come out, make a speech and go into the Church and pray. He did that but we barely missed him and saw his convoy, but it still counts. Oh by the way, Palestenian millitary, quite possible the most good looking men I have ever SEEN. No joke. Sorry, just had to get that out.
-We met up with two of our other friends from the program and then soon after that we decided that it was time to go. It has been a long day and we have seen enough. We found the bus that took us there and waited forever to start moving. I recognized the girl that I work with at the free clinic, she got on the bus with two friends. Such a small country. It was the moment of truth when we started moving. I was curious to see how tight the security would be when we would be crossing the border back into Israel. We got to the checkpoint and they made everyone get off the bus. No, they did not check anyone's passport. I must have looked extra nervouse because when it was my turn to come up to the Uniformed and beautiful soldier, he abruptly asked me where I was from and I forgot for a second but then came to and America or maybe a muffled sound that sounded like it. What a great a successful day!
When we got back to TLV, we had to go back out for round two of our friend's birthday. It was fun but we were really tired. But not tired enough to talk to my favorite bouncer, Sasha, outside of my least favority bar called Tempation. Nothing crazy happened that night, which is nothing to complain about.
The next day was Christmas day. All the Americans at the house wanted to celebrate it the way all American Jews celebrate Christmas, meaning Chinese food and watching movies. Because we got home pretty late, we got up pretty late. We decided that we would eat dinner at about 4PM and before that we decided that we would go help out this guy who had a massive mosaic exhibition coming up. We were going to help him glue the mosaic together. It turned out to be so therapeutic and so beautiful. I think we missed the exhibit but it looked really good while we were there. As a payment for our work he made us rice, shnitzel and veggies. Taiiiiiim. Delicious. We finally made it to the Chinese restaurant. I got hot and sour soup because I have been dreaming about it all day. We split a few dishes and they were pretty good. Not as cheap and delicious such as the ones in the states, and hearing Chinese people speal Hebrew is also quite an experience. We went back home and watched a movie. It was a good lazy Israeli Sunday, which meant our Saturday.
The next day I was going to see family in Modiin. However, before that, I promised I would take myself to Eretz museum to check out a photo exhibit by World Press Photo. It was AMAZING! There were pictures that literally brought tears to my eyes. It was a photo journalism exhibit so it documented not only Gaza but things that were going on around the world. Great pictures that once again confirmed how much I need an SLR when I get back and get a job. I spent just 2 hours in one room at the exhibit. I left the museum feel exhilirated.
I was supposed to catch the train at 3:55 and took a bus into the city so that I could walk around a little but ended up getting off at a weird spot, so I pretty much just walked to the second bus I was going to catch. I decided to grab some falafel on the way. Don't worry, I haven't blown up because I have been eating so much falafel. I mean, the night is still young, but yes, I do have a serious addiction to it. They raised the price on that particular falafel from 7 to 8 sheks, not ok. I order the falafel from this cute guy who told me that I should stop by again and then I told him that I was here now so I didn't understand what he was getting at besides the obvious. I had my falafel and started walking to the bus stop. I got on the bus and this guy asked me if I was in a MASA program, so I told him that I am in one now. He was American and it turns out that his brother graduated Eller from '09. Talk about a small world! He stop was coming and just like in a movie, he was getting off the bus and asked me for my name and that he would look me up. He never did....but it would have been cool if he did.
I finally caught the train to Modiin and was greeted by nothing but warmth by my family. My grandma's sister and her husband live there, and in the same building lives their daughter. It's so convenient for them. I was fed ALL the time and then interrogated by my grandma's sister's husband. We many convos on topics that are very controversial. It is clear that he is very right wing Zionist and that I am neither here nor there but I definitely do not agree with anything that he says. It is very cool to have these convos though and to know that there are so many different opinions about these challenging issues. I stayed there until Tuesday, relaxed, slept a lot, learned some Hebrew, read, wrote some stuff down, basically relaxed. It was a really nice time. On Tuesday, we walked down to the train station and when I went to buy the ticket, my grandma's sister's phone rang and her husband said that there was some fire on some train but nothing definite. I shrugged it off and said bye to her and went down to the platform to wait for the train. About 10 minutes before the train was supposed to come, a man over the loud speaker said something but I didn't understand, so I asked the soldier girl what he said and she couldn't tell me in English so she told me in Hebrew that the train wasn't coming. Three conversations, with three different station people later, I was able to deduce that there was a fire on the train that I was supposed to take and that is why the train wasn't coming and the next train was coming in 45 minutes. Wow. When I got home I went on line to see that 100 people were hospitalized because of the smoke inhalation. Cause of the fire was not known at the time.
The next day I was going to Hadera with my friend and roomie, Katie. She was born in the states but speaks Russian so I was going to go get fed Russian food and bullshit in Russian for a few days. That night I got invited to dinner by one of the guys that I met at one of the birthday parties. He took me to Sushi Samba, part of the same chain as the one in NYC. That was such a different scene than what I have been in for the past 4 months. I liked it. The sushi was amazing. His friend is the GM of the place so he came out and introduced himself and then kept bringing us free food and shots. It was wonderful. At the end, he brought a desert plate where it was spelled Happy Birthday with whilpped cream. I would have eaten that gesture right up if I liked him :( It was still a nice evening.
The next day, Katie and I were off to Hadera. We bought some tree ornaments and wine. We got there and just chilled. The vibe in H is so much different. It is so quite. It reminds of Tucson. I needed this break. I was getting introduced to everyone one by one. We all went over to her cousin's house that night to make sushi. I can't believe how easy it was. We need to do that again soon. We made sushi and drank beer and I played with the kitten. By the way, I think all these years of not having an animal makes me want to have a kitten now. I am actually obsessed with the thought of having one!
The next day we got laid in bed forever and got up really late. We hung around the house all day and then Katie's aunt and uncle came home and they made dinner. Her uncle just kept pouring the vodka in my glass and the food was great. The conversation was loud, interesting, happy. It was great. We went out after that. I met a girl who moved to Israel when she was nine years old from Peru. Got her number and she is going to introduce me to a Columbian girl who lives here too. Gotta get that Spanish back in my head because it seems to have left! I went home the next day, which was the 31st. I felt like I was leaving my new found family behind. They have really grown on me for those past couple of days. I can't wait to go back!
When I got back to TLV, I made plans to meet up with my mom's uncle Seryozha and his wife Nadia who were visiting from St. Petersburg, Russia. The interesting part is about this whole situation is that they were in Tucson this past July and I met them 2 days before I was supposed to hear back about this program. They said that if I get in and go to Israel, they will plan a trip out there and come see me. This was actually coming true. It's pretty rare when stuff like this happens so I was really excited to meet them and show them around.
I met them on the corner of Rothschild and Allenby. They didn't have a phone so I was ecstatic to find them. We sat down for a bit to catch and then I told them that because it was Shabbat I wanted to take them to Shuk ha Carmel - the market - before it was going to close.
That day:
- Shuk
- crazy bread lady
-had some pita im zatar, bought strawberries, scumbria, olives
-pita im labane
- ran into Dan on the bus, Allison in the market, Sara's brothers in the market,
-Nahalat Binyamin - ran into Reut
- Had some baklava and coffee
- went home to start preparing for the activities of the night
That night:
Got ready and skyped with the fam
Pre game
Everyone came overjust like always - it's become pretty conveninent
Started walking to Florentin for the block party
countdown - did not feel the same as in the states
had fun
Went over to our host family's house for pizza and beer
Amazing family
Spent all day there, had great convos and great food
Went out for dinner that night to say good-bye to Leah because she was leaving the next day
Next day:
Made plans to meet the "Family" from St. Petersburg. We once again did not have a phone so we decided to do the touristy thing and meet at the Azrieli Towers. There is a shopping center in the first 3 floors and then on the 49th floor there is a viewpoint where you could see the whole city in an almost 360 degree angle. Being there made me realize how much I still haven't seen of TLV and resolved that I need to get out more and see more.
Had a terrible day today, had to choose between Ulpan and a volunteering seminar of how to say goodbye. Was going to be a badass and not go to the seminar but then one of the coordinators told me that I had to go. I was fuming on the way there and of course, my shitty bike chain found the perfect timing to fly off. I tried to put it back on as quickly as possible but my bike wasn't having it. I got so pissed off that I literally picked up the bike and threw it accross. The worst/funniest part of this was that Lisa was walking and totally saw the whole thing. It should have probably gone to Funniest Home Videos. I walked the bike
- Lost it to Shira
- Lost it to Tamar - in turn she told me that my volunteer assignments are devastated that they are losing me and that I truly made a difference. She told me that I got exactly what I needed from this and that I am meant for something like this. The whole conversation inspired me and I wrote to Moshe, the director, that I should be the point of contact for all of Western Hemisphere for TO. He loved the idea and schedule a meeting for the next day.
Went to the North and walked around downtown -
Thursday - picked up my bike from a Yaffo bike shop. After throwing it out of anger the day before, I had to take it in, the chain was literally wrapped around the pedal and in the spokes of the back tire so they had to take it off. I put on my "I'm a volunteer who has no money face" and they fixed it for free. I wonder how long that face is going to work. Went to the Yeshiva to meet with Moshe about my idea. He started off by saying, again, how big of a loss I am to the program. That kind of stuff is a great self esteem booster, not gonna lie, but seriously, it makes me feel good.
Found an apartment just for fun just to see what I was dealing with - apartment is on Tchernikovski, right in the center of the city, beautiful area, Australian subletter and Israel roomie. The second I got there I felt at peace. It was everything I wanted, the Hebrew, the location, the location, the beach, cafes, EVERYTHING!!! I skipped to the beach to meet Vanessa and could not stop talking about this apartment. Vanessa told me that because I was talking so much about it, it meant that I should get it. I told the girl that I would give it a few days and think about it and then get back to her.
Vegged out on Saturday - felt amazing. Hearing about the shooting in Tucson broke my heart. Lisa read the news to me that day. Usually I am completely in the loop about what is going on around the world but this hit me like a ton of bricks. It's disgusting where the world is today, and I am sorry for those who have to deal with that ugliness first hand.
1/11 - Ulpan was cancelled so Vanessa and I had a date to go play volleyball on the beach and have lunch. Had an amazing day, and then after we were done I went to El Al to change my ticket to May 1st! That's right! I am renting that apartment and staying here until then. I told myself I would make quicker decisions this year and realize that every action has a risk, benefits and consequences. I am willing to absorb all of the above. I can't wait for this next journey.
Today 1/12 - Camera crews came to RALA and were interviewing the nun I was working with
- Had the most amazing house visit ever. Learned a little Tigninia and had coffee and fruit and popcorn. They invited for the baby eyebrow painting in 80 days. An Eritrean custom. So excited.
Going to georgian restaurant tonight - Nanuchka!! Matt, Tamar, Emily, Sara, Ben and Raz!!
Avital and Rinat from Brit Olam came over to our house and threw us an amazing farewell and thank you party. They brought five kinds of cheese and wine and desserts. It was so delicious. Avital also found out that it was my birthday so she brought me a book that is called Homeless. The name says it all and I think I will really enjoy it. I left the house a little bit before the shindig ended because I had to meet Matt, Emily, Raz, Sara, Tamar and Ben out in the city. We were originally going to go to the Georgian restaurant but when we got there it was very snobby and exclusive so we decided to go to Moses Burger instead. Everyone loved it, it was amazing like always. Ben and Sara and Tamar were really late, not really sure why but it was still really nice to see them and catch up with them. Sara was sick so she said she was probably not going to make to my Bar Golf Party the next night so we decided that just her and I would meet in the city and catch up. I really liked that plan. Tamar is back here now so I told her that we would make plans for her to come over when I would move in two weeks! We had dinner and the girls and Raz went home and we went to a club called Markid. It was basically in a shopping mall. When we got there the line was ridiculous. It reminded me of Vegas. Ben was trying to get us in but it wasn't working. I overheard the bouncer speaking Russian so I decided to turn on the charm. After some shameless flirting I decided that it wasn't going to help because he obviously didn't have any pull. I got away from the crowd for a minute, and Emily decided that we should take a photo. I turned to the guys that were standing next to us and asked them in Hebrew to take a picture of us. Then they started speaking to me in Hebrew and we talked for a little bit. They asked if we wanted to come in with them. It definitely pays off to flirt in different languages. The music was REALLY good but the place was slammed. It was a lot of fun though. Definitely want to go back there soon. Decided that it was late at about 3AM and Ben drove all of us to our destinations. Said "will see you tomorrow's" to everyone and passed out!
I woke up early the next day and went running. My last day as a 26 year old was going to be productive abd healthy. After running, Adam said that he would help me go to the store and buy stuff for the party. We got to the liquor store and they were giving away samples of beer, wine, vodka and whisky. It was noon somewhere right? We spent forever in the store and started schmoozing the liquor store owner. We finally bought the stuff we needed and he told me to wait for him. He came out with some random bottle of alcohol and put it in the rolley suitcase that we brought. Free is always good right?
After we got back home we took the bus to the Shuk ha Carmel area. Still needed to get cups and argyle clothes. Sara was in that area so I left Adam to go meet up with her. We met up and went into a cute cafe right near the market and the art market that happens every Friday. We sat and talked for a while and then I looked at the clock and because of Shabbat I needed to catch the bus before 4PM. It was so nice to catch up with her. Just talked about her trip, our trip and I told her what I did hear. She had great questions and the conversation was amazing, just like always. I love that girl and can't wait to visit her in NYC!
I went home and beelined it to my room so that I could sleep for a few hours. I found Anna Rose in the kitchen making some snacks for the party which was really sweet. Katie was going to fry up some eggplant. I went to pass out and Lisa was in the room. She got me a beautiful leather bracelette from the art market. It matches the shoes I got that I will wear when it warms up again. I slept for what seemed to be 2 minutes and before I knew it, it was type to figure out my golf outfit. I finally settled on a white collared shirt, black sweater vest over it, argyle tights, rolled up capri pants over them and high heels, double braids and a golf hat. The pics have been sent out, it was a proud moment. I definitely did not look my age. Haha. I thought I imagined it but I saw a flicker in the window, if I had any doubts, the thunder confirmed that a storm was coming. AWESOME. I was getting anxious. I was so excited. That was followed by rain, that turned into harder rain which apparently turned into hail. Yeah. At about 9:30 some people from Yafo came but I was still anxious. When I finished my makeup we decided to start with a game a flip cup. Suddenly, I blinked and opened my eyes to a room full of about 40 people, having an amazing time! Mostly everyone made an effort to wear something argyle or golf/pretty attire. It was quite the sight. It was amazing.
I got up on a chair to thank everyone for getting Bargyled out and then everyone sang happy birthday to me in English and Hebrew. It was fabulous. We left the house and went to a bar in the city, and mostly everyone made. Our group literally took over the place. It was nothing short of amazing! Great people, great music, great party! Ended the night at 4AM like rockstars.
The next day, my actually birthday, some of Julie's friends spent the night. Very cool guys! We were all hanging out in the living room. One of her friends said that he was going for a run and I said, why not? Might as well ring in the next chapter in a healthy way. We ran for 30 minutes, I was happy. We vegged out for a while and then some of us went out to breakfast, and Matt met up with us.
Oh by the way, my voice is compltely gone. It hasn't been this gone for about 6 months now, so all the progress that my vocal chords have made, has been digressed. After breakfast, Matt and Anna and I went to this American bar called Mike's place. For those of you who are familiar with it, don't roll your eyes, it was actually really fun! Our server was adorable! She was Brittish and I wanted to put her in my pocket. We had a great conversation and were there for a while. She brought out dessert for me with a sparkler in it and once again my friends sang to me. She brought me a free shot. I was supposed to come home and skype with the family but I lost track of time and made Matt call my parents to tell that I was going to be late. Having some guy call my family was probably not the best idea because they probably freaked out but it was ok. Irealized that Anna Rose brought her netbook to the bar so I asked her to borrow it so that I wouldn't have to go back home and skype and go somewhere else after that. The connection was really poor so my mom and grandparents ended up just wishing me a happy birthday over the phone which was still great! We befriended a couple sitting next to us, they were great and drunk, haha. They told me that they are setting me up with the guy's brother. Typical.
After Mike's we went to a Sudanese restaurant that is owned by one of Marissa's student. It was amazing. About 15 of us came. There were bottled of wine everywhere, fresh squeezed orange juice, chicken, fish, beef stew, rice and lots of veggies. At the end, ONCE again, everyone sang happy birthday to me in English and Hebrew. I don't think I blushed this much in a while. It was very flattering. The Sudanese guys were sooooo good to us, so great to talk to, and they try so hard to speak English with us. They wouldn't let us pay a dime for the meal which was ridiculous. It was an amazing birthday weekend, the only thing missing was not being with my family and friends back home, but I do have to say that the people here in Israel have definitely and by far have become my family as well.
