Sheleg!

Snow in Jerusalem? What? This snow resulted in my first snow day since high school. Jerusalem is definitely not prepared for any amount of snow. Weather forecasts of a possible snow storm sent the city into chaos. My school kept sending us emails and SMS (text messages) warning us that class might be cancelled Wednesday and to make sure to stock up on groceries, because the whole city would shut down at the slightest sign of snow.

Doubting that there would actually be snow, yet still hopeful, we decided to go out to the Village Bar (on the first floor of the dorm next door) for Tuesday night karaoke and a girls’ night out. It was empty at first, but packed with other hopeful students in just a matter of time. We had a great time turning the bar into our own club, dancing and singing along to the music. I went up with a new friend and sang Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” while our other friends and roommate sang “Lady Marmalade.” It was nothing short of hilarious.

As we left the bar the snow was coming down. Shouts of “sheleg, sheleg!” resounded across the student village as we skipped and jumped around in the falling snow.

An SMS this morning answered our hopes “Following the windy forecast there will be no classes today at the Hebrew University and in Rothberg International School.” A relaxing day of sleeping in, chatting in PJs and watching movies followed. Now we are just watching the snow hoping for no class tomorrow. What a hard life.

Hebrew…Go!

Talk about returning to Kindergarten. Ulpan started on Monday, which means I am in Hebrew class 5 hours a day, speaking, reading, and writing nothing but Hebrew. It is actually pretty impressive how you can learn a language solely through pictures, gestures and repetition, and of course a patient friendly teacher. Having never even seen Hebrew before Monday, I was a bit overwhelmed. Completely different alphabet, different sounds, print and script writing, not to mention reading/writing from right to left. Wow. So here I am back to kindergarten sounding out words letter by letter. Sounding like I am coughing up mucus trying to get the correct pronunciation. Oh well, I am learning. It has only been two days after all, and who doesn’t wish they were still in Kindergarten?

First Shabbat

January 25, 2008
Up and at it relatively early we spent the first half of the day at Mahane Yehuda (the Jewish shuk). This was an amazing experience. Mahane Yehuda is a huge outdoor market with so many vendors selling fresh produce, dried fruits, nuts, pasta, hand-made hummus, cheese, bread, and all sorts of miscellaneous household items. We walked around for about 3 hours listening to shouting vendors competing for consumers, maneuvering through the packed aisles, and stocking up on delicious Israeli foods. All of this in the morning of course, because this was Friday, Shabbat, where everything shuts down completely in the afternoon until Saturday at sunset.

After getting locked into campus after using the internet we wandered around trying to find an open gate. The campus beautiful and full of cats just like the US is full of squirrels. They are adorable and look well-fed. I am a little weary of petting them though. We finally got out and had to walk a round about way back to the Student Village (the new set of dorms). On our way we stood and overlooked a small Arab village with children playing soccer in the streets, clothes hanging on lines outside, and a horse hanging out in a backyard. With the campus up on a hill (Mount Scopus) we have great views all around.

I dragged myself out of bed from a nap (still recovering from jet lag) to make it to a free Shabbat dinner. This was put on in one of the dorms by a Jewish group on campus, who apparently are very welcoming at first but eventually want you to become more and more Jewish (according to a friend we met). It was an hilarious first Shabbat experience. It began with singing in Hebrew, then we all went to “wash” our hands. Traditionally you wash your hands before eating the bread by pouring water over each hand with a basin 3 times. Things started to get interesting when the Rabbi went around to each person pouring Vodka shots or mixes with cherry liquor, which quite frankly just tasted like cold syrup. Not to mention pouring some for himself. The food passed out was not very good quality, but gave me a general idea of the types of foods served. Although our table did not get much variety as they ran out of food before reaching us. At one point we had to “de-fishify” the table, discarding anything that touched fish. Throughout all of the eating the Rabbi was singing songs, banging on the table, and drinking vodka. At one point he attempted to make a speech, standing on his chair, cradling the empty bottle of vodka, and rambling on about the “metaphysical” and the “finite and infinite” claiming that “believe it or not, I am making sense right now.” I was assured multiple times that this was not a typical Shabbat dinner and that Rabbis usually hold their liquor a lot better.

The dinner was still a lot of fun, and we met 2 Israeli students who go to Hebrew University (this is rare since we are surrounded by other international students attending the Rothberg International School at Hebrew U. We invited them up to our apartment after dinner and ended up talking until late. They were fun and nice and we discussed our different cultures.

There is a lot that I do not yet understand. I still have so much to learn about Israel, Judaism and their respective traditions and cultures, and am looking forward to it!

No Sleep Allowed

January 24, 2008
The pitting dread and sadness turned into excitement as we drove from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The scenery was beautiful, like I have only before seen in pictures and movies. This excitement quickly dissolved when we got to Hebrew University campus. We were shuttled like cattle from room to disorganized room waiting in line after line getting room assignments and filling out paperwork. All of this after an overnight flight landing at 7am. And so the sleep deprivation continued as we had to stay up for a mandatory Academic Orientation at 4pm, which was pointless because I kept drifting off and didn’t remember a single thing. We finally meandered back to our apartments at 6pm during which I apparently managed to fall asleep while still walking. Back at the apartment I showered, unpacked, almost had a sleep-deprived sad breakdown from looking at pictures, realized that things will be so much better after a good night’s sleep, and went to bed at 9pm. I could not have gotten through this day if I were not with my fellow nurses.

The Israel Chronicles Begin

Disclaimer: I was without internet almost the first week in Israel, but I wrote journal entries that I am now posting.

January 23, 2008
After a brief bittersweet pit-stop in Philadelphia to say one last goodbye to people close to me I was on my way to Israel. I did not know what to make of it all as the 4 of us Penn Nursing students drove away from campus to catch our flight at Newark airport. The sleep deprivation due to very few hours of sleep the previous 3 nights wanting to make the most of my time left in the States may have had something to do with it.

El Al’s reputation of having the tightest security held true. We were questioned before checking in at the ticket counter. Then while waiting to board the plane they pulled aside what I assume were all of the non-Jews (determined by the prior questioning), did a complete search of our carry-on bags, and took shoe swabs. After we passed the test they escorted us one by one to the already boarded plane.

The 10.5 hour plane ride was not as bad as I had anticipated. We each had our own T.V. so I watched the new version of Hairspray (not as good as the original in my opinion) and Moulin Rouge, played Tetris, and slept. The food was yummy and the service great. As we descended into Tel Aviv I looked out the window and got a pitting feeling in my stomach “Wow, I am actually going to be spending the next 4 months of my life here.”

Shoes made out of snow?

Well, not quite. But snowshoeing is a pretty good substitute.

I went with a friend and her mom. They rented snowshoes from Joe's (the store formerly known as GI Joe's) for just $11 per day per snowshoe set. I had no idea you could rent outdoor sporting equipment from Joe's, but it sure is a handy option if you enjoy outdoor sports but not to the point of investing in your own equipment. Poles were included with the rental, but we chose to forgo them. We set out driving East on Highway 22 toward Santiam Pass in the quest for snow. A stop at the Ranger Station pointed us toward McCoy CreekPark, a snow park popular for snowmobiles. After a stop in Detroit for a snow park pass we were ready to go.

We were the only ones in the park (one of the perks of being on winter break after everyone else is back at school and work). The trek was an unanticipated continuous uphill, but I got used to it after the first 15 minutes. The entire trail is supposedly 8 miles, but we just hiked for 2 hours. It was beautiful weather: blue skies and sun in the snowy forest. It was chilly, but it only took a little while for us to start stripping off layers. Once we got high enough up the mountain we had a spectacular view.

Snowshoeing is a great alternative form of exercising. It is enjoyable, yet I can still feel the soreness starting to set it...

The Land of Happy Cows

I did in fact see cows during my trip to California this Winter break, though I could not judge their happiness due to a certain lack of recognizable facial expressions. What I can say with certainty is that NorCal is a great place to visit. A quick inexpensive Southwest Ding flight from Portland, OR to Oakland had me on my way. A special someone met me at the airport and we were stationed at his family's home in Clayton for the duration of my week. It is a cute modern version of the old western mining town it once was.

The day after my arrival we took BART into San Francisco. Here I retrieved my Israel Student Visa, met up with another friend, and then continued to wander around the city on foot. We made it to City Hall, the Financial District, Chinatown, and Fishermen's Wharf. Walking all day called for a few pit stops: lunch at a mall food court serving "gourmet" food on real dishes, coffee at Peet's Coffee & Tea, and for dinner hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli Square (of course). It was a wonderful day ended with a relaxing evening walking on the beach seeing the city lights reflected on the damp ground.

The next and longest stop was Truckee, a small mountain town filled with vacation homes and snowy forests. It provided serenity and an escape. Truckee's proximity to both Tahoe and Reno (both about a 35-45 minute drive away) provided for fun day trips. I had never before been to a casino, so quality all-you-can-eat sushi at Atlantis followed by a free trapeze show at Circus Circus made for an adventure. Not to mention the classic activity of bowling created a memorable Reno experience. On the way to Tahoe we stopped by Squaw Valley to walk around. This gave me a taste of the ski resort atmosphere without actually having to hit the slopes. Lake Tahoe itself was expansive and calm. A walk along the water's edge lead to a pathetic snow-angel making attempt (the snow was icy) and an impromptu snow fight.

Back in Clayton for the last day of my trip we hiked up Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve trail, where we hung out with grazing cows and admired a view down across the country (with wind turbines in the distance). The day was topped off with his little brother's basketball game (1st place in their league!) and a family game of Cranium.

If that wasn't an amazing vacation, I don't know what is. Although I am not going to lie: the company sure helped.