Israeli Nachos are NOT Nachos

Hi again,

So Thursday rolled around and my friends Eric and Emily and I were soooo ready to get out of Jerusalem!! We grabbed our stuff and hopped on a bus to Tel Aviv for the beautiful 75 degree day! It was wonderful we just relaxed on the beach and walked around and I did my first sudoku in like 5 years...

Later that night we arrived back in jerusalem and Geries invited Shauna and I to go out with some of his friends so we met up with them on Ben Yehuda Street.  I have mentioned this before but I have to emphasis the unique nature of the people of Israel.  For instance it is totally normal for them to stop in the middle of the street drive over the median and continue on the opposite way.  Below is a picture of a man on a motorized cart driving on the street... typical Israeli-- not to mention super dangerous considering the drivers here... 

Anyways, here is Shauna Geries and I and below is another one of me and Geries's friend Dimitri who is around from time to time.  It was a really fun night... one of the funniest things was Geries ordered Nachos which when they came out we realized are VERY different than what we thought they were going to be and he proceeded to argue with the waitress for a good ten minutes about how they were not in fact real nachos.  If only I could capture his personality in this blog... 

Today was a VERY low key day and by that I mean I was online playing around with Twitter and facebook for almost the entire day... the plan was to go walk around the old city but we were advised not to due to "heighted tension".  For those of you who do not know (which seems to be most everyone) grad rockets fell on Beersheva (south of Jerusalem) two days ago.  If you are interested to know more you can read about it on the Jerusalem post website. Grad rockets fall on Beersheba neighborhood

People have asked if I feel scared here but honestly I still feel safer here than in the US.  If anything happens this entire country is trained in what to do... in America most people would have no clue.  Most of the time the things that make it seem scary are just extra measure to be on the safe side... When I get home it will be weird to walk into stores/libraries/restaurants etc. without having my bag checked and going through a metal detector! 

Anyways thats all the news I have for now... Next weekend is my Kibbutz trip so stay tuned to hear all about that! Also I revived my twitter from the dead today so you can follow me at bbeck0914 

Safe and Sound in Jersualem, 

B

Hafia

Hi Everyone, 

I finished my first full week of school which sadly was pretty uneventful!  Sorry to disappoint! Thursday night Shayna, Rosie, Esther, and I went out to Ben Yehuda st. area which was alright, and then I met up with Yoni and some of his friends at a dance club.  Israelis dancing is hilarious, they really do dance like no one is watching... 

Then on Friday Rose, Shayna, and I headed for Haifa and we stayed with Rose's boyfriend's family.  It was my first "real" shabbat dinner and it was delicious!! We had a million different things and I wish I could have taken a picture but I wasn't sure about their shabbat rules, and some people don't like when you take pictures.  They spoke 99% in hebrew which mentally made my head hurt trying to translate all night, but in the end I improved my hebrew overnight.  Afterward we went to their friends birthday party, where after a while I finally started speaking Hebrew and trying to be apart of the conversation.  Here is a picture of us:

Afterwards we went to another dance club and it was another late night (dance clubs are popular here if you haven't noticed).  The next day Shayna and I went on possibly the shortest walk known to mankind but stumbled upon this little surprise:

We caught the bus home around 6 when they started running again and called it a night.  The next morning I headed over to the school where I am helping teach english and had yet another eventful day! Like I said before the kids here are SOOOO NAUGHTY!! I even witnessed an Israeli temper tantrum which was quite hilarious actually. Don't get me wrong they are good kids, they just have much less strict standards here in terms of what is O.K. and what is not in school.  Sometimes when they are reading I can tell they don't understand a word and I have gotten very good at explaining it in hebrew but occasionally I have to pull out some charade moves and act it out which always gets a good laugh.  

This picture is from a bit ago but I got this text when Egypt started collapsing and so I thought I would put it in here to document this moment in history.

So these cat pictures have become quite popular around here and they keep getting better and better.  I like to call this one Peeping Tom-cat. Mind you he was on the 3rd floor of the apartment building-- no idea how he got up there.

I can't take credit for this one- This was all Yoni and sorry its so small but I think I will call it

 "The Mad Catter"

Alright enough for now, hopefully I will have more people pictures soon! We have just booked a trip to Eilat and Jordan over Purim Break so that is something to look forward too and I am still waiting to hear if I will be going to Kibbutz Yehal for a weekend in March.  Thats where my mom lived while she was in Israel so it would be a great experience!! 

Until next time, 

B

First day of real classes...

Hi everyone, 

Ill start off by saying I got two new roommates, one is from Korea and the other from Arizona (both girls). They are very nice but honestly Geries and I had this living situation down to a science so it is going to take some getting used to.  

Today I had my first day of real classes at the University.  I woke up early and had hebrew from 8:30-10 (huge wonderful change from ulpan).  Then I walked over to the elementary school down the street where I will be assistant teaching in their english class.  It was INSANE.  First of all the guard didn't speak english so Im on the phone with geries asking him what I should do and finally after asking like 5 people if they speak english I found a reform rabbi who helped me in.  She was typical Israeli and the second sentence out of her mouth was inviting me, a complete stranger, for dinner on shabbat. 

The schools in Israel are VERY different, first of all there is no organization whatsoever.... literally kids everywhere.  I couldn't help but laugh because as I was waiting to get in I was watching kids on the playground and its so strange to be used to working with kids but then having them all blabber on in hebrew and only understand half of what they say!  

The class that I will be working with are 3rd graders and there are 2 girls who speak very good english because they have one american parent.  Other students I try to speak hebrew to them if they aren't understanding the english and that has been working well.  It is so funny that they are learning english while I am trying to learn hebrew-- we are literally learning the same words and concepts so its a good review for me.  The classroom is very chaotic and there is not much quiet... its funny because now I see how israeli adults became the way they are haha -- gotta love em. 

Anyways after the craziness of the afternoon I of course came home, ate pita, and fell asleep.  Luckily I woke up 10 minutes before my class and rushed over there so I wasn't too late.. oops.  The class is Judaism and the environment, and its my only "real" class.  It is very interesting but also very abstract and I know why my friend Georgia loved it so much!  

Lastly I have to say that the Israeli's have the best attitude towards valentines day I've ever encountered.  You see there is this saying that translates to "what do you want a shekel?"... its used for many things similar to how american's would say "what do you want a cookie?" to respond sarcastically to behavior that doesn't really need special recognition. Thats the message on valentines day -- its not all hearts and roses if you tell an israeli that its valentines day they will say to you "what do you want a shekel?"...

I am going to end my post here because I realize my lack of pictures probably makes this much less interesting! More to come later in the week! 

Ulpan Graduate!

Hi everyone,

So since my last post I had my last week of Ulpan! My real classes start next Monday! (I have Sundays off!).

On Tuesday I met with the professor that I will be doing my independent study with which was exciting! In order to meet with her I had to navigate Jerusalem all by myself and sure enough on my way there my cell phone died so luckily I figured everything out!

I also got accepted into the class that I wanted in which I get to do a fellowship. I will be contacting the school on Sunday (Israeli weeks are sunday-thursday) to see if I will be able to be an assistant teacher for English in their elementary school!

Quick funny story-- The Israeli neighbor downstairs came up and was visiting with me, Shayna, and Rose (the sisters next door) and said he was breaking up with his girlfriend... when asked why he replied that she was too "sticky" haha (clingy)

Anyways yesterday around 10 p.m. Rosie, Shayna and I embarked on a grand adventure haha. We caught a bus to Tel Aviv and went out to this dance club which ended up being a blast!  We met some pretty interesting people! Here is a picture of us...



We caught a bus back around 5 am and landed back in our beds around 7am ... much different than my nights out at home! Shayna and  Rose have been here for a long time so they are much better at hebrew and able to navigate around so I feel like I was in good hands!  It was a blast and in the summer we will stay the night and then spend the day on the beach but its too cold to do that now. We will have many more crazy adventures in the weeks to come i'm sure :)

Before I forget here is a shout out to Cody who is proof that if you nag me enough I will put you in my blog... JUST KIDDING! Cody is one of the friends that came on my first trip to tel aviv along with Dana, Andrea, Zach, and of course Shiri.  Cody is super cool and hilarious and is the best person to sightsee with because everything becomes suddenly funny.

ANYWAYS Thanks for keeping up with my blog! I will probably post again after my 1st day of class on Monday!

-B

Tel Aviv/Jaffa

Hi Everyone,

So on Friday morning we were on a bus by 8a.m. leaving for Tel Aviv/ Jaffa.  Whereas Jerusalem is the heart of Israel, Tel aviv is more of a modernized city that is full of energy.  Many artists and young people live there and take advantage of the amazing Mediterranean Sea coast. Friday was pretty gloomy but we started our day off with a tour of Jaffa which is an old city that has a very rich history.  There are many art galleries and little cafes on the beach, there are also many religions represented.  After the tour ended our little group of 6 decided to check into our hostel.

The ladies by the sea.

This man claims to be the Messiah and is all over the newspapers in Israel haha... mostly he is just meshuga (crazy). 

Tel Aviv in the background.

Cat sitting in an ashtray

Before I was crabby about the rain...

Weird hanging tree....

Old Jaffa

A church in old Jaffa

View from Jaffa

Us trying to find our hostel and wondering way the streets seemed to be getting sketchier as we walked.... It was actually not a bad area the graffiti is everywhere around town but we were a little weirded out. 

Our hostel owner suggested this restaurant and it was amaaaazingly nice and we got a bunch of free stuff because he is a partial owner of the restaurant.  It was fabulous to finally be out of the rain! 

MMMMMM Delicious! 

The next day was much sunnier and warmer, which we were all sooooo happy about!!! We woke up and went to breakfast at Benedicts which was amazingly delicious. 

Here is all of our amazing food and yes I am the only one with a Mimosa BUT in all fairness it came free with my meal and it was delicious! 

For the rest of the day we walked down to Tel Aviv beach and embraced the sun, and took lots of pictures.  We eventually settled down at a restaurant for some interesting conversation by the sea it was very relaxing and wonderful!  

Artsy pictures are a must. 

Shiri and me by the sea. 

Sitcom picture- we just look like we belong on TV. 

F.R.I.E.N.D.S the sequel?

Anyways we left and came back in the evening and when I got home I was starrrving and my wonderful Israeli neighbor Chen made me an amazing dinner that ended in his mom's cheesecake. Great day. Despite the fact that my apartment gets pretty lonely because its just Geries and I still and he goes home alot I am super lucky to have such great neighbors! 

Now I have one more week of Ulpan before classes start! I am taking Hebrew, Judaism and the Environment, and hopefully one more class that I have to interview for in which I would learn about Jewish education in Israel and North America and be able to go work in schools and have some real life experience.  I would also be invited to a shabbat in Malibou when I get back to the states which wouldn't be half bad either :) 

I am also doing an independent study in which I will be working with a professor specializing in trauma and resilience and I  would like to research specifically trauma in children.  I will be meeting with her once a week at the Psychotrauma center in Jerusalem and it will be a great experience! 

Today I went to the Shuk (market) and I got the most amaaazing food! I am finally learning how to use the bus system and starting to feel more like a resident than a tourist.  To get our attention in the market they yell "America" at us haha its hilarious. I got pita, oranges, avocado, cucumber, rugalach, cheese and I think thats it.... You can buy like 3 cucumbers for something like 30 cents. 

 Anyways thats about it for now... I'm sure I forgot to say about a million things that I had wanted to but I can always add more to my next post! Stay tuned....

xoxo
B

Update from the Middle East

Hi everyone, 

So I'm sure many of you have heard about what is going on in Egypt but for those of you who don't know I have a link here that kind of explains the situation in the middle east right now.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12204971

Basically there have been riots and protests in Egypt and many people have been injured/killed.  The Jordanian King also has appointed a new prime minister to run their new government which has stirred up some protesting.  There have been predictions that these kinds of protests will inspire other countries in the area to protest as well, causing a "domino effect" throughout the middle east. Anyways I suggest reading more about it on BBC or CNN.  Needless to say we think our passover break plans are changing a little....

On a lighter note here are my most recent funny cat pictures 

Poor cat was trying to stay out of the rain :(

This week Shiri and I went on an adventure walk and found some cool view points.  Here is one of them.  We almost walked to Mount Olives (where many famous israelis are buried like Herzl, Golda, etc.) but we didnt want to wander into a bad neighborhood, and once we started getting honked at we turned around haha. 

View from a walk Shiri and I took.

Yesterday we went to the Israel Museum which was a cool experience, my favorite part was the modern art section which was amaaaazing! I wish I could have taken pictures but there were guards literally at every corner and apparently we looks suspicious because they followed us everywhere.  There were paintings from Warhol, Lichtenshein, Dali, and Picasso, among others.  Some of the modern art was so strange that we couldn't help but laugh hysterically.  There was one display where they had a HUGE table set up with about 200 different items on it like a shabbat dinner and the table was like a trampoline so every once in a while the guard walking by would hit the table and it would bounce but everything was balanced so that nothing would fall... it was super cool! I have some more pictures I think on other cameras so I will put those in my next post. 

Cool sculpture at the Israel Museum.

After the muesum I met up with Yoni and we went to a jazz concert, it was super fun and I will for sure be going back there again! I forgot I was in Israel until someone in the back yelled "Yofi" haha which kind of means "great!" 

Shoutout to Dad and Adam, lets play this version when I get home! 

Anyways, after tomorrow we are hitting Tel Aviv for a little weekend vacation and so there will be more to come! Thanks for reading! 

-B