Pictures!

I've been too lazy to put pictures up, but here goes!

A sample from my weekend with Noa :)

Me and my cousins! Taken during Sukkot in Kfar Saba.

 My nivutim (navigations) group! Supaaa fun

 In the Golan on our hike through Nachal Zavitan.

 The picture from the museum that we saw in the Golan about the Syrian Druzim who live there (refer to previous post).

Me and Ayelet at the Idan Riechel concert we went to! It was organized by Masa, which is the organization that helps to bring Jews from outside of Israel to Israel. Almost every program in Israel is associated by Masa, so I saw a lot of people I know there from Chicago!

The Golan and Everything Since

It feels like I haven't written in forever, and I always think about things I want to write here but then I forget. I'll do my best, though.

Last week, we were on a week-long trip to the Golan (in the north of Israel). We spent a lot of time getting on and off the bus, visiting different historical sites mostly. We hiked one day in the Zavitan, which also has a lot of natural springs there, so we went swimming and it was really fun! The most interesting thing we did in the Golan was on the last day, when we visited a Druzi museum. Most Druzim in Israel are very loyal to the country; they serve in the army even though they are not required to. Some Druzim in the Golan, however, still consider themselves Syrian (Israel conquered the Golan in 1967 from Syria). These Druzim do not accept Israeli citizenship, they do not serve in the army, and they cannot obtain Syrian citizenship either because they live in Israel. It was very interesting to hear their point of view, although some of the things we saw in the museum were very disturbing. For example, there was a big map of the Golan labled "The Arab Syrian Republic," and there was also a picture of children standing on the street doing something that looked very similar too the Hitler heil. We asked our tour guide about it, and he said it was part of an exercise for gym class in a summer camp they have every year. We were still pretty offended by it, and later he said that actually it was just the children saluting their flag, because apparently that is how everybody salutes their flag (according to our guide). Our tour guide tried to draw a large distinction between the Jewish people and the Israeli people, and said that the fact that we tie those two things together so strongly is the reason why peace cannot be obtained. It was a little disturbing to hear all these things, but it definitely made us think.

Funny story from the Golan: I convinced my friend that I had a pet mouse living in my room with me, and I'm pretty sure he believed me. Basically, around a month ago, my roommate was on her laptop and she couldn't find the mouse for it, so she was looking around yelling, "Where is the mouse?" and I thought that she was talking about a real mouse, so I was like, "A mouse?? We have a mouse??" They think this is the funniest thing ever, so they have been telling people about it. So I was walking with my roommate and another boy, and my roommate asked him if he heard about me and the mouse. So I just made up a story about how I have a pet mouse and I keep him in my drawer in my room and take him on walks and everything.

During the weekend, I stayed in the north at Kibbutz Ga'aton with my friend Noa, who is there on a dancing program. It was so much fun! I met a lot of the people she lives with, and I got to put faces to names I had heard on the phone. It was very fun.

This week at the mechina has been very interesting. I have been planning nonstop a class with my friend Tali for next week, which is our week dedicated to the Holocaust. We are going to talk about different ways to look at the Holocaust, like from the point of view of a righteous gentile, the Pope, non-Jews who were also victims, and other countries (such as the US). I hope it will be successful-I think it will be.

The Final Break

It's 3:30 in the morning right now-why am I awake? I am on "shmira," meaning that I am awake with another boy, and we are supposed to make sure that everybody is safe during the night. We don't have a gun or anything, so I'm not exactly sure what we would do if someone dangerous came, other than try to beat them up? But we do this anyway-every night is split up by hours, and a boy and a girl must do shmira together every hour. Technically, whoever is on shmira is supposed to be walking around outside, but most people go on the computers. It's kind of nice actually-you sit with someone and get to know them a little better, and it's great for me because more people are on facebook chat at 3:30 am :) I like that it's in the middle of the night because I get to go to sleep before and after,, but Danny (my partner) didn't go to sleep before this and will be up until 4 am..yuck.

We came back on Sunday from our last long break, which I am happy about because it means I will get to spend more time at one place for a while. I started the break at my friend Shir's house in Ra'anana, where we ate weird Israeli sushi (with cooked fish and sweet potato), saw a movie (even weireder..the one with that guy from Juno if any of you have seen it...something about ex-girlfriends), and watched looooots of tv. I then went to my cousins' house in Kiryat Ono, which was really fun! My cousin Oren picked me up on Friday night, and we had Shabbat dinner together, and then I went with Oren to a little party that his friend was throwing in honor of the haircut he got before he joins the army. Oren's friends were all very interested to talk to an American, but most of them didn't understand why I am here and asked me things like, "Is it so bad in America that you decided to come here? You have so much to do there-we have nothing to do...Why would you ever come here?" I think they were under the impression that I go to Disneyland every day. Anyway, it was pretty interesting and nice to talk to Israelis my age outside of the mechina. In the morning, we went carting (raced around a track in mini cart things) and bowling, and we wanted to go to the sea, but it was too hot. It was really really hot. I also ate a lot of cake there. Yum.

When we got back to the mechina on Sunday, we did some yoga and then got ready for our "nivut" which was on Monday--navigation. This is when they give us coordinate points on the map and we have to find them and decide how to get from place to place. We have different points for the day and night-during the day, we are allowed to use the map, and during the night, we are not supposed to use it. We have a compass the whole time. Anyway, I was dreading this because last time we did it, I did not have fun and was not a good navigator. Every person is supposed to take a section of the route, memorize it, and lead the group; if you make a mistake, the whole group gets lost. This made me very nervous, but my group was great, and we did not get lost at all, which is quite an achievement. We actually stopped for coffee once and tea once when we saw great views. I have many pictures from this day, which will hopefully be on facebook soon, and I will even upload some of them onto this blog as soon as I get the chance.

I am going to be very busy this week because I am on two committees that are working pretty hard-tiyulim (trips) and Shoah (Holocaust). Our trip to Ramat Hagolan is next week (starting this Sunday), and there is a lot to do for that. I'll spare you the details (I don't even know all of them), but I will probably be in meetings for a lot of the week. Exciting, right? But I actually am excited!

Sukkot, etc.

I came back on Sunday from a 4 day break for Sukkot! I slept in a different house each night during the break, but it was really fun to travel through Israel and see some people I hadn't seen for a while! I began at my family's house in Kfar Saba. I spent the day with my cousins Keren, Shir, and Maya, and we watched movies (aka I napped) the whole day. We went to their neighbor's house for dinner, and then all the cousins came over for a sleepover! It was fun, but I also slept through most of it-I had gotten almost no sleep at the mechina the week before.

The next day, we all went to the sea near Tel Aviv. The waves were HUGE-probably some of the biggest I've seen in my life. I learned the best ways to ride the waves, and despite all the salt water getting in my eyes, it was very fun! I returned that night with a different family in my extended family, and they have four children, all of whom are very cute. I stayed up with them almost until 1 am, making them friendship bracelets and playing games with them. I went to a dance class the next day with Adi, their oldest child, which really made me miss taking dance classes. The girls were supposed to bring someone over 18 to the class, so Adi brought me, and the teacher was very confused that I was not a parent and by my American accent. I hung out with the other children for the rest of the day until they took me to Tel Aviv to meet with my JRF friends!!! Yay!

I met Ya'ara, Carmel, Ruhi, and Amy at a pub in Tel Aviv where they play live Irish music every Friday night. The music was good, and it was so nice to see them! We then drove to Ashdod, were Ya'ara lives, and we went to a restaurant by the beach. Carmel had made a DELICIOUS chocolate cake, so we took it to the beach and ate in on rocks (kind of like the ones near Northwestern). We didn't get back until pretty late, so I slept into the afternoon. We made shakshuka and then went to the beach again! The waves weren't as big as the ones in Tel Aviv, but they were still pretty huge. Throughout the day, we had many discussions about how it is to adjust to Israel (Amy and Ruhi are also only here for the year), and it was great to share my experiences with them.

On Sunday, I went wth my mechina to the L'haka festival, a Jewish learning festival that happens every year in Sderot. All of the other mechinot in Israel were also there, so I saw my friends Elana and Jacquie, who are at mechinot in other parts of the country. I went to four classes: one on the Israeli-American relationship, one on L'cha Dodi, one on religious homosexuals, and one on music. It was hard for me to understand the classes (they were all in Hebrew), but it was interesting to see how different the lecture culture is in America. I kept comparing this to my experience at the AIPAC seminar in Washington DC last year. The structure was very similar, but the lectures were much more discussion based. In the evening, we had a concert, which was SO MUCH FUN! We all danced together and cheered for our mechina. I came out just as sweaty as if I had been at ETHS Homecoming or Cotillion or something like that, but the dancing was very different (we broke out into the hora in the middle for example). It was great!

For the past few days at the mechina, I have been working very hard and going to a lot of meetings. "Chulyat tiyulim" is planning right now our trip to the Golan, which will happen in about two weeks, and we finished the schedule yesterday. We have some awesome things planned, and I'm really excited to go on our first long tiyul! Also, I am on Chulyat Shoah, which is planning the week dedicated to the Holocaust, and I have to call a lot of people to organize them to come speak with us. It should be a pretty meaningful week.

I am leaving again tomorrow for our Simchat Torah break. I am going to Ra'anana again, but this time I am staying with my friend Shir. She already has many things planned for us to do with her friends, including going to a movie and going to the Tel Aviv boardwalk (where we will go to Max Brenner! I've heard so much about it but I"ve never been).

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and everything in between

A lot of things have happened since I last wrote, so I'll try to sum them up so that I don't leave out anything good! We had a 5-day break from the mechina for Rosh Hashanah, and I spent it with my grandparents in Jerusalem. I caught up A LOT on sleep, which I really needed, and I also went to services a bunch. I went to 3 synagougues in 2 days. It wasn't too bad though-I like services and they were all Reform, so it was pretty with the guitar and singing.We also went to Kfar Saba a few times to see my family there, and I got to see one of my Israeli friends from camp (Ofir) in Netanya one day. It was really nice.

The week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at the mechina went by really fast. The theme of the week was topography and navigation, which sometimes was really boring, but also was very cool. For the first few days, we spent all day in class, learning how to read a map and use "azimut" (I'm not sure how to say it in English, but it basically is using a compass and angles to know where to go). The conclusion of all these classes was a "nivut yom" and "nivut lilah." We spent all day in the desert near Beit Shemesh in groups with navigation experts who gave us tips and helped us to see how to use the map to know where to go on the actual land. This was much harder than I thought it would be. We took a 3 hour break in the afternoon before they sent us to go get lost in the middle of the desert with no maps or lights at night. That was an exaggeration, but it was the basic jist. The day before, they had given us a map and 5 coordinate points that we were supposed to reach. We had to decide the routes we would take. Everybody in my group of 7 had to memorize a certain part of the route, because we would have no maps at night. We memorized distance (which we would count by our number of steps) and the angles we would have to turn to get from point to point, which we would know by using our compass. It was very cool and fun, but it was also very hard for me. Thankfully, not everyone in my group was as directionally challenged as me, and we ended up reaching all our points and arriving at our final destination in time, which was the most important part. We had dinner at 10 pm, when we reached the final point, and then we went back to the mechina to sleep. We are doing another one of these navigation trips again this week, but this time it will be overnight. Ah! I'm kind of scared, but hopefully it will be alright.

I am staying at my friend Tali's house right now for Yom Kippur. I met her at the mechina, and she moved to Israel (Ra'anana, to be specific) 5 years ago, so her family is American and they speak English in the house. She is the oldest of four, with two sisters and a brother basically all the same age as my siblings, so I felt very at home. Yom Kippur in Israel was a great experience-the city completely shut down, and there were absolutely no cars on the streets. The fast wasn't too hard for us because we basically slept so much. We woke up late for services (around 10:45), took a nap from 1-4, and then went back to sleep at night. I am about to leave to go back to the mechina, where I will be for 3 days before sukkot.

First Shabbat at the Mechina

I finally figured out how to connect my notebook computer to the internet yayyyyyy!

I'm getting used to living at the mechina, and I am getting to know people better and am also getting much more comfortable talking in Hebrew. I am learning new words every day, and I've even started to translate my thoughts into Hebrew. There are still times when I feel lonely or miss home, but it can only be expected-I've known these people for less than a week. I expect that I'm feeling the same way that many of my friends at college must feel. We're all in the same boat; we're leaving home, putting ourselves in new environments, and making new friends.

Today was our first shabbat, and I learned a lot of things about the people here throughout the day. We had mandatory services on Friday night (for the rest of the year, you can choose if you want to go to services), and for many of the people here, it was one of their first times ever going to services in their lives. It's so interesting that Israelis have such a connection to the Jewish people without having to pray, keep Shabbat, etc. This group is diverse-there are also people here who are very religious. Therefore, we had a "mechitza," separating the boys from the girls. I also think that girls were not allowed to lead the services. I am not sure about this because when the planning committee for Shabbat asked for volunteers to do "kiddush" (blessing over the wine), they said that girls could do it too, and then one of the religious boys got very angry. I am not sure if there was any conclusion from this. Most of the day, we had discussions about what Shabbat means to us and what it means to be Jewish. It was really interesting, and like I said before, helped me to get to know people better. Everyone opened up about their traditions and opinions. It was great.

Earlier this week, we went on a hiking trip for one night around the area that we are staying in. It was fun, except that we had a 2 hour discussion about how we can change our behavior during classes and tours (not smoking, talking on the phone, shouting out, etc.). In this discussion, everyone basically said the same thing over and over again, and in the end, we came to no conclusion. Earlier in the week, we had a 2 hour discussion, after which we voted on how we should vote in the future. We had to decide if the majority should be 50% or 50% plus 5. Everybody was very passionate about this. In the end, we voted 25 for 50% and 26 for 50% plus five. So 50% plus 5 won with only plus 1, which made the others very very angry. I know this is a confusing story, but I decided it was worth trying to explain because it's pretty funny. Actually, it was very annoying at the time, but it's a good story.

Another good thing that happened today-almost all the people in the mechina who smoke decided that they are going to quit. It probably won't actually happen, but I really hope it does because so many people smoke and it is annoying.

I think I wrote about this in my last entry, but the people here are reallllllly nice. It's almost surprising how nice they are. They always want to help and make sure everyone is alright. The beginning of the program is hard for everyone, because they also are away from their families and meeting new people. It's weird that we've only been here for a week because it feels like much longer.

We are still here at the mechina until Tuesday, and then we are leaving for Rosh Hashana for 5 days. I will be staying at my grandparents' apartment in Jerusalem. It will be nice to actually sleep and relax for a bit. i'll write l8a allig8ta :)

First few days at the mechina

A quick update:

I've been at the mechina for 2 days, but it seems like forever already. When I first got here, it was SO hot and everyone was just standing outside waiting to sign in. The Israelis mostly knew each other, because they had been on a few trips together before the year started, so I introduced myself to a few people and ended up meeting all the Americans. The 9 of us had a little pow-wow in English, the last English we would speak for a while. There are 56 of us total at the mechina, and we were quickly oriented on how life here would work; we learned about the schedule of the day, the leaders each day, the "toranim" for each day (help clean up the kitchen, bathrooms, etc.). We were given the choice of how to choose rooms, and we eventually decided that each of us would request 3 people, and then we would enter it into the computer and the computer would decide. It was kind of funny, because I actually knew no one, so I just wrote down the names of some random people I had talked to earlier who seemed nice. It turned out that two of the people I requested are in my room now, which is great, and the other two are also awesome. Everyone here is very nice and understanding. They all want to translate for us and help us to become regulated with Israel and with the mechina.

Everyone gets to pick a committee that they help run. I am in the "tilyulim" (trips) committee, and we have already started planning our trip that starts on Thursday night and goes until Friday. It's nice to work with a group of Israelis (there are also a few Americans in my group), but it's a little hard to voice my opinions in the group because they talk Hebrew so fast! I'm sure that I will get used to it, and hopefully by the middle of the year, I will be just like the rest of them. Maybe even earlier than that.

Tomorrow we are going on an all day trip to Yafo (near Tel Aviv) from 7am to 7pm. I'm excited to leave the metzudah and learn somewhere new. It should be fun. There is so much more I could write, but we are getting up verrrrry early tomorrow morning and I'm going to let someone else use the computer. Lilah!