אני ממש מרגישה ישראלי

This week I felt like an Israeli.

Firstly, I have finally reached a point where I feel like this is my neighborhood. Not only do I know the streets, but the guy that owns the pizza store recognizes me and the man at the framing shop knows my name. I ran into three people on my way to lunch on Shabbat that I knew and even got invited to my neighbors for dinner. 

Secondly, I spent most of Sunday hiking through Ein Gedi and then spent most of Tuesday hiking through the Golan. I love that I get mitzva points for hiking here. And while I still kind of prefer the green fields and mountains of the Golan, that dry white sandy thing going on down south is beginning to grow on me. 

Thirdly, I tremped (hitch hiked) from the Golan back to Jerusalem! All by myself! And not only did I save myself 50 shekel and meet some pretty cool people, but I didnt die. Or get lost. And I hitch hiked with an Egged bus. Like an en route, with people on it, official bus. And I tremped with him!

Fourthly, I have read 138 pages of a Hebrew book since Shabbat! And were not talking about really long childrens books. This is a real made for adults book. 

Fifthly, (this one doesnt really make me feel more israeli, but still) I had a job interview at a gift shop on Monday and I have one at a restaurant tomorrow. That one will be in Hebrew so I am a little more nervous, but well see how it goe

47 Pancakes

Highlights of the past two weeks in no particular order:

1. One Seder. That right there is a reason to move to Israel. We recounted the story of leaving Egypt while lounging on mattresses on the floor and eating from low tables. We sang and talked about what it means to redeem ourselves every year. And we ate alot of Matza. yum.

2. I went for a hike that turned into a mud cave excursion. 

3. I, and a few hundred other Israelis, decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and vacation time and go to the beach in Tel Aviv. I think I spend more time in transit/ fighting in lines at the Central Bus Stations than I did at the beach. Still, I got to go to the beach :)

4.Yesterday morning I went out for breakfast and actually spent the extra dollar for an additional basket of bread because it was just so good and I had missed it so much. 

5. I learned this week that it is illegal for me to go to Ramallah. My friend is studying in a coexistence program here and her Palestinian friend offered to show her around Ramallah. Anyway, I was going to go and see a side of Israel I have never seen, but apparently Israelis are not allowed into the larger Palestinian cities like Ramallah and Jenin. Also, its not so safe, so it is a good thing I didnt go. Instead, I went through the Arab market in the Old City of Jerusalem and prayed at the Kotel (Western Wall).

6. I rose before dawn and went to pray on a hilltop with over 200 other people. Every 28 years the Jewish people say a special prayer thanking God for creating the sun. This happened to be one of those years, so as we watched the sun rise, we all said the blessing that thanks God for His creations. 

7. I went and BBQed with a base full of Israeli soldiers. One of them even took me up to the tower that overlooks the whole area and I got to watch the sun set :) Also I got to use night vision goggles. Crazy cool toys. 

8. I went to a Sefardi Memunah, which is a post-passover party where we eat lots of leaven. I think I devoured about 47 pancakes.

I tried to think of another two so I would have a nice even ten, but I couldnt. Thats ok though, 8 is a nice number. And doesnt really get all that much attention. So this email will be brought to you by the number eight. And bread. Mmm, bread.

The State of Being Funky

I never know how to start these emails. I usually spend like the first two minutes starting at my screen saying "Hey Again!, no, how about Heya, or yo, nope too gangster, or Greetings, nope that sounds too alien..." and so on and so forth. I couldnt decide this week so I just started typing and I hope you all will just imagine your own favorite opening line inserted here. or rather in the place of this short rant. 

This past Shabbat I went down to Kibbutz Ketura to visit my friend who is studying at a co-existence program on a conservative kibbutz. This translates into me praying with the men and eating friday night dinner with a group of arabs. My friend is one of two people on the kibbutz who are shomer shabbat (keeping all of the laws of shabbat, as in, not using electricity or writing or driving etc) but despite that it was still clearly Shabbat on the Kibbutz, which was kind of cool. They still had services and all the stores and the pub were closed and everyone was still treating it as a day of rest. Anyway, my friend Alana and I hiked up one of the nearby mountains and got a tour of the kibbutz with the Ben Gurion University kids who were also visiting for the weekend. I got to see a new born cow (one hour old!) stand up for the first time, and I learned that algae under stress turns red and that donkeys make the most amazing noises. All in all, it was a wonderful Shabbat, totally worth the miserable 3 hour busride back to jerusalem on saturday night.

The rest of the week was not as entertaining. I woke up Monday morning in a funk. This is apparantly a word that not everyone is familiar with so I looked it up in the dictionary so that I could give you a more coherent definition. Dictionary.com defines a funk  as 1.state of great fright or terror or 2. a dejected mood. (other options were 3. music having a funky quality, 4. the state of being funky, or 5. a strong smell; stench)

The funk I was in was more #2, but I think there was some underlying terror of the "what am i doing with my life" persuasion. (And I like to think that I am always in a state of being funky.) In response to my funk, I went to Efrat aka my comfort place. After a few days there and some therapeutic cleaning (Shosh, I think almost all semblance's of my former slobbiness are gone) I felt better and went back to Jerusalem to have dinner with a group of soldiers who were being taken out by the group I volunteer with. And even more exciting than the endless train of meat being brought out to us was the plethora of young, english speaking soldiers. And even more exciting than that, was finding that one of them was my friend Abe, who I met about a year ago and hung out with for one Shabbat but havent really seen since then. Anyway, we chatted for most of the meal and exchanged numbers and all that, and while, sadly, he is going back to the states for Pesach, I now have one more friend in Jerusalem when he gets back. 

Next week will be kind of crazy with Pesach (haha all you who have to do the three day chag and double sedarim) but I will try to write at some point in the next two weeks. I hope you all have a wonderful Pesach, or for those of you who dont have to give up the leaven, a lovely two weeks. At this point you can insert a well worded, friendly reminder (of your choice) to write to me :)

Marbimin B'Simcha

Inspired by the ARHU digest that I still get from the University of Maryland, despite having graduated, I have decided to modify my email format to accommodate those of you with shorter attention spans (no judgement, I am just as bad). Let me know what you think.

 This weeks highlights:

 ~ Turns out I can only handle one day of Purim.*

~ I founded an Israeli acapella group that lasted approximatly 15 minutes **

~ I ate a cow.***

~ I spoke Hebrew for a whole day ****

~ I got free sushi and free beer last night! *****

~ I love Israel and being here for Purim just made me love it more.

 

* My whole "Double the Purim, Double the Fun" plan kind of backfired. Purim is celebrated on different days depending on whether you are in a walled city (like Jerusalem) or out of one (like Efrat). I was planning on jumping from one place to the other in order to extend my Purim celebrations (which include costumes, reading the Purim story, exchanging food, and drinking), BUT I was in Efrat for the first day and we had a big meal with all my fake family (and my real cousin) and I had a bit to drink. So instead of skipping back to Jerusalem for a second go at reading the Megillah, I skipped down the streets of Efrat singing "Mishenichnas Adar" with my friend Dahlia. There was lots of dancing and singing and marbiming b'simcha and truth be told, by the next day I was pooped so its probably a good thing I didnt get in twice the Purim. I think this is a holiday that is not meant to be extended.

 

** My cousin Natalie and I partied it up in my ulpan before heading back to Efrat at about 2am. We picked up three hitchhikers on the way home and proceeded to sing with them the whole way back. Harmonized and everything. By far the best tremp I have ever been in.

 

*** My Awesome Uncle Howard (can someone send me his email address?) treated me to dinner via his daughter, Natalie and we went up to Herzaliya to a restauraunt called Meat and Wine. I ate alot of Meat and Wine. Actually, I think I ended up eating my entire meal (some african sausage, lamb chops, and chocolate envelope thingies) and half of Natalie's (tuna tartar, beef ribs, and chocolate cake). I dont understand how she got full so fast. Well thats not true, I understand how she became full, I dont understand why I didnt. 

 

**** I went to visit a grad school in Kfar Saba. The place was beautiful, the people were nice, and the program sounded perfect, and then I went to talk to the application office and discovered I needed a B.Ed. to apply. poo. But I did make a friend and talked to her in Hebrew the whole day. Go me!

 

***** I got taken out to sushi by the Skversky brothers, who are not as good as their sister, Yael, when put together are pretty darn entertainin. And then I went out for and ulpan party/ birthday party that were conveniently located in the same bar. And I got a free beer before I went and bought the birthday boy and apple-tini because he kind of drinks like a girl (Noam).

 

Ending note: Thank you to Aunt Z and R for the rockin Hamantaschen sent with love from the states. And thanks to the fam for whatever it is that is sitting at the post office waiting for me to go pick it up. I love mail and packages and things sent with love across the ocean. (Kfirah Covel, Rehov Nili 12/16, Katamon, Jerusalem 92548)

Israelis are nice. Shocking, I know.

Once again, I am at the end of the week having trouble remembering what I did before yesterday. So we'll go backwards.

Yadretsey i tnew ot viva let. Haha, just kidding, I cant think like that, much less write like that. But yesterday I did go to Tel Aviv and that did not end well. As I was perusing the ridiculously cheap clothing at the Central Bus Station before I went home to Jerusalem, I realized I did not have my wallet, and probably left it on the bus I took to Tel Aviv four hours before. Faced with the knowledge I would have to cancel all of my credit cards not to mention my Israeli bank card (a process I do not even want to imagine) I started to freak out a little. And then the more pressing issue occured to me. I was in Tel Aviv, it was 8pm, I had no bus ticket and no money and did not know how I was going to get home. Also I did not know how to say "lost" or "wallet" in Hebrew (abaditi ha'arnak sheli). Well after a few frantic phone calls to my Israeli friend, crying to about ten different official type people, and seriously considering just begging people for money, I simply climbed on the bus and tearfully told the driver I lost my wallet. He waved me onto the bus without another word and I was once again eternally grateful for nice people.

 

Before that, Thursday had actually been a pretty good day. I went into the bank and paid my rent, which made me feel competent and mature, I had a three hour lunch with my roommate and talked about wedding plans and grad school plans (my roommate got engaged last week and I wasnt allowed to tell then- but now I can!), and then I went to visit Bezalel, the art school I am looking at in Tel Aviv. They had an "Open Day" yesterday, which was very informative but not very open. We spent about two hours sitting in a hot room hearing about the program and having our questions answered. (By the way, listening to Hebrew for two straight hours gives you a HUGE headache). The program sounds very good to me (not that I really have many other options) but they did not let us actually see any of the studios or facilities which was kind of annoying. The program actually only runs two days a week- Sundays in the studios and Wednesdays we have theory and history classes. But they did say that they basically expect you to be in the studio every day. I learned about the portfolio requirements, the language requirements, how many people get in (about 1 in 4), and that there is a possibility to work for them my second year. I was also told that they dont ask for recommendations because "the only people in Israel worth hearing from already work here".

There were about 50 students there, about 10 of them were men, about 4 of them were within 5 years of my age, and Im pretty sure I was the only religious one there. I have heard quite a few rumors about how anti-religious the art schools are and it makes me a little nervous. But I guess I will wait and see. Keyword being wait because they dont even review portfolios until the end of May.

 

Continuing back, on Wednesday I went to see a band I had met about four years ago and was super happy to find that not only are they still awesome, but they remembered me :) OH, AND bravo to Kfi for being super brave and making new friends. I was alone at the bar waiting for my friend and sitting near this guy who was also alone and I went over and made friends. Too bad hes in the army and was enjoying his last night out before heading back to the Egyptian border for the next four months. But I tried!

 

On Tuesday I volunteered to participate in my Ulpan's Purim skit. Not sure why I did that, but now I get to be the evil, hot, Queen Vashti.

 

I cant recall what I did on Monday so it must not have been that exciting.

 

And on Sunday I went to Nahal Oz and visited soldiers. Which I sort of told you about already. But it was very cool and I am hoping to go again on Sunday and deliver Mishloach Manot (food packages).

 

I am very excited for next week because a) my cousin is coming to visit, b) its PURIM!!! and c) Im going to visit another school. So stay tuned. Further adventures of Kfi to follow. Hopefully they will involve wonderfully nice people returning my wallet.

פו פז 1

In order to further entertain you I have decided to update you on my lovely faux paz when I attempt to speak Hebrew.

Number 1: My address is 12 Rehov Nili, Knisah Gimmel, Apt. 16. For the first two weeks I was here, I told everyone it was Knisiah Gimmel. Which means church. as opposed to entrance.

Number 2: I was translating my grad school application and got to the last requirement which was קורות חיים מלאים.  Translated literally this means "Full Life Story". I proceeded to freak out a little because I did not know what they wanted me to write or how long it was supposed to be or what part of my life they wanted to know about. After complaining about it to my friend for about ten minutes, she turned to me and said "Kfi, they just want your resume" Oops.

You are what you eat

Brace yourselves for my newest attempt at creativity. 

On Sunday, in honor of Tu B'Shvat, ( a Jewish holiday celebrating the trees and seasons etc), I went to a party in Nachlaot. Nachlaot is a neighborhood in Jerusalem that is very, free-spirited, shall we say. People there tend to be the crunchy, hippie, Carlebach types. Very into love and spirituality. Anyway, we were drinking wine and eating fruit in honor of the holiday and sharing various thoughts about spring and rebirth and blossoming etc. We also spent five minutes meditating on a tangerine. Apparantly there was a famous Buddhist who said that you could see the whole world in one tangerine. I didnt quite get there, but I did try, and it is kind of amazing what you can come up with looking at a fruit. 

So this week's post is a delightful compilation of life lessons as taught to me by my food:

 

Tangerines: The most exciting flavors tend to come with a little bit of a sting. They smell exotic and compelling and they taste sweet and tropical but they are also acidic and can hurt your mouth. And they are totally worth it.

 

Waffles: Beware the word "decadent" while it is fun to say and sounds delicious, it is not necessarily a good word to describe food. Some things in life are better with just a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top, not the equivalent of at least three melted chocolate bars. And an additional two scoops of ice cream. (It made whip cream taste like water.) 

 

Zucchini Soup: Immersion blenders can totally change the essence of a soup. Sometimes it is necessary to let go of your preexisting form and definition and allow yourself to become a part of something greater.

 

Shoko B'Sakit (chocolate milk in a bag): This was an easy one. Enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

 

Basil: You can pick it off a plant and eat it. That is awesome. 

 

Pita: By far the most versatile bread I have ever encountered. You can have it with PB or chocolate spread or chummus. You can make it into a pizza or a tuna melt or a plate for your salad. You can toast it and eat it like crackers or open it and use it like a sandwich or just rip it into pieces, making it more fun to eat. Plus there is a holiness to bread- a food, which when you think about it, is probably man's greatest invention. Have you ever looked at a grain of wheat? Because, seriously, who would think that could become bread? Well we are like God's bread. We are the most amazing creature He created and we have so much potential. We can be so many things (though maybe not pizza). So, go. Be.

 

And one last non-food related note: Israeli politics are quite possibly the most confusing thing I have ever attempted to understand. More so than the stock market or the minds of boys. Okay maybe not the latter.