Hiking to the beach and Daliat Carmel

Even though I'm now back in the States, I still have enough material for a few more blogs. I will try to get them up as soon as possible (I'm going for one a week, so keep checking).

A couple of weeks ago, a couple of friends and myself hiked down to the beach. Let me explain and put it in perspective: The University is at the top of a mountain, approximately 480 meters above sea level, and even though the bus takes the roads to the beach, it's about a 20 minute bus ride. To that same beach, it took about 3 hours and 40 minutes, walking through the canyon that runs next to the side of the mountain. We left at 7:30 in the morning and since we had to guess the way down to the beach, we made a couple of wrong turns and encountered a heard of cows, some of which had long horns and there was a calf that started challenging us by stomping its' hoof and staring at us (we got out of there really quickly). Overall, it was a beautiful hike and I'm just sorry I didn't do it a few more times.

Also a couple of weeks ago, I went with two friends to Daliat Carmel, the Druze village that is not far from the University. I had realized that my time in Israel was starting to run short and that there were still a bunch of things I had to do and see. I really went for one reason: to get more pants. Needless to say, my trip was successful as I purchased a white, shorts version of the fisherman pants as well as the Druze pants, also often known as “Aladdin pants” because they are pretty much identical to the pants worn by the Disney character. An Israeli friend told me that the reason the pants hang so low is because the Druze believe that someone will give birth to the Messiah and the pants are there to catch him. I'm not sure if that's true, but I have doubts about its authenticity. Other than really cheap, awesome pants, the shook (marketplace) is a vibrant collection of shops that sell different sizes of backgammon, fabrics, paintings, drums, cooking tools, and, of course, hookah.

Observations:

1. I finally gave in to all of the pressure and wanted to try something people rave about in Israel: small bags of chocolate milk, 225 ml to be exact. Dairy products in Israel are kind of a big thing. They're actually a brilliant snack – not only does chocolate milk have a sufficient amount of calcium and protein, it is just the right size for a snack. It's not too big and it's not a teaser. And it's delicious.

2. I noticed that my conversational Hebrew was improving as I could hold conversations with people in malls, trains, etc., as I needed to. Sometimes, I didn't even have to use English at all. However, when I became extremely tired, I would simply ask in kind of a sorry manner if they could switch to English, most likely because my head hurt from trying to think of vocab, conjugations, grammar, etc.

Pictures are of the inside of one store in Daliat Carmel (the Druze village), near the beginning of our hike down to the beach, and me with an infamous chocolate milk bag.

-AZ

Study Tour!

The last two times I have gone to Friday night services in Haifa have been at an orthodox synagogue somewhat close to the University. It is in a neighborhood called Denia, which actually means “Denmark” in Hebrew. Denia is one of the two neighborhoods in Haifa I have found that consists of houses instead of apartments and very nice houses at that (one of my friends called Denia the “Beverly Hills of Haifa”). Of both times that I have gone, these characteristics have really caught my attention: As students, we have been invited for dinner to houses and the hospitality is above and beyond what is necessary, a prime example of Middle East hospitality. The tunes that they used for almost all of the prayers are the same ones I'm familiar with from the U.S. It's interesting to go halfway around the world and feel at home just by knowing the tunes. In addition, most of the men sang in tune (Hear that Hillel students? Perhaps you can take a page out of their book.). Also, when a person would give a D'var Torah (a short sermon discussing the Torah portion of the week), everyone had their eyes glued on him and payed close attention (except for one guy in the back – I saw you).

Study Tour has started. It is an intensive academic study of the State of Israel, dealing with a vast array of topics including the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, history, Zionism, etc. Some days are spent in the class for seminar and some days are spent traveling to different sites in Israel for field studies. To date, we have had three field studies that included trips to Tzipori, Natzeret (Nazareth), Tsfat (Safed), T'veria (Tiberias), Gilboa near the West Bank, the Kinneret Courtyard, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), the Arbel Plateau, the Ghetto Fighter's Museum (not Yad V'Shem), and a few other places. The readings for this course are also extremely varied and intense, including a chapter from Mein Kampf. Next week, we will be in Jerusalem and southern Israel for a few days straight, sleeping in hotels and a Bedouin tent (nomadic tribes).

While in Tsfat, a city in the north that is one of the four holy cities in Judaism and is the birthplace of Kabalah (Jewish mysticism), half of my class was distracted from our lecture by a boy playing with a balloon, simply throwing it up in the air and subsequently getting much joy from it. Wouldn't life be so much better if all we had to do was vault a balloon toward the sky to put a smile on our faces?

Observations:

1. Physical contact: A common way of greeting people is through kissing on the cheeks, a very European tradition. First one side, then the other. Most people I come in contact with know or assume I'm an American and don't do that (then again, I think it's also used more for close friends that are Israeli, of which I only have a couple). In addition, people here are touchy-feely, as in putting hands and arms around each other, sometimes strangers, etc. The other thing is holding hands. Not just spouses or couple's in relationships, but friends and between some family members as well. I haven't seen two guys holding hands but definitely girls and mixed genders. It's definitely a cultural “thing” and I doubt it'll catch on in the States.

Pictures are of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) taken from atop the Arbel Plateau, the boy with the balloon in Tsfat, the madrichim (social activity coordinators) and on the far right our instructor with me, and me with some friends on top of the Arbel Plateau.

-AZ

Pants and Friend

Sorry I haven't written anything in a while – I've been really busy and I'm very sorry about that.

I'll go back in time: The last Friday of Ulpan, we went to Tel Aviv and the old city of Jaffa (Yafo in Hebrew). It was extremely hot so the sea breeze was nice. The most exciting thing to write about the Tel Aviv trip was my trip to the shook (a marketplace) where I bought “mihnaseh dagim” (which means fisherman pants, originally coming from Thailand). I had wanted these particular pants for a long time and was thrilled for the rest of the day. A photo is attached.

The last time that I went to Chabad, I saw something I had never seen before in services: During one of the final prayers, the men actually leaned over and spat on the tile floor, their shoes rubbing their saliva so it disappears. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked. It turns out that in the prayer, something is mentioned about other people or bad people or something like that, so they “cleanse” their mouths before they continue reading the prayer. The next time I say that prayer, I'm not spitting.

Before I continue, I must acknowledge someone (partially because I think they deserve it, partially because he asked). My best friend this summer was one of my flatmates, Daniel, an economics major from Denmark. I could almost always depend on him if I ever wanted to go out to town and he was really useful for Hebrew (well, sometimes), as well as entertaining with his anecdotes. It's good to know that if I happen to ever be in Denmark for whatever reason, I'll have a place to stay.

I feel like the junior of summer session. When the second Ulpan session started, I was one of the people staying from the first session and people looked up to me to help them find bus routs, where to eat, translate and interpret Hebrew to English, etc. Now, for Study Tour, I have the same responsibilities, though to a much smaller crowd (going from 280 students in the second Ulpan to 20 in Study Tour).

Observations:

Please forgive me if I repeat myself from earlier blogs.

1. In Haifa, as well as many other parts of the country, people don't live in houses, but rather some sort of communal living unit. The most common form of this is the apartment building, many of which are simply huge. I have only found two areas in Haifa where this not applicable and I will address one of these communities in my next blog.

2. Many eating establishments, homes, etc., have the bathroom sinks in a separate room or completely away from the restroom altogether. This is because many religious Jews say a blessing while ritually washing their hands before eating bread. Because the blessing has “God's” name in it, it is not appropriate to be said in the bathroom so by removing the washing station, the blessing can be said.

Pictures are of me wearing the fisherman pants and Daniel and me.

I hope to have another blog up soon as I still have more to talk about up 'till now.

-AZ

Dancing and Hiking My Way Through Israel

Last Wednesday, I did something I've been wanting to do for weeks. I went Salsa dancing. Considering I hadn't danced since March, I was a little skeptical, but I finally went after much pestering from a friend (classes and open dance are offered every Wednesday night). The lesson, which was held in the moadon (kind of like a multi-purpose room), was broken in to four groups. I went into the level above the very beginners, the one that required people to have attended at least two lessons before – I should have listened to their warning. I figured that since I had taken two full Salsa courses, I was qualified to move into the next level, but everything was different from what I had learned: from the way hands are held, the feet positions, and most of all, it was done in a circle, allowing people to switch partners while dancing instead of lines which require the partners to stop, move to the next person, and then resume dancing. And then there was the best part – it was all in Hebrew. Even though I eventually caught on to the dance steps with semi-success, I understood maybe 30-40% of what the instructor had said, but there were also factors like how fast she was talking and the loud noise from the rest of the room. I didn't stay for the open dance due to midterm preparation, but if I go back, I'm going to go to the beginners group so I can learn their dancing style from the beginning, properly.

Two days later, I hiked one of my toughest tiyulim (hikes; trips) yet: In the Golan Heights lies Nahal El Al, a small stream that runs in a valley between mountains that encompasses tons of trees, shrubs, an amazing trail, and apparently vultures. We got there at 10:15AM and didn't get back on the bus until about 4:00PM. Granted we stopped at a couple of pools with waterfalls so people could relax and swim (I saw a crab!), but we hiked the rest of the time. It was about 35 degrees (Celsius, which is about 95 degrees Fahrenheit) and much of the hike was marched in the relentless sun. I was actually impressed with many of the people that could complete such a hike, which included a couple of rock walls we had to descend. Water was extremely important to drink (I drank about a liter, which was a bit too little), as well as wearing a hat and sunscreen. Boy, were those lifesavers. I would love to do that tiyul again. Any takers?

That night, I had a fun experience going to dinner with a Chabad family (very religious organization), as I had been doing every Friday night while in Haifa. This time though, was one of the boys 6^th birthday. The father, my friend, and myself actually lifted the boy in a chair seven times, the last one as symbolism, looking forward to next year. The boy was so embarrassed from the attention afterward that he hugged his father to keep his face away from my friend and myself. The father, who is the equivalent of a major in the Israeli Army, was wearing two kippot (religious skull caps), one on top of the other. I know kids have goofed around with that idea, but I never saw that put into serious practice. When I asked him about it, he said that the bottom one was for the tangible objects and their relation to God while the top one was for the higher soul and it's connection to God, or at least that's what I understood. Regardless, don't expect to see me wearing two kippot at the same time. Finally, the father told me I look Israeli. I asked him if it was the traditional white and black I was wearing, but he insisted that it was just my “look.” (I'm not sure if that's a compliment.) I'm not sure why he made such remarks that I, an Ashkenazic American Jew (Ashkenazic meaning of Eastern and Central European descent) looks like an Ashkenazic Israeli. Then again, I am Israeli (at least that's what my Israeli passport says). So now, I have been called Israeli and Brazilian this trip (see post from the beginning of my trip).

The previous day, I had actually seen all of the people that I knew from Chabad dancing in the street while I was getting falafel. They had with them a chupah (wedding canopy) and were dancing and singing down the street to the Chabad house, blocking traffic. They were welcoming a new Torah to their synagogue and that is the celebration for it. I'm glad I got to witness it from afar and not get sucked into the celebrations, which I'm sure lasted an unnecessarily long time.

Also last week, I had the drink “chocolada,” which is more like hot chocolate pudding than an actual liquid drink. Even though that beverage opened my eyes to a whole new wonderful world, I believe the only easier way to get diabetes is through an IV, so I don't plan on having them too often.

The pictures are of me standing in the “circus” amphitheatre in the ancient ruins of Caesarea, a panoramic picture of Herod's pool and the Mediterranean Sea at Caesarea, a creek that is part of Nahal El Al, one of the valleys we hiked on our tiyul, and me in front of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

-AZ

Overdue update

Hello loyal readers (and non-loyal, for that matter).

Forgive me for my lack of posts over the last two weeks as I have been very busy. Here is what has happened up 'till this week.

I complained a couple of times about how many stairs there are from my apartment to my classroom...so I counted. I actually counted twice to make sure my number was accurate, and I got different numbers, but it is approximately 220 (between 219 and 222). Everybody is exhausted before class even starts.

When the first Ulpan session ended two weeks ago, I went south for the weekend to Moshav B'nei Darom (Moshav is a communal living area, and this particular one is called “B'nei Darom,” which means Sons of the South). I stayed with close family friends and over the four days I was there, I spoke more Hebrew than in my entire month at the Ulpan. As part of my job abroad is to observe the cultures here, I paid particular attention to, well...everything I could. The food, the physical arrangement of the moshav, family life, etc. It was an amazing feeling to see all of the white shirts the men wore for the welcoming of the Sabbath services on Friday night, walking to the synagogue and pouring into their temporary sanctuary. The unity of the massive group clearly resemble services of worship of other major religions, regardless whether some of the physical ritual aspects still make sense – at synagogue or at home. Another fantastic “ritual” - at 11:00 on Friday night, some of the family I was staying with and myself went for a walk around the moshav, along with dozens of other people, much to my surprise. People take advantage of the night and the relaxation of the Sabbath to be with family and community this way, but I didn't expect it to be so contagious.

A few posts ago, I wrote about a video of Israeli soldiers dancing to Lady Gaga's “Telephone” (I also added a link to a video of it). My friend at the moshav is now in the army and it turns out that the dancing soldiers in the video are in his regiment. I took advantage of my connection to find out what was the reaction within his regiment and from what I gathered, their commanding officers weren't exactly pleased with the video, but didn't give harsh punishments either.

Last week, an unfortunate event took place: the death of my beloved camera. While the person who dropped it feels absolutely horrible about what happened, we must remember that it is an inanimate object and my camera (which I had named Herbert) was replaced by another (Frank). In commemorating the brilliant work of Herbert, one of the pictures is black, a tribute as well as a reminder that Herbert cannot take any more pictures.

Observations:

1. The Hebrew language is shifting dramatically. There are more words in Hebrew now than there had previously been, primarily borrowed from other languages. Most notably are words from Arabic (“Sababa” which means “all is cool, that's nice, etc.” and now a common slang greeting, “Ahalan,” from the Arabic word for “hello.”) as well as Russian (“Kaif” which is a kind of fun). I am told that if someone from the time of the establishment of the modern State of Israel (1948) were to hear Hebrew spoken as it is today, they would not understand the language. From time to time, Hebrew language scholars meet to discuss the issues of the rapidly evolving language, what it means, and what can be done about it, if anything.

The pictures are of my first session Ulpan class, with our fearless teacher in the flower blouse, Dado beach in Haifa last week with some friends, two birds that joined me for lunch in one of the cafeterias, and my photographic ode to Herbert.

Stay tuned next week as I write about more “tiulim” (trips), the second Ulpan session, and a surprise event!

-AZ

Jesus, Mary, and Buzz Lightyear

The hustle and bustle never seems to stop, as is the case of the last few days.

Last Thursday, I had a set game plan on how my afternoon was going to go, then I was invited to go to a winery. After much internal debate, I decided to go to the winery. Myself and eight others took a sherut (shared taxi) to the town of Zikron Yaakov, about 40 minutes away. We went to the winery, got a five minute tour, made our purchases, then set out to see a bit of the town down the street, including a restaurant to have some wine ourselves. In the evening, we made our way back to the winery for a wine and cheese tasting. It was very relaxing and quite pleasant, however we stayed mostly to a corner so we international shorts-wearing tourists didn't have to mingle with the evening-dressed 50 and 60 year old patrons.

Friday. 0500 hours. Wake up. 0615. Bus ride. 0840. Arrive at destination: Jerusalem. That's right, twice in one week, though this time was with the organized University trip. There were two options but both included the Tomb of King David and the Western Wall. The Jewish tour went to the City of David, which included a quarter-mile hike in a water tunnel, and a Christian tour, which included the room of the Last Supper, Via Dolorosa, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I've been in the water tunnel, and I'm not here to see things I've seen before. So I did what made most people raise their eye brows – I went on the Christian tour. For even a purely historical perspective, it was completely fascinating to see the sites that have effected literally billions of people through religion, popular culture, and yes, conquest and war. I (think) I have a better understanding now about the events during the final moments of Jesus and the start of the different denominations of Christianity. We saw the tomb of Mary and the Church of All Nations (there are so many churches in that small area!) and eventually made our way back to the Old City through the Lion's Gate to start our tour of Via Dolorosa, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and boy, what an epic building! So many chapels, each to a different denomination, some to none at all. But the thing that got me the most was the story of what had happened there. True or not, it's definitely incredible to see. We finished the tour with a visit to the Kotel (the Western Wall), an awkward feeling coming from the holiest place in Christianity.

Then there was Monday – a totally different cultural experience. Toy Story 3...in Hebrew! No subtitles, and even the lips of the characters looked as if they were speaking in Hebrew (Different voices though. Tom Hanks, you should learn Hebrew with me). The song “You've got a Friend in Me” was sung in Hebrew as “You are My Friend.” My friends and I laughed in the beginning during the train robbery with the opening lines of “Kesef kesef kesef!” which means “Money money money!” Oh Mr. Potato Head, even in Hebrew, you entertain me so much. The movie theater was as modern as the Regal Cinemas in Eugene (part of a large mall and very modern looking), but I was unfortunately unable to fulfill my craving for much longed-for popcorn as we had to rush into the theater. I know you're all wondering “Amitai, how much of the movie did you understand?” Well, I'll tell you that I was very uncertain but willing to go along for the ride. To my surprise, I got probably around 60-70%.

I just had part of a chocolate bar with pop rocks in it. Whether you know or not that they're in there, it's a terribly confusing and wonderful sensation.

Observations:

1. When people pretend to speak Hebrew, or even just listening to it, there is the big stereotype of the hard “ch” sound, as in “Chanukah.” For years, I've been kind of offended and embarrassed at how people exaggerate and make fun of the “ch.” Well, I can't do that anymore because it's totally true. Granted my Ulpan teacher exaggerates it because she talks slowly so we can understand her, but that is really how people talk (just clearly not as exaggerated).

2. Apparently, people can't tell where I'm from when I speak Hebrew. I've been told my accent is “weird,” but more specifically Arabic (which makes the most sense as I took...er, “tried” Arabic for a year), Chinese, and French (I was actually even introduced as being from France). Nobody has told me I sound like an American. At least that's good, right?

The first Ulpan session ends tomorrow and I'm traveling right after my final, so I'll write when my big weekend is over.

The pictures are of the biggest Dachshund I have ever seen hanging out near where we got smoothies in Zikron Yaakov, sandal shopping, wine and cheese tasting, the tomb of Mary, and the stone that Jesus was put on after they took him down from the cross.

-AZ

This past Sunday, I went with a friend to the Hadar area of Haifa, not knowing that it included Little Russia. We were lucky to get out alive. It wasn't as great as I had heard it was and I didn't get the Israeli pants I've been searching for. However, we took the Carmelite, Israel's only subway which runs on one track up and down, more like a sideways elevator than a completely horizontal subway.

Monday was zoo day. That's right, the Haifa Zoo. The most remarkable part was a giant, enclosed exhibit with birds of prey and people walk right through it, but they looked hungry and were staring at me so I tried to not make eye contact. Also, in class that day, we went to the children's library at the University and we had lots of fun (I read “The Giving Tree” in Hebrew until I got side tracked by someone else who had the Israeli version of Where's Waldo, called “Aifo Aefi.” And just for your information, Dr. Seuss books also rhyme in Hebrew).

Tuesday was Tisha B'Av (The 9^th day of the Hebrew month of Av). Many bad things have happened in Jewish history that day, most notably the destruction of the First and Second Temples. It was my first time in Jerusalem on Tisha B'Av, and it was extremely moving to see how that day affects people praying at the Western Wall and reading Megilat Aicha (the scroll describing the graphic destruction of the Temple). That day is traditionally a fast day so it was hard to travel for so many hours and so much walking all over Jerusalem. I drank water, but only so I didn't pass out (I was completely fine the entire day). I went with three other people, two of which had never been to Jerusalem so I felt great that I was able to act as a semi-legit tour guide (a small, silly dream of mine).

Yesterday, I gave blood for the first time. I brought a friend for moral support and everyone there (the three people working and the two people getting blood drawn) kept making fun of me and making me feel better about the whole experience. They took a total of half a liter. Honestly, it really wasn't that bad and I am now entitled to some extra benefits for medical stuff in Israel for the next year. I got some food, drank a sugary drink, and in less than an hour, I was off to the bus for a trip and hike to Elijah's Cave in the French Carmel part of Haifa.

Observations:

1. Health standards are lax here, sometimes. I'm becoming very familiar with the Israeli slang term “jook,” which means cockroach. In a restaurant a couple of nights ago, there was a cockroach that people noticed and eventually a waitress attacked it on the wall with a broom (I gave her a big tip). It's not fair to say that they're just in restaurants, because they're everywhere, but that doesn't make it any better.

2. On my way back from Jerusalem, we passed many towns and villages with many, many minarets, the towers that are the trademark of a mosque. I need to look at a map to see where we passed, but it was a bit shocking to see so many in a row. I'm talking literally dozens.

3. Israeli's don't wait for people to get off elevators or buses. In the United States, people wait a second when elevator doors open to see if people are there then to let them out. Not in Israel. I guess they're afraid it will leave without anyone in it. As soon as it opens, they struggle to swim through people exiting elevators and buses. It's extremely annoying and rude, but that's just Israeli culture so perhaps it's acceptable.

The pictures are of me hiding in a archer's hole in the Tower of David in the Old City of Jerusalem, The Tower of David with other parts of the fortress, a view of the Western Wall from my perspective, me on top of a tower in the Tower of David fortress, and me giving blood (I'm very proud of myself).

-AZ