Shabbat Shalom

For those who don't know, the Sabbath (day of rest) occurs on Friday-Saturday. This coincides with the Jewish traditions of Sabbath. A typical greeting that you will hear is, "Shabbat Shalom." It has been an interesting time. I had my first Shabbat feast ever last night. About 50 (or so) of us students had a Shabbat meal put on by the Madrachim (kind of like orientation leaders). We got to hear the traditional prayers (I could pick out a few words and phrases, but they speak so fast). All the food was kosher and it was GREAT. After the dinner we kind of just had a chill night. 

With Shabbat, many places will close for the evening and also the next day (Saturday) until sundown. So all public transportation stopped running at about 4 or 5 on Friday (not positive on taxis, but buses and the light-rail for sure). The city grew quiet, and at about 11 we were all hungry again. Not being Jewish, and not strictly adhering to kosher practices, about 9 of us went in search of a Dominoes (which we heard was nearby). We found it, and we got some pepperoni pizza, and it was delicious. Having filled our stomachs we kind of relaxed until about 2 in the morning. 

I woke up at about 11 today (still getting used to the time) and since it was still Shabbat, everything was still closed. We found an Arab falafal stand a couple blocks away from campus, which was very tasty. While we were eating our lunches we decided that it would be pretty sweet to go to the Old City today. So we went back to our rooms and put on jeans and walking shoes (the women also made sure to wear clothes that covered them) and we walked. Yes, we walked. We couldn't take the light-rail, since it wasn't open due to Shabbat, and we were not about to spend the shekel to get a cab. The walk only took about an hour, and it reminded me a lot of Greece.

Upon arrival to the Old City we found ourselves in the Arab Quarter. It was in the middle of the day, so it is nothing to worry about. We kind of just wandered around and looked at all the stalls selling goods. Arabs do not adhere to Shabbat like the Jewish do, so everything was very busy. We meandered and finally decided that we should actually figure out what we wanted to do in the Old City. We decided on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We finally made our way to the church and it was incredible. I could smell the incense from about 100 feet away from the doors. Once inside Franciscan monks were walking around the inside and chanting prayers, it really helped create a nice ambience. We then stood in line for the entrance into the chamber were Jesus was buried and the 5 of us just took a few moments of silence for this occasion.

Once outside the Church we realized that it was about 4:30pm and Shabbat would be coming to an end soon. We decided that it would be really cool to see Shabbat end at the Western Wall. We didn't go up to the wall, because we felt really underdressed for the closing of Shabbat. But sunday came and it was a very interesting experience. Islam prays at Sundown, so we first heard the prayers coming from the minaret (which also caused a flock of birds to take flight), and the Jewish started the Shabbat prayers. It was so interesting to hear one religion's prayers, and to physically watch another religion's prayers.

After that, we decided that we should probably head home (it gets dark rather quickly here), so we made our way into the Armenian Quarter. We didn't want to attempt to navigate all the streets in the Arab Quarter at night. We also grabbed some dinner at an Armenian restaurant, so we kind of failed at the whole, "We're trying to get out of the Old City before it gets really dark" kind of thing, but it was worth it. Afterwards, we followed a road and came out a few blocks from the light-rail, which was now open because Shabbat was over. So we were able to take the light-rail to the stop closest to campus and now a lot of us our blogging about our awesome day.

I hate to break it to everyone who is wanting pictures, but I didn't bring my camera today. For two reasons. It was Shabbat, so I just wanted to have a chill day. Second, I wanted to experience the Old City for the first time NOT through the lens of a camera. The way I see it, I'm going to be here for 5 months. If I never make it back to the Old City in 5 months that is pretty pathetic. In time, but for now, no such luck.

Peace and New Experiences

The First Two Photos

!The photos will finally start getting up

.This is the view from my room. I am on the eighth floor, so we get a very nice view

.If you couldn't see it very well in the first photo, this is what I get to wake up to every morning 

Sadly, that is all the photos that I have for now. More will be coming.

Peace and Pictures 

My First Modern Hebrew Class

Holy intensive class! When I heard “intensive” I was just thinking like a semester crammed into a month (like a summer school course). I was not expecting an immersive course. First, I was taken aback, since in the first hour and a half our professor maybe spoke 10 words to us in English. However, since she was presenting us material in Hebrew it actually forced me to learn these new phrases. I think I will enjoy this immersive course. It also helps that the whole class exchanged a semi-panicked look when we realized just how immersive it was; so it looks like we are all in the same boat.

Having taken Hebrew, the letters are familiar to me. But we also learn the cursive form of Hebrew too, which is realty confusing. For example, we went to the grocery store (which is about one block North of campus) and the products will feature both the traditional script (It’s like the normal print) and cursive (the print I don’t know). Having had such a strong foundation in Biblical Hebrew made it hard. Our professor would have write gibberish (as of now) words like: mat, tee, etc. but we would use the cursive spelling, and I would instinctually go to the script writing. It is a habit, and it will take some breaking.

We had an orientation party. Kind of like a gathering of people to just get to know each other’s names and such (no booze for all the skeptics out there). There are so many international students. I have met people from Canada, Japan, Korea, Italy, Australia, South Africa, England, and many others. Me and a few of my new friends were talking about how it is weird that our home schools all have strong international programs (in terms of people coming to our home schools), but it is weird being on the other end of that equation for once.

But getting back to Hebrew (sorry, it’s been a crazy packed day) it is essentially a conversation with the professor. She would say a sentence and would pair hand gestures with words so we could understand their meaning (such as “’ani” – “I”—she would gesture to herself as she said “’ani”). We learned how to do about 10 of the letters of the alphabet in both script and cursive form. Overall, I was very overwhelmed at first, but as I hinted at earlier, the constant talk in Hebrew also forced (more like allowed) me to think in Hebrew. Rather than simply storing it in the memory bank I actually have to learn it (which also means I have to organize my notes and vocab—five hours is a lot of time for notes to get crazy messed up).

In all honesty this day was much better than yesterday. You could call it traveller’s anxiety or whatever, but I think it was sleep deprivation. I know that this is a tactic to help people acclimate to new time zones (which is did), but yesterday was kind of a terrible day. I had a migraine, I was ridiculously tired, I hadn’t had food or water for about 10 hours, and I was in a new city being bombarded with a ton of new information. I guess I was a little bit on the crabby side. However, after 11 hours of sleep, copious amounts of water, and the purchasing of my Hebrew book, I was ready for the day. Overall, it was a great day. Got to meet people in my class, and we went to Aroma (a coffee shop with fantastic iced coffee—I know that for sure since that is what I got), and then we went grocery shopping together.

So far, I know this trip is going to be an eye-opener. One of my first thoughts (being from Fargo, where the Jewish population isn’t the most prevalent) was, “There are so many Jews.” This is not meant to be racist, but I have just never had the experience of being a religious minority. It was a very humbling experience. I have met people with ties to the Christian tradition, and we have attempted to explain the meaning of the umbrella term, “Protestantism” to a few people in our Hebrew class who have asked, and they attempted to explain the various understandings of the different sects of Judaism.

Already, I can feel the hesitancy to discuss issues of the West Bank and Israel, but it is very interesting. Here, I feel like I am in America. As with many (not all) universities tend to be more liberal in their education, to provide their students with a well-rounded education (bear with me for a bit here). At Rothberg International School (at the Hebrew University) I feel the same thing. The school itself (so far) seems to be pretty liberal. However, I think this view is biased as of now, since I have mostly been surrounded by international Jews, and not native Jews. I have had several discussions about “pro-two-state solution,” but have had none opposed to it. It gives me an idea of the people I am surrounded by. Of course, this is not to demean them; but it is the recognition that we are foreign people coming into a situation that has gone on longer than we have been alive. It would only be natural that Jews (or any people for that matter) that grew up here and live here permanently would have a different view.

So this first day has been filled with so many things. If all the days are this packed with new things I don’t know what will become of me. Also, next post I hope to have a picture of the view from my .window. It is pretty breath taking—not going to lie. For now, I must sleep

Peace and Hebrew Studies

The Mandatory Travel Story Post

Greetings from Jerusalem!

I am finally here, and it is a huge bag of mixed emotions. Excited, because I’m here. Sad, because I am away from all my family, old friends, and professors. Excited, because I get to meet new people. Sad, because I’m so unfamiliar with everything.

I guess I can begin with the flights to Israel. Not too many problems. We go to New York City (JFK) and we chilled there for about 3-4 hours, but we got to run into other Rothberg students while we were there, so that was a plus. The security for El Al was something I had never experienced before. I got asked a TON of questions and they even asked some more than once (they want to make sure that you aren’t lying. My name got put on a list, for extra screening, but so did about 6 other people (we aren’t positive why, but we have a hunch).

We then had to go through security, which was not a big deal. We finally had some downtime, so we got to meet more of the students that would be on the flight. Then we got pulled over for the extra screening, which had some benefits, but also some drawbacks. Once we got pulled over for screening, we couldn’t do anything. We had to sit in the same spot until someone came to get us. So that means no bathroom, no getting a snack for the plane, etc. Then we went into this little room where they asked us more questions and swabbed our shoes and all that fun stuff. Even though I was being screened, I knew that this airline cared about the safety of everyone on it. I also was the second person on the plane. Since we couldn’t do anything because of the screening we had to get on the plane as soon as we were done. That was a nice benefit to that whole scenario.

The plane ride was long (11 hours), for which I couldn’t solidly sleep. So that kind of sucked. Like most long flights, it was crazy dry and I was taking in water at every opportunity that I could get. It was cool to see the different forms of Judaism just on one flight, and how the fact that we were on a plane didn’t deter them from practicing their morning prayer. At around the 9-hour mark everyone was putting on their prayer shawls and they would position themselves away from people towards the wall of plane. It was interesting, because I had never seen that on a plane before. They also didn’t care if we were up and out of our seats. Even the pilots were out and about talking to people all over the plane. I also had the best kosher meals ever, so that was cool too.

Once we got to Tel Aviv I was thankful that my bag had made it, and then we got on a bus for Jerusalem. We finally got to our dorms at about 2:15ish, and we had about an hour to unpack, wash-up, anything we wanted to do before our orientation. The orientation was a gigantic blur. Most of us had been awake for about 36 hours now, so we were pretty much brain dead. I had a splitting headache (not sure if it was from lack of sleep or lack of caffeine). Then at about 6pm we had to go shopping, to get things for our rooms and apartment. We all had to frantically find our roommates, which we had only seen for about half an hour and go shopping for the apartment. That was hard. We were ridiculously tired, and most of had not eaten since the plane since there was no food in the apartment when we got there. I pretty much just left my shopping to the essentials, and it was still a lot of money. Jerusalem is crazy expensive on some things, but not all things.

The expenses will still take some getting used too. When I went to Greece I had less money, since the Euro is stronger than the dollar. Here in Jerusalem, the dollar is stronger than the new shekel (roughly 3:1). It requires some math to exactly figure out what I am actually spending on goods. Naturally, when I am looking at getting a smoothie (since my headache was so bad I didn’t dare stomach food) and it says that it is 20 (of course after it says “NIS” to indicate that this is the New Shekel) but it is hard not to associate that 20 with “dollars” in your head. Still though, that small smoothie (12 oz) was still about 7 dollars, but we had no food in our apartments, and most of hadn’t eaten in a long time. Most of us caved.

Upon getting back to the apartment at about 9:35ish I proceeded to unpack everything I had purchased and then made my bed (fleece bedding - all the softness) and passed out. Thankfully, staying up for about 36 hours helped me adjust to the time change quite easily (8 hours). I woke up about 11 hours later, so yeah, I needed some shuteye.

We start classes today for the Winter Ulpan, which is essentially a J-term course. It is a month long intensive course, and for us that course is Modern Hebrew. I had to drop off forms, pick up books, figure out my phone and mail, and other stuff, so it may be another long day. So I am off. 

Peace and Plane Rides

Registration and the Final Touches

Today I woke up to a wonderful email saying that I could register for this semester. Of course, I immediately registered and I am now awaiting approval (I'm not sure what that means, but that's what the registration site says). If I am approved for all of my classes I will be taking: Colloquial Arabic I (Beginners), Contemporary Kabbalah, Modern Hebrew, and Original Sins: Genesis and its Ancient Interpreters. This brings me to 15 credits, so I have no space for another course, because that would push me over the limit that I am allowed to take through Concordia, and I really don't want to pay for overload credits (no thank you).

I'm getting everything washed at home and preparing to not live here anymore. My application for graduate school is waiting to be reviewed. My bags are all packed. My tickets are on their way to my house. Everything is becoming quite tangible rather quickly. 

People keep asking me if I'm excited. To be honest, I think that that is a rather silly question. Of course, I'm excited; and of course, I'm nervous, anxious, pumped, and every other emotion under the sun (except the ones in the anger family). This is something that I have been planning for almost a year now, so naturally I would be excited to finally get to Israel. People ask me about what I am most excited for. That too, is a hard a question. I'm super pumped that I'm going to Israel, does that count? I'm also super pumped to meet new people, eat new types of cuisine, learn new languages, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I usually just pull a copout and say that I am excited for everything (which is true). This is a once in a lifetime experience, and I don't want to begin to rank what I am most excited for. What I am truly excited for is to just experience everything. 

There is one thing that I am not excited for though. Not having a job. I know, that may sound weird, but it is really making me sit down and completely change how I budget money. I have never budgeted for a 6-month stretch, and then to make it even more work, I won't be having an income. On one hand it is kind of freeing, because I will have so much time. On the other hand it is kind of restricting, because I have to be much more mindful about spending money. Oh well, it will just be part of the experience. I accept the challenge. 

Peace and Packing Bags

Like a Well Worn....Sock? Shirt? Pair of Jeans?

Today I went back to school. I know, I know. I'm not even studying here in town this Spring, but it is something I can't stay away from. I went to Concordia to see a friend do the chapel message today, which was.....awesome. I also just chilled the the atrium in the chairs that are there....for about 3-4 hours. I then dipped into "Faith in Dialogue," a class that I would be taking if I was actually here this Spring. For those of wondering, the class is about interfaith dialogue, which is crazy sweet, and their syllabus looks amazing.

However, I digress. As I was at Concordia we were all talking about how this semester feels different, but at the same time, the exact same. I said it was like putting on a pair of well worn socks, which some people didn't like. They said it felt more like a the perfect shirt, or even jeans. However, it is perfect right now. You don't have the rigid feeling, like when something is new. You also don't have the apathetic feeling of something that is overly experienced and no longer serves its purpose. It's funny how everything just fell almost perfectly into place in a matter of minutes. I cannot wait to be in Israel, and I hope all of my preparation softens the sock that I am about to put my foot into. I know it won't feel like Concordia, but it will still feel good.

Peace and Perfect Days

Conference Calls and Packages

The conference calls are done, thank goodness. They were extremely informative, but since I don't live in New York City, I had to phone in. Also, since I don't have a speaker phone, I had to sit with the phone near my ear for about 2 hours. We were told about practical things, like: what to bring, where to go, and what to wear. We learned that we shouldn't worry about bedding and stuff. One of the first trips that is made is a bus to a local mall the night we get in to buy towels, bedding, and other things.

I won't find out who my roommates are until I get to Israel. They are in the process of pairing us up with roommates right now. The rooming works with 5 bedrooms (furnished with a closet, bed, and desk) and then shared common spaces (living room, kitchen, bathroom). I will also have two sets of keys, one for bedroom and one for the actual apartment. With 5 people living in the apartment they recognize that someone is always bound to lock the apartment at least once, so there is a second line of defense so to speak.

If anyone is wondering about my safety while I am there I will be quite safe on campus. Every person needs to have a student ID to essentially get anywhere on campus, including getting into the campus itself. Guests are allowed, but they have to wait at the gate for their friend or child to sign them into the campus. Bag checks will become a regular occurrence. Just to get into the mall you must wait in line first and have your bag checked.

In case anyone is wanting to send packages, I will know the address once I get there. Since I don't know my apt. # yet I can't give you much more information. Although, I do need to inform you that you need to put ample amount of postage on packages, and me as well. The mailing system is not like the US, if there is not enough postage the package will just be rejected (it was unclear if the parcel would be sent back to you), and the campus won't cover the extra costs and send us a bill, like most schools do here in the states. That means that you could send a package and it could make it all the way to Israel only to be rejected. Hopefully I will have more information about how to avoid this once I am there. They actually even advise not to send care packages, but only necessary things. That would be like a medication that the student needs. That would be sent to the New York offices and then to Israel, since the mail (in general) is not very reliable. So even if you or I write a letter it is not guaranteed that it will follow a certain time frame like it does here in the US.

If there is anything that you want to see leave a comment on this post and I will try and make it happen. Don't worry about photos, they will be coming. Also, does the new format of the blog look okay. This picture is from Greece, but I liked it better than than the one that was previously up. I still will probably be working on the look of the blog for a few more days, but it will have a steady look soon enough.

Peace and Almost Time

Getting Ready for "The Lasts"

Today, a few friends came over for lunch and couldn't help but think, "Soon we won't be seeing each other every day, maybe even ever again." (But in reality, I won't these friends and I never talk again.) It may be some of my last times to go out with friends that I have made over the last four years. It may be walking down the hallways of where I used to work. Either way, I am grateful for this opportunity and education, but I never thought that I would be "moving on" in life in such a literal way.

Peace and I'm Not Sure I'm Ready

Less Than 20 Days

Well, the time is coming closer when I will boarding a plane for my journey across the Atlantic Ocean and travelling to Asia for the first time. I am excited, nervous, pumped, and sad. I am essentially running the whole gamut of emotions every day.

I think that I have all of my necessary things in order, and I will have a pre-departure meeting via phone this coming week. Me and my follow traveller from my school have been texting back and forth all break trying to figure everything out. Short texts here and there: "I finally got my Visa." "Did you get that one email about our flight?" "Do you know if we will have internet?" It is nice knowing that I am not the only one from my school going, since this is the first year my school has this program.

I'm not sure what I should expect. This may sound bad, or maybe weird, but I am trying not to have expectations. I know that my time will be fantastic, but I also recognize that I will have limitations, being a foreigner in a foreign country and all that. I want to take things in stride and just get settled. I also realized that I have time when I am there. Last summer, when I had the opportunity to study in Greece I wanted to constantly be hiking or in the ocean, since we were only there for a month. I am excited to live in Israel for six months, but that means I can really get rooted. I won't have to run from place to place every single day in order to see things before I leave. I will be able to have days where my roommates and I can relax and watch some tv or just have some coffee. I am extremely excited to see everything that Israel has to offer, but I am also exciting to connect with people from all over the world.

In other news, I think I may have got everything that I need packed, in suitcases. The suitcases are kind of full right now, but that is okay. I am planning on not coming home with everything I bring. I know I will be leaving some undershirts behind, as well as some boxers. I also brought some toiletries that I probably won't be able to get when in Israel, so they will all be used up by the time my study abroad will be coming to a close.

I have about 12 days left at home and then I am travelling to spend time in the cities, since my flight leaves from there for New York City. I will be spending time with friends and finishing graduate school applications and all of that fun/sad stuff. Am I excited to leave, yes. Am I excited to leave all of classmates behind, not at all. We will graduate while I am gone, so when I come back everyone will already be gone. It sucks, but that is also part of life. I don't want to trivialize all the people that I have met. I know that it will only be goodbye for now. We will come back into each others' lives, I know that for sure.

I know that blog posts have been few and far between as of late, but that is because I don't have stories yet of my experience IN Israel. There will definitely be a story about my travel experience, but that can't be posted yet, since it hasn't happened. There will also be more pictures, like my blog from Greece. If you want to check it out click here. I was there for a photography class, so there are quite a few photos. I am not making any promises that there will be as many photos in my posts, but I'm sure that after 6 months there will be a vast amount of photos.

I also feel the need to create some consistency. I may take a page from my good friend and create a signature of sorts.

Peace and Anticipation