Return to Jerusalem

I'm back in Jerusalem! Miriam Meltzer dropped me off near Danny's apartment Tuesday afternoon with an invitation to come back anytime. The people I've stayed with so far have all been incredibly generous. For many, this is our first time meeting, and yet no one asks me how long I plan on staying with them and they always let me know that I'm welcome back anytime. It's a little tiring being "Phillip and Noreen's daughter" or "Noa's little sister" all the time and I wish I had some of my own friends here. It's harder when you're only somewhere 4 or 5 nights max to make good friends, but at least the people I'm staying with will know who I am now and in future meetings won't just think of me in reference to someone else. What I've been really surprised about is how easy it is to "make yourself at home" when homeless. Before coming here I thought it would be a bit exhausting what with all the moving around and not having any place to really relax or settle into, but it's not difficult at all. I've learned to assume that if people tell me to make myself comfortable, act like I'm at home, eat whatever I want, etc that they mean it. And so for the time that I'm in a certain place I really try to live there and get to know the people and the surroundings.

I really didn't get to see as much of Neve Ilan as I would have liked because it was raining or unpleasant at least half of my time there, but on my last full day I went on a two hour long walk with Miriam up to a lookout spot and then to some Roman ruins. It's so cool how many ruins there are everywhere, and how well put together the remains are. The fact that anything is standing after thousands of years is remarkable. For an older woman, Miriam never fails to surprise me with her vigor. The last stretch of the walk was very uphill and the sun was out, but while I was struggling upwards Miriam was chatting away about the book she's writing without any hint of tiring. As I've said before, she and Collin are such sweet people and I really hope I'll be able to see them again before I leave Israel.

Tuesday was the last night of Hanukkah and I spent it with Danny at a musical get together of Hebrew and Hanukkah discussion. Danny translated for me so I got the gist of what was going on and being said. After a while they had us do this exercise where we were each given a candle to light and then we focused on it for a few minutes and wrote down whatever the candle inspired us to write. Watching everyone light their candles off their neighbors until the whole room was lit I wrote about how the candles represent the light within each of us, and how sometimes we shine brightly and sometimes we're little more than an ember. But we know that if the light goes out we can count on those closest to us to light it again. On our way home we passed a dance party in the shuk (market) and how can you just walk past a dance party? It was getting late so Danny looked at me and said, "Alright, we have about 30 seconds to just go crazy." A few minutes later, completely out of breath, we resumed our route to his apartment. I'm sad to say that I didn't get a single latke during this Hanukkah, but the amount of sufganiyot I consumed more than made up for that.

Earlier on Tuesday I had met another one of my sister's friends, Ariel Fisher, and he very exuberantly offered to show me some places in Jerusalem on Wednesday. So Wednesday morning, after grabbing some yummy snacks in the market, we walked about 10 minutes north and were in a different world. We entered the Haredi neighborhood, the home of the very extremist religious people. They have signs all over asking woman to dress modestly; I had a skirt on but I still got a few upset looks, though thankfully no one said anything. The signs all over the streets are so filled with propaganda, the whole group is anti-zionist and anti-internet/electronics. It's quite a poor group of people due to many factors; the families have sometimes up to 15 children, the women are in charge of the houses and children, and a lot of men don't work because they are studying the Torah. Ariel explained that the government mostly takes care of them because they act as a tie-breaker during voting in return for financial aid. This is certainly not a place I would have gone to on my own, but I'm glad I was able to see it. Afterwards we entered the old city through a different gate than I had and went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There was so much artwork! And in such a variety of styles and range of condition. There were some mosaics that looked as if they could have been done yesterday, and then there were paintings where you could hardly make out what it must have shown originally. Ariel had to leave after this but he pointed me in the direction of the Tower of David museum where I spent the next hour or so. This museum is all about the history of Jerusalem, but the best part was the view you get from the tower. You can see in every direction for ages! It was also pretty interesting reading the history of Jerusalem, though there was a lot of things to read and not much to look at. Either way, I'm glad I went. I really didn't realize just how dynamic the history of Jerusalem was.

Wednesday afternoon I was pretty tired and just kind of hung out, but the nice thing about being abroad is that even when you're just "hanging out" you can always remind yourself that you're hanging out...abroad! And it works even better for chore-type things. You're not just washing dishes, you're washing dishes...in Israel! Or making my bed...in Jerusalem! Later in the evening Danny received an order of fresh, organic vegetables and we made a really delicious dinner. I like being here because they all try so hard to eat well. For instance, today's breakfast: Granola with sheep yogurt, unsweetened peanut butter, a little agave nectar, and some acai berry powder. Good and good for you!

Today, as usual, looks really nice out and I'm about to head out to the Israel Museum and maybe the Botanical Gardens. I really love Nachala'ot (where Danny's apartment is) and I've decided to stay here until Sunday. Then it's off to volunteer at a kibbutz (communal living area) in the south of Jerusalem!

Hanukkah at the Paley's

Today is the first not-so-nice day since I got here. Outside is cloudy and windy. Somehow the weather is in unison with my body; my legs are exhausted from the past few days of navigating the hilly streets and I was already planning a rest day before I looked out the window. On Monday I went to the Biblical Zoo. It was supposed to be a 20 minute walk there that became closer to a 2-hour one. I got pretty lost in this neighborhood and kept ending up at the same spot from every possible angle. Finally I found a way out of the criss crossing streets and to a main road. Then the only route I saw possible to the zoo was a very indirect one, but it was better than giving up. It was very nice to walk around the zoo, there were a lot of animals (duh). My favorite is the Red Panda. I spent a good hour and a half exploring and then began my very uphill, roundabout trek back. It

took me so long that it was dark outside, but I still found my way okay

Yesterday, Tuesday, I went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial site. The museum is very graphic, informative, and touching. They do a very good job of taking you from the factors that inspired the propaganda and Hitler's role, through the entire events until the end and the freedom of those who survived. It starts out very much like a museum, filled with artifacts and history, but as it progresses there are videos of peoples testimonies and pictures and their belongings. It takes an event that we usually think of as something in the past and makes it very present and personal. There are pictures of the Nazis and so many of them are not much older than me, just kids who were brought up in a society that enabled them to know longer consider Jews as humans. The whole system of propaganda and trickery and the length of time for which it went on is astounding. They have recreated barracks and pieces of railway cars, with the video testimonies right next to it explaining their relationship with each relic. It's very moving and while not at all a happy place, a place worth seeing

Hanukkah has now started, last night was the first night and I lit candles with the Paley's. This Hanukkah I will be staying with about three different people/families..so different! I really like seeing how traditions are the same and different from my home to the next. Richard Paley is a bit like my dad, except much...faster. Not to say my dad is slow, just that Richard is always talking fast, moving fast, never stopping for more than a moment. But he put on the same dorky Hanukkah songs that my dad usually does, only he accompanied them with some nice dance moves. His son is a lot like him, they're both characters. Shirah is more down to earth and I've had some nice conversations with her. She's very sweet and, as I've said before, a very good cook. She works as a florist so there are always flowers around their house. All in all, it's a nice place to start the holidays

Jerusalem

I can't believe it's been just over one week since I arrived. It feels like it's been so much longer. I'm in Jerusalem right now and I definitely like it here better than in Tel Aviv and probably Herzliya too. I got here Saturday night and slept in Noa's friend, Danny's, apartment. This was my first time meeting him but it felt like I already knew him...probably because I know his twin brother. He and his roommates are all really nice and said I can stay there whenever and for however long I need to. I also met some of their friends who were all pretty cool. They all sit around and play music and drink tea and meditate in the mornings (earlier than I had hoped). That apartment is almost a community in itself, and it has a great location. It's right in the center of town within walking distance to a lot of cool things. Yesterday I walked to the old city and the Western Wall, as well as around a couple outdoor markets. It's almost Hanukkah which is probably the best time to be in Jerusalem because they sell the most delicious donuts everywhere. "Sufganiyot" is what they're called. They're so bad for you but after one bite you really couldn't care less.

In the afternoon I was picked up by the Paley's, some of my parents' old friends. They have a house near the outskirts of Jerusalem. They have three kids but one is in America, one is in the army (and only home on weekends), and the other is a junior in high school so he's the only one really at home. Shirah is a very delicious cook, last night she made the best soup I've ever had. I used to be such a picky eater but here I eat anything anyone puts in front of me. I am usually out from anywhere between 10 and 4 so I find lunch out. I've never walked into a restaurant by myself before and eaten alone. So simple, but I just have never really gone out alone so much. Here I love being outside by myself. I can walk around anywhere and stay as long as I like. The weather is always beautiful and warm and there are a lot of things to see and do. I pack a bag in the  morning with a map, camera, bottle of water, maybe a book or notebook, and sometimes a snack and then you won't see me for a few hours, depending on what I find.

On Saturday night, with Danny, I went to a yarzheit (remembrance of one's death) for a rabbi's father. I can't remember the rabbi's name but he was a wonderful and very passionate speaker. He mostly spoke about Hanukkah, raising a lot of questions and answering them from many different angles. The overall point was about the stories we hear or are told and whether they actually happened, and if that even matters or if it's more important what we learned from them. I got this, but I also got a lot of other things out of the discussion that I could relate to my traveling. It made me think about how in Bangor I've never really pushed myself or done anything that was especially difficult. I never really pushed myself at school, I had ideas that I didn't always see through, as piano got progressively more difficult I stopped taking lessons. But here I'm on my own and I'm pushing myself in a whole manner of new ways that will ultimately benefit me. Already I've had to face so many fears and then I realize how silly some of them were. Like taking a bus or navigating an airport, they're so simple! Or talking to people I don't know, here I meet new people everyday. It's been out of necessity, but if it weren't so then I wouldn't have done it.

Everyone here takes school much more seriously. Ronit is trying to get into med school but first has to do the Israeli equivalent of the SATs. I took a few SAT tutoring sessions, but other than that I really just went in with a "we'll see how this goes" kind of attitude, which in my mind was better than stressing over it. But Ronit goes to a school to prepare her for this test, studies every day for it, has about 14 books to help her prepare. It's taken very seriously by everyone in the country, so average, "winging-it" scores won't really fly. It makes me want to redo the SATs, to try harder, to not be satisfied with the thought of UMaine.

But that's all I have time for right now, it's lovely out and I'm going to the zoo.