My Journey Through Israel: Living the Life in the City!

Welcome to Jerusalem, where people speak English, the buses are super confusing, and streets are always super busy and filled with people. I guess I am not in Beit Shean anymore! My first week in Jerusalem I was more confused than anything trying to learn my way around the city and get used to living in a place that holds more than 18,000 people. I was super-intimated by all the Haredi people on the bus, afraid I would accidentally fall and hit one of them, and didn’t want to get lost and end up in a wrong neighborhood, either Arab or super-religious, but now after almost a month of living here, I think life is getting easier. I have had so much fun in Jerusalem (and sometimes Tel Aviv) because there is always fun stuff going on and I like being with lots of other otzmanikim, and other Americans and people my age. Beit Shean was wonderful, but I did miss going out and being with people my age. We have had a few extra-fun events within our Otzma family or Israel in general over the last month.

Our first weekend in Jerusalem
Yom Zicharon and Yom Hatzmaut
Mayumana and Kohav Nolad
Birthday/Going away party extravaganza

Our first weekend in Jerusalem was really nice, and a good opportunity to get acquainted to Jerusalem. On Thursday night we all went to town to experience some J-lem nightlife and ended up finding this great bar we all like that is an abandoned toy factory. On Friday for Shabbat, Erin, Alex, and I went to a woman’s house he knew who was a holocaust survivor. She was super nice and her apartment was really cool filled with lots books, and interesting things she acquired. Her kitchen door also had little notes from her husband that he wrote her everyday to tell her how much he loved her. It was also really nice to have some yummy Ashkenazi Jewish food, after all the Sephardic food I had been eating. It was nice to be at a Shabbat dinner, where we ate Matzo ball soup and in spoke in English, discussing everything from Politics to family. On Saturday, we all did a bar-be-queue together in the kfar (the place we all live) outside on the grass. It was a really nice way to spend a Shabbat, everyone brought some food and we all shared and ate together, sitting outside for hours, eating, talking, and enjoying the weather.

Yom Zicharon and Yom Hatzmaut are Israel’s Memorial and Independence Day, which happen back to back. They take place on back-to-back days because in order to have a state and independence there were many sacrifices that had to be made. Memorial Day in Israel is a somber day with lots of memorial services taking place throughout the country’. Everyone in Israel either knows someone that died in battle or has family or friends that know someone who died, so this holiday is very personal and affects the entire country. I went to a ceremony given by MASA, which highlighted several people with interesting stories who died in recent years. One story, which I have heard before, but always stands out to me, is Michael Levin. He made aliyah to Israel and joined one of the elite combat units by his own choice. He was visiting his family in the States, when the Lebanon war broke out, and when he heard the news he immediately flew back to Israel to help fight, again by his own choice. He died fighting that battle at 21 years old. The night was filled with other stories and comments from the fallen’s family friends. It was a very moving ceremony to set the mood for the day. During the day there is a siren that lasts 2 minutes, where everyone literally stops everything they are doing and stands to remember the fallen. People stop in the middle of busy streets, cars pull over on the road and people get out to stand, it’s really an amazing moment. There is another siren the week before for Holocaust Remembrance Day, where the same thing happens.

Upon sundown of Yom Zicharon the country switches from memorial mode to party mode really quickly. Yom Hatzmaut (Israel’s independence day) is like 4^th of July x 10 with crazy and bar-b-ques and parties all throughout the country. I was in Jerusalem for the night, and went down to the center to experience the street parties of Jerusalem. There were tons of people everyone, lots sporting blue and white and Israeli flags, live music, people spraying shaving cream/silly string and cheering down the streets. It was a really cool sight to see, so many people and everyone being so patriotic. The next day is a holiday from work and school, but it’s secular which means transportation runs and things are open! I went to the beach in Tel Aviv with some friends to spend the day relaxing and enjoying Israel’s 63 wonderful years! Happy Birthday Israel!!

Last week was a musically inclined weekend, with two fun events that I attended. The first was Mayumana, which is like the Israeli version of stomp. It was really cool to see and so were the performances leading up to it, as part of MASA’s final event. Then I went to live studios of Kohav Nolad (A Star is Born—The Israeli version of American Idol) to see the show for this week. It was really cool. The performances were pretty good and I got to see what it’s like to film those types of shows behind the scenes, with the stage manager coming out all the time to tell us when to cheer and be quiet. Also the promos were all live for the hours before the show and in between we had fun dance parties in the studio, while we were waiting for the show to start.

Then this weekend, we had a bunch of people come to Jerusalem to celebrate Lauren’s birthday and Eli leaving. We had a nice Shabbat dinner, like we used to in Ashkelon, where everyone made something and we all ate together. Then we had a big party to celebrate, which was really fun! It was just one of those great parties, without lots of drama, where everyone got a long and had fun. There may have been a song I wrote that Tracy and I sang for Lauren and Eli, and altogether, it was a really great night. Then we bar-bequed again on Saturday and spent the day relaxing and hanging out with everyone who came to visit.

My day-to-day life in Jerusalem has been really great also. I love my internship with Young Judaea! I really like the people I work with in the office, and I think the organization is really great and I would love to possibly work with them in the future! I also seem to be doing pretty well in the office, after I had a nice meeting with the director and am always receiving lots of positive feedback. It’s kind of like Beit Shean, where I am just in my element. This whole year, I really haven’t done anything crazy out of the ordinary, but I have been flying with success and it all has been so natural. Whether it singing songs with 4^th graders or talking to birthright people about a YJ program at the bars, everything I have been doing is just my natural personality coming to life. It’s such a great feeling to know that just because I’m being me I am being successful.

Overall my life in Jerusalem has been really fun and interesting. It has certainly been more hectic than Beit Shean, but now that I know at least the basic buses I need and generally how to get around, it’s not quite as confusing. I have had a lot of fun and have continued to be successful in my volunteering. Yeah, my life is great! =)