The Journeys of Jess

Update

2011-03-03T12:39:00.002-06:00

I am the worst blogger in the world...the end.

Vegan MoFo - Day 2

2010-11-02T18:29:00.000-05:00

Pretty rockin' cruelty-free day! Today's line-up was easy vegan fare that can be created quickly and easily at home.

Breakfast: Hummus with vegetables

While it may sound weird to people around the world who aren't used to it, hummus is a breakfast food. It can be eaten any time of day, of course, but we Israelis are fairly fond of it in the early hours of the day (let's be honest - all hours of the day).

Today's breakfast was quick and easy, mostly because I started with a pre-made hummus that I purchased from Whole Foods (I'm in Arkansas right now). I find (if you don't have time or a good food processor) that it is easy to start with a decent pre-made hummus and flavor it up a bit on your own for a tastier meal.

So, I slapped some hummus into a bowl, added about 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to improve the consistency, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for flavor, and stirred. Then I sprinkled a bit of salt on top and got eating!

Instead of bread for this meal, as I didn't have any vegan bread in the house, I went with cut veggies: sliced cucumber, purple onion, grape tomatoes, and broccoli (all raw, washed, and dried). Just dip them in the hummus and enjoy! Choose whatever vegetables you like; I especially like bell peppers with it.

This meal is great any time of day and would also be a great afternoon snack. Hummus stays fresh in the fridge for about a week (add a bit of olive oil if it dries out). Don't keep hummus longer than one or two weeks, though, as it can make you ill. And, keep it refrigerated when you're not eating it.

Lunch: Bean Burritos

Bean burritos are simple to make, freeze well, and reheat easily. I use whole wheat tortillas and, today, pre-made vegetarian refried beans. I prefer to make my own refried beans, but canned ones are a big time saver. My favorite thing to do is take some time on a weekend and cook up a big batch of my own bean burrito filling, wrap them up, and freeze them individually, to be eaten for lunches or whenever I don't have time to cook. When reheating, warm them in the oven or microwave and throw on your favorite salsa when they are almost hot enough. Below is my filling recipe. Warning: if you don't know how to wrap a burrito, click here for a quick, but shirtless demonstration by some random guy on youtube. Improperly wrapped burritos will make a mess when reheated.

Burrito filling with canned refried beans
3 cans vegetarian refried beans (check the label to make sure)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can diced green chilies with juice
1 whole onion, diced
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Cilantro (to taste)
Lime juice (to taste)

Stir all ingredients together and cook on low heat on the stove for about 10 minutes, or until mixture starts to pop frequently - stir frequently during this process to avoid burning. Remove from heat. If your tortillas are stiff, microwave them for 15 seconds with a damp paper towel over them - this should soften them up. When the filling and tortillas are ready, Place about 3/4 cup filling in each tortilla and roll (this will vary by the size of the tortilla). I recommend then wrapping each burrito in wax paper if you are going to be freezing them and placing them all in an air-tight container to freeze. If you're eating them immediately, then just go ahead and throw some salsa on top and enjoy!

That's the second day of November in food. I'm invited out for dinner tonight, so hopefully the vegan challenge will still be met. We'll see...

Recipes from Day 1 of Vegan MoFo

2010-11-02T15:18:00.001-05:00

November 1 = Day 1 of Vegan MoFo

I was vegan most of the day, until I attended a party where most of the food was dairy (and the rest was meat). Clearly, I'm going to have to prepare for parties if I want this vegan thing to stick. That all said, I did enjoy some yummy vegan meals yesterday, so thought I'd tell you about them.

For breakfast, I enjoyed a wonderful smoothie, the recipe of which came from the lovely Emily Segal. Don't know if she's posted the recipe and I'm not going to give it away (since it's not mine), but do check out her great blog at http://www.emilysegal.blogspot.com/.

Although I'm not posting that recipe, now is a wonderful time to tell everyone about my favorite things to add to smoothies. I've learned that you can pretty much throw whatever you want in a quality blender, blend it up, and drink it. It is not too time consuming and can be super tasty if you combine the right stuff. The base I use for most of my smoothies is a banana or two, soymilk, and some ice cubes. Then I add whatever fruit I have on hand, spinach, and flax seeds. Also, cucumbers and carrots are great veggie additions. If I want something more filling, I add tofu or tahina or peanut butter. Basically, I just toss in whatever sounds good, add a bit more soy milk if it's too thick, and enjoy. I do differ from many smoothie makers in that I like to throw in unsoaked, raw almonds. I enjoy the tiny little crunchy bits this adds. You are welcome to soak your almonds, but I'll keep skipping that step.

For lunch, I made a super easy veggie chili. Recipe is below, but you can totally switch out any ingredients you either can't find or don't like for something else. And, if you don't like canned stuff, don't use it - it's your choice. Like I said, it's super easy.

Super Easy Veggie Chili

2 cans diced tomatoes with their juice
1 can tomato paste
1 can black beans with juice
1 can red beans with juice
1 can white beans with juice
1 can corn, drained
1 can green chilies with juice
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced bell pepper
1 head diced garlic

Throw all the above ingredients into a big pot or crock pot, stir together, heat on medium. Then add spices, to taste, as below.

Salt
Pepper
Chili powder
Cumin
Ginger
Oregano
Cilantro

Stir whatever spices you choose to add into your big bowl of yummy chili. Place the lid on the pot and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After that time, taste the chili and adjust the spices accordingly. Then, reduce the heat to low, cover again, and leave the chili to simmer for at least 30 more minutes. The longer it cooks, the richer the flavor. Make sure you continue to stir occasionally and adjust spices as needed. At that point, when you are ready to eat, the chili is ready to eat. I recommend serving it up and sprinkling some raw sunflower and flax seeds on top, to add crunch. Then, of course, enjoy! This chili makes great leftovers, refrigerated, for about 1 week.

And that's all for Day 1 of Vegan MoFo. More recipes to follow for Day 2. :-)

Vegan MoFo

2010-11-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

It's November now. Not really sure how that happened. Time passes so quickly these days. But, November brings with it the Vegan Month of Food. 2010 will be my first year to participate in this month of vegan blogging, but it's the fourth year for the campaign. If you've never heard of it and would like to know more, click on the link above or here for the history.

As an on-again, off-again vegan, I thought this would be a great time to get me back to my desired eating habits and away from excuses like "but I haven't had any of [fill in the blank] in so long." Constantly traveling and changing countries is always going to leave me with food I miss, so I need to find a way around these issues that doesn't involve just throwing out my morals for a yummy flavor. Enter Vegan MoFo, a little inspiration and, hopefully, a lot of good recipes.

Since I am a sporadic blogger, at best, don't expect lengthly daily posts. But, I'll do my best to post thoughts, ideas, hardships, and recipes on here as often as I can. I will also be tweeting about these things, so be sure to follow me, if you're interested. Comments and questions would help me be more committed, so take a few seconds and get involved. And don't forget to check out Vegan MoFo headquarters for other participants.

Wow...

2010-08-24T04:13:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how people that you clearly think are friends can be so thoughtless and rude. I am still amazed whenever something like that happens. Perhaps I shouldn't be. Perhaps I should be more cynical by now. I continue to hold on to my faith in people, though. Thanks to all those in my life who remind me that I should.

Decisions, decisions

2010-08-21T14:37:00.000-05:00

I am a fairly spontaneous person, able to drop everything and move to a different country at the drop of a hat. When I was offered a job in the Philippines last year, it only took me a week to accept it, pack up my life, and arrive in Manila. And flexibility is a trait I have honed for years, through many travels and unexpected occurrences in my life; I generally roll with the punches pretty well.

But sometimes things don't come as easily. Sometimes I spend far too long reflecting on what I should do and implementing those outcomes; I waste valuable time making lists and flaring up my ulcer. Today is the culmination of one of those periods. Because, the reality is, I knew what was best weeks ago and yet continued to put off the decision; I still haven't even said it out loud. I enlisted several days and former trees in my journey of making sure I was choosing correctly. This only served to show that I knew all along and could have avoided this.

I don't really believe in permanence; everything is fluid. There is no amount of investment in a particular place, person, or situation that can't be moved on from. Decisions made today do affect my life, but only as long as I allow them to and only until I have made another choice that sends me a different direction. I imagine the only exception to this is family, but let's face it: that is a choice, too, albeit one I have been completely consistent with.

So, what's the big deal? Since nothing is permanent, why spend so much time on one little choice? A choice I can reverse or undo or move past anytime I want... I don't know the answer to that one. But I do know that I've decided now. And I am going to make myself stick to it, for at least a little while. I will wake up in the morning and start planning for it, packing up my life to yet again distribute it further. It's true that it might suck...or it may be the best decision I've ever made...or it might just help me achieve my goals. Regardless, the bittersweet selection of Rosh Hashanah as the date to start my newest chapter is definitely poetic, even if it was accidental.

The decision is made. It will make some people very happy and others sad. Many problems will be solved for me, hopefully for the long term, but at least temporarily. And I will get to continue in the one "permanent" choice I have always made: family. Time to turn the page...

Grenoble, my love

2010-08-09T06:35:00.000-05:00

Grenoble, a medium sized city in Southeastern France, is little known to foreigners and not a popular destination for travelers of Europe. It is tucked away at the foot of the French Alps and, although host of the 1968 Winter Olympics, is mostly a sleepy town. But I called it home temporarily for a certain time in my life.

Studying in Grenoble during my junior year of university was amazing. The city is gorgeous, covered in traditional French architecture and surrounded by mountains that never entirely lose their snow. I have yet to live in a more picturesque place. It was a great place to study, with a large university and a bar culture that caters to students. The locals rarely spoke anything but French, making it a great place to practice the language I was learning. The university has a department for foreign students learning French that is one of the most acclaimed in the world - if you studied French, you should check to see where your textbooks were written. And that same university had, therefore, a massive international student population. I made friends from everywhere you can imagine and stumbled through ordering at cafes in French with them. It was wonderful. And, although I'm sure I have romanticized it a bit since I left there 9 years ago, was the perfect place to continue my journey in France before moving on to the bigger, much more Anglo, Paris.

My host mother in Grenoble was a lovely retired woman who spent most of her life there. She and her boyfriend were fairly socially conservative and big on French pride and purity. So, I'd heard about Villeneuve long before I'd been there.

Villeneuve is a planned neighborhood/suburb/part of Grenoble. It was specifically constructed to give a home to the thousands of immigrants from North Africa who arrived in France in droves in the 1960s. Paris was also relegating these people to suburbs of the city, rather than integrating them. Although these plans were seen as a good thing at the time, these immigrant packed suburbs have turned into battle grounds in the last decade. Remember the riots in Paris in 2005? Read this or do a google search if you don't. These riots were partially a side effect of the creation of these ghettos for foreigners who were undesirable to have as neighbors.

Villeneuve suffers from the same problems as the Paris suburbs. With an almost exclusively North African population and the typical integration issues that are seen around the world, children and teens take care of themselves. This place was where the gang movement began in France. And I was warned about it by my host mother almost immediately: "Don't go there. It's very dangerous. Kids have knives." Of course, the warning was more detailed than that and also in French, but you get the idea. While I understood her perspective, it sounded more like responsive racism to me and I generally dismissed it. So when I was invited to a play at a community center in Villeneuve, I went. When I discovered that the best movie theater in the city was there, I went. And when I was meant to visit a business in the area, I went - this time by myself. In the typical 20 year old mentality of no one would hurt me, I went to this area at night even. And no one did. I was never approached, let alone attacked. Perhaps going to a high school full of gang violence, metal detectors, and cops had numbed my fear of this type of danger.

But it seems, in fact, that the danger in Villeneuve is real. While I was living in Grenoble, two teens stabbed another to death in the neighborhood. There have been countless events since then, but until a few weeks ago, none received international coverage. That was when the riots broke out and youths burned 100 cars in the suburb. Now, the French government has decided to do something about it. Echoing the deportation policies of Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy has decided French citizenship is a privilege and is using this recent violence as an excuse to enact new policies regarding it.

There are lots of similar issues in Israel, first with the Ethiopian population having integration issues (but they are Jewish, so they won't ever be subject to deportation), then with foreign workers who were brought here to replace Palestinians in manual labor jobs during the Second Intifada, and now with refugees coming from the conflicts in Sudan and Eritrea.

No matter the country, I am always amazed by the government reaction of "Let's just kick them out!" These issues exist because of poorly constructed government policies and practices that isolate immigrant populations and do not practically integrate them into the society. Sure, France is a bit different, but both the USA and Israel are nations built by immigrants and refugess. No one seems to remember or care about that fact.

Around the world, countries with nationalistic pride (and the USA, France, and Israel are the most nationalistic countries I've ever been to) are tossing immigrants aside because it is easier to do that than to make an actual effort to integrate them. So much for socialism (France and Israel) and The Statue of Liberty (USA). Instead, let's dehumanize them as all being criminals and animals and deport them as soon as we can.

It's been difficult to watch this happening in my two countries of citizenship, but it seems they are just following along with everyone else. How sad to watch the multicultural fabrics of these beautiful countries be slowly destroyed by government policy. Where is the world headed?

Lest I forget..

2010-08-06T09:54:00.000-05:00

Israel is sometimes a very deceptive country. The cafe culture is well developed and widespread. Dozens of different languages are heard on the streets. And the markets are a must for your shopping needs. It is so much like living in Europe that sometimes I forget I am living in the Middle East - well, except for the heat...

But, today was one of those days where there were constant (even appreciated) reminders: "That's right, you live in I-S-R-A-E-L again."

The food... Since my return from Southeast Asia, I can't get enough Israeli food. I would bathe in hummus if it wouldn't be so darn problematic to wash it off later. Hummus, ful, masabecha, sabich, pita, shakshuka, couscous - everything with needed vegan modifications (of course) - get in my belly! Good Middle Eastern food isn't so easy to find when you aren't here (just ask my fellow Middle Eastern food critic Rishita) and so the fact that I can find it everywhere now, and cheaply, sparks my stomach to tell my brain: "Oh right, we're home now..." Today's brunch was no exception. And the spice was just enough to burn a little = bliss.

The conversation... In another nod to European culture, sometimes you share restaurant tables with strangers. This never seemed weird to me in Germany (with giant beer in hand) but during the Israeli summer I want as much space as I can get to give my body time to dry. Today we shared our space with an Israeli photographer who had lived many years in the US. We talked mostly about his work and such, but he asked after us as well. Finding out we are new immigrants to this country, he gave a very sincere and ubiquitous wish for us: "Life here is hard. I hope you don't find it too discouraging." The natives know this is not an easy place to live. Almost everyone here is just getting by, including us newbies. This is not the place for the faint of heart to live.

The logistics... I have never known a country where the ATMs regularly run out of cash. Welcome to Israel. Note: most banks are closed on Fridays and Saturdays (it's the Israeli weekend). After walking a decent distance for the purpose of visiting this particular bank's ATM and waiting in line in the sun, the person in line just in front of us got the last of the bills. And the machine promptly displaced a message that it was "Closed." Isn't that the point of the machines? That they are available any time of day or night to solve your banking needs? Nope - the ATM is closed. Of course, when I announced that to the other people in line, we all trekked across the intersection together to another bank. The ATM at that bank was "Open."

The sounds... Piling off the bus to go to the main market is always an experience, especially just before Shabbat starts. The crowds are absurd, tourists are everywhere, and the heat is at its worst. Plus, markets here are a lot louder than those elsewhere in the world. Middle Easterners like to yell - to sell stuff, but also at each other. The markets become a competition of who can announce the price for their fruit the loudest. The best part about this is that prices rarely vary much from stall to stall. But they still yell. The loud Israeli music blaring from a storefront near the market is another flashing light that I have returned. Hebrew is not exactly a popular language around the world and music sung in the harsh phonemes means something. And I love it.

The people... Living and traveling in the third world, you come to expect certain things: squat toilets, piles of trash on the side of the road, body odor, spitting, etc. But Israel is not the third world and things like this are rare (or at least rarer) and not as acceptable here. So I was quite taken aback to see a woman washing her hands IN THE BUS by pouring water from her bottle over them. The water puddled and ran down the aisle. And she just went on about her business as passengers had to step through it and move their bags away from it. With all the yelling here, why did no one yell at her?

I'm back. Without the reminders like today, I might forget sometimes while sipping my coffee and reading a book at a cafe. But even with all the craziness and hardships that are this country, I'm home.

You're a chicken...

2010-07-22T08:17:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been inside a chicken house? I realize few people ever get the chance to walk through one and see what it is really like. Sure, some of you may have seen it on television or had it described. But being inside one is a wholly different experience.

Imagine 30,000 or so chickens living from just hatched to off for the slaughter inside one large room about the size of an average house. Yes, that's 30,000 adult chickens. They never leave this space during their weeks of growing into the right size to become dinner. They pee, poop, sleep, eat, and try to walk in this space. If the look of this many birds on top of one another isn't enough to make you vomit, the overpowering smell of ammonia is. Chicken urine covers the dusty ground and is so potent in the poorly ventilated space that your eyes burn when you walk in. It's dark in chicken houses, so dark it's hard to see, because that keeps the animals more docile. Someone must walk through the house at least daily to pick up the carcasses of the birds that didn't make it; every day these numbers are in the tens. Why do they die? Trampling, disease, inability to reach food or water in the crowded conditions?

And yet, people eat these chickens on a daily basis and call them food. It's all justified because humans have to eat - and according to the US government, meat is a necessity. I don't eat meat and yes, chicken is meat. I have walked through a chicken house. I have experienced firsthand the disgusting situations humans have created in the name of a tasty meal. If you don't know where your food comes from, you should. If you eat meat, you should visit some chicken houses and see if you change your mind. If that is too scary for you or you just don't want to know because it's easier to live in your protected bubble, well...

Country 30...

2010-06-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

Hong Kong was the last stop during my 8 months living and working in Southeast Asia. Ironically, it was probably the place I'd wanted to go to the longest (since I was a child) and I only just made it on the way home. I wasn't there for nearly long enough, but it was everything I expected: really tall buildings, efficient public transportation, super modern technology everywhere, great food, etc. I loved it and fully intend to go back, as soon as life swings me that direction again.

I met a family on Victoria Peak whose son had on an Arkansas Razorback's cap. I'm totally serious. There are only 2.5 million people in my home state and I ran into this one on the top of a mountain in Hong Kong. Amazing.

Lunch was super fun. I went to a local place in the heart of the business district, bustling with everything except for tourists and white people. It was hectic - so packed that there was barely room to walk and you were required to sit with strangers if there was an empty seat at your table. So, I enjoyed my last taste of delicious and fresh Chinese mushrooms with 3 perfect strangers that never spoke to me or each other. And I loved it.

I said goodbye to strange Southeast Asian desserts with an even more kid friendly variation of the Chinese sweet dumplings. One was filled with custard and the other with what must have been blueberry jam. Totally chewy and bizarre and covered in coconut - yum!

The goal is now accomplished. I have officially visited 30 countries before my 30th birthday (list a couple of posts below). I am happy to have had the experiences that I did in all of them and can't say that I have visited a country I wouldn't go back to. For most of the 30, I have a long list of additional things I'd like to see and do and eat. There will never be enough time for me to fully explore everything I'd like, even in the 2 countries I call home. But, if empirical evidence shows anything, I'll probably keep going to new places instead of returning to old ones. And since I really visited all 30 of these countries in the last decade, I could make a pretty substantial dent in the world total before my 40th birthday rolls around...

Country 29...

2010-06-17T11:43:00.000-05:00

...Indonesia, specifically Bali. I enjoyed it, though it was a WAY larger island than I realized (population around 4 million people). As always, there was a ton of stuff I did not see and I intend to go back one day.

It was a trip full of firsts, in addition to being country 29; the firsts were: crossing the Equator, Southern Hemisphere, Indonesia, majority Hindu place, Indian Ocean, parasailing, and likely something else that I am currently forgetting.

I also tried to get a new piercing, but only because I was too lazy for the proposed 2 hour tattoo. Tried is the operative word here - I am still without that new body jewelry. I went for a tragus piercing, but was not warned that many people pass out during this process. I was fine for the needle - I mean, it hurt like crazy, but I was fine. I was also alright for the first few minutes of the piercer (who had a massive tick) attempting to get the barbell in. But he couldn't get it to go in all the way and kept moving it around. So, I started to get dizzy and had to make them stop and move me to a proper chair with arms, in case I blacked out.

---- Side note: I have passed out before. And the last time I really did, I broke my nose. So, I am scared to death of completely blacking out again. ----

The room was spinning and I was burning hot, then my vision started to blur. I called for my cousin (and interrupted her tattoo) because all the Balinese men were just making me more confused. Luckily, she showered me with cold water and I eventually came around, just before falling onto the floor in a heap.

After I recovered, the piercer tried to get the barbell in and then said he couldn't because I had moved around and talked too much. I think he just wasn't very good. So, I gave him some dough for trying and walked out with a bloody hole in my ear and nothing to show for it. Oh well. Maybe I'll try again one day.

30 countries in 30 years...

2010-05-16T22:45:00.005-05:00

I'm a month and a half away from my 30th birthday. I'm not bummed about it or anything, but fully intend to use it as an excuse to do fun stuff. I won't list the plans here until they are finalized, but I will tell you about this part. I am currently sitting in Singapore, the 28th country I've been to. And since I'm so close to visiting 30 countries in 30 years, I'm planning to visit 2 more before my birthday. Hong Kong is on the list for 29, which I guess would make the country China. But, I have yet to determine country 30. I could go somewhere else while I'm in Southeast Asia or make a birthday trip to Greece or Cyprus after I get back to Israel. I haven't decided. But, I thought I would use this opportunity to make my list. I'll try to be as chronologically accurate as possible, but I'm doing this for memory, so it may not be entirely correct. And just to clarify, I only count countries I spent some time in (not just stopped in the airport) and am going with the legal definition of the country, not the cultural one. Oh, and they are in order by the first time I visited there, even though I've been back to lots of them since that first visit. Here we go...

1. United States
2. France
3. Switzerland
4. Luxembourg
5. Belgium
6. Netherlands
7. Italy
8. Germany
9. United Kingdom (Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland)
10. Ireland
11. Turkey
12. Austria
13. Slovenia
14. Czech Republic
15. Hungary
16. Slovakia
17. Poland
18. Croatia
19. Bosnia-Herzegovina
20. Canada
21. Mexico
22. Israel
23. Egypt
24. Jordan
25. Philippines
26. Thailand
27. Malaysia
28. Singapore

Okay, well that's the list for now. I'll update as soon as I go somewhere else. And, hopefully I'll make it to 2 more before June 30... :-)

Update: typed on June 18, 2010

29. Indonesia (Bali)

So that will make Hong Kong (China) number 30 - sweet! Be there on Monday! :-)

Guensi Goerduem - April 17, 2010

2010-05-16T01:11:00.005-05:00

I went to the Singapore International Film Festival a few weeks ago and saw a Turkish film called I Saw The Sun. Read the description below, followed by my comments.

Güneşi Gördüm (I Saw The Sun)
BY MAHSUN KIRMIZIGÜL / TURKEY / 2009 / NC16 / 101
Producer: Murat Tokat Screenplay: Mahsun Kırmızıgül Cast: Cem Aksakal, Sarp Apak, Erol Demiröz, Altan Erkekli

In the southeast region of Turkey, a 25-year war has made everyday life hell for the Altun family. One of the sons, a soldier, meets his guerilla brother head-on in battle. Their youngest brother has been legless since stepping on a landmine. Another Altun son, the young Kadri, has had to suppress his gender orientation. When they are forced from the land, Kadri finally finds the freedom to express his sexuality. However, moving to the city does not mean they have escaped all their troubles…

As I'm sure you can imagine, this was not a happy film. It was very intense and emotional, with sadness at every turn. However, it did a good job showing how refugees and IDPs can have greatly different experiences depending on where they end up outside the conflict. It also showed the tragic side of being gay in a still extremely honor filled and traditional society. I think it did a good job bringing these issues to the forefront, to show the average person what is really happening. But, as with any film of this length, it barely scratched the surface of the problems surrounding this conflict. I'd recommend it as the start of a discussion, but not as the entire story.

Paramore does Manila - March 9, 2010

2010-05-09T03:44:00.006-05:00

The last stop of Paramore's Asian tour was Manila on March 9. And it was fantastic! I waited forever for a cab after the show, so I wrote a blog on a piece of paper while I was standing there. I am just getting around to posting it, though, so it might not make sense now. We'll see...

The venue was great: SM Mall of Asia (the 3rd largest mall in the world) Outdoor Concert Grounds. It was a big space and breezy since it is outdoors and on Manila Bay. There are divided sections that cost different amounts based on proximity to the stage. Weird things: no alcohol sold at all, however there where several McDonald's stands (they were the main food vendor). There was very little Paramore merchandise for sale, which was a bummer because I was really looking forward to a Paramore - Live in Manila t-shirt.

Opening act was Callalily, a major Filipino band (and one of my favs). I had seen Callalily perform previously at UP and people went crazy. But, at this concert, no one was moving or singing along or anything. And later, I heard several negative comments about the band. Guess the locals didn't think them a good choice to open...

After Callalily finished, I gave up my pretty well positioned place to get a drink. Upon my return, I ended up behind the only 2 Filipinos that are taller than me. But, being alone makes moving easy and soon enough I was near the front and behind some shorter people.

There was so much body heat - yuck - but even more cameras - surprising... People literally filmed the entire concert. Check out this youtube search if you'd like to watch any of the concert. I didn't even bring my camera because obviously they wouldn't allow people to come in with cameras...but they did. I ended up taking a few with my phone, but they aren't great. Here is one to show you just how many cameras were there.

So, I've been to lots of shows in Manila and Pinoys never move. They just stand there. I was really worried this concert would suck because I'd be the only one singing along and rockin'. And I love Paramore, so that would have been really disappointing. But, I was pleasantly surprised that the mass of hot, sweaty, brown bodies moved with the beat and belted the lyrics out like me. It was awesome! It didn't bother me a bit that I was there alone because I was singing along with thousands of paparazzi! Everyone rocked out the lines like the videoke loyal country they are.

I couldn't understand the reason for this difference until I thought about the demographic. Most concerts/shows I've been to in the Manila have cost around 100 PHP, which is about $2. For this concert, we were in the Gold section and tickets cost almost 4,000 PHP, which is a 2-week middle class salary here. So the people I was standing with are most likely upper/upper middle class and loyal fans. So of course they were into it!

There was a substitute guitarist with the band for this show because the regular guy was getting married or something. Anyway, his name was Justin York and he was crazy good! He was doing flips while playing the guitar and animating the crowd. It was awesome. I think they should keep him in the band!

Paramore played all the songs I expected and most of the newest album, as well. It was a a great set list and I wish I'd written it down at the time because I would type it in here. Oh well.

Hayley said it was the band's first time in Manila and they seemed really excited about it - especially the McDonald's vendors. You know how bands always try to get the crowd screaming by yelling things like "What's up, Manila?!" Well, so when Hayley
was trying to get everyone to cheer for the Philippines and Manila, etc, it was strange for me. Does the homeless expat cheer for a temporary stop? I think Manila is so full of expats, though, that we must now be included in the indelible fabric and culture of the city. That said, there were no other obvious expats in my sight range.

Getting a taxi after the concert was awful. I assume there were probably about 15,000 people there and we were all looking for a cab home. After it ended, thousands of us walked through one of the world's biggest malls together and then promptly overflowed the taxi lines. I waited for nearly as long as Paramore's hour and half set and hardly any taxis ever came. It wasn't so much an issue of long lines, but poor planning. It seems that no one notified the cab companies that thousands of people would be waiting and there were almost no taxis! In any other country, if there was an event like this, the cabs would be lined up for miles. But not in Manila - that would be way too efficient and organized. A city with who knows how many hundreds of cabs and they can't plan ahead for a major concert? Don't get me wrong, I really love the Philippines, but there are some things that will never make sense to me.

When I finally got a taxi (I'd had to walk out to another road and hail one) it cost me 250 PHP. That is just absurd for a 100 PHP ride, but after an hour of waiting I was willing to pay $6 for the 30 minute ride home. My bed was calling, after all... Of course, once I agreed to the crazy price and got in the cab, we were stuck in traffic for ages. Guess I should have expected that, living in a city of 12 million people. Manila may not be your typical Southeast Asian metropolis, but they sure know how to do traffic jams! :-)

White and shiny

2010-04-07T08:15:00.001-05:00

I never realized how white and shiny I was until coming to Southeast Asia. But, lest I forget now, there are always plenty of people staring at me to remind me...

My Journey through Malaysian Sodas - 6 April 2010 +

2010-04-07T07:59:00.013-05:00

Since I am a vegetarian, I miss out on a lot of local dishes. While I have no intention of ever eating meat again, I do lament not fully participating in the food culture of wherever I am at the moment. I mean, I'm Israeli and have never eaten Schwarma!

I have tried to do a better job of exploring the gastronomic choices since moving to Southeast Asia and am attempting to chronicle it more. Coming soon...an entire facebook album devoted to food I've eaten while traveling.

This is another sort-of attempt at delving into the food culture: the sodas of Malaysia. I noticed tons of weird ones in 7-Eleven, so it is now my quest to drink them all (and I can since they are meat free). I'll post pics soon, but for now, here are my thoughts on what I've tried thus far.

F&N Ginger Beer:
Holy crap! That ginger is strong! I expected something more akin to Ginger Ale and ended up basically eating raw ginger with bubbles. I like ginger, so it doesn't taste bad, but I wish I'd been prepared...

100 Plus Lemon Lime:

Appeared to be a bootleg version of Sprite, but I just couldn't resist the retro look of the can. Upon further inspection, it appears it is supposed to be more like Gatorade than Sprite; it says it replenishes nutrients, etc like a sports drink.
After the crazy strong Ginger Beer, I expected a taste explosion but it never came. It's a very tame flavor (or flavour, as they say here), but not at all bad.

F&N Aiskrim Soda (Ice Cream Soda):

That's right, ice cream soda in a can. What an amazing idea! I nearly plotzed in the 7-Eleven when I found this one. So, it's clear, which I thought was weird. It is sweet with what I guess is a hint of ice cream flavor. It is creamy and reminds me of a cream soda more than anything. The best part - how they spell ice cream in Malay!

I just realized that this soda quest might have been a diabetes inducing bad idea...oh well, I did some more, anyway. Also, I have continued this into Singapore, since the sodas are all pretty much the same.

F&N Sarsi Soda:
Sarsaparilla-based soft drink with a kick. If you like root beer flavors, you'd love it. It was a bit strong for me, but not bad.

Kickapoo Joy Juice:
A funny name and a yummy taste. It was citrusy and lovely. I thought it would be really too sweet, but it wasn't. A nice balance of citrus and sweet that cut the spicy Indian food I was eating very well.

Regular 100 Plus:
Tasted like grapefruit, not my favorite, since I don't really like grapefruit. But, I'm still lovin' the retro can!

Chinese Herbal Drink:
Really gross herbal drink. My cousin said it tasted like Children's Tylenol. Whatever it tasted like, it was so gross I couldn't finish it! But the can was way amazing!

Arriving in Bangkok - 18 March 2010

2010-04-07T07:31:00.006-05:00

Arrived today, about 30 minutes before midnight. The flight here was interesting. I flew on Cebu Pacific, a budget Filipino airline. You know, it is one of those carriers where you have to pay if you even want water. But, I was very happy with it. Other than charging for everything, it was no different than a major carrier. Except for the in-flight game...

The flight attendants literally played a game, over the mic, with the passengers. It was basically "who can find this item in your bag and show us first." But, there were prizes. The last question really bothered me, though: Who has the most US dollars on them? And people actually pulled out wads of $100 bills and gave them to the flight attendants to count! And the winner had 41 $100 bills on her. That is more than most Filipinos make in a year! And yet, there was no fear in whipping out the money. Anyone could have found her later and robbed her...

Upon arrival at the Bangkok airport, I was immediately aware of the lack of English skills in Thailand. I have been spoiled by my Pinoy Southeast Asia experience. I am clearly going to have to learn some Thai and fast!

The Thai people, so far, are very nice and friendly. And, as with most anywhere, a smile goes a long way.

The taxi ride from the airport to Kao Sarn Road (aka Backpacker Hell) was interesting. Some of you may have heard about the anti-government protests going on here for the past week or so. Basically, a number of Thais are not happy with the government and want it dissolved and new elections to be held. So, people have come from all over the country to stage massive demonstrations; my taxi driver said there are about 1 million here now. Check out this video to see why so many are coming - because they are being bribed to do so. So, this anti-government group is referred to as the Red Shirts. The craziest thing they've done so far is collect blood donations and then pour the blood all around the government buildings. I am really bothered by how wasteful this is - when so many people around the world need blood, how can you throw it on the ground? For more on this, including updated information and all aspects of the demostrations, go to the special section in the Bangkok Post.

So, how did this affect my taxi ride? Well, there was military everywhere. We went through at least 4 checkpoints/roadblocks, one of which wouldn't let us through and we had to find another way. The taxi driver was disgusted by it all and kept cursing the military for being everywhere. This led to a discussion about the government, and then the US government, then he cursed Bush and started talking about Saddam Hussein. I wish I'd written more of this down at the time, because I don't remember it all now and mostly just remember being really amused. Oh well... Kinda an anti-climactic post...

Traveling...

2010-04-07T07:27:00.002-05:00

So, I am traveling around Southeast Asia right now and have been for the last 3 weeks or so. Not on the internet much. But, have been journaling a bit and will attempt to blog some of that stuff. Wish I could keep more on top of it, but I have more interesting things to do than sit in an internet cafe! :-)

$1

2010-02-28T20:04:00.003-06:00

Great things you can get for $1 or less in the Philippines:
1. A fresh, lovely pineapple (picked about an hour away from Manila)
2. Bubble tea (bigger and in way more flavor options than the Western World)
3. A month of birth control pills

More items to come...

Take Me to the Philippines by Apl.de.Ap

2010-02-12T03:41:00.002-06:00

Check out this awesome video that was made for the tourism bureau here...

Best Pinoy quotes

2010-02-12T03:18:00.003-06:00

So, these are the funniest/weirdest/strangest/most absurd things people have said to me in the Philippines. I'll keep updating this list as time goes on. So far we have:

1.
Employee to me: You are really going to have to stop working so hard so that you can find a husband. [I can't even believe how sexist and archaic this country is with regards to gender roles. Seriously, sometimes I think it is still the 1950s here.]

2.
[Going into the movie theater, just handed my ticket to the ticket checker lady.]
Ticket checker lady: You don't have a partner?
Me: No, it's just me.
Ticket checker lady: You mean you are all alone? [in a tone of great concern]
Me: [confused by why this is strange, but slowly remembering where I am] Yes, I'm going to the Valentine's Day movie alone - ironic, isn't it? [She instantly felt more comfortable after I acknowledged that this was against the natural order and she laughed in relief.]

3.
Taxi driver: So, you're from Israel?
Me: Yes.
Taxi driver: That's where Jesus is from.
Me: Yes [attempting to hold in outright laughter]. Jesus is from Israel, too.

4.
Random Filipino guy: You are from Australia?
Me: No, but everyone keeps assuming that I am. Why does everyone think that?
Random Filipino guy: Well, you look Australian and you are so pretty. And you are so nice. So you must be Australian.
[He unwittingly implies so much with this statement.]

Nationalism in the Phils?

2010-02-12T02:44:00.004-06:00

They play the Filipino National Anthem before movies here. I'm serious. The national anthem. Everyone is supposed to stand. It's in Tagalog, so I don't understand it and didn't realize that is what was happening until the usher came over to me and asked me to stand up. It was a weird experience; I had come to watch a film - an imported American film, at that. And, yet, there I was, observing a nationalistic practice that really didn't seem to fit.

I am a citizen of two of the most patriotic and nationalistic countries on the planet. Two countries that fly their flags everywhere in a competition to show their prowess. Two countries that are populated with extremely stubborn citizens who know that their country's way is the right way. Two countries that don't play the national anthem before movies.

What would inspire a nation to do that, especially when the majority of the films shown in cinemas here are not made here? Is that the reason - is it reactionary? Maybe our film industry isn't big, but we are a proud people... I guess that could be it. But, I find it hard to believe since so many people are so anxious to leave the country for a better life.

Generally, people are disenfranchised from politics here to the point where they don't bother to look past the surface of any candidate or elected official. The corruption is so rampant, who would want to take a closer look? And how can you blame them after the Marcos regime? Dear Imelda herself spent millions upon millions of dollars attempting to impress foreign dignitaries that might visit the country while she watched scores of Filipinos die from starvation, contaminated water, and diseases that are completely curable. Not to mention what her lovely husband did. Filipinos do vote, however, which is more than I can say for a lot of Americans.

Political ads are like music videos, with sweeping shots of the candidate in disaster torn areas of the country or bands of children singing praises of the man. They're bullshit. They're completely an attempt to be Hollywood. They are propaganda in the worst way. Sure, they look good and might even have a catchy tune, but they are utter crap as far as presenting anything real.

The top candidates (who are at their status in the polls because of the money behind them) are tapping social media outlets, however. Manny Villar constantly has ads on facebook and youtube that show up if your IP address is in the Phils. And there are rallies, of course. The election season is just gearing up here, due to a law that allows candidates to officially campaign for only the 90 days prior to the election. But those ads have been everywhere for a while now. As in any country, enough money can get around the laws.

I don't think the Philippines is that much different from any of the other countries I've lived in. Maybe the corruption is a bit more overt here, but I know it is present everywhere else, too. But, really? The national anthem before movies? It just seems really trite and insincere to me...

Relections on a wandering decade

2010-01-08T04:22:00.003-06:00

Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience. - Sir Francis Bacon

I always thought it was really cool that I was born in 1980, because that meant I would turn 20 in the year 2000 and, from then on, my age would coincide with the year (2010 = 20 + 10 = 30). So, we're there - to the year in which I will turn 30. I am surprisingly not upset about it. Ten years ago, 30 seemed so far away and, yes, so old - not anymore. But, alas, it is now approaching rapidly and that, along with the turn of the new year into a new decade, has encouraged me to do some reflecting on the last third of my life.

But first, read the article below. It was serendipitous timing that I read it on Tuesday, January 5. It is a great article about what it is to be a stranger in a strange land. Many of the emotions mentioned were familiar to me; many I have experienced at different times during the last decade, spent living in 6 different countries on 3 different continents. Take the time to read it and you'll learn a bit about the crazy people like me who can't seem to stop country hopping. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave me a comment.

So, how did 2000 start for me? I was still living in Boston, in my sophomore year at BU, preparing to leave the US for a couple of years of university in Europe. I remember that last semester on campus was crazy - packed with last minute classes (18 credits worth), extracurriculars, events, and 4 jobs (had to save money for European gallivanting). It was a great time, though when I look back I don't know when I found time to sleep. I also spent that summer in New England working, before heading to France in the fall.

France was a year of growth for me, though I didn't realize it until later. I lived in Grenoble (in 2000) and Paris (in 2001) and studied in both places. I was awed by the beauty of the Alps that surrounded Grenoble. And there was never enough time to see all that Paris had to offer - will there ever be? In Paris, I worked for a human rights organization, mostly doing research and translation. It was at that job that I started reading about child soldiers, which lead me to my career in Peace Education. But it was the evolution and eventual demise of my relationship with my best friend/boyfriend/fiancé in 2001 that the growth really came from.

It is amazing how different things look in hindsight. What were all those limitations I placed on myself? Why was I trying to pretend I hadn't changed? Why didn't I completely embrace the choices I had long ago made in my head? What was I waiting for, anyway? The end of a 15 year relationship could never be easy, but it was like all the chains tying me down just disappeared and, suddenly, all my choices were mine again. So, one rebound and a few months later, I started 2002 the happiest and most content I'd ever been. And 2002, oh what a year!

I had already been living in Germany since June of 2001, first near Marburg at a camp summer job (where I met my Slovenian counterpart and new best friend), and then in Dresden for university. Dresden was amazing - a city of dichotomies: old and new, destroyed and rebuilt, tragic history and bright future. And students, oh what a student city that was! There were constantly great events and festivals and so many fun bars. 2002 was a year of truly celebrating life, full of fun and travel and new relationships. It was a better end to my college life than I could have ever imagined. I spent 2 months backpacking around Europe that year, both east and west, not to mention all the long weekends and school breaks. It was definitely the culmination of my European dreams. And, there was the development of a relationship that helped lead me back to Boston for another year.

Boston is an amazing city to study in, but it was even better to be a young professional in. Everyone is in their 20s and the nightlife totally revolves around that demographic (if you avoid the college bar scene). And you can't beat the outdoor life in New England! I got a job that I thought was great at the time, though it turned out to be an exploitation of my time and emotions. But, I stayed in it for almost a year, foolishly thinking it would get better. I also stayed in that relationship that started in Germany far too long, to the point when I had to actually escape from it. Alas, yet another move, but this one, strangely, led me back home. I said goodbye to Boston in the fall of 2003 and haven't been back since (though I would love to move back there).

I never thought I would live in Arkansas again once I left at 18, but it was the best decision I could have ever made. Going home had always caused me weird feelings. I had spent years rejecting the Southern life. I was tired of the world seeing me as second rate because of where I was born and raised; the stereotypes of Southerners had really rubbed me raw. But, with that move and staying in Arkansas for a few years, it became my choice. I didn't get my accent back, but I did learn to embrace my culture and even became proud of it. And, I was blessed to get to know my family as an adult and for them to get to know me as more than an obnoxious, know-it-all teenager. Those years may not have been the most exciting, but they are very cherished. I made new friends, became more religious, and more. Of course, not be forgotten, there was another relationship that I stayed in too long - I sound a bit like a broken record, don't I? But, that one finally made me learn my lesson and there hasn't been another since. The most significant event of those years, though, was cancer. When a loved one gets sick, it changes your perspective and, being the daddy's girl I always was, it really rocked my world. B"H, after a long ride on the emotional roller coaster, the evil disease was squelched and we all moved on. Me literally.

The end of 2006 brought with it the big move to Israel that had been brewing since my first visit there on Taglit birthright Israel in summer 2005. And oh how I loved it! There were so many hardships and so many things I didn't like about my living situation, but it didn't matter - Israel was an amazing place to live! That was also the time I really got into peace work, starting a co-existence soccer league made up of Arab and Jewish girls. Alas, my career path was set. I made amazing friends that are some of my closest still today. I spent a month backpacking around Egypt with one of my besties from university. It was an amazing time and I wouldn't have left Israel if I hadn't gotten into the master's program I wanted in Austria. But, move yet again I did - back to Europe.

It was great to be speaking German again and to be studying again and to make so many great new friends. The tiny village we lived in together in southern Austria was hilarious and we loved it. The twelve months we studied there were lovely, though I spent a large part of the first semester dealing with a lot of anti-Semitism. That forces another kind of growth, I suppose. My skin is thicker now and my convictions are stronger. Ironically, it was all the anti-Semitism that finalized my decision to become Israeli and move there permanently. I left Austria in the fall of 2008 and headed back to the States for a few months. And then...

Aliyah! Aliyah means literally "going up," but it is the term used when Jews immigrate to Israel. It has been just over a year now since I did it and I have never looked back. I lived in Jerusalem for a while, studying Hebrew, meeting great people, and realizing that I don't like being surrounded by my work and the conflict 24 hours a day. So, after 6 months I moved to Tel Aviv. There, I live with great friends and spend lots of time with my urban family. My Hebrew still sucks, but more classes are to come in the future. Life in Tel Aviv is great. The beach is 15 minutes away; the park is 3. There is plenty of sunshine and warmth. It is a wonderful place.

But, when I was offered a job that required me to temporarily move to the Philippines, I still took it - how could I not? So, in November 2009, I moved to the big Manila envelope and am still here. This is the first time I've been to Southeast Asia and it is an interesting experience. I don't know how long I'll be here, but I am for now and trying not to work all the time, so that I can enjoy the experience. I've made some posts about the place, so check them out. Living alone again is weird - I haven't done that since I was in Boston. Working in the corporate world again is weird, too. So is making decent money - peace workers don't usually do that. :-) Manila is a great city - you can find anything you could dream of here. And, I have never been someplace that is more American and not actually in America.

2010 begins here, in Southeast Asia, a place I never really anticipated living. I am making plans for travel in Manila, around the Phils, and to surrounding countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand. I miss Israel terribly and will move back there sometime this year. And then I will get back into Hebrew classes to get ready to pursue my doctorate in Peace Education in Israel.

What will the next decade bring? Let's see: another language or two, a doctorate, a dog, kids - who really knows? I never expected I'd end up here when the millennium started. I hope the next ten years (better known as my thirties) are as exciting as these last 10 were. I will leave you with a quote that I found at a time when I was soul searching many years ago and which still resonates with me...

Between the ages of twenty and forty we are engaged in the process of discovering who we are, which involves learning the difference between accidental limitations which it is our duty to outgrow and the necessary limitations of our nature beyond which we cannot trespass with impunity. Few of us can learn this without making mistakes, without trying to become a little more of a universal (wo)man than we are permitted to be. - W.H. Auden

Economist article

2010-01-08T04:10:00.004-06:00

Being foreign
The others
It is becoming both easier and more difficult to experience the thrill of being an outsider
Dec 17th 2009
Original posting here

FOR the first time in history, across much of the world, to be foreign is a perfectly normal condition. It is no more distinctive than being tall, fat or left-handed. Nobody raises an eyebrow at a Frenchman in Berlin, a Zimbabwean in London, a Russian in Paris, a Chinese in New York.

The desire of so many people, given the chance, to live in countries other than their own makes nonsense of a long-established consensus in politics and philosophy that the human animal is best off at home. Philosophers, it is true, have rarely flourished in foreign parts: Kant spent his whole life in the city of Königsberg; Descartes went to Sweden and died of cold. But that is no justification for generalising philosophers’ conservatism to the whole of humanity.

The error of philosophy has been to assume that man, because he is a social animal, should belong to some particular society. Herder, an 18th-century Prussian philosopher, launched modern conceptions of nationalism by arguing that a man could flourish only among his own people who shared his language and culture. “Each nationality contains its centre of happiness within itself,” Herder wrote.

Even an exemplary modern liberal philosopher, Isaiah Berlin, found this sort of emotional logic seductive. “Everyone has the right to live in some society in which they needn’t constantly worry about what they look like to others, and so be psychically distorted, conditioned to some degree of mauvaise foi”, Berlin said in 1992, near the end of his life, explaining his support for Zionism.

And yes, no doubt many people do feel most at ease with a home and a homeland. But what about the others, who find home oppressive and foreignness liberating? Theirs is a choice that gets both easier and more difficult to exercise with every passing year. Easier, because the globalisation of industry and education tramples national borders. More difficult, because there are ever fewer places left in this globalised world where you can go and feel utterly foreign when you get there.

It has long been true in America that nobody can be foreign because everybody is foreign. In the capital cities of Europe that same paradoxical condition has more or less been reached—especially in Brussels, the self-styled capital of Europe, where decades of economic migration have been reinforced by an influx of European Union bureaucrats. There the animosity between Dutch- and French-speaking Belgians makes them foreigners to one another, even in their own country.

To get a strong sense of what it means to be foreign, you have to go to Africa, or the Middle East, or parts of Asia. In South Korea last year 42% of the population had never knowingly spoken to a foreigner. Well, they had better get ready. The country’s foreign residents have doubled in the past seven years, to 1.2m, or more than 2% of the population. And that share could rise: the foreign-born average in the rich world is over 8% of a given population.

Foreigners par excellence

The most generally satisfying experience of foreignness—complete bafflement, but with no sense of rejection—probably comes still from time spent in Japan. To the foreigner Japan appears as a Disneyland-like nation in which everyone has a well-defined role to play, including the foreigner, whose job it is to be foreign. Everything works to facilitate this role-playing, including a towering language barrier. The Japanese believe their language to be so difficult that it counts as something of an impertinence for a foreigner to speak it. Religion and morality appear to be reassuringly far from the Christian, Islamic or Judaic norms. Worries that Japan might Westernise, culturally as well as economically, have been allayed by the growing influence of China. It is going to get more Asian, not less.

Even in Japan, however, foreigners have ceased to function as objects of veneration, study and occasionally consumption. Once upon a time, in the ancient and medieval worlds, to count as properly foreign you had to seek out a life among peoples of a different skin colour or religion. They were probably an impossibly long distance away, they might well kill you when you got there, and if you went too far you might fall off the edge of the world.

At the dawn of the travelling age, writing an imaginary legal code for a Utopian society that he called Magnesia, Plato divided foreigners into two main categories. “Resident aliens” were allowed to settle for up to 20 years to do jobs unworthy of Magnesians, such as retail trade. “Temporary visitors” consisted of ambassadors, merchants, tourists and philosophers. Broaden that last category to include all scholars, and you have a taxonomy of travellers that held good until the invention of the stag party.

To be foreign got much more straightforward from the 17th century onwards, when Europe adopted a political system based on nation states, each with borders, sovereignty and citizenship. Travel-papers in hand, you could turn yourself into an officially recognised foreigner simply by visiting the country next door—which, with the advance of mechanised transport, became an ever more trivial undertaking. By the early 20th century most of the world was similarly compartmentalised.

The golden age of genteel foreignness began. The well-off, the artistic, the bored, the adventurous went abroad. (The broad masses went too, as empires, steamships and railways made travel cheaper and easier.) Foreignness was a means of escape—physical, psychological and moral. In another country you could flee easy categorisation by your education, your work, your class, your family, your accent, your politics. You could reinvent yourself, if only in your own mind. You were not caught up in the mundanities of the place you inhabited, any more than you wanted to be. You did not vote for the government, its problems were not your problems. You were irresponsible. Irresponsibility might seem to moralists an unsatisfactory condition for an adult, but in practice it can be a huge relief.

Writers in particular seemed to thrive in exile, real or self-imposed. The qualities of it—displacement, anxiety, disorientation, incongruity, melancholia—became the modern literary sensibility. A writer living overseas could shrug off the perceived limitations of country and culture. He was no longer an English author, or an Irish author, or a Russian author, he was simply an Author: think of James Joyce, Christopher Isherwood, Vladimir Nabokov, Samuel Beckett, Joseph Brodsky. It became, and remains, bad form to pigeonhole a writer by country. All want to be writers of the world, and the world rewards that aspiration. Of the past ten winners of the Nobel prize for literature, five (V.S. Naipaul, Gao Xingjian, J.M. Coetzee, Doris Lessing and Herta Müller) have been émigrés.

An earlier Nobel prize-winner, Ernest Hemingway, set the ground rules for the writer as foreigner when he was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris: live in Saint-Germain-des-Prés (or equivalent), work in cafés, meet other artists, drink a lot.

Not everyone can be Hemingway. Many foreigners today are threadbare students, overworked managers, trailing spouses. The male expatriate in Bangkok is a great deal freer than the female expatriate in Jeddah. The lot of unwilling foreigners is far worse still. A life of foreignness imposed by poverty or persecution or exile is unlikely to be enjoyable at all.

Even so, all other things being equal, foreignness is intrinsically stimulating. Like a good game of bridge, the condition of being foreign engages the mind constantly without ever tiring it. John Lechte, an Australian professor of social theory, characterises foreignness as “an escape from the boredom and banality of the everyday”. The mundane becomes “super-real”, and experienced “with an intensity evocative of the events of a true biography”.

An American child psychologist, Alison Gopnik, when reaching for an analogy to illuminate the world as experienced by a baby, compared it to Paris as experienced for the first time by an adult American: a pageant of novelty, colour, excitement. Reverse the analogy and you see that living in a foreign country can evoke many of the emotions of childhood: novelty, surprise, anxiety, relief, powerlessness, frustration, irresponsibility.

It may be this sense of a return to childhood, consciously or not, that gives the pleasure of foreignness its edge of embarrassment. Narcissism may also play a part. While abroad, one imagines being missed by friends and enemies at home. Beneath it all there is the guilt of betrayal. To choose foreignness is an act of disloyalty to one’s native country.

That idea of disloyalty is less bothersome now. But a century or so ago it was a mark of deviance for an English gentleman to admit the desirability of living anywhere other than England. The best argument in favour of spending time abroad was that it gave you a better appreciation of the virtues of home. “What should they know of England, who only England know?” wrote Kipling.

I’m an alien

Nowadays, you might rather say that the more you know of other countries, the more inclusive of all humanity your values will become. You educate yourself, beginning with anthropology.

Every foreigner of inquiring mind becomes a part-time anthropologist, wondering and smiling at the new social rituals of his adoptive country. George Mikes, a Hungarian living in England, wrote a book in this genre called “How To Be An Alien”, published in 1946. It was not really about how to be an alien at all, but about a foreigner’s view of English society, and it was very funny. Mikes rightly saw that most social codes partook of the arbitrary and the absurd. If you happened to stand outside them, as a foreigner always did, then life could be a continuous comedy.

Mikes wrote later, tongue in cheek, that he had expected his English friends to be very angry at the mocking portrait he painted of their country. Instead they seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. Mikes had been making fun of a culture confident enough to laugh at itself, and his underlying admiration and affection for it were clear.

Still, it could have gone badly wrong. Foreigners do complain more than they should, and locals do not like it. If you were to write a book called “How To Be An Alien” today, and meant it to be a serious manual of instruction for use anywhere in the world, it might consist of three rules only. Pay your taxes, speak some English and be nice about the country where you live. Exaggeratedly nice. Avoid even trivial criticisms. You do not go into somebody’s house and start rearranging their furniture.

Perhaps foreigners are, by their nature, hard to satisfy. A foreigner is, after all, someone who didn’t like his own country enough to stay there. Even so, the complaining foreigner poses something of a logical contradiction. He complains about the country in which he finds himself, yet he is there by choice. Why doesn’t he go home?

The foreigner answers that question by thinking of himself as an exile—if not in a judicial sense then in a spiritual sense. Something within himself has driven him away from his homeland. He becomes even a touch jealous of the real exile. Life abroad is an adventure. How much greater might the adventure be, how much more intense the sense of foreignness, if there were no possibility of return?

For the real exile, foreignness is not an adventure but a test of endurance. The Roman poet Ovid, banished to a dank corner of the empire, complained that exile was ruining him “as laid-up iron is rusted by scabrous corrosion/or a book in storage feasts boreworms”. Edward Said, a Jerusalem-born Palestinian-American scholar, caught the romance and pain of exile when he called it “a strangely compelling idea, but a terrible experience”. The true exile, he said, was somebody who could “return home neither in spirit nor in fact”, and whose achievements were “permanently undermined by the loss of something left behind for ever”.

The willing foreigner is in exactly the reverse position, for a while at any rate. His enjoyment of life is intensified, not undermined, by the absence of a homeland. And the homeland is a place to which he could return at any time.

Of pain and pleasure

The funny thing is, with the passage of time, something does happen to long-term foreigners which makes them more like real exiles, and they do not like it at all. The homeland which they left behind changes. The culture, the politics and their old friends all change, die, forget them. They come to feel that they are foreigners even when visiting “home”. Jhumpa Lahiri, a British-born writer of Indian descent living in America, catches something of this in her novel, “The Namesake”. Ashima, who is an Indian émigré, compares the experience of foreignness to that of “a parenthesis in what had once been an ordinary life, only to discover that the previous life has vanished, replaced by something more complicated and demanding”.

Beware, then: however well you carry it off, however much you enjoy it, there is a dangerous undertow to being a foreigner, even a genteel foreigner. Somewhere at the back of it all lurks homesickness, which metastasises over time into its incurable variant, nostalgia. And nostalgia has much in common with the Freudian idea of melancholia—a continuing, debilitating sense of loss, somewhere within which lies anger at the thing lost. It is not the possibility of returning home which feeds nostalgia, but the impossibility of it. Julia Kristeva, a Bulgarian-born intellectual resettled in France, has caught this sense of deprivation by comparing the experience of foreignness with the loss of a mother.

But we cannot expect to have it all ways. Life is full of choices, and to choose one thing is to forgo another. The dilemma of foreignness comes down to one of liberty versus fraternity—the pleasures of freedom versus the pleasures of belonging. The homebody chooses the pleasures of belonging. The foreigner chooses the pleasures of freedom, and the pains that go with them.

The food – yum!

2009-11-30T01:37:00.000-06:00

The food culture here is bonkers! The aspiring foodie in me is definitely in paradise! You can literally find anything you could want here, both in restaurants and in the supermarket. I also posted pictures of lots of these options on facebook.

I was so excited to eat my first Chinese food meal in Hong Kong (when I was flying through there). I’ve eaten Chinese for as long as I can remember, but never actually in China. That was really fun, although the taste was pretty much the same. I was hoping for really exciting Filipino food (though I knew nothing about what that was). Well, it turns out, Filipino restaurants aren’t that common here and I’ve been warned not to eat from the meat filled street carts. So, as of now, I still haven’t really eaten Filipino food. But, I have eaten lots of other great Southeast Asia stuff – Japanese and Korean mostly.

I was delighted, when walking through the supermarket the first time, to find just about every Mexican and American food I usually eat. Although I cringe at the carbon footprint I’m making for myself buying this stuff, it is hard to pass it up. I eat Mexican food many times per week and don’t have to make any of it completely from scratch, which is what I have to do in Israel. I also enjoy some of my favorite brands like Annie’s and Amy’s. It is so easy to just buy things I’m used to eating when in America. But, I don’t only buy those things. I do cook a lot of Asian, as well. For the first time ever, I made my favorite Thai dish with ingredients actually from Thailand. Many of you have tried it – peanut rice. And, although I usually enjoy it, when I put fresh, Thai sweet basil on it, it took the dish to a new level. Wow! I’ve also been eating a lot of Korean, mostly because that is what my former flatmate made often. She totally got me hooked on this Korean version of a Moon Pie and even though she’s gone now, those are a still constant presence in the condo.

There are nice restaurants everywhere, but you have to be prepared to pay American prices for them. There is one mall, Greenbelt, which is only about 15 minutes from me by taxi, where there are tons of great restaurant choices. I’ve eaten Indonesia, Italian, Cuban, and European there so far. And, I’m not talking about a food court, I mean proper restaurants. There are so many options there, I could probably only eat there and not run out of new places for at least a month. Oh, the only Chili’s I’ve seen in Manila is in Greenbelt, as well – yuck.

Oh, and check out facebook for pictures of my first ever McDonald’s delivery – that’s right, McDonald’s delivers here. I had to try it – it was hilarious. The guy comes on a scooter, the lids are taped down to the cups so the drinks don’t spill and everything – that was really fun.

I was even able to find most of the traditional Thanksgiving foods in the supermarket here. I could not find vegetable broth, however, and ended up having to use Tamarind broth instead. Tamarind is a sort of tree fruit/nut that is used in many sweet and sour Asian dishes. Needless to say, this turned my dressing, gravy, and mashed potatoes into an interesting American/Asian cross that doesn’t quite count as Fusion. So, the tastes weren’t just like home, but I’m not there, so maybe they shouldn’t be anyway. I did make my own Thanksgiving feast and had the best time making and eating it. Being alone didn’t bother me so much and I’ve been eating leftovers all weekend – just as it should be. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving themselves, wherever it was... :-)

Taguig, my little expat city

2009-11-30T01:36:00.000-06:00

Those of you who are on facebook have seen pictures of where I am living; check them out, if you’d like. I have a condo, which is basically like a typical timeshare condo in the States (minus a Jacuzzi tub, unfortunately). I had a flatmate for a few weeks and it was a bit crowded then, but not since she returned to Israel. The entire 2 bedroom condo combination is about the size of the living room in my apartment in Tel Aviv, but I’m comfortable. The building is gated and guarded and I rarely get to open the front door by myself, as there is always a guard there. There is a pool, playground, gym, badminton courts, and a “jogging path” (that is a total misnomer, though – the jogging path is concrete, about 80 yards long, and only about a foot wide; no one would ever actually jog on it). Basically, I like my building – I feel safe and relaxed here.

I live in an area near other big condo buildings, empty lots that are to become big condo buildings, and the American Military Cemetary. My neighborhood is called the Fort, because when the US Military was still here the entire area was Fort McKinley. When the Americans left, most of the street names stayed (I live near a McKinley and a MacArthur street) and the Philippines government let the US keep the plot of land to build the cemetery. It is a nice area, with mostly expats, of course, and lots of development.

Now, most of you know of Manila, but maybe no more than that. So, let me explain it a bit. Manila City is actually just one of 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, which is what most people outside of the Philippines are really referring to, without knowing it. Marcos basically incorporated all the different cities into one when he was in power. So, Metro Manila is huge – there is a giant geographic spread of I don’t know how many miles, but I know that it would take at least 2 hours to drive it north to south. There are about 12 million people in Metro Manila and Filipinos move here from the provinces by the hundreds per day. Taguig City is the city I live in (notice that’s different from a neighborhood – Taguig has tons of neighborhoods). Feel free to check out the city’s website: www.taguig.gov.ph to see more.

Taguig City is heavy on the expats and foreign businesses, but there are also areas with more locals here, though not really near me. There is a big mall that has pretty much everything I could need, including a giant and wonderful supermarket. The best place I’ve found, though, is the Bonifacio High Street. It is just an area of shops and restaurants and cafes and such, but I love it. There are tons of different types of food available, great shopping, plenty of coffee options and it is clean, with manicured courtyards and fun sculptures. I go there several times per week (mostly to sit in a café and use the internet) and really enjoy the atmosphere. Locals do go there (you hear a lot of Tagalog - the Filipino language), but only the more wealthy ones. It is weird, but I feel like I’m in America when I’m there, which is typically a big turn-off for me when I’m not in America - but not here. It’s my favorite place in the city to hang out right now.

Well, that’s my living situation...on to other things

Patience required

2009-11-30T01:34:00.000-06:00

Well, as much as I’d hoped to keep everyone posted on my time in Southeast Asia, I haven’t posted a blog since I got here 3 weeks ago. I have written down lots of things I wanted to blog about, but between not having internet at home and being a workaholic, I haven’t actually written and posted them. So, I am going to take a few hours now and write some blogs. I’d like to say that I’ll keep up from now on, but why make promises I might not be able to keep...I’ll do my best...read these posts for now and let me know what you think – maybe that will encourage me! :-)

Work culture: which differences are going to be harder to deal with?

2009-11-02T11:12:00.004-06:00

Well, today was a wake-up call, likely the first of many in this new adventure. I now don't know what is going to be more difficult to handle: Israeli work culture or Filipino work culture...

In my transition to becoming a true Israeli, I have yet to spend adequate time in formal (I use this term loosely) work, having done mostly informal education of my own design. This is really my first proper job for an Israeli company and, more importantly, an Israeli boss. I started to see the differences as early as during the interview, when my boss interrupted the human resources woman to tell her that her "question was stupid and I obviously was experienced in that." He is very "Israeli" and continues to surprise me by how much so. There were several things last week, like when he told me that he was unexpectedly leaving the country before I was trained, or when he showed up 2 hours late for a meeting with me. But today takes the cake (at least for now).

I had a million questions regarding my departure and the job that I will be doing in Manila. I was able to ask a few of these over the course of the last week, but there were a lot more, so he told me to email him. So, I did. I made it really organized and in a bullet list, to make it easier for him to answer the questions with one or two words. There were maybe 20 questions in the email. It was about 15 hours before he responded (over the course of a working day). His response answered about half of the first question I asked. That was it. Maybe 1/40 of what I asked. No comment about anything else, including to say "I'll respond more later." That was it. I was so frustrated!!!

But, the reality is, this is probably how it is going to be. I guess I'll just figure it out on my own and the less response I get from him, the slower my work will go. If it doesn't bother him, I'll have to learn to not let it bother me. He's a nice guy and all, but wow - what a shocker for my typical American desire to have questions answered before going on a work trip halfway across the world. This will be a great exercise in patience and rolling with the punches... And, it seems to me, it will be just as hard to adjust to this as anything the locals can throw at me in the Philippines. But, we'll see that soon enough. I fly on Wednesday...

Used book store adventures

2009-06-16T09:18:00.003-05:00

Middle Eastern men are a different species. I didn't have to immigrate to figure that out. I discovered it years ago, when I started spending vacation time here in Israel. They are so direct - read overly aggressive - when interested in a woman. It's no problem for them to interrupt whatever you are doing, regardless of how focused you are pretending to be (a great technique when you notice an American man you don't want to meet eying you). I have been interrupted while walking down the street, listening to music, talking to friends, enjoying the solitude of journal writing on the beach, and, just today, while perusing a used book store.

Today's incident was particularly strange for me. I was very enthralled in my search for a good "airplane book" (as I am flying to the US for a visit next week) in my current favorite used book store in Tel Aviv when I felt eyes boring into me and then he spoke. "That's a good one" [referring to the tattered paperback I was holding]. "Is it? Great," no reason to ignore him, however I continue attempting to read the back cover. Then the truth comes out: he has never read the book - that was his opening line. I'm shocked (read with heavy sarcasm and eye rolling). I don't really respond and keep, in vain, trying to looked totally focused so he'll walk away. Then brawny Israeli man (henceforth referred to as bIm) says "Do you like books?" Oh, wow, line two just blows me away, now I'm definitely giving him my number. Yes, obvious man, I am standing in a used book store, pouring through unorganized shelves in search of a gem: I like books. Still, I wouldn't want to be rude, my polite Southern upbringing doesn't allow me that. "Yes, I like books."
bIm: What about records? [the store also sells used vinyl]
Me: No, not so much. I don't have a record player. [not in this country yet, at least]
bIm: Would you like to come to my place and we can listen to records? [There is no attempt to hide the sexual implications of this sentence. His eyes are giddy with the possibilities.]
Me: Um, no thanks. I don't think so.
Now this is where the conversation/pick-up attempt turns into badgering. I repeatedly say no thank you in several ways and he keeps trying. I even decide to throw in that I'm leaving Israel next week in an attempt to stop him if he's looking for a regular casual sex partner. To no avail, as "Come on, just one song. It won't take long" is his reality. By the way, I think I made the rhyming there, not him. He finally gets that his attempts to lure me to his apartment aren't working and,
against all odds, tries a different tact - that great Middle Eastern directness: "I'm a great lover." This one is a definitely direct quote, I remember it distinctly. How do you respond to a complete stranger saying this? Upon quick reflection, I went with "That's great. Good for you." I thought "Mazal tov!" might be a bit much. Upon my dismissal I was quickly informed that this was a "one-time offer" and, crazy me, I still said no thanks. He didn't seem to understand why I'd turn down such an outstanding man as himself, but finally let me be.

Oh, but wait! On his way out of the store five minutes later, I suddenly feel a big, brawny hand on my hip... Now, in America, my response to this would likely be physical and would definitely be defensive. But, there are different standards of personal space here and I am much more laid-back than I was a few years ago. So, I simply shift my body away from his hand and he speaks his parting words: "By the way, nice ass." The feminist in me is appalled - wait a minute, the human being in me is appalled. Since when did we decide that is was socially acceptable to objectify each other so openly? I would have been okay with something positive about my general appearance, I guess...maybe...argh. But nice ass? Did he think this crude comment would convince me or was he simply trying to explain why he had approached me? Of course, deer in headlights that I was, I merely laughed nervously and think I even said "Um, thanks" as he turned and left the store. Yes, that's right, I thanked him for staring at and commenting on my ass - what? That's not my style at all, but we can't always live up to our own high standards for our self, I suppose.

In the Middle East, a woman doesn't have to be skinny, dress sexy, or seem interested - trust me, I rarely go to the trouble to be any of those things. But, the men still approach. I can't imagine what it must be like for women who do... I suppose it is nice that it's an equal opportunity country. On the other hand, walking down the street can also be very tiring here. Hopefully I'll get used to it though, since I'll be back in September. :-)

Just to clarify...

2009-03-20T12:21:00.003-05:00

I'm not really a blogger. I have a blog. There is a big difference, I think. See, a blogger actually keeps up a commitment to write on a somewhat daily basis, there is consistency and you can set-up a feed that would actually produce regular updates. Then there is me. I write when I can find the time or am particularly inspired by something. These things may or may not be interesting to anyone other than my mother (though even her interest I doubt sometimes), but I write them anyway. It's more of an online update tool for all the peeps around the world who have an interest in what I'm up to. If you're not a friend and actually read my blog, I'd love to know, as I don't really expect that and it would be a big boost to my wannabe blogger ego. Anyways, I just wanted to explain this before I begin another list of topics that I've been adding to for the last month. See below for all the things I didn't have time to write down until now...

The not-so underground Israeli vegan subculture

2009-03-20T05:30:00.000-05:00

Being a vegan is an interesting life-style choice that I have happily, for the most part, made for my self. Unfortunately my current living arrangements are not a friend of those choices, but that is another story for another time. Vegetarianism is definitely a part of my identity and slowly veganism is becoming so, as well. This choice is seen as extreme by many in America. The reality is that people in the US probably know way more vegans than they are aware of. Though it is a different diet, many people fully in the mainstream have embraced it. Some famous vegans include Joaquin Phoenix, Brooke Shields, and Coretta Scott King - just do a google search (I did). Being a vegan does not place on you on the edges of American society by any means and being on the edges (anarchists, whatever) doesn't necessarily mean you are vegan. Now, I don't want to say that these things are steadfast in Israel either, but there definitely exists a subculture here that proves it true.

My experience with this subculture began about a month ago when I was researching Jewish beliefs on vegetarianism and veganism (check out http://www.jewishveg.com/ for some basics) and came across the International Jewish Vegetarian Society here in Jerusalem. A vegetarian community center with limited but regular activities, essentially, I knew immediately it was for me. After all, I am on the hunt for a Jewish, Israeli, vegan husband... :-) So, I grabbed my closest vegetarian friend and some homemade peanut rice (see the much requested recipe below) and we went to the monthly vegan pot-luck.

We had a blast meeting a small group of vegetarians and vegans living in Jerusalem and enjoying the tasty fare. Both of us are planning on becoming regulars. We also made a new, vegan friend who is super cool and we've hung out with since...he is the one who introduced us to the real Israeli vegans (the italics there should indicate my facetiousness in using this term). He took us to a vegan party at a friend's place on Purim. Being a mainstream, American vegan, I was not prepared for what I found...

Extreme left-wingers, activists of various sorts, free love, anarchists, anti-Israel Israelis...wtf? I just don't eat meat and such...and you people all thought I was a leftist? There was a lot of singing; they are very musical. There was also an amazing salad with fresh cilantro that I intend to recreate. And then there were a lot of discussions about Apartheid, democratic schools, the Walk About Love (http://www.walkaboutlove.org/), and Disney movie soundtracks. Not to mention the verbal attack when my friend let it slip that she sometimes eats fish...whoa... I just expected some good old-fashioned Purim revelry...

It was a supremely interesting evening and a definite change of pace. I had a good time. They are good people. I just didn't expect that being a vegan would put me on the fringes of my new society...am I prepared to integrate that into my identity? I think not...I'll just have to bring mainstream veganism here! :-)

Thai-style Peanut Rice

This is a quick and easy vegan recipe that even the worst cooks can't mess up. I didn't get the recipe from anywhere, rather just started putting stuff together that I liked. It is similar to Thai Peanut Noodles though. All ingredients and amounts are really up to you - I just do it to taste every time - so leave out or change whatever you want. And, if you come up with something new, let me know and I'll try it your way.

Ingredients:
Rice of whatever sort you prefer
Peanut butter of whatever sort you prefer
Garlic
Onion - pick a color
Oil that you like to cook with
Soy sauce
Sriracha (Rooster Sauce) - this is to spice it up a bit, if you don't like spice or don't have it, leave it out, it will still be super tasty
Basil - fresh or dried

1. Cook some rice, however much you want to eat, in the usual way that you cook rice.
2. When the rice is almost finished, start heating up oil in a saute pan. Saute chopped garlic and chopped onion - the amount is your decision.
3. When the garlic and onion is starting to brown, add peanut butter, soy sauce, and Sriracha - amounts are again your choice, based on your tastes. Stir all of this stuff together. The peanut butter will slowly melt down and you will have a thick brown sauce. Keep it moving so that it doesn't burn or stick too much, unless you like that kind of thing.
4. Add rice to this sauce while it is still on the burner on low heat or immediately after taking it off while it is still really hot. Stir everything together until all of the rice has at least a light coating of sauce (I prefer a heavy coating, myself).
5. Plate the new creation you've made and sprinkle it with the basil.
6. Enjoy with chopsticks for a challenge and more fun! :-)

A little love for the refugees in our midst

2009-03-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

The weekly English class that I teach to Sudanese refugees in Jerusalem continues to be one of my biggest sources of joy. The men I teach are amazing people and the little bits I know of their stories just reiterate that.

The indictment by the International Criminal Court of Omar Al Bashir, the President of Sudan, was extremely important to these men. They left Sudan because of the despicable situation there and Omar Al Bashir is a big cause of that. The day after the indictment was announced, my students came to class so happy and we talked about it a bit. As someone who works in the peace field and knows about the realities there from many perspectives, this was definitely the most interesting one. Just the joy on their faces...even if nothing comes of this indictment (which is likely, unfortunately) it was a small victory for them!

On the flip side, I have several friends from EPU and elsewhere who are working/have worked in and around Sudan. Their frustration with the recent banishment of NGOs and aid organizations is understandable and merited. It seems an already horrible situation will continue to get worse for the Sudanese people. Why do we humans treat each other this way?

I talk to my students about Israel and whether they like it. They do very much. They enjoy their lives in Jerusalem, where they have places to live, jobs, and relative security. They ask me about America and want to learn about the culture and politics there. We have enjoyed conversations about random things like Frisbee and gymnastics (both of which they had never heard of before). I know these men are grateful for their lives in Israel. And I just wanted to send out a little love because I'm grateful that they are in Israel and my life, as well.

Finally, what I need!

2009-03-17T09:21:00.004-05:00

Wow! I just spoke Hebrew for 45 minutes straight. It was amazing! We spend all this time in class everyday (though I've missed a ton lately, since I've been sick), but I never get to actually speak in Hebrew outside of that. And, with 20 people in my class, how much speaking do I actually get to do there? But, today, I had my first private tutoring lesson and spoke in Hebrew pretty much the entire time with the teacher - yay!

It all came about because I had a meeting with the director of the ulpan yesterday (btw, she is really lovely) about missing so much class. Those who know me are aware that I am a very committed student, but I've been feeling so poorly that I've missed several classes and am starting to fall behind. So, we talked about it and she offered me the option of a private tutor once per week. I didn't know what I'd think about it, but welcomed the opportunity to ask my questions and actually get an answer.

So, I just had the first lesson. It was great. We worked on the Hebrew verb constructions - בניינים This was super helpful. Although I have worked on this in class and on my own, something just wasn't clicking. Not that I get it all now, but the pieces are starting to fall into place.

I have a lot of faith in language structure. I have found, in learning French and German, that if I can learn how to construct and deconstruct the language, I can figure most things out over time. But Hebrew wasn't presented to me via structures (I find this super ironic, since it's possibly the most structured language I've ever learned). So, I worked on it on my own and with friends and started figuring them out myself. But, there is only so far this can go with big gaps in my knowledge. Luckily, this little session helped me to fill some of these voids and now I see things actually coming together. So great!

It is imperative that I keep working on this on my own. I will hopefully be meeting with this tutor once per week for a while, so I'll be able to ask what I can't figure out.

But, if this session showed me anything, it's that I really need to be speaking Hebrew more. I have plenty of Israeli friends for this, but they all speak such good English that we don't even bother. I guess I'll have to work on changing this. Also, living in Jerusalem is really horrible for one's Hebrew. Even when I try to speak Hebrew when I'm out, I'm rarely responded to in Hebrew. There are way too many Anglos here! So...

Calling all Israeli friends: please help! I know you will get annoyed and frustrated and probably don't have enough סבלנות for my terribly broken Hebrew, but it would be super great for me. So, help out an עולה חדשה - I'd be so grateful! :-)

Ah, I got sand in my eye...over and over!

2009-02-20T11:41:00.003-06:00

The sand came to Jerusalem yesterday. It's called אביך in Hebrew and it's yucky. Basically, the wind shifts in a way to pick up sand from the Negev Desert, fill the air with it, and carry it to the rest of the country. It's not smog, but I don't know the name in English (or if we even have one for it in America). Luckily, I was warned that it was coming because they announced it on the weather forecast. But, still, I hadn't experienced it since living in Ramla 2 years ago and I had forgotten how gross it is and had places to go.

So, I went about my business of shopping and getting ready for my class, all the while being covered with and filled with a fine sand. Even after sitting inside at a cafe for 2 hours, I could still feel it in my nose and my eyes itched. Darn you, desert!

I have to admit though, I kind of love these little quirks of Israeli weather. I mean, really, sand in the air so thick that you can't see the tall buildings? I love it. I love everything about this country - including the sand and the angry, yelling women (see post below). I guess I really am becoming a crazy Israeli... :-) Sorry I didn't take any pictures to show you - I'll try to remember next time.

A riot over a cellphone?

2009-02-20T11:20:00.003-06:00

I had to run errands today before Shabbat started. I should have done it earlier in the week, but this week was bonkers busy, so it never happened. I knew going into it that trying to get stuff done on Friday would mean a lot of waiting. I was prepared. I have patience. So I went to the bank and that took about 45 minutes - fine, no problem. Then I went to the big Cellcom office/store thing in Talpiyot...

When I walked in and saw that the place was packed, I was not excited, but it was my own fault for showing up an hour before they closed for the weekend. I took a number and was delighted to find a seat, turned on my music, and was prepared to sit there for 45 minutes before speaking with anyone. That's about when the yelling began.

I pulled my ear buds out to listen to a middle-aged woman yelling at a customer that had just sat down at the counter. (Note, all interactions described here did take place in Hebrew, so I might not be entirely accurate, but I think it's pretty close.) She was yelling at him to find out his number. She had seen him come in and knew she was there first and wanted to know how he got to the counter before her. She was so angry and so loud that everyone was watching. She told him to get up and wait like everyone else. He had been talking to a Cellcom worker who had taken him to the counter, it wasn't his doing or his fault, but he didn't get up either. I probably wouldn't have either. When he tried to explain this to her, she just kept yelling, "I'm not interested!"

Then the floor manager came over and tried to talk to her. She kept yelling. Then another customer came over and started yelling with her. They were both pissed for having to wait so long and apparently felt that yelling would help them. They just kept complaining about how long they had waited and how ridiculous it was. Every explanation the manager gave was rebutted with "I'm not interested!" by the angry, yelling woman. I am just sitting there, watching this, thinking, "You are the idiots (like me) who came just before closing time on a Friday. This is your own fault, not Cellcom's." Of course, I didn't say this, because I'm not that Israeli yet. I did, however, send a text message to a friend about how crazy Israelis are and how I couldn't believe I had chosen to become one of them. :-)

There were at least 3 more incidents of either the angry woman or angry man yelling at Cellcom workers. They just kept yelling sporadically over the next 30 minutes or so. At one point, one of the workers did not have a customer with him for all of 2 minutes, so the woman went over and yelled at him to help her. He said he was busy - big mistake - so she gave him an ear-full (and a loud one) about how many people were waiting and how he shouldn't be busy doing anything but helping customers right now. I'm just glad that both the angry man and angry woman were helped before me - I didn't want to get yelled at!

These crazy Israelis...oops, that's me... :-)

The Joys of Teaching...

2009-02-20T11:03:00.003-06:00

I mentioned my volunteer teaching position before, teaching English to refugees from Sudan, and had such a fun class last night, so I wanted to write an update.

I feel like seasons are something that most people take for granted. The average American for example, thinks summer is roughly June, July, August, and so on with the other seasons. I have traveled a lot and realize that not everyone shares the American conception of each season, but did not think about this when I happened into discussing the seasons in my class last night. I was just checking to see if the students knew when summer was and they said, "Now." Well, for them, it is now; they are from Sudan. So, this prompted a very interesting discussion of each season, when it is in Sudan versus in Israel, America, Europe, etc. It was great because they kept asking, "So where is it winter in January?" and questions like this. What a great conversation - it really shows what people take as fact, them and me...so fun.

An appreciated cultural difference... As a woman, I often feel left out of men's rituals, particularly how when guys come into a room they often shake all the other guys' hands to greet them. Rarely does a man include the women in the room in this greeting. But, the Sudanese men sure do. When they come in to the center, they all have to shake everyone's hand and don't stop moving until they do. I love it! I finally feel included in this little ritual.

Also, the Sudanese men are so nice. Last night, during class, I sort of squatted down to write something in my notebook. This is a super common position for a teacher. When you're teaching, you are typically standing, so when you need to make a note, you either lean over or squat down. No problem - totally normal for me. Almost instantly, one of my students jumped up, grabbed me a chair, brought it to me, and said, "Please, you should have a chair, too." I had absolutely no interest in sitting down, but it was so nice of him that I sat in that chair for at least 10 minutes, just to show I appreciated it. This class is so fun!

Left <--------> Right

2009-02-14T14:08:00.001-06:00

I got to spend a few hours with a friend last week whom I had not seen in a long time. It was lovely to catch up on each others’ lives and chat about my issues making Aliyah and learning Hebrew, since she went through the same stuff when she made Aliyah a year or two ago. Also, considering the timing, the night before the election, we spent some time talking politics.

My views on peace inevitably affect my politics in any country, but definitely in Israel, where every party has its own platform on how to deal with the conflict. I’m a peacenik. I am a socialist. I’m a left-winger; there is no doubt about that. If you place the parties in Israel on a continuum from left to right, I’m not falling off the side, but I’m decidedly sitting near the edge. But this friend, who is right of center for sure, asked me if I was moving right since making Aliyah.

Ah, such a question! I have written before about my struggles since arriving this time. I find the Israeli pessimism creeping into my idealism. I feel fears that I never felt living here or anywhere else before. I am having a difficult time discussing “security.” I am definitely sensing something pulling me right… I don’t know if it is a true shift in my beliefs or the pressure of society and my peers (who I am slowly finding out are way more right wing than I thought). I don’t know where I’m going to end up. I hope I stay where I am, it took me a long time to get here, but I don’t know. Yes, I feel the pull, but the real question is whether it will get me or not in the end…

Finally volunteering again...

2009-02-14T13:59:00.001-06:00

A couple of days ago, I started a new volunteer position teaching English to refugees from Sudan. I had been looking for something with a limited time commitment that would be at least somewhat in my field and where my skills could be utilized. So when I saw this posting on a list-serve, I was really excited. Once a week, for an hour and a half, I’ll be teaching the advanced students English. The class is small, just a few students for now, but it is great! I am so happy to be back in a classroom and contributing my time to help these refugees and Israeli society.

The refugee situation is a precarious one in Israel. It has only been expanding since it really became an issue a few years ago, when large numbers began to cross the border illegally from Egypt and enter Israel. Most of the refugees were originally from Sudan, fleeing the conflict in Darfur, but many have come from other regions of Sudan, as well as Eritrea. Israel to date has no comprehensive refugee policy and has just been making it up as new problems arise. While it is not uncommon for a country not to be prepared for an influx of refugees, a country as small as Israel (just remember Israel is the size of New Jersey with a population of around 7 million) simply does not have the infrastructure to deal with the approximately 3,000 refugees who have arrived in the last years and the lack of a plan has caused many problems.

Once a refugee gets onto Israeli soil, the government will not make them leave if they have a valid concern for asylum. Israel also will not send them back to Egypt, as Egypt will either force the refugee back to their home country or kill them. When Israel told Egypt they should be keeping a better eye on the border, not allowing so many refugees to cross into Israel illegally, Egypt’s response was to start shooting refugees that they caught trying to cross the border. Now Israel is trying to find other countries to accept some of the refugees that have made it here, but are not finding too many options and the state is very overloaded, especially in Eilat, the southern city where many of the refugees have ended up.

In many Israeli cities, there is no public housing space for these refugees to inhabit and many end up sleeping in bomb shelters that are not currently being used or in parks. These locations are absurdly overcrowded and lack basic facilities, thereby creating a public health concern. The municipalities have responded in different ways, but basically it is still a big problem in most cities with large numbers of refugees.

Jerusalem is a bit different. The refugees here have generally been here for a year or two, have housing, jobs, and speak Hebrew. Although I don’t know the entire history, it seems that Jerusalem never faced this large influx and was able to deal with smaller numbers at once. Also, the tourism industry here allows for many jobs in hotels and housekeeping that did not require the refugees to speak Hebrew immediately. Because of this, the students I am working with are generally much better off than the refugees in Tel Aviv or elsewhere. They have apartments, steady jobs, speak much better Hebrew than me, and are learning English and computers to better their lives here or in whatever country they end up in.

The program they are participating in was started by two young women who saw the need and wanted to help the refugee population. I’m very impressed by what they’ve been able to do and am really happy to get involved, even in such a limited capacity. The world needs more people like these women, who try to help even though they do not have to, but just because they see a void that needs to be filled.

Major blog updating today!

2009-02-11T08:13:00.000-06:00

Recently, I have thought about/experienced several things I want to blog about, so I intend to write at least a few entries today. They are in no particular order…just trying to get it all out…

Magen David Adom will take me…

2009-02-11T08:04:00.008-06:00

Last night, for the first time ever, I donated blood. It was not the first time I tried to donate blood, but the American Red Cross won’t take me because I lived in Europe for too long during Mad Cow Disease and Foot & Mouth Disease. (the fact that I was a vegetarian this entire time never seemed to matter). However, Magen David Adom only has the restriction on living in the UK, which I never did. So, they took me!

A few of us went to the Inbal Hotel to an American Friends of Magen David Adom blood drive for tourists. Although we aren’t tourists, we were welcome and were able to ask questions in English, which was especially helpful. My friends who have given blood previously in America told me that the process here is much easier and quicker. There seemed to be a lot fewer questions, which I had no problem with. After the forms and questions, they took my blood pressure, tested my hemoglobin, and I was good to go. So, I snuggled up next to a quirky Israeli phlebotomist and let him suck my blood… He was quite funny, playing techno music on his cell phone while he worked and joking with me about the stress ball I had to squeeze. I also got to use one of my favorite Israeli expressions:
זה לא פר
Which means That’s not fair! The fun part of the expression is that they say fair the same way we do in English, which is why it amuses me.

Anyway, so my friend Nicole and I gave blood while Adina watched (she wasn’t able to donate yesterday). Here are some pics of the process and Adina looking disappointed because she couldn’t donate:

I really appreciated finally having the opportunity to give blood and, hopefully, help someone who needs it. Thanks, Magen David Adom! By the way, for those of you who don’t know, Magen David Adom is the Israeli Red Cross, translated The Red Star of David.

Yesterday was also election day (see other posts on this topic) and those of us who made Aliyah at the end of December didn’t get to vote, as one must be here for 3 months after making Aliyah before gaining the right to vote. I found this really frustrating (and I definitely wasn’t the only one) and really wanted to participate in the election. Since I couldn’t, however, it did make me feel better to have at least done something for Israel yesterday. And, they gave us a cool hat! :-)

I really encourage all of you who are able to give blood as often as possible. I believed this was important before, as well, but I now I can say that it’s not difficult, just an hour of your day, and you could save a life. Check out these websites for more information:

American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/

American Friends of Magen David Adom: http://www.afmda.org/

Magen David Adom: http://www.mda.org.il/

Stereotypical Language Learning

2009-02-11T08:02:00.001-06:00

Language learning is wrought with stereotypes. Hebrew isn’t the first; it has been the same with all three of the languages I’ve learned as an adult. The designers of curricula seem to think that we will learn better if taught through the things we should expect and that the society expects. Language learning this way is not exactly peace education…

There are several things that bother me about this. For example, I don’t like that we have to say the word teacher in the feminine form because “Most teachers are women,” as our female teacher told us. It is strange that the word for nurse is exactly the same as the word for sister – I suppose I’d understand this more in a Catholic country where nuns were the nurses long ago, but Israel was never Catholic and neither was Hebrew… I also don’t appreciate that when we combine nouns and adjectives, a girl is pretty and a boy is strong. It is hard enough to break out of these imposed gender roles and expectations when your language doesn’t put them on you, but how are you supposed to do so when you’re taught to speak in stereotypes?

Coming from EPU (read: peace camp), I am probably more keenly aware of these issues. Discourse is important. Semantics do matter. How awkward must it be for a man who wants to be a nurse to contend with being called sister…

I found another perpetuation of the situation here on a worksheet on adjectives. There were all of these adjectives listed, standard stuff like big, interesting, wide, difficult, etc. But one set struck me immediately: black (not equal to sign) white – that is exactly how it was written (except in Hebrew). There were no other colors listed on the page. Perhaps if purple (not equal to sign) orange or something else like that was written, I wouldn’t have noticed it so much. (And, yes, I realize these colors are not opposites.) If I was in America, this color comparison would have its own set of connotations and be, frankly, unacceptable.

Being that I am in Israel, I did not think immediately of racial issues, but instead of the dichotomies that dominate Israeli society (see the post about the elections and Tzipi Livni’s victory speech for more on this). Many people here are very comfortable with things being either black or white. I’m having a hard time finding a large number of people willing to live in the shades of gray in between. It seems easier for everyone to say it’s either this or that, left or right, correct or wrong…

Why? Why is this perpetuated? What are we doing to ourselves and our society when we insist upon living in a dichotomy?

I am typically pretty comfortable in shades of gray and realize that most situations are far too complicated to boil down to two extremes. I am rarely okay polarizing anything…this is stressing me out and is clearly going to be a big issue in my absorption into Israeli society.

Are you a Zionist?

2009-02-11T08:00:00.001-06:00

Zionism is such a loaded word nowadays. Some people see it an obligatory part of modern day Judaism. There are some very religious Jewish groups who are anti-Zionism. Others see it as a synonym to devil or, as some friends and I joke, baby-killer. Everyone seems to have their own opinion as to what the word really means.

I’m not going to try and define it for anyone here. You are on the internet. Look it up if you’re interested. I will tell you that Zionism is a positive belief for me, one that I readily embrace, especially since traveling to Israel for the first time on Taglit birthright Israel. I am a Zionist. I have no problem saying that out loud to anyone who would like to know. In Israel, this definition of myself makes me fit in more. At EPU, it made me separate. I can live with both of those reactions, as being a Zionist is an integral part of my identity and something I don’t separate from my Judaism.

Which is why I was so surprised the other day when a fellow new immigrant asked me if I was Zionist. Sitting in my room chatting, obviously not looking at my wall that has three Israeli flags hanging on it, he inquired “Are you a Zionist?” My response was “Well, yes, I mean, I made Aliyah, so of course I am. I wouldn’t have made Aliyah otherwise.” Turns out I shouldn’t be so quick to assume that all of us new immigrants are Zionists, as he pointed out. Although he is a Zionist, he listed several of our peers here who are not.

I had not spent a lot of time contemplating other reasons to make Aliyah. I know that many people have come to Israel to escape persecution or to build a better life than they could in their old country. But I had never really thought that people at Ulpan Etzion might be in one of those situations. It turns out that some of them are. And there are others who came here not for those reasons, and not for Zionist reasons, but for other, unrelated, random reasons. I guess my assumption that making Aliyah means you are a Zionist isn’t so correct after all…just proves the saying that assuming makes an a** out of u and me... :-)

A new season in Israel...

2009-02-09T08:16:00.001-06:00

Today is Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year of Trees. Yes, it sounds weird, but it's my favorite holiday. Consider it a Jewish Earth Day, although we celebrate the regular Earth Day, too. On this day, we celebrate the Earth, fruits of the Earth, nature, the environment, etc. You're meant to spend time outside, plant some trees, and eat a lot of dried and fresh fruits, nuts, and seeds. It's the only holiday I know of when the dictated foods are vegan - so, it's great for me and my vegan self! I think it's the ultimate day to connect to nature and be at peace with our environment. I love it!

We didn't plant trees today, but we did plant flowers and assorted small plants outside of the absorption center. There is too much of a water shortage in Israel right now for everyone to plant trees. But, even if it was just flowers, it was nice to do it all as a group and help beautify our own space. Look back about 2 years for a post about me planting trees in Israel on Tu B'Shevat that year.

It's also sort of the dawning of a new season (not literally, since winter still has some time to go), a fresh start, the cleansing of the Earth, and rebirth, as the first cup of wine of the seder represents. And how appropriate this year...

Right now is definitely the beginning of a new part of my life, having only made aliyah 6 weeks ago. I am now at the point where I have adjusted to living at Beit Canada. I've started to make good friends and really enjoy living there. And, Hebrew class is finally full of new things and no longer a review. And, I've accepted that I live on the edge of Jerusalem and not in the city and am learning to deal with that. It's not Baka, but what can you do other than make peace with your situation? Life is good at Ulpan Etzion.

Tomorrow is a big day here and possibly a new season for the state, too...the elections for the Knesset (Parliament) and the Prime Minister. Tzipi Livni, the only female candidate for PM, could win. I hope she does, although her political views aren't as far left as mine. It would be a bit amazing to be a citizen of one country with a minority President and another with a female Prime Minister. It shows that the world has come a long way that this is even a possibility...watch the news...we'll see.

Well, my computer battery is dying, so I'm signing off. More blogging to follow in the near future, after our internet gets hooked up...although I am becoming very familiar with the Jerusalem cafe scene this way...

Oh, one more thing, I spent 2 afternoons this past week laying out on the roof and basking in the sun - in February! I love this country! :-)

Reflections on my first month as an Israeli

2009-02-01T08:54:00.005-06:00

I have now been Israeli for one month! Yay! I am still so happy about my decision to make Aliyah and have no regrets. It is a complicated society to live in and my head is full of conflicts and contradictions (which just proves that I am truly Israeli now), but I love it, all the same! I know that this language and culture will continue to challenge me for years to come and I am so delighted about that!

It has been an interesting month, full of paperwork, questions, moving around, getting to know new people, seeing old friends, and more. I am now settled in to my temporary home in Jerusalem, at the Beit Canada Absorption Center, and think I have adjusted to the schedule and the food (read: daily fried vegetable patties). Although many of you would not be impressed by the facilities, it is quite fine for me for 5 months and I really appreciate the social environment and all the people here.

Ulpan Etzion is good, though there have been some problems in getting everyone into the correct level. Personally, I was placed too low from the beginning and have been quite bored. Those of you who know me are aware that unless I am challenged, I am not interested, and that's how the first 2 weeks of class have been. However, a new class was added that is a slightly higher level and is meant to move faster and I will begin in that class tomorrow. I hope that it is more of a challenge and more interesting for me. I am very committed to learning Hebrew very well while I am here and do not want to be able to just scrape by for 5 months. So, we will see what is to come...

My friends have gotten used to having me back, it seems (even though they all live in Tel Aviv and I'm an hour away). And I was delighted to be able to go to Mark's birthday dinner last night in Tel Aviv, even if it did require me to travel about 4 hours round trip. I am so glad to have them all back in my daily life and not just my inbox. Here is the group in front of Beit Canada a couple of weeks ago:

Other reflections on this life...I still need to find a job, hopefully one in the Peace Education field. Unfortunately, our classes are at the same time as schools here, so I can't go into the schools this semester. Hopefully, I'll be able to find something with an informal education program in the afternoons or evenings. Also, I need to start seriously looking at doctoral programs and make a final decision on where to go, so that I can begin the process of applying and looking for funding. I may need to continue my Hebrew studies during the summer to be ready for classes in Hebrew in the Fall. And, of course, there is that small detail of finishing up my master's research...ah, never enough time in the day... :-)

Israeli Bureaucracy?

2009-01-27T13:59:00.003-06:00

For all the things people have said to me about Israeli bureaucracy, I was expecting torture. Everyone warned me: you’ll have to wait forever, they’ll lose your paperwork, they won’t actually do what they say they’re going to do, there will be some new rule to follow, etc, etc, etc. Maybe because of all these warnings (or maybe because I already had experience navigating French bureaucracy), I really haven’t found it to be that bad.

Sure, there is a lot of paperwork. And, yes, I did have to sign my name like 35 times at the bank to open my account (no, I’m not exaggerating here). But, really, things have run pretty smoothly and people have been very helpful and accommodating. Maybe I won’t have the terrible stories of so many Olim Chadashim…or maybe just not yet.

I did have to go to sign up for my health insurance three times, but that was really my own fault. Granted, the office is the most difficult place I’ve ever had to find here, mais c’est la vie!

I guess the most inconvenient thing was today – my first doctor’s appointment (no, I’m not ill, so don’t worry). After taking a number – which you must do everywhere you go in Israel, likely an unfortunate side effect of the Israeli inability to form a line – I was eventually called and went in to see the doctor. On the phone I had verified that the doctor spoke English. So, when I entered the room, I asked in Hebrew “Is it possible to speak English?” I was surprised when the doctor responded in Hebrew that she understands most English, but doesn’t speak it. Argh. So, I had to do my best in Hebrew. I spoke mostly Hebrew – not very well – and English when I didn’t know the word for something. We worked it out and really it wasn’t too bad, but I’ll definitely have to take a dictionary if I am going for something serious! :-)

Elections

2009-01-21T05:07:00.003-06:00

The US Presidential Election last year was kind of a big deal, if you didn’t notice. I was a bit bummed to not be in the US for the historic inauguration - as were many of the Americans here, it seems. Thankfully, we have a television in the common room. So, we all packed in after class yesterday to watch the festivities live.

It was great fun, complete with two guys holding up a big American flag the whole time. There was lots of cheering, clapping, and rejoicing – also some laughing when Obama messed up the Oath of Office. :-) A great time and a great way to enjoy the change of regime from thousands of miles away, I think. And oh, I am so happy that W is gone!

There are also elections coming up here in Israel. I don’t think I’ll get to vote yet, unfortunately (you have to wait 3 months, I believe). But, one of the frontrunners is a woman – Tzipi Livni. I think she’s pretty great. I agree with a lot of her party’s policies, though not all. And, I’ve seen her speak and find her very intelligent. Of the major candidates, she is definitely my first choice.

I would be so delighted to be a citizen of two countries with minority heads of state. Hopefully change will come in the world from these elections…

Christian Friends of Israel

2009-01-20T12:31:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I had an experience that I wanted to share with everyone...

Some friends from Ulpan (Hebrew school) here had been told about an organization that was helping new immigrants, so we decided to check it out. A group of us went there, not knowing entirely what to expect, but basically just because they were giving away free stuff. What I got out of it was something far more meaningful.

When we went inside we were greeted by an adorable, older, Russian lady. She took our IDs and we sat down, discussing that we felt a bit uncomfortable as "Westerns" taking hand-outs, but that we were all on a tiny budget and thought it would help. So, we waited.

And then another woman came out and said she wanted to tell us about the organization. She proceeded to speak about how Christians want to support new immigrants to Israel because we are fulfilling the prophecy that G-d will bring the Jews back to Israel. I believe that this is a necessary step for the (in Christianity's view) return of the Messiah. There was such emotion in her voice and so many kind words to say to us seemingly insignificant women. It was stirring.

I have heard so many times about how bad Israel is and how I shouldn't move here, etc, etc. Most Jews understand, but few others do. It was so amazing to hear from a non-Jew that she, and many others, are happy we are here and support us, our choices, and Israel. We all almost cried. It was so overwhelming. Absolutely amazing...

That was enough for me - my soul was filled with joy. Then, to top it off, they gave us free stuff for our apartments. It was unbelievable. They wanted to help and kept encouraging us to take more and to come back later. I was just blown away. What a brilliant morning. :-)

The air is changing...

2009-01-16T06:40:00.002-06:00

I got a message from a former professor of mine recently with a link to an interesting op-ed in the Washington Post. I'd like to share it with you. Check it out: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/09/AR2009010902324.html

I found this article really interesting. While I don't entirely agree with it, mentalities have changed here. I have definitely seen a level of despair in my friends that I've never seen before. It seems many of them have resigned themselves to believe that violence is the only option. It's quite a sad state of affairs, really. They want very much to live in peace and not have to worry anymore, but can't imagine that ever being the reality. After making Aliyah just a couple of weeks ago, I am finding it a struggle not to let this feeling invade my own idealism. But, living here and saying, "Life goes on..." is a strange feeling (though perhaps a necessary one) and I don't want to accept war as my reality. It's an internal struggle that I anticipate will not end soon.

Aren't you afraid?

2009-01-16T04:04:00.002-06:00

I hear this question a lot when talking to people about my decision to move to Israel. I heard it many times before and during visits here, too. My response is always the same, a confident and clear "No."

I've used that response many times since arriving a couple of weeks ago. People keep asking, though, and I find this has caused more self-reflection. I think I'll have to amend my answer now. I won't say "Yes" because I'm not afraid most of the time. I have my moments however, like when I'm on a bus. Most of the time it is only when an older bus pulls up, one that looks familiar from pictures of attacks by suicide bombers in the past. Those pictures are admittedly seared into my mind from watching too much news. And, at those moments, I have a flash of fear. It's not consuming and I have no intention to stop riding the bus anytime soon. It is a brief feeling, a passing emotion, but it's there.

Also, I do find myself glancing towards the door when people get on the bus. I don't know what I expect to see. I've never seen a suicide bomber in action, so I have no idea what I'm looking for, but I look anyway. Perhaps they will have a flashing sign on their head that says "Get off the bus, I'm a bad guy!" What would tell me that now is the time to exit the bus or get down? This futile momentary look is unconscious. I'm sure I'll keep doing it, but I know that it won't matter.

The new thing is bulldozers, backhoes, etc. Since the bulldozer attacks last year in Jerusalem, I'm acutely aware of construction sites and these vehicles. That's a big issue, since Jerusalem is constantly under construction, with buildings going up all the time and a new light rail being put in...

Personally, I am a firm believer that what is meant to happen will happen. If that is what G-d intends, I can't fight it. But, I will still check the bus door when it opens. I will still keep my peripheral vision on the bulldozer. And, I will have to change my answer to that familiar question to "Sometimes."

Why did I make Aliyah?

2009-01-11T08:23:00.002-06:00

This seems to be the million shekel question. I suppose I should have expected it and prepared an answer more profound than the one I actually have, but I didn't. Since people have been asking, I've been trying to scrape one together. But, every time I answer it, my response seems lacking to the questioner. So, I thought I'd explore it here. Maybe by the end, I'll better know what to say the next time I'm asked.

FYI, Aliyah means immigrating to Israel, but literally it means going up. This is also the word used for being called to the Torah during services. It's a big deal, not just moving to another country.

So, why did I do it?

Well, I love Israel. I have since my first visit on Taglit birthright Israel in 2005. It's an awesome place - a little island a lot like Europe and America here in the Middle East. It's easy to feel comfortable here and I do in a way I've not felt in the European countries I've lived in. There are a million reasons to love it, here are just a few reasons that I do:

the heart is Jewish: the calendar, the food, the language, most of the people
the challenges: it's not an easy place to live and I've always loved a good challenge
the geography: beaches, mountains, deserts, forests, everything
the diversity: there are a million different types of people here and all the types of Jews that exist; there is always someone new to learn from

What else? Well, my career path has also led me here. Various unexpected turns in work and academics have kept pointing to Israel. Peace and coexistence education is so needed and so full of opportunity here and I am extremely excited to be pursuing it.

I have amazing friends here. They are great and we have things in common people who aren't Israeli don't understand. Aliyah is hard to explain and, with them, I don't have to. They have supported me so much these first days after my arrival that I couldn't possibly regret the move.

I'm still searching for that elusive response...it's not coming...there are just a million little things. Like the fact that I can turn down dates with Jewish men because I live here - I'd never turn down a date with a Jewish guy in Arkansas, he might be the last available one! There are fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere and they don't cost a fortune - it's a vegetarian/vegan heaven! The weather is amazing - it's warm here right now - I'm wearing a lightweight sweatshirt - can't beat that, especially after winters in Boston and Europe. Israel is a very casual country: you can wear jeans to weddings and students refer to teachers by their first name.

I guess what it really comes down to, why I really decided to live here indefinitely, is because I'm happy here. I'm happy walking down the street, sitting in a cafe, sleeping on a friend's couch, catching a train, whatever. I'm just happy being here and no particular situation needs to exist to make that true. I'm happy in Israel. As long as I feel that way, I will be here, and no small inconvenience (or apparently not so small war) is going to change that. That's why I made Aliyah...I hope that answer will suffice.

FYI: Range of missles fired from Gaza

2009-01-11T06:49:00.002-06:00

I was sent this image in an email and am posting it so that everyone can see how far Hamas' rockets can reach. It's not just a desert they are firing at, it's major population centers, including Be'er Sheva, one of Israel's biggest cities. I'm not saying that Israel can't reach into the territories, I just know that many people don't realize how much pain Hamas can inflict and how many people in Israel have to live in fear every day, too.

Life as usual

2009-01-11T05:38:00.004-06:00

I'm sitting in a cafe enjoying coffee and free wireless internet. I'm watching people walk down the street, get lunch, hug, ride their bikes, honk at taxis. It's a normal day in Tel Aviv. People are living their lives. That's Israel. Life goes on, no matter what. I've talked before about what a marvel that is to me, about how a people so constantly under attack from every angle just keeps living. These days, same as most, the attacks are coming from countries all over the world, from neighbors, from citizens, from everywhere.

It's not the first time I have been in Israel during a war, though what's happening in Gaza is not being called that. I was here when the Second Lebanon War started. I was on vacation, just exploring and enjoying the beaches and did not even know the war had started until my mom called from the States, yelling at me to get on a plane and get home. I didn't leave Israel until the flight I was originally scheduled to leave on, many days later. I just kept doing what I was doing, as did the rest of Israel. I wasn't in the North and it was just life as usual everywhere else. This time I was in Arkansas when the fighting began. My flight was already scheduled. I never considered changing it. Why would I? So, I stressed my mom out again. She wasn't happy about my move in the first place and then Gaza - it may be my fault she has high blood pressure. But, it's just life as usual. Guess I'm more adapted to the Israeli mentality than I thought.

What about the people in the South? It's partially life as usual there too, I suppose. But, it's a different life than here in the Center. There life is about bomb shelters and code reds, about mortality, about whether to leave this time or stay home. It is still life as usual though - 8 years of rockets from Gaza have made that so. But, it's different, too. Israel is trying to stop those rockets now. Schools in the South were closed weeks ago - that is the only reason kids did not die when Hamas rockets landed on a school. All residents who were more than 15 seconds from a bomb shelter were required to move and many are staying with family somewhere else in Israel or in temporary housing. So, it's life as usual, but not.

I can imagine that the people in Gaza are living a similar half-life (or even less). The offensive is disrupting everything, I'm sure. There must be tons of fear and uncertainty. There IS a lot of death and destruction. It is worse than "normal." But how long has it been since "normal life" has been good there? And whose fault is that? Is that even relevant?

People want easy answers, someone to blame, and Israel is an easy choice. But it's complicated, not simple. There are so many factors, more than I understand and this is my field and region of the world. If there was an easy answer, this conflict would be over. If only one person or group was to blame...but that's not reality. Everyone has contributed to this conflict, it is not isolated. Everyone is contributing now, too, even people simply changing their profile pictures on facebook to reflect their particular loyalty. The fire that has been raging here is constantly being fed in so many ways and by so many people how could it ever be put out?

It has become quite difficult to hold on to the idealism of peace. But, I fight to do it, anyway. I did not become an Israeli because I thought violence would be the status quo forever. There IS a chance for peace here. These peoples, trapped in a tiny bit of land at the convergence of three continents, can find common ground. We have to or continue to live like this, with a twisted version of life as usual. Instead of feeding the fire, why don't we all try to put it out so that ALL of us can enjoy good coffee and free wifi?

The emotional toll of a war I'm not even fighting...

2009-01-10T08:18:00.006-06:00

Right now, I am sad. I shouldn't be sad, in the midst of realizing a long time dream, but it's all finally gotten to me. Becoming an Israeli was definitely the right choice for me, I've known that for years and have been super happy the last week and a half since it happened. Moving here was the right choice. Doing my doctorate here, where I don't have to be on the defensive every minute, is the only choice for me. I am not sad because I made the wrong decision or even because I'll be dealing with Israeli bureaucracy a lot in the coming days and weeks. I am sad because people don't understand the reality of what is happening in the Middle East. I am sad because people think that Israel has no right to be safe, if they even see Israel's right to exist. I am sad because, it seems, even my "peace" friends think that violence is okay - whether directed at me or "my people."

Since the operation in Gaza began, I've been thinking about blogging, emailing, posting notes on facebook, anything. Based on the media coverage, it has been obvious that people are not being accurately informed - a chronic condition of this conflict. But every time I sit down to begin this process, there is too much in my head and I'm just so jumbled up that I can't express it properly. I'm still having those problems, but it seems that I have no choice but to try now.

Not everyone is going to like what I say. I realize that almost everyone I know is going to have a problem with something that I say. That's fine. I don't feel the need for my friends and family to agree with me on everything (and it really doesn't matter if a stranger does). And I welcome your comments and opinions. I do NOT welcome and will not tolerate attacks. I don't write this blog as a forum to receive anti-Jessica, anti-Jewish, or anti-Israel comments. Plenty of places already exist on this internet for these things (well, hopefully not anti-Jessica comments). There is a difference between a critical eye and a violent one.

So, I'm going to try to discuss my Aliyah experience and the situation in Gaza (which have become intertwined). I don't know how often I'll write on here. Mal sehen... But, I'm going to try and keep up. And I'll try to respond to questions or comments as best I can. Here goes...

Thank you, NBN!

2009-01-07T06:59:00.000-06:00

Nefesh b'Nefesh is amazing, plain and simple. There was so much additional paperwork to do that I almost decided not to bother, but I'm so glad I did. And, if you're considering Aliyah, the application process has now been merged with JAFI's so it's super easy.

NBN has made my Aliyah process so much easier. At the airport in NYC, we signed several documents to process our Teudot Zehut. Once we got to Israel, we were taken, as a group, off the plane, through passport control, and to the Ministry of Absorption offices in the old terminal. There we were given our Teudot Oleh (see picture at right), our first Sal Klita payment, and other paperwork that you normally have to go wait in line for once you get settled. Through all of this we were meeting fellow olim, enjoying refreshments, and basking in the glow of becoming Israeli. Everyone was always ready with a hearty Mazal Tov or Welcome Home! What a great way to come to this country! To see pictures of the arrival, just click on this link. Then click on December 31, 2008. I am pretty travel weary in the pics, but am so happy to have these photos.

Then, there was the Klita Fair at the NBN offices in Jerusalem. Representatives from all the major banks, all kupot cholim, mobile phone companies, English language newspapers, and more were there to answer our questions and sign us up. And, we got to pick up our Teudot Zehut. It was great! I waited for like 2 minutes and then walked in, sat down, and was handed my new ID card and all my NBN stuff. That was it - so simple. And everyone was, once again, so nice! The Klita Fair was set up by AACI, I think. So, thanks to AACI, as well!

In addition to all of this, NBN has been ready to answer any question I can come up with through this whole process and I'm told they will still be there for whatever I need. Who could ask for anything more (musical notes ensue)? Thank you so much, Nefesh b'Nefesh! :-)

Telemarketing

2008-12-30T10:15:00.001-06:00

So, while I was in Arkansas, I worked briefly as a telemarketer. No, I did not like it, but I needed the money. I quit for reasons not related to the job, surprisingly enough. But, as always, I learned from the experience and decided to share a bit here.

We will call you again and again until you answer and tell us that you are not interested. So, pick up the phone and say "I'm not interested." Then we'll leave you alone. Or, better yet, ask to be put on our Do Not Call list, as not every business is covered under general Do Not Call lists that you can sign-up for, but most will have their own.
Don't be rude to telemarketers. We are just trying to make a living like everyone else. And, it's not our fault we called you - the boss told us to do so.
Comment's like "Get a real job!" are not only rude and unnecessary, but often inaccurate - some telemarketers make serious bank!
If you are interested in what we're saying, turn down the volume on your TV, as the phone just magnifies this sound and we can't hear you.
Most importantly, don't pick up the phone when you are in the middle of dinner or something else and then act like we are rude for interupting you - how are we supposed to know? And isn't that what caller ID is for anyway?

That's it. Just my two cents. Interesting job - won't do it again. :-)

Boredom leads to blogging

2008-08-23T06:45:00.001-05:00

Today is travel day, which may as well be D-Day to me, since I hate airports and flying and everything related. Yes, I know that sucks for me, country-hopper that I am, but it’s my reality. Traveling is my favorite pastime, moving around the world is the thing that keeps life interesting for me, but I think planes suck.

Now, I must give props to British Airways, though, which is clearly doing everything they can to change my opinion of being trapped in a flying metal tube. My airline of choice this time, I was very anxious to see what they would do when seeing both of my giant checked bags exceeded the weight limit. It was delightful that they did nothing. I didn’t see the scale read-out, but unless some miracle made the tons of crap I shoved in both bags after they were already at the limit weightless, the bags were over. 1 Point – wait, 2 bags = 2 Points for BA!

Security in the Vienna Airport sucks, so after coffees and a tearful goodbye with several friends from EPU, I headed in with my favorite Irishwoman. First, ticket check to get into the duty-free zone, which you (of course) have to walk through to get to any gate. Next, walking through duty-free. Third, passport control – did the woman even look down at my passport or just randomly press her stamp on a page? Seeing as how the stamp is virtually invisible over stamps from Israel and Egypt, I think the latter. Fourth, walk through more terminal, where all the last shops and restaurants are. Last, there is the actual security check, done at individual gates.

So, you know the drill – take out your laptop, where are your liquids, would you like to drink that entire Nalgene bottle full of water or shall I pour it out, the standard stuff. Well, I told her I didn’t want to do either because I wanted the liter of water for the plane ride. To which she said she could pour it out, then I could go through security, then go downstairs to the WC and refill it with the same water I had just used to fill it up in a bathroom before security.

Me: But, ma’am, surely you see that my wrist is in a brace and I can’t use it? I am not able to carry my luggage down 2 flights of stairs and then back up after retrieving redundant water. [Auf Deutsch this all sounds much harsher and a bit whiny.]

Frau Security Lady: Okay, I’ll do it.

Me: You’ll do what?

Frau Security Lady: I’ll go downstairs, dump out your water bottle in the sink and then refill it from the tap of the same location.

Me: Um, okay. That’s very kind of you [read: idiotic waste of both of our times].

And then she did it. The new water was safe. I was safe. The Vienna Airport was safe. Nalgene water bottle danger removed! Thank goodness for that. And, just to add to the visual, this is my pink one with the flower on it. Danke. And I went to my gate and sat down.

Boarding was madness, as expected, with me putting on my giant, overstuffed laptop backpack and then attempting to negotiate all the people with only one usable hand and a rolling bag. I finally made it to the guy checking the boarding passes only to be told he had to change my seat because of overbooking. In my head only: What? I really need to sit on the right side window, so that no one busts my wrist, that is why I left class yesterday to check in online as early as possible and select this seat. Luckily, I said none of this aloud, as he followed with his apologies and my upgraded, business class boarding pass. Bam! 1 more point for BA!

Business class was pretty empty, so I stretched out in my own bulkhead row and enjoyed the smoked salmon salad and Bailey’s on ice, served in glasses and with silverware, not plastic ware. I was unable to sleep, likely due to the really not very good book I am listening to, but it was a relaxing ride all the same. And, to top it off, we flew right over central London and I saw all the major sites from the air. Since I’ve always come into London on a train or via a ferry route or in the dark, this was fun and new.

But the reality of Heathrow hit soon and hard. I avoid Heathrow at all costs normally. It is awful for transfers, takes forever, looses baggage easily, and has high airport taxes. This ticket was so much cheaper than the others that I had to take it, though. Never again. Plane lands, wait, plane taxis, wait, oh, great, it’s a walk down the stairs and get on the bus situation. So, I somehow managed to do that and stand on the moving bus for 10 minutes without dropping anything or falling (I can’t use my right hand for anything yet, on account of the surgery), only to arrive in Terminal 5 (the new one) and transfer to another bus to get to my departure terminal. Then we drove in a big circle right back past our plane and continued on for at least 15 minutes. There was a lot of backtracking and even one awesome moment when the bus actually just did a complete roundabout so that it would be headed in the direction of the exit when dropping us. Did that really happen? What?

Walk, walk, walk, eventually you will reach security. Now, let’s start again, but this time take off your flip-flops, ‘cause they are super dangerous, and you can either drink your entire Nalgene standing right here or I can throw it away for you. Um, well, I guess I’ll drink it. So, I did, while 6 or 7 airport security workers watched me. One of them gave me directions to the nearest bathroom. Another said I needed to make sure to have an aisle seat on my flight. They all cheered when I finished the entire liter. Actually, security isn’t that annoying when you add a bit of humor and British accents (that could have something to do with my accent obsession). J

Finally, in the terminal! Had to get my boarding pass for my Chicago à Little Rock flight and was delighted to be greeting with a Hello, how can I help? Sure, it’s a script and there was some big market research done to make the best line, but it totally worked and BA gets 1 more point for it! (Current total: 4 points)

Oh, oh, don’t get to happy, back to Heathrow reality. Gate 24, gate 24, gate 24, just keep following the signs…through the entire terminal…turn here…go up a hill – no I am not kidding, it was not a ramp, it was a long series of ramps that equal a decent sized hill…ok, up the hill…now walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, when will it end, walk, walk…now down the hill and I’m on the other side…keep walking to the very end of this building and I have reached my gate and the bowels of hell. In this particular part of hell there are no cafes – oh, boarding, have to finish this later!

Waiting…

2008-08-06T02:30:00.001-05:00

Day 2 – I was awoken before 6 am this morning to get ready for my surgery. Last night was pretty miserable, as my headache just got worse as the night went on and the woman next to me has to be monitored every hour. That means that every hour 2 nurses came into our room, turned on the light, and did a bunch of stuff with her for 10 minutes and then left. That doesn’t exactly make for a good night of sleep. Oh well, tonight I can have drugs to help me sleep, if I want.

So, after being awoken with the sun, I showered and changed into my very sexy hospital clothes: a lovely gown with a completely open back, anti-blood clotting tights that go to the top of my thighs, and disposable underwear – I think I’ll start wearing this outfit everyday (sorry there are no pictures)! I have also been given a bunch of fluids via the IV. Now, more than 3 hours after being awoken, I am still waiting. I can’t drink even water, let alone eat, so I just sit here and wait and wait and wait. I tried to read, but my head hurts too much, so I am writing in an attempt to take my mind off my nerves. Waiting…

The best news I’ve heard all morning is when one of my roommates said, “Well, your surgery must not be a big deal, since they haven’t come and gotten you yet.” She went on to explain that they do the major surgeries first and then move on to the minor ones. For some reason, hearing her say that calmed me down a bit. But, I’m still ready to get it over with. I’m telling them to put me under, since that needle sounded so awful (see previous post). So, once they get me, it should be happy drugs and sleep and when I wake up, I’ll start the recovery process. I’m looking forward to that part.

A Catholic priest stopped by this morning to meet us and tell us when Mass is held. He described to me in his broken English that he lived for a while in Bolivia. Totally irrelevant, but he clearly wanted to practice his English so I went with it. There is also a cross hanging in every room. It’s a public hospital, so I find this a bit strange, but it’s a Christian country and they have no desire to separate religion here, so I guess I should have expected it.

I ended up with a late night visitor yesterday, my first hospital visitor ever. A friend from school came kind of on a whim and the nurses were not too happy with the time, though it was only 9 pm. But, she hung out and we chatted, all the same. It was really nice to have her here and made me feel a lot better.

So, I am still waiting to be taken to the operating room. I better focus on that.

10:30 am – still waiting…

Hospital food and other commentary on my experience in an Austrian Krankenhaus

2008-08-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

It is 5:15 pm. I just finished dinner. Nope, not kidding, they delivered it before 5 pm. And now I’m done and normally I wouldn’t even be out of class yet. Apparently a stay in the hospital puts on you the schedule of an 80 year old, regardless of your actual age. The menu: wide noodles with oil and something like cottage cheese, applesauce, and tea with lemon. Obviously quite bland, which is understandable since it’s a hospital and all. But, after lunch, who would have had any idea that dinner would look like this?

For my first ever hospital meal (in any country) I had rice pilaf (very Indian style), a spring roll (East Asia), salsa (which they called “Mexican dip” and expected you to dip your spring roll in), and a chocolate iced donut (America). I’m extremely confused by the continental clash. What could have inspired such a combination in a hospital that supposedly has won many cooking awards? Was it just international lunch, so they threw in whatever? And how is anyone supposed to get well eating fried food and oil without any protein? No wonder you have to stay in the hospital for so long here – improper nutrition.

For those of you who don’t know, I am staying in the local hospital here in Austria for 3-4 days to have a minor surgery that would be exclusively outpatient in America or Israel. But, with a semi-socialist healthcare system, I guess the hospitals like to keep you around. [The woman in the bed next to me just let out a proud burp and didn’t excuse herself - not very Austrian of her.]

It is Day 1. I was required to be here by 8 am this morning. (Side note - I have never stayed in a hospital overnight in America, only gone in and had the surgery and left, so some of the observations I make may be prevalent in the US healthcare system, too.) I first had to go to the Emergency Room, which is really more of a multi-purpose intake clinic here, wait for a while, and then talk to a surgeon. I don’t know if he’ll be my surgeon, but he’s on the team, so to speak. It pretty much went like this:

Herr Dr. Surgeon-man: Do you have any questions?

Me: Well, I don’t think so. I read the paperwork and everything. Oh, wait, I have a question about the anesthesia. Will I have regional or general anesthesia?

[The woman next to me just burped again – apparently I need to get used to this.]

Herr Dr. Surgeon-man: I don’t know, you’ll have to talk to the other guy for that.

Me: Okay then.

Herr Dr. Surgeon-man: So, go to the reception and check in, then go here, blah, blah, blah (that’s when I stopped retaining information).

So, then I went to the hospital reception and, after waiting in line at the wrong place for 15 minutes, got checked in. Then off to my station where I appear to be the only person under 60 years of age. I have 2 roommates, though I didn’t find that out until after my meeting with “the other guy” (the anesthesiologist). That meeting was absurd. I sat around a waiting area with about 8 other patients who also have beds in the hospital until my turn. This took over 2 hours. Why he didn’t come to us, I don’t know. I read an entire magazine in this time – productive? I think so.

Believe it or not, the food was not the most disappointing/scary thing today, rather this meeting was. I am petrified of general anesthesia (it’s a long story). So, I asked the anesthesiologist if I would have general or regional. His response “Whatever you want.” Is this a science? But, okay, I want the regional. “Okay.” And that was it. Um, don’t I need to know more? So, I asked a bunch of questions since he didn’t appear to have anything to say. It turns out the reality of the regional anesthesia is not as good as I had hoped. Once I pried a description of the process out of him, this is what I got (and mind you, this sounds way scarier in German): “So, I’ll stick a needle in you that’s, well, pretty big, and it’s electrified, so to speak. And I’ll stick it in your armpit and try to find the nerve that controls the feeling in your hand. The way I’ll do this is to dig around with the needle until your hand flinches because of the electric current that hits that nerve and when that happens, I know I’ve found the right place and then I’ll numb that nerve. I might get it on the first try, or I may have to dig around for like 30 minutes. I just don’t know. And, it may not work and then we’ll have to give you general anesthesia anyway. And, it is possible that I’ll poke something else other than the nerve accidentally, but that rarely happens.” Boy, what a sell! I might just go for the general anesthesia after all, if the alternative is apparently a form of torture.

[My roommates are now both sleeping. It’s 5:45. Should I be asleep, too?]

So, I have had a few other things done today, spoken to a doctor here and there, got a big bruise on my hand from the guy who couldn’t get the IV in, got my IV put in by a woman who knew how, etc. But, pretty much, there was no point in me staying here all day and night. I could have come here this morning and done the appointments and then gone home and returned tomorrow morning for the surgery. They haven’t even attached anything to my IV. So, it’s a little annoying and I am bored to death. Maybe that would be another advantage to the general anesthesia – I’d sleep for most of tomorrow. Wow, this is a super Debbie-downer entry. Sorry, I guess it is pretty obvious how I feel about being in the hospital. But, tomorrow will be better, as I’ll be on the road to recovery already. Stay tuned….

Birthday Pics

2008-07-01T10:07:00.004-05:00

Well, the birthday celebration at McDonald's was awesome. About 30 of my classmates joined me for the celebration. The weather was lovely, so we were able to sit outside, next to the "Children's Birthday Train." It was locked, though, so I had to ask for them to open it up. The girl thought I was absolutely crazy and told me that it was just for kids and wouldn't open it. So, I sent in Austrian reinforcements and Christoph was able to convince them to open it for us. Yay, Christoph! So, we took some pics in the train and several of my friends enjoyed playing the kids games that were inside, too. All in all, it was brilliant. See some pictures below.

Some of the group in the pavilion, enjoying a tasty McDonald's dinner!

Some of the group in the Birthday Train:

Me and Ronald

Harry Potter = motivation killer

2008-06-28T14:16:00.007-05:00

I haven't blogged since I was in Israel for break, which is almost a month ago now, so I have some catching up to do. I will be writing the posts in reverse chronological order, though I might post them in the correct order, since I can manipulate the post date. We'll see.

So, current news...let's start with the title. While I was in Israel, my friend Mark was reading all the Harry Potter books, from 1 to 7. Years ago, when the first movie came out, I read the first book and found it enjoyable, but never bothered to read more. But, since I was on vacation, Mark's idea sounded like a good one and he lent me book after book. I got through number 4 - Goblet of Fire while I was in Israel, leaving only 3 more to go before the end of the series. Since I couldn't find anyone who wanted to give me the others in English (and for free), I thought I wouldn't be finishing them until returning to America. Turns out, however, that Thomas, an Austrian friend here, had them at home. Last weekend he brought 5 - Order of the Phoenix and 6 - Half Blood Prince back for me.

Last week I didn't have class (long story) and intended to be super productive and write a paper, catch up on reading, etc. The two books laid so innocently on my nightstand...calling to me...begging me to read them...I made it almost a whole day without touching them. But, as soon as I picked up book 5, I knew I wasn't going to be able to put it down. So, I read 150 pages or so Monday evening, then maybe 500 pages on Tuesday, and finished it up on Wednesday - 768 pages in less than 2 days and I can't seem to get research done? Clearly my lack of working for school isn't because I can't...

I promised myself that was it until I did school work. "Jessica, no book 6 until you write a paper." It worked for a little while. I have done some work - including extensive research on conflict diamonds - but I've started Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and it is brilliant! I'm 300 pages in and the action is starting to pick up. For someone who doesn't like to read fiction, this is quite surprising. I guess I just needed J.K. Rowling... I'll have the book finished by tomorrow evening without any problem and also do some work along the way. It's a good thing too, because I have a great week of classes to look forward to and pay attention to. I can't stay at Hogwarts forever. I'm looking for book 7 now.... :-)

The classes coming up on Monday sound good in title, but it's really the professor I am looking forward to the most. He was here last term, as well, and is really good. I think he is one of the quintessential EPU profs: engaging, available, excited to be here, and very much wants to hear what we think and about our experiences. I love it! Really we only get these types 4 or 5 times per semester, so I look very much forward to those weeks.

And it's a good thing I am looking forward to the classes, since Monday is my birthday and it would be sucky to start a sucky class that day. :-) You can tell by my very mature wording of the last sentence that I am embracing this growing up thing. Late twenties...not too old, but a healthy dose of reality, that's for sure.

To further deny this reality, however, I will be celebrating my happy day with a dinner party at McDonald's. I chose this location because when I was like 3 years old, I had a birthday party at McDonald's, in the Caboose Party Room. And, the first week I was at EPU, I was taken to the McDonald's in Oberwart (the city near us), only to find that it also has a caboose - obviously this is fate and I have to party there. You can't ignore these types of coincidences. I'll be sure to post a pic or two after the party for all of you to enjoy!

Ah, yes, just one more thing for this post... It's an especially lovely tidbit from my life... I opened my closet today to find a worm. No, I am not kidding. There was a worm, about an inch long, in my closet, just heading towards my bananas like it was a regular day for him. Not so humdrum for me, though, and I freaked out and flushed him down the toilet. After some internet research, I suspect he is in the middle of his growing stage, between little egg infested somewhere in my room and moth who wants to fly around and drive me mad. While he won't ever achieve his goal, he did serve to creep me out sufficiently enough that I emptied and scoured my entire closet. I didn't find anymore and hope there aren't, but am a bit skeptical. My food has been relocated to our cramped kitchen. All clothes in range are washing. And, I don't think I'll be able to eat a banana for a while. :-(

Musings about life at EPU and beyond

2008-06-27T15:29:00.002-05:00

Since my return to Stadtschlaining, for my third and final term, there have been some things on my mind that I thought I would share here.

Being back in Israel over the May break was like going home. I thought it would be weird, to be there, but not be living there anymore. But, it took only about 2 hours before I was totally comfortable again and breathed a sigh of relief that, finally, I was back to my real life. Not that life stops when I'm not in the homeland, but my life has been seemingly suspended in a quasi-reality since moving from Israel to Austria.

EPU is like an imaginary bubble, totally disconnected from the real world, though we study the real world and work to change it. The professor of our recent course Utopias of Peace in Literature said many times that utopic societies are usually built in isolation, on an island or in a deserted land. This enables the society to be fully constructed and without outside influence/interference. Stadtschlaining is pretty much an island for the students here. Not only do we live in a village of 700 people with nothing around to speak of, but the 700 people who live here rarely interact with us or vice-versa. Even as a German speaker who has learned to understand the local dialect (mostly), I find my encounters here limited and more novel than anything. While we may not be very good at constructing our attempted utopia, we are isolated. And no amount of studying, reading the news, or talking to each other can change that.

Being the only Jew here, except for the occasional professor, only increases my feelings of being removed from my reality. There is an element of isolation from my classmates and the community, of course. But, also, I feel removed from Jewish friends, places, practices, and jokes. Perhaps the direct move from the only place where we aren't a minority to here was too large a change not to feel that loss. Thank goodness for the virtual community that keeps me somewhat connected.

One topic I have thought about a lot lately is judgment, specifically why people judge others or even think they have the right to do so. Judgments are particularly pronounced in the EPU community, where most people feel very comfortable to speak their mind about others and what they think of them. This right that some feel to judge others is something I find revolting, regardless of who or how they are judging. I do not pretend to be perfect and without judgment, as a matter of fact I remember many people close to me criticizing me about judging others just a few years ago. But, since then, I have become very aware of my own behavior and made a concerted effort to change my actions and thoughts. Now, I am particularly sensitive to others’ judgments of me and the people around me (or distant communities for that matter). What prompts people to think this behavior is okay?

At EPU, I conjecture self-righteousness. Not everyone here is self-righteous, don't misunderstand me. But, the ones that feel the freest to judge openly are for sure. Discussing the issues of judgment and/or self-righteousness with friends outside EPU really brought clarity to the fact that the field is bound to be full of people like this. I mean, we are a bunch of regular old humans who think we can make changes and bring peace to the world when no one else before us ever has. So, this is a pre-supposition that we probably deserve. All the same, I find neither judgment nor self-righteousness to be very peaceful and think we'd all be a lot better off if we let both of those things go.

Unfortunately, they're not floating away from EPU any time soon, though. Faces of disgust abound when someone makes an unexpected comment. Emails that are shared as FYIs are determined to be your secret political beliefs. Presentation of a different viewpoint is met with raised voice responses and sideways glances. Not keeping my mouth shut and being from two worlds that are highly criticized here (America and the Jewish world) puts me on the receiving end most of the time, a very exhausting place to be. Just as I said in a previous post, I'm an extremist here, though no one bothers to ask. The most ironic thing about this is, even with a disclaimer that I am not in agreement with these views, but am merely presenting them for information or to give another perspective, I am still judged by what I say (or don't say). I used to think: what happened to academia in my absence? But, I have learned that this is EPU and EPU is not a normal member of academia.

My favorite so far: my intention to circumcise any sons I have is apparently incredibly offensive to many people who I will most likely never speak to again once I leave EPU and who will never meet my sons. My explanation that my religion dictates male circumcision and I believe in my religion is inadequate – I am a barbarian. How could I do that to my sons? And, oh, the faces when people say this to me…you would think I was circumcising someone right then.

What do all the reflections come down to really, other than a good venting session? Internal peace is the most important thing. I am happy with who I am and the views I hold, never afraid to be self-examining. I have given up on forming a utopia here, though. The ideals this community should have and be are not prevalent enough. The bubble in Stadtschlaining is not what it is imagined or touted to be in the brochures. I'll keep saying what I think, whether to provoke debate or present a new thought. But, I'll also be prepared for the backlash. I mean, what else could an American Jew expect?

Flip flops

2008-05-22T13:00:00.001-05:00

Oh, wait, I forgot my awesome new flip flops...

'nuff said!

Pictures

2008-05-22T12:09:00.009-05:00

After my last post and how stressed it made everyone, I thought you all would like a funny one...so, how about some amusing photos from Tel Aviv?

The local gas company...

...pass gas?

Something I've been thinking about doing for a while, but never bothered with is taking pictures of the wedding dresses in this country...anyone who has done any window shopping here has noticed it. Israel is notorious for horrendous wedding dresses. I am sure there are also some decent ones, but why, oh why do they put the ugliest ones in the window? It is often quite difficult to tell whether they are lingerie or wedding dresses...just a few examples follow.

And my personal favorite (just check out the reflection of the back of the dress)...

How must this look in photos that you show your children later? "Mommy, you got married in your underwear?"

Suspicious package

2008-05-21T09:21:00.004-05:00

After my birthright trip ended and I dropped the group off at the airport, I headed back to Tel Aviv via train and got off at the Mercaz (Central) Train Station. I walked out to the street and began to wait on a bus to take me to my friend's house when I noticed that traffic seemed to be really backed up. I walked towards the intersection to see what the hold up was when I saw a bunch of cops and a completely empty intersection. There was a big police van with its lights on, several police instructing people and cars not to enter the intersection, and tons of people waiting around.

I wasn't exactly sure what was going on until I heard the loudspeaker from the police van: "Give us some room! Make room! (but in Hebrew, of course)" Then I knew...this is Israel, after all. There was a suspicious package about 10 meters from the intersection, near a bus stop, and the police were dealing with it. Many times in Israel, they use a robot to handle the packages. Although I couldn't see it, I suspect this is also what happened in this case, since I saw the bomb squad standing back. Then...

BANG!

All the same, the explosion took me by surprise and I jumped a little. No one around me jumped, but all the birds did take off. In my journey to becoming an Israeli, I suppose I am only somewhere between Israeli bird (who flees) and Israeli person (who just carries on their conversation on their mobile). I suppose I'll get to the point where I don't really notice the explosion, but that is such a weird thing to say. Desensitization to violence is not a positive thing in my mind, but it does just give me all the more reason to continue trying to increase peace in this world, so that if an explosion happens (G-d forbid), it is so out of the ordinary that even an Israeli is shocked.

I know this post won't make my parents very happy and won't make any of you more comfortable with me being here or my decision to move here in the fall, but this is reality. Although it may have been the first time I'd seen this happen, it occurs frequently and my friends had seen it many times before. For all it's similarities, Israel does have its differences and I am going to learn to live with them, all the while trying to make this a safer place to live.

Taglit birthright Israel

2008-05-21T08:41:00.006-05:00

A few days ago, I returned from my fourth trip with Taglit birthright Israel. I first participated in May 2005 and have returned to staff this wonderful program since. I decided before the trip began that this would probably be my last time, since I am now older than all the participants and feel I have made my contribution as a madrichah (trip leader). Lucky for me, this group - Oranim BR 1032 - was amazing and I had an absolute blast, so I am going out with a bang! Here's a picture of the group:

We did all the usual stuff: Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Eilat, kayaking in the Jordan River, etc. But, there were a few things that were unique to this trip. For example, we visited the Ghetto Fighters' Museum, on a kibbutz not far from Naharriya, on the northern coast of Israel. The Museum was great, with lots of information, a great use of multimedia, and a very informative survivor talk. Also, this same kibbutz is home to the factory that makes corn schnitzel! For those of you who are not vegetarians who have traveled around Israel, let me explain what I am talking about. See, on a kibbutz, one dish that is typically served is schnitzel, normally a breaded piece of chicken. But, there must also be a vegetarian option for us herbivores and, most often, it is corn schnitzel. Israelis seem to think that this stuff is good enough to serve you almost always as the vegetarian option, so there have been 10 day trips when I've eaten corn schnitzel on 8 of the days. No joke! In reality, it's not that good, but does fill you up, so I eat it anyway. But, when I was served corn schnitzel on the kibbutz where it comes from, I couldn't help but get excited. Thanks to Sara for the picture here of me at lunch, just kickin' it with my corn schnitzel.

Other new things for me...during the kayaking/rafting trip, our boat managed to befriend a few boats of 12 year old Arab school children from Nazareth. They were very excited to speak English and we spent some time listing American songs they knew and liked. "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake was a bit hit - no, I am not kidding. It was fun and brought back memories of the work I did last year in Ramla.

There are tons more things that I could write about, of course, but I'll leave it at that. It was great and I had a super fun 10 days!

Sirens

2008-05-07T06:17:00.005-05:00

Post originally written on 7 May 2008, but there were posting problems because I wanted to share with you a video my friend CD made on his visit here, but it was too big and would not load, so I have just embedded a youtube video.

As many of you know, one of the reasons I wanted to make sure I spent my May break in Israel is because I wanted to be here for the holidays. The 6 weeks I am here include the following holidays: Pesach (Passover), Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Rememberance Day), Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day), Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Independence Day), Lag B'Omer (Counting of the Omer Day), and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day). I couldn't miss so many big days, plus this Yom Ha'atzma'ut (starting tonight) marks 60 years of the State of Israel - this is big time!

Two of the other holidays come with a siren: one on Yom HaShoah and two on Yom HaZikaron. When the siren goes off, everything in Israel stops for a couple of minutes. Cars and busses stop on the street and everyone gets out. Waiters stop serving customers and stand still. Pedestrians freeze. Although it may only be for two or three minutes, these sirens serve to respect the victims in a way that we don't in the US or elsewhere. Life is literally interrupted. There is no escaping the siren and, although a few people do choose to ignore it, you have to participate in hearing it. Remembering the people who have passed on is not optional. These moments are very powerful. Here is the youtube video I mentioned at the beginning of this post:

If you want more information about the topics in this post, just do a google search and there are plenty of other videos on youtube, as well.

Aliyah Interview

2008-05-07T05:44:00.002-05:00

Well, I had my interview for Aliyah (immigrating to Israel) with the Jewish Agency last week. I got lost and ended up getting there late, but this is Israel, so when I apologized for my tardiness the response was, "Oh, it's no problem. When I said 11, I meant 11ish, anyway." Gotta love how relaxed this country is!

The interview went well; it was mostly just chatting. The woman had to write up a sort-of biography of me for my file, so we went over a lot of stuff that was previously covered, but also some new stuff. For example, she needed to know the names of my parents and siblings. And, she needed my parents' occupations. Mind you, this woman is not a native English speaker and has to translate what I say into Hebrew, so I had to simplify everything. My Dad's job was best described simply as a state police investigator. She got so excited by this and then said, "Like on TV?" So, I said yes and she was delighted. She clearly has some vision of him doing major crime busts or fancy forensics work.

After speaking about the coexistence work I did in Ramla, she started dropping names of other people who work in the peace field that she knows. She was very happy to connect me with a friend of hers who is a female rabbi from America doing coexistence work here. She already called the woman to tell her I would be calling to speak with her. It's amazing how everyone wants to help.

Also, it's important to know that Peace is a political stance here. If you are a "Peacenik," you are already placed on the political spectrum by this one belief, regardless of your others. I am considered to be left-wing here, of course, and that brings with it all the realities of people thinking that I am anti-Zionist. It's quite funny to be in the peace field and have my Zionism make me an extremist at the least and a racist in many cases. And then, to be in Israel and have my dedication and beliefs in peace/the peace field make me an extremist, too - just in a totally different way. I don't feel like an extremist anywhere I am - I know I'm liberal, but really feel quite relaxed and moderate about it all. Labels...

All in all, the interview was great. She gave me suggestions on where to do my Hebrew classes and this may end up changing both my schedule for moving here and where I move to initially. We'll see, I still have to visit the places. Also, it was very reassuring to see how welcoming everyone is and how they just want to help you. It is nice to know I have these resources.

Other random events - March 22-29, 2007

2007-05-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

March was a busy month, with everyone trying to squeeze in as much as possible before the start of Passover vacation. I was no exception, working hard and not resting enough, and I paid for it. I got really sick and ended up in bed for pretty much 2 weeks. What seemed to start out as just a cold turned into a nasty virus that my body could not seem to shake. My temperature went up to around 102 degrees and I could barely move. I went to the doctor, only to be told nothing could be done, since it was a virus. So, I treated the symptoms, lost my voice, and could not sleep because of all the medication. It drug on for what seemed like forever and I contemplated going to the hospital many times. Eventually, the fever broke and life got back to normal, but it was a long process. One of the wonderful women we know in the community made me a huge batch of vegetable soup and rice, so that I would eat well and not have to cook. My roommates helped take care of me, also. I had not been that sick in years. And, we now know, that one of the contributing factors to this awful state was likely the colony of mold growing in my house. Apparently, there had been mold present since before we moved in, so my immune system just got weaker and weaker until the great virus came and knocked me over. The mold we could see is gone now, but who knows what is in the walls, so I am sure my body will be very happy when I move out of here.

I had just started to recover when I got invited to attend another MASA leadership activity, this one in Jerusalem. It was a 3 day conference and was lots of fun. I met some new people and spent lots of time with friends, all the while feasting on hotel buffets. Plus, there was a pool and 2 jacuzzis that I enjoyed on Shabbat. Ahhh, it was so nice. The MASA activities are really a great time and definitely a highlight of the program for me. I just can't get enough!

So, the next week, I headed back to Jerusalem for a meeting to help plan some of the activities for the MASA Gala Event. The Gala Event is to be held May 10 and is essentially a fair, then a show with speakers, performers, fireworks, and such, followed by a big party. All MASA participants are invited and it's expected that there will be upwards of 5,000 people there. I'll definitely post pictures after that event.

I also started working at Oranim's offices in Kfar Saba, doing telephone interviews for birthright participants. I am still working there and really enjoy it. It's good to have a job that is not stressful and it is great to have some spending money. I have met several cool people there and am getting to know the intricacies of Oranim and birthright.

One other interesting thing that happened is a meeting I had with Ramla's Rotary Club and Interact Club executive boards. Having spent so much time working with both of those organizations in Arkansas, I thought it a great idea to get involved in Israel, too. So, we all got together to see where I would fit in. There were about 10 people at the meeting, me being the only native English speaker. The president of the Rotary Club quickly got frustrated at the speed the meeting was going, since it had to be translated back and forth for me and my translator was not doing a great job. Since I had introduced myself, she knew I had studied in France, so she asked if I spoke French. I said that I did and she immediately switched into French. I was quite taken aback. She decided it would go faster if she just spoke directly to me in French and translated when needed. The meeting was suddenly in 3 languages: English, Hebrew, and French, and my head jumbled up quickly. But, I kept up, definitely understanding much better with the addition of French. When the meeting finished though, my head was spinning from all the languages. The president, who comes from a French family, was wonderful and I was happy to have made a connection with her, even if it was through an unexpected language. You just never know when the need will arise for a foreign language.

The Beauty of Chabad - March 21, 2007

2007-05-01T15:08:00.000-05:00

Chabad, for those of you who do not know, is an international organization of ultra-orthodox Jews. Many people, including me, do not necessarily agree with their customs and feel they are too traditional and restrictive for a feminist like myself. However, I believe the organization is amazing and does so much to help Jews around the world learn about the religion and do mitzvot. Feel free to check them out at www.chabad.org.

Why this entry, you are probably wondering? Well, our group spent several hours during the weeks preceeding Passover helping to distribute food to poor families so that they could have a beautiful and bountiful seder meal. Each family got 3 entire boxes of food - enough to have a large holiday meal with lots of variety - for free. Chabad provided this food and not only did they provide it in Ramla, but all over Israel and who knows where else in the world. Just this act by itself is enough for me to love Chabad.

But, as you read in my previous entry, Chabad is also around everyday, to help Jews do mitzvot all the time. For Purim, they distributed Shalach Manot, offered public Megillah readings, and encouraged celebration. During the day, before every Erev Shabbat, you find Chabadniks in the markets, passing out candles and offering to teach you the candle blessings so that you may do that mitzvot when Shabbat comes in. Chabad men invite other men to learn how to lay tefillin with them and to daven. Chabad offers a great and kosher Shabbat meal to Jews traveling around the world. It is really an amazing organization.

Purim - March 4-5, 2007

2007-05-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Let's be honest, Purim is a fun holiday no matter where you are. I mean, Jews are commanded to inebriate ourselves to the point which we can not distinguish between the names of Haman and Mordechai. It a great party however you spin it and location really does not matter in the end. But, this year's Purim was really something special for me.

I know that I live in Israel, but the fact that the entire country is involved in Jewish holidays is still something that I am not used to and do not expect. So, when costumes appeared in all the stores in February, I was surprised...and happy. It's hard to beat being the majority religion. There were costumes everywhere - toy stores, grocery stores, market stalls, etc - it was like Halloween in the States, just without the ghouls and goblins. And candy suddenly was more present that pita - a very welcome change for me! It is a fun experience to have religion become lifestyle and that is one thing I could never experience in any country but Israel.

My first Purim celebration in Israel was with friends in Tel Aviv. We had a lovely time hanging out, eating, drinking, and chatting that night. Then, the next day, we headed to Holon for the Adloyada - the biggest Purim parade in Israel. Adloyada is a Hebrew expression that refers to what I mentioned in the first paragraph - ad=until, lo=no, yada=know - and means essentially "until you don't know." Holon is a really cute town, where the benches that line the roads are constructed into colorful art and flowers are planted everywhere. I really liked it. And it seemed that all of Israel agreed with me and had descended on the town for the parade. After parking at least a mile from the route, we walked down and shoved our way into the crowd until we had a decent view. Although we missed the beginning, what we did see was very impressive. There was an international theme and different floats and groups represented countries from around the world and they did a good job of it. There were floats for China, Thailand, Argentina, etc - it was fantastic.

There was also a lot of shaving cream and loud bang noises. The shaving cream is kind of like silly string is in the US; kids get big cans of it and spray it all over the place (it's not exactly shaving cream, but really close). I learned to steer clear of the kids that day! :-) And the loud bangs came from the assorted noise makers the kids employed to wreck havoc on adult nerves. There were poppers, black cats, assorted fireworkds, and who knows what else. It seemed to be quite amusing for those involved, but I pretty much just kept jumping and was fairly happy when Purim ended and the noise finally stopped.

But, the party was not over after the Adloyada...

One of the advantages to living in Ramla is the great location between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Purim was easily spent in Tel Aviv and there was no reason to miss out on Shushan Purim (Shushan Purim is celebrated in walled cities and the Diaspora) in Jerusalem, so I headed there the next day with one of my roommates. On our walk from the bus station, we passed one of the main plazas in the city where there were representatives from Chabad passing out Shalach Manot bags (gifts of prepared food and sweets you give to friends for the holiday). They gave us each one and then told us to exchange them with each other. By doing so, we fulfilled the mitzvahs of both giving and receiving Shalach Manot. I love Chabad! Then, we continued our walk and spent the beginning of the day in the Old City, walking around, shopping, etc - typical day in the Old City.

Then, in the early evening, we headed to Ben Yehuda to see what was happening on the pedestrian mall. We found more Chabadniks and more mitzvot (plural of mitzvah - which is sort of a commandment). We were invited to listen to the reading of Megillat Esther on Kikar Zion and then also in the Chabad offices. Then we watched lots of fun dancing and celebrating before seeking out lunch/dinner and enjoying messy falafels. We were having trouble finding the party that had been publicized, but after asking multiple people, finally did. And what a party did we find!

A few blocks, a park, and a plaza had all been blocked off and turned into a big outdoor party. There was a big stage set up, several food and crafts vendors, kids activities, a fire dancer, jugglers, other performers walking around, and a light show. Amazing! What we did not find out until we got there was that there was to be a big concert at night. So, we bought some wine and started getting into the Purim mood again.

The concert was great, though we only stayed for some of it, as we had to get back to Ramla that night. We saw Driive and Atlanta (these are both Israeli bands), but missed Hadag Nachash (whom I had already seen - see previous posts). I took one of the posters advertising the event off a wall and brought it home with me. It hangs proudly on my wall now and I'm sure will appear in later posts with photos of my room.

It was a great Purim - probably the best I've had, definitely the most interesting and eventful. I look forward to celebrating it again in Israel and must say that everyone needs to do it at least once, so come on!

The great disappearing Jessica returns

2007-05-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

Alright, so it has been awhile since I posted anything. I have been a busy girl - what can I say? Frankly, I was impressed that I kept up with the blog for as long as I did. :-) But, alas, I have now realized that I have been depriving my lovely friends and family of many great stories. So, I am going to try and catch you up on the highlights of the last 2 months and then keep up better with the blog from now on. This involves commitment from you, too, though, as there is about to be a lot of reading material to catch up on. So, grab a coffee and get comfy, it's going to be a long read...

My villa - originally posted February 21, 2007

2007-05-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

Many of you have requested pictures of the house I am living in, which is referred to as a villa in Hebrew. Your wishes are granted...

Here is the villa...and my room - pretty bare, so feel free to send me things for my walls! Oh yes, and did I mention that we have roses on our bushes even in February?

Updates since Tu B'Shevat - originally posted February 21, 2007

2007-05-01T10:27:00.000-05:00

My hunt for tofu and other sustainable vegetarian proteins finally led me to what Americans would consider a normal sized grocery store, just outside the city. To those in Ramla, however, this is a huge grocery store and should have everything one needs. Well, they did have tofu (which I stocked up on, by the way), but they didn’t have everything. Salsa is not a staple of the Israeli diet, as it is in America, but you can easily find it in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, so I never dreamed it would be such a problem in Ramla. However, after weeks looking in every store I could, there was no salsa in this city.

So, the Israeli friend who took us to this giant grocery store was determined to find it for me. He enlisted the help of a worker there and, even though neither one of them even knew the word salsa, we searched for it. The first description I gave led us to the pasta sauce: “But it has chunks of tomatoes and vegetables, are you sure this isn’t salsa?” I was sure and kept explaining that it is from Mexico and is spicy. We then ended up with the Tabasco sauce: “It’s spicy, won’t it work?” No, I can’t enjoy Tabasco in quite the same way. After much discussion, we determined that what I was looking for just wasn’t there. It was disappointing, but I determined that I would just buy some in Tel Aviv on my next visit. However, during my next visit to the big city, I got a call from Ramla - that same Israeli friend had a restaurant owner he knows make some salsa for me. Wow – how nice is that? Israelis are an extremely thoughtful people. Unfortunately, it’s not quite the same and my hunt continues. Perhaps I will make it one of my goals here to introduce Ramla to the joys of Mexican food – maybe I’ll open a restaurant…

Israelis are nationalistic in a way that I have previously never experienced (this does repeat some of what I have said in previous posts). With such a young country, constantly surrounded by threats, one would have to be pretty nationalistic to by an Israeli, I think. The French are nationalistic and so proud of how old France is and how many changes it has survived through; life could not be better anywhere outside France. Americans are nationalistic and proud of how such a young country could be the superpower, dominating politics and pop culture around the world; life could not be better anywhere outside America. Israelis know that life is better in other parts of the world, they know this is a hard place to live and that the transition is a challenge for Westerners who make aliyah. But, they don’t care; how could a Jew live anywhere else? This pride has tuned the brief 60 years of history of the State of Israel into a huge field and one that we, as new arrivals to the country, must learn about.

An electrician visited the house the other day and asked us if we had planted trees for Tu B’Shevat. After I explained that we had gone to a kibbutz near LaTrun, he got very excited and asked if our madrich (guide) had explained the history of LaTrun to us. My response in the negative was appalling to him and he decided it was his duty to stop his work and explain it himself. He was very animated, which was good since he was speaking only Hebrew and it was hard for me to follow, and proceeded to explain the events of and since the War of Independence that occurred at this crossroads in central Israel. It was great, he told of the approach of enemy forces from all directions and how important this intersection of important roads was, as well as how difficult the fight was for soldiers who were under equipped. After a good 15 minutes of this, he determined that he needed pictures to really show us what happened, so he stated that he would return the next day with a book on the subject, as well. Although he had an emergency that prohibited him from returning the next day, this encounter with just an everyday Israeli (not a tour guide or history professor) who was so passionate about the history of his country was a great testament to Israeli pride.

Just a note regarding the just passed Valentine’s Day that I am sure most of you celebrated with vigor, the holiday is just reaching Israel and is still fairly small scale here. There were some stores that stocked up on teddy bears and the like and one even had painted its storefront: Happy Valentain’s Day – how cute that they spelled it wrong! But, the holiday pretty much passed unnoticed in Ramla.

MASA is an organization that sponsors long-term programs for Diaspora Jews coming to Israel. My program falls under this MASA umbrella; therefore, we get invited to events that the organization puts on for participants, like the Shabbaton in January and the tree planting on Tu B’Shevat. Considering that it is of key importance to develop young leaders who support Israel, MASA uses the programs they sponsor to find participants to train in leadership and teach about Israel, so that they may return to the Diaspora and do hasbara. It is under these auspices that two of us from Oranim were selected to attend the MASA Forum meeting this past week. We met in Tel Aviv, with 70 other MASA participants, to discuss Israel/Diaspora relations and Jewish peoplehood. We visited the Diaspora Museum, which is not really a museum at all considering that all its displays are replicas and the name in Hebrew has actually been changed to House of the Diaspora to reflect this. Highlights of the day for me follow:

An Israeli told me that Israel should be very important to Diaspora Jews, but that Diaspora Jews were not important to her – a bit paradoxical, I think.
A French participant stated, “I think we all know our religion is based on Torah and there is only one way to practice it.” An interesting statement that went unchecked, although most likely with 20 Jews in that room, there were also 20 different ways of practicing Judaism.
I ate “soy chunks” for lunch – yes, that is how the man at the cafeteria explained the dish to me. Although they did not sound very appetizing, they were.
And, of course, the new Israeli cd we got: Hadag Nachash. This is a really big band in Israel and is actually the founder of Festival B’Shekel, the music festival I worked on during my Leading Up North trip.

Tu B'Shevat Festivites - originally posted February 6, 2007

2007-05-01T10:13:00.000-05:00

Tu B'Shevat, the holiday that is to signify the end of the winter rains in Israel, came a bit too early this year, as rain continues to pour from the sky here. It rained most of this past weekend, on and around Tu B'Shevat. All the same, most of my planned activities to celebrate the holiday continued, rain and all. The hike we were planning for on Saturday was cancelled, so I used the time to explore rainy Ramla a bit more.

A few days prior to the holiday, our group was invited to join a neighborhood celebration in Ramla with snacks and tree planting. It was a good experience, spending more time with kids that we are working with and for them to see us in a different environment. We helped them plant trees and ate junk food with them - good bonding activities. I heard some of the boys talking in Hebrew about me and telling their friends that I was "the soccer coach," so I took that opportunity to find a ball and start up an impromtu game. Many kids joined in, as well as other ISC group members, and we had a good time. Some of the boys are very talented players, though they have no interest in the structure of the game or any rules during it. This will clearly be one of my biggest challenges, well, that and convincing one of the more advanced players that it's not a "foul" (as he calls it) when the other team runs into him and then scores - it's just soccer.

We enjoyed a very tasty Shabbat dinner at our house on Friday night, prepared for us by two of our new Israeli friends. It was a good night overall and was capped off with watching Wedding Crashers. I found my religious beliefs coming head-to-head with reality at the beginning of the meal, however, when one of the Israeli guys instructed the men to stand and the women to sit while the men did Kiddush (the blessing of the wine) and then passed the Kiddush cup around to all the guys, intentionally skipping over the women, before allowing us to partake in it. I was appalled at that boldness of it, playing the sexist in a house full of women. I was even more taken aback when some of my female roommates thought it was crazy that I was bothered by it. The illogicity of my religion immediately became apparent - these men aren't necessarily sexist, tradition has taught them to behave this way. Judaism is based on matrilineal descent, yet men run the show in the more observant world. Egalitarianism is something I have always taken for granted, surrounding myself with powerful women and open-minded men in a Reform world. The last month and a half that I have spent in Israel has really shown me that egalitarianism is not only not prevalent everywhere, it is the exception. I find myself experiencing a strange longing for the egalitarian, Reform world I left behind and I have now begun seeking a similar environment in Israel. We'll see where I end up...

On Sunday, we met up with MASA groups from around Israel near LaTrun to plant trees. Check out the picture - a little deja-vu, reference the tree planting I did with Leading Up North. It seems the Jewish National Fund (JNF - http://www.jnf.org/) organizes all ceremonial tree plantings the same way, with the holes already dug for you and everything. It's very efficient. The difference with this planting session was all the mud - everything was covered in it. Check out the pic of my muddy boots - yuck! We spent all day Sunday in the rain and after the tree planting, headed to Jerusalem to get a tour of the military cemetary on Mt. Herzl. I had previously done a tour there, but was very excited to dry out for an hour and see the new multimedia Herzl Museum, which explores Herzl's life with video and diarama exhibits. It was interesting and something I had not seen before, so I enjoyed it. A quick drive and we were at the Knesset, getting soaked while hearing about the menorah outside. We then headed to our last stop, a giant cow with many tongues serving as slides. All participants ended up with wet butts, but I ended up with some great pictures. Here is one, with some of my housemates at the top.

That night, I coordinated a Tu B'Shevat seder for all of my housemates. None of them had ever done a seder for this holiday; seders for Tu B'Shevat are a Kabbalist tradition that has yet to permeate much of the Ashkenazi world. It was great fun, with a haggadah I got from the JNF that was full of games, dancing, and other activities. Here is the witty anagram we did from the Hebrew word for water - mayim (warning - this may have been funnier when we had drank 4 glasses of wine each): Marvelous flow Aquatic Yonder In the stream Makes duckies happy I was very happy with how it turned out and so glad to have had a wonderful meal full of fresh and dried fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts, actually from Israel and while living in Israel. I'd say that was Tu B'Shevat done the right way! Unfortunately, I got sicker than I was before, after spending all day in the rain, and I've missed Ulpan (my intensive Hebrew class) for the past couple of days. I did, however, get the chance to meet with another community center here in Ramla and will be starting another soccer team there next week - it will be all boys, mostly Ethiopian. I'm looking forward to it.

A different perspective on laundry detergent - originally posted January 31, 2007

2007-05-01T10:12:00.000-05:00

Today, while half-watching Oprah, half-doing homework, a commercial for Tide laundry detergent came on. This is the same detergent we have in America, but the commercial was made for Israeli tv. Typical storyline: mom does the laundry with Tide because it is the best, oh, look how it cleans and repairs the fabric and performs miracles, mom is satisfied because garment is now clean and shiny. Then cut to the closing shot, the son in the newly washed garment...his IDF uniform! It was so great; I was both surprised and amused by this. It shows how integral military service is to this society. For those of you not familiar with Israeli lingo, the IDF is the Israel Defense Forces (the military). Pretty much all young people, guys and girls, are required to serve for 2-3 years between high school and college. Typically, they still live at home or in an apartment and travel to their base during the week. The perfect situation for mom to do their laundry - with Tide! Oh, got my first Hebrew test back today at Ulpan and I only missed one question. I am so excited; 4 1/2 years out of college, I think I forgot how fun school is...

My first month in Israel - originally posted January 25, 2007

2007-05-01T09:40:00.000-05:00

I have been in Israel for about a month now and am just starting this blog to help keep everyone up on what I'm doing. This first post will be a summary of Month 1 and the following posts will come more often, as time permits and interesting things happen...

The first 10 days I spent here were all in the North, virtually on the border of Lebanon, on a program called Leading Up North. You can google it to find out plenty about what fellow participants thought and news coverage of the trip. In a nutshell, the Schusterman Family Foundation wanted to give young Diaspora Jews a chance to help Israel. So, 550 young Jewish leaders were invited to descend on northern Israel and get our hands dirty. We painted bomb shelters (see picture to the right), cleared burnt forests, played with local kids, planted trees (picture at bottom of post), and topped it all off by helping put on a rock festival in Kiryat Shemona for the locals. It was an amazing experience and the bus I was on - ROI/Kivun/Charlies - was full of familiar faces and new friends. I had a great time, got some paint on me, and explored an area of Israel I'd spent virtually no time in. The best part for me was helping do environmental education with kids in Kiryat Shemona with my 3 words of Hebrew! The worst was the emergency room visit and 2 days I spent in bed after getting food poisoning from some bad fish - so I guess my trip was more of an 8-day one!

After LUN ended, I headed south a little bit to Tzfat with some fellow participants. We just relaxed and explored for a day, before going to Tel Aviv. My parents were then able to relax some, with me no longer in the area that Hezbollah bombed this past summer. Tel Aviv was bustling and fun, as always - tons of shopping, food, great markets, and a beautiful beach. I also had my first "sachlav," a thick drink/pudding concoction made with milk, flour, cinnamon, nuts, and dried fruits that is served hot. It's a great way to warm up during those winter spells here. Ah, you laugh and think "Israel, winter spells?" Well, even though I'm sitting in my backyard right now in about 70 degree weather, there really has been some winter, complete with freezing temperatures, hail storms, and strong winds (it even snowed in Jerusalem!). I definitely was not prepared for this new-to-me side of the homeland and froze for weeks!

Just before the second week of January or so, I finally made it to Jerusalem, the city of my ultimate happiness and relaxation in the world. I set up camp at Petra Hostel, a complete hole-in-the-wall hostel that I stay at because of it's great price ($8 a night) and amazing location just inside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City. Here's a link, in case you'd like to find out more about the place: http://www.hostelz.com/hostel/23453-Petra-Hotel-&-Hostel. I enjoyed some great Shabbats in J'lem this trip, in between sitting in the Coffee Bean, enjoying the free wireless while I searched for a new home. The most memorable part of one Shabbat was a dinner that the wonderful Sammy took some of us to in East Jerusalem. A family there hosts this dinner almost every week for around 100 people, complete strangers to them and to each other. It was quite an experience and I'm not soon to forget it: sitting with my body pushed up against the table for lack of room, passing bowls of soup over my head to other tables, and observing the interaction of all types of people. During the roughly 2 weeks I spent there, I was able to find 3 options for a medium-term program for this spring, but I had not made a final decision. So, I visited one of my choices, Ramla, with some Americans who were going there on a photography project. I got to check out the city a bit and meet some great kids at the Arab Orthodox school. But, alas, I was still unable to chose. So, I decided to go to Tel Aviv with a new buddy and give myself 24 hours to select a program.

Luckily, the Director of the Israel Service Corps (http://www.israelservicecorps.com/), the persistent and passionate Erez, invited me to visit Ramla again and find out more details of the program. I was able to see more of the city, the house, get to know Erez and the On-site Coordinator, Hava, and discuss possible volunteering opportunities. This was a pretty convincing visit, though I still didn't decide for sure and announce my choice until the next day. Then, all that same day, I packed my stuff and moved to Ramla, my home for the next months. The group here is good, 7 Americans who are all here to help the citizens of Ramla and learn better Hebrew. I find myself being the oldest, over 4 years the senior of the next oldest participant, and the only one who came with an already defined project: SOCCER! I am working with the municipal council to start a youth soccer league, working with the Ethiopian Community Center as a soccer coach, and hoping to start and Arab-Jewish girls soccer group. I will be coaching pretty much everyday, after spending 4 hours each morning learning Hebrew in Ulpan. We'll do about 16 hours of formal Hebrew instruction each week, so progress already has (after 4 classes) and will continue to come quickly. Ramla is a city of immigrants, very diverse and with the economic problems one would expect in such a place. But, the people and the market are both fantastic and I think I'll gain much from my experiences here. And the location is great, too, 20 minutes from Tel Aviv and 40 from Jerusalem. For more information on the city, try http://www.ramla.muni.il/E_ramla/. Last Shabbos, I was lucky enough to join a great Moroccan/Tunisian Jewish family for dinner and lunch. The hospitality was amazing, with my host mother continually putting food on my plate and insisting that I take more home with me and bring friends next time. They were great fun and I look forward to joining them again.

I won't be there for this Shabbat though, as we are all headed to J'lem for a Shabbaton. We are not really sure what to expect, but I am looking forward to a night in a nice hotel and meeting some new people. I'll post soon with some news about how it went.

Me, planting a tree with the JNF on Leading Up North