EDIT: 10/15/09: I started this post about a week after the previous one, May 25 as the blog states but I left it empty and just now finished it, as it didn't feel right to not wrap up my adventures..I stil miss Israel like crazy and luckily can recall enugh of the information to conclude my blog. I couldnt be happier to have this blog as an homage to my wonderful semester...
In btwn the **s is the original post...
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While this blog was originally designed to track my travels and activities - I'm grateful for the opportunity its given me to track my feelings as well. Here and there I've written what it feels like to be studying abroad in the Holy Land. My moods have changed from quiet contentness to raging desire to do as much as possible. This is one of the most remarkable aspects of my abroad experience. Each month is a completely new experience, bringing new people, experiences and discoveries into my life.
As my last 2/3 weeks approach and pass, I've found all my energy restored. The life I've created here is something I'm so sad to leave. My friends in the dorm, the Israelis/ soldiers I've met, families that have taken me in, etc. These variety of people have taught me so much about what it means to be in Israel. What it means for ME to be in Israel. I've been making the most of this last bit so that I'll leave reengerized, ready to teach the States what I've learned and challenge myself to be the strong, openminded person I am here.
That said, I hope you can understand why this week was so fantastic:
Mon: ASHLEY, my sorority sister - one of a couple Jews in Alpha Phi, came on Birthright for her first visit ever! I woke up early in the morning to surprise her when she landed at 8 am. There were atleast 5 different Birthright trips on her plane, and everytime I saw a huddle of Americans I kept searching for her and asking group leaders to see their roster. Finallly after so many other groups and an hour of jumping around, she walked out of the gate! I jumped out and she screamed and was so happy! Israel has only one main airport, and one terminal so its one of those places you just want to be met at the airport at. Her Birthright group seemed really cool and they played a couple introductory songs/ games for the kids to get them hyped up. I joined in of course. I never did Birthright so I was so excited to be a part of it. The feeling of being around new visitors was so refreshing. They reminded me of my own excitement to be in this amazing country. And they came on teh best day - it was like 90 degrees.
Tues: After some gift shopping, I wandered over to the beach to read a little by myself. In Israel, though, you're never alone. I made atleast 3 different groups of friends. Anytime I heard English or picked up a conversation, I kinda jumped in. Playing Jewish Geography and joking around with different Seminary kids. They laughed at my audacity to come to the beach by myself - but like I would ever miss catching some rays, NBD. A couple of the younger seminary kids were hilarious, and kept telling strangers my stories. We agreed to maybe meet at the beach next week. I think they were pretty desperate to talk to girls - haha- a year in Yeshiva will do that to you. The other people I met were from Ramat Aviv, doing a separate seminary. I like talking to Yeshiva kids because the way they see Israel is often different from mine. We talked about the secular/ religious spectrum of Israel - its 2 extremes. They favored Jerusalem, while I amm much more connected to TLV. It was a really good feeling to just jump in and talk to people form around the world. I even made a friend at the gym that day.
Wed: Ashley's birthright group was in Tel Aviv for the day/night and I couldnt miss an opportunity to hang out with one of my good friends in this playground of mine. Around 9 she called me to tell me she was going to oneof the hookah/bars on the beach. So I hopped on the MOST CROWDED bus I've ever been on and met her. OF course I decided to get off early cuz it was so packed but then I took a long path and it wound up being a bit of a Ballagan. But I made it anyway and we reunined very joyously. Hanging out with the Birthright kids was so much fun! It made me feel like my USY days all over again - all these Jews strangers at first, but within 3 days already sitting on each other's laps and swapping personal information. Basically exactly what it felt like to be on Wheels. And without even questioning who I was, they included me. I came back to the hotel with them and we sat around the hallways, joking around, eating and drinking. I knew they had a long day ahead of them but I didnt want Ashley to go to bed early. I could tell how lucky she got of the people she was on the trip with - I wanted to stick around! Everyone was pretty impressed with my knowledge of Israel, TLV and Hebrew. It was really cool to be someone who "lives" in Israel and not just a tourist. The Israelis and I were swapping stories. It got late so I slept at the hotel and wandered out before their breakfast (unfort) at 6 am. The Israelis almost convinced me that I could just hop on and tour with them, but I know thats not fair. The bus was so crowded for 630 am..everyone going to class! Obviously though I was exhausted and just laughing at the absurdity.
Thurs: However, despite my exhaustion, thurs was HUGE celebration day! IT was Yom Hastudent - this huge celebration on campus, where people come from other campuses too! There were food stands - pizza, burgers, falafel, icecream; and drink stands - beer and shots; and game booths - we played this game and won paddles! At 12:30 Hadag Nachash playd right on our quad! We all went crazy..it was amazing. ONe of the most popular Israeli bands, playing so close to me - on MY campus! You couldnt even recognize the campus, there were so many people and booths and people selling special souvieniers/ clothes. Best Day party ever. Unfortunentally it was also the same day as the last day of class for my Jewish Education course. Our teacher had a last activity for us so we had to leave the festivities early (and right before a band we wanted to see) in order to take a tour of the museum on campus. Even though it sucked at the time, looking back it was very lucky we got to go to the Diaspora Museum, as it is one of the only in the world. It focuses entirely on Jews around the world and discusses how each culture is different and how we've moved and even is alittle hopeful that one day everyone will return to Israel. One of my favorite parts was seeing an exhibit on different synaggogues. There were models of temples from around the world, some that are still standing and some that were destroyed. There were famous synaggogues from America, Russia, Italy, Denmark, South Africa, Egypt and other countries I could never imagined boasting a temple. Each model had a story of how it was created and how (if) it was destroyed. We also looked through a database to see if we could find any information about our Jewish lineage. Even though it was a great exhibit and we got to go for free, many of us were still antsy for missing the party.
AFter the museum tour, our teacher wanted to host a "wrap up" party. Some of the kids in my class ditched out, but I felt guilty considering special guests were coming. Our teacher brought in pizza and Samara and I still had to present our "teaching project' since she was gone during the actual day. Afterwards, the heads of the Lainer Internship program showed up and gave a talk about the future of Jewish Education. It was probably the most interesting conversation we had in class, and I think most of us wished that we had discussed it during the semester. We basically discussed how the Jewish education system has failed and why Jews are not connecting in Sunday school. Jews who have been to Israel or who went to private school feel a connection but one day a week classes actually makes it more likely for Jews to intermarry. The leaders we talked to were inspiring and just as hesitant as we are. It was a cool look into the future and really made me wonder what my part will be.
Finally the class wrapped up and my friends went to meet everyone else not in the class. The day was beginning to wind down, around 5 or so, and mostly everyone was lounging on these imported mattresses smoking hookah. I took the time to visit all the shops and buy some special souveniers. Even from my dorm I could hear the blasting music. However, there was a small break until 7 pm when a very popular Coldplay-eque band took stage. I wandered back onto campus (having to need someone "pass back" their student ID - i never got one) and was amazed to see the MOST CROWDED audience ever. It looked like a showing at Alpine Valley - there were students, visitors and Israelis in every inch and corner, since everything had been cleared out. I was feeling exhausted after my Wed night so I let my friends enjoy the show but I couldnt help but feel a great sense of pride for going to school on such an incredible campus.
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Fri - my original plan for this weekend was to join Samara's Hebrew U friends down in Eilat for one last hoorah, however our plans fell through so I decided to take the opportunity to see my family in Ashkelon one last time. Luckily, I made it to the train station in time for the 3:15 train. It was also exciting because my "cousin" who is in the army was returning home after a week on base so we met on the train as it passed through the city of TLV and rode together. My "uncle" picked us up at the trainstation and we went back to their apt. Although they are not a religious family, we still had a very nice Shabbat meal before everyone went their own ways - or basically to watch the Israeli Survivor finale. I had a book I really wanted to read and was going back and forth between my book and the hebrew show. My two girl cousins and I also decided to see a late night movie, the American "Sunshine Cleaning". I was happy to just hang out in Ashkelon because it's not very often i get to see my family, especially the whole crew, and they take such special care of me. I know I didn'tmiss too much in Tel Aviv because everyone was exhausted from Yom Hastudent.
Sat - My girl cousins, Netta and Hadar, and little boy cousin, Eli, took a walk with me through downtown Ashkelon and the beach. I had no idea the Madnicks had an apartment literally 5 minutes away from the beach! If I had known I would have laid out all day! It's funny because since the Madnicks are half American and half Israeli, they get pretty burnt and don't like tanning. However, it was especially my goal to get super tan while I was there!
Unfortunentally, the next week meant my last week of class and therefore a lot of homework assignments were due! Upon returning to Tel Aviv, I had to sit down and finish big assignments!
First I stayed up pretty late Sunday night finishing my group 10 page paper for Israel and the Environment. It was quite stressful since my group wasn't sure what to write about! Thankfully we finished just in time.
After turning in the paper on Monday, OSP had a White Party to look forward to. A bunch of girls from Canada decided to throw a fundraiser for a charity they support at home. For 20 sheckles or so, we took a nice bus downtown and took over a bar. It was fun being with everyone, but my friend Rachel had a friend visiting so we decided to explore. We went out looking for a different bar and on the way met a man who was giving away free pizza. At the next bar, these American men bought us all drinks! We were soaking up the free life.
Tuesday - I had another take home final to turn in :( Also this was our last "fun" day in Hebrew, since Wed would be our final exam. Even though I was hesitant at first I know my experience would not have been the same if I had not taken Hebrew. Etti, our teacher, taught us so many little tricks about Hebrew and life in Israel in general. She was a patient, amazing teacher. She even made our last day fun, playing pictionary and giving us her email. I loved my hebrew class and the ridiculous stories at 830 in the morning. Even though it was so hard at first to wake up for class, once it began warming up, I was so happy to be in Hebrew. I would be ready to hav a full day after 830 and the sun sparkled me up and was even sweat worthy. Tues night I spent some time studying before the final on Wed.
Wed - our last official day of class. I couldn't believe my semester was coming to a close. I couldnt even believe I took class, it all happened so fast! I rocked the Hebrew midterm and couldn't think of anything too memorable in my other classes. Mostly everyone was just excited because Wed night was our OSP END OF THE YEAR PARTY..and Lila Levan! Although bittersweet, it was super exciting getting dressed up adn partying together. We all rushed around the dorms getting ready before piling onto the bus. OSP took us to "Mini Israel" and even though it sounded kinda silly at the time, we were all thrilled once we got there to walk around and reminice about our memories at each place. Mini Israel is just as it sounds, a little park where you can walk through and see models of famous Israel spots such as the big Eilat hotels, the Dead Sea, the Tel Aviv Opera House, the Kotel in Jlem, the mountains in the North and Haifa Bahai Gardens. We all took pictures and rushed through, being happy to be together.
Then OSP took us upstairs to a party deck where we feasted on a super nice buffet (all the left over budget money). Then our staff played some funny slideshows featuring a quiz with inside jokes. (When will the bus leave for a North or South trip? A. On time B. Accoridng to Liran "in 5 minutes.." C. Whenever Rebecca finally wakes up, shell be here in 10 minutes, promise .....etc) Sooo funny because it was a reminder for all the crazy things that happend and all the stories that made OSP Spring 09 unique. Then there was a picture slideshow with all the popular music. We also got goodbye packets from the staff and TLV tshirts.
Then the big party began and we started dancing. Not club dancing. FULL ON BUST IT DANCING. I went ridiculous, thrashing and going nuts with everyone. We even started lifting people in chairs, dancing "Jew style" and singing Ruach songs. I had soo much fun and just felt so close to my whole program.
Around midnight or so, the night was over but the buses were taking us to Lila Levan. This is a huge holiday in tel aviv called "white night" where basically everything stays open all night and no one sleeps. The bus took us to the Azreli towers so wehad a couple of blocks to walk to Rothchild street. Luckily, we stopped in some macholets on the way and started our pregame. Rothchild street was packed! There were random street performers, Beatles music, people in trees, drunk Israelis, families, everything! Our group traveled up and down the streets, picking different areas to go into until we arrived at the beach. We then stayed up by the bonfires until sunrise so happy to witness the celebration. We then caught a cab back around 7 am and slept all
day.
MY LAST/ FINAL WEEK IN ISRAEL....
This Thursday was probably close to U of I's "reading day" in that there were no classes and a break to study for finals. but it was also the Jewish holiday of Shavuout. After going to Rivki's for a "goodbye sushi party", my roomate and I tried to go out. Turned out cabs weren't offering less than 60 sheckels. Instead we went to a friend's place downtown, brought our bathing suits so we could wake up and beach it
Friday - laid out on the top level pool of the Sheraton hotel then went to the beach. Warm day, got ice cream and played in the waves. Very sad that it was our last full weekend in Israel. Went to a friend's friend's place downtown on Allenby to pregame. Saw pictures of them during the war, invading houses in Gaza. Very scary stuff. Then went to Artemis and danced on the bar as usual, making some new friends and having an amazing time with Shaina and Samara.
Sat - went to the beach in Herziliyah which is one of the nicest in the country! Got to finish my next book! Unfort after Shabbat ended, it meant the start of FINALS. UGhhh. I spent Sat night up late studying for my Israel and the Enviro exam which would be on Sunday :( We formed a study group and my guy neighbors and I traded notes and stayed up late.
Sun - Took the Israel and Enviro final at 1. Guess I couldn't complain for trying to study so hard considering it only met once a week for 3 hrs, didn'thave a couple classes and I didnt go to many either. Unfort the exam I had to take on Monday would be even harder. This was Intro to Islam and it didn't depend on going to class but rather on memorizing 5 pages of definitions and stories. Uhhh..another night up late with my guy neighbors and cramming before the exam.
Mon - exam at 10 am. I sat in the back next to my friends, one who had a blackberry and one who had an I touch. They both had their studyguides uploaded and were cheating by copying so I just cheated by copying off of them. I have never so blatantely cheated but I guess it worked out since the final was the only grade of the class and I got an A. After this exam, I went to the beach to finally relax. One ofmy guy friends was visiting before traveling Europe so we met up on the beach and hung out, introducing our friends to each other, talking about school and Israel. It was nice to have another piece of home there. That night we ventured to Clara, which is a popular beach front club. It was my roomate Rachel's 21st bday so we bought Arack, which is a very potent Israeli liquor. We then cabbed it to Clara and met up with some OSP and Hebrew U kids. Everyone was dancing and lounging at this club which looked straight out of LA .
Tues - Realizing this was my last full day unplanned, my friends from Hebrew Allison and Lauren and I went to Jerusalem. We caught an early sherut and had a full expedition. We went shopping in the shook and bought lots of presents and items we needed (like bracelets and side purses!). We had so much fun bartering and using our hebrew and exploring Jerusalem for the last time. Then we went tothe wall to say our goodbyes, taking pictures with it. As the sun set, we walked down through a nice shopping center to Ben Yehunda, grabbed falafel and caught another sherut back to Tel Aviv. Went out that night to Cheech Beach, another bar with couches right on the beach. It was a lot of OSP and overwhelming but still fun to hang out with everyone and show off our tans.
Wed - did more gift shopping and day exploring, trying to soak up the city and buy any last minute souveniers. one of these souveniers included getting a dred put in. almost all of the girls on my program had gotten one and while I thought they were weird, I kind of liked the idea of having something from Israel. It was small with a gold bead and sat underneath my hair. But I do know it was a good week and I went to teh beach everyday attempting to get very dark. We would sit at the beach all day then hang out at our friend Dave's place right off the beach before hopping the bus back. Had a final thurs so my crew of about 8 girls split up the study guide and helped eachother study before the exam
Thurs - exam at 10 am for Contemporary Jewish Issues. FINALLY DONE WITH CLASS AND FINALS! Went to the beach and sat in the Sea for hours just letting the waves roll around and talking about Israel with the crew. As I was leaving I got a call saying my guy friends were finally done with Birthright and hanging out before they went to Europe. I went to meet up with my pledge dad and older U of I guys, so happy to be able to tell them about Israel. I had too many ideas for them to do but was mostly just happy to be able to share my love of the country. Alot of my girl friends were going to eat a last nice dinner but I was late and unshowered after seeing the boys. I was also growing more and more panicked and fearful of leaving, even plotting to stay an extra couple of days. I decided last minute to run into the mall and get my belly button pierced. It was something I always watned and even though I didnt know what I was doing, I just decided to get it. I alsso stopped by the "rice store" we discovered and bought food. That night was another unofficial last OSP party. This was in downtown hertziliyah and the bar was packed! This was a fantastic pregame with everyone I cared about, since it was our Hungarian friend's last night. We bought Arak and cheers to her having to leave at 5 am. The bar was crazy full of Israelis and OSP and I think everyone was going nuts for their last day. WE all took pictures, I started a dancin on the bar trend and created so many memories before Rita had to leave. I was up late chatting with everyone about how amazing our trip was.
Friday - woke up early, very hungover, but determined to have a great day because this was MY LAST DAY IN ISRAEL. It was hectic and amazing at the same time! I went to one last Nachalt Benyamin and finished by gift shopping before hustling down to the beach to hang out with all my friends. My pledge dad and guy friends stopped by. On our bus ride home around 4, everyone was saying "wow this our last bus ride" - I wanted to cry (but I didnt because I cried on the bus alone on thurs). I tried to capture every moment in my head and remember each beautiful place in Tel Aviv. We had a last night dinner at a restaurant across from Brodetsky and relived all our memories. I finished packing and donating my stuff before splitting a bottle of wine for my last night out. We went to Attarah, which is the same bar we went to our first night and the first bar I went to in Israel. In the bathroom I ran into an Israeli friend I made months ago who wished me well and Ben came to say goodbye to me. I tried to have a good night and liveitup but I was stressed and sad. Another soldier friend came to meet me to also send me off and I felt so special that everyone was celebrating for me, but so sad since I was the first of me good friends to leave. If only I could have stayed one more day I kept thinking..
People started going their own ways and I still never managed to get a goodbye with some people. I made my rounds in the dorm at 4 am and coerced my neighbor and roomates into helping lug down my bags. I had to sprint to the ATM to get enough cash to cover the cab to the airport and cried as I said goodbye to the people I spent all semster with. I cried harder as the security guards "the Shlomeys" sent me off and helped me get settled int hecab. I wished I wasnt alone.
The sun was rising for a hot and amazing day as the cab sped towards the airport but i was too tired from my night out and not sleeping and last minute packign and saying goodbye to make convesration. I was dead tired in the security line and passed out on the floor of the airport while I waited to board. 4 hours and some snacks later, I was in London. For a 6 hour layover. London SUCKS for layovers. I accidentally got stuck in the wrong terminal and bought internet so I woudlnt feel so lonely. London was rainy and I kept thinking about the sunny day that was starting across the sea in the Middle East.
Finally I boarded for another 7 hour journey, landing in Ohare and grabbing my suitcases, which somehow managed to fit everythign without going over! I had to go through a special security since I had come through the middle east but it worked out. My family met me at the airport and told me I looked tan and nice. I was just tired of being in transit and more than anything wanted to either be at home in bed or in Israel..but mostly Israel.
Everything in Buffalo grove was as I left it...but I was different.
I will always be different after this experience. Even reading the events now, 5 months later, I remember it all so vividly. My mind takes me back to my easy going lifestyle and the friends that changed me life. it was more than the beach and the tan and the skirts. It was the friendly atmosphere and the easy going attitude. The way everyone helps their neighbor.
I feel so so fortunate to have had this experience and I know I will carry it with me always. It was something so special that I wish I could grant to everyone. I know I needed to finsih this blog because one day I wont remember each event. The memories are fading, but the feeling in my heart will continue to last.
Thank you all for following along my adventure. Bechatzlacha and lots of love to you all.
Mel
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