Our last shabbat in Yerucham was really nice. Friday night we did services all together looking out into the desert. I went to my host family for dinner and then we had a tish. Saturday morning we davened at Afikim and then had lunch together. We had some downtime and then we had a pot luck seudat shlishit for us and for our host families, gan teachers, etc. After we ate, a bunch of us gave mini presentations about our different volunteer places. At night we had a pool party on a nearby kibbutz.
Today we had to finish the packing we started on Friday. It was such a stressful day, but in the end everything worked out and now we're all packed up and ready to head out.
Today I also went to my gan for a little to say goodbye. They made me a cake and the kids and teachers all thanked me and stuff and it was really really nice but sad.
I went to dinner at my second host family's house, and then we had a pancake birthday surprise party for Elli.
That's about it..
I'm not sure if this is going to be my last post... that's so weird. I can't believe the year is almost over.
-Sarah
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Shabbat and Northern Tiyul
Last shabbat I went camping with a bunch of my friends on the beach in Netanya. It was really fun! We went swimming and slept under the stars. It was lovely.
Sunday morning we left for Northern Tiyul. Every day we had two options to choose from but I'm just going to tell you the ones I chose. The first day I went to a museum about pioneers settling on kibbutzim in the north around the 1920's-30's. There was this little old lady actress- you know, the kind who pretend they don't know what electricity is? But it was cute and fun. Then after that we went on a pretty hike. Monday I went on another hike which is when I sprained my ankle. From then on, I didn't hike anymore. Monday afternoon we went to Tzfat, but I just sat and got food with some friends. Tuesday I sat in a field while everyone hiked, then went wine tasting at the Golan winery, then sat on the bus while everyone kayaked down the Jordan River. Luckily, Liora sprained her ankle too so from this point on we did everything together. That night we went to some hot springs. Wednesday we slept in, watched movies, and played on the beach and in the Kinneret (our hostel was on the water) while everyone else did the coolest water hike in the world that Liora and I were so sad that we missed. We did have a fun day though with a delicious feast for lunch. Wednesday night we had a free night in Tiberias so we all went out to dinner for Keren's birthday! Today we had an end of the year meeting and then went to the Sachne Natural Pools. They were beautiful and it was nice swimming there. Then we took a really long bus ride back to Yerucham.
Now I have to pack all of my stuff and get ready to come home. I'm really not looking forward to that (the packing).
-Sarah
Sunday morning we left for Northern Tiyul. Every day we had two options to choose from but I'm just going to tell you the ones I chose. The first day I went to a museum about pioneers settling on kibbutzim in the north around the 1920's-30's. There was this little old lady actress- you know, the kind who pretend they don't know what electricity is? But it was cute and fun. Then after that we went on a pretty hike. Monday I went on another hike which is when I sprained my ankle. From then on, I didn't hike anymore. Monday afternoon we went to Tzfat, but I just sat and got food with some friends. Tuesday I sat in a field while everyone hiked, then went wine tasting at the Golan winery, then sat on the bus while everyone kayaked down the Jordan River. Luckily, Liora sprained her ankle too so from this point on we did everything together. That night we went to some hot springs. Wednesday we slept in, watched movies, and played on the beach and in the Kinneret (our hostel was on the water) while everyone else did the coolest water hike in the world that Liora and I were so sad that we missed. We did have a fun day though with a delicious feast for lunch. Wednesday night we had a free night in Tiberias so we all went out to dinner for Keren's birthday! Today we had an end of the year meeting and then went to the Sachne Natural Pools. They were beautiful and it was nice swimming there. Then we took a really long bus ride back to Yerucham.
Now I have to pack all of my stuff and get ready to come home. I'm really not looking forward to that (the packing).
-Sarah
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Lovely Month of May
I've been so busy so I haven't written in ages! I'm sorry!
Thursday 4/23:
Eyal and a bunch of Nativers and I went to see a free concert (Balkan Beat Boxer) in Tel Aviv and then we slept on the beach. It was so much fun!!!
Friday 4/24-Saturday 4/25:
I spent shabbat with my friend Emily at Tovik and Shimon's. All 3 of their sons were home which was a lot of fun, and they just got Rockband, so we played a lot of that. It was a lovely, relaxing weekend, with wonderful food.
Sunday 4/26-Monday 4/27:
Regular gan days... except Monday night was Erev Yom HaZikaron, so we had a really moving ceremony for that. The countrywide siren went off at 8 p.m. Also Sunday night Jake and I went to see Boaz Kaplan's band perform in Sde Boker. They played Balkan music and it was really lively and fun!
Tuesday 4/28:
We went to Har Herzl in Jerusalem for a ceremony for Yom HaZikaron. There were thousands and thousands of people there, and they gave out flowers to put on the graves. A bunch of famous politicians spoke and they said some prayers. I spent most of my time at the graves of Michael Levin and Tal Berdugo, my friend Daniel's cousin who died. After that, we went back to Agron for a session and then we moved into Yom Ha'Atzmaut!! I went out to dinner with Todd Zeff at Caffit, and then we went to services at Shirah Hadasha, and the transition from sad to extremely happy was so interesting. It was such a fun night! I met up with my friends and we walked around the center of the city going from free concert to free concert, and we ended the night at a huge Israeli dance fest. Wow. I can't really even explain how amazing it was.
Wednesday 4/29:
Nativ-wide BBQ. So much fun!!! There was also this live museum near Ben Yehuda of Israel's history that was really cool. Then we went back to Yerucham and all crashed because we were exhausted.
Thursday 4/30:
Regular gan day. After gan I hung out in Be'er Sheva for a little and then went to Jerusalem to hang out for the night.
Friday 5/1-Saturday 5/2:
Spent shabbat with Ashley and Keren at Arik and Yael's. It was really great. We went for a walk around the area on Saturday which was really nice.
Sunday 5/3-Monday 5/4:
Regular gan days.
Tuesday 5/5-today:
Israel advocacy seminar with the David Project. It was actually really fun, and I definitely learned a lot. I've also been working on the yearbook a lot which was due today so it could be printed in time, but we got it done!!
So that's about all. I might have forgotten some stuff so I'll try and think really hard and add things in if necessary. This is probably my second to last post. Weird.
-Sarah
Thursday 4/23:
Eyal and a bunch of Nativers and I went to see a free concert (Balkan Beat Boxer) in Tel Aviv and then we slept on the beach. It was so much fun!!!
Friday 4/24-Saturday 4/25:
I spent shabbat with my friend Emily at Tovik and Shimon's. All 3 of their sons were home which was a lot of fun, and they just got Rockband, so we played a lot of that. It was a lovely, relaxing weekend, with wonderful food.
Sunday 4/26-Monday 4/27:
Regular gan days... except Monday night was Erev Yom HaZikaron, so we had a really moving ceremony for that. The countrywide siren went off at 8 p.m. Also Sunday night Jake and I went to see Boaz Kaplan's band perform in Sde Boker. They played Balkan music and it was really lively and fun!
Tuesday 4/28:
We went to Har Herzl in Jerusalem for a ceremony for Yom HaZikaron. There were thousands and thousands of people there, and they gave out flowers to put on the graves. A bunch of famous politicians spoke and they said some prayers. I spent most of my time at the graves of Michael Levin and Tal Berdugo, my friend Daniel's cousin who died. After that, we went back to Agron for a session and then we moved into Yom Ha'Atzmaut!! I went out to dinner with Todd Zeff at Caffit, and then we went to services at Shirah Hadasha, and the transition from sad to extremely happy was so interesting. It was such a fun night! I met up with my friends and we walked around the center of the city going from free concert to free concert, and we ended the night at a huge Israeli dance fest. Wow. I can't really even explain how amazing it was.
Wednesday 4/29:
Nativ-wide BBQ. So much fun!!! There was also this live museum near Ben Yehuda of Israel's history that was really cool. Then we went back to Yerucham and all crashed because we were exhausted.
Thursday 4/30:
Regular gan day. After gan I hung out in Be'er Sheva for a little and then went to Jerusalem to hang out for the night.
Friday 5/1-Saturday 5/2:
Spent shabbat with Ashley and Keren at Arik and Yael's. It was really great. We went for a walk around the area on Saturday which was really nice.
Sunday 5/3-Monday 5/4:
Regular gan days.
Tuesday 5/5-today:
Israel advocacy seminar with the David Project. It was actually really fun, and I definitely learned a lot. I've also been working on the yearbook a lot which was due today so it could be printed in time, but we got it done!!
So that's about all. I might have forgotten some stuff so I'll try and think really hard and add things in if necessary. This is probably my second to last post. Weird.
-Sarah
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Rememberence Day)
Sunday and Monday were normal work days, and then Monday night was the start of Yom HaShoah. There was a ceremony for all the people in Yerucham that we went to. There were a few speakers, a few people who sang, and a small play about a Righteous Gentile named Wanda who lives in Yerucham. At the end they presented Wanda with an award for her heroism. After the ceremony we watched a movie about the Holocaust called The Counterfeiter. It was in German with English subtitles, and I think it won an Oscar for best foreign film at some point within the past few years.
Tuesday morning we did a normal Shacharit and then read Megilat HaShoah, a piece written by Rabbis in the Conservative Movement in an effort to unite Jews all over the world on Yom HaShoah. After that we went to another ceremony at the religious elementary school in Yerucham called Kol Ya'akov. At 10 a.m. a nation-wide siren sounded for 2 minutes in commemoration of Yom HaShoah. It was really, really powerful. The rest of the ceremony included some singing and poetry reading. After that we did an activity where we looked at some art and poems written by Jews in concentration camps, and then we had to either draw or own picture or write something. We had a break for lunch, and then visited a small museaum in Yerucham talking about WWII heroes. A few different people who were involved in WWII in some way spoke to us. It was kind of annoying because they spoke in Russian and their translators were not that good at English, but it was still really interesting. After that we got on a bus and met up with the rest of Nativ at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. The Kibbutz is named after Mordechai Analewitz, and there is a giant statue of him there that we learned about in art history at Hebrew U last semester. The ceremony at Yad Mordechai was extraordinary. They sang a bunch of songs, all powerful and amazing. There was an interprative dance that was so moving. There were a few speakers who spoke in Hebrew which was a little hard to understand, but it was okay. The way it was set up was there was a giant stage in front of a tell, and at the top was the statue. On the tell there were little signs of different countries in Europe where Jews lived, and there were probably 60 Israeli soldiers standing up there. Towards the end, they blew a shofar and then there were these firework/sparkler type things that went off and it was really powerful. Then the Israeli soldiers marched back out all holding Israeli flags and then we all sang Hatikva, which was so moving. Then they lit a candle by the name of each country, and then they lit the words "Lizkor v'Lihakir" which means "Remember and Remind", so you could read the words when they were on fire. It was truly amazing.
Yesterday I took a day off of work (we're allowed to have 3 all semester) and went into Jerusalem with a few friends. It was a really, really fun day.
That's about it!
-Sarah
Tuesday morning we did a normal Shacharit and then read Megilat HaShoah, a piece written by Rabbis in the Conservative Movement in an effort to unite Jews all over the world on Yom HaShoah. After that we went to another ceremony at the religious elementary school in Yerucham called Kol Ya'akov. At 10 a.m. a nation-wide siren sounded for 2 minutes in commemoration of Yom HaShoah. It was really, really powerful. The rest of the ceremony included some singing and poetry reading. After that we did an activity where we looked at some art and poems written by Jews in concentration camps, and then we had to either draw or own picture or write something. We had a break for lunch, and then visited a small museaum in Yerucham talking about WWII heroes. A few different people who were involved in WWII in some way spoke to us. It was kind of annoying because they spoke in Russian and their translators were not that good at English, but it was still really interesting. After that we got on a bus and met up with the rest of Nativ at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. The Kibbutz is named after Mordechai Analewitz, and there is a giant statue of him there that we learned about in art history at Hebrew U last semester. The ceremony at Yad Mordechai was extraordinary. They sang a bunch of songs, all powerful and amazing. There was an interprative dance that was so moving. There were a few speakers who spoke in Hebrew which was a little hard to understand, but it was okay. The way it was set up was there was a giant stage in front of a tell, and at the top was the statue. On the tell there were little signs of different countries in Europe where Jews lived, and there were probably 60 Israeli soldiers standing up there. Towards the end, they blew a shofar and then there were these firework/sparkler type things that went off and it was really powerful. Then the Israeli soldiers marched back out all holding Israeli flags and then we all sang Hatikva, which was so moving. Then they lit a candle by the name of each country, and then they lit the words "Lizkor v'Lihakir" which means "Remember and Remind", so you could read the words when they were on fire. It was truly amazing.
Yesterday I took a day off of work (we're allowed to have 3 all semester) and went into Jerusalem with a few friends. It was a really, really fun day.
That's about it!
-Sarah
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Pesach Break!
I just got back from 10 amazing days of Pesach break, so now I'll tell you all about it!
Two Wednesdays ago, the 8th of April, I took a bus with a bunch of other Nativers to Jerusalem. My friends Josh and Lilli's families came to Israel for Pesach and rented an apartment, so they invited a bunch of Nativers including to Seder at their apartment. It was weird to be without my family, and they did some things differently than I'm used to, but Seder really was a lot of fun. And they asked me "who knows 13" and I knew it in Hebrew (I told Josh I'd been practicing). Wednesday night I slept over at Lilli's with a bunch of other girls. Thursday I woke up, went to Kedem for shul, came back and ate lunch at Lilli's, and hung out with friends for the rest of the day. My friend Dani's parents took me out to dinner at a kosher for passover Italian restaurant where I was able to get pizza and pasta! So cool! Thursday night I slept at Josh's apartment. Friday I woke up and Josh's dad made us matzoh brie (yum). Then I went with my friend Becca to a friend of hers for Shabbat which was a lot of fun. They had a bunch of their extended family over which included a really cute little 2 month old baby girl. I am also now reading a Hebrew book that they lent me: James and the Giant Peach/ ג'מס והאפרסק הענקי. So far I have read 6 chapters and I understand it pretty well.
Saturday night I met up with 3 friends, Keren, Liora, and Sara in the bus station in Jerusalem and we took a midnight bus to Eilat! The bus was SO crowded. It was impossible to sleep because it was so, so loud. There were about 10 people laying on the floor of the bus for an almost 5 hour ride! We got to Eilat at 4:30 a.m. and we weren't able to check into our hotel yet- although we did drop our bags off in luggage storage- (Keren's dad got us a really nice hotel room) so we sat on the beach and played Taboo and just hung out. Around 9 we went to the hotel and even though our room wasn't ready, we were able to hang out by the hotel pool. Needless to say, we all fell right to sleep in the hot sun for hours (don't worry, I wore plenty of sunscreen the whole time). Around 3 we were finally able to check into our room, and then we got lunch (cold cuts on matzoh). Then we took a nap and went out to dinner at Burger's Bar! I got chicken on a kosher for passover roll. We were all still really tired, so we went to sleep kind of early. Monday we spent the day laying by the pool and a tiny bit at the beach (there is no sand or seashells, just rocks. But I collected some really pretty rocks). We ate dinner at Cafe Hillel (again, k for p sandwiches) and then went to see an amazing show called WOW! There were all kinds of really cool magic/contortionist/acrobatic/dance acts. It was sooooooooo cool! Then we went to a bar called Three Monkeys. I drank half a liter of apple juice (woo hoo party hard!!). But there was a live salsa band which was really, really fun. Tuesday we spent a few final hours by the pool (I forgot to mention that there was a realllllly fun water slide by the pool!), ate lunch, and then got on a bus back to Jerusalem. Even though the bus makes a rest stop half way, by the time we got to be about an hour outside of Jerusalem I had to go to the bathroom so badly that I contemplated trying to go in a bottle. It was horrible.
We finally got to Jerusalem and I went to the bathroom in an alley right next to where the bus dropped us off. Then we took a cab to Agron. Nativ got us free rooms and meals at Agron for chag. Wednesday I went to shul at Kedem again and then ate lunch at Agron and then just napped and hung out with friends for the rest of the day. Wednesday night after chag ended I broke Passover on an ice cream cone (with chocolate and cheesecake ice cream in it) and then went back to Yerucham just for the night. Thursday Jake and I went to Ashkelon to visit my friend Felix from camp. It was a lot of fun! He is a tugboat operator, so he took us down to the marina where he works and showed us the boats and everything, and also took us out for a really nice Italian dinner. Friday Jake and I baked white and dark chocolate chip cookies to bring with us to Arik and Yael's for Shabbat. Misha also came. It was a lot of fun! Today they took us on a 3 hour hike in their backyard (their backyard IS the desert- so cool!). Then Arik brought us back to Yerucham, and that's about it!
Everyone gets back from break tonight and we all go back to work tomorrow.
Shavua tov!
-Sarah
Two Wednesdays ago, the 8th of April, I took a bus with a bunch of other Nativers to Jerusalem. My friends Josh and Lilli's families came to Israel for Pesach and rented an apartment, so they invited a bunch of Nativers including to Seder at their apartment. It was weird to be without my family, and they did some things differently than I'm used to, but Seder really was a lot of fun. And they asked me "who knows 13" and I knew it in Hebrew (I told Josh I'd been practicing). Wednesday night I slept over at Lilli's with a bunch of other girls. Thursday I woke up, went to Kedem for shul, came back and ate lunch at Lilli's, and hung out with friends for the rest of the day. My friend Dani's parents took me out to dinner at a kosher for passover Italian restaurant where I was able to get pizza and pasta! So cool! Thursday night I slept at Josh's apartment. Friday I woke up and Josh's dad made us matzoh brie (yum). Then I went with my friend Becca to a friend of hers for Shabbat which was a lot of fun. They had a bunch of their extended family over which included a really cute little 2 month old baby girl. I am also now reading a Hebrew book that they lent me: James and the Giant Peach/ ג'מס והאפרסק הענקי. So far I have read 6 chapters and I understand it pretty well.
Saturday night I met up with 3 friends, Keren, Liora, and Sara in the bus station in Jerusalem and we took a midnight bus to Eilat! The bus was SO crowded. It was impossible to sleep because it was so, so loud. There were about 10 people laying on the floor of the bus for an almost 5 hour ride! We got to Eilat at 4:30 a.m. and we weren't able to check into our hotel yet- although we did drop our bags off in luggage storage- (Keren's dad got us a really nice hotel room) so we sat on the beach and played Taboo and just hung out. Around 9 we went to the hotel and even though our room wasn't ready, we were able to hang out by the hotel pool. Needless to say, we all fell right to sleep in the hot sun for hours (don't worry, I wore plenty of sunscreen the whole time). Around 3 we were finally able to check into our room, and then we got lunch (cold cuts on matzoh). Then we took a nap and went out to dinner at Burger's Bar! I got chicken on a kosher for passover roll. We were all still really tired, so we went to sleep kind of early. Monday we spent the day laying by the pool and a tiny bit at the beach (there is no sand or seashells, just rocks. But I collected some really pretty rocks). We ate dinner at Cafe Hillel (again, k for p sandwiches) and then went to see an amazing show called WOW! There were all kinds of really cool magic/contortionist/acrobatic/dance acts. It was sooooooooo cool! Then we went to a bar called Three Monkeys. I drank half a liter of apple juice (woo hoo party hard!!). But there was a live salsa band which was really, really fun. Tuesday we spent a few final hours by the pool (I forgot to mention that there was a realllllly fun water slide by the pool!), ate lunch, and then got on a bus back to Jerusalem. Even though the bus makes a rest stop half way, by the time we got to be about an hour outside of Jerusalem I had to go to the bathroom so badly that I contemplated trying to go in a bottle. It was horrible.
We finally got to Jerusalem and I went to the bathroom in an alley right next to where the bus dropped us off. Then we took a cab to Agron. Nativ got us free rooms and meals at Agron for chag. Wednesday I went to shul at Kedem again and then ate lunch at Agron and then just napped and hung out with friends for the rest of the day. Wednesday night after chag ended I broke Passover on an ice cream cone (with chocolate and cheesecake ice cream in it) and then went back to Yerucham just for the night. Thursday Jake and I went to Ashkelon to visit my friend Felix from camp. It was a lot of fun! He is a tugboat operator, so he took us down to the marina where he works and showed us the boats and everything, and also took us out for a really nice Italian dinner. Friday Jake and I baked white and dark chocolate chip cookies to bring with us to Arik and Yael's for Shabbat. Misha also came. It was a lot of fun! Today they took us on a 3 hour hike in their backyard (their backyard IS the desert- so cool!). Then Arik brought us back to Yerucham, and that's about it!
Everyone gets back from break tonight and we all go back to work tomorrow.
Shavua tov!
-Sarah
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Chag Sameach (almost!)
Sorry I haven't written in a while. There isn't SO much going on now that I need to write every day, so I just let a bunch of time go by and then write it all at once. I'll start with last week:
Monday 3/30:
Regular Gan- last day of Gan before Pesach vacation
Tuesday 3/31:
Yom Nativ: Yom Water
We started off the day davening and having some discussions about water in Israel (or the lack thereof) down by the Yerucham lake. Then we got on a bus, drove past a water processing plant in Dimona, ate lunch on the bus, and went to the beach in Ashkelon. It was a beautiful and really fun day!!
Wednesday 4/1: APRIL FOOL'S DAY
My apartment pranked one of the boys apartments and it was silly. We took all of their shoelaces out of their shoes, tied forks and spoons to the ends and hung them from the curtain rod. We put all of their pillows and blankets on one bed and switched some of their drawers around. The other boys apartment also put a dead rat in their freezer. They were very mad, and I had to re-lace all of their shoes. I also had to volunteer this day. It was kind of like JRA. We packaged fruits and vegetables and then delivered them to needy people all over Yerucham. It was fun.
Thursday 4/2:
I don't even remember. Sorry.
Friday/Saturday 4/3-4:
Went to Be'er Sheva for Shabbat to visit some other Nativers. It was really, really nice. We ate and slept and watched movies and did yoga. It was relaxing and fun.
Sunday 4/5:
Spent the day around Yerucham doing nothing, then at 5:30 I helped clean Afikim, the synagogue near our apartments. It was fun but I got really wet because we had to clean the windows and floors.
Monday 4/6:
Volunteered. They told us we were gardening. It was actually manual labor: weed whacking. It was fun though because I was with a bunch of friends.
TODAY!:
Yom Nativ. We finished cleaning and making our apartments Kosher for Passover. Then we did an activity where each apartment had to make their own creative seder plate and write a song about Passover. They were funny. Then I went and hung out in Be'er Sheva for a few hours, and now I'm back!!
Chag Sameach tomorrow!!
-Sarah
Monday 3/30:
Regular Gan- last day of Gan before Pesach vacation
Tuesday 3/31:
Yom Nativ: Yom Water
We started off the day davening and having some discussions about water in Israel (or the lack thereof) down by the Yerucham lake. Then we got on a bus, drove past a water processing plant in Dimona, ate lunch on the bus, and went to the beach in Ashkelon. It was a beautiful and really fun day!!
Wednesday 4/1: APRIL FOOL'S DAY
My apartment pranked one of the boys apartments and it was silly. We took all of their shoelaces out of their shoes, tied forks and spoons to the ends and hung them from the curtain rod. We put all of their pillows and blankets on one bed and switched some of their drawers around. The other boys apartment also put a dead rat in their freezer. They were very mad, and I had to re-lace all of their shoes. I also had to volunteer this day. It was kind of like JRA. We packaged fruits and vegetables and then delivered them to needy people all over Yerucham. It was fun.
Thursday 4/2:
I don't even remember. Sorry.
Friday/Saturday 4/3-4:
Went to Be'er Sheva for Shabbat to visit some other Nativers. It was really, really nice. We ate and slept and watched movies and did yoga. It was relaxing and fun.
Sunday 4/5:
Spent the day around Yerucham doing nothing, then at 5:30 I helped clean Afikim, the synagogue near our apartments. It was fun but I got really wet because we had to clean the windows and floors.
Monday 4/6:
Volunteered. They told us we were gardening. It was actually manual labor: weed whacking. It was fun though because I was with a bunch of friends.
TODAY!:
Yom Nativ. We finished cleaning and making our apartments Kosher for Passover. Then we did an activity where each apartment had to make their own creative seder plate and write a song about Passover. They were funny. Then I went and hung out in Be'er Sheva for a few hours, and now I'm back!!
Chag Sameach tomorrow!!
-Sarah
Sunday, March 29, 2009
It's been one week (since my last blog post)
Monday 3/23:
First day back at gan in a while! It was nice to see my babies again.
Tuesday 3/24:
Yom Nativ- Sderot
We went to a really cool lookout in Sderot where we had a good, clear view of the Gaza Strip. You could really see how close together the houses/buildings were and now I understand how the Gaza Strip is the most densely populated area proportionally in the world. We went to see a new indoor play place JNF is building for the children of Sderot with 5 bomb shelters inside. We ate lunch and walked around the shuk in Sderot, came back to Yerucham and talked about what we saw in Sderot and then called it a day. Sderot was really just a normal town. There has not been a rocket there in over 2 weeks, but whenever there is, it seems like they recover from it really quickly.
Wednesday 3/25:
Gan, left early to go to Jerusalem for the night!
Thursday 3/26:
Jerusalem Half Marathon/10k!
I ran the 10k with a bunch of other Nativ girls and it was so much fun! My goal was under an hour and I ran 56:33, so I was happy. The course had a lot of hills and it was not easy, but I felt accomplished afterward. Everyone did really well! My friends David and Avi ran the half marathon, and Avi came in 2nd place in his age category and won a trophy! Then we all went out to lunch at Sambooki. What a wonderful day!
Shabbat in Yerucham:
I slept in late Friday morning, did Kabbalat Shabbat at the Nativ girl's housr, and then for dinner I went to my host family. It was really nice. Saturday I slept in again, ate lunch with Becky's family at our apartment, and then hung out all day and night until I was ready to go to sleep. I played many rounds of Bananagrams and Taboo and read a lot in The DaVinci Code (SUCH a good book!)
Today:
Gan.
:)
-Sarah
First day back at gan in a while! It was nice to see my babies again.
Tuesday 3/24:
Yom Nativ- Sderot
We went to a really cool lookout in Sderot where we had a good, clear view of the Gaza Strip. You could really see how close together the houses/buildings were and now I understand how the Gaza Strip is the most densely populated area proportionally in the world. We went to see a new indoor play place JNF is building for the children of Sderot with 5 bomb shelters inside. We ate lunch and walked around the shuk in Sderot, came back to Yerucham and talked about what we saw in Sderot and then called it a day. Sderot was really just a normal town. There has not been a rocket there in over 2 weeks, but whenever there is, it seems like they recover from it really quickly.
Wednesday 3/25:
Gan, left early to go to Jerusalem for the night!
Thursday 3/26:
Jerusalem Half Marathon/10k!
I ran the 10k with a bunch of other Nativ girls and it was so much fun! My goal was under an hour and I ran 56:33, so I was happy. The course had a lot of hills and it was not easy, but I felt accomplished afterward. Everyone did really well! My friends David and Avi ran the half marathon, and Avi came in 2nd place in his age category and won a trophy! Then we all went out to lunch at Sambooki. What a wonderful day!
Shabbat in Yerucham:
I slept in late Friday morning, did Kabbalat Shabbat at the Nativ girl's housr, and then for dinner I went to my host family. It was really nice. Saturday I slept in again, ate lunch with Becky's family at our apartment, and then hung out all day and night until I was ready to go to sleep. I played many rounds of Bananagrams and Taboo and read a lot in The DaVinci Code (SUCH a good book!)
Today:
Gan.
:)
-Sarah
Sunday, March 22, 2009
DAD, Leadeship Week, Shabbat
Wow I haven't written in a really long time. I'll do the best I can to recount the past 17 days.
Thursday night, March 5th:
Idan Raichel Project concert in Jerusalem. The concert was fun, but there were too many people there so I was a little overwhelmed. Plus I only know two songs by them, so I was just waiting and waiting for them to play those. Then, about half an hour after dad was supposed to take off, he called and said his flight was delayed. Then he said he was taking off. Then he said his flight was cancelled. I cried. I waited and waited for him to tell me when his new flight was, and then the concert ended and I got a sandwich at Shnitzi's and went back to Misha's cousin's apartment to sleep, and dad still did not know when his new flight would be. I was so worried that he would not make it in time for shabbat. I went to sleep very sad.
Friday, March 6th:
What a day. I woke up really early and had a message from dad saying that his flight had taken off and that he would be landing at about 2 p.m. I had originally planned on going to the shuk and getting ready for shabbat with my dad (he was originally supposed to land at 6:40 a.m.), but instead I went to the shuk with Jake, got food for shabbat dinner and lunch, checked into the hotel room and put all the food in the fridge, took a bus to the central bus station, took another bus to near the airport, took a shuttle to the terminal, and then went into the airport just in time to see my dad walk out of the doors from security. Perfect timing. We both cried. We hopped on a sheirut back to Jerusalem, just in time to shower quickly, get dressed, and go to Shirah Chadasha for Kabbalat Shabbat. We came back and ate shabbat dinner in our hotel room with two of my friends, David and Laura. We went to bed pretty early.
Saturday, March 7th:
We slept kind of late, and then at 11 we went on a free tour of Jerusalem. It was 4 hours long, and was not a very Jewish tour. We got to walk the 14 Stations of the Cross, and visit countless sites in all 4 quarters. It was pretty fun but extremely tiring. We came back to the hotel room, ate lunch, and took naps. When we woke up shabbos was just ending, so we walked around Ben Yehuda Street for a little and then took a taxi to the central bus station (dad had a lot of luggage) to catch a bus to Yerucham. About 90% of the Nativers from Yerucham were on the bus, so it was fun. We got back and went right to the hostel and went to bed.
Sunday, March 8th:
Because the gan kids had off Monday March 9th for the Fast of Esther and Tuesday March 10th for actual Purim, March 8th was Purim in the gan. I dressed as a hula girl, dad dressed as a hippie, and my gan kids dressed as everything from policemen to moshe rabeinu to princesses to the monster from scream to indians to robin hood/peter pan. What a great day. After gan we rested for a little, then went grocery shopping, and then dad cooked dinner in my apartment for all of the Yerucham Nativ girls, staff, and Jake and Berdugo: Meat, Rice, and Peas. It took us almost 2 hours to cook. We needed a lot of food. Other people brought salad and desert, so it was great. Everyone loved it and even though it was really squished in our apartment, it was a lot of fun.
Monday, March 9th:
We didn't have much of a plan for this day except for it being Erev Purim, so on a whim, dad, Jake, Misha, Kesha, Kari and I decided to go to Be'er Sheva for a little for a Purim carnival. No bus to Be'er Sheva ever came, so instead we hopped on a bus to Dimona. None of us had ever been to Dimona before (except Jake because he gets MDA calls there). We walked around what little shopping they had, and got a yummy lunch of falafal/shwarma/shnitzel. Everyone was happy. We got back to Yerucham in time to get into costume and go to Kibbutz for Megillah Reading. My friend Michelle and I were Siamese twins. My dad was a hippie again. There were a lot of great costumes. Megillah reading was fun! Then we had a BBQ dinner and DJ dance party. That night I also found out that I was chosen to staff USY on Wheels this summer!!
Tuesday, March 10th:
Yom Nativ. We all went to services in costume. This time I was Tiger Lilly. We spent the morning making humentashen and mishloach manot for our bosses/neighbors/host families/whoever (I had already made mine but some people did not). It was fun. We ate lunch at some meat place, and then played a game where each group had to make a skit to try and make Beinart and Eyal laugh and spit water out of their mouths. It was very silly. After the skits, Jake and I delivered my mishloach manot by bike (we borrowed bikes from Beinart and Eyal), and then had pizza dinner with my dad.
Wednesday, March 11th:
Woke up pretty early, took a bus to Jerusalem, took a taxi, and then picked up our rental car. We parked the rental car and walked around Jerusalem for a little, had lunch at Sambooki, and then drove about an hour and a half to Nazareth!!! We went to a small place called Nazareth Village, a living farm to show us how life was when Jesus lived there. It was so much fun!! We learned all about how to press olives and squish grapes and herd sheep and pick wheat and spin wool into yarn and make yarn into blankets and how to use tools from the time of Jesus. There was a small synagogue in Nazareth Village. We happened to be in a tour with a Christian group, so when we finished hearing about the synagogue and how Jesus was Jewish, the leader asked if we could please sing a hymn. We sang Amazing Grace. It was beautiful. I was hysterical (I held it in, don't worry... okay I may have sang along a little). The tour ended with our guide giving us each a free oil lamp to remind us that Jesus is the light of our lives and if we walk in his path we shall never walk in darkness. It was very special and moving. We then continued driving to our hostel in Beit She'an, got dinner and walked around the mall there, and then went to sleep.
Thursday, March 12th:
Thursday morning we woke up, ate free breakfast at our hostel, and then drove to Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek, where dad lived during the summers of 1974 and 1975. What a day!! It was so much fun seeing the kibbutz and meeting people dad knew when he lived there. It's also really cool because it's one of the only legitimate socialist kibbutzim left in Israel. They kind of cheat though, because they get their money from their plastic factory which is now an international company with a contract with John Deere, which has something to do with farming. But still cool. And beautiful. After Mishmar HaEmek we drove to Kiryat Ono to meet with someone having to do with my dad's work. Then we walked around the mall there and saw The Reader. It was in English with Hebrew subtitles. My dad was very surprised when there was an intermission. Then we drove back and went to sleep.
Friday, March 13th:
Friday we drove back to Jerusalem, parked the rental car and walked around for a little, returned the rental car, took a taxi to the central bus station, and then took a bus to Ma'ale HaChamisha to spend Shabbat with Nativ.
Saturday, March 14th:
Shabbat with Nativ was a lot of fun, and the food at the hotel was great. There was also a swimming pool with a hot tub. Saturday night we had a really, really fun karayoke party.
Sunday, March 15th:
We took a bus back into Jerusalem, put our stuff down at Agron where we would be staying for the night, and then went to the shuk and had lunch at a delicious, very Israeli meat restaurant near the shuk called Sima's. We rested for a little, walked around the center of the city, and then ate dinner at Shnitzi's. After dinner we tried to watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but we were both falling asleep, so we went to bed.
Monday, March 16th:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY/bye bye daddy :(. What a terrible day. I had to say goodbye to my dad at 6:55 a.m. when his sheirut came to take him to the airport. Sunday and Monday I had some sessions for Leadership Week. Here are the ones I went to: Games in Hadracha with Mark Lazar, Being a Role Model with Eyal, Hollywood Leadership with Tanya, and Laughing as a Way of Life with Elkana. They were all pretty fun.
Tuesday, March 17th:
We left Jerusalem and drove to Nahal Benyamin to play some navigation games and play on a ropes course (it was all about teamwork/leadership). We cooked our own BBQ lunch there. Then we drove to Kibbutz Hannaton where we slept that night as well as Wednesday night.
Wednesday, March 18th:
We drove to a kibbutz called Lochamei HaGhetto. We learned all about leadership in the Holocaust. I was pretty bored. Then we drove back to Kibbutz Hannaton for dinner. After dinner is where it got interesting. The Ultimate Fighting began around 9 p.m. It included both Nativers and staff members. There must have been about 50 wrestling matches. It was extremely fun to watch. No one got too hurt. I originally did not want to fight, but then I remembered that a bunch of boys one time thought my friend Michelle could take me when I believed I could take her. So I fought her. And I beat her. Then I fought my friend Leah who plays rugby. I beat her too. I was the best girl fighter that night. I hurt my ankle a little though, not too bad.
Thursday, March 19th:
Woke up with a fever. And pretty achey. We left Hannaton and drove to IDC Herzilya for the day. We learned about the school, ate lunch, had a session on terrorism with the president of the international school there, and then had a session with Jules Gutin on Conservative Judaism. I hung out with some friends I know who go there. Still feeling horribly sick, I got on the bus to go back to Yerucham for shabbat.
Friday, March 20th:
Woke up not feeling well, and then I fainted. Spent the day in bed.
Saturday, March 21st:
Woke up not feeling well, didn't faint this time (thank goodness), and spent the day mostly in bed. I walked over to the girl's house for potluck lunch to get some fresh air, and then got back in bed.
Today:
No fever, but still lightheaded and achy. I didn't go to gan today. I think I'm going to try and go tomorrow, at least for half a day.
That's about it! Wow that took a long time to type. Since I wrote all that, can someone please comment? Thank you :)
-Sarah
Thursday night, March 5th:
Idan Raichel Project concert in Jerusalem. The concert was fun, but there were too many people there so I was a little overwhelmed. Plus I only know two songs by them, so I was just waiting and waiting for them to play those. Then, about half an hour after dad was supposed to take off, he called and said his flight was delayed. Then he said he was taking off. Then he said his flight was cancelled. I cried. I waited and waited for him to tell me when his new flight was, and then the concert ended and I got a sandwich at Shnitzi's and went back to Misha's cousin's apartment to sleep, and dad still did not know when his new flight would be. I was so worried that he would not make it in time for shabbat. I went to sleep very sad.
Friday, March 6th:
What a day. I woke up really early and had a message from dad saying that his flight had taken off and that he would be landing at about 2 p.m. I had originally planned on going to the shuk and getting ready for shabbat with my dad (he was originally supposed to land at 6:40 a.m.), but instead I went to the shuk with Jake, got food for shabbat dinner and lunch, checked into the hotel room and put all the food in the fridge, took a bus to the central bus station, took another bus to near the airport, took a shuttle to the terminal, and then went into the airport just in time to see my dad walk out of the doors from security. Perfect timing. We both cried. We hopped on a sheirut back to Jerusalem, just in time to shower quickly, get dressed, and go to Shirah Chadasha for Kabbalat Shabbat. We came back and ate shabbat dinner in our hotel room with two of my friends, David and Laura. We went to bed pretty early.
Saturday, March 7th:
We slept kind of late, and then at 11 we went on a free tour of Jerusalem. It was 4 hours long, and was not a very Jewish tour. We got to walk the 14 Stations of the Cross, and visit countless sites in all 4 quarters. It was pretty fun but extremely tiring. We came back to the hotel room, ate lunch, and took naps. When we woke up shabbos was just ending, so we walked around Ben Yehuda Street for a little and then took a taxi to the central bus station (dad had a lot of luggage) to catch a bus to Yerucham. About 90% of the Nativers from Yerucham were on the bus, so it was fun. We got back and went right to the hostel and went to bed.
Sunday, March 8th:
Because the gan kids had off Monday March 9th for the Fast of Esther and Tuesday March 10th for actual Purim, March 8th was Purim in the gan. I dressed as a hula girl, dad dressed as a hippie, and my gan kids dressed as everything from policemen to moshe rabeinu to princesses to the monster from scream to indians to robin hood/peter pan. What a great day. After gan we rested for a little, then went grocery shopping, and then dad cooked dinner in my apartment for all of the Yerucham Nativ girls, staff, and Jake and Berdugo: Meat, Rice, and Peas. It took us almost 2 hours to cook. We needed a lot of food. Other people brought salad and desert, so it was great. Everyone loved it and even though it was really squished in our apartment, it was a lot of fun.
Monday, March 9th:
We didn't have much of a plan for this day except for it being Erev Purim, so on a whim, dad, Jake, Misha, Kesha, Kari and I decided to go to Be'er Sheva for a little for a Purim carnival. No bus to Be'er Sheva ever came, so instead we hopped on a bus to Dimona. None of us had ever been to Dimona before (except Jake because he gets MDA calls there). We walked around what little shopping they had, and got a yummy lunch of falafal/shwarma/shnitzel. Everyone was happy. We got back to Yerucham in time to get into costume and go to Kibbutz for Megillah Reading. My friend Michelle and I were Siamese twins. My dad was a hippie again. There were a lot of great costumes. Megillah reading was fun! Then we had a BBQ dinner and DJ dance party. That night I also found out that I was chosen to staff USY on Wheels this summer!!
Tuesday, March 10th:
Yom Nativ. We all went to services in costume. This time I was Tiger Lilly. We spent the morning making humentashen and mishloach manot for our bosses/neighbors/host families/whoever (I had already made mine but some people did not). It was fun. We ate lunch at some meat place, and then played a game where each group had to make a skit to try and make Beinart and Eyal laugh and spit water out of their mouths. It was very silly. After the skits, Jake and I delivered my mishloach manot by bike (we borrowed bikes from Beinart and Eyal), and then had pizza dinner with my dad.
Wednesday, March 11th:
Woke up pretty early, took a bus to Jerusalem, took a taxi, and then picked up our rental car. We parked the rental car and walked around Jerusalem for a little, had lunch at Sambooki, and then drove about an hour and a half to Nazareth!!! We went to a small place called Nazareth Village, a living farm to show us how life was when Jesus lived there. It was so much fun!! We learned all about how to press olives and squish grapes and herd sheep and pick wheat and spin wool into yarn and make yarn into blankets and how to use tools from the time of Jesus. There was a small synagogue in Nazareth Village. We happened to be in a tour with a Christian group, so when we finished hearing about the synagogue and how Jesus was Jewish, the leader asked if we could please sing a hymn. We sang Amazing Grace. It was beautiful. I was hysterical (I held it in, don't worry... okay I may have sang along a little). The tour ended with our guide giving us each a free oil lamp to remind us that Jesus is the light of our lives and if we walk in his path we shall never walk in darkness. It was very special and moving. We then continued driving to our hostel in Beit She'an, got dinner and walked around the mall there, and then went to sleep.
Thursday, March 12th:
Thursday morning we woke up, ate free breakfast at our hostel, and then drove to Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek, where dad lived during the summers of 1974 and 1975. What a day!! It was so much fun seeing the kibbutz and meeting people dad knew when he lived there. It's also really cool because it's one of the only legitimate socialist kibbutzim left in Israel. They kind of cheat though, because they get their money from their plastic factory which is now an international company with a contract with John Deere, which has something to do with farming. But still cool. And beautiful. After Mishmar HaEmek we drove to Kiryat Ono to meet with someone having to do with my dad's work. Then we walked around the mall there and saw The Reader. It was in English with Hebrew subtitles. My dad was very surprised when there was an intermission. Then we drove back and went to sleep.
Friday, March 13th:
Friday we drove back to Jerusalem, parked the rental car and walked around for a little, returned the rental car, took a taxi to the central bus station, and then took a bus to Ma'ale HaChamisha to spend Shabbat with Nativ.
Saturday, March 14th:
Shabbat with Nativ was a lot of fun, and the food at the hotel was great. There was also a swimming pool with a hot tub. Saturday night we had a really, really fun karayoke party.
Sunday, March 15th:
We took a bus back into Jerusalem, put our stuff down at Agron where we would be staying for the night, and then went to the shuk and had lunch at a delicious, very Israeli meat restaurant near the shuk called Sima's. We rested for a little, walked around the center of the city, and then ate dinner at Shnitzi's. After dinner we tried to watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but we were both falling asleep, so we went to bed.
Monday, March 16th:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY/bye bye daddy :(. What a terrible day. I had to say goodbye to my dad at 6:55 a.m. when his sheirut came to take him to the airport. Sunday and Monday I had some sessions for Leadership Week. Here are the ones I went to: Games in Hadracha with Mark Lazar, Being a Role Model with Eyal, Hollywood Leadership with Tanya, and Laughing as a Way of Life with Elkana. They were all pretty fun.
Tuesday, March 17th:
We left Jerusalem and drove to Nahal Benyamin to play some navigation games and play on a ropes course (it was all about teamwork/leadership). We cooked our own BBQ lunch there. Then we drove to Kibbutz Hannaton where we slept that night as well as Wednesday night.
Wednesday, March 18th:
We drove to a kibbutz called Lochamei HaGhetto. We learned all about leadership in the Holocaust. I was pretty bored. Then we drove back to Kibbutz Hannaton for dinner. After dinner is where it got interesting. The Ultimate Fighting began around 9 p.m. It included both Nativers and staff members. There must have been about 50 wrestling matches. It was extremely fun to watch. No one got too hurt. I originally did not want to fight, but then I remembered that a bunch of boys one time thought my friend Michelle could take me when I believed I could take her. So I fought her. And I beat her. Then I fought my friend Leah who plays rugby. I beat her too. I was the best girl fighter that night. I hurt my ankle a little though, not too bad.
Thursday, March 19th:
Woke up with a fever. And pretty achey. We left Hannaton and drove to IDC Herzilya for the day. We learned about the school, ate lunch, had a session on terrorism with the president of the international school there, and then had a session with Jules Gutin on Conservative Judaism. I hung out with some friends I know who go there. Still feeling horribly sick, I got on the bus to go back to Yerucham for shabbat.
Friday, March 20th:
Woke up not feeling well, and then I fainted. Spent the day in bed.
Saturday, March 21st:
Woke up not feeling well, didn't faint this time (thank goodness), and spent the day mostly in bed. I walked over to the girl's house for potluck lunch to get some fresh air, and then got back in bed.
Today:
No fever, but still lightheaded and achy. I didn't go to gan today. I think I'm going to try and go tomorrow, at least for half a day.
That's about it! Wow that took a long time to type. Since I wrote all that, can someone please comment? Thank you :)
-Sarah
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Gan, Yom Nativ, Gan, Gan :)
Adar is the craziest month in the whole world in Gan. They have done a countless number of art projects: masks, clowns, groggers, etc. and sang Purim songs and danced Purim dances... it's insane. So that's how it was Monday, yesterday, and today in Gan. For Yom Nativ we went on a hike-walk around the desert outside of Yerucham, and met with the mayor of Yerucham. Last night all of the Yerucham girls made a surprise birthday dinner for our friend Dana. It was really cute and fun.
Sorry that this is so short.
I get to see my dad tomorrow!!!
-Sarah
Sorry that this is so short.
I get to see my dad tomorrow!!!
-Sarah
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Gan, Shabbat on Kibbutz
Thursday was just a regular day in Gan, and then Thursday afternoon I took a bus to Be'er Sheva to see my friends who went to Be'er Sheva and Kibbutz and not Yerucham! It was so, so, so much fun to see everyone!!! I slept over in Be'er Sheva, and then Friday morning I took a bus to Kibbutz Ein Tzurim (where 1/3 of Nativ is) and spent the weekend with Keren. Lilli and Ravitch also came. It was so much fun to hang out with people I don't get to see every day, and Kibbutz is really, really nice. The food was also GREAT. It was a good shabbos.
Today was a busy day in the Gan... but FUN! A group of 4th grade girls came to do Purim activities with the Gan kids and dance a little. We did lots of other Purim activities also, such as make mishloach manot containers. Every day leading up to Purim we have to wear a different costume. Today was wear something blue or purple. Tomorrow we are allowed to chew gum in Gan (usually not allowed), and we have to wear a scarf.
5 days until Daddy comes!!!
-Sarah
Today was a busy day in the Gan... but FUN! A group of 4th grade girls came to do Purim activities with the Gan kids and dance a little. We did lots of other Purim activities also, such as make mishloach manot containers. Every day leading up to Purim we have to wear a different costume. Today was wear something blue or purple. Tomorrow we are allowed to chew gum in Gan (usually not allowed), and we have to wear a scarf.
5 days until Daddy comes!!!
-Sarah
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Yom Nativ and "משנכנס אדר"
For Yom Nativ this week we did a scavenger hunt around Yerucham in the morning, pizza for lunch, and then TOP CHEF: cultures of the world. Each apartment got a different country and a 70 shekel budget- we got Yemen. We made malawah and Yemenite honey cake. One of the boys apartments won- they had India.
Today in the Gan we painted the kid's faces (tigers, lions, rabbits, clowns, etc.), got dressed in costumes, and paraded around all of the Ganim in Yerucham singing מי שנכנס אדר and other Purim songs, in honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar. Today I also got a giant hole in my jeans so I had to wear my sweatshirt around my waist for the entire day.
That's about it :)
-Sarah
Today in the Gan we painted the kid's faces (tigers, lions, rabbits, clowns, etc.), got dressed in costumes, and paraded around all of the Ganim in Yerucham singing מי שנכנס אדר and other Purim songs, in honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar. Today I also got a giant hole in my jeans so I had to wear my sweatshirt around my waist for the entire day.
That's about it :)
-Sarah
Monday, February 23, 2009
GAN TAMAR
This week so far has finally shown me what a normal Gan schedule is like. Yesterday the kids arrived, we did morning tifilot, and then they had a music class. It was pretty cute to hear the Israeli kids singing "Doh Rey Mi Fa So La Ti Doh", and pretty hilarious to watch the teacher do a pantomime of the three little bears. However, there was one minor catastrophe. During music, one girl who really likes me a clings to me a lot, put her head down on my lap, and that's when I saw them: the lice. I FREAKED OUT. I got up from my seat planning on calling my mom, but then the teacher said someone was at the gate for me. It ended up being our staff, Ariel, and she could not have arrived at a better moment. She checked my head (and she checked again another 2 times yesterday. And my friend Misha checked me today), and then helped me tell the Ganenet what had happened. The Ganenet proceeded to tell me that it's common and many of the kids have lice. EW. So now I plan on wearing my hair in a braid every day and having someone check my head every day as well. After the lice and a snack, all of the Ganim in Yerucham went to a play. Lice girl tried to sit next to me at the play, but I had to very nicely get away from her. I avoided a 6 year old. All of my friends who work in other Ganim were freaking out as well. After the play we had lunch, and then played for a while before it was time to go home. Last night after a delicious dinner of macaroni and cheese (the oven baked kind) and salad, I watched the movie Doubt. I love Meryl Streep, but the movie was ehhh.
This morning after doing some stuff in the classroom, the kids were split into 2 groups. One group played outside while the other did this 6 year old level Jazzersize-type activity. It was adorable. Then, after lunch, a blind girl came to tell the class the story of Purim, because tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh Adar.
Please pray for me that I don't get lice. I've never had them in my whole life and I REALLY don't want them now.
:)
-Sarah
This morning after doing some stuff in the classroom, the kids were split into 2 groups. One group played outside while the other did this 6 year old level Jazzersize-type activity. It was adorable. Then, after lunch, a blind girl came to tell the class the story of Purim, because tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh Adar.
Please pray for me that I don't get lice. I've never had them in my whole life and I REALLY don't want them now.
:)
-Sarah
Saturday, February 21, 2009
כמה נהדר בגן תמר!
What a crazy week this has been!! Yesterday in the Gan they had a ceremony to dedicate the new Torah they received, so this entire week pretty much consisted of preparing for that. These preparations included me attending a parents meeting Wednesday night from 8-9:30 p.m., which was all in Hebrew. Woo hoo. Because of the craziness this week, the kids haven't been doing much learning, so I've spent a lot of time outside watching the kids while they play. It's a long day, working in the Gan from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but I get free lunch, which is nice.
Anyway, for Shabbat I went to my mom's friends Arik and Yael. They have 4 kids: a boy about my age, a girl Rebecca's age, and twin 8 year old boys (so cute). It was a lot of fun, and it's nice because they only live 15 minutes away from Yerucham, in a place called Midreshet Ben Gurion.
Shavua tov!
-Sarah
Anyway, for Shabbat I went to my mom's friends Arik and Yael. They have 4 kids: a boy about my age, a girl Rebecca's age, and twin 8 year old boys (so cute). It was a lot of fun, and it's nice because they only live 15 minutes away from Yerucham, in a place called Midreshet Ben Gurion.
Shavua tov!
-Sarah
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Yerucham: Shabbat, first days of volunteering, Yom Nativ
Our first few days in Yerucham were insane. We got here last Wednesday, unloaded our bags from the truck, and spent the rest of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday unpacking, cleaning, food shopping, having meetings about our volunteering, and pretty much just organizing ourselves and setting up a life in Yerucham. Friday night, after services at the closest shul called Afikim Ba Negev, we all got assigned host homes for dinner. Mine was lovely! We were in pairs, and I was with my friend Eliana. They were vegetarian, but the food was still really good, and they had 5 cute kids. Saturday we had lunch as a group and then Saturday night we had another meeting where they told us exactly where we would be volunteering, and we started work on Sunday. I work in a gan called Gan Tamar. The kids are 5 and 6. Most are really cute, but there are a few really wild/rough boys. The way it worked Sunday and Monday was I was pretty much outside with the kids all day, while the teacher called in 5-10 kids at a time for small group lessons. There are 30 kids in the class. What these boys would do is line up at the fence of the gan (the gate is locked), say, "ready?", and then all climb the fence at the same time. It's like vertical whack-a-mole for me, trying to get them all down. It's crazy.
Today we had our first Yom Nativ. On Tuesday's we don't volunteer. We plan activities and do them. Today we just talked to Yossi, the director, and gave him feedback about first semester, and then talked about future Yemei Nativ. There are 8 that we have to plan, so we brainstormed ideas and then 5 people were assigned to plan each one. My day is Purim, so that should be lots of fun! We also cleaned out a local bomb shelter that is going to become a hang out place for us.
Tonight for dinner I cooked for the first time since we got here (we have to food shop and make our own meals-but we take turns cooking)! I made chicken and broccoli stir fry and rice- it was a hit! And my friend Kesha made baked apples for desert.
That's all for now! You should all come visit Yerucham. It's special here.
-Sarah
Today we had our first Yom Nativ. On Tuesday's we don't volunteer. We plan activities and do them. Today we just talked to Yossi, the director, and gave him feedback about first semester, and then talked about future Yemei Nativ. There are 8 that we have to plan, so we brainstormed ideas and then 5 people were assigned to plan each one. My day is Purim, so that should be lots of fun! We also cleaned out a local bomb shelter that is going to become a hang out place for us.
Tonight for dinner I cooked for the first time since we got here (we have to food shop and make our own meals-but we take turns cooking)! I made chicken and broccoli stir fry and rice- it was a hit! And my friend Kesha made baked apples for desert.
That's all for now! You should all come visit Yerucham. It's special here.
-Sarah
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Israel Today Seminar, Negev Tiyul, Y-e-r-u-CH-a-m!
Sorry it's been so long again!!! These past couple of weeks have been absolutely insane.
ISRAEL TODAY SEMINAR: Feb. 1-3
Day 1: Tel Aviv
There were three different options in Tel Aviv that we could choose from, and my group focused on arts and culture. We started off the day with a small tour of Old Yaffo, and our tour guide showed us some works that were made in Tel Aviv during different periods, many of which I recognized from my art history class. We visited this Arab theatre, and then went to a Blind Museum where there are no lights and everything is pitch black, as in you never ever adjust because there is no light at all. It was so cool. There was a rain forest, a house, a boat, a grocery store (you could actually buy stuff!!), and a market. I know this because I could feel it with my hands (fruit in the market, a bed in the house, etc.). It was truly an amazing experience. Then we went to a mall for an hour to grab dinner, and then to a show called Not By Bread Alone, where the actors and actresses are deaf, blind, or both. It was very special to watch. Most of the time I forgot they couldn't see or hear. They told us their life stories. They started baking bread at the beginning, and then at the end we got to eat it! Cool!!
Day 2: Jerusalem
First we went to Meiah Shearim to learn about Haredi life, but it consisted mostly of playing with small Haredi children, and also listening to a Haredi man speak about their way of life. Then we went to the Israel Museum and then to the Science Museum.
Day 3: Givat Haviva
Givat Haviva is a place in the North that serves as a center for peace between Arabs and Jews. A man spoke to us for a really long time, and it was boring, so I unfortunately do not remember much more than that about that place. Sorry. That night we went to the light show at Migdal David about the history of Jerusalem. It was my second time seeing it, but it was still amazingly cool.
Feb. 4: PACKING DAY. We had to pack ALL of our stuff to be put on a truck down to Yerucham, plus a duffel bag for tiyul. What a balagan.
NEGEV TIYUL: Feb. 5-11
Day 1:
-Hike (every day we got to choose between hard hike and easy hike or art. I chose hard hike every day because they were the best!)
-Camel ride
-Slept at the Bedouin tent
Day 2:
-Hike
-Shabbat at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 3:
-Relaxed a lot
-Night activity: holistic healing. What a joke. It was more like an evening of trust falls. There were also the options of playing soccer with some Israelis or having a bonfire with some Israelis.
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 4:
-Hike
-Kasui sand dunes (SO MUCH FUN!!)
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 5:
-Hike
-We were supposed to go for a boat ride, but the weather was bad... instead they gave us the choice to go to a biblical themed amusement park (ha ha.. how silly) or to a place with paint-balling and an amazing ropes course. I chose the latter. It was wonderful.
-Free night in Eilat
-Slept in Eilat at the Adi Hotel
Day 6 (Israeli Election Day):
-Most amazing hike ever
-Tubing/banana boating (WHAT A THRILL)
-A bunch of friends and I got really cool hair wraps!!
-Made my own fro yo! My friend Ashley and I got to pick out fruit and operate the machine to mix it with yogurt and turn it into fro yo, because the guy who worked at the store was too lazy to get up from his chair.
-Got a fever :(
-Slept in Eilat
Day 7:
-Packed up our stuff and loaded the buses
-Went to a rest stop where we ate lunch and said bye to our friends
-Arrived in YERUCHAM!!!
Y-E-R-U-CH-A-M!!!
So far all we have done is:
a) Unpack and organize our apartments
b) Listen to people tell us about what life in Yerucham is going to be like
I signed up to volunteer in a Gan. Hopefully that works out.
I have my own apartment!!! There are two rooms. Room 1: Me, Becky, Ashley. Room 2: Kari, Beth, Misha, Kesha. It's so much fun, but weird to be living in my own apartment. Everything is coming together nicely. Tonight we had our first real meal of salad and tofu and vegetable stir fry. Right now our fridge is broken, so we have to keep certain things in our staff's fridge, but it should be fixed tomorrow. Our shower also doesn't work, so we have to go use one of the other Nativ apartments for now. Oh, Israel.
That's all for now! :)
-Sarah
ISRAEL TODAY SEMINAR: Feb. 1-3
Day 1: Tel Aviv
There were three different options in Tel Aviv that we could choose from, and my group focused on arts and culture. We started off the day with a small tour of Old Yaffo, and our tour guide showed us some works that were made in Tel Aviv during different periods, many of which I recognized from my art history class. We visited this Arab theatre, and then went to a Blind Museum where there are no lights and everything is pitch black, as in you never ever adjust because there is no light at all. It was so cool. There was a rain forest, a house, a boat, a grocery store (you could actually buy stuff!!), and a market. I know this because I could feel it with my hands (fruit in the market, a bed in the house, etc.). It was truly an amazing experience. Then we went to a mall for an hour to grab dinner, and then to a show called Not By Bread Alone, where the actors and actresses are deaf, blind, or both. It was very special to watch. Most of the time I forgot they couldn't see or hear. They told us their life stories. They started baking bread at the beginning, and then at the end we got to eat it! Cool!!
Day 2: Jerusalem
First we went to Meiah Shearim to learn about Haredi life, but it consisted mostly of playing with small Haredi children, and also listening to a Haredi man speak about their way of life. Then we went to the Israel Museum and then to the Science Museum.
Day 3: Givat Haviva
Givat Haviva is a place in the North that serves as a center for peace between Arabs and Jews. A man spoke to us for a really long time, and it was boring, so I unfortunately do not remember much more than that about that place. Sorry. That night we went to the light show at Migdal David about the history of Jerusalem. It was my second time seeing it, but it was still amazingly cool.
Feb. 4: PACKING DAY. We had to pack ALL of our stuff to be put on a truck down to Yerucham, plus a duffel bag for tiyul. What a balagan.
NEGEV TIYUL: Feb. 5-11
Day 1:
-Hike (every day we got to choose between hard hike and easy hike or art. I chose hard hike every day because they were the best!)
-Camel ride
-Slept at the Bedouin tent
Day 2:
-Hike
-Shabbat at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 3:
-Relaxed a lot
-Night activity: holistic healing. What a joke. It was more like an evening of trust falls. There were also the options of playing soccer with some Israelis or having a bonfire with some Israelis.
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 4:
-Hike
-Kasui sand dunes (SO MUCH FUN!!)
-Slept at Kibbutz Keturah
Day 5:
-Hike
-We were supposed to go for a boat ride, but the weather was bad... instead they gave us the choice to go to a biblical themed amusement park (ha ha.. how silly) or to a place with paint-balling and an amazing ropes course. I chose the latter. It was wonderful.
-Free night in Eilat
-Slept in Eilat at the Adi Hotel
Day 6 (Israeli Election Day):
-Most amazing hike ever
-Tubing/banana boating (WHAT A THRILL)
-A bunch of friends and I got really cool hair wraps!!
-Made my own fro yo! My friend Ashley and I got to pick out fruit and operate the machine to mix it with yogurt and turn it into fro yo, because the guy who worked at the store was too lazy to get up from his chair.
-Got a fever :(
-Slept in Eilat
Day 7:
-Packed up our stuff and loaded the buses
-Went to a rest stop where we ate lunch and said bye to our friends
-Arrived in YERUCHAM!!!
Y-E-R-U-CH-A-M!!!
So far all we have done is:
a) Unpack and organize our apartments
b) Listen to people tell us about what life in Yerucham is going to be like
I signed up to volunteer in a Gan. Hopefully that works out.
I have my own apartment!!! There are two rooms. Room 1: Me, Becky, Ashley. Room 2: Kari, Beth, Misha, Kesha. It's so much fun, but weird to be living in my own apartment. Everything is coming together nicely. Tonight we had our first real meal of salad and tofu and vegetable stir fry. Right now our fridge is broken, so we have to keep certain things in our staff's fridge, but it should be fixed tomorrow. Our shower also doesn't work, so we have to go use one of the other Nativ apartments for now. Oh, Israel.
That's all for now! :)
-Sarah
Thursday, January 29, 2009
MAMBO ITALIANO!!!!! (this is going to be a very, very long post)
I carried a small notebook with me all around Italy so that I could write everything down, so now I'm going to share it all with you! Enjoy :)
ITALY: January 16th-27th 2009
Jan. 16th:
I flew to Milan at 6:00 a.m. with the 3 other girls I'm touring Italy with: Lilli, Elli, and Liora. We landed at 9:15 a.m. Italy time (one hour earlier than Israel time). We pretty much spent this whole day traveling: we took a bus from the airport to the train station, where I ate my first Italian pizza (the first of MANY, so delicious), and then we hopped on a train from Milan to Florence. We walked to our hostel, which was really nice. We had a room of 6, so there were two other people in our room. They were nice, but we only talked to them for a little. Friday night we ate Shabbos dinner at the Florence Chabad house. It was kind of silly- there was just one long table filled with people from all over the world who we didn't know and a lot of food, and we had to listen to the rabbi speak for about 45 minutes, but we all fell asleep because we were completely exhausted. After dinner, we walked back to our hostel (about a 15 minute walk) and passed out.
Jan. 17th:
Our hostel served a cute little breakfast every day of granola cereal, pastries, and rice cakes (and jelly, milk, etc.), so we woke up and ate that. Then we spend a few hours wandering around our neighborhood window shopping, before heading to the Chabad house for lunch. It was pretty much the same experience as Friday night. After lunch we went to the Duomo, a big, famous church in the center of Florence, only a 2 minute walk from our hostel. You can pretty much see it from all over the city, because it's towers over the city. The outside is as beautiful and ornate as the inside, and it was amazing to look at. After that we all took naps, and then got a suggestion from this guy who works at our hostel for a good place to go to dinner. We walked there (it was called Muna), but it was full, so we made reservations for the next night and then walked to a different restaurant called Borgo Antico, where we had our first real Italian meal. We ordered three different pizzas, with all kinds of cheeses (buffalo mozzerella is our favorite) and vegetables (mushrooms, artichokes, eggplant, zuchini, tomatoes), and a big salad with avocado, tomatoes, and mozzerella (dressed with oil and vinegar). What a meal. After that we went to this really cute place called La Cite, also recommended by our hostel guy. It's a library/live music venue/bar, so that was a lot of fun. We all got hot chocolate or tea and flipped through Italian books that we couldn't understand. Then we walked back to our hostel and went to sleep.
Jan. 18th:
We ate breakfast at the hostel, and then headed over to the Galleria de Academia, where we saw Michaelangelo's David (that is the highlight of the museum). I took a bunch of pictures, even though you're totally not allowed to do that. Then, we went to the Great Synagogue and Jewish museum of Florence. The synagogue was huge, because it had to compete with local churches. It was really cool. Then we walked around the area and found a kosher restaurant and a kosher market. We stopped at a grocery store on the way back to the hostel to buy bread and apples, and then ate lunch on the terrace of our hostel (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, leftover pizza from the night before, apples and peanut butter, and cheerios). Then, we went to the Uffizi Gallery. Wow. It is so big, and there are so many paintings there by really famous artisis! My favorite was The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli. After the Uffizi, we had a truly life-changing experience: our first Italian gelato. The place was called Grom, also recommended by our hostel guy. There is a Grom in New York City, but it is not the same. The gelato at Grom was heavenly. I had chocolate and vanilla, but I also sampled pear and pink grapefruit, both delicious. The vanilla especially was like biting into a cloud. It was unbelieveable. After Grom we went back to the hostel for a little to relax, and then went to dinner at Muna. What a cute restaurant! We ordered 2 pizzas, 1 pasta dish, and a salad, and then for dessert, dark chocolate fondue with bananas, pears, apples, pineapple, and mandarin oranged. It was amazing. After that, bed time.
Jan. 19th:
We ate breakfast at the hostel, and then took a train to Pisa! The leaning tower was way smaller than I imagined, but it was still really cool to be there. We also visited the beautiful Cathedral next to the leaning tower, and then took a public bus for free back to the train station and then a train back to Florence. We ate lunch (PB&J and pringles) on the train, and then, when we got back to Florence, we had Grom gelato #2, this time I got vanilla and pear. Then we walked over Ponte Vecchio (a really cool bridge with stores on the sides), to Palazzo Pitti, home of the Boboli Gardens. The gardens were vast and beautiful. It wasn't flowers though, it was just grass and trees and some statues, all beautifully landscaped, with a giant castle in the background. Lilli wants to get married there. After that, we walked around the shops on Ponte Vecchio and in the area for a little, and then had dinner at a small vegetarian restaurant recommended by, guess who, our hostel guy. I had pumpkin soup, cheese quiche, and chocolate cake. Lilli's friend Laine who is studying in Florence for the semester came to hang out with us for a little, and then we went to sleep.
Jan. 20th:
We had breakfast at the hostel (it's free, so we eat it every day), and then walked (well kind of hiked.. it was quite uphill) to S. Miniale al Monte or Piazza della Michaelangelo, a beautiful lookout of all of Florence. It was really windy up there, but so, so amazing. Then, we had Grom gelato #3. Then we went to San Lorenzo market, which is what I like to call a Stuff Shuk- there were scarves, jerseys, jewelry, and a ton more stuff. We all bought Italy jerseys and scarves. We had a delicious lunch at Osteria Dell' Agnolo of pizza (the best was the broccoli and mozerella- it might be the best pizza I've ever had) and a caprese salad. We continuted on to the train station, where we traveled to Venice. In Venice there is only water, no streets, so we took a public bus-boat across Venice to our hostel. After putting our bags down (this time we had a private room- it was more like a motel), we wandered around for 35 minutes in the rain looking for somewhere to eat. We had gotten a recommendation from the front desk guy at our hostel, but we accidentaly held the map the wrong way so we went the opposite way of the restaurant. Finally, we crossed the Rialto Bridge and found a little place. I had spaghetti with tomato sauce and cheese, and then we went right to the hostel to sleep.
Jan. 21st:
This hostel did not serve breakfast :( so we ate bars and rolls and jelly for breakfast. Then we walked to St. Mark's Square, and St. Mark's Basilica. It was kind of a gloomy, rainy day, but the Basilica was amazing, like many churches in Italy are, and there was a pretty lookout from the top. We bought some small tuna/cheese/tomato sandwiches, then we had tea and pastries (and a white chocolate bar) at Pasticeria Ponte Delle Paste, and then real lunch in our hostel room (PB&J). Then we went to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, an amazing collection of modern art in Peggy Guggenheim's house. Liora in particular loved it, but we all did. She had paintings by lots of famous artists, but what was really cool was that because it was her private collection, the paintings weren't famous ones that we recognized like you can see in bigger museums, but less-well known works. Then we had dinner at Trattoria Rivetta with another Nativer Eli and his mom. We ordered lots of food. After dinner we ran into 3 other Nativers: Berdugo, Ribnick, and Avi! That was exciting. Then, bedtime.
Jan. 22nd:
We had another hostel breakfast of bars, and then took a boat to the island of Murano, the island of glass blowing! We got to see the factories where the do the glass blowing, as well as an endless number of stores selling all different things made out of glass. We stopped at a little cafe to get spinach and cheese sandwiches, and got gelato, of course, and then headed back to Venice. We went to the Jewish ghetto. We got to see 3 different synagogues, as well as a small museum. We ate peanut butter and jelly in the ghetto. Then we went back to our hostel to hang out for a little, and then had dinner at Pier Dickens with Eli and his mom. Pizza, pasta, and caprese. So good. Then, back to the hostel for bed.
Jan. 23rd:
We woke up and took a train to Rome!! I was particularly excited for Rome becasue I finished reading Angels and Demons on the plane on the way to Italy (which takes place in Rome), so I was super excited to see the city and and all of the places mentioned in the book. We checked into the hostel, and then took a walk to one of the churches from the book, called Santa Maria della Vittoria, where there is a famous statue by Bernini of the Ecstasy of St. Theresa. We got set up with a host family through the Chabad of Rome for Shabbos meals, so that evening we walked almost an hour to the home of the Guettas. It was really, really special to meet an Italian family who practices Judaism very similarly to how I'm used to at home. Their 5 kids all went, or still go, to the Jewish Day School in the Jewish ghetto area of Rome, and they did all of the Shabbos rituals I am used to, and of course, the food was amazing. We were happy to have meat. After dinner, we walked all the way back to our hostel and went to sleep.
Jan. 24th:
We slept really late, until noon, and then walked back to the Guettas for lunch. We ended up staying there talking to their daughters until Shabbos was over, and then the mom drove us back to our hostel. Then, we walked to Campo de'Fiore in the rain, and ate a delicious dinner at Magnolia. I had manicotti with spinach and ricotta. Then we went on a night walk across Rome that was in our guide book. It was a lot of fun, even thought it was raining a little. The walk started at Campo de'Fiore, continued to the Four Rivers Fountain (also in Angels and Demons), the Pantheon, Giolittis (a famous gelato place- ended up being a huge let-down. The people there were mean), the Trevi Fountain (my favorite place in Rome-it's so, so beautiful), and finally, ended at the Spanish Steps. After our night walk we were quite tired, so we called it a night.
Jan. 25th:
This was probably my favorite day the whole trip: Yom Vatican City. The last Sunday of every month, enterence to the Vatican Museum, or Musei Vaticani, is free. So, when we got there at 7:45 a.m. by metro, there were about 50 people already in line (the doors opened at 8:45), but shortly thereafter, at least another 500 people got in line. It was insane and packed. The museum was really cool, but the best part was, obviously, the Sistine Chapel. It was so big, and the ceiling and walls were so grand and amazing. No pictures or descriptions could ever do it justice. It's an incredible sight. After that, we went to St. Peter's Square. The architecture of the square is so awesome, and I finally got to see Swiss Guards in their silly outfits (http://z.about.com/d/german/1/0/U/b/1/SwissGrd250.jpg). Then, after waiting in line for about half an hour, we went into St. Peter's Basilica. It was huge. Amazing. The biggest church I have ever seen. I can't even describe it. We then payed an extra 7 euro to climb up to the top of the dome, and then on top of the dome to a lookout of all of Rome. My goodness was it beautiful. You could see St. Peter's Square and the Pantheon and so much more. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. My birds eye view photo of the square is the new background of my computer. After that, we got gelato (surprise, surprise). I got chocolate and raspberry. Then we walked by Castel Sant'Angelo (in Angels and Demons), over Ponte Sant'Angelo (Ponte=bridge), and then walked to Piazza del Popolo, to see another famous church that was in Angels and Demons, called Santa Maria del Polpolo. They happened to be shooting the new Daniel Day Lewis movie called Nine in the square when we got there, so that was cool. I have no clue what the movie is about, but there were lots of extras dressed up in nice 40's-50's era clothes, and lots of old cars. We went inside the church the one chapel mentioned in the book, the Chigi Chapel, was under construction. You could still see the statue that I wanted to see, but the rest of the chapel was tarped off. Oh well. We took the metro back to our hostel, and then had dinner at a restaurant called La Gallina Bianca, the White Chicken. I had a delicious pizza with mozzerella, broccoli, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes. Jake and the boys he was traveling with were in Rome too, so after dinner Jake and I walked back to the Trevi Fountain (I just love it so much). Then bedtime.
Jan. 26th (Erev Birthday):
We ate a small breakfast at the hostel, and then went to the Colesseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. It was cool to see, but got boring after a while, because it's really just a lot of ancient ruins. After that we went to the Jewish ghetto where we bought kosher challah rolls and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then we went to the Pantheon so we could see the inside (it wasn't open at night). It was cool because it was raining, and there is a giant hole built in the ceiling of the Pantheon, so they had to rope off and area in the center that was wet. Then we went to see the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps (we wanted to see them during the day), and then took the metro back to the hostel. After resting for a little, we went to Erev Birthday dinner at Saby's in Campo del'Fiore with Eli and Jake. We ordered almost the entire menu, no exaggeration. Pizza, pasta, caesar salad, bruchetta, caprese, and for dessert, chocolate mousse with candles in it! Lilli, Elli, and Liora gave me a Venetian Carnival mask for my birthday, because every store that we went to I loved to try them on (http://www.unitedmaskandparty.com/Masks/images/decorated_half_masks_feathers.JPG). After that, Jake and I walked around for a little. We wanted to go to the Trevi Fountain one last time, but it was a long walk and it was late at night and we were tired, so we just went to the fountain in Piazza Della Repubblica, and then went back to our hostels for bed.
Jan. 27th (MY BIRTHDAY!!!):
We woke up really early and took a train to the airport for our flight back to Tel Aviv at 10:15 a.m. On the plane we watched Nights of Rodanthe, the new Richard Gere movie. When we landed, we took a train to Beit Yehoshua, where Tovik picked us up, fed us dinner, and then took us to see her son play basketball. It was fun, but we were all really tired. It was a good birthday.
Jan. 28th:
We took a bus back to JERUSALEM!! Italy was amazing, but we were all excited to get back to Israel. Only about 5 other Nativers were here, so it was quiet around Beit Nativ. We just hung out, looked at pictures, listened to music, and then went to dinner at Cup O' Joe.
Today:
So far today all I've done is write in my blog and have oatmeal for breakfast with Elli and Liora. Elli, Liora, and Misha went to the Israel Museum, but I didn't go with them because next week we were split into groups for some touring around Israel days and my group is going to the Israel Museum. It's okay though. I'm just unpacking, organizing my stuff, and cleaning my room before my roommate gets back later today (I think).
That's about it! I put 6 albums of Italy pictures up on facebook, but I have about 300 more pictuers that I didn't put up because there were just too many. I'm going to send them all to my mom, so ask her if you want to see them. Thanks for reading this whole thing!!
-Sarah
ITALY: January 16th-27th 2009
Jan. 16th:
I flew to Milan at 6:00 a.m. with the 3 other girls I'm touring Italy with: Lilli, Elli, and Liora. We landed at 9:15 a.m. Italy time (one hour earlier than Israel time). We pretty much spent this whole day traveling: we took a bus from the airport to the train station, where I ate my first Italian pizza (the first of MANY, so delicious), and then we hopped on a train from Milan to Florence. We walked to our hostel, which was really nice. We had a room of 6, so there were two other people in our room. They were nice, but we only talked to them for a little. Friday night we ate Shabbos dinner at the Florence Chabad house. It was kind of silly- there was just one long table filled with people from all over the world who we didn't know and a lot of food, and we had to listen to the rabbi speak for about 45 minutes, but we all fell asleep because we were completely exhausted. After dinner, we walked back to our hostel (about a 15 minute walk) and passed out.
Jan. 17th:
Our hostel served a cute little breakfast every day of granola cereal, pastries, and rice cakes (and jelly, milk, etc.), so we woke up and ate that. Then we spend a few hours wandering around our neighborhood window shopping, before heading to the Chabad house for lunch. It was pretty much the same experience as Friday night. After lunch we went to the Duomo, a big, famous church in the center of Florence, only a 2 minute walk from our hostel. You can pretty much see it from all over the city, because it's towers over the city. The outside is as beautiful and ornate as the inside, and it was amazing to look at. After that we all took naps, and then got a suggestion from this guy who works at our hostel for a good place to go to dinner. We walked there (it was called Muna), but it was full, so we made reservations for the next night and then walked to a different restaurant called Borgo Antico, where we had our first real Italian meal. We ordered three different pizzas, with all kinds of cheeses (buffalo mozzerella is our favorite) and vegetables (mushrooms, artichokes, eggplant, zuchini, tomatoes), and a big salad with avocado, tomatoes, and mozzerella (dressed with oil and vinegar). What a meal. After that we went to this really cute place called La Cite, also recommended by our hostel guy. It's a library/live music venue/bar, so that was a lot of fun. We all got hot chocolate or tea and flipped through Italian books that we couldn't understand. Then we walked back to our hostel and went to sleep.
Jan. 18th:
We ate breakfast at the hostel, and then headed over to the Galleria de Academia, where we saw Michaelangelo's David (that is the highlight of the museum). I took a bunch of pictures, even though you're totally not allowed to do that. Then, we went to the Great Synagogue and Jewish museum of Florence. The synagogue was huge, because it had to compete with local churches. It was really cool. Then we walked around the area and found a kosher restaurant and a kosher market. We stopped at a grocery store on the way back to the hostel to buy bread and apples, and then ate lunch on the terrace of our hostel (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, leftover pizza from the night before, apples and peanut butter, and cheerios). Then, we went to the Uffizi Gallery. Wow. It is so big, and there are so many paintings there by really famous artisis! My favorite was The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli. After the Uffizi, we had a truly life-changing experience: our first Italian gelato. The place was called Grom, also recommended by our hostel guy. There is a Grom in New York City, but it is not the same. The gelato at Grom was heavenly. I had chocolate and vanilla, but I also sampled pear and pink grapefruit, both delicious. The vanilla especially was like biting into a cloud. It was unbelieveable. After Grom we went back to the hostel for a little to relax, and then went to dinner at Muna. What a cute restaurant! We ordered 2 pizzas, 1 pasta dish, and a salad, and then for dessert, dark chocolate fondue with bananas, pears, apples, pineapple, and mandarin oranged. It was amazing. After that, bed time.
Jan. 19th:
We ate breakfast at the hostel, and then took a train to Pisa! The leaning tower was way smaller than I imagined, but it was still really cool to be there. We also visited the beautiful Cathedral next to the leaning tower, and then took a public bus for free back to the train station and then a train back to Florence. We ate lunch (PB&J and pringles) on the train, and then, when we got back to Florence, we had Grom gelato #2, this time I got vanilla and pear. Then we walked over Ponte Vecchio (a really cool bridge with stores on the sides), to Palazzo Pitti, home of the Boboli Gardens. The gardens were vast and beautiful. It wasn't flowers though, it was just grass and trees and some statues, all beautifully landscaped, with a giant castle in the background. Lilli wants to get married there. After that, we walked around the shops on Ponte Vecchio and in the area for a little, and then had dinner at a small vegetarian restaurant recommended by, guess who, our hostel guy. I had pumpkin soup, cheese quiche, and chocolate cake. Lilli's friend Laine who is studying in Florence for the semester came to hang out with us for a little, and then we went to sleep.
Jan. 20th:
We had breakfast at the hostel (it's free, so we eat it every day), and then walked (well kind of hiked.. it was quite uphill) to S. Miniale al Monte or Piazza della Michaelangelo, a beautiful lookout of all of Florence. It was really windy up there, but so, so amazing. Then, we had Grom gelato #3. Then we went to San Lorenzo market, which is what I like to call a Stuff Shuk- there were scarves, jerseys, jewelry, and a ton more stuff. We all bought Italy jerseys and scarves. We had a delicious lunch at Osteria Dell' Agnolo of pizza (the best was the broccoli and mozerella- it might be the best pizza I've ever had) and a caprese salad. We continuted on to the train station, where we traveled to Venice. In Venice there is only water, no streets, so we took a public bus-boat across Venice to our hostel. After putting our bags down (this time we had a private room- it was more like a motel), we wandered around for 35 minutes in the rain looking for somewhere to eat. We had gotten a recommendation from the front desk guy at our hostel, but we accidentaly held the map the wrong way so we went the opposite way of the restaurant. Finally, we crossed the Rialto Bridge and found a little place. I had spaghetti with tomato sauce and cheese, and then we went right to the hostel to sleep.
Jan. 21st:
This hostel did not serve breakfast :( so we ate bars and rolls and jelly for breakfast. Then we walked to St. Mark's Square, and St. Mark's Basilica. It was kind of a gloomy, rainy day, but the Basilica was amazing, like many churches in Italy are, and there was a pretty lookout from the top. We bought some small tuna/cheese/tomato sandwiches, then we had tea and pastries (and a white chocolate bar) at Pasticeria Ponte Delle Paste, and then real lunch in our hostel room (PB&J). Then we went to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, an amazing collection of modern art in Peggy Guggenheim's house. Liora in particular loved it, but we all did. She had paintings by lots of famous artists, but what was really cool was that because it was her private collection, the paintings weren't famous ones that we recognized like you can see in bigger museums, but less-well known works. Then we had dinner at Trattoria Rivetta with another Nativer Eli and his mom. We ordered lots of food. After dinner we ran into 3 other Nativers: Berdugo, Ribnick, and Avi! That was exciting. Then, bedtime.
Jan. 22nd:
We had another hostel breakfast of bars, and then took a boat to the island of Murano, the island of glass blowing! We got to see the factories where the do the glass blowing, as well as an endless number of stores selling all different things made out of glass. We stopped at a little cafe to get spinach and cheese sandwiches, and got gelato, of course, and then headed back to Venice. We went to the Jewish ghetto. We got to see 3 different synagogues, as well as a small museum. We ate peanut butter and jelly in the ghetto. Then we went back to our hostel to hang out for a little, and then had dinner at Pier Dickens with Eli and his mom. Pizza, pasta, and caprese. So good. Then, back to the hostel for bed.
Jan. 23rd:
We woke up and took a train to Rome!! I was particularly excited for Rome becasue I finished reading Angels and Demons on the plane on the way to Italy (which takes place in Rome), so I was super excited to see the city and and all of the places mentioned in the book. We checked into the hostel, and then took a walk to one of the churches from the book, called Santa Maria della Vittoria, where there is a famous statue by Bernini of the Ecstasy of St. Theresa. We got set up with a host family through the Chabad of Rome for Shabbos meals, so that evening we walked almost an hour to the home of the Guettas. It was really, really special to meet an Italian family who practices Judaism very similarly to how I'm used to at home. Their 5 kids all went, or still go, to the Jewish Day School in the Jewish ghetto area of Rome, and they did all of the Shabbos rituals I am used to, and of course, the food was amazing. We were happy to have meat. After dinner, we walked all the way back to our hostel and went to sleep.
Jan. 24th:
We slept really late, until noon, and then walked back to the Guettas for lunch. We ended up staying there talking to their daughters until Shabbos was over, and then the mom drove us back to our hostel. Then, we walked to Campo de'Fiore in the rain, and ate a delicious dinner at Magnolia. I had manicotti with spinach and ricotta. Then we went on a night walk across Rome that was in our guide book. It was a lot of fun, even thought it was raining a little. The walk started at Campo de'Fiore, continued to the Four Rivers Fountain (also in Angels and Demons), the Pantheon, Giolittis (a famous gelato place- ended up being a huge let-down. The people there were mean), the Trevi Fountain (my favorite place in Rome-it's so, so beautiful), and finally, ended at the Spanish Steps. After our night walk we were quite tired, so we called it a night.
Jan. 25th:
This was probably my favorite day the whole trip: Yom Vatican City. The last Sunday of every month, enterence to the Vatican Museum, or Musei Vaticani, is free. So, when we got there at 7:45 a.m. by metro, there were about 50 people already in line (the doors opened at 8:45), but shortly thereafter, at least another 500 people got in line. It was insane and packed. The museum was really cool, but the best part was, obviously, the Sistine Chapel. It was so big, and the ceiling and walls were so grand and amazing. No pictures or descriptions could ever do it justice. It's an incredible sight. After that, we went to St. Peter's Square. The architecture of the square is so awesome, and I finally got to see Swiss Guards in their silly outfits (http://z.about.com/d/german/1/0/U/b/1/SwissGrd250.jpg). Then, after waiting in line for about half an hour, we went into St. Peter's Basilica. It was huge. Amazing. The biggest church I have ever seen. I can't even describe it. We then payed an extra 7 euro to climb up to the top of the dome, and then on top of the dome to a lookout of all of Rome. My goodness was it beautiful. You could see St. Peter's Square and the Pantheon and so much more. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. My birds eye view photo of the square is the new background of my computer. After that, we got gelato (surprise, surprise). I got chocolate and raspberry. Then we walked by Castel Sant'Angelo (in Angels and Demons), over Ponte Sant'Angelo (Ponte=bridge), and then walked to Piazza del Popolo, to see another famous church that was in Angels and Demons, called Santa Maria del Polpolo. They happened to be shooting the new Daniel Day Lewis movie called Nine in the square when we got there, so that was cool. I have no clue what the movie is about, but there were lots of extras dressed up in nice 40's-50's era clothes, and lots of old cars. We went inside the church the one chapel mentioned in the book, the Chigi Chapel, was under construction. You could still see the statue that I wanted to see, but the rest of the chapel was tarped off. Oh well. We took the metro back to our hostel, and then had dinner at a restaurant called La Gallina Bianca, the White Chicken. I had a delicious pizza with mozzerella, broccoli, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes. Jake and the boys he was traveling with were in Rome too, so after dinner Jake and I walked back to the Trevi Fountain (I just love it so much). Then bedtime.
Jan. 26th (Erev Birthday):
We ate a small breakfast at the hostel, and then went to the Colesseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. It was cool to see, but got boring after a while, because it's really just a lot of ancient ruins. After that we went to the Jewish ghetto where we bought kosher challah rolls and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then we went to the Pantheon so we could see the inside (it wasn't open at night). It was cool because it was raining, and there is a giant hole built in the ceiling of the Pantheon, so they had to rope off and area in the center that was wet. Then we went to see the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps (we wanted to see them during the day), and then took the metro back to the hostel. After resting for a little, we went to Erev Birthday dinner at Saby's in Campo del'Fiore with Eli and Jake. We ordered almost the entire menu, no exaggeration. Pizza, pasta, caesar salad, bruchetta, caprese, and for dessert, chocolate mousse with candles in it! Lilli, Elli, and Liora gave me a Venetian Carnival mask for my birthday, because every store that we went to I loved to try them on (http://www.unitedmaskandparty.com/Masks/images/decorated_half_masks_feathers.JPG). After that, Jake and I walked around for a little. We wanted to go to the Trevi Fountain one last time, but it was a long walk and it was late at night and we were tired, so we just went to the fountain in Piazza Della Repubblica, and then went back to our hostels for bed.
Jan. 27th (MY BIRTHDAY!!!):
We woke up really early and took a train to the airport for our flight back to Tel Aviv at 10:15 a.m. On the plane we watched Nights of Rodanthe, the new Richard Gere movie. When we landed, we took a train to Beit Yehoshua, where Tovik picked us up, fed us dinner, and then took us to see her son play basketball. It was fun, but we were all really tired. It was a good birthday.
Jan. 28th:
We took a bus back to JERUSALEM!! Italy was amazing, but we were all excited to get back to Israel. Only about 5 other Nativers were here, so it was quiet around Beit Nativ. We just hung out, looked at pictures, listened to music, and then went to dinner at Cup O' Joe.
Today:
So far today all I've done is write in my blog and have oatmeal for breakfast with Elli and Liora. Elli, Liora, and Misha went to the Israel Museum, but I didn't go with them because next week we were split into groups for some touring around Israel days and my group is going to the Israel Museum. It's okay though. I'm just unpacking, organizing my stuff, and cleaning my room before my roommate gets back later today (I think).
That's about it! I put 6 albums of Italy pictures up on facebook, but I have about 300 more pictuers that I didn't put up because there were just too many. I'm going to send them all to my mom, so ask her if you want to see them. Thanks for reading this whole thing!!
-Sarah
Friday, January 16, 2009
GADNA
Last week I pretty much just relaxed a lot, because I finished my finals and I had nothing to do. Shabbat was just a lot of sleeping, and on Saturday my friend Michelle and I laid out blankets and read in the park. Then, on Sunday, we left for Israel Experience Week. Some people went to Poland, some people trained to be first aid respondents for Magen David Adom, some went to volunteer in Haifa, some did an archaeological dig in the North, and the rest did Gadna. If you don't already know, Gadna is a 5 day long army experience for teenagers around my age. Here is what I did all week on Gadna (Keep in mind that no one showered from Sunday-Tuesday):
Day 1-Sunday:
-Nativers split into 3 groups. I was in group 9!
-got our uniforms, sleeping bags, and blankets
-opening ceremony with the samelet and MM (two high ranking officials in Gadna)
-3 hour long kitchen duty (you get a different duty every day)
Day 2-Monday:
-wake up: 5:30 a.m.
-field day!
-learned how to army crawl
-learned how to run away from a grenade
-built secret hideouts
-talked with the MM about weapon safety
-class with our mifakedet on being Jewish vs. being Israeli
-current events with mifakedet (commander)
-talk with MM about different army programs
-duty: sweeping dirt out of the street
Day 3-Tuesday:
-wake up: 5:45 a.m.
-flag ceremony
-gun lessons:M16! (safety, assembly and disassembly, behavior in the shooting range)
-relay race against another group
-scavenger hunt run by the MM
-lesson with mifekedet on the purity of the weapon, one of the values of the IDF
-got officials to sign our paper
-lesson with mifakedet on different rankings, symbols, and beret colors in the army
-current events with mifakedet
-no duty!
Day 4-Wednesday:
-shooting range!
-shot an M16!!!!
-army games
-lesson with mifakedet about the Israeli flag and Hatikva
-lesson with MM about Antebbe
-army style exercise with the samelet
-duty: cleaning the M16s with oil
Day 5- Thursday:
-cleaned up tents
-returned uniforms
-found out that our mifakedet was only 19
A few things that apply to every day:
-sha'atash: an hour or so before bed to do whatever we want
-my job was to take attendence every time the group met after a break and to receive the mifakedet
-we always had to march everywhere in 2 lines, stand in 3 lines shaped like a box missing a side whenever we stood still, and answer "ken ha mifakedet" or "lo ha mifakedet" for everything
-mifakedet of tzevet 9 was amazing!! We loved her
This was SUCH an amazing week. I am very tired and sick, but I don't have time to think about that because in an hour I'm leaving for the airport to go to ITALY!!!!!!
Happy winter break (for me)!
-Sarah
Day 1-Sunday:
-Nativers split into 3 groups. I was in group 9!
-got our uniforms, sleeping bags, and blankets
-opening ceremony with the samelet and MM (two high ranking officials in Gadna)
-3 hour long kitchen duty (you get a different duty every day)
Day 2-Monday:
-wake up: 5:30 a.m.
-field day!
-learned how to army crawl
-learned how to run away from a grenade
-built secret hideouts
-talked with the MM about weapon safety
-class with our mifakedet on being Jewish vs. being Israeli
-current events with mifakedet (commander)
-talk with MM about different army programs
-duty: sweeping dirt out of the street
Day 3-Tuesday:
-wake up: 5:45 a.m.
-flag ceremony
-gun lessons:M16! (safety, assembly and disassembly, behavior in the shooting range)
-relay race against another group
-scavenger hunt run by the MM
-lesson with mifekedet on the purity of the weapon, one of the values of the IDF
-got officials to sign our paper
-lesson with mifakedet on different rankings, symbols, and beret colors in the army
-current events with mifakedet
-no duty!
Day 4-Wednesday:
-shooting range!
-shot an M16!!!!
-army games
-lesson with mifakedet about the Israeli flag and Hatikva
-lesson with MM about Antebbe
-army style exercise with the samelet
-duty: cleaning the M16s with oil
Day 5- Thursday:
-cleaned up tents
-returned uniforms
-found out that our mifakedet was only 19
A few things that apply to every day:
-sha'atash: an hour or so before bed to do whatever we want
-my job was to take attendence every time the group met after a break and to receive the mifakedet
-we always had to march everywhere in 2 lines, stand in 3 lines shaped like a box missing a side whenever we stood still, and answer "ken ha mifakedet" or "lo ha mifakedet" for everything
-mifakedet of tzevet 9 was amazing!! We loved her
This was SUCH an amazing week. I am very tired and sick, but I don't have time to think about that because in an hour I'm leaving for the airport to go to ITALY!!!!!!
Happy winter break (for me)!
-Sarah
Monday, January 5, 2009
End of classes, HAPPY NEW YEAR, bye bye family :(
Tuesday was just a normal day, so I'm going to skip that.
Wednesday the 31st was New Year's Eve! I had my Hebrew final and then my last Talmud class, and then came back to base. I hung out with my family for a while, which was nice, and then at 11 we had a little part at Beit Nativ for everyone and we rang in 2009!!!
I had to go to class on New Year's Day, but it wasn't so bad. I had my last Hebrew class ever. Both of my teachers came and we had lots of snacks, sang songs, and did a scavenger hunt around Hebrew U.
The past few days have been me trying to finish my foreign policy term paper and study for my art history and foreign policy exams, all of which I turned it/took yesterday. For Shabbat I took my mom and Rebecca to Shirah Chadasha Friday night (it was so, so crowded!) and then Kedem Saturday morning. Saturday night we went to dinner with Tovik and Shimon!!
Yesterday night was my last night with my family :(
My mom's friend works at a really, really nice hotel near Tel Aviv and he let us stay there for free, so it was a great last night. This morning I went to the airport with them and then I couldn't go through security with them since I didn't have a ticket, so I came back to Jerusalem by myself... I already miss them so much :(
Now I'm just hanging around. I have one paper left to write, Talmud, due Thursday, so I'll probably get on that at some point.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
-Sarah
Wednesday the 31st was New Year's Eve! I had my Hebrew final and then my last Talmud class, and then came back to base. I hung out with my family for a while, which was nice, and then at 11 we had a little part at Beit Nativ for everyone and we rang in 2009!!!
I had to go to class on New Year's Day, but it wasn't so bad. I had my last Hebrew class ever. Both of my teachers came and we had lots of snacks, sang songs, and did a scavenger hunt around Hebrew U.
The past few days have been me trying to finish my foreign policy term paper and study for my art history and foreign policy exams, all of which I turned it/took yesterday. For Shabbat I took my mom and Rebecca to Shirah Chadasha Friday night (it was so, so crowded!) and then Kedem Saturday morning. Saturday night we went to dinner with Tovik and Shimon!!
Yesterday night was my last night with my family :(
My mom's friend works at a really, really nice hotel near Tel Aviv and he let us stay there for free, so it was a great last night. This morning I went to the airport with them and then I couldn't go through security with them since I didn't have a ticket, so I came back to Jerusalem by myself... I already miss them so much :(
Now I'm just hanging around. I have one paper left to write, Talmud, due Thursday, so I'll probably get on that at some point.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
-Sarah
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