Sitting, Waiting, Wishing... That I Wasn't Sick Anymore

Here it is, already the beginning of the third week of this amazing journey and the time is flying by.  As usual, I had Ulpan every day last week and every day after class I went with my friends to explore more of Jerusalem.  

On Monday, I had my first experience at the shuk (market) as an "Israeli" rather than as a tourist.  I brought my backpack and bought all sorts of produce until my backpack was full because it was incredibly cheap compared to the prices at our local grocery store.  The shuk has all sorts of little shops and stands set up with fruits, vegetables, nuts, meats, cheeses, candy, etc.  This trip to the shuk was much calmer than the one on Friday when everyone in Jerusalem seemed to be there because they were all buying food for Shabbat.  

On Tuesday after Ulpan, I went to the Old City with my roommates and a few friends that were in Jerusalem visiting.  We started out in the Christian Quarter because my roommates and I wanted to find tapestries to hang on the walls in our apartment.  Of course we got ripped off because we bought them from the first little shop we went to, and although we got them down from 400 shekels to 100 shekels (about $25) we found that we could've gotten them cheaper if we had just walked a few stores down.  The second store we went to that had cheaper tapestries and hundreds of scarves lining the walls, was our favorite store we've been too yet.    The owner's son took a liking to us and showed us every possible way to wear a scarf, including on top of our heads.  After we finished shopping in the Christian Quarter, we went to Hadaya, which is a very well-known jewelry store in the Jewish Quarter.  I've been waiting to visit this store for almost two years to pick out the perfect piece of jewelry and the perfect quote engraved in it.  I got a heart necklace that says in Hebrew "What will be, will be" on the front, and "From generation to generation" (L'Dor Vador) on  the back.  I thought long and hard about what I wanted on my Hadaya, so I'm very excited to have it ordered and to pick it up in a few days!

While we were in the Old City, we went to a balcony to take pictures of the Western Wall.   When we arrived we saw hundreds of people praying at the wall, which seemed a little abnormal for what I would expect on a Tuesday evening.  There was one man using a microphone that was leading the praying, and he sounded like he was weeping.  It was haunting.. I attached a video of it below. I attempted to ask an orthodox man and his wife why there were so many people at the wall, but the man took one look at me, turned and walked away.  Apparently I was not covered up enough even though I was in a sweater and long pants.  We later learned that the reason there were so many people at the wall was because of Rosh Chodesh (the new month).  

The next evening we received a knock on our door, which we assumed was from our friends that were coming over, but when the door opened there stood a rabbi dressed in full gear.. long black coat, tall black hat, the beard, etc.  He informed us that it was Rosh Chodesh and he was at our apartment to celebrate with us.  He brought a bag of treats along with him and we all did a “L’Chaim” and ate cookies.  All I could do was laugh because something like this would NEVER happen in America. 

Unfortunately, the next day I woke up and had a fever and I’ve been sick now for the past 6 days.  I went to the doctor on the first day that I had a fever, which was definitely an experience in itself.  My health insurance gave me a list of doctor offices in Jerusalem and told me to find someone who spoke Hebrew to figure out which was closest to my apartment and to give me directions there.  Once I had an appointment, I got in a cab with my friend and we were off to the doctor with these specific/shady instructions:  The doctor’s office is located in the shopping center between two banks.  Look for a red door and take the stairs next to that door up to the roof and then you will see a door that says “Doctor’s Office” on it.  I followed the directions and due to some miracle, we had no issue finding the office.  The doctor wasn’t very nice or very helpful.  He listened to me breathe and told me I had the flu.  That was it.  I stayed in bed miserable until yesterday when I called my health insurance and requested for a doctor to visit me at my apartment.  This house call was a first for me, but this doctor was much nicer and took one look at my swollen neck and freaked out.  She immediately gave me a prescription (which was free, along with the Dr. visit, because of my health insurance here).  Although these past few days have been awful, I have discovered that I have some of the greatest friends of all time.  They’ve made soup and tea for me, given me their medicine, gone to the doctor with me, done my laundry, etc.  I am so thankful to have such amazing friends!  So here I am, still sitting, waiting, and wishing that I was healthy enough to go to class and explore Jerusalem on this beautiful, sunny, sixty degree day. 

Settling In

I don't even know where to begin with this blog post. This first week has been a whirlwind to say the least.  After getting settled in on our first day here in Israel, we were thrown right into Ulpan (Intensive Hebrew) classes and forced to figure out how to live in a foreign country.  After wondering around in circles, getting caught in rain/hail storms, and getting kicked off the light rail, we're finally figuring out our way around this place.

Last Thursday night I had one of the coolest nights EVER! I went to the Idan Raichel Project concert with two of my friends from my A Cappella group back at home and it was amazing.  When I first came to Israel on Birthright two summers ago, I was introduced to their song "Bo'ee" and I fell in love with it.  From there on out, anytime I was sad and missing Israel, I would listen to their music.  It was so cool that I got to see them on one of my first nights in Jerusalem.  Of course I cried because it finally hit me that not only was I in Jerusalem, but I get to live here for 5 months.  In the middle of the concert, Idan Raichel played a song that he had just written 5 days earlier and the idea for the song was given to him by Israel's President, Shimon Peres. When they were done performing the song, Shimon Peres surprised the audience and came up on stage to speak.  Everyone stood and applauded.. it was such a cool experience.  By the end of the concert, we were up on our feet dancing in the aisles having an amazing time.

The next day, my roommates and I went to the Shuk to buy kitchen supplies and groceries before Shabbat.  As usual, it was insanely crowded with everyone rushing to buy their food before the start of Shabbat.  Later that day, I went to a Conservative synagogue and then had dinner at the Student Village with other people on my program.  After dinner, we were exhausted and came straight back to our apartment to hangout and sleep.

On Saturday, my roommates and I woke up and got lunch and then met up with some other friends and walked about an hour to the Old City/Kotel.  This was a very fun walk and definitely worth it, but it was very long because we were told to avoid walking through the Arab areas (which we almost accidentally did). In the end, we reached the Kotel just before Havdallah and we stayed there for a while until Shabbat ended.  We immediately went to find dinner as the restaurants began to open at the end of Shabbat and then went to our friend's hostel and met people from all over the world. There was a group from South America that had a guitar, so we easily made friends and began making music together.  It was a very fun time to be with other people our age from other countries who are here because they love Israel too and want to experience all that it has to offer.

Basically, I'm in love with this country and I'm so lucky to be having all these experiences.  I will probably repeat this sentence in every blog post between now and the end of the semester, so please get used to it.  That's it for now.  I hope those of you reading this back in America are staying out of the cold and enjoying your semester!

The Best Place on the Earth

I'm in absolute awe... I am in love with this beautiful country and most of all, with Jerusalem.  Getting to the dorms and settling in hasn't necessarily been the easiest task over the past 24 hours.  When I arrived at Newark for our group flight yesterday, it was mass chaos.  We stood in a huge blob of people for at least an hour before we even got to the Israeli security.  After being questioned about my Jewish background and why I was going to Israel, I had to run from counter to counter with all of my bags. Let me just tell you, 60 American students with an average of 2 oversize checked bags and 2 carry-on's each, maneuvering around the airport was definitely a sight to see.  

When we finally arrived in Israel we loaded the buses and headed to Jerusalem. When we arrived right outside the gates to the Kfar HaStudentim (Student Village) we all looked to the left and saw a gorgeous overlook of Jerusalem.  All I could say was, "Oh my God" over and over again.  That was the moment that I realized I was the luckiest person in the world to be in the best place on earth.  We immediately got off the buses and grabbed our keys to our apartments and began schlepping our bags all over the student village.  Naturally, I got an apartment on the 9th floor (top floor), so my roommates and I began our journey to our apartment.  I call it a journey because we took numerous elevators and got turned around several times, trapped on random floors with no lights, and we were locked out when we finally arrived to our apartment.  After  all of the chaos, we got into our apartment and began unpacking and settling in. I have 4 wonderful roommates, I was put with the 2 girls I requested, a girl from Toronto, and a girl from Ohio.  Once I showered, I went out to lunch with my roommates and met up with a friend who's been studying abroad in Italy for the last semester.  Next on the agenda was a campus tour of Hebrew University with our Madrichim.  I have always said that I was so lucky to go to the prettiest University, IU, but after seeing Hebrew University's Jerusalem stone pathways, beautiful buildings, and the breathtaking views of the mountains, Dead Sea, and Old Jerusalem, I very quickly changed my mind.  After the walking tour and orientation, I decided to pass on the chaos of going to the mall with the 220 people on my program and got dinner with a new friend on campus and then headed back to my apartment.  On our walk back to apartment, we were able to hear the Muslims praying on what sounded like a megaphone.  It was definitely a very cool thing to hear and a reminder of how holy Jerusalem is to so many different religions.  The rest of the night was pretty uneventful and I had a great sleep....until I woke up at 8:45 this morning to Arabic music and man repeatedly saying "Slicha" (Sorry) right outside my bedroom door.  Apparently he was here to fix the shower, but he didn't speak English so he was trying to explain why he was in our apartment without scaring us.  We were all a little spooked and agreed that our mothers would not appreciate a middle-aged man casually walking into our apartment without knowing ahead of time what he was doing here.  Anyway, I suppose him waking me up early wasn't the end of the world because it gave me the opportunity to blog before the long day ahead of me consisting of 3.5 hours of Ulpan (Intensive Hebrew), cleaning our filthy apartment, and other required get-to-know-you activities with our Madrichim.
Well I'm off to get ready for my first day of class.  Lehitraot!

Packing, errands, and saying goodbye

The title of this post perfectly describes what I've been doing with my life in the past week.  I have most of my suitcases (Yes, I caved and I'm bringing 2 instead of 1) packed and I just have a few more errands to run today in order to finish packing.  I went down to Bloomington on Tuesday and Wednesday to say goodbye to my friends down there.  It was very strange being on campus, knowing that I had no responsibilities to take care of for my classes. So far I have not cried when saying bye to anyone.  I honestly don't think I'm comprehending that I'm leaving my home, friends, and family for 5 months.

In just 4 days, I will be in Jerusalem registering for classes and going through orientation.  I'll be able to look out the window of my apartment on Mount Scopus and see this beautiful view of Jerusalem.

  Thanks to those of you who gave me such great feedback about my last post. I look forward to keeping you guys updated on my adventures in Israel.  The best ways to communicate with me while I'm in Israel are Facebook, Skype (juwomack), and e-mail (juwomack@indiana.edu).  Next time I post, it will be from Jerusalem!

T-12 days

I leave for Israel in 12 days and I'm full of so many emotions.  I'm excited to live in a new country, eager to learn, anxious to pack, etc.  Everyone keeps asking me if I'm nervous about getting homesick and if I'm going to be okay with being away from home for 5 months.  My answer is always the same: Sure, I'll have my moments like I do at IU when I wish that I was at home where my Mom is cooking for me and taking care of me when anything's wrong, but this semester, I have Jerusalem.  I remember the first time I went to the Western Wall in the Old City and I was overwhelmed with this feeling of peace and comfort.  Anytime this semester when I'm having a rough day, I know exactly where to go to calm myself and decompress, and I cannot find that comfort anywhere else in the world.

This past semester, I took a class called "Images of War and Peace in Israel" in which we looked at pictures, songs, and movies and analyzed them.  One song that we focused on (and I wrote a paper on) is "Jerusalem of Gold", hence the name of this blog.  In the 1967 war, the Israeli soldiers sang this song as they fought, so when they sang it after they gained control of Jerusalem, it was a reminder of their victory.  Over the years, more verses have been added to the song about the city and many Israeli's think of "Jerusalem of Gold" as Israel's unofficial national anthem. I've known this song for many years now, but my favorite memory of it, is listening to it on the bus as we drove into Jerusalem on my Alternative Spring Break trip last year.  The song speaks more to me when I'm actually in the land of milk and honey because I am able to see and feel how precious Jerusalem is, just like gold.

I cannot wait for the best 5 months of my life to begin in just 12 days.. but until then, there's a lot of packing and goodbyes that need to be done!

Also, please bear with me, this is the first blog I've ever written so I'm trying to figure out how to make it most    enjoyable for all of my followers!