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.
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