I'm Back!

Sorry I haven't posted in quite a while, but I'm back. I have just returned from a week long trip to Poland. I have posted my whole blog on the new "Poland"  page. Please be warned that what I saw was very graphic and I wrote this journal at each location I went. Everything written were my feelings and experiences on location. Poland was an amazing experience, but it is somewhere I never want to go again. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy. Please click here to go to the "Poland" page.

Nom Nom Nom

I have fallen in love with the food here! After my first trip to the shuck, am first, in a giant food coma, and second... obsessed with all the heavenly noshes that filled my stomach throughout the day. Between the gooey, rich rugalach from Marzapan and the spicy falafel my palate has quite the adventure today. If this is going to be my diet for the next few months, I'm going to need to break out the running shoes. Also, for the first time, I truly felt like I was in Israel. Pushing through the crowded alleyways of the Shuk, I felt like I was living the life of a true Israeli. Where else am I going to find an avocado the size of my face, or have to push my way through the mob of people brutishly scavenging for their fresh chocolate pastries. Today was the day when it hit me that this is my home for four months and this is what I will be doing for the rest of my semester. I love everything about this place, the food, the people, the culture. Israel is turning into my new favorite place, and honestly... I'm ok with it.

Falafel

I always heard that the falafel in the US is gross compared to what you get in Israel. So naturally the first time we went out to a place that served falafel, I jumped on the opportunity. Unfortunately, I think my order got lost in translation. So instead of getting a fried chickpea stuffed pita, I got a pita filled with vegi mush. It was tasty, but it was definitely not falafel.

Is This For Real?

I always knew that one day in the future, I would go to the Kotel and see the ever-so-hyped Western Wall. I never thought I would say that that day was today. I know it's cliché, but there's something about being at that holy wall that truly connects you to your past and ancestors. Touching the stone for the first time brought me assurance. Assurance that the texts I study and the prayers I say actually mean something, and actually just might go somewhere divine. I constantly struggle with my ideas of a God or a
divine being, but standing at this wall for the ten minutes I did brought me a weird feeling of clarity and almost blind faith. I am in no way solid in my beliefs after this experience, but I think it's incredible that an inanimate object can bring forth such emotion.

Intensity

Life here is incredibly... intense. There's no other way to describe it. For the past two days I woke up ate and went to a three hour Jewish History class immediately followed by a two hour hebrew class. Let me tell you, three hours of history is hard. The subject, starting 2000 years ago, is extremely vigorous and difficult especially when I am surrounded by some of the smartest jewish teens I have ever met, and its pretty awesome. I find myself challenged and intrigued. On Sunday we are going to Tel Gezer, an ancient Canaanite civilization. I have no idea what to expect but nevertheless I'm very excited. Hebrew... Well, given that I have a very rudimentary hebrew basis, getting put in level 2 was a shock to say the least. I'm with kids that have been taking Hebrew for years and are almost fluent. While I sit in my seat looking at the board, so overwhelmed I can't even think straight. But if I try and if I study, I think I can make it. In the past two days I have taught myself Hebrew script writing and tried to learn about 40 different vocab words and their conjugations. By 1:00 it feels like I've had a whole day of school. But we mustn't forget about my core classes. In addition to my Jewish Studies and Hebrew, I take 5 other classes Every Day. I don't finish school until 7:15. That's right, my school day is 11 hours long. Intense. With that much work, it's not surprising that I am exhausted. Completely wiped. So, it's very comforting to know that Shabbat rolls in tomorrow. And Shabbat equals no classes! Tomorrow we are going on our first tiyul (field trip). We're going on an archaeology dig. It will be nice to get off the kibbutz and see more of Israel. On a different note, it's my best friend's birthday today. Her name is Emily but I call her Bunni. We have been going to URJ Camp Eisner together for the past 5 years and she is on the program with me. In case you're interested in checking out her blog, click here. Dig tomorrow, Jerusalem Saturday, Tel Gezer Sunday. I have quite a busy weekend ahead of me!

I'm Here!

Two days in, and it all still does't feel real. Kibbutz Tzuba is beautiful. I wake up every morning to arguably the most amazing view I've ever seen. The people I'm meeting are awesome and I'm so excited to get to know all of them better over the next four months. The jet lag sucks and the minimal sleep we get doesn't help, but everything is going really well. On Friday I'm going on an archeological dig and on Saturday I'm going to Jerusalem for the first time. I'm so excited. Life is Good!

Shoes

100 pounds is not enough, especially for a boy with size 13 feet. When each shoe weighs 5 pounds on its own, it makes packing very difficult. So, if you see a kid with hiking boots tied to his backpack somewhere at JFK, it's probably me. With packing came a feeling that I can't possibly describe. Nervousness mixed with excitement all wrapped together in a bow of disbelief. Almost as if I were flying across the world tomorrow...