MY first week adventures (PIctures to follow!)

I wrote this today, during the afternoon! My internet is working pause not. (No internet right now. Check back later in the week for pictures of said events!)

Shabbat Shalom l’kulam!

Shabbat Shalom everyone!

I am sitting in my room in Jerusalem, enjoying a light breeze and bright sky, not a cloud in sight!

It has been one heck of a week here in Israel.  I met my classmates, saw the Jerusalem Lights festival (the elephants below were part of this-- Richard, they were walking on the wall!!)went to Ikea, ate hummus, discovered zatar, went to two services, did some OA work—it’s been awesome!

Let’s start from the beginning:

Some of my classmates are here for pre-ulpan (intensive Hebrew study.) I am required to attend ulpan starting on July 7, so right now I’m just getting settled in, finding my doctors, getting my room set up, etc. etc.

From the time I arrived on Monday until Thursday night I stayed with Jordy (also a Pitt alum) and her roommate Leah, because my apartment wasn’t ready yet.  The person occupying my room hadn’t moved out yet. Leah and Jordy kindly let me stay on their couch until my room was empty enough to occupy. (Occupy Alicia’s Bedroom… I am the 1%!) Now that I am in my place, I busted out my air mattress that I packed, not knowing the exact situation of the apartment until after I arrived. I figured I could stay anywhere on my mattress so I wouldn’t worry too much.

On Tuesday we (Jordy and I) went to the school, met the staff who helped make this all possible for us, met our classmates, and checked out the shuk (open air market.)

(I can’t get on the internet right now so I can’t quite remember the info I have and have not relayed.)

On Wednesday, I went with a bunch of the other students on an adventure to Ikea. Having never been to an Ikea ever, I wasn’t sure what to expect. First, we had to rent cars (we rented TWO because 6 of us went and the cheapest car to rent was a Fiat—we would not have fit!) Ikea was huge.

 It was like being in a never-ending Home Depot nightmare situation.  Except they had a really great salad bar, so that’s what I had for lunch. Fresh veggies and salady stuff! Then each of us split into our roommate pairs to get the things the apartments needed like chairs and trashcans and pillows and decorations and etc.

The sheets here leave MUCH to be desired (I brought my own pillow cases but not sheets… mistake!) So the others were so excited to have a chance to buy soft, thick sheets. Because at this point I didn’t know what the size of my bed would be, I didn’t buy anything of that nature. I DID get a soft blanket, a pillow, and a comforter.

Ikea was fun, but I was really dragging toward the end of the trip.  Jenn and I also bought cushions for the chairs in our apartment, tupper ware for packing lunches and a few other things.

The girls then dropped me off at the place my English speaking meeting was supposed to take place. However, I stayed way past the time of the meeting and no one ever showed up. I was bummed, because I was really excited to fellowship with my people. So I took a quick cab ride back to Jordy’s and went out to a dairy restaurant. (Here the restaurants are either dairy/parve or meat. This place served smoked tuna—like nova lox, but instead of salmon it was tuna. It was incredible)

I got a chance to talk to Lauren back home and my heart just filled up.  I am SO lucky to have my fellows to talk to. 

Thursday I woke up and walked over to East Jerusalem, where my pharmacy is. Now, you may have the same kinds of questions I did, such as: Why East Jerusalem, why not just the pharmacy across the street from the school? What does ‘East Jerusalem’ even mean? How close or far is that? Why walk?

The answer to why East Jerusalem is: my insurance found a place that will dispense my injections and accept my insurance.

East JErusalem

What does ‘East Jerusalem’ mean? Great question! Here is what I found out: East Jerusalem is a section of the city where there seem to be more Palestinians than Jews. Israel and Palestine have differing viewpoints on the city of Jerusalem, which I won’t get into, but basically, from my observations, most Jerusalem residents of Arab descent live in East Jerusalem.

I am of the mindset that all people should have the chance to live together in peace, that none of this fighting is necessary, that people are all made B’tzelem Elohim—in the image of God, and kindness and tolerance should be the creed of all.  Instead, it seems things in Jerusalem (not all of Israel, as I have no experience to speak to that issue, though my guess would be that the situation is similar) are separated by ethnicity, religion, or race.  I decided to walk to Sultan Soliman (the street where the pharmacy is located) because I honestly thought it would be easier than explaining to a cab what I was doing.

 I (of course) got lost on the way there and found myself walking through the Old City. I turned down a street that was full of Jewish tschochkies (sp?!) and my map told me to just continue down that street for a while. So I did, and I found myself in the Muslim quarter, in the shuk there. Unlike the shuk in the Jewish quarter, there were actual Jerusalemites shopping at the Arab shuk,  buying groceries, clothing, working, etc. etc. etc. It was so packed in there that I didn’t even think to take out my phone to take pictures. I just wanted to get out so I could breathe! It was so hot!

Finally, after twisting and turning through this shuk situation, I found my way through the Damascus gate and into East Jerusalem.  It was like being in a totally different country. Everyone was speaking only Arabic, the dress was dramatically different, the cleanliness of the streets was different , the sights and smells and everything all different.   (The video above is of the sounds and sights. I hope it works!)

I was in shock and awe (anyone get that reference?) of the difference—I just didn’t expect the lines between the peoples to be so dramatic! I went to the pharmacy and dealt with my Humira, which was the easiest part of the journey, and walked back toward the shuk and lunch (at which point I called my parents, thinking it was 6:45 am in Pittsburgh, but it was really 5:45 am… Sorry guys! You know that math is not my strong suit.)  I walked up a huge hill and all of a sudden at a certain point things turned back into the Jerusalem with which I am familiar. Signs in Hebrew, men in white and black, all the normal stuff.  I had lunch (quinoa salad… yum!) and then I moved out of Jordy and Leah’s place to my apartment. I’m sure they were glad to have me out of their hair, and I was excited to get to my place.

That evening, all the students who are here went to a few different places in the neighborhood around the shuk (aka my neighborhood) The shuk, which shuts down at night, has about 6 or so great bars where people were watching the Uruguay/ England (I think?) game. There were big screens and people just hanging out where I bought all my veggies earlier in the day. It was cool to see, but I was exhausted so I went home at about 11.

Friday morning I woke up and went to a meeting in English, which was lovely. Then I decided to take a cab to East Jerusalem, because the meeting was far from where I needed to go and I was feeling really drained—don’t worry, Mom, I’m drinking plenty of water and sleeping well!  The taxi was unable to get me very close to the main street where the pharmacy is because the roads were all blocked. Barricades were up and IDs were being checked.  After circling the small streets for a few minutes and realizing he couldn’t get me closer, the taxi driver finally dropped me off on a side street close enough to walk to the main drag. I walked up to a man in uniform and said hello and asked how to get to the pharmacy. He let me right through after he heard my accent, though he was confused about why I was walking down a side street to get to him. I walked past the gates and onto Sultan Soliman only to see that it was a complete ghost town.

 

The people in this picture on the right are waiting to get into the Old City.

What had been a lively, bustling street with shops and myriad people, had become a desolate, silent street with no movement. The stores were almost ALL closed (except the pharm!) and no one was out. It was the quietest I have heard Jerusalem since I arrived. There’s a lot of mishugas here; people carrying on, yelling, cars honking—all sounds one might expect from a busy city.  In fact, just the day before, those same sounds were filling the air on Sultan Soliman. The lack of noise was astounding. I thought that perhaps traffic was a little quieter due to Friday being the day of prayer for Muslims, but once I figured out that no one could go in or out without stopping to see the guards at the gates, I was miffed.

I preface this section by saying that this is my opinion as of June 21, 2014. This may change. I may come back to this blog and say, “wow, what was I thinking?” However, for now, this is where I am. I would happily have a meaningful conversation with anyone about this offline.

I am struggling, really struggling, to understand exactly what is happening here. Who is who, what people identify as, where people are physically located—the logistics, really.  I don’t know that I’ll ever get a handle on that, but that only scratches the surface of the questions I have. 

As Jews, we are taught from a young age to invite the stranger to our Passover table and to love all people because God made us in God’s image.  I was most shocked about the barricades in East Jerusalem because it is beyond me how we, as good Jews, can take such a stance against other human beings. The kidnapping of the three young men is not acceptable and I pray for their safe return to their parents waiting arms. However, I just can’t reconcile my belief that all people are children of God with the way people treat one another in this country. I don’t just mean within the context of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. I’m also concerned with how Jews of differing levels of observance levels treat one another. I went to an Orthodox minyan for Friday night services and, though everyone was perfectly nice, realized how challenging I find the non-egalitarian structure. There is a physical separation of men and women with the mechizta as well as male dominance within the prayer structure and leadership.  My rabbinical smicha (certification) won’t be recognized by most of the Jewish population in Israel.

The women in my class have had varying experiences. Upon answering the common query regarding their reason for being in Jerusalem, many find themselves on the receiving end of lectures or as the butt of a joke.  If other Jews can’t accept my choice to work toward a position of leadership in our own religion, how can they look outside themselves to accept and embrace their Arab neighbors? I don’t have an answer –this place is so complicated and thought provoking. I have come away from this week with more questions than I had before I came here.  I pray that throughout the year, these questions, and all others that arise, will help me come to understand this place to which my people are tied.

I wish you a Shabbat Shalom, a day of rest and connection with the God of your understanding. May you find peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your communities. May Israel find peace as this Shabbat comes to an end. May this peace we experience on Shabbat stay with us throughout the week ahead.

(a real estate agent called an immoblier-- this is like the car called NoVA)

 These flowers were amazing.

It was REALLY hot on Thursday