Traveling with Chookie: The Past Two Months: My stay in Israel prior to trip #1

Before I push this off any longer, I think it’s about time I tell you about my stay in Israel prior to going to Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece. To be honest, nothing much happened during this three-week period so I’m going to make it seem like it was way more interesting than it actually was. Because I haven’t started blogging until recently, it is quite difficult to remember all the things I had done in the three weeks I was living in Jerusalem prior to leaving, as you could probably imagine. So just hear me out as I attempt to put together everything I’ve done in a cohesive piece of writing.

The first day at Beit Shmuel was pretty hectic, due to the fact that everyone was getting his or her room assignments and we all needed to unpack, as well. Over the following days, we all got settled into our rooms and by day three, we were already starting classes! Woo!!!! We all take Hebrew, different levels of course, Arabic, Perspectives of the Middle East (PME) and Civilization and Society (CIV). I really enjoy the classes I’m taking and surprised myself with how involved I get in class, considering I tend to keep quiet when it comes to school. I mean, I’m not saying every class is eye opening and intriguing and phenomenal, but overall I’ve learned, and continue to learn, a lot of interesting things. In PME, we learn about the Arab-Israel conflicts and all the history surrounding the topic. In CIV, we learn a plethora of history surrounding the countries we’ll be visiting, ranging from Ladino Culture to Greek Mythology. It can be pretty interesting, and I’m being serious!

Over the course of the first week, due to the fact that we are all legal in this awesome country, us party animals went out probably a little too much for a week in which we had classes at 9am. But it was pretty fun and definitely memorable (most of it at least…), considering we’re all too lazy to go out anymore. Unfortunately, on our first Saturday night, Tash’s birthday, a bit of miscommunication and some unclear encounters occurred and resulted in the firing of our awesome RA, Matt. Having to say goodbye to Matt in the following days was hard, considering he helped me a lot with my anxiety during orientation. But some people aren’t fit for this job, and he has since been replaced with Dahn, who’s pretty cool. Regardless, our first weekend and week was pretty awesome, overall. I went to the Shuk for the first time in years, cried at the Kotel (yes, I actually prayed. Shocker!), saw many people who I had missed, learned some, and partied hard. Goooooood vibes.

The next week was just you’re typical week at the Shmu: typical classes, typical going out. Nothing special. But the following weekend was our first free weekend! I, along with Rachel and Gabz, went with Maya to her home in Tel Aviv on Thursday and couldn’t wait for the really hyped up Halloween party that everyone who is anyone would be at (aka the yeshiva league aka everyone you’ve ever stalked on Facebook). Us four gals dressed up as biker chicks (fully clothed, I promise!) and headed down to the club to partayyyyy. The minute I walked in, I got a heavy waft of cigarette, alcohol and vomit: my kind of party! Kidding. It was really grody and so many people were too drunk to function. It was definitely not our scene but we all made the best of it and had a great time dancing together. The night didn’t end too badly, although the party did not meet our expectations. The following Sunday, all of Kivunim took a trip to the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized. It was actually pretty cool because not only was the Monastery nice, but we also got to see many people getting baptized, a first for me.

The weekend after, I went with Maya and Gabz back to Maya’s, where we would make Shabbat on our own because her parents were out. It turned out to be one of my favorite moments from Kivunim so far. We went to Shuk HaCarmel and purchased fish, and all the ingredients needed to make soup, roasted veggies, and salad. We each were assigned a food task: I cooked the soup, Gabz cooked the fish, and Maya made the veggies and salad. We made Kiddush and Hamotzi and had the yummiest home cooked meal and cutest Shabbat ever. That Sunday, we went with Kivunim to Tel Aviv and had a photography class with the docent of the Reuben museum, which featured a ton of art from Rueven Rueben’s personal collection and is located in his home. It was nice to tour Tel Aviv through the photographic lens, although I found myself taking more pictures of dogs than street art. Can you say #classic?

Then came the final week, which was, again, pretty mundane, except for the free concert I went to, which featured a bunch of indie bands. I had a pretty fun time rocking out to some sweet tunes. We then had our last Shabbat prior to leaving and it was a Shabbat Beyachad, or Shabbat Together, at Beit Shmuel. Having a weekend all together right before we left was very fun, and a nice way to bring us all closer before traveling. The weekend ended in last-minute packing, which was even more hectic than unpacking. Not only did we have to pack for our two-week trip, we all had to pack up our dorms, entirely, because we live in a hostel and only rent out the rooms temporarily when in Jerusalem. Packing was very anxiety filled, however, once it was over, the excitement for my trip set in full force and I really couldn’t wait to see where the next two weeks would take me.

Stay tuned to hear about my trip to Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece!