A book to consider!

My friend and fellow Ramlian lent me this book and I poured through it in about a day. It was probably one of the best books I have ever read. Anyone who has a chance should pick it up somewhere, it is worth the read.


I took this synopsis from http://www.bookdepository.co.uk:


Atlit is a holding camp for "illegal" immigrants in Israel in 1945. There, about 270 men and women await their future and try to recover from their past. Diamant, with infinite compassion and understanding, tells the stories of the women gathered in this place. Shayndel is a Polish Zionist who fought the Germans with a band of partisans. Leonie is a Parisian beauty. Tedi is Dutch, a strapping blond who wants only to forget. Zorah survived Auschwitz. Haunted by unspeakable memories and too many losses to bear, these young women, along with a stunning cast of supporting characters who work in or pass through Atlit, begin to find salvation in the bonds of friendship and shared experience, as they confront the challenge of re-creating themselves and discovering a way to live again.

A week for travel

This past Wednesday my roommates and I embarked on a trip that left my mouth agape, my eyes more than a little bit droopy, and my calves pulsing. We braved the walk to Lod (about a half hour, twenty minutes if your walking Debbie and Matana speed), hopped on a train, and headed for Haifa. 

Though I have traveled some, I have never stayed in a hostel. Something about sleeping in a room with 10-15 strangers just hasn't appealed too me in the past. However, I now see monetary value of staying in a hostel, and thus, landed myself at the Port Inn Guest House at the base of Mt. Carmel. However, from what my roommates have told me, both extensive travelers and well schooled in the art of hostel hopping, our four bed, private corner suite with a bathroom attached was one of the finer establishments they had found themselves in. The bed was comfortable, the shower pressure was fantastic, and breakfast, well, lets face it, Israeli breakfast is good anywhere.

The man at the front desk of the hostel gave us a what-to-do-in-Haifa pamphlet that we poured over until we decided, collectively, that the Grand Canyon was the way to go. In Hebrew, the word kenyon means mall. Somehow, something got lost in translation and the biggest mall in Israel was named the Grand Canyon. And was it ever grand! The inside was beautiful, though filled with small children, gigantic crowds of people, and of course, dogs. I still have yet to get used to the size of the stores in Israel (due to the cost of real estate) and the fact that despite the small size, approximately one hundred people will try to fit themselves in each store.

Our time in the Grand Canyon was limited. Sukkot was beginning and stores began to shut down at about 2:30PM. We took this opportunity to walk the German Colony, where we found Cafe Cafe, where I found ICED COFFEE! Not only was it truly hot coffee poured over ice, but I could then pick from a variety of flavors, including caramel. It was a great day! 

Our second day in Haifa was spent at the Bahai Gardens. We had been there once before with Oranim, but only got to see the very top part of the gardens. This time around, we took a free English tour with about 40 other people through the entirety of the Gardens. It was a nice tour, but walking down the Carmel after just about killed me. I could never live in Haifa.

The four of us went out both nights in Haifa - once to bars, and the second night to a club on the top of the Carmel. I feel it needs to be mentioned that both Matana and I successfully bought and wore "onesies" on the second night, and rocked them, if I do say so myself - though the snaps on mine were quite annoying and eventually became unsnapped and stayed that way for the remainder of the night. Any time I see Israeli women walking around with a tight top, I have to remind myself that it is most likely a "onesie". They are extremely popular in Israel, and they actually look nice, though the concept is hilarious.

The second part of this blog will unfortunately have no pictures, because it was spent during the Hag and Shabbat in Jerusalem, and my camera was taking a Shabbat rest. On Friday morning, Rachel and I took a train to Jerusalem to meet Harris. We stayed at his house that night, going to synagogue and having Shabbat dinner, which was of course, a feast of great proportions, and one where I have learned to love chopped liver! Rachel and I had been itching to go to not only an Ashkenazim synagogue, but one in particular that Rabbi J had told us about prior to leaving for Israel, called Shir Hadash. It was the best service I have been to since being in Israel, and the only service that I have actually been able to understand to a greater level.

On Saturday, we embarked on a trip to the Old City, where we met up with several of our Ramla co-volunteers, and went to Rabbi Eli's house for Shabbat lunch. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had, as we (about 14 Americans close to my age) ate lunch in his sukkah, with his wife and daughters. I wish I had pictures of it. We then went with Esther and Lindsay to check out the Heritage House, a hostel located inside the Old City where youth travelers can stay, and where they were staying for the night. We joined them at the Kotel and then on the roof of the men's hostel for the meal ending Shabbat and for Havdalah. It was truly an experience. 

I am beyond glad that I saw Jerusalem during Sukkot. there are sukkahs virtually everywhere you look, in homes, on roofs, in restaurants. People move themselves outside for eight days, eating and some even sleeping in there sukkahs. It's really an amazing thing to see. 

(Again, blogger is not letting me caption my pictures. 1) Rachel, Naomi, Matana and I in the Port Inn Guest House. 2) The Grand Canyon. 3) My caramel iced coffee. 4) Matana and I in our "onesies" - hers was much more Lady Gaga!)

Hag Sameach

Sitting on the main street in Ramla, Hertzl, on Friday night.

What a great time to be in Israel. On and off through the early parts of September, it was rumored that on Erev Yom Kippur, it is illegal to drive in the state of Israel. I'm not sure how much truth there is in that statement, or if perhaps everyone just bands together and not operating their vehicles is a choice they make, but this past Friday night, there wasn't a car to be found, lest you include those of the police or medics. The streets however, were far from empty.

A blurry but accurate shot of the throng of
people at the Rotary on Yoseftal on Friday night.

If you look out the window of my apartment (which happens to take up a good portion of the wall), you will see the street, and one of the thousands of rotaries they have in Ramla alone. During Erev Kippur (Israeli's drop the Yom), that rotary was a blinding flash of white. White T-shirts, white skirts, white pants, white heels, white yarmulkes. Thousands of people were in the streets, of all ages. The rotary was a gathering spot for teenagers, elders; there were children on bikes, on scooters; mothers pushing baby's - it was a the site of all sites to watch the sea of white travel down the middle of the street, un-alarmed, un-inhibited. This march continued until the wee-hours of the morning, and then the town slept, and was quiet for a just a minute, until the madness started up again the following day, and didn't end until the shofar blew on Saturday night at sundown, signaling the end of Yom Kippur, of the fast, and of a memorable Shabbat.

Cleaning up Palmahim Beach.

Because of all of the holidays, we have had short work weeks. This particular week was only three days, and kicked off with "Clean Up Israel". On Sunday, a sherut picked eight of us up and took us too Palmahim, a beach located on a Kibbutz about 25 minutes from Ramla. There, we were given t - shirts, hats, and trash bags, and we were sent on a mission to better the beach, which was, inevitably, filled with trash and was being used as the local sherutim (bathroom) a lot of the time. It was hard, long work in the sun and the heat, but it was rewarding. At the end of the day, we got to take a dip in the Mediterranean, and randomly met a woman on the beach who works for Clean Up Israel, who informed us that there is an effort to better the beaches and cities of Israel happening as we spoke, and that we could be a part of it. Hopefully, we will be in touch with her and can get involved with Israel-wide clean up efforts.

 Of course, another holiday follows Kippur's tail. Sukkot is starting soon, giving us more days of rest and celebration. It is incredible to go to sleep the eve of the closing of Yom Kippur and wake up the next morning to see Sukkah's dressing the streets, man made structures that seemingly rose from the ground overnight. Both Oranim Ramla groups banded together after the Palmahim beach clean up to construct our own Sukkah at the house, decorating it with balloons and banners, eating burrakahs, jam squares (courtesy of your's truly!), hummus and pita, pasta salad, and causing mayhem for a few hours, creating our fair share of ballagan (mess).

In the next few days, I will be doing a lot of traveling. In an attempt to see Israel at its best during Sukkot, I will be joining my roommates for a short vacation in Haifa, and then making my way to Jerusalem to spend Shabbat with Rachel and Harris. I can't wait to see some of the Sukkahs across the country. (Because blogger is being strange, it won't let me caption the above photo - It is me, being a ham ballagan [hot mess] inside the Ramla Sukkah.)

Shana Tova!

Jeep Trip in the Negev Desert

What a special time to be in Israel. Rosh Hashana has just passed, Yom Kippur and Sukkot are on the way, and I am literally sitting in the midst of celebration. People are wearing white, wine is being served, and families are opening their homes to strangers, the mitzvah of mitvahs. 

Rachel and I spent Rosh Hashana in Be'er Sheva, the largest city in the Negev Desert, with the Rinot family. I have never felt more welcome. Dinner was about 25 people deep, and the majority of them were English speakers, which was nice for us. Though we want to practice our Hebrew as much as we can, sometimes it is a nice break to hear your native tongue. The food was excellent, and the company was even better. The Rinot's have three daughters, and I believe that I asked them about as many questions as they asked me. I cannot wait to see them again. 

Before swimming

We spent the night in Be'er Sheva and the next day embarked on a "jeep trip". Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a fear that runs deep, to my core, of car accidents. I hate fast cars, I hate risky drivers, and I'm absolutely terrified of getting hurt in an accident. Now, my mother will tell you that I have a heavy foot, and she is right. I guess I just trust that that same foot can pound the break just as quick. Anyways, I have been slowly getting over this fear... I really have no choice since I am constantly putting my life into the hands of the Sherut drivers, and we all know how fast they drive. So, on the second day of Rosh Hashana, I went on a jeep trip. We toured the Negev Desert by way of off-roading, and it was amazing. It absolutely blew my mind that not only were there trails through the desert, but that those I was with knew how to navigate those trails. Eventually, we stopped for a quick rest and took a 1 kilometer walk to a ravine, where we found water. Naturally, we swam. It was the first cold body of water that I found in Israel, and it felt amazing. 

I am so grateful that I got to spend Rosh Hashana in Israel, and that I got to spend it with such an amazing family. The entire experience, from spending time with their daughters, to dinner, to meeting so many people, to off-roading, was more than I could have ever asked for. I cannot wait to experience the rest of the holidays in Israel.

Anachnu Metnadvot

I have been in Israel for a month next week. The time has really flew, and I'm sure before I know it, it will be January. We have finally started volunteering, which makes the weeks pass by even faster.

My roommate Naomi and I kicked off the week at the Senior Center, a place for Alzheimer's patients. I am grateful that two of us went together, because at first, the experience was a little overwhelming. No body, not even the people who managed the center, spoke English, and my Hebrew is beyond limited. Together though, Naomi and I managed to piece together a few sentences, and made conversation by simply repeating the words that we understood. Though I was nervous at first, I soon realized that there was no reason to be shy, that I was above all, just another person to talk to, and that was enough. People made conversation with me, despite my inept skills at the Hebrew language.

In the lettuce fields at the local Moshav.

Vegetable picking was our next endeavor. What an experience! We were dropped off at a local Moshav, where for as far as the eye could see there was lettuce fields. All four of us girls were participating, and it was a simple yet daunting task. We waited until several Thai workers hacked the heads of lettuce from the soil and dropped them into bags around their waists and then to the ground. When there was a sufficient amount of heads of lettuce on the ground, we counted out the correct number, and filled bins, and bins, and bins. It was a never ending, back braking process. We were only in the fields for about an hour and a half, but it was enough for the first try. The Thai workers that we accompanied are in those fields from 5AM until sundown.

This past Thursday, September second, was my 22nd birthday! During the day, I volunteered at the Arab Kadima in Ramla. I absolutely loved it! Basically, a Kadima is a place for children to go after school to play games and hang out and do homework. The Arab Kadima, this week and for the rest of Ramadan is a bit more active than the Jewish Kadima because the children are fasting, and there is only a half day of school. It was a great experience... the kids are wonderful. I played Taki, the Israeli version of the card game Uno, and learned about the kids and what their interests were. At the end of the day, the children separated into groups and did homework. We helped them with their English homework. These kids are amazing, they are already tri-lingual (Hebrew, Arabic, English) at such a young age, it's incredible. It makes me sad to know that the rest of the world has such an upper hand on America when it comes to things such as language. I know that I struggled learning Spanish because I started when I was in sixth grade. In a perfect world, I would have started learning a romance language in first grade, but that isn't a reality in America. 

Rachel, Naomi, Adrea, Matana and me.

My birthday was fantastic. Though I would have loved to have stayed 21 forever (it's such a perfect age!) I guess I had to age eventually, and I suppose 22 isn't so bad. A group of about 11 of us went out to the Tel A'viv Port, to a club called Ching Ching. I had a blast. Night life in Israel doesn't start until about midnight, and somehow I managed to stay awake until 5AM. It was incredible, I danced on a bar. I have always loved to dance, and I try to go out in America as much as I can, but I now know that like a lot of other things, the night life in America will never compare to the night life in Israel. The rhythm of life is just different here.

We ended the week, of course, with Shabbat. I am again, blown away with the kindness of people. I understand that it is a Mitzah, a good deed, for someone to open their home to strangers on Shabbat, but it continuously shocks me. This Friday night Rachel and I accompanied a new friend to her synagogue and then had Shabbat dinner at her home with her family. It was the best meal I have eaten since arriving in Israel. The conversation was almost one hundred percent in Hebrew, as she is the only one in her family who speaks English, but that made the night that much better. When I could follow, the conversation was wonderful and I have never felt more welcome. We traded stories back and forth and it was a truly great feeling to learn about someone else, someone from a completely different culture with a completely different background.

The service in the synagogue was again, hard to follow, especially because some of the tunes that I have begun to get used to were changed because of the upcoming holiday (Rosh Hashana). I will openly admit that I spent the majority of the service reading from the Siddur at my own pace. I am amazed at how much I can read, and even at the small amount that I can understand. I came with nothing, I cannot believe how much I will be leaving with.