In Which Jasmine Dances

It's been a couple days, sorry! I went to visit my grandparents and didn't bring my computer. Internet, how I have missed you!

Anyways. Last Thursday I went out to the bar area of Jerusalem (Ben Yehuda) and got rather drunk. Actually at first we wandered around because my friends couldn't decide which bar the wanted to go into. In my opinion they were all equally sketchy, but whatever. We made it in, and got our drinks. Mine, made by the very attractive bartender who looked like Mike Carden from The Academy Is...

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was on fire, which was truly terrifying and awesome. And it was blue. I didn't ask.

I ended up dancing with a random, very tall Israeli guy (who I could have sworn was gay but clearly was not) who kissed me when I had to leave. Of course, I wasn't really paying attention so I totally didn't see it coming but there you go. Sort of the story of my life.

On Friday I woke up and pretty much ran out of the house. I took a bus to Netanya, where my father's parents live, and spent the night with them and one of their two helpers. My grandparents are very old (86, 88, and 91), but surprisingly the youngest of them is probably the most ill. My grandmother has Alzheimer's at a pretty advanced stage; it's been years since she remembered who I was. But I don't want to be a downer! The point is that because of her medication she is very sweet and happy most of the time, and it's fun to be around her, despite the fact that she frequently speaks to me in Romanian and asks me the same questions over and over. She compliments my hair a lot.

I have to be honest though, it was nice to leave this morning. I got a ride from one of my mother's best friends, who drove me to my mother's dad's house. He, at 91, is still moving around on his own, making food and mostly taking care of himself, and I feel better every time I see him. My grandfather is a pretty incredible man, I won't lie. But moving on! My mom's other best friend came and got me and I hung out with her 15 year old daughter and my mom's first best friend's 16 year old daughter and it was pretty great. We talked about Twilight.

Okay no, but this sort of upsetting thing happened that I wanted to mention. There's this show on TV in Israel where they follow couples who are planning their weddings, and one of the recent ones was a gay couple, and one of the guys on the show kept on like, making all these comments about how they stole marriage from straight people and how he hoped they got married on the beach so a wave could come in and sweep away the whole aberration. And it was all said in this sort of joking tone but no one was calling him on it and I was pretty upset! Things like that are not okay!

Then I took a bus back to Jerusalem, missed my bus stop, got off somewhere super random, got on a bus, got off, and then waited half an hour at least for my real bus, and then went home. I am so, so tired! Time to study (I have a test tomorrow, wish me luck!) and then bed! Oh sleep, I can't wait. Good night all!

In Which Jasmine Does Grammar

So today was my second day of the easier class. It was not particularly easy. As I believe I have explained, I have basically no knowledge of Hebrew grammar. About a week before I left, my parents sat me down and explained the basic grouping of Hebrew verbs and how to tell where to place the verb (again in terms of groups). They did this in about ten minutes.

I have now spent approximately four hours (out of a total 10 in class) speeding through the details of these groupings (or "buildings" as they're called in Hebrew). A lot of the time, I have no idea what's going on. Fortunately for me, I speak Hebrew, which means that I know what sounds right and can therefore get the right answer without actually following the rules. I would feel bad about this except that everyone else in my class (except for one other guy who is in the same boat I'm in) totally knows what's going on and is generally a lot better at grammar than I am. But it's okay, because they all have truly atrocious accents whereas I sound like an Israeli. (It's true; I went to go exchange textbooks yesterday and the guy I talked to asked me why I was in the Ulpan - or Intensive Language Program - since I spoke better Hebrew than he did)

After class, my teacher informed me that I actually had tutoring for an hour after class. In my head I was pretty whiny about it, I'll admit, but it was actually pretty helpful. I had this sort of "a-ha!" moment when I used the method she was trying to teach us to conjugate a verb rather than just conjugating because I know the answer. It was sort of exciting!

Then finally we were done. I met up with my friends and we took a taxi to the Shuk Mahane Yehuda, which is an open air market where you can buy delicious-looking, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as freshly made pita (literally, I saw it come out of the oven), pastries, spices, dried fruits, etc. It is so much better than the supermarket across the street from the dorms, let me tell you! So we spent about an hour there all told, and I came home with some bell peppers and mushrooms! Guys, I love mushrooms. I can't wait to eat them.

Anyways. Tomorrow I have a test (seriously, what the hell. I've been in this class two days and already there's a test!) and then it's the weekend! We're probably going out Thursday night, and then I'm heading to my grandparents' place in Netanya for the weekend. Wish me luck!

In Which Jasmine Writes

You can’t see it very well, but this is my first essay in Hebrew! It took me about three and a half hours! It’s probably very wrong! Hooray! Please ignore my hair in the background.

In Which Jasmine Fails (26/1/10)

I don’t have much time right now to update as I am supposed to leave for class in about five minutes. The time is 7:45 in the morning. I have class at 8:30. How is this even possible?? It seems too, too cruel to make college students who were expecting to basically be on vacation for a semester wake up at 7! Too cruel. Oh well, I’m up and showered and ready to face the freezing winds and stinging rain. Woohoo, Israel!

Yesterday was my first day of class and it was impossibly difficult. My background in Hebrew is such that learning it in a classroom is entirely foreign to me: my parents speak Hebrew and thus I learned it from them, and aside from about two years when I was 8 during which I took real Hebrew lessons (where I learned to read and to sort of fail at writing), I have never formally learned it as a language. Thus, entering a class where everyone has spent years learning Hebrew in school and at the university means I am sort of left flailing! Oh I understand what they’re saying and I can answer quite easily (more easily than the Russian girls in my class or the American moms) and I certainly sound like an Israeli, but ask me to write a sentence and I guarantee I will misspell any word longer than four letters.

So that was my day. Today I’m going to figure out my placement and see if I can find something more fitting. I’ll keep y’all posted!

In Which Jasmine Walks Across Israel (23/1/10)

Today I walked from the student village (as they call it here in the lovely city of Jerusalem) to the Old City, which took about 30 minutes of hills and truly excessive sunlight considering it’s “winter” here, then around the Old City including the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and pretty much everywhere in between for something like three hours. Then we walked all the way back to the student village. The reason for all this walking was because it’s Saturday. Saturday is the Holy Day, which in Jerusalem, which is dominated by Orthodox Jews, means that no buses run and those who are Shomer Shabbat (those who keep the Sabbath) don’t use electronics or “do work” which includes driving cars, riding bikes, etc. So we walked. My friends, it was a day of pain. Now I can’t walk, but it was pretty freaking great.

The Western Wall was beautiful and just like I remembered. We dressed up all conservatively (girls in knee-length skirts and covered shoulders, guys in pretty much whatever. Boys get it so easy!) and mingled with the Hasidic Jews. My favorites are the Orthodox Jews from Russia, because they wear these round fur hats that I find endlessly amusing. My friend David went on a hunt for Palestinian beer or something similar, the rest of us followed like lambs because he’s the one who knows his way around. The Church was pretty cool too, very much more opulent than Jewish holy sites. Apparently it’s the place of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, which I did not know.

There’s something truly special about the Kotel (the Hebrew name for the Wall) and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Honestly, I think it’s the only place where I actually feel like I might possibly believe in God. The air around the Wall feels sacred. The wall itself is cool and smooth and so solid, like nothing could ever move it or destroy it. I feel safe there. It’s the only place I let myself pray honestly. It feels real, and I like real.

In Which Jasmine Reaches Jerusalem (22/1/10)

First study abroad blog post! I hope I can remember to keep this up. As a preface: I am studying for the semester in Jerusalem at Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School. I am living in an apartment with four students: two Israelis, a French girl, and a Korean man. My room is small and cold and rather bare but I’m working on making it more homey.

We got in yesterday morning after something like 24 hours of travel. I fell asleep at 7:30 and woke up at 5:45, which is not bad considering usually when I travel I’m up at 2 or 3.

I don’t have classes until Monday so for now I’m mostly hanging out with people I met on the flight over. We have become fast friends, which is nice. One worry down, six million to go. Today we got breakfast at a bakery (burekas are the world’s greatest invention, as far as I’m concerned - for those of you who are not in the know, they are flaky pastry-like things with potato or cheese filling and also happen to be delicious) and then headed over to the market (or makolet) to get some food. Right now I’m hanging out in an internet cafe because there is no internet in my apartment, a fact which devastates me to no end. Internet! I need you!

That’s all for now, Shabbat is starting in a couple minutes. I’ll update again when I have time. Have a wonderful day! :)

May 26, 2009

“ The fun of road trips is not knowing what’s going on. Particularly if you are the driver. ”

Camden