Something about prodigals goes here

So Rebecca is constantly bugging me (but in the best way) to restart this blog. When I applied for Teach for America, I thought it might be a good idea! But then I didn't get in. Cue sadness. Once I had scraped myself off the bathroom floor and kicked that nasty pill addiction (kidding, I swear), I applied to a couple more similar positions and yesterday, lo and behold, I got an email! The happiest email I could have gotten, in fact. Starting in August I'll be, as it says in my profile, tutoring at a charter high school in Boston and simultaneously working to get my Massachusetts teaching license. How will I survive the winter? How will I deal with kids who are now taller and probably way tougher than me? And how on earth will I fit all my clothes in suitcases and schlep them across the country? All that and more in the future. Stay tuned. :)

I wanna be a Breakthrough student, so freaking bad

Er, hello. Someone pretty awesome called it to my attention that I should update this more. So, this is what's happened since I left Jerusalem:

I came home on the 9th, and started work, sick, jet-lagged, and PMS-ing that Friday. We had training week, and then the kids came yay! We're now in our fifth week of teaching, with one week to go and then eval week and then I am done. I can't decide if I'm happy or sad. Probably sad, because I am so in love with my kids it's ridiculous. They are hilarious and difficult and crazy and sweet and smart and just totally insane. They write poems about Aphrodite "socializing" with Ares, and skits about heroes defeating evil witches with names very similar to mine. They dance ridiculously to "Billionaire," call me Ms. Jasmine Teacher, hide in closets and do backflips. They Spirit Check like beasts, make fun of Greek names (Apollo has since become Apoyo), eat whole bags of Flaming Hot Cheetos, and debate about whether it's better to embrace technology and face the consequences, or leave technology and protect the lives of those who will get hurt. I could go on, but basically they are amazing.

:( I don't want it to be over! Except for the fact that I get paid about $4 an hour, work from 7:30 to 6:30--at least--every day at school and then come home for about another three hours of work before I fall asleep at ten. It's hot in Los Gatos, and the kids are exhausting, except then I see them every morning and it's like it doesn't even matter. I would sit through six hour staff meetings for these kids, and I'm sure I have at some point. Seriously, it's stupid how much I love them.

Basically that is my life these days. I hang out with middle schoolers, come home, write lesson plans, and then go to sleep. On Fridays I drink, and then I write more lesson plans. It's so freaking worth it though.

A Long Way Home (And Miles To Go)

I left Jerusalem today. Now I'm at my grandfather's apartment near Tel Aviv, where I'll be for the next few days, minus some trips to visit other family and friends. Then I get to come home! I am so excited. All I can think about is the awesome Chipotle and milkshakes and In n Out and Indian food and Smart Alec's and everything I will be eating. In short, I plan to come back and become grossly fat. I can't wait.

In other news...well no, that's really about it. Nothing is going on! It's kind of nice actually. I had a dream about Breakthrough the other night, so I think that means it's time to get back to work. I miss my students! But before that there is carpool/carshare drama: my brother and I have to share a car this summer if he ends up working, which I thought was happening but now he says maybe not? Also I need to find a carpool so I can save the environment. It's going not bad, we'll see.

Boy I can't wait to be back in my room again. I hope my siblings remember me. :)

We Don't Care 'Bout Your Blah Blah Blah

I've done so much in the last few days! After Tel Aviv I sat down and did some work! I mean there was a lot of procrastinating thrown in but basically I wrote my final paper for my internship class (7 pages), as well as the one page summary for that class, finished my paper for my Arab Israeli Conflict class (13 pages!), wrote my Architecture take home exam (6 pages), and did my Children's Lit exam (sort of 2 pages but then again there were some fill in the blanks too). All I have left is my final and then I'm free! On top of all that, one of my mom's best friends called about an hour ago and offered to drive me from Jerusalem to grandfather's apartment in Ramat Gan on Thursday, which means I don't have to worry about paying for a taxi! It's pretty great. Now if only I could make myself study.

I thought of more things I'm going to miss about Israel:

• The Cotel (or Western Wall to you non-Hebrew speakers). It's probably my favorite place in Jerusalem for reasons I can't quite describe, particularly on account of I'm not religious. But I don't know, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before but every time I go there I feel peaceful. It's like, no, I don't really believe in God but if I did, he'd be hanging out around the Cotel (while not solving world hunger problems. Come to think of it, he's probably at the Cotel instead) listening to all the people praying. Usually when I go, I say a little prayer but I also just say hello. I think it's nice. I try to be relatively casual about my iffy relationship with God, and I think it's all just more relaxed that way. I don't think I'd make a good Catholic, as much as I like their music. Moving on!
• The pancakes at Benedict. Benedict is this awesome 24 hour breakfast place in Tel Aviv and let me tell you, they have the world's GREATEST pancakes. I mean it. I mean I'm not like a connoisseur or anything but seriously these are good pancakes. The ones at Orphan Andy's in San Francisco come a close second, especially because of the chocolate chips, but these pancakes are just. Incredible. They are the best. I could go on but I think I'll save you the trouble. Go to Tel Aviv. Eat the pancakes.
• On a more serious note, my family. It is such a novelty to me to be on the same half of the world, let alone the same country as my family! It's nice to be able to call my cousins and meet up for dinner or coffee. It's really nice to be able to take a bus to visit my grandfather, the world's sweetest man, or my mom's best friends, who are basically the aunts I don't actually have. I'm really going to miss it.
• The taxi drivers. There's something very special about the cab drivers in Israel. They are always up in your business, they are always listening to the news, and they are always so stereotypically Israeli, I love it. Nowhere else could you get into a (surprisingly respectful and polite) argument about religion with your Muslim cab driver. Whenever people ask me what Israelis are like, the first thing I think about is the cab drivers. Is that odd? I hope not. I like them.

I'm sure I'll think of more. But soon I'm going home and that's been occupying most of my non-study brain. I'm mostly packed and ready to go! I get home on the 9th in the morning, which is the day of my brother's graduation. The next day, my mom leaves for Israel, which is also apparently the day I'm supposed to start work. This is problematic for several reasons:

1. I will be jet lagged. Jet lagged Jasmine as not a happy, cooperative, or peppy Jasmine.
2. My mom is leaving for three weeks and I will only be seeing her for about 24 hours after five months apart. This totally, totally blows.
3. I also have not seen my friends for five months, and, after by last summer, when I saw them a lot less than I intended, I need to make up for lost time!
4. Did I mention the jet lag? and
5. My middle school reunion is on the 11th, another day when I am supposed to be working, which means I may have to miss it (or at least most of it) for the second time in two years! I want to see my old, crazy, dramatic friends! It used to be the best part of my summer. I miss Walter, our giant librarian (literally, he's 6' 7"), and Esther our awesome math teacher (who just had the cutest baby!), and obviously all the crazies I went to school with.

So basically this is me throwing a little temper tantrum. But then again, I love love love my job and I'm excited to see all the returners and meet the new people and see my students again. I just wish I had a couple days to breathe in between.

A Mish-Mash and My Apologies

It's been more than a month since my last post. Sorry guys! But as of today my classes are officially over for the semester. I had my last Hebrew class, which I guess was kind of sad. We read little folk tales, which were very cute, and I had a great time. I'm definitely going to miss some of my friends here, but I'm still ready to go home. Plus, I got done with my tutoring an hour and a half early since the second class I help with was canceled today, so I got to come home sooner which was good because I am so tired! My friend Miriam and I have been working hard on our final paper for our Arab-Israeli Conflict class, and it's going great! We just reached our twelfth page and we have just the conclusion left to write so I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Next week I have a final on Tuesday, and then two take home finals and a paper due on Thursday and then I'm finished! I leave on the 8th, so I have about half a week of bumming around Israel before I get to come home. I can't wait to be home. I miss everything! But there are definitely things I'm going to miss about Israel, like:

• Tel Aviv. It's an awesome city and the beach is fantastic and it's basically like Israel's New York but more Israeli. Which means it's more relaxed and beachy.
• Pita and hummus all the time. There's no hummus like Israeli hummus. Except maybe my mom's.
• Speaking Hebrew with people! It's been so nice being able to improve my Hebrew, and I feel happy whenever I get to speak it. Hopefully I can keep it up with my parents, but it's so nice being in a country full of people who speak this language that I love.
• My History of Israel professor. Have I mentioned him before? He's British and really adorable and I love him. He's so funny and he's actually a great teacher, which I cannot say about all of my classes, sadly.

There are definitely other things but those things come to mind first. I love this country and I feel so lucky to have been here for so long. I can't wait to come back and experience other parts of it - there's so much I haven't seen yet! I haven't even been snorkeling in the Red Sea!

Speaking of which, last week we had a vacation for a couple days there in the middle for Shavuot. My friends and I took the bus to Eilat, which is at the southernmost tip of Israel. From the beach, on a clear day, you can see Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia! That was pretty awesome. Basically the Red Sea is the best ocean in Israel because it's incredibly clear and full of gorgeous fish and coral reefs and other amazing things. I didn't get to snorkel but I did see some of the fish and I definitely spent hours in the water and tanning. Eilat is incredible, despite being touristy and pretty much over 100 degrees every day. I can't wait to go back.

That's about it for now, I think. I will do my best to write again soon! But I love this country.

I love this country

Happy Israeli Independence Day! Actually today was Memorial Day for all the soldiers who died fighting for Israel, which was sad. I saw part of the ceremonies today in Jerusalem while I was cleaning the apartment like a good little roommate. I'm lucky enough that I don't know anyone who died in the wars in Israel, but pretty much everyone else in Israel has a brother, an uncle, or a friend who died. It's a pretty emotional day, obviously. What I think is great though, is that at sundown on Memorial Day, Independence Day begins and the partying starts. People take to the streets, drink, sing, dance, and celebrate the country they love so much. It's hard, for those families who have lost members in war, to cease mourning when the sun sets and put on their happy faces, but I actually like that it's this way. It's like we as a people are saying, "Enough. We grieved, and it won't ever really end, but enough for now. Let's turn to happier things." And then we party.

So that's what I did. I got all dressed up in blue and white and went out with friends. We had a couple drinks (delicious delicious margaritas and, for some of the guys, beers the size of my head or possibly my forearm), met up with other friends, and went to the open air market for a party. It was insane! There was this moment though, when I was dancing with two friends and we had our arms around each other and we were jumping up and down, and this group of people in front of us, who were doing the same thing but moving in a circle, saw us and opened their arms to us. In a moment, we were enveloped in this group of people we didn't know, dancing and laughing and I just looked up, smiling, and thought, "Thanks."

Vatican City, Italy 31-3-10

I just finished going through the Vatican Museum and even though I spent about three hours inside, I still feel like I didn't see even half of it! My feet are killing me and I think I'm ready for a break from museums, but it was so amazing! I saw the School of Athens fresco, the Sistine Chapel (I saw the Sistine Chapel!!), and a lot of other incredible statues, frescoes, paintings and tapestries. The tapestries were really cool. It was awesome! I can't totally believe that I've seen the originals of these works of art. It seems unreal.

This morning we got to Vatican City literally ten minutes before the Pope came out to see and address his followers. He drove around in this little car and waved at all the people and everyone was cheering and waving and I actually teared up a little! They all love him so much, and it was a little overwhelming for me to get swept up in all that emotion. I'm such a sucker for those things.

After that we did the museum and now I'm waiting for Leena, who definitely finished before me because I went super slow, but is now nowhere to be found. And of course, neither of us has a working cell phone. Well, we'll figure it out. I should probably go look for her but my feet are only just ceasing to throb. I'll give myself another minute. Maybe two.

The men in Europe are so much better dressed than American men. Like times 100. It's unbelievable. They're also better looking. I want to live here forever. In a villa in Italy or maybe France. I should probably marry very rich though; I don't think English teachers make villa status incomes. Okay going to find Leena.


Finally found Leena. After we met up (several HOURS later) we headed to St Peter's Basilica to see the Pieta. Oh my god! I mean, I don't think I gave it due reverence because we were in such a hurry but it was still amazing. It feels like...like cheating. Or something, to be seeing all of these things up close. Granted, through a pane of (probably bullet proof) glass but still. Closer than a postcard! Art is amazing. I only wish I'd realized it sooner.

Rome, Italy 30-3-10

Sitting in a church right on the Piazza Navona. There's something about Catholic churches and their beautiful art - when I came in here, I was hit with the overwhelming urge to cry. How can it be that works of art this beautiful exist? I feel like my eyes are open for the first time and I am cursing my immaturity for not allowing me to appreciate - or even remember - standing in front of Van Gogh's paintings in Amsterdam. Granted, I was about ten but still. Who knows when I'll see those again?

But now it's different. Now I'm old enough to stress out about not getting to see enough museums! It's crazy. Either way, this church (St. Agnes) is breathtaking. Every wall, every panel, every inch of the inside is decorated and beautiful. It almost makes me want to convert, except I get enough of a guilt trip from my mom (sorry, mom! I still love you); I don't need one from God too.

Actually, places like this make me kind of sad. It'll sound weird, maybe, but it's almost too bad that God is at the root of all this artwork. Without him, this art wouldn't exist. Most of my favorite music wouldn't be around either. And get God has also been the reason for countless deaths for millennia. Is it worth it? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? I don't think so - but then how do we live n a world without churches and frescoes - without the Sistine Chapel or The Last Supper? It seems wrong. But I guess if I had the answer to this dilemma, I would be the Pope. Or President.

New location: outside the Pantheon a couple streets away. The temple to the Roman gods that lies under the church is something like 2000 years old. Apparently this is a sort of anti-religious day because I think it's terrible how the Christians took all the old pagan sites and built churches on top of them. Seriously, couldn't they find their own sites?

It is beautiful though, and the dome inside is probably one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. By contrast to St. Agnes' and even the rest of the Pantheon, the dome is simple and relatively unadorned. It doesn't need to be fancy though, the sheer size and the incredible view of the sky and the sun shining through does it all. It's beautiful.

All of Rome is beautiful. I think it is the most gorgeous city I've ever been to. Everything is as it should be - cobblestone streets, fountains and sculptures everywhere, colorful, artsy apartment buildings with bright wooden shutters and potted plants. For right now, this is probably my favorite city on Earth.

Athens, Greece 26-3-10

Since Karly asked:

Second day in Athens. We got in yesterday and figured out the bus and metro systems to get ourselves to the hostel - a fact I am exceedingly proud of, actually. Of course, I then got my wallet stolen with a buttload of money in it. I am a genius. But that's being figured out and Mom isn't mad so it's okay. After that debacle, we checked in and settled in, then went for a walk in Monastiraki, a nice fashionable area of Athens. We had a nice dinner and pretty much went back to the hostel (Zorbas, definitely recommended if you're ever in Athens) to crash.

Besides the wallet thing, I'm pretty happy to be here. Greece is so full of history - every time you turn a corner, you find some beautiful church or ancient ruin. At night the Acropolis and Agora are lit up in gold and it's so beautiful; you catch a glimpse of the ruins between the buildings, towering up on the hill.

Today we got up early, got ready, and headed out. We tried to figure out my money situation but I think it might have to wait until tomorrow. Then we ate and headed toward the Acropolis. On the way we passed through some major parts of town, including Omonia Square and Syntagma Square with the House of Parliament. (Incidentally, syntagma is the word for constitution on Greek, which I think is really cool) It was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny (I of course got sunburned) and it was nice to walk. I don't think we realized how huge Athens was until we crossed it! It took a while and man are our feet sore. But it was good to walk it rather than taking the metro. We got a better feel of the city. We passed the National Gardens too, and I can't wait to go in! They looked beautiful, all green and carefully cared for.

Eventually, of course, we reached the Acropolis. The walk up isn't too bad - it seems daunting at first but it's very gradual and actually pretty short. The Acropolis is nothing less than absolutely breathtaking. Within the huge walls are the Parthenon and the Erechtheion. The Parthenon is unbelievable, huge columns and massive. The sculptures and art, which are actually all housed in the Acropolis Museum, are incredible. Everything is unimaginably huge and detailed. The building was the major temple to the gods, so there's plenty of sculptures and scenes all featuring them.

The Erechtheion is less awe-inspiring but still beautiful. There are these amazing statues of maidens called the Caryatides who act as the supporting pillars on one side of the building. I saw a picture of their backs in the museum and every single one has a different hairstyle, how cool is that? I love the level of detail in every piece. It's stunning.

After seeing those two, we headed out and down. I climbed up onto Areopagus Hill on the way and snapped a few shots with Leena's awesome camera. That was actually one of my favorite parts because, as I read about it, I remembered all the stuff I'd learned about it in Classics - and I was there! It was an amazing feeling.

Then we went to the museum and even though we were exhausted (like, could hardly walk), it was gorgeous! So many things, from little tiny pots and wedding vases to full statues to huge slabs of stone from the walls of the Parthenon! It must have been truly incredible in like 400 BC. I wish I'd been there.

We rested, ate, and wandered some more. Now we're sitting in a little cafe writing and drinking tea. I think we're going for a drink soon and then to bed! Tomorrow we're going to try to sail to Aegina, one of the closer islands for some beach time. Maybe we'll make it back to see another site.

My Manic and I

I'm home at last! I got in at 4 this morning, got to my dorm at 6, and slept until 2. Now I have a crapload of homework to do that...I just don't care about. I know this that's bad and I will do it, because I always do it, but I just want to relax and be in Israel so that when I go home, I'll be a little sad to leave.

The airport was actually pretty fun last night. I got there at around 9 pm and read. When I went to get a snack I met two guys studying in Athens who were flying to Tel Aviv for a long weekend. We got to talking and eventually shared a cab into Jerusalem which was GREAT because instead of paying almost 300 shekels, I paid 95. Also they were cool and we might meet up again while they're here. It's nice to make new friends!

During the trip, since I didn't always have reliable internet, I started writing in the journal I brought so I would remember everything to share with you guys! But now I'm not sure how to do this so I'm going to ask: should I type up the entries just as a wrote them or would you prefer a Cliffs Notes version (probably in bullets or something)?

Now I have to go write a lame 2 page essay about...The Coffee Bean. As in the Starbucks of Israel. Wish me luck!

See ya!

May The Force Be With You All

So I'm going to Greece and Italy officially now. I am so excited to be there. Greece! The home of my heart! Italy! The home of my stomach! It will be great. I will take plenty of pictures and eat a lot of food and hopefully do a lot of walking to get rid of all that food. If anyone's ever been, I am open to suggestions for places I absolutely have to see, oh my god Jasmine, it's brilliant! Let's hear them.

In stranger news, my brain sort of pinged itself awake this morning. It was very bizarre. I was sleeping happily, and then my brain did a mental hop, skip and a jump and I was awake! I felt it, it was so strange! At 8:30 too, why brain? Why? Today was my sleeping in day! I guess my brain has other plans for me, which most likely include my reading for tonight.

Here is how my parents signed off in an email to me this morning:

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.... : )

Love,
mom and dad

I know who wrote that part of the email.

the fifty-first way to leave your lover

Yesterday sucked and today sucked unbelievably more. My roommate's mother just passed away, and that certainly puts things in perspective. But before that, instead of moping I swept my room and made backed mac and cheese. I think it turned out pretty well, except that I forgot the salt! But otherwise not bad.

It's been a while since I updated; things have been hectic, up and down and up and then down. Things are still down, but we'll see.

I went to go visit some old family friends last weekend in Ra'anana, and it was great! One of their daughters is about my age and we've been friends for literally ages. We only get to see each other probably twice a year, but I'm always amazed by how well we get along and how easy it is to fall back into being friends. It helps that she's one of the sweetest, most easy-going people I know. Anyway, I had a great time.

Last night I went to see Avatar (for the third time, mind you) with my...third cousin once removed? I have no idea. My mom says we aren't even related really but it was still fun. It was my first time meeting him! I cried in the movie AGAIN. Honestly, there is something about the movie, and the animation and the music (my god the music) that gets to me every time! I can't help it. This was my second time seeing it in 3D and I have to be honest, I was still underwhelmed! 3D should be awesome and exciting but this was just...blah! They didn't do anything special with it, it was just the same movie but it looked a little weirder and my eyes hurt a little. So disappointing James Cameron. But that movie remains one of my favorites.

I think that's about it for now. I need to go lose myself in Melrose Place. And yes I know it's terrible. And yes, I was really only watching it for Ashlee Simpson's crazy. But now I almost like it! Almost.

אתה בא והולך אלי

I want to write about it before I forget. Tonight was possibly one of the most amazing nights of my life. I just. I have never been to a better concert ever. Ever! Yehudit Ravitz is my favorite Israeli artist, hands down, and I never ever dreamed I would get to see her live because seriously, how lucky can a girl get?? But two days ago, I walked onto campus and a guy handed me a flyer for her show and literally, I jumped up and down and possibly squealed a little bit. She is incredible and talented and wonderful and I love her!

So tonight was the show and wow. Even though I didn't know most of the songs she played (since I have mostly very old songs of hers. Very old. Like super-80s), it was incredible and she was on fire and everyone in the audience was so into it! There was dancing and singing and waving arms and so much clapping! I screamed so hard I got light headed, okay. Anyways. It was all great, the concert was over but then! Encore! And Yehudit Ravitz, that wonderful woman, comes back on stage and plays MY FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME seriously. I can't lie guys, I cried. Just a little, and then I had to sing along, duh, but there were tears. It was gorgeous and there was flute-playing and oh my god. So much I want to say but let's see if I can shorten the list: awesome brass section, hilarious guitarist who kept trying to dance with the brass section, hot bassist who looked a bit like Jude Law, awesome drummer and keyboard dude, and super awesome Yehudit oh my goodness. I love her.

Okay I'm done gushing, I swear. It was so wonderful and I feel so lucky to have been there. Moving on! I had my first tutoring session today and I think it went really well! The girl is great and we had fun talking and learning English, it was a good time. I'm excited to do this more!

And now I need to go to bed. Class tomorrow, but not too early. Then who knows?

A Lot Of Things

Last night I had a dream involving some sort of secret cult that was trying to kill me, I think, and then there were Dylan and Cole Sprouse. Google them, I'll wait. Yeah. They were my brothers. My brain is a strange place.

In other news, I officially start my internship at David Yellin College of Education on Tuesday! I'm pretty excited to be teaching(/tutoring) again, I can't lie. I'm not sure I talked about this before, but basically I'll be tutoring a bunch of students in English who want to be teachers and need to improve their English before they finish their degrees. So most of them will be several years older than me; I think one is about 40. I hope she doesn't mind I just turned 20!

Yesterday I took the bus with my friends to the German Colony in Jerusalem, which has now become this really hip, sort of expensive neighborhood with coffee shops, stores and restaurants. We had dinner there and it was delicious! I want to come back during the day and just sit in a coffee shop and read. Speaking of reading, here is my goal for this semester: to finish Lord of the Rings as well as Ivanhoe. Ambitious, I know, but I think I can do it. Why Ivanhoe, you ask? Ever since I saw Matilda at the tender age of approximately five (and every year since, I can't lie and that movie is a classic), I wanted to read Ivanhoe because of that scene with her dad where she's sitting in her room reading and then they argue about school. It was illustrated and seriously, if Matilda could read it at six, I think I can do it at twenty. I hope. But Lord of the Rings comes first because seriously, if my brother can read it, so can I!

Anyway. I promised pictures a while ago, and I intend to make good! Here are a few:


This was one of the falls we saw at Ein Gedi, one of the main sources of fresh water in Israel. It was beautiful!


Apparently I love hiking! :)


The view was breathtaking.


This is one of my favorite photos. You can almost see just how HUGE this canyon was! This is in the Negev desert, we hiked a river trail that had been carved out by flash floods. It was so intense!


For my dad: I found a sidecar!


Miriam's fork was really strangely shaped. This is her imitating it. This is here mostly because she's probably going to untag it on Facebook.


The Artist's Colony! It was so beautiful, I wish I had taken more pictures.


There was a water fountain! And it was clean for once. Israel is not very good about the putting trash in the trashcan thing.


One of my favorite places in Jerusalem is Montefiore's windmill. He was this Jewish British guy with a lot of money who came to visit the Holy Land a bunch and built a windmill here, right near the Artist's Colony. Random, right? But the neighborhood is named after him, so I like it.


One of the signs in the Old City, indicating that you've reached the Jewish Quarter. We usually enter from the Christian Quarter, which is full of stalls and spices and crazy things!

Okay I'm done now I swear. But I will take more pictures and post them soon if you all want! :)

I Apologize In Advance

Before we get started today I want to disclaim: I have my opinions and they are just opinions, nothing more. You have every right to disagree; disagreement makes the world go round or something. But this is the world as I see it.

Okay! Let's talk about anti-Zionism as a thing that baffles me greatly. I have a friend at school whose political opinions I find rather confusing. He's Jewish, he was raised Jewish, he went to Jewish school like all the other good little Jews here. And yet on Facebook his political views are listed as anti-Zionist. He wants to live in Israel and not make aliyah (becoming a citizen of Israel). He is constantly posting articles that detail all the wrongs that the Israelis have perpetrated against the Palestinians.

Now here's the thing: I understand the desire of the Palestinian people to have a homeland because basically the Jews wanted the same thing not so long ago. They deserve to have a country to make their own; possibly they should have part of the land that we now call Israel - but that's not the point. I think in general everyone rational can see that the situation in the Middle East with the Palestinians and the Israelis can't go on.

What I can't understand is believing that the Jews don't deserve a homeland, and that Israel should not belong to them. I think my friend considers himself a relatively well-informed guy, but if that's the case, how can anyone believe that the situation during the Diaspora, even before the true awfulness of the Holocaust, was in any way okay. Because let me tell you guys, thanks to Professor Mendelsson and my history of Israel class, I can now tell you authoritatively that it was not okay! Anti-Semitism was a long-standing, even supported tradition in many countries, especially Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe (little though it may have been at the time, seeing as Russia pretty much was Eastern Europe). The situation of the Jews in any country, where rationalizing hatred of them by claiming that they were another species entirely and therefore completely incompatible with "regular" people, was not good, friends. It was not good!

So what I'm saying is this: how can a Jew who is not an Orthodox Jew (and who therefore believes that Jews coming to Israel is like trying to force the coming of the Messiah, which is wrong) not believe in Zionism? I just don't get it! His people, my people, our people needed a home, a refuge from the hatred that I am now starting to see was unfortunately pervasive.

And okay, if that all doesn't convince you, well then there's the Holocaust! I think that's pretty good proof that the world was, at least at the time, very much not inclined to be nice to the Jews.

In any case, I'm sorry to get all political on you guys, but it's just been bugging me! So I got it out. Now let's talk about other things, like for example the sick amount of Gilmore Girls I've been watching. Really! It's terrible! But I can't help it, Gilmore Girls is my comfort tv and I love it. What's your comfort tv? Or comfort something else?

Wanderings and Wonderings

I spent the weekend in Tel Aviv, going to the beach, partying a little, shopping, and generally avoiding the rain. It was great! I love Tel Aviv! I want to marry it! Except that Tel Aviv would be the kind of spouse who would expect you to spend a lot of money on them, want to go out partying every night, but then make really, really good food to make up for it. And I am slowly going broke so I think it's best if Tel Aviv and I just stay friends.


I love the beach!!

Today I'm planning to just hang out in Jerusalem. I went to this incredibly beautiful little quarter of town with my dad a couple weeks ago and I want to bring my friends there, it's so pretty! It's the artists' quarter and basically the city pays them a stipend to go live in this beautiful, beautiful neighborhood that has an incredible view of the Old City and be inspired! It's great. The neighborhood is covered in plants and trees and flowers and there are little lakes and waterfalls and a windmill! Although the windmill is not completely related, but still. It's gorgeous and silent and wonderful and I can't wait.

This was a four day weekend because of Purim, the Jewish version of Halloween, so yesterday when I was shopping I saw hundreds of stupidly adorable little children dressed in the cutest costumes! And their parents, generally wearing funny wigs or carrying wands or some such. It was great! And in the middle of the day too! I love Israel.

Okay and now I need your help: if any of the like four people who read this have any food/recipe suggestions, I would love to hear them! I am pretty lazy so keep it simple and preferably healthy but still tasty! Let me know, I am desperate for new food ideas. Pita and hummus is getting a little old, unsurprisingly.

A Raging, A Rambling, A Rhapsodizing

Classes started yesterday, which was exciting! Ish. Exciting-ish. It was great because I don't have class until 12:30 on Sundays (which, okay, class on Sundays? Class on Sundays?? I still can't get used to it) so I got to sleep in a bit, although I was so exhausted last night after getting back from the Negev that I could hardly stay awake anyway.

The Negev was great! We went on a five hour hike along a dried out river trail the first day, which was also, incidentally, the day I peed outside for the first time in probably fifteen years or so. It was an exciting day, what can I say. The hike itself was very long but fun. Most of it was not too strenuous so we could look around at the incredible emptiness of the desert. Some of the views were absolutely stunning. At the end we basically climbed a small mountain and looked out over the most vast expanse you can imagine. We talked about the flash floods that can come through the area and carve out the rock formations you can see on the ground. At the top of the mini-mountain we saw the path of one of these flash floods, which ended in a waterfall. Right at the edge of the fall was this great tree (what is it with me and trees these days? Maybe it's because there are so few here!), all grown in funny angles and wizened and just stuck there, like no way was some flash flood going to get the better of it! Or maybe that's me doing that English major thing and anthropomorphizing. Whatever.

The second day was another hike, this time only three hours, about half an hour of which consisted of bug hunting. I stayed far away from that one, let me tell you. It was stupidly hot so I mostly hid in the shade while my fellow hiking people oohed and ahhed about a scorpion and a centipede getting in a fight to the death. Which is cool I guess, if the thought of scorpions doesn't make your skin crawl. The rest of the hike was good, we learned about porcupines and did a lot of walking in the sun. A lot. Boy am I sunburned. But it was good.

There was also a lot of eating, and the food at the hostel we stayed at in Arad was delicious. DELICIOUS. Man. I miss that food. We drove back in the evening, and I basically fell asleep as soon as we got back.

Yesterday's classes were...a mixed bag. My first class, Religious Trends in Judaism, was sort of interesting but sort of not. I'm not sure if I'm keeping it, although the professor was very nice and told some good stories. My second class was a required class for my internship (which is still, unfortunately, up in the air) and the professor, though nice, was really very boring. My last class though, was awesome! It's late, at 6:30, but I still think I'll keep it because my professor was engaging (and adorably British) and the class was by far the most interesting one I've taken. We'll see how it goes today, I have my children's literature class in Hebrew in about an hour. I'll keep y'all posted.

Bibleosity? Bibleness? Biblicality? Whatever.

Thursday is my last day of Ulpan (or Intensive Language Program). Tomorrow I have my class final, and then the day after I'm taking the level final, so that I can test out of Hebrew. Then hopefully, I'll be freed of the never ending confusion of Hebrew verb conjugation and the (seemingly) eternal question, "Does a yud go here or not?", usually asked with a few more question and exclamation marks and accompanied by a tearing out of the hair. Which actually, can only help right, seeing as I already have too much hair for my own good. But moving away from hair (incidentally, today I realized that my motto these days, and by these days I mean since I cut my hair right before leaving for college in a totally cliched "Let me be freeee!" move, is "Hair before sleep." I wonder what that says about me), let's talk about how happy I will be to say goodbye the cursed (and this is said, a la Shakespeare, with emphasis on the second syllable) Ulpan.

It's not that I don't like learning Hebrew. I really do. Honest. My brain has just reached capacity. Yesterday I learned Hebrew from 8:30 to 4, pretty much straight. I seriously thought my brain was going to slide slowly out my ear and land on the ground with a disgusting splatting sound, waving a white flag. "I give!" my brain would say. "Just speak English to me!"

And yes, I am aware that brains do not a) move on their own or b) talk. But you know, given the level of Hebrew inundation I was suffering from, I don't think you can blame me for this one.

On a much more interesting note, I learned something cool in class the other day. Apparently this Israeli composer/poet type person was trying to invent a Hebrew word for "illusion" which we pronounce "iloozia" in Hebrew. He came up with "אילו זה היה", which means "if only it was so," and which we would pronounce "eeloo zeh hayah." Awesomely, this sounds a lot like iloozia. I dunno, I thought it was cool. And so creative!

Moving on from my dorkitude. This past weekend the university arranged a trip to the Dead Sea and the Ein Gedi springs nearby. I am mentioning this because, obviously, I went. The hike to the springs was the most intense thing I've done since Half Dome in Yosemite a couple summers ago, and not nearly as long thankfully (seven hours to get there and back! It was nuts!). But the thing I remember most, besides the truly incredible waterfalls, the overhanging cliffs and caves, the intense greenery, the fascinating colors of the rocks, and the view of Jordan across the water, is the feeling I got when I was sitting by the spring itself, with my feet in the cool water, hearing the water gushing from underground and filling the pool up. Our guide told us that no one is sure how long it takes the water to reach the springs, but they estimate that the water coming out now is 400 years old. I find that unbelievable. There was this stunning tree that grew right by the water and its branches reached over and across from both sides, meeting in the middle and hanging down low over the water, forming this sort of roof over the spring. The wood was pale and there were no leaves, and I couldn't even tell if it was alive at all, or if it was just dead wood, but there was this intensely beautiful, peaceful feeling about it, despite the thirty-something students gathered around it, talking and taking photos and generally being bothersom. When I was looking at the tree, and the blue blue sky you could see between the branches, it was like there was no one there, just me and the spring, and maybe Abraham or someone about to come around the corner.

And that's what I feel whenever I see the landscape in Israel. It's so...biblical, if that makes any sense. There's this feeling, when you look at the green hills and the brown desserts and the boulders scattered everywhere, that Israel has been, and always will be the same. It's not going to change for anyone, especially not its current, transitory, and constantly argumentative tenants, be they Palestinians, Israelis, or somewhere in between. Israel is the land of ancient stories, old beliefs, and older spirituality and the permanence is comforting.

But maybe I'm thinking about it too hard. Most likely I am. The Dead Sea was incredible too, and pretty much just as salty as you would expect from water that's 33% salt. Let me tell you, friends, that is a lot of salt to get in the little cuts in your feet from the hike and the pointy, salt-encrusted rocks. But I'm happy to report that the stories are indeed true. You can float in the Dead Sea and it just carries you along. It's the most relaxing feeling in the world. Except maybe getting out and eventually getting your feet to stop stinging.

In Which Jasmine Talks Family

Whoops, it's been a couple days. My bad. I kept meaning to updated but I'm afraid my blog posts will revert to their former incarnation of: This is what I did today and then I did this and then I did this. For the sake of updating about my life: class is boring and homework is tedious. Today we read a sad story about a little boy who gets a piggy bank and fills it up to save up for a toy. But he ends up totally loving his piggy bank (he names it and everything), and then his father tries to smash it to get the money out, and the boy gets upset. He ends up going out and leaving the piggy bank (still full of money) in a field so his father won't get to it. It was really depressing! He was never going to see his best friend the piggy bank again. And yes, I realize how silly this sounds but seriously. It was sad. Anyways, now I think I have something much more interesting and important to write about, and that is how awesome my cousins are, plus the rest of my family.

I have two first cousins and they are both great! I have a small family in general: my dad is an only child and my mom only has one brother, hence the two cousins. I have some other second cousins or something but we're not close and I actually don't even know how they're related to me. My entire family besides my parents and my siblings (plus some distant family in Brazil - random, right? Apparently they moved there right before World War II) lives in Israel. When I was younger, my family would fly over every summer to spend about a month here, staying with my grandparents and seeing old family friends. My cousins would come visit once or twice during that month, and when we were younger it was great. My older cousin (who is turning 23 on Friday) and I would make scavenger hunts for my brother, my sister, and my younger cousin, now 19. We wrote the clues in Hebrew and English so everyone could understand and hid them throughout my grandfather's apartment. The prize was always something small we could scrape together on the spot - a handful of chocolate coins, or some candy from my grandmother's cabinet, where she kept the sweet things she liked to give us. We made human pyramids in the dirt backyard under my grandfather's apartment, surrounded by all the stray cats Israel is so well known for. We were great friends in the easy way young children have.

When I started my sophomore year of high school, I got busy. I had homework and summer work and a volunteering job. There were things I had to do during the summer that couldn't be put on hold to go away for a month and bake in front of the air conditioning. I missed my own brother's bar mitzvah because I couldn't make it to Israel - and that's something that I will most likely never stop feeling guilty about, although I'm pretty sure at this point he could care less. But the main idea is that I was busy all the time. So the summer before my junior year was the last time I flew to Israel with my family. I didn't go back until last winter, during my second year of college.

By then, quite a lot had changed. My grandfather had been living alone for about ten years by that point (my maternal grandmother passed away in 1999 and she was, I'm convinced, the greatest woman I have ever met), and he was about to turn 90. Fortunately, he was still in good health. My other grandmother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and the disease had been taking a serious toll. By that point, she didn't know who I was. My father's father, while still mostly sound in mind, couldn't walk without a cane and someone holding him up.

Then I saw my cousins. Without my noticing, they had sprung up about ten feet, cut their hair and become young men. They were soldiers: my younger cousin does something to do with tanks and support teams and my older cousin is a paratrooper and an officer. When I met them for the first time in four years, everything for all of us was different. I realized that I wanted to be their friend again like I had been, but now I had no idea how. I think that that, along with not seeing my grandmother before she lost her memories of me completely, is one of the things that I most regret about not making it back to Israel during those four years, and when I flew back to the States, that new distance between my cousins and me stayed with me.

But now things are changing again. I'm here in Israel, and I'll be here for the longest time I've ever spent in the country: just about four months now. I saw my cousins last weekend and it was weird and a little awkward and generally amazing. The idea that I can see them in about two weeks again is mind-blowing for me! The fact that I could get on a bus and go visit my grandparents is unbelievable.

What's the point? The point is this: I love my family to death, but it's always been death at a distance. Now I have the chance to make it up to them and to myself by actually getting to know them and being around them. And I can't wait.