Good Times

I feel I have neglected my blog. I think also life is becoming more normal here, so things that used to seem strange, different or exotic are now more commonplace. But a lot has happened and continues to happen. For one, life in my new room is so great. A few people emailed me and said they didn’t know I was having trouble in my old room. Well, I was, but I chose not to dwell about it on my blog. In everyday life here it was hard not to dwell on it. If you are in a bad living situation, everything seems to be bad. The rooms here are very small and it is three to a room. My old roommates were very different. They had different reasons to come to Israel on this program. They brought guys to the room to sleep overnight and they wouldn’t clean or really talk at all. And when they did talk, I wished they would stop, because is was not topics I am interested in; sex, birth control, drugs, how drunk they got, etc, etc.

My roommates now are very nice. Both are from German, both a bit of clean freaks, and also talkative about interesting subjects. They love to party too, but I think Europeans party different than Americans. So this change has changed my outlook dramatically.

Another thing that is wonderful about this Ulpan experience is that they are constantly helping the new immigrants to get bureaucratic issues handled. There are maybe 20 peers that are new immigrants. The Ulpan has taken us to open a bank account, sign up for health insurance, they are constantly bringing people to the Kibbutz to help us with any problems we are having. Also they bring reps. from colleges to speak with us. It is really great and helpful beyond words. Without all this help I would be really lost. It would be very difficult to find time to do all these things. And also I would have a much harder time taking care of these issues. I am indebted to the Ulpan for all there help.

The weather is starting to change too. Not like it is time to whip out the sweaters, but it is getting cool at night. In the early morning when I walk to work I notice it too. The sun is setting much earlier. When I got here it would set almost at 8 and now it is about 7:30. And the sunsets are different, more simple and calm. But during the day it still gets pretty hot and it has been humid the last few days.

Yesterday I had a wonderful day that I would like to share. I woke up at 9am, which is late for me here. I made a few phone calls that I really need to make. I called a local Temple and found out when religious services were. I have not been to temple since I arrived and in some ways I miss it and in other ways I don’t. Being in a Jewish state, there are many reminders of being Jewish. Even on this Kibbutz that is like, anti-religious (they serve pork and shell fish, which is a Jewish no-no) they still do Jewish things. On Shabbat there is no work and there are tablecloths and flowers on the tables. The little markets are closed and people say “Shabbat Shalom”.

But I would like to go to temple and also the Jewish New Year is coming up fast and I have to find a place to go. This synagogue that I called is in an Israeli village just above me called Zichron Ya’akov. I can see this village sitting on the hill above me. And it is probably an hour walk, uphill from the Kibbutz. It never occurred to me to go check it out.

I will get back to Zichron in a moment. I also called a branch of the Israeli Army. I would like to serve in the army if possible, for a few reasons. First of all, I will be an Israeli citizen and citizens of this country have compulsory military service. Unlike the US, where you sign up on your own for the army, In Israel the army is part of the society of this country. Almost every man and woman serves for a period of time. In this regard, I would be leaving myself out of the country I am living in. I can also make many contacts through the army. In Israel a common question is “What did you do in the army? Or “Who were your officers?” The military is something that helps people find their likes and dislike. Another reason I want to join the army is when I am finished with this Ulpan in January, there is no way I will have the skills to start college in Hebrew. And I would like to at least take some of my classes in Hebrew. Plus to be honest I don’t know exactly what I would like to study. I have a lot of ideas in my head but I would not be able to decide on four months. University here is different than in the US. What ever you study, you only study that subject. So if I were to continue with Photography I would be studying the Chemistry of Photographic chemicals, the history of Photography, stuff like that.

So this phone call was the first step. The man I spoke with told me that he would have to see how many months I will serve since I am older than most girls that enter the military. But he told me it could be anywhere from14 months to the full 2 year service period. Me serving would be completely voluntary and I will also not be in combat. After all the holidays are over I will set up a meeting to find out more and that will be in November. So I will keep you posted.

Now back to Zichron Ya’akov. I spent most of the day yesterday down at the beach with friends. It was a beautiful day and the sea had almost no waves on it. I came back to my room at about 5 to get ready for Shabbat. I had showered and put on a pretty dress for dinner and I went to take out the trash. I saw one of the Ulpanist name Sango. She is from Japan and is a very interest person. She was walking with such determination that I almost didn’t say hello. But I called out to her and she was so happy to see me. She said she had been looking for me all day, because she wanted to invite me to dinner. I was so flattered that I ran upstairs, through in my contacts and went with her.

A little on Sango: I really only know a little about her. She is a very private and quite person. Sango is from Japan and this is her first time in Israel. She is in her late 30s and is in the Ulpan for a very interesting reason. She teachers English in Japan and she wanted to come and learn the process of teaching Hebrew to non-Hebrew speakers. She learned that in the 1980s there was a mass immigration of about 1 million Russians. For a country that has a population of 6 million, that is a lot of people. And in a year to two Israel taught these new immigrants Hebrew. So Sango came to understand this teaching style so she can incorporate it into her teaching. She also is a Buddhist and has been living in a monastery for a while. She is very interesting to watch, everything she does, she takes such care and does with so much so continence. I especially like to watch her eat.

So we went with a woman that is in her Hebrew class. This woman comes from outside the Kibbutz. She is in her late 40s and just moved to Israel. Her husband is Israeli and she has a son that is 5. Her name is Amy and her husband is David. David
was American born and his family moved to Israel when he was very young. His father was a Reform Rabbi and he spoke English in the home. So he speaks English and Hebrew without an accent. Amy was a middle school principal in the US and David makes violin bows by hand.

They also invited some friends. Izhar and I forget his wife’s name, but it was cool too. They are both Israeli. Izhar went to Japan to apprentice as a papermaker and happened to meet his Israeli born wife there. They moved back to Israel and he has a studio in Zichron Ya’akov. He speaks Japanese too.

So for dinner, Sango made sushi. It was so delicious. David and Amy made rice and the vinegar. Plus they bought some really yummy fish from the local Arab village. She made sushi with this fish, tuna and lettuce rolls, shitake mushrooms, egg and cucumber rolls, and also California style rolls. Plus the other guest made salad with mango from their garden, and they brought these grapes that they grow that taste like mango. They were so good! David grilled some salmon and the rest of the fish that Sango didn’t use.

They lit the Shabbat candles and we had a Challa, the traditional braided holiday bread. There was sake and wasabi. It was a fusion meal for sure. It was so nice. It was great to watch Sango make the sushi. She said in her home only her mother makes it, so it is cool now to make it for others. She was so pleased to speak in Japanese.

For dessert we had a fruit that grows here that I think was called Nano, but I could be wrong. It was so wonderful. It is the shape of an egg, but very large and green. It has ridges on it kind of the shape of an artichoke’s leaves, but the ridges are not leaves and you can’t peel it like an artichoke. The inside is white and has big black seeds. It is extremely sweet and flavorful.

Then Amy decided that we should walk to the center of town since Sango and I had never seen it. It is a very pretty old city up on a hill with cute restaurants and shops. And we got ice cream from this very nice shop. They make all their ice creams in house and they have as many sorbets and ice creams. I got peach and plum sorbet. The plum was so good and different.

We also saw Izhar’s studio and he explained the papermaking process, it was very fascinating.

Zichron Ya’akov has an intresting Jewish community. It is not a big population, maybe only 13,000. But there are European and Middle Eastern Orthodox, conservative, reform and this different German sect of Jews. This German Jewish population lives in its own community, they celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday and only mix with each other.

So I will definitely explore this town more. It is a very popular tourist spot among Israelis. There are a few hotels and a few wineries and the view of the sea from the hillside is just breathtaking.

It was one of those nights that I am sure I will remember forever and was such a spontaneous moment. I notice many things happen in Israel very spontaneously and people genuinely like to get together, meet new people and eat.