tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88628332565864064142024-03-13T04:49:00.740+02:00Amy and Israel: A Love StoryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.comBlogger452125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-4531013805588871772017-07-31T23:11:00.000+03:002017-08-01T09:52:14.328+03:0010 Years of Blogging<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was taking a look back at the very first days of my blog and realized that this August will be 10 years since I began blogging. I have to say, the musings of teenage Amy were quite hilarious (and kind of awful, to be honest). In some ways I amaze myself with how ahead of the curve I was without knowing it. In other ways I am laughing (more like cringing) at my teenage self! Oh, how far I've come since then.<br />
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I thought I'd share this essay I wrote my first semester of college. Our English teacher, one of my favorites at California College of the Arts, had us write stories about childhood memories, or something like that. I decided to write an essay about my silly aversion to sex after learning what it was. Obviously my view on the subject, as well as my writing, has changed.</div>
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For your reading pleasure: </div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "roboto";">When I was younger I thought sex was just passionate kissing while you were in bed, naked. This I learned from Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in their risqué, Top Gun sex scene; the first sex scene I had ever witnessed. (My parents were terrible at proper censorship and therefore I had access to such things.) One day, when I was in probably the second or third grade, my dad and I were watching TV and he began to give me what might commonly be referred to as “the talk”. I’m not really certain how the subject came up but what my dad told me wasn’t exactly the typical “where do babies come from” talk. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "roboto";">At this point I already knew that babies came from sex. Instead of a talk about fertility, I got more of an anatomical biology lesson on sex. My dad told me that a man sticks his penis into a woman’s vagina and sperm from the man fertilizes the egg, which eventually makes a baby. This was definitely not what I saw Tom, Kelly, or any of their cohorts doing when I saw sex on television and at the soft age of seven or eight I found this entire idea to be totally unnatural and wrong. I had yet to go through puberty and although I had experienced crushes on boys I never had the urge to have sex with any of them. I just didn’t understand how a penis would, could, or even should go into a vagina and I didn’t like it one bit. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "roboto";">Most of my friends admittedly never officially had “the talk” like I did. There was enough sex in the media and popular culture that they learned everything they needed to know from TV, books, and their friends. Because I was the friend who actually got “the talk”, I was the one who got to enlighten them with the penis-in-vagina reality of sex. I’m not sure if they felt the same way about it as I did. We never really talked about it. I suppose that was because we were all a bit uncomfortable with it. We also didn’t know all of the details about boners, ejaculation, uteruses, etc., so we were all silently curious as to how exactly the whole thing worked. Did a man use his hands to put the penis into the vagina? Where did the sperm come from? Does it hurt when a penis is in your vagina? How does a penis reach all the way to a woman’s stomach so that it can fertilize the egg? There were so many things we didn’t know but none of us were about to ask our parents any of these questions. I especially wasn’t going to because I didn’t want to know. As far as I was concerned sex didn’t concern me because I didn’t want to do it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "roboto";">Not long after the incident with my dad my younger brother, Tim, actually posed the question “what is sex” to my father. In anticipation for what my dad was about to tell Tim, I ran upstairs to my room, closed the door, and put my N’sync CD in my stereo at full volume because I just didn’t want to hear it. Sex seemed unnatural and made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t understand why my brother wanted or needed to know about it. He was younger than me and he had seen Tom and Kelly in Top Gun just like I had. I almost wanted to warn him. Hey Tim! You don’t want to know about sex! It is icky!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "roboto";">Naturally I got older and went through puberty. Puberty and hormones definitely contributed to making sex more appealing and not scary anymore. I came to accept sex as something everyone, including myself, would, could, and should engage in. I mean, if you really think about it, sex is sort of disgusting. It is the exchanging of bodily fluids by two people using parts of their body commonly associated with going to the bathroom. One could imagine how a third grader, especially one corrupted by the passionate, on screen relations of Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, might find the idea foreign. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "roboto";">My previous feelings of being scared of sex seem pretty ridiculous to me now. In fact, I find my former phobia of sex to be kind of humorous. Nowadays I am completely comfortable talking about, thinking about, and considering the reality of sex. I suppose that just shows how much I have matured since the third grade, something I’m quite proud of. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-42511196635879475602017-06-25T21:42:00.000+03:002017-06-25T21:42:02.235+03:00The Magic of Social Media<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">Last night I experienced what can only b referred to as the magic of the internet. I think some people are afraid of the internet. They say you can't believe what you read/watch/hear. Beware of cat fishing. It's not a place to really meet people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">Well, they're wrong! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">Last night I celebrated Eid al-fitr, the end of Ramadan, with 300 other people from the internet at a "stranger's" house. Don't believe me? Well luckily there is a video about it! All thanks to Nas Daily. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">Who is Nas? <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nasdaily/videos/788865211265633/" target="_blank">In his words</a>, he is just a "hairy kid who wants to live the best possible life and put it on Facebook in one minute videos." So he does; and he has also created an amazingly strong internet-based community filled with people from all over the world!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">But how do you get people to go from simply being friends ON the internet to becoming friends FROM the internet? According to Nas, you invite 1.5 million people to celebrate Eid with your family at your home in Arraba! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">I know a lot of people who dislike social media, and I can understand some of their reason's why. Facebook is increasingly filled with anger and political rants. Instagram can feel like a parade of vanity where people fish for compliments on the form of likes on their selfies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">But social media is also potentially extremely powerful in positive ways. It is through social media that the ice bucket challenge raised over $100 million dollars for ALS awareness and research. It is through social media that young Egyptians and Tunisians cultivated revolutionary movements in the 2008 Arab Spring. And it is through social media that I found myself in a random Arab village in northern Israel with 300 other people from all over Israel and the world to celebrate Eid al-fitr. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">These are the kind of examples that make me so excited to be a social media professional. Through Facebook I've found a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/GirlsLOVETravel/" target="_blank">female travel support group</a>, the place I live, and even Mindy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">So as Nas says in his video, "For the 1% chance of something bad happening...don't miss the 100% chance of something great happening!" And thank you Nas and your family for taking that chance, opening your home to hundreds of strangers, feeding us, and giving us the cultural experience of a lifetime!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 19pt;">Eid Sa'id! (Happy Eid! Something I learned to say from one of my new friends I made last night.)</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-44703843788064913112017-05-25T09:06:00.002+03:002017-05-25T09:06:37.685+03:00לעשות חיים | To Do Life <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;">I want to have an honest moment with you all. I haven't blogged in a long time. There are many reasons for that. I'm too busy. I'm forgetful. I'm distracted. But I think the biggest reason I haven't been blogging is that I've been struggling. The past year has been a challenging one and it took my writing to dark places. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;">My blog is essentially about my life making Aliyah, and although I try to paint an honest picture, I do paint a story of positivity. That's not to say my experience isn't amazing. I still am (and probably always will be) amazed/inspired/in love with living in Israel everyday. But I don't want to discourage people with my hardships. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;">But I also struggle. I believe those struggles have more to do with being a young adult working through life's challenges than anything else. I struggle with work, trying to make ends meet, social anxiety, the need to take care of myself, dating...the list goes on. These struggles are not new, but it has taken me a lot of time to learn how to deal with them (and I'm obviously always still learning). I often let my struggles completely debilitate me from taking part in the positive things in life. I let them make me tired and lazy. I let them defeat me, even when most of the time I've actually overcome them. More than that; I've learned from them and grown immensely. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;">So here I am today, on my 26th birthday, and I'm looking at it all differently. It's like some lightbulb is finally illuminating how much I've actually grown from these struggles. I'm taking my life in my hands and moving forward with a new mindset. This year my mantra is to "Do life". </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Hebrew'; font-size: 19pt;">לעשות</span><span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Hebrew'; font-size: 19pt;">חיים</span><span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;">. Because I am here living on the earth and I should make it great. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;">Another year older, another year wiser. Here's to many more years of acquiring wisdom to come. Happy birthday to me! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-10927643767566043652017-03-08T10:14:00.000+02:002017-03-08T10:14:45.635+02:00Little Women<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I woke up today and Facebook told me it is International Women's Day (thanks Facebook for always keeping me updated). As a young woman in this world, I think that today is somewhat for me. I might be at the beginning stages of my "womanhood" but the fact of the matter is that I am one (a woman). Right now I'm just 25 and I'm single and I live alone with my dog. It sounds simple, but I'm accomplishing a lot as a woman. I support myself. I take care of myself (and my dog!). And someday I will develop in my stages of "womanhood". I will become a wife and a mother. I will continue to climb the professional ladder, as a woman. and just as the women in my life have become role models of what it means to be a woman, I will be hopefully be one of those too.<br />
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Today is a little bit for me, but I feel it is more for the women in later stages of "womanhood". I feel it is for the ones who have shown me ways to be a woman, that I have rights, choices, strength, and a voice. In that spirit, I want to talk about two very special, important women: my grandmothers. Each of them is very different, but both have impacted my life significantly.<br />
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We'll go in alphabetical order.<br />
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Dear Grandma Mona,<br />
Knowing your history and your passions, I think today is very much for you. You're independently responsible to have gotten where you are, to have what you have, and to have done all that you have done. We may not always see eye-to-eye on things, but I appreciate that you always challenge me. You're both intellectual and creative at the same time, and this is rare. I appreciate that you have encouraged me to pursue knowledge and to develop my creative talents. And we have Judaism. Thank you for giving me this, even if it looks different for the two of us, it binds us in a way that nothing else can. Thank you for all of our thoughtful conversations, for laughing at my jokes, for teaching me that being a Jewish woman can mean whatever I want it to be. I hope I'm living that out in a way that makes you proud.<br />
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Love, Amy<br />
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Dear Grandma Tom,<br />
One thing that my friends always say about me is that I'm loyal. I think this is something I learned from you. I don't know many women (or people really) who stay so loyal to their families and their friends. I always remember growing up that you would give and receive cards from some of your friends all over the country--people you grew up with or have known for more than my own lifetime and you never missed their birthdays even with distance. I watched you love grandpa, literally until his last breath. Thank you for also showing me that I can be forever young. Throughout my whole life you've played games with me, shown me music and crafts, and you continue to do it with your great grandchildren. I suppose you must be getting older, because we all do, but in my eyes you are always full of youth.<br />
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Love, Amy<br />
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And to you both, I'm sorry I chose to move so far away from you, but I love and miss you everyday. And I wouldn't have the strength or motivation to pursue my dreams and goals without your influence. Thank you for being women I have learned from, can believe in, and thank you for all that you have done in my life. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-33856676517459191812017-01-07T00:00:00.000+02:002017-01-07T00:26:52.444+02:00Amy's 6 Don'ts of Aliyah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For most people the new year starts on January 1st, but I get an extra week. Yes, the page in my calendar turns just like yours, but two years ago, on January 7th I began a whole new life. That's right! TWO YEARS AGO TODAY I made Aliyah to Eretz Israel.<br />
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Now, I've been on rollercoasters. I've even been on one that goes upside-down 8 times, but I'm telling you there is nothing like the ride of Aliyah. I've had ups higher than Mount Hermon, and downs lower than the Dead Sea. I've cried enough tears to replenish the shrinking Kineret (Sea of Galilee), and smiled brighter than the summer Tel Aviv sun. After two years of this ride, here are my 6 Don'ts of Aliyah:<br />
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<b>1. Don't come here because it is going to be easy.</b></h2>
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Like I just said, life as an olah chadasha (new immigrant) is a lot to handle. We zionists dream of coming to live in our Jewish homeland and build beautiful lives as a part of the peoplehood, and it all seems like this glorious, glowing concept. It is. But this is also a place on Earth and although this might be the land of milk and honey, life here cannot always be sweet. When you move to Israel you will be an immigrant. Being an immigrant is difficult. You are immersed fully in a new society, a new culture, and need to learn a new language.You need to find a place to live and a way to pay for it. You need to find a support system. You need to deal with the bureaucracy of the Israeli government system. You need to bring a lot of advil because you will have a lot of headaches and you need to bring a lot of tissues because you will cry a lot of tears. But don't let it stop you. You know you want to be here and build that life, even if it is challenging. It is your nature as a Jew to face that challenge to better your people.<br />
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2. Don't be afraid to ask for help.</h2>
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Maybe it is because I was raised to be a strong, independent human, or maybe it is because I grew up in the modern-day United States, but for whatever reason I have always had the idea that being a successful person means being independent. In some ways that is true. It is important to be able to support yourself financially, take care of yourself, etc. However, if there is one lesson I've learned over the past two years in Israel it is that you will not make it if you do not ask for help. As I've already made plain and clear, this place is new and different from anything you're used to. You will need help navigating the healthcare system, opening your bank account, figuring out which shampoo to buy, and a whole slew of other things. You might have a rough month financially and need to borrow some money, you might be lost and need directions, or you might just need a hug. No matter what it is you need, ask for help. It is the Israeli way to help each other (even if we are yelling while we do it). The way it works is someone helps you when you need it because when they need it you will help them too. It's the only way we survive.<br />
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3. Don't feel bad about how bad your Hebrew is. (But don't stop trying.) </h2>
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In my (humble) opinion, one of the hardest things about immigrating is learning a whole new language. I see olim (immigrants) who came from Israeli families or learned Hebrew growing up and I am completely jealous. They are totally cheating! Hebrew is really complicated. Objects have genders, they have five verbs for every single action, and everything appears to be an exception. We should all just quit, right? WRONG. It will come, (super) slowly, but surely. But you need to try. When you are shopping, speak to the store workers in Hebrew. When you are eating at a restaurant, order in Hebrew. When you are at Misrad Hapanim, try to fill out as much as the form as you can before you ask someone else to do it for you. And when that frechah (guidette) American Eagle worker rolls her eyes at you and says "Em, you know you can speak English to me?", just smile and say "beseder" as you continue to break your teeth.<br />
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4. Don't get stuck in the olim bubble (or for Anglos, the Anglo bubble). </h2>
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Don't get me wrong; it is totally nice to not have to speak a word of Hebrew every now and again, but one mistake I see a lot of olim making is building their community entirely around olim and olim-centric activities. I know; it's so easy. You go straight to an Ulpan with 100 other olim and BAM! You have a pseudo family for the rest of your Israeli life. Who am I to judge? This totally works for literally thousands of olim. But in my (humble, as usual) opinion, you will miss out on so much that life in Israel has to offer if you don't take time to really bond with native Israelis and other people. Not only do they know where to find the actual "best hummus ever", they can shed a lot of light on why Israel is the way it is. Observing and learning the way they move through life here and the attitude they've developed from being raised here is really helpful in your development as an Israeli. After all, you didn't make Aliyah to not be Israeli, right?<br />
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5. Don't resist new ways to "be a Jew" or "be Jewish". </h2>
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Confession: I literally had no idea what Sephardic Jews were or that they even existed before I came to Israel. I'm super embarrassed to admit that, but it is totally true. Everyone comes from their different "Jewish world" and Israel is the place where all these world's collide. It can feel like betrayal to learn you prefer new or different customs from the ones you were raised with, but it shouldn't. This is part of the beauty of both Judaism and Israel. All of our customs are literally based on people's debates, thus there is no correct answer. The question of "who is a Jew?" is one of the hottest, and by that I mean heated, debates in the Jewish world and in Israel. As you meet new people (Jews) from all over the world, with all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and religious customs, let yourself experience some of these new things. You don't have to change your ways, but you are totally limiting yourself from really developing as a member of the Jewish people if you close yourself off to all they have to offer.<br />
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6. Don't stop exploring Israel. </h2>
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Another embarrassing confession: I lived 19 years of my life in California and I have never been to Yosemite. When you live somewhere it is very common to stop exploring. You establish your life and your routine, you have your home and your community, and it is comfortable and feels good. But just because Israel becomes normalized for you doesn't mean all of its magic disappeared. Israel might be a tiny country but there are dozens of trails to be hiked, museums to be toured, towns to be visited, and hummus to try. It will forever be the beautiful land of adventures and discovery you initially fell in love with. You just have to let it.<br />
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So as we say here in Israel, b'hatz'lcha. Good luck. Ha kol ihiyeh beseder. Everything will be ok. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-25608546171101333622016-12-10T11:23:00.002+02:002016-12-10T18:20:25.048+02:00Do Little Things<p><br></p><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d693d49a22bd40c08fccc2f9fc920430.jpg" style="width: 639.5px; height: 426.333px;"><p>Hard to believe it, but the end of 2016 is fast approaching. For one reason or another, the end of a calendar year always jars me a bit. I think it reminds me of how quickly time goes by. Society surely likes to put on the pressure with all this talk about "New Year Resolutions". I've never been one for things like this, however at this current point in my life there are some things I'd like to change/improve upon. So world, it looks like I'll be joining you in these "resolutions". In some ways it is like I'm dooming myself to fail. The number of these New Year Resolutions that go uncompleted is through the roof, but I feel that I just need to be realistic. Bigger is not always better. That is why I am setting some small goals for myself this year to help improve my life. <br></p><p>Here they are:<br></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Blog about things other than Israel. </span>No need to worry. Israel and I are still madly in love, but I realize that I have so many thoughts about other things and I need a venue for that. The solution to this: Amy & The World: A peak into my brain. This is a separate blog for posts about anything else I feel like writing about. </p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Call my parents and email both of my grandmothers at least once a week. </span>You'd think with all this modern-day technology that easily facilitates long-distance communication I'd be in touch with my family all the time. Wrong. Life gets in the way, I am tired, I am distracted. <--Those are all excuses. I want to do a better job at keeping up with the people I love. (Tim, if you are reading this, we can also have a weekly call...)</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Reinvigorate my social activity. </span>To be honest, to me this feels like a big thing, but that is half the problem. I need to address the issue of my dying (already dead?) social life in small bites. I've tried a lot of things in the last year, so I'm really not even sure what exactly I'm going to do in this category. Whatever I end up doing, I'm at least going to put it in my awareness as something I need to solve. </p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Be outside more. </span>I have a great apartment with a large, comfy bed. It is tempting, especially when I'm tired, to just hole up in there all day, every day. But this is unhealthy! I live in a country that is generally full of sunshine; and sunshine equals happiness! Mindy is sure to appreciate this one. </p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Improve my Hebrew. </span>No, I'm not going to do another Ulpan. I simply don't have the time/resources for that. But it doesn't matter! I LIVE IN ISRAEL! The world is my Ulpan. I am going to make an effort to "break my teeth" in Hebrew more often instead of giving up and switching to English, because practice makes perfect. </p><p><br></p><p>Good luck to anyone thinking about taking on a New Year's Resolution! My advice? Think smaller. </p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-2652294765773795612016-10-29T14:19:00.000+03:002016-10-29T14:19:10.015+03:00Travels of a young American-Israeli<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3E0Ys9FjgERbfJIKpmeRHRk7eKzDaoZjRFaUlMtKq2U-2UqKgSqO736Kh7SoWvu4Ka1k5Uu29PhJsy_wCuYzjyCYUU9D2tKkNsH0f8t01xXzXnUjnuMGC6kbkRArdGbMhT7NjDhY35k/s1600/berlin.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3E0Ys9FjgERbfJIKpmeRHRk7eKzDaoZjRFaUlMtKq2U-2UqKgSqO736Kh7SoWvu4Ka1k5Uu29PhJsy_wCuYzjyCYUU9D2tKkNsH0f8t01xXzXnUjnuMGC6kbkRArdGbMhT7NjDhY35k/s200/berlin.PNG" width="200" /></a>No, it is not a secret that I took my first ever Eurotrip. I guess I did not want to post on the blog because I felt that it would create some sort of unwanted expectation on me to document it for my readers. Sorry you guys; I love you more than anything but this trip was an important experience for me. I wanted to embark without any added pressures.<br />
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But I am back in Israel now and want to share the adventures with you. There is a lot of processing of photos, writings, thoughts, and feelings, that needs to happen. Over the course of the next few weeks I hope to share a post on each stop I made. I feel that I've grown a lot as a person over the short (or long?) 20 days I was in Europe. I hope to be as authentic as I can with you all. After all, honesty is the best policy, right?<br />
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One of the biggest things I came to realize during my travels is that I truly am happy to be living in Israel. Around the 3rd or 4th day I started to feel homesick. I told my Dad this and he told me to come home. However, his thought of me coming home meant back to the US and mine meant back to Israel. Although it was thrilling to be in new places with new people, cultures, food, etc., I often found myself going to sleep missing Israeli people, fresh produce, my flip-flops, Goldstar beer, and all kinds of other arbitrary "Israeli" things. Meat with cheese is delicious. Scarves and sweaters are cute. People minding their own business is nice. But I craved salad for breakfast, endless summer, and a variety of people offering to help me get where I want to go.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPnYYog0q6FlKtf2Qsd68b3ga2gfNtNZSMeq6r5UoCwvTgeISU3hXwXbdkdZXS9XDoFvWce3AZs36k5Vyof8LIcEzilO4axeuCZmzP8wCiR4SO-akqiC7nJUPRArtVyqi6AsZ0OUn-r0/s1600/amsterdam.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPnYYog0q6FlKtf2Qsd68b3ga2gfNtNZSMeq6r5UoCwvTgeISU3hXwXbdkdZXS9XDoFvWce3AZs36k5Vyof8LIcEzilO4axeuCZmzP8wCiR4SO-akqiC7nJUPRArtVyqi6AsZ0OUn-r0/s200/amsterdam.PNG" width="200" /></a><br />
On a similar note, it was a bit complicated to answer the question "Where are you from?". My boss and I spoke about this before I left--would I feel more American or more Israeli as I traveled to these new places. To be completely honest, I'm not 100% sure of the answer. When initially asked the question I started with "California" for 2 reasons. Firstly, to explain both my physical appearance and my accent. Secondly, because not all people in Europe are excited to hear you are from Israel. As I got to know certain people better I slowly revealed the details of the fact that I actually live in Jerusalem and, for all intents and purposes, ended up moving to Israel because I'm Jewish. Of course not everyone reacted the same way and I left many confused, but hopefully also enlightened. I'm a walking lesson of Israeli and Jewish diversity. Sometimes it is challenging. Sometimes it is amazing. But no matter what, it is always, always interesting.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFzP4EylZRmhrPixkvRKMHMQB4F3zNdcMXRFPdHwWrkGnRYa494CB44xwCBKjLU65Td6eIteTpUPWmzuj2Xp_TYmgP_tkBOwPr2EFb-5y9KDJLLo-EjqC_-sAo_zY5Tf0fFiYvqh81a8/s1600/Rome+1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFzP4EylZRmhrPixkvRKMHMQB4F3zNdcMXRFPdHwWrkGnRYa494CB44xwCBKjLU65Td6eIteTpUPWmzuj2Xp_TYmgP_tkBOwPr2EFb-5y9KDJLLo-EjqC_-sAo_zY5Tf0fFiYvqh81a8/s200/Rome+1.PNG" width="200" /></a><br />
Stay tuned for more. If you really, really just can't wait, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mybestbroamy/" target="_blank">I suggest checking out my Instagram feed</a>. I did a pretty good job of documenting my travels there while they were happening. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-67888858135374349912016-09-30T17:09:00.001+03:002016-09-30T17:09:22.979+03:00Goodbye, Mr. Peres<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I feel a bit guilty. Yesterday the Knesset was open for the public to pay their respects to Shimon Peres. I wanted to go. But I didn't.<br />
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Yes I have excuses. I was working all day and didn't get home until past 9pm. (I now know they extended the hours until 11pm, a fact I discovered much too late.)<br />
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But is this enough? Here is this great man, a man I'd say was ahead of his time or at least many in his generation, who dedicated his life to the great venture of Israel. And here is me "too busy" to make it to the Knesset, which sits in Jerusalem, to pay my respects. Thousands of Israelis traveled from all over the country to come. I sat in an office half an hour away the whole time.<br />
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I guess I feel guilt because I actually feel sadness about president Peres' passing. I remember during my first trip to Israel I went to the opening ceremonies of the Maccabiah (the Jewish Olympics) and got so excited that Shimon Peres was there. (See the photo.) I got to hear him speak and it was my first time to the country! I was enchanted. This man helped build this place. He also was an integral piece of several important political events in Israel. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/1054481034666933/videos/1079523305496039/" target="_blank">Here is a really short, informative video</a> on the life of Shimon Peres.)<br />
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Part of the sadness I feel is the fact that Peres was the last of the original founding figures of this country. I feel like, although his tenure as prime minister and president were finished, something about him being alive held us all accountable to the foundational spirit of Israel. Now that they are all gone, what is stopping us from losing sight of their vision? My generation makes me nervous. So many things that should be important don't seem to matter, and on the opposite side we seem to be concerned with things we need to learn to let go.<br />
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Mr. Peres, you'll be missed and thought of often and fondly. You were certainly a visionary and inspirational figure in Israel, and even to many around the world. May we continue your legacy of innovation and continue to seek peace and growth. May your memory be a blessing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-59536902741576197652016-08-03T21:53:00.002+03:002016-08-03T21:53:13.798+03:00השכנים - The Neighbors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since my Aliyah I have lived in one general area of Jerusalem. I started in Armon HaNatziv (a.k.a. East Talpiot) because my Ulpan was there. When my Ulpan was coming to a close I chose to live in the neighborhood of Arnona because it was nice, near the familiar, and relatively cheaper than other desirable locations. I was lucky enough to find work nearby and so I decided to stay in the cozy, family-friendly Arnona. <div>
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I often talk about the people in Israel, about how they were the first thing about Israel to really intrigue me. They never cease to be interesting and although Arnona is not the eclectic, funky Nachlaot or the trendy, upscale Emek Rafaim, it has its fair share of interesting characters. My neighborhood is full of people from all walks of life. Some of them are new like me and some have lived here their whole lives. I don't actually know most of them that well and a lot of what I know about them is gathered through bits and pieces and sometimes assumptions. In my mind they are all these characters in the storybook of my life here. So, let's talk about some of my neighbors.</div>
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My Moroccan Mama</div>
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Picture a dark, full-bodied, Moroccan woman. Her hair is long, jet black, and shines as much as her shimmery eye shadow. Her nails are long and always manicured. This is Inbal. She lived in the apartment upstairs from me with her husband and four children. I think she is what people here would call a "fraychah" but whatever you want to call her, she has the biggest heart. For the first couple months I lived in my new apartment she was like my mom. She received my mail and every time I went to get it she would give me food. She also loved to take care of Mindy. You see, Inbal and her kids loved dogs, but they were not allowed to have one because her husband was very religious. It is not uncommon for religious people to not allow pets in their home. Inbal might have been this boisterous Moroccan lady, but her husband was a quiet, observant, ashkenazi man. I'm not sure how Inbal and her husband ended up together, but they were and they were happy. It was beautiful. Unfortunately a couple months ago Inbal and her family moved away. Her husband wanted to be closer to his Rabbi and Inbal wanted a nicer kitchen and a bigger yard. </div>
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The Music Man</div>
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Every morning I take Mindy outside to do her business and we have a routine path we take. This is how I've come to meet a lot of my neighbors. Some of them are fond of Mindy, and some aren't. What can you do? Anyway, there is one man in particular who really likes Mindy. He always greets her and I with a "Boker tov Snoopy!". He has this pretty strong, booming voice and you never see him without hearing him first. He is constantly singing Jewish songs and prayers. Similar to Inbal's husband, I don't think he actually is a huge fan of dogs. However he is always ready to greet Mindy a good morning. </div>
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The Missed-Connection</div>
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As I mentioned, a lot of families live in this neighborhood. It is not exactly a hot spot for young singles (such as myself). Any of the young people around are usually kids, teenagers, or those young adults who still live with their parents—a common thing in Israel. One such young adult is Daniel. He lives in a building across a little parking lot where I walk Mindy multiple times a day. I met him for the first time when he tried to ask me out on a date. I had a boyfriend at the time and sadly had to decline. We saw each other every once in awhile, said hello, and when I broke up with my boyfriend I told him I'd be happy to go on that date. But as you can imagine things were not so simple. In that time he had acquired a girlfriend. Basa (disaster). Needless to say Daniel and I are not dating, but he is still a very nice neighbor. He is helpful and dependable and it doesn't hurt that he is pretty cute as well. </div>
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The Principal</div>
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Another place I meet a lot of people is at the dog park. (Mindy really is my ticket to anything these days.) That is where I met Loren. He is the principal of an American high school program here in Israel. Loren has the cutest puppy named Hamilton who Mindy loves to play with. But beyond that, Loren is a really nice man. An Oleh himself with a family, he knows the struggles of young people in Israel and is always offering himself as a resource. He also just seems to understand. Based on what I see from him on Facebook he is also quite the warrior for religious pluralism here in Israel. Overall I just find him to be a very humble, respectable person that I feel good having in my neighborhood. </div>
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There are definitely many more, but these are the one's whose stories were swimming around in my mind today. Perhaps another night I'll sit down and tell you about the rest. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-89204461466167964032016-07-23T13:25:00.000+03:002016-07-23T13:25:36.516+03:00Three years later...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For those of you who have followed my saga, or those of you who know me personally, you have most likely heard the story of how my luggage was lost on the highway in the West Bank during my Taglit trip. What's that you say? You haven't heard it? Well let me tell you.<br />
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In 2013 I went on a Taglit Birthright trip to Israel. I was so excited to finally explore the place that held so much of my passion. I shopped endlessly for just the right hiking backpack, proper attire, and supplies for what was about to be the adventure of a lifetime. On the 4th day of our 10-day trip something extremely out of the ordinary happened. Our bus was driving on the highway that takes you to the Dead Sea, the Bedouin tents, and other attractions of southern Israel, when some men were oddly following our bus and trying to alert the driver. As a precaution we stopped and our security guard spoke with the men. All was fine, minus the fact that we were running late (classic birthright) to ride camels. So we rushed ourselves to the camel rides and the issue was not discussed. As soon as we finished riding camels our Madrichim (guides) told us that the men saw luggage on the road and suspected it might be from our bus so we should all take a peak in the luggage compartment to check our bags were there. I did what I was told...and that is when I discovered my bag was not there. Amazing! I came for a 2.5 month trip to Israel, traveling in a foreign country for the first time ever, and my luggage was now floating around somewhere. Needless to say I was in shock. 2 other people also lost their bags, but because their passports were in their bags they were returned to the US Embassy. Mine was lost seemingly forever.<br />
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Fast forward to this week when I get an email from the US Consulate in Jerusalem asking if I had traveled to Israel in 2013 because they had a bag with my name on it. Could I describe the bag and its contents in order to claim it? Um, yes, duh I could! Another email and phone call later and this happened:<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-27804187827336888702016-06-25T12:56:00.000+03:002016-06-25T12:56:34.578+03:00Goals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wow, I haven't updated the world (or at least this little blogging world) about the last few months. There are lots of possibilities of why...but I'm really not sure. It isn't that I've lost inspiration. Israel has not stopped being Israel and I have not stopped being fascinated. It isn't because nothing noteworthy has happened. I've celebrated holidays, turned 25, went on tiyuls (trips), ate delicious food, met famous Israelis, etc, etc. It also isn't because I'm not writing. I have countless notes on my iPhone written during bus rides that ended up being twice as long as they should have.<br />
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I'm not sure what to attribute to my lack of blogging. I think it is something like laziness and tiredness. Everyone who knows me knows I WORK A LOT. It can be frustrating to tears at times, but it is also rewarding. However, I find myself in a rut many modern day adults find themselves in. I work and my personal life has disappeared. Not even the "extra" parts of a personal life - spending time with friends, traveling, having fun. I'm talking about having time and/or energy to wash my dishes, make a proper meal, do my laundry. I rarely even speak to my friends or family back in the states because I'm home by 8 and in bed by 10. It sounds depressing because it is.<br />
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But in the last couple weeks I've been pushing myself to change this. I've decided that having fun, keeping in touch with my loved ones, and things of that nature, are NOT EXTRA. I can no longer think of them in these terms. I must think of them as necessary to my well-being, because they are. So in my new schedule for my life I do dishes on these days, laundry on this day, cook food on these days, take Mindy to the dog park on this day, and go to at least one purely social, non-work-related thing per week. There are still late nights in the office on occasion but I really try to leave the office by 7, 8 at the very latest. The rest of the work will get finished the next day. This I am learning from the other people I work with. Their professional advice has been very valuable.<br />
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It can be scary to set goals for yourself for fear of failure. I think that is one reason why it is so easy to get stuck in the cycle of overworking. Work goals come with clearer outcomes of success. If my boss or the CEO is happy with my work then I am encouraged to keep doing what I'm doing, staying longer and longer hours. At home there is no cheerleader. The only person who will pat me on the back for cleaning the kitchen is me. (Mindy doesn't even care because she doesn't eat on dishes.)<br />
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It has only been 2 weeks of this new practice for my life. But with every "accomplishment" I am gaining momentum. That is part of why I'm writing this somewhat disjointed blog post. I figure, if I at least write and publish something then I will feel accomplished; and that motivates me to continue the practice. So blogging more again is a goal. Reading more again is a goal. Doing arts & crafts again is a goal. Congratulating myself for the things I am accomplishing more, and getting down on myself for the things I haven't gotten done less, is a goal.<br />
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(All of this talk of goals is reminding me that one of my goals is to watch Eurocup!)<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-12110377502366440262016-05-11T09:41:00.001+03:002016-05-11T10:12:20.532+03:00 The Intensity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span data-offset-key="alq45-0-0">Intense would be the most accurate word to describe last night. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="alq45-0-0">I sat in the pit of the Latrun amphitheater surrounded by a number of people. </span><span data-offset-key="6lkp8-0-0">Closest to me were the family of the bereaved; families who have lost their sweet children. Their sweet children (and yes they are just children when they enter the army, boys and girls of 18 years) gave their lives protecting and serving the State of Israel. </span>Beyond that were thousands of my Masa participants, many experiencing Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day to honor fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, on Israeli soil for the first time. </div>
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We sat together as figures of the Jewish world spoke, music was played, and photos of their proud faces flashed on the screen. Proud faces, because they were proud people. Proud to serve Israel, protect its people from the many threats against it. </div>
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We are proud of them too. But we are also sad. We are sad because they were taken from us doing something so good, something so honorable. We ask "How can souls so generous lose in the fickle game of life?". It is not fair. They were the good ones. They are the heroes, and in the movies the hero always wins, right? Well this is not the movies, my friends. This is our reality. </div>
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Needless to say unstoppable tears streamed down my face. I gasped for air with each new face on the screen as one thought swirled through my mind: I am only able to be here because of them. </div>
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Today the government estimates that more than a million people will visit 52 cemeteries throughout the nation. The rest of us will sit in our places of work, or in our homes, and remember each and every one of these lives lost for us. </div>
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It is too true here in Israel--We live for each other, and we die for each other as well. There are no sales here because life is priceless. Memorial Day is for remembering, even though it can be one of the hardest things for us to do. </div>
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Today I hope my words may have caused you to shed even a single tear of sadness for the fallen, heroes each and every one of them, and tomorrow I promise to make you cry tears of joy, because the people of Israel live. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-57890814293144196432016-04-23T18:28:00.002+03:002016-04-23T18:28:35.181+03:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-43790008381263900482016-04-06T23:42:00.001+03:002016-04-06T23:42:33.575+03:00Two weddings and a brit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello there folks! It has been awhile, and per usual a lot has happened. As the title may let on, I've been doing a lot of celebrating. At the beginning of March one of my most beloved friends in the whole world, Brittany, got married. At the end of March a very dear friend from work, Philippa, got married—and that same night another friend from work, Jodi, had her baby.<br />
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Aside from their obvious joy, each of these events holds a special place in my life for different reasons.<br />
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Brittany's Wedding<br />
Brittany is one of my best friends in the whole world, literally; we met in college and bonded through our love and support for Israel. She has been a light in my life from the pacific northwest to the middle east, so getting to share her special day with her, here in Israel, this place we both feel connected to and connected by, was really something else. With Brittany's marriage comes Jochanan, and for me this means family. I don't have blood relatives in Israel (other than all the other members of the tribe) but Brittany, and now Jochanan, have been that and will be that. I can't wait for our kids to grow up together in this magical place we call home.<br />
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Philippa's Wedding and Jodi's Son's Brit Milah<br />
I group these two events together for a few reasons. First, is because both of these wonderful ladies work with me at Masa. There must be something in the water there because the Masa family constantly has a lot to celebrate. in the short (or long) six months I have worked there 3 babies have been born, 3 more are on the way, 1 person has gotten married and another got engaged.<br />
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Philippa's wedding is the first Jewish wedding I've ever been to. None of my family had Jewish weddings and none of my Jewish friends have gotten married (at least not while we were in the same place geographically). Jodi's son's bit was the first brit milah I've ever been to. (Pause: for those unfamiliar, a brit milah is a Jewish ceremony preformed 8 days after a baby boy is born. There is a ritual circumcision performed by a moil and the baby is officially named.) Both of these are important Jewish traditions that will someday be part of my life. Attending them was important not only because I have never experienced them before, but also because they make me think about my Jewish identity—past, present and future.<br />
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My parents recently celebrated 28 years of wedded bliss and with all the marriage, love, and simcha (joy) happening around me I can't help but also contemplate my life in those terms. What do I want? I want all of this. I want to be head over heels in love and promise my life to another person who will also promise theirs to me. I want to bring new life into this world and try my best at inspiring them to be a good person. And I want to do this all Jewishly.<br />
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What exactly does that mean? Well, I'm still figuring that out. But don't worry. With all that's been happening I've got a few ideas. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-61646558808828452302016-02-23T11:50:00.002+02:002016-02-24T11:10:41.231+02:00B is for Bureaucracy - A is for Accomplishment <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The other day I had what I feel to be one of the quintessential olah chadasha experiences--visiting multiple government offices in the span of 2 hours. I had to go to the municipality to pay renters tax (a thing here) and then to misrad hapanim (Ministry of Interior) to change my address. Anyone who has been to one of these places knows it is often difficult. You don't know what you need, you hardly speak Hebrew, and the red tape runs miles (or shall i at kilometers?) long. </div>
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This is probably one of my earliest "Israeli" memories after I made Aliyah. The 2nd or 3rd day at Beit Canada my fellow Olim friends and I decided to tackle misrad hapanim to acquire our teudat zeuts (ID cards). Usually you get them at the airport as soon as you arrive but of course things didn't go so smoothly. The computer was down when my friends arrived and my name was simply spelled wrong on mine (I suppose I could have chosen to be Amy Alberston if I wanted...). Being the proactive and eager Olim that we were, we left at 7am to be there when the office opened (advice from more seasoned Israelis). And once again, things did not go so smoothly; it was Wednesday and the one day the office doesn't open until<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> 1:30pm</a>...ayzeh basa (what a disaster). </div>
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This memory serves me well. I have now visited various government offices for various reasons and always come prepared and with appropriate expectations (extremely low ones). </div>
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My (somewhat) veteran tips:</div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Get there before it opens.</b> There will be a line down the block half and hour before any office opens. It feels annoying to wait in the line but it pays off. You'll get numbers immediately and get through quickly. The people are also generally friendlier if they haven't dealt with hundreds of idiots yet that day.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Bring every single piece of paperwork</b> (yes, in Israel we have literal paperwork made of paper) with you. You never know when they will ask you for a certain document, form, ID number of someone, etc. it's always better to be safe than sorry. I'd even bring copies of your teudat zeut and teudat oleh with you because you need them for almost anything and many offices won't do it for you.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Try to speak Hebrew.</b> It can go 1 of 2 ways, but generally they will appreciate you trying. The other possibility is they will be annoyed by your bad English and tell you snidely "you can speak English, ok" (with a huge eye roll obviously). But don't be discouraged. You'll at least feel good you really tried and can't be blamed for their sour attitude.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Ask people for help.</b> Most people in this country love Olim and are eager to help you. They also are frustrated with the government office experience in this country and feel extra bad for you because you are fresh to its terrors. Let them help you! It makes everyone feel good.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Treat yourself after.</b> It's such an accomplishment to get through these offices alone (or even with a friend) that you deserve that ice cafe or boureka (or pair of shoes) after! Even if you didn't succeed in getting something done and have to come back, you got out alive! And that's really something! </li>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">So, whether you need to pay a weird tax you can't pronounce, or just need to get a passport, don't be (too) afraid of Israeli Government offices. You CAN do it! (And because you live in Israel you can complain about it all you want!)</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-48457616945832858042016-02-05T12:21:00.000+02:002016-02-05T15:12:52.679+02:00Plus One<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A true sabra (native born Israeli), Mindy is a 4 month-old pup from the JSPCA shelter. I adopted her on January 25th. She is half Pinscher and half Terrier, tiny, cuter than anything you've ever seen, and so smart. Named after comedian Mindy Kahling, this Mindy has just as many quirks and thus receives just as many laughs. We've already been through a lot together in just 2 short weeks so I'm sure we'll be best buds for life!<br />
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Getting Mindy means a lot for me.<br />
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1. I have no family here and <b>she is my first "real" family.</b> Of course I have very amazing, generous, and caring friends who have been nothing less than family to me, but there is something different with Mindy. She is for me and I am for her and we are our own little mishpaha (family).<br />
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2. <b>I'm making it here.</b> One of my Aliyah goals was to be able to adopt a puppy by my 1 year Aliyah anniversary. And here I am with Mindy. The same thing happened with my job. I wanted to find a position doing the kind of work I'm doing for an organization like Masa Israel and I'm doing exactly that. Aliyah is hard, but if we persevere it is so worth it.<br />
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3. <b>I'm a grown up.</b> As a kid my family had an amazing dog, Max, who sadly passed when I was in high school. I begged my parents for years to get another one and they always said "No more dogs! When you're a grown up you can get your own dog and take care of it." So again, here I am with Mindy. I'm a grown up and I live on my own and I got a dog. Look at me now mom and dad!<br />
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So here is to #MindyThePup. May she feel loved always. May she continue to bring happiness to all those who meet her. May we live a long and happy life together. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-8310106935845353792016-01-23T21:02:00.001+02:002016-01-23T21:12:18.474+02:00Just chillin...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I just finished Face-timing with Erika, my roommate from college. She is pretty literally trapped in her apartment due to the heavy snowstorm that is currently hitting the east coast of the US. (I've heard they're calling it Jonas or something?) It makes me laugh a little because 3 times this winter I've already been warned of the "snowstorm" coming to Jerusalem. In fact, this weekend we were supposed to have one. (Update: Said storm has been postponed until midweek. Hooray!)<br />
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This is my 3rd winter here (wow!) and I just have to say: Winter doesn't work here. It doesn't work because it hardly happens and it doesn't work because when it does happen everyone totally loses it.<br />
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I live Jerusalem and it is known for being "so cold". I'll admit—Jerusalem is pretty cold—but it is not THAT cold. The minute the temperature drops the heaters go on full blast. I literally am sweating in my office. If they even think it is going to snow they get ready to shut the city down. Day after day I'll wear my most water/weather-proof boots in preparation for something to happen and the day I finally give up and wear converse it will pour rain. Just my luck! The drivers here are already crazy, and rain or any sort of weather here just exacerbates it. When I first moved here I used to get splashed walking on the sidewalk by the cars driving too fast on the street.<br />
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Winter here is short and things are just not built for it, literally. Next to no one here has a dryer so you have to find a way to hang your laundry indoors so it doesn't freeze. When I was on Masa my room literally flooded. I woke up to water spitting in my face and 2 inches of water surrounding the front end of my bed.<br />
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Although we rarely get snow, we do get these awesome things called dust storms. We get them in the summer and they make it hard to breathe and make the unbearable heat even more unbearable. And we also get them in the winter apparently and they are the worst. Somehow they seem to always coincide with rain and then the dust sticks in the air and to everything else because it is wet! It's really not the ideal sequence of events.<br />
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That's not to say everything sucks here in the winter. We do have delicious hot-drinks like Sachlav, dried Sahlab orchid mixed with steamed milk and a mixture of orange blossom water, vanilla, cinnamon and sometimes nuts. There is also choco-ham (hot chocolate) unlike anything in the US. They put real, rich chocolate at the bottom of the cup and fill it with frothy steamed milk. You mix it all up yourself and it is almost like a food, more than a drink. A lot of my most beautiful scarves were purchased in Israel but are rarely worn here, so I guess it is nice to have the opportunity for that.<br />
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One way or another I will survive (and so will all the Israelis) and in 3 months we will go back to complaining about the heat. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-19298796191191804522016-01-17T21:32:00.001+02:002016-01-17T21:32:41.929+02:00#FirstIsraeliBirthday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Many of you have heard (because I was basically shouting it from the rooftops of social media) but some of you haven't: January 7th I officially celebrated my 1 year Aliyah Anniversary. This has been a long anticipated day in my life and so the blog post that was meant to come with it also got a lot of preparation. I have a pile of scribbled on scraps of paper, countless notes on my iphone, quotes from books and movies—but I'm not going to put any of it on here, at least not today. </div>
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I thought about it a lot and I just have too many feelings. Everything I've written is disjointed. I'm happy beyond belief. I'm tired and have frustrations. I see the light of hope for my future here. I cry in the dark because I miss my family. I don't always have a lot in my bank account but I've managed to keep my belly full. I work and work and work and yet I can't seem to work enough. </div>
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My thoughts about Israel are endless. This is not a new story. But what did I want to say about this day? </div>
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I found this quote: "If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it's your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life." –Charles Bukowski</div>
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When people ask me "Why did you make Aliyah?" I struggle to answer. The usual things I say feel cheesy (even if they are true). I am always seeking a more authentic way to express myself. </div>
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Well, here it is. Israel brings me so much joy but it also brings hardships and challenges and deep self-questioning to my life. It literally burns my soul with purpose and desire. Once the fire was lit I couldn't put it out—I still can't. And that is why I am here. And that is how I made it to 1 year. And that is how and why I will be here for many, many more. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-32493324134786681902015-12-25T11:05:00.001+02:002015-12-25T11:05:03.937+02:00So this is Christmas...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This morning I woke up and it was just another day. December 25th—nothing special, nothing happening. </div>
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I never thought I would say this but I'm missing Christmas. In America I was annoyed that Christmas music began playing earlier and earlier every year. (Mariah, I love you but all I want for Christmas is to never hear that song again.) The idea of kids going to sit on santa's lap creeps me out and the mad rush of people in the mall between thanksgiving and December 25th makes me insane. </div>
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But here there is none of that. And there are some things about Christmas I do miss. I miss my mom being "santa's elf", spreading Christmas spirit when she wears her Santa hat for the month of December. I miss seeing beautifully decorated trees in houses I visit, ornaments from the years their kids were in elementary school hanging as memories. I miss Christmas lights all over the streets lighting up the dark winter with something warm. </div>
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But alas, I moved to Israel and over 80% of the country could care less. December 25th is just another day here and so even the Jews aren't celebrating with their usual Chinese food and a movie. It's days like these that make me contemplate what my life will look like moving forward as an Israeli. Christmas was a wonderful part of my childhood (as an American and part of a mixed family) and I want my family to have a taste of that. So now comes the challenge of how will I do Christmas in Israel? I suppose I'll cross the bridge when I actually have a family to think about. But for now I'll miss Christmas. </div>
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Merry Christmas to my family and to everyone else in the world celebrating, religiously or not. I hope you all feel "the Christmas spirit". </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-39803461975168223002015-12-19T11:09:00.002+02:002015-12-19T22:47:54.559+02:00Will the real homeland please stand up?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last week I returned from my first visit back to the States since my Aliyah. At 11 months into this whole thing I was really curious about how I'd feel being back in America, in my parents' house, away from here.<br />
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Essentially it went like this: I ate yummy (mostly treif) food, I hungout with my mom and dad or visited cousins, went shopping and drank Starbucks . Livin' the life!<br />
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No, but on a more serious note this visit felt very much like just that—a visit. My room at my parent's house is looking less and less like "my room" as my parents start to use it for other things. Most of my friends no longer live in Sacramento and very few of them have the time to take off work to come visit as often. My life, outside of my family and childhood memories (and Chinese/Mexican food, Starbucks and Target) are now in Israel.<br />
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My bed here feels more comfortable. Hebrew words dribble out of my mouth. I seriously missed having tahina on all my food. Naturally I arrived jet-lagged, but I never really adjusted to the time difference until around a week before I had to leave again because I'd wake up at 5am and just decide to answer work emails.<br />
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This isn't to say I didn't enjoy my trip. I really am so happy I got to "live" with my parents (and even my brother) for 3 weeks. We'd wake up and have coffee and breakfast together. I insisted on having Shabbat dinners together. We celebrated Thanksgiving and even a few nights of Hanukkah. I got to see my grandparents, my aunts, uncles and cousins and had a lot of quality time with all of them.<br />
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<b>But as a conversation with one of my Israeli friends revealed to me, America might be the land of my birth, but Israel is my homeland. </b><br />
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Here are some fun photos from my visit. I've been very busy getting re-situated and catching up with work, but I'm going to try hard to update this thing again soon!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-85544133978847913702015-11-01T20:11:00.001+02:002015-11-01T20:15:09.583+02:00"If you will it, it is no dream" –Theodore Herzl<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12065838_10154325953827729_5996322855173030495_n.jpg?oh=5c99be8ae581c027ea9aebe61811f328&oe=56C2ACE5" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12065838_10154325953827729_5996322855173030495_n.jpg?oh=5c99be8ae581c027ea9aebe61811f328&oe=56C2ACE5" width="300" /></a>I've been feeling a bit guilty lately. Why? Because I don't think I'm giving myself enough credit. If I can't be my own personal cheerleader then who in the world can? So right now I'm going to talk a little bit about how I've achieved one of my biggest Aliyah goals within my first year of being here.<br />
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I am so excited to announce that I am the new Marketing and Communications Manager for Masa Israel Journey. Guys, this is really kind of my dream job. I am working for a huge piece of the Jewish Agency who's goal is to provide Jewish young adults with meaningful, real Israel experiences. Not only am I working for them, but my specific job is to tell their story, our participants stories, using my creativity and experience. I hoped that when I made Aliyah I'd someday be working in a position like this at an organization like this but I honestly thought it would take at least 2-3 years.<br />
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Sorry not sorry, I'm majorly patting myself on the back right now because I feel that sometimes (a lot of the time!) during this Aliyah process I beat myself up. I feel bad for not having been able to save any money still, I sometimes question my friendships and think I'm more alone than I am, wonder why I haven't explored Israel since I've been here, why I haven't been to the Kotel to pray...the list goes on.<br />
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The reality is that I'm doing so well and I sometimes need to sit down and just appreciate it. It is stressful and it is hectic and there are days/nights of tears, but 9 months is not a long time. It feels like a long time. You can incubate a baby in the womb for 9 months, but when that baby comes out it doesn't know how to speak or walk or do virtually anything. That is because 9 months is just not a long time (and other scientific reasons I'm sure, but that is really beyond the point). <br />
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So I haven't saved money yet. Establishing a life anywhere is a huge commitment, monetary and otherwise. My friends here are really great. We have only known each other for 9 months (or less) and I need to keep that in mind. Our connections are still being built and strengthened and regardless, the love they've shown me is beyond this short time-frame. I haven't traveled Israel because I'm living here! Hello, Amy! You are not a tourist and now you are living real life. You'll get to see all the beautiful Israel you love soon enough. The priority right now is building your new life.<br />
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And there is time—so, so much time.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-40845731295802692982015-10-09T12:16:00.000+03:002015-10-09T12:17:22.290+03:00I need to tell you something.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Do you know what has been happening in Israel the past few days? The answer is probably not. Sorry if I'm assuming incorrectly, but the fact of the matter is the mainstream media either neglects to report stories of terrorist attacks in Israel and/or they completely twist the story. And to be honest, why should you be concerned about Israel anyway? I'm sure wherever you live has it's own local problems.<br />
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I've thought a lot about whether or not I should post about things. I don't like to talk about terrorism or the conflict or political problems. This is my home. I want to talk about the yummy restaurants I've gone to or the stupid Israeli boys I've dated. I don't want to talk about parents being shot in front of their children or people being stabbed on the street. Unfortunately that is something that happens here and because several of my readers seek information about Israel from this blog I feel that perhaps I need to suck it up and write about it because the rest of the world isn't going to do it.<br />
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(<a href="http://facebook.com/ynetnews" target="_blank">Graphic from Ynet News</a>)</div>
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This is what October 8th looked like in Israel. In the recent days there has been a wave of terror attacks, mostly in Jerusalem but now also in Petak Tikvah, Tel Aviv and some other cities in Israel. My Facebook feed is filled with 3 things: breaking news every few hours of another attack, fellow Israelis asking where to buy pepper spray/what areas to avoid, and photos/names of victims. </div>
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<b>So how do I feel?</b><br />
I can't say I feel scared necessarily, but I do feel restless and worried. Growing up in America I am very unaccustomed to this kind of situation. Luckily I grew up in a place where violent crime was a rare and very isolated thing. That is not the situation right now. Anyone (well, actually just anyone who is obviously "Jewish-looking") could become the victim of the next attack. On one hand we are safer than ever because security and police are literally all over the place and on high alert. But on the other hand we aren't because these perpetrators are unmarked and unidentifiable. One moment they are riding the light rail with you and everyone else and the next moment they have a knife in your neck. You really can never know.<br />
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<b>And what am I doing?</b><br />
I'm being vigilant. I'm thinking peaceful and hopeful thoughts. I avoid "problem areas" (as if any area can be considered a safe one) and I will not go out alone at night. I've spoken with some of my Israeli friends, all of whom grew up through the Intifadas, and they have said I'm handling it well and doing the right thing.<br />
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Praying for a quiet and safe Shabbat. Please, as always, feel free to ask me any questions about the situation. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-73039822587869766632015-10-02T14:40:00.001+03:002015-10-02T17:15:00.783+03:00Amy the Zionist<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This past month or so has been Israel's holiday season. Just as around Christmas and New Year's Eve in America people here are in a frenzy as we approach our string of high holidays (holy days): Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish new year), Yom Kippur (the day of atonement), Sukkot (the festival of tabernacles), and Simchat Torah (celebration of reading the entire the Torah). Stores have sales, decorations for Sukkahs line store aisles, arrangement for meals with family and friends are made; as one can imagine it is a joyous and exciting season for a Jewish State.<br />
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Unfortunately it is not just flowers and rainbows. As with anything in Israel things are complicated. The past few weeks have been full of unfortunate headlines. Jews want to visit the Temple Mount, where the Al Aqsa Mosque sits, aggravating the Islamic extremist population and thus causing increased violence. There are several reports of stabbings, shootings and molotov cocktail throwing. This morning I woke up to see that two parents were shot and killed in front of their 4 young children. How sad to attend funerals when we should be attending holiday parties.<br />
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This week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) addressed the UN. He spoke strongly about the nuclear threat of Iran, the difficult and stagnant peace process with the Palestinian Authority, and about Israel and the amazing nation it is. I will admit I'm not extremely happy with the current coalition government. When I voted for the first time as an Israeli I did not expect this outcome. We have many problems here, social and economic, that need to be fixed on top of our struggles of being the odd man out in the Middle East. But Bibi's speech at the UN rang true to me and inspired me to think about my Zionism. Despite these issues in Israel I will always remain a Zionist. I will always support Israel's right to exist as a refuge for Jews from around the world and it's right to defend itself from the seemingly never-ending evil that threatens it. </div>
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Almost 2 years ago I was applying for my Masa program and I wrote a short essay for a scholarship about what it means to be a Zionist today. After watching Bibi's speech I went back to read it and I really want to share it with you all:</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">In his address to the First Zionist Congress (1897), the great Theodore Herzl said, “Zionism, or self help for the Jews…is simply a peacemaker. And it suffers the usual fate of peacemakers, in being forced to fight more than anyone else.” With the current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the nature of today’s global politics, this statement seems to define the experience of present day Zionists. I have personally been forced to fight for Zionist ideals on my college campus. Just as the forefathers of Zionism saw their ideas challenged, the current campus climate in regards to Israel is one of extreme demonization. In a false co-optation of liberal, progressive values, both students and faculty call upon others to boycott Israel, and falsely claim Israel is committing genocide and apartheid, and pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> As a Zionist student, I have been yelled and cursed at while handing out fliers about the 800,000 Jewish Refugees from Arab states. I have been harassed and photographed without my permission on campus at department-sponsored anti-Israel conferences, been called a racist, colonizer, and Islamaphobe, and watched trains featuring maps attempting to rewrite Jewish history run through the center of campus. I have even been told I was not allowed into student events simply because I support the Jew’s fundamental right to self-determination.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The reality is that Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people of the world have a right to self-determination: the right to a place to call home and a national culture of their own. Throughout history the Jewish people have been denied this right, persecuted, expelled, and discriminated against by foreign powers. Although the most obvious manifestation of this dream is the creation of the State of Israel, I believe that Zionists have also become defenders of basic human rights and democracy, and a hope for peace among humanity. Israel is the only Jewish nation in the entire world and the only true democracy in the Middle East. Israel has made great strides in medical, technological, and environmental innovations, and is home to more start-up companies per capita, has more Nobel Prize winners per capita, and has the highest number of university degrees per capita than any other country in the world. It is one of the first nations on the scene of any natural disaster and even sends food, fuel, and medical supplies into the West Bank and Gaza Strip. I would never try to convince anyone that Israel is a perfect nation. I do not believe Israel, or any country, is perfect, and I understand that there are issues within Israeli society and political policy that need to be addressed.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Thus my conclusion is this: As Zionists today, our job is to not only to continue to carry on the legacy created by the great original Zionist minds, but also to defend the fact that the Israeli people are amazing, intelligent, and driven, and in effect, their country at only 65 years old is responsible for some of the most amazing developments in the world. We must remind the world that the Jewish people have the same right to self-determination as all other people and spread the truth that the State of Israel remains a beacon of light among the nations.</span></i><br />
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So hello, my name is Amy and I am a Zionist. In case that was not clear, here it is now. I am very unsure about several things in my life, but this is simply not one of them. If it bothers you then that is a personal problem. If you have questions about it, please ask me. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-81153973959723598422015-09-11T13:27:00.000+03:002015-09-11T13:42:51.053+03:00"You live here?!"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Picture this: Me sitting in an American-style bar (at 4AM) full of Yeshiva boys screaming at a hundred screens as Tom Brady's face flashes across the screen.<br />
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This was literally my night last night and it was totally awesome.<br />
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I've recently been having an internal dilemma. (I promise to elaborate on why the story is important.) I've been living in Israel for 8 months now (go me!) and life has become life. I work, I hang out with friends, I buy groceries and pay bills, etc., etc. And recently I've been feeling that perhaps Israel has lost it's enchantment because it has become so familiar. Don't get me wrong—I am very happy that I can take the bus to most places I want without worrying about getting lost or knowing which stands at the shuk I'm like to buy my vegetables from. However, sometimes I am sitting on the bus and I have to check my google maps to remember that I'm in the freakin' Middle East.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1m7AzZRu9wMq7NAvyr4ITK4i-Md8OcTAM9UKjNaASW40v2qTVFBRr_2WNDomShiQDGWYDk3wHZkQkyOgc22oyKowDV5V8uY2y5gIbfbE8dICVzi2fPbJm7BCh8fbgR4P7pfUlELtn_Hw/s1600/patriots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1m7AzZRu9wMq7NAvyr4ITK4i-Md8OcTAM9UKjNaASW40v2qTVFBRr_2WNDomShiQDGWYDk3wHZkQkyOgc22oyKowDV5V8uY2y5gIbfbE8dICVzi2fPbJm7BCh8fbgR4P7pfUlELtn_Hw/s400/patriots.jpg" width="400" /></a>Well last night, during the opening night of the NFL, I was reminded that I live in Israel. Let's back track in the events of my night a little bit to really get the full effect of what happened. At 3AM I walk into Mike's Place (the notorious "American bar" in Israel) to see my roommate who has been working since 7PM. I'm there for a few reasons: moral support for her because she will be working until at least 7AM, and to watch some football! Naturally none of my friends here are interested in football, at least not enough to stay up literally all night to watch, so I sat at a table for 6 by myself.<br />
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The bar quickly gets crowded. Every seat is filled with a kippah-covered Yeshiva boys and a smattering of their Seminary girlfriends. The energy is through the roof. These baby 18-year-olds are about to watch football in a bar and order as many drinks as their parents' credit card limits can buy them. Eventually the only empty seats around are the ones at my table. I see yet another group of boys coming in and they look around - no where to sit! But one of the brave ones comes over and asks if I'm sitting alone and so I decide to invite them to join me. What am I thinking? Generally I can't stand these little shits. They are loud and obnoxious, they take up all the seats on the bus, and they can't hold their liquor. But tonight they are my new friends and I am going to watch football with them (and maybe get a beer or two out of their constantly-refilled pitchers).<br />
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The game is starting and I start up a conversation with them. "So, what are our names? Where are we from? How old are we?" They're all from the New York or New Jersey area and they are all fresh out of high school. The brave one extends the question to me. I tell them my name and how old I am and then they wanted to know what I was doing here. "I made aliyah. I live here."<br />
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"What?! You live here?! That is so awesome!"<br />
And at that moment I paused, looked around me and thought about it. This kid is right. I live in Israel! This is awesome! Sure, the day-to-day isn't so exciting. I wake up, I work, I eat, I sleep—I'm just a human being living my life. But it is cool that I live in Israel because only in Israel would I find myself in a bar at 4am watching football with a table of Yeshiva boys.<br />
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Just like only in Israel do I get to ride a space-age light rail next to the ancient walls of the Old City. Only in Israel do I get to hear people on the streets speaking every language of the world only to be united by the common language of the Torah. And only in Israel do I get to say I live in the world's single Jewish state, something that is amazing today and will always be amazing even past the day I die.<br />
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So thank you Yeshiva boys for reminding of how awesome it is that I live in Israel. I hope you all will join me for some more football at Mike's Place this season and that your year here is even a fraction as amazing as my life here is. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862833256586406414.post-4567739903404993712015-07-07T09:44:00.001+03:002015-07-07T09:44:47.986+03:006 Months<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
6 months.<br />
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6 months of headlines in the local news.<br />
Likkud takes majority in the Israeli elections.<br />
Mayor of Jerusalem takes down terrorist at the Jaffa Gate.<br />
Rockets fired into Ashdod and Ashkelon.<br />
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6 months of energy and faith and love around me.<br />
The men shouting to sell their prodice at the shuk to the bustling pre-shabbat shoppers.<br />
The man putting on Tefillin in the middle of the side walk as i walk the kids I babysit to school.<br />
Kadima! Kadima! Our common language is Hebrew.<br />
The amen my roomates and I saw around a table of food while making Shabbat Kiddush together.<br />
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6 months of blood, sweat, and tears.<br />
Blood on the bottom of my feet.<br />
They crack because I only wear sandals and I walk kilometers every day.<br />
Sweat because we live in an endless summer.<br />
Tears because some days I just with this magical place I love wasn't 8,000 miles away from so many of the people I love.<br />
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Picnics on the Tayelet.<br />
Birthday cake Kiddushes.<br />
Trying shakshuka at every restaurant.<br />
Suprise birthday parties.<br />
Late night waffles and ice cream.<br />
Ordering coffee like an American.<br />
Being blessed on the street by Korean tourists.<br />
Taking the bus the wrong way and discovering how small Jerusalem really is.<br />
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Falling in love and losing it.<br />
Making new friends and finding new apreciation for old ones.<br />
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6 months of Aliyah.<br />
And I've got a lifetime to go.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14936008981097994255noreply@blogger.com0