A Great Week!

I sit here In a laundromat doing my laundry, reflecting on the past week. Tuesday was fun. I was able to relax the whole day, and then we had an enrichment program at night. Everyone in the Master's program and in the internship program walked over to the Devorah Hotel on Rehov (street) Ben Yehuda. We heard Avraham Infeld, President of Israel Way/Oranim and former President of Hillel International, speak. He Is known as one of the leading Jewish educators in the world because of what he has done for Jewish history, Jewish identity, and young Jews. He spoke about his childhood and how his father declared, "Judaism is NOT a religion!". He spoke about how he was sent by his father to live in Israel at age 16. He said he discussed with a non religious Jew whether Judaism is a religion. he then mentioned that there are 5 legs of Judaism: memory, family, the Covenant, Israel, and the Hebrew language. Each explanation was fascinating and touched me (I heard this speech once before on Birthright 3 years ago). At this time in my life, I feel I possess memory of the Jewish people, my family identifying as Jewish, and living in Israel. I have previously had the Covenant when I gave back to my Jewish community in college when I worked for Hillel both as a student board member and an intern. But everything has been about Israel. I want to learn Hebrew to complete the table. Check out the website: http://5leggedtable.org/en

Wednesday was classes, HR Management and Staffing Organizations. I will be learning a lot in those classes. Thursday was awesome. We went to the Carmel area, somewhere I had never been before. First we went to Caesarea, the first place I had gone on Birthright. It rained and wasn't as nice as had been on Birthright. Nothing new to me. We got lunch at Daliyat al Carmel, a small Druze village. I learned that the Druze took beliefs from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They are a people that keep to themselves. One of the only ways to be a Druze is to be born into it; the don't accept converts. You can't convert. Lastly, we went on a hike in the woods near the area that had a big publicized fire last year. During the trip, I made some friends who are in Oranim's new Israel Teaching Fellows program. They're some really cool people. I talked with a girl named Julia for a long time and she invited me to a Halloween party her group was having on Saturday at a restaurant on where the program is stationed, in Ramla, a low class Arab and Israeli town about half an hour from where I live in Tel Aviv.

Friday was fun. I went to the beach with Mairin and Emma from the internship program. We relaxed for a bit. At night, the programs went to a local Reform synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat (the beginning service of Shabbat).

On Saturday, I ran a couple errands then spent too much time working on my costume. I was Clark Kent in the midst of becoming Superman. Pretty cool, huh? Thanks to Shoshana for the brilliant idea and helping me put the costume together. She gets all the credit, rightfully. With a great costume, I took a cab to the Tel Aviv University train station, tool a train to Lod, then met Alex to take a Sherut (shared taxi) to Ramla. We drank, had fun, and met more people.

My new friend, Caroline, and I

On Sunday, I started Ulpan (Hebrew study). We learned for 3 hours. All I remember from Solomon Schechter is the alphabet, how to read and write, and a small select number of words. It'll take me a while to become fluent, but hopefully not too long. I then went to a job interview. I met this guy who wants me to work as an intern for him, selling a product he is developing. I can't tell you more than that for now. More to be updated about that later. Afterwards, I went to the Idan Raichel concert, a special presentation put on by MASA Israel, the organization which is giving me a generous grant for studying in my program. It was a pretty cool concert. Good music, but not typically of my taste. It was nice to get a taste of real Israeli music, though. I ran into both my friend, Patrick, from Birthright, and Miriam, from home. I didn't know that my childhood friend, Simon Lichter, is/was in Israel on a MASA program, too. What are the odds?! He was featured in a MASA promotional video during the concert. I got a chance to know more of my new Ramla friends, including Rachel, Zack, and Caroline.

The Idan Raichel concert, sponsored by MASA Israel

Last day in this long post. Today, was just classes. I decided to drop Marketing because I've taken enough classes and worked enough internships in marketing that it should be second-hand nature to me. I unfortunately probably wouldn't have learned anything new in that class. Instead, Alex and I will spend 4 hours in the middle of Mondays just hanging out and watching movies or something.

Anyway, I gotta go; my laundry's done and I'm going to sleep soon. I will begin posting shorter posts more frequently. Once a week is not good. L'hitraot!

First Weekend and First Day of School

Alex dancing on Simchat Torah

Hey followers, so this past weekend was pretty fun. Thursday, I met up with my friend, Patrick, from Birthright. He went to Colorado State for undergrad and now is doing MASA's Career Israel program, living near Dizengoff Center (a central shopping area in Tel Aviv) and teaching kids English for 5 months. He and I went to this pizza place on Ben Yehuda St. (which parallels Dizengoff); I had pepper pizza and he had toscana. Sooo good.  We caught up, we hadn't really seen each other in almost 3 years. After that, he and I walked over to Rabin Square to celebrate Simchat Torah (for those of you who don't know, it's the holiday at the end of Sukkot that celebrates the end of the reading of the Torah for the year; it's always a big celebration). On our way, I saw from a distance, my friend Alex dancing the Hora at an Orthodox synagogue, so we joined in. I got to dance and carry 2 Torahs. We then walked to Rabin Square to meet up with Simon, Loni, and Emma to watch the big celebration from afar.

First roommate picture with Simon

Friday night was a blast. I have become good friends with Shoshana and Anna L, who live in the apartment right above Simon and me. Shoshana, Anna, and I went to this restaurant (know idea what the name is, but it's known for its red cones) on Frishman Beach and drank and smoked hookah. It's a great feeling to be able to smoke hookah on the beach late at night; it's just so relaxing. On Saturday, I just relaxed during the day but   went out with Shoshana, Anna, Lucy, and an old friend, Jeff, from my Los Angeles trip in March. It was really nice to see him. He's mutual friends with Lucy, what a cool girl. We all went to a couple bars after going to dinner at Cafe Cafe (a restaurant/coffee place). An nice Israeli guy tried to pick up Shoshana, but she declined a date from him because she has a boyfriend. Shoshana and I met both a guy and a girl named Tal (WHOA!) and we just drank.

On Sunday, everyone in the program took the bus to school to register for classes....... We took Bus 72 (I need to keep that in mind the whole year) and we were all disappointed about the school's location. Get ready: we have one classroom hidden away on the third floor of an abandoned mall. Yes, that's right -- an ABANDONED mall. Next door is a real mall. But it's cool, the professors seem to be okay so far, except for the Organizational Behavior professor, who is pretty cool. I'll have fun learning stuff in her class which I never learned in Social-Organizational Psych at UConn. I'm signed up for OB, Marketing, Organization Theory and Design, Staffing Orgs, and HR Management. This should be a good first semester.

Lucy's Abraham Lincoln (or something)
masterpiece at Max Brenner's

When I got back from signing up for classes, I had laundry to do. I went to the closest laundromat and did laundry. The weirdest thing happened, though. While there, I met a couple girls and a guy (2 American, 1 Israeli) who were charging their phones. I randomly started talking to them and we played Never Have I Ever. We hung out for an hour while my laundry finished. I just found it a bit odd how this 38 year old guy was chilling with two 17 year old girls. At night, I went out with Lucy, her roommate Rotem, and a few other people from the internship program to celebrate Rotem's 23rd birthday. We had sushi, then we split off and some of us went to Max Brenner's at the port. The fondue was DELICIOUS!

Monday: The first day of NYU Poly grad school. I woke up at 7am to catch a bus and get to the abandoned mall for 9am. I had Org Theory and Design first. Classes are 3 hours long, and we get 30 minute breaks in between classes. OTD wasn't a bad class, the professor seems to know what  he's talking about. Marketing was kind of a boring class, I'm not sure I'm going to stay in it. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know, and I have the option of waiving a class if I've already taken it in undergrad. Org Behavior was a good class, though. The professor is nice and I think I might learn something I didn't learn before. My brain was completely drained, though, after sitting in the same seat for 10 hours, learning. One positive thing: I met this girl from Berlin, Germany who's in the academic part of the program, but not doing it through Oranim. She's really cool, cute, and sweet. She and I sat next to each other all three classes. She told me she has a boyfriend, though. That's okay, I'm keeping my options open for now. I've only been here 1.5 weeks, I've got time to find someone. At night, Alex, Shoshana, Anna, and I went to this nearby bar to meet up with a friend of Shoshana's. We just talked for a good 2-3 hours. I love getting to know people better.

Pictured left to right: me, Lucy, Jeff, Jess, and Shoshana.

Israel so far is amazing. I hope to be able to celebrate Noa's birthday this Friday with her and her friends. I will keep you updated. L'hitraot (see you later)!

My First Week in Israel

So my first week in Israel has been pretty phenomenal. I hung out with Noa, a soldier I met on Birthright 3 years ago, for the first 4 days that I was here. She lives in Modi'in, which is halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The first day, she and her boyfriend, Aviad, picked me up at the airport and we went straight to her house. I took a 4 hour nap, which was refreshing for me but not too exciting for you to hear. I met Noa's friend Hezi, shopping for a birthday present for his girlfriend.

The next day, Friday, Noa and I traveled with her friends Rinat and Eran to Jerusalem to go to the Kotel (Western Wall) and walk around the Old City looking at the shops. We celebrated Shabbat at her house with her and her boyfriend, Hezi and his girlfriend, and her brother. She made an absolutely delicious meal (which included chicken and Israeli salad) and then we went to Michal's (Hezi's girlfriend) birthday party. There, I had a deep conversation with some of the most interesting people I had met since I coming to Israel (a couple days). Erez, Carmel and I discussed our career paths and interests, psychology and math, their relationship, and a linguistic riddle. We plan on hanging out soon.

Saturday, Noa and I went to the beach in Herziliya with Rinat and Eran then ate at a very delicious restaurant nearby. I had ravioli and it was amazing. Later, I played basketball with Aviad and his brothers and father. 2-on-2 basketball can really wear you out when playing with these guys. Soooo fun. Aviad and his brothers are very good, and I surprised myself by putting up my best performance in probably 5 years. Noa, Aviad, and I then went to meet a few of their friends in Jerusalem that night for a short meeting. Sunday, Noa and I moved a couch with her friend, Shani. Very cool girl... she is Israel-born but her parents are both from New York and she speaks perfect English with no accent. She speaks mainly English at home but Hebrew was her first language. We had kind of a lounging around day then went to the gym. I am very thankful that Noa was willing to take 4 days off of work - just for me. :) I had a great time.

Monday, she drove me up to Tel Aviv for me to move in. This is the first time I have been in Tel Aviv since the last day of Birthright when we spent the afternoon here right before flying home. Last time, I had gone to Max Brenner's (a chocolate restaurant) with my friends Scott and Dan. This time, I met up with my friend, Miriam, from home. She is doing a Master's at Tel Aviv University, living a mere few kilometers away from me. We hung out, caught up, and she updated my iPod like there was no tomorrow. I then went to move in to my new digs at Tsidon 1, Apt. 504, Tel Aviv. My roommate's name is Simon, he is a Jewfro-wearing kid from San Francisco. He has the most amazing moustache I have ever seen; it's going to be growing into a curly moustache once it gets long enough. He and I seem like great roommates: we have the same eating habits (including Kosher) and some things in our past have been similar. It's crazy how alike we are. The main differences are that he is an early bird while I'm a night owl and he's not as social and I am. But he's awesome.

Since Monday, the Master's program participants have had icebreaker meetings, rules and regulations meetings, and a walk around the neighborhood to show us critical places. We are 30 people living together with about 30 others from the internship program (they're here for 5 months, the Master's people here for 10). About 12 of us from both programs combined went to this restaurant on the beach nearby called 9 Beach Mezizim. This place has the best personal pizzas EVER! So delicious and so filling. We also have had a few apartment parties, meeting new people and drinking. It has been a blast!

View from my bedroom window :)

I have met quite a few interesting people. There's people between the ages of 22-35 here, the median age seems to be 25. Everyone is from all over the U.S., with the exception of Germany, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, the U.K., South Africa, and Argentina. One kid I've met, who lives right across the hall from me, is Alex. He has a very similar last name to me, they both mean "fisherman" in Russian. It would be funny if we were something like long lost cousins. Alex went to Emerson for undergrad and studied video production. We joined a gym together and have hung out a lot. A bunch of the people I have met from the internship program are really awesome, too. There's American Jenny and Jenn-ay (Jennie from London). Words can't describe the awesomeness of either of these two girls. I have met Dan from South Africa, Loni and Emma, Brian from Argentina, and quite a few others who I haven't gotten close to yet. Everyone in both the Master's program and internship program are cool, and I can't wait to get to know them better. I'm about to go to the beach, a 5 minute walk from my building, so PEACE OUT!

My Realization

Wednesday October 12, 2011:

As I sit at the terminal at JFK Airport waiting for my airplane to board, I find myself reminiscing about what I realized earlier. In the shower this morning, after spending the previous 30 hours packing (I couldn't decide what to bring or how much to bring with me), I came to the culmination that I really AM going to Israel. I had spent the past two months planning everything involved in coming to Israel and getting ready for grad school.

I had done a lot, too. I signed a bunch of electronic documents, went to multiple doctor's appointments, spent lots of money (including tuition, which I owe my parents back for), and made MANY phone calls to Oranim to get help on what I had to do next in the process of applying for the Master's in Israel program.

I am beginning a great new adventure in a fairly new environment and atmosphere. I spent 10 days in Israel 3 years ago on Birthright, traveling all over the State learning about Israeli culture and history. As a result, I created a stronger connection with my Jewish heritage.

I feel like even though I'm spending the next 10 months in Israel going to grad school, I have not left my friends and family behind. I will be talking with everyone on Skype and Facebook all the time. At the same time, I already have a few connections in Israel. My friend Noa, a soldier I met while Birthright, and two other friends from the trip. One is working an internship in Tel Aviv and the other is going to a Yeshiva in Jerusalem. I have Miriam, my childhood friend who lived on my street, is doing a Master's degree at Tel Aviv University. And shortly, on Monday, my program starts, and I will make 30 new best friends. I can't wait! :)

Israel, here I come!

Josh

Thursday Oct 13:

My first sight of Israel in 3 years. It's great to be back! :)

I got to Ben Gurion Airport and my friend, Noa, and her boyfriend picked me up. For now, I'm staying in Modi'in with Noa, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Today, my first day in Israel, I took a long nap, we helped a friend of Noa's buy a necklace for his girlfriend, and we went to a local Irish pub called O'Sullivan's. Good place, I enjoyed it. Tomorrow, we're going to Jerusalem for a few hours and then the day is open. I can't wait for orientation to begin next week. :)