learning where "we" come from

Before I came to Israel I received an e-mail with a flyer inside.

It read:

The Shabbaton, for post-college programs only, will provide an examination of the security reality in Israel from various perspectives, through lectures of senior speakers and academics, interactive group workshops and fascinating tours. On the Shabbaton program you will find: A tour of the security fence around Jerusalem • A background lecture about the Israeli-Arab conflict • A lecture about the Iranian threat • A lecture about Israel and the Hamas • Group workshops dealing with dilemmas and issues in Israeli security • Group workshops dealing with questions of Zionism in the face of the security • situation in Israel and the personal perspectives of participants And more…

Sounds great right? Oranim was paying for us, and we'd be given food and a place to stay. Why not?

I wish I could say I got a lot out of this weekend, but this is the weekend my plague started. So instead of spending the weekend learning, I spent most of it in a daze, on probably one too many Dayquils.

But since I know most of you, yes including you father, are curious about what is really go on around here, I borrowed Jackies notes and with what I remember, will ramble on.

We woke up early Friday morning and ran to make the 8 am bus to Jerusalem. Being the beginning of the weekend here in Israel the busses were filled with Soldiers going home to their families, so it was a tight fit.

Jackie, Erica, Lindsay and I did the Israeli thing and pushed ourselves onto the bus. We could not afford to miss this bus, wait an hour, and arrive in Jerusalem late, we would miss the entire tour.

As we got on we realized Dan was still outside waiting. Lucky us, Dan was the last to get on. After we realized there wouldn't be any stops letting people off till Jerusalem, we sat down to "enjoy" the ride.

An hour and a half later we were on a tour bus. We had two options on which tour to take, and we choose B'Tselem, a civil rights group for West Bank and Gaza.

It was interesting to hear the side of the story from Arabs. Unfortunately, this is when the Dayquil kicked in, and I spent the remaining of the tour asleep on the bus.

We toured the fence, Rachels Tomb, and had lunch on a view of it all. I wish I remembered more, but all I remember is the story of how they leave their land.

It takes up to 8 hours to leave the West Bank, and cars are not allowed to drive from one side to the other. Our tour guide told us of a story of a son and his sick mother who needed to get to a hospital.

He carried her the 8 hour walk along the fence, only for her to die along the way. Ambulances are not allowed to go through out the areas, even though the fence is not completely finished.

Sadly that is about all I got out of the convention, and the best thing about the weekend for me was I got a chance to stay at the new Young Judaea Hostel.

A couple weeks later Oranim send a guide down to Ramla where we all got a tour of the city. There is actually a lot of history here.

Ramla means sand in Arabic, and it is one of the only cities in Israel built completely by Muslims.

There is actually a book, called the Lemon Tree, written about a family in Ramla! And though the city doesn't have much to offer, like a mall, bar, or movie theatre, it does have monuments and underwater wells!

Take a look at Ramlas Wiki Page if you really want to learn more! I've been living here since October and still find new things about Ramla to ramble about!

what a long strange trip its been

I know. I know. It has been a while. But consider that a good thing? Or a bad... But don't you worry, I haven't forgotten about my dear old friends in the states...

I have a list of things that are piling to write about. But instead of draining your eyes on one long-long-long post, I'll write them as planned, and hopefully all this week.

I have been extremely busy, and when I do get a break, I fall straight to sleep. I went to the doctor again today. This time I was smart about it. I brought Nir.

After waiting an hour for the Russian Doc, who was extremely rude, we finally went and saw her. I have to go back tomorrow at 8 in the morning to get blood taken. The worst part? They told me I couldn't eat after 7. It's now 8:17 and I'm about to go to sleep because I am very hungry.

Even though I had to bring Nir with me, my hebrew is getting much better. Since I am the only one from my group in the advanced class, I was worried that once the younger kids leave in January, that my studies would stop.

I had talked about this with Nir, and today my teacher told me that come January, her and I will be meeting once a week for private lessons. I'm bound to be fluent by then.

I would say it's getting colder, but not really. We have some cold days, but mostly it's beautiful. We also get some rain every so often. And because it is Israel, we can't complain. But when the rain comes, it really falls. Our roof was leaking, we got it fixed, and it is already leaking again.

The other week I went with a friend of mine to Rehovot, the town over, because it was absolutely pouring out and we wanted to hide in a mall. We ended up leaving, and heading to Tel-Aviv looking for a particular book. I had already been to about 5 book stores, and still could not find it.

We get off at the main bus station, and get on a sheruit (shared taxi) to get to this mall. The driver lied to us. Dropped us off in the complete wrong area, in the pouring rain. We asked a man in a shop where the mall was, and he said it was far, but walkable.

Since we are broke, we decided to walk. We were already soaked, so why not? We walked about 20 minutes till we found another store, where the man told us it was a bad neighborhood, and that we shouldn't walk there.

So we turned around, walked back to the station, and went back to Ramla.

A trip that started at 10 am, turned into hell returning at 5pm.

Never again.

We also just got the week off for Hanukah, but that is a story for itself. Interesting enough, Israel does not make such a big deal, like we do in the states. In America it is more to compete with Christmas, but not here.

At Harin, one of the Elementary schools that I go to once a week, we had a festival. I sat in a classroom helping kids put together "talking" dreidels. I loved it.

We also get a little "enrichment" every Wednesday. Nir or someone leads us in a little lesson. Last week we had a lecture about Hanukah. Most people listened, but I felt like a child, having been told the story millions of times.

We've also been taught about Israeli music, media, and the social life here. Most of the talks are pretty standard, but every so often you catch yourself learning something.

I thought I would love the music one, having heard many Israeli songs at my time at camp, but it turned to be pointless. What a disappointment.

Erica and Allisabeth are in charge of making an enrichment every so often. They've only made one and we had a pot luck dinner, each passing around a bowl of questions, and picking who we wanted to answer. We all got to learn about each other, even though we had already been living here for so often.

I really am loving living here, and I'm having a great time here, clearly the reason my posts are coming fewer an farther apart. But don't you fret, I'll be writing more, and my rambling will never stop.

Oranim has been taking us on day trips, and along with my pictures for my vacation, I have over 400 images to upload. So get excited and keep checking back for more!

best $300 ever spent...

Coming from America and having zero health insurance, to a country where for 300 dollars a visitor can have the exact same coverage as a local, is a little confusing.

When do I go to a doctor? Do I take advantage of this? Should the common cold have me ending up in a waiting room?

Most of you know me, I am weak, tiny and almost alway sick with something. So it was no shock to me when November came along, the cold weather started showing up more frequently, and I was constantly sneezing, coughing and having trouble swallowing.

Why would I go to a doctor? I am used to the constant echoes of "bless you" running through my ears. But as the days go colder and hotter, with the temperature dropping and rising at a sudden moment, I gave in.

Sure, I'll go to a doctor! It's free, and I can call for an appointment literally moments before I show up. That sounds amazing! And nothing like America.

I wake up at 9 am, dial *3833 on my Israel Phone, and am instantly connected to a call center. I give my medical number, and within seconds they know I am Rebecca Treister, volunteering in Israel and that I will be here for 5 months.

They ask where I am living. WHAT? How is this possible? The call center treats all of Israel?!

By 11 am, the same day, I was already walking to the doctors office.

After I walked up 3 flights of stairs (okay, I took an elevator), I saw a huge waiting room. I had to use the heberw I know to say "I don't remember the name of the doctor I am meeting with." And after 10 minutes of speaking shaking hebrew, they finally understood me and sent me to sit by door 6.

At first I tried to open it, but no, it was locked. I saw the list, all in hebrew, and one single name in english. Treister. 11:25. Okay, its 11:20, I should be going right in...

No. I was wrong. Around 11:45 I began to wonder. I tried to open the door again, thinking maybe it lead to another waiting room and I was just to weak to figure that out the first time, but it didn't. Finally, the door opened, and a women walked out, and just as quickly as she walked out, another had walked in and shut the door.

What? Had she had an appointment? What was going on?

Seeing the look on my face the ladies started to explain that the doctor was always running late, and was only seeing her 10:45 appointment.

So maybe this was a lot like America? Waiting 3 hours for a doctor to see me? Sounds familiar.

By 12:30 I saw that door open, and ran in. Not really knowing if it was my turn or not, but it seemed to work.

My doctor was a Russian women, who barely spoke any english. After 5 minutes of basically doing nothing, she told me I had the common cold, and told me I could leave. Seriously?

Now almost 3 weeks later and I'm still coughing up a lung, barely able to swallow, and shivering in my sleep... Will see how long it lasts before I have to return to the "doctor" again, but for one thing, Nir is absolutely coming with me next time.

heal the world...make it a better place.

It seems that only yesterday I was sitting at Camp learning about the concept of "tikkun olam." The simple act of repairing the world, and making it a better place. I remember sitting and learning the basic lyrics of Michael Jacksons heal the world.

There's A Place In

Your Heart

And I Know That It Is Love

And This Place Could

Be Much

Brighter Than Tomorrow

And If You Really Try

You'll Find There's No Need

To Cry

In This Place You'll Feel

There's No Hurt Or Sorrow

There Are Ways

To Get There

If You Care Enough

For The Living

Make A Little Space

Make A Better Place...

Heal The World

Make It A Better Place

For You And For Me

And The Entire Human Race

There Are People Dying

If You Care Enough

For The Living

Make A Better Place

For You And For Me

If You Want To Know Why

There's A Love That

Cannot Lie

Love Is Strong

It Only Cares For

Joyful Giving

If We Try

We Shall See

In This Bliss

We Cannot Feel

Fear Or Dread

We Stop Existing And

Start Living

Then It Feels That Always

Love's Enough For

Us Growing

So Make A Better World

Make A Better World...

Heal The World

Make It A Better Place

For You And For Me

And The Entire Human Race

There Are People Dying

If You Care Enough

For The Living

Make A Better Place

For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were

Conceived In

Will Reveal A Joyful Face

And The World We

Once Believed In

Will Shine Again In Grace

Then Why Do We Keep

Strangling Life

Wound This Earth

Crucify Its Soul

Though It's Plain To See

This World Is Heavenly

Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High

Let Our Spirits Never Die

In My Heart

I Feel You Are All

My Brothers

Create A World With

No Fear

Together We'll Cry

Happy Tears

See The Nations Turn

Their Swords

Into Plowshares

We Could Really Get There

If You Cared Enough

For The Living

Make A Little Space

To Make A Better Place...

Heal The World

Make It A Better Place

For You And For Me

And The Entire Human Race

There Are People Dying

If You Care Enough

For The Living

Make A Better Place

For You And For Me

Some may argue that now that Michael is no longer with us, his words mean more. But to a 12 year old, those lyrics meant the world to me.

I am not sure when, but shortly after that activity, I decided I would do my best to heal the world. I quickly got into the act of photography because to me, a simple picture can do so much more than be an act of a memory.

With a single image one can see so much more. It is like my favorite Neil Young song, "there is more to the picture than meets the eye." I don't know when music became so important to me, or when it began to help me understand life, but I do know that I truly believe in it. Just as much as I believe in healing the world.

I wouldn't go as far to say that I am healing the world being here in Ramla, but I know a simple act can mean the world to one.

Two weeks ago we started our volunteering. It only took a week before some of us were begging for more things to do. And since Nir is so great, not only is he filling our schedule with more, but everyday he is finding new places for us to help.

Some of the kids in my program spend their time at the soup kitchen, senior centers, and high-schools. Most of the group volunteer at an Ethiopian school, where they are each paired to different kids, sort of like Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Jackie and Ron are even helping out with the Ramla special olympic soccer team.

But for me it is different. I spend the majority of my time with kids that are no taller than my knees.

On Sundays and Thursday I spend my afternoon working in a Kindergarden after-school program. From 4-7 pm I read stories, play in the sand, color, and teach simple words to 4 and 5 year olds. There are a little less than 20 of them, and as the time goes by, more and more kids are picked up.

There are two teachers in the classroom, and sometimes I get help from other volunteers in my group. But there is never enough help.

One girl is always completely happy until someone else has something she doesnt. Then she starts crying.

There are two Ethiopian sisters, with the younger being to young, but allowed because she is family. Everytime I see them it is like they have forgotten me, and it takes a while to remember.

Miriam is my favorite. To be honest, at first I thought she was a boy. She has short hair, and I mean SHORT, and wears baggy clothing. It was not until I heard her being called Miriam, and asking Nir if there was anyway a boy could be called Miriam, that I came to realize. From day one she attached herself to me, and we sit in the sand box twirling for hours.

Some of the kids are hard to open up, but most of them coming running to me when I walk in. And since my hebrew is nowhere near perfect, they are the first to correct me when I say something wrong, or use the wrong form. I have already asked Nir if there is a way for me to spend more then just two days a week with them.

Monday night I go to a place called the Kshoat center. Erica, Jackie, Taylor, Lindsay and I hold a meeting for kids 18 and up who want to practice their english. On average there are about 12 kids, and we spend 2 hours playing games, laughing, and making friends.

It is a great way to meet local people, and we have already started friendships with most of them. One has even promised me her IDF uniform when she is done serving!

On Wednesday and Thursday mornings I will be going to an elementary school. Since I am just getting over a horrible cold, I have yet to go. On Thursday I am at one school, and on Wednesday I go with the same teacher to another. Tomorrow will be my first day, and I already know it will be absolutely wonderful.

One a week, and hopefully more, I go in the afternoon to the Arab Kadima, which is basically a place for kids to go after school so they do not get in trouble.

The first time I went, Jackie and Erica were with me. We spent an hour helping them with English. Lucky for me, I got assigned to the most amazing kid.

His name is Sliman, and he is an 11 year old boy who speaks a little hebrew and english. It was instantly easily for us to talk, and he spent most of the time trying to make me laugh. The biggest problem we had was trying to teach him what MR. meant, and I am still wondering why they would have that word in a beginning level english learning book.

For Erica and Jackie it wasn't as easy. Since they both don't know much hebrew, and since we all certainly do not know arabic, it was hard, and I had to help a lot. But I loved it. The other kids even tried to get "help" with their arabic homework, just so they didn't really have to do it.

With Sliman, who I basically started calling Slimity, he would show me his sad, happy, and animal faces, just to make us laugh and get out of doing his homework. As soon as the hour was up, he jumped up and ran outside.

I told all of the kids that Jackie was a professional Soccer player in the states. Since, after all, she did play for Cornell. So Jackie went outside and played soccer with them, as Erica and I stayed inside with some of the older girls, and had a dance party.

They taught us dances that they had made up, and we promised we would teach them American dances, like the electric slide and cotton-eye joe.

There are so many more ways to help out in Ramla, and basically all over Israel. Whenever we go some placer new, or meet someone else, we instantly try to figure out how we can help them. Erica and Taylor will soon be helping out the social worker that we met last week.

Everyone is happy, which is great. Because from what we hear, we are the only Oranim group that is satisfied. The other groups have been lied to, have had dates change, and are simply miserable.

We talk about it all the time. We talk about how lucky we are. We talk about how even though we are completely happy (don't get me wrong, there are definatly some problems), we would never recommend this program to anyone. Nir, our amazing coordinator, has only been working with Oranim since March, and he is their longest working employee. That has to show something, right?

But we absolutely got lucky and would never change these moments for a thing.

the dirty dirty.. (of israel)

Look at me... So adventurous. Who would have thought?

After a 4:30 am wake up, only to find out that we had been lied to about the time to make sure we were at the bus stop on time, and then waiting an hour for the bus, we made it to the Negev.

Well, sort-of. We made it to a bus stop in the Negev.

After an hour "lunch" break (at 9 am), and enough time for 5 busses full of Oranim kids to run to the bathroom, we separated into groups for the advance and easy hike.

Again, feeling adventurous, we opted for the advanced. I figured after rock climbing in Indiana, this couldn't be that hard?

So I put on my hiking shoes (thanks grandma and pa!) and quickly fell in love with our tour guy Ron, a complete CRAZY man who seems to belong PERFECTLY in the wilderness, given plenty of room to spin circles. I only wish there were video tapes of this man and his ways, because I cannot even begin to explain.

Well, the hike was a joke. We were instantly wondering how easy the "easy" hike must have been (we later found out it was literally an hour of walking).

We hiked downward, using man-made "ladders" on some rocks. And about 5 hours later we made it out.

It was beautiful. We spent a lot of time hiking in complete shade, had way to many water breaks, and clearly, way to many pee breaks. But none the less, it was beautiful.

Then we got to get back on a bus, yes, we were sandy, sweaty, and gross, and head to Eilat. But not of course before stopping at an ice cream shop. Wonderful.

We spent the rest of the day sleeping, and Randy, an old YJ friend living in Eilat through another Oranim program, quickly came and met us at the hotel. My entire group loved him, and we spent the night getting our own tour of Eilats night life by an Eilat resident!

Saturday we spent the day in the water. Wanting to be away from everyone, we went to the rocky area, and everyone quickly had bloody feet, even one kid stepping on a (insert name of prickly thing that I have forgotten).

Realizing that was a horrible idea, we gathered our things and moved to a new area to finish the day snorkeling. AMAZING. I absolutely love fishes. I will defiantly have to swallow my fear and eventually become scuba certified, which is another thing I can do in Eilat.

We woke up early Sunday morning and quickly left the hotel. But not before I managed to leave half my things and not be able to brush my teeth because the water and electricity in the hotel had gone off.

Feeling tired and off, Erica and I decided to switch to the easy hike. Since, for some ODD reason, Oranim had scheduled us to hike again.

But it worked out well. Erica and I were given the chance to meet new people, and get a completely different view.

I'm pretty sure everyone fell asleep quickly after we got back to our original busses to return home.

Unfortunately here is where our fun weekend in Eilat turned sour. And because I am blogging about my entire experience in Israel, I must continue to write.

It was not until the following day that we found out the events that had happened after returning to Ramla.

It was 9 am Monday, and we were meeting at the house to go on a tour. Nir, Allisabeth and Nicole walked in, and we quickly noticed Hila was missing.

And this is the story we heard:

Being afraid of getting dehydrated, Hila had spent most of the weekend drinking gallons of water. And since Hila is petite as can be, she is very fragile.

Upon the bus ride home she began feeling sick, and by the time she and her roommates had arrived back to the apartment, she had begun speaking gibberish.

Allisabeth and Nicole walked her to the clinic, where the doctors, speaking mostly hebrew, basically said come back tomorrow.

It was then Hila became to seize, bleeding from her biting her tongue, and then laying completely still. She was rushed in an ambulance to the hospital, where they induced a coma, where she laid for 3 days.

Thankfully, that was the worst of it. After spending a couple more days in the hospital under watch, she was released and has return back to us and is better then ever.

We are all so thankful that no permanent damage happened, and that besides a couple minor level off-beats, she is perfectly healthy, and soon will be continuing with group activities and programs.

Hila is lucky. She has family members living in Israel, and her mother was quick to fly over. I could only imagine having to go through that alone, and Hila is still brave as can be.

She has spent the past two weeks resting and we are told she will be beginning volunteering soon. And I'm sure she will love it as much as we all do. After all, the reason I haven't been rambling as much is because I have simply been spending all my time wondering the city of Ramla, helping out when needed.

But do not worry, I will continue to make sure every detail and aspect is covered.

Until then...

best idea ever: teaching israeli soldiers english

I wish I would have learned the first time.. But I am beginning to think I should never leave Ramla.

Most of you will remember my story about trekking home from Tel-Aviv a couple weeks ago, taxi being pulled over and all, and think, how could it get worse than that? Well, rest assured, I have the answer.

It was a simple Thursday, a day that I have nothing to do. Around 1 o'clock I went to meet up with the group as they got out of Ulpan. My bag was packed, and I was ready to embark on what I thought would be a great journey!

See, Erica was running low on money, and needed to cash her travelers checks. But after searching around Ramla, she was told that we would have to go to Rehovot, the town over, to do this.

Having nothing to do, and always loving an adventure, I quickly said I'd join.

As we waited an hour on the side of the road for a bus, and as two taxis drove by us completely full, we finally were on our way. What should have been a 10 minute drive turned into another 45 minutes and we were stuck in horrible traffic.

RULE #1: never go to Rehovot in the afternoon. Avoid traffic by traveling in the morning.

A little bit before 4 we finally arrived on the main street and started heading to a bank.

The first bank we went to was not open.

The second bank we would not accept travelers checks.

The third bank also would not accept travelers checks.

Finally. The fourth bank, a western union( thank you America) said yes...

And then we realized Erica did not have her passport.

RULE #2: you need a passport to cash travelers checks. But more importantly, don't ever get travelers checks because many places do not know what they are!

So, at least we knew where to cash them, and could come back again.

Wanting to make the best of our day, we headed to an ATM where I took out money for Erica to borrow and began shopping.

An hour later, having bought nothing, we walked into a Pizza store. But, no, it was not that easy. I could not eat my pizza, but I did realize that my wallet was missing.

Great. Thankfully at this point Erica had money so we would be able to make it home. I called my mother, canceled my credit cards, and called Nir.

As we waited for a bus, which never came, I began getting phone calls from a blocked number. Being upset, I didn't bother to pick up, but they kept on calling.

Finally, I said Shalom, and a man started speaking. Not caring to know what he said, I hung up about 3 times before I finally calmed down and listened.

He was talking about money. But What?!

I stopped a soldier on the street and had him translate. A MAN HAD FOUND MY WALLET? how had he got my number? who was this?

The soldier, not knowing we lived in Ramla, hung up and told us the man was heading to Ramla and would be back later to meet up with us.

Having no idea how he had my number, Erica and I panicked. We called Nir right away to have him come save us, fearing we were about to be lead down a dark alley.

Taylor and Jackie were back in Ramla searching for how this man would have found my number. They googled my name, read my blog, and we even called IsraelPhones (the company I am renting through) to see how this could have happened.

No luck. We were scared, shocked, and completely freaked out.

Still not having this mans number, he called again. Nir was still not with us, and we stopped another soldier to help. She barely spoke english, and I was in to much shock to speak hebrew. It was certainly not an easy conversation.

She told us to follow her, and literally began walking down a side street. Erica and I, holding hands, can't stop wondering!

This man wants us to go to his office. The soldier assures us he sounds nice, but no, we were scared.

Nir finally came, and I'm pretty sure I cried as I saw him.

Finally, he got on the phone with the man and asked "How did you get her number?"

Silly me, I had completely forgot I had put my number in my wallet.

RULE #3: always keep your phone number in your wallet.

As we waited on the side of the road for the man to come, Nir told us he was an Arabic man.

I can't believe I got it back, nothing missing. And though I had already cancelled my cards, at least I had my wallet back and the realization that people in this world can be nice, and aren't exactly what we thought.

and the rain falls...

I feel a little selfish. I know the rain is good for this dry country, but really? does our roof have to leak? The landlord came around yesterday and just poked at the wall saying "lo tov" meaning no good.

Well, that's great! I'm glad we're given a roof over our head (at least for now).

I do have to give Oranim credit, they do set us up with a "free" gym. All we have to do is make an appointment with some "doctor" and pay 50 sheckles, and we're set to go!

But I guess before we get into that I'll fill you in on my past week here. After that amazing concert up in Jerusalem we all slept in on Monday. By 11 only 2 of us were up, and by 12 we packed our bags and (most of us) journeyed to the local shuk and grocery store.

We spent what felt like forever walking through the shuk looking at crap and more crap. My favorite. By the time we got to the end of the shuk we were so lost, to get to one of the grocery stores was a mission. At one point we were walking by a school with kids throwing rocks. Not okay.

We made it to Yesh, the bigger grocery store, which is a little farther, and each filled our book bags to the fullest extent. Jackie and I took our time walking, and by the end of our journey my bag was frontward and we were aching. I was even treated by my cottage cheese exploding in my bag. Lucky me.

During the afternoon the group went to the local college to meet with a group called the Kshaot center. Basically they are a local "club" for kids over the age of 18 to come and practice english. The kids all know how to speak, but use it more as a test for an english-speaking job or some sorts.

We met with one lady in charge and one of the participants. I instantly fell in love! It reminded me of the old Young Judaean activities where we'd sit in circles and just talk. They only wanted 4 volunteers, but five of us, Jackie, Erica, Taylor, Lindsay and I begged for 5.

Successful! We were to meet the following Monday to go over plans, before the meeting began at 6.

After the meeting Lindsay and I went to Dr. Cohen to get our gym note, and boy am I glad I am healthy. Because if I wasn't, I could have easily still passed.

Tuesday, besides getting woken up at 7 when the rest of the house leaves, I slept till 1. Lovely. And by 4 I was off to Ulpan. Still not knowing my way around, I got lost on my way home, know being dark out. Thankfully Lindsay was able to direct me.

On Wednesday, Lindsay, Jackie and I took our first step to the gym. Well, we were the only girls there, and lets just say it was an interesting experience.

In the evening we met with Nir as a group for our weekly meeting and enrichment. Since it was the anniversary of Rabins death, we spoke about him. Half-way though Nir passed around a book, when suddenly Erica explained how "this" was her favorite piece of art, and nothing had touched her more. I looked up to see "this" was the Holocaust memorial, which as many of you know, my grandfather made.

Thursday was basically a waste of time. My only activity of the day way to meet everyone at 1 to help an old lady "fix" her house. Basically, we were expecting the worst. Apparently this lady had called social services, explaining how her house was, saying she absolutely needed some help.

Nir was quick to sign us up, since after all that is what we are here for. But after a late wake up, and rushing to make it on time, no one was home. At least, that is what we thought. We knocked, called, banged, everything, but eventually we turned around and walked home.

This past weekend was wonderful! I can't believe its already been 3 weeks since i've been in Israel.

On Friday, with the rain pouring down, I trekked to the central bus stop and rode to Jerusalem. By the time I got to the central station, it was around 3 and things were shutting down for Shabbat. Wow, that town really closes.

I used my "knowledge" and got on another bus to head towards the old city, where I met Norman at his hotel. It was great seeing him, and meeting all of the people on his ride.

We went with another couple to the Kotel, and it was beautiful. Being there on a Friday night, with everyone dancing and the rain falling was wonderful.

After we met with a couple other riders, and had the most amazing meal. Hands down the best meal I have had in a long time. Sweet-potato soup, amazing bread, great schnitzel, and absolutely wonderful desserts. I took the card, and hopefully can go back soon.

Since Shabbat had taken over the city of Jerusalem, I was stuck taking a cab back to Ramla, which turned out to be great. My driver was so nice and tested me on hebrew my entire trip.

Then came Halloween, my favorite holiday! We had planed to have a "party" for some people of Ramla through the Kshoat center. Few showed up, but it was still fun! My last minute costume turned into Rainbow Brite, since without shock, I have tons of bright clothe!

I even, as I said earlier, got the dutch kid to dress in my Marlin jersey!

Sunday was a rain cloud, and by Monday morning our roof was leaking and I was sick. Thankfully the people I live with are AMAZING. Because of the horrible flu I was struck with, I wasn't able to go to our first Kshoat center, and spent the day a mess.

I felt horrible because Ron was the only other person home, so I just sat with him so he wouldn't be alone. How horrible. But everyone was absolutely great towards me! They spent the entire time, and still are, making sure I drink plenty of water. Even as I went to bed the other night Erica knocked on my door with my water bottle refilled to make sure I was drinking. All 6 of them will make perfect parents!

Today is Wednesday and we just got back from a meeting about teaching english. It was about 3 hours and we went through all these great activities and methods to help the kids. Absolutely worth our time, and worth the "hike" I took while sick as can be.

This weekend we venture to Eilat, and i'm sure that will come with great stories! Allowing me to ramble for hours!

Till then....Enjoy!

7 strangers...picked to live in a house

A couple weeks before I arrived in Israel someone joked about how my life was about to become a real world Israel edition. Little did I know, they were right.

I do live with seven people. They were all strangers. And we are all different.

So I figured, before I go more into explaining my life here, i'll give a little introduction about the 7 people in this house, ad the other 4 on my program.

I'll start with Lindsay. A 23 year old graduate from Penn State. Another big ten school, no wonder we're roommates! She grew up in Connecticut, and spent the year after college being a nanny. In may she traveled to Thailand to take a month long teaching english as a 2nd language class, and spent another month there traveling around! Thailand lead her to Israel where she spent 5 weeks before returning back to Connecticut to sort things out for Ramla.

Lindsay and I live down the hall way, and share a bathroom with Dan and Ron.

Dan is a 28 year old from Chicago, who has spent the past years working in the entertainment

business, and has actually never been to Israel. He is the one and only first-timer on our trip, so we have all planned tons of tourist things to do for him, that Oranim will not be planning. We are already trying to plan a Masada and dead sea adventure!

Then there is a Ron, a 21 year old dutch man. The only non american in our group. We spend our time teaching him american words with fake meanings. For halloween I even convinced him to get into my Marlins shirt and jersey, to be an "american".

Erica, Jackie and Taylor share a room, finishing up our house of 3.

Erica, another 23 year old, is from Lansdale, Pa, and spent the past year working in a therapeutic wilderness school for emotional disturbed teenagers. I'm currently working on her reading the EasyWay to stop smoking book, and it seems to be working!

Jackie graduated from Cornell where she played Soccer! She spent the last year doing financial research, and jumped at the opportunity when she was giving a chance to leave! She spent two months the summer after graduating, 2008, living on a Kibbutz working in the laundry room and almond field.

Taylors the youngest of the group. A 20 year old from California, she spent the last couple of months also working in a Kibbutz, right by Ramla! It's great because she knows the area, and knows israeli friends! I'm also desperately trying to get her to read the EasyWay book, so hopefully one by one i'll stop the world from smoking!

In the apartment down the block lives Hila, Allisabeth and Nicole.

Hila is also a Cornell alum, but her and Jackie had never met. She is the only other girl in the program who joins me at the advanced ulpan.

Alisabeth is just as amazing as her name sounds! Her parents made up the name, and describes perfectly how wonderful and unique she is! She's from Boston but recently moved to New york, and fell in love with Israel after recently going on Birthright.

Nicole, another new yorker, is a 26 year old. She spent the past 4 years working as an auditor and once she went on birthright she knew she had to come back!

Everyone gets along great and things couldn't be going better! Even my rambling has cut down because I seem to always be busy! But I promise i'll ramble more soon! But now it's time for ulpan!

And don't forget, Oranim puts up pictures of us through flickr.

These are from the first day, but i'm sure if you move around the site you can find more!

our taxi got pulled over

Lets just say greasy pizza plus a boat ride on the Mediterranean is not the best idea. Though, at one time, Oranim thought it would be a great idea.

But, before we embarked on this horrible boat ride, we had one great group meeting. Nir, the guy stuck in charge of us who we absolutely are obsessed with, sat us down and went over the volunteering activities. We got to pick 3 locations. Kindergarden care, helping out in the english class in elementary schools, middle schools, soup kitchens, animal shelters, the local TV station, and even a group of kids around our age and their english speaking club, were on the list!

During the next couple of weeks, since we don't actually start volunteering till mid-november, we are going to have the chance to try a couple out. All the kids I've talked to from previous groups just complain, but we all seem to think it sounds great! But, we'll have to see what happens!

If the volunteering is organized anything like this boat ride, we'll all be screwed.

After rushing to get ready, all of us got in a taxi and headed to Tel-Aviv. Right away we were miserable. They fed us pizza, which was free, so of course we ate way to much, and then the boat started going from side to side. I think within the first minute people were throwing up out the window.

What was supposed to be at two-hour journey around the Mediterranean, turned into a 20 minute session of plastic bags begin passed around. It was horrible.

We're not sure if he felt bad about the boat, or if just because he is awesome, Nir took two trips driving us to our hostel (i'm serious, we really love this guy!). We spent the night celebrating Lindsay's birthday, and the next day at the beach! It was perfect weather and soft sand!

By 2 o'clock we were all ready to embark home. While some of the group got tired and decided to splurge for a taxi back to Ramla, I simply did not have the money. The two guys and I decided to trek a 45 minute hike through town to the bus station.

Now, me being the only one to speak Hebrew, a lot falls on me. Including, getting directions. And since I absolutely always get lost, this was bound to be a long trip. But we finally arrive at the Central bus station, and after mazing our way through a mall-like structure saw the ticket center.

Except, they didn't have buses to Ramla, so we had to continue searching. Finally, I found it. But by the time it was almost 4, and the station was beginning to close for Shabbat. The guy in charge said "nope, no more busses to Ramla" and we all thought we were stuck. We ended up walking down two flights of stairs to the area of shared taxis, called sheriuts.

11 sheckels later and we were, FINALLY, on our way back to Ramla. But what should have been a 45 minute car ride, turned into 2 hours when our van was pulled over. Again, being the only one to speak Hebrew, I had to translate between the group of 3 I was with, and the Israelis on the bus.

Turns out we were speeding, and not wearing seat belts. Seriously? We had been trying to get home since 2 and it was now almost 5.

Using my Hebrew to figure out where the bus needed to stop in Ramla to drop us off was also RIDICULOUS, but we finally saw the park outside our house, and ran.

The rest of the weekend was spent wondering around the city, and learning more about each other. By Saturday night, the end to the Israel weekend, we were exhausted.

Sunday we started Ulpan. The entire group had to be at the college at 8:30 to learn! Lucky for me I didn't have to go to my advance lesson till 1, but unfortunately, I got woken up anyway.

Only one other girl in my group is going to the advance, and we join in on another Oranim's Ulpan. At least we'll make new friends?

Class was fine, and I was able to understand! I can't wait to become fluent!

Sunday night we went on another horrible journey. A 45 minute or so bus ride, up and down bumpy roads, to Jerusalem. MASA, the organization behind it all, was hosting a huge concert for American kids in Israel on MASA programs.

Not everyone in the group went, but it was still a lot of fun! I got to see tons of friends of mine who are in Israel on other programs!

We're going to spend the rest of the week working on our hebrew, and this weekend we're trying to plan something fun for Halloween. But who knows? Maybe I should dress up as a ramblin' man? Or does someone else have a better suggestion...

my twizzlers cost more than my shampoo

It all started with a simple e-mail. Saturday, two days before I was to embark to Ramla, I received a message from a girl in the program. Her name was Lindsay, and she was also in Jerusalem until the program begin. And Lindsay suddenly found herself without a ride.

Knowing little about her, I asked Yehudah, who would be taking me the following days down to Ramla if she could join. "How will all your luggage fit?" was all he could say. I figured if we managed to squeeze in the luggage, everything would be okay.

The next day, Lindsay and I decided to spend some time getting to know each other and, after we looked at her luggage over where she was staying, we adventured to the mall. Both having little money, we walked around like middle-schoolers, having their parents drop them off at the entrance on a Saturday. We got along great, and quickly became great friends.

And then, as if it couldn't come soon enough, it was finally October 19th. The day I was to begin my 5-month journey. Yehudah, late as most Israelis are, picked both of us up, and drove us the hour drive (well a little bit shorter) south to the northern part of Ramla.

We were only the 2nd to arrive, entering our house at 3 Herzel St. I was shocked, what a big house, though extremely dirty. It seems Oranim (the program I am going through) passes this house on and on through participants, and we assume it has never had a real cleaning.

A nice wall lines the front, where a fire-pit and table/chairs are. It's actually extremely cute for how old it is. Once inside you are greeted by a huge space. To the left is the living room, with 2 couches, a tv, and lots of room! And to the right is a kitchen, dining room table, and more space!

7 people in total live in the house, with 4 more girls living in an apartment a block away. There is one room with 3 girls, (bunk-beds!) and a bathroom for them! There is Erika, Jackie, and Taylor. All 3 very different, but very great girls!

And then, luck would have it, Lindsay and I were sharing the other room! We share a bathroom with the two boys (a 28 year old from Chicago, and a 20 year old from the Netherlands!). The bathroom is already so dirty and gross, that we don't seem to mind sharing it with them (though we are planning on trying to talk to someone to get rid of the horrible smell).

Lindsay and my room is honestly great, we have plenty of room and a giant mirror! We have even turned a bedside shelf into our "office" space. The beds are ripped and turn apart. The blankets that Yehudah gave us (an extra, lucky enough for Lindsay) do not fit on the extra-long twin beds. The air-vent leaks through and we hear all sounds from the outside, along with being extremely cold. But even with the bedding being anything but perfect, everything is pretty nice! (except the fact, i am writing this on 4 hours of sleep because I could not sleep, and I am waiting for people to wake up...) I'll have to go into a store tomorrow and figure out a better sleeping way!

We've spent the past days going through orientation, and soon we will begin Ulpan (intensive hebrew learning). I am 1 of 2 girls who actually knows the language, so Hila and I will be going twice a week, for 3 hours, to an advance class, while the other kids will spend the first 3 weeks going from 8:30 - 1, 4 days a week.

Nir, our city coordinator, has told me I can go to the class with the kids, on days I don't have my own, so I can practice. I am determined to become fluent.

I am actually shocked how little everyone else knows. I guess after going to a jewish day school and camp for so long, plus learning it in school, I really picked it up. Kids here had no idea that Biet was house, or that Achat was one.

We're going to Tel-Aviv on Thursday for a boat ride with other Oranim kids, and also, Lindays birthday! And I'm planning on staying till Saturday, spending time with an old friend, Keren, who will be at her brothers house! I am really excited to get to explore Tel-Aviv.

There has already been tons of talks about trips we all want to take, and we even found out we get the 8 days of Chanukah off! I am sure we will be traveling a great amount! But since this has all yet to come, I will save the rambling for later. Hopefully I'll take pictures soon and be able to show you what I truly mean by all my descriptions!

did you hear the one about the painted donkey?

Only in Jerusalem could you find a biblical zoo, complete with a play-size Noah's ark. But I can't say that I am that shocked, after all, Jerusalem is a city that prides it self on their Jewish connection. Though, I can say I was shocked walking around this zoo. I took over 500 images that day, mostly of Yoavi, but a lot of the animals and what the zoo had to offer.

After I dreadfully went through each picture, I picked around 100 that I would like to showcase. Maybe you'll find it as strange as I did, or maybe it wont shock you at all, but the picture above, of a hamster, was an actual image I shot in the zoo. Yes, that is right, not only does the Jerusalem biblical zoo showcase hamsters, but also, squirrels and other rodents (and no, these aren't pictures of the animals running freely, they are behind glass!).

In a total of three hours I was surrounded by more english speaking than I would have imagined, more unusual "zoo" animals, and most shockingly, not one shopping cart. In America, especially the Miami zoo, it is not a place to showcase animals, but a place to make money. Everywhere you turn there is another cart selling ice-cream, waters, and junky souvenirs. And on a crowded day, there is always a line of screaming children trying to beg their parents.

That was not the case in this zoo, as I started getting thirsty along my journey, I realized that there was not one place to buy a drink. About half way through, I finally saw my first (and the only) cart that is placed through-out the zoo. And it was closed. I saw no children sheding tears, and only one begging her parents to buy a stupid little toy, and even that wasn't until the end in the tiny-little gift shop.

Back to my original "simple thought" of the Israelis, the zoo is, shockingly, actually a place for people to view animals.

After three long hours, we finally made it to the end. But, this wasn't before, no lie, Yoavi fell asleep mid-walk. I have never seen anything like this before, but it was true. He was fast asleep (and stayed asleep through-out the elephants, the deers, and the flamingos), and did not wake up till we stepped on the train at the end.

One thing the zoo did have was a beautiful bridge that walked through their very own "safari." The giraffes, hippos and zebras were absolutely breathtaking. I hope you enjoy looking at my pictures, as much as I did taking them!

Before I end my ramblings, I must tell you about the zoo in Gaza, which for reasons, I will not be able to go to. But I did find out about why it is such a zoo to visit. They could not afford a zebra, so why would I want to go their? Please, my words cannot explain the phenominam of this story, take the time and read/glance over this article. It will certainly give you some laughs.

"there's more to the picture, then meets the eyes..."- n. young

Hey guys! I have already taken TONS of pictures! Of course, the only problem is cutting them down to put them on the web! While sometimes I'll post some on here, all the ones I choose to "edit" will be here ...(http://picasaweb.google.com/rtreiste) I really hope you enjoy! And i'll try my best to always post a rambling when I've put up new pictures...

*also, I figured out how to send e-mail notifications when I have posted a new blog... comment below if you would like me to add your e-mail address to the list!*

silly rabit, Trix are for kids!

About a month ago, I remember being in the supermarket browsing the cereal selection. I decided to feel like a kid again, and bought my old-childhood favorite, Trix. But I was completely disappointed when I got home, poured myself a bowl, and realized that the individual pieces were no longer shaped like the fruit the tasted of. Instead, they were just round, like all the other cereals in the world. They were no longer unique. And I was sad.

America has gotten so lazy, even the simplest things are no longer being done. The reason I loved Trix was not because of their super-great commercial, but because I enjoyed the different shape of the cereals. I'm pretty sure I used to even eat them one shape at a time. Knowing me, I probably refused to eat the grape shapes, until all the pretty blue "flowers" were gone!

Well, yesterday I went to an Israeli supermarket. Now, this wasn't a huge "Publix" type store, but more of a neighborhood market type. And out of the 10 or so cereals that they had, one was Trix. To my greatest surprise ever, it was the original cereal, shapes and all! I was so happy! And that is when it hit me, Israel is full of enjoying the simple things in life!

First, they don't have a blackberry or IPhone to buy here (those who want them have to get them from the staes). Most phones here still have 3 letters per number, and barely any has the internet, let alone e-mail! The phone I have is the same phone I had back in high-school. And I love it! (mostly because it has Snake, which if anyone remembers was the most amazing phone game ever!)

Also, the shampoo here is amazing. You guys know me, I have hair that if not taken care of properly, turns HUGE and FRIZZY. But now here. For the past week I haven't even used conditioner. I HAVE NEVER ONLY USED SHAMPOO! Yet, my hair is the best it has ever been! (which makes me think there is a huge market in America for Israeli shampoo, who's with me?)

So far, the only bad thing I have noticed about Israel is that Twilight:New Moon will not be coming out till December 10th. And i'll live with that (as long as someone promise to send me a bootleg version off their cell phone!)

68:2:1

68 females wearing white-long sleeve t-shirts under a shirt that shows skin.
2 females wearing a black-long sleeve t-shirt under their shirts that show skin.
1 female, out of the two wearing black-long sleeve t-shirts, pregnant.

I noticed it my first night in town, all the women wear these colorful and flowered tank tops, and low cut/off the shoulder shirts, and then "ruin" them with this white shirt. I don't understand. I always thought I dressed pretty conservative, never thought of myself as a "slutty" dresser, but now, wearing shorts, or a v-neck, i feel awkward, and stared at. awkward.

The funny thing is, I didn't notice that they were only wearing white, until I saw a young pregnant women wearing black. Then it hit me, maybe white is the good and black is the bad? Who knows... I'll have to look more into it.

Jet-lag is starting to kick-in. The family I am staying with expects so much from me. I feel bad being tired, and I'm starting to get sick. Yesterday, after i took a nap, Yehudah took me to the old city and kotel. Instantly memories of the past came flooding back to me! I remembered things I had not thought about in years. Crazy.

We walked down the old-qtrs and saw all the people selling "crap." it's all the same, walk a little past, and you'll find it again. TOURIST scheme if you ask me!

By the time we got to the actual wall,I was exhausted. I hadn't ate since my "toast" at breakfast (which is really two HUGE pieces of bread, with way to much butter, and 4 slices of really heavy cheese) at 10, and was just feeling sick. I am not used to the dairy products here, it is all heavy, and i can't eat it. (All i hate today was another one of these "toast" things, and I'm disgusted with myself, i am getting really excited to live on my own and being shopping for what i enjoy!)
Anyway, (sorry for the rambling about the toast) I barely wanted to take my camera out. And when Yehudah left me to go to the men's side, i took a couple pictures and waited, i was just to tired to go see g-d. I know I'll be back. So it's okay.

We then had to walk back. At this point all i wanted to do was sit, I could barely walk. I had to convince Yehudah not to walk back through the shuk, and finally I realized I was starving. After a way to long hike to find a restaurant, I asked for the first thing i saw, Pizza, and ate it all up. QUICKLY.

The thing is, they eat HUGE meals here. So for me,I get full easily, and they do not understand. After the pizza, I was completely full, but Yehudah wanted to take me to get a hamburger, I'm seriously shocked they eat this much.

Today I spent most of the day sleeping. When I first got up around 10, they wanted me to go to a Bat-Mitzvah with them, but I politely declined. I had to get some rest. It is 8:30 and I know I'll be going to bed soon. I know they look at me strangely, not in a bad way, just in a "how does she not eat" way. But honestly, I am not hungry. They eat SO MUCH, and it is all so heavy, I just simply could not imagine eating that. You should see the amount of butter (no, not "I can't believe it's not butter light") that they put on things.

But with all the ramblings aside, I am so excited and still happy as ever to be here! It is a wonderful world, and tomorrow, if I am up to it, I am going with Shira to the school she works at! Hopefully I will be able to get up and go at 6!

and the rambling begins...

Wow. My timing is still off, but I'm pretty sure it's been almost 24 hours since I turned off my American phone and left my parents at the gates at Miami International Airport... After an extremely long flight to London, where the only "joy" was watching a bad movie with a shirtless Ryan Reynolds, I breathed my first taste of European air.

I was completely surprised, and confused, about the fact I had to spend every minute of my two hour layover going on trains and standing in line. Apparently, London does not trust America, and I had to go through security all over again, which took forever. By the time I journeyed on a terminal bus, up an elevator, and on a train, I got to my gate just as I was supposed to board...
But still, I loved my time in Europe, and hope I will be back soon...

I fell asleep quickly on my next flight, my eyes were closed before we even got off the ground. And after around 5 hours, I arrived in Tel-Aviv.

The first thing I noticed, having forgotten mostly about my past trips here, were how "americanized" everything is. Even the sign for the airport is written in English.
After a quick ten minute line under a sign that read "foreign passport," which could have gone much quicker, except the guy in front of me was confused, I got my luggage and became nervous about going through customs. I saw two signs, a red one and a green one, and followed the massive crowed under the green sign. I was shocked, I was already outside. Yehudah later told me that it is mostly about stereotypes here. If I look like I have something to hide, then I will be stopped.

I was shocked.

During the hour drive to Jerusalem, I also realized more about this stereotype. Yehudah explained it to me as if we were driving on a path (en route to Jerusalem from Tel-Aviv), but on the left and right is Palestinian land... So when you go through a "check-point" (if we will call it that), all they do is ask how are you. If you sound strange/look weird, they stop you. I guess it works for them, but to me it seems strange.

Yehudah and I finally arrived in Ramot, and he had to have his son come down and bring my luggage up. Who would have known my 2 HUGE HEAVY bags would have to be walked up millions of steps. I even feel bad, because some how the family I am staying with is under the impression I will be "living" here. They are assuming I will be keeping things here, and only bringing some stuff with me to Ramlah next week. I keep on trying to tell them, but I do not think they understand.

We will see...

So before I start rambling more, I'm going to go enjoy my first night in Jerusalem! It is Simcha Torah today, so Yehudah and his wife are taking me on a night tour and to a park, where people apparently dance with Torahs!

Lehitraot...