The Rachel Chronicles

Another Siren

I seem to like writing about sirens. There is something about them that get me. Maybe its because I lived on HaTzfira St in Jerusalem (and הצפירה means "the siren"). I wrote about the siren on April 8, that was for Israel's first ever nation-wide emergency response drill. And I wrote about it again on Yom HaShoah, and once again for Yom HaZikaron. 

Today there was a different kind of siren - but it sounded the same, and evoked memories of sirens past. At lunch today, in the חדר אוכל (dining hall) we ran a fire drill with the campers. We prepared them by showing them which tables would leave the room through which doors. We told them where to go, and how to line up and be counted, so that we could be sure that they were all there. Many campers preemptively put their fingers in their ears. And then the bull horn sounded. The wave of the siren went up and down - and while I knew that I had a job to do, presently, at Camp Ramah, in my mind, I was standing in Jerusalem, experiencing the other kind of siren. The kind of siren that reminds you that there is a very real threat to our existence. 

I wrote in my April 8 posting (over at Instablogs) that I hoped never to hear the sound again. I heard it today, and for sure, it evoked a sense of fear and sadness within me. I suppose that is the point of the noise of a fire alarm, but for me, I know that the fear I was feeling was one of a powerful connection to the Jewish people. It was the siren that blares when a rocket is about to fall on S'derot. And it was the siren that blares telling all residents to hurry to a bomb shelter. 

It was not the same siren that stops people in their place, in memory and honor of our fallen soldiers. That one doesn't come in waves, rather it is one long blast. Still, it was a bit jarring to me to hear the siren, and see people not standing still out of respect. 

On unrelated הצפירה note, I found out (only by reading her blog!) that my friend Alyssa from our youth group years, many years ago, is spending the summer in my Jerusalem apartment! I'm not sure I can call it "my" apartment anymore - but looking at her pictures, certainly makes me miss it. How is it that I don't live there anymore?

A Big Round of Applause for MASA!

My MASA money arrived!!! Way to go State of Israel!!! (and Schechter, and Bank of America and all other bureaucratic institutions that plays a role in this historic and unprecedented event!) 

I think I'm still in Israel...

...but obviously I'm not.

When I close my eyes, I think I am still in Israel. I was lying in bed this morning, thinking about getting up to go to the bathroom. And in my head, that meant I was lying in my Israeli bed, needing to get up, leave my room, walk down the tiled hallway, in order to go into the bathroom (check for ants) and pee while looking out the windo into my neighbors backyard. Imagine my surprise when I realized my bathroom was attached to my carpeted room, and there were no neighbor's backyards to look at.

I lay in bed thinking about breakfast, and wanting the Honey Oat Clusters sitting on top of th fridge, and wondering if the milk is still good. I think about going to buy Kariot (an Israeli cereal that I love) at the little store down the street because I know that I ran out.

Its 6:30 in the morning, and when I got up, I thought, "too bad, its too early to call people". No. Its not too early. Its afternoon in Israel.

I got two emails from Schechter. One about a a program that I wasn't going to go to anyway - but now that I can't, I want to. And one from the secretary, asking me to call her. I reached for my phone before I remembered that I'd rather do it by email.

Even my computer still thinks I'm in Israel. The stats feature for this blog says that I've already had 28 visitors today! TWENTY-EIGHT visitors before 6:30 am!? Nope, twenty-eight visitors before 1:30pm.

In the past day, outside of Israel, I've spoken in Hebrew to strangers, signed my name with my Israeli signature, and said "40? thats not very expensive!", before realizing the price was in swiss francs.

My brain isn't quite sure where I am, but everyone else (and my to-do list) seem to think I'm in America. We'll see how well this all turns out...


ps. By the way, the NYTimes daily emails apparently comes in the morning?! Who knew?!! Every day I've been getting it after lunch! But it just arrived, as I was writing this post.

Zurich

Last time I was in Zurich, I spent $10 on a muffin, and was none too pleased with the internet situation. I'm doing a better job with the internet this time around, as I bought a day pass for $16 (I figured it was worth it, I'll be here for NINE hours). But I didn't fair much better this time with my food...

For $8.50, I got this cheese and tomato sandwich. The lettuce was gross, so it was obvious that was coming out. I initially thought about taking out the tomatoes too. But then I realized that would mean I spent over $8 on a piece of bread and three pieces of cheese. Even a delicious grilled cheese sandwich isn't worth that!













On the up side though, I found this cart (free!) very quickly upon leaving the plane. And it is still sitting next to me, holding my carry-on luggage. That was heavy stuff, so I am quite grateful for the Swiss people and their free luggage carriers!

 















I have one last picture for you. I took it with my Papa in mind, because I know that he loves this song. But it is for all of you Sound of Music fans out there. This was the store that I sat across from, when I ate my $8.50 sandwich.













See you back in Boston! (unless of course, in the next six hours before myflight, I coume up with something else to tell you) :)

Last Post from J'lem

Its after 11pm on Sunday night. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go. (I'm standing here outside your door....just kidding, I'm sitting on my bed writing to you). And this is probably my last post from Jerusalem.

All in all, I had a wonderful year. But you already knew that. What you don't know, is that I also had a wonderful last Shabbat. Weeks ago, Adam called and invited me to dinner for this weekend because he knew that it was my last Shabbat and that there would be guests in from out of town that I would love to see (Elnatan and Lianna). More recently, Elana and Doron decided to join in on the fun, and because we had the extra space, they stayed with me in my apartment. And even more recently than that, just this past Thursday, Yoav decided to join a group from his work that was coming to spend Shabbat in Jersualem (staying on Ha-Lamed Hey! just a few streets from me!).

Friday evening was lovely. I went to Shira Chadasha, which I typically enjoy on Friday nights (and true to form, it was great). Dinner was wonderful - and particularly delicious! Michelle asked for my meatball recipe, so that she could make them for dinner. It was perfect. They came out extremely well, and it meant that I got to eat one of my favorite meals, without needing to cook it myself! After dinner, I met up with Yoav for a nice walk around the neighborhood. Then, having a bad case of FOMT (fear of missing things, a terms coined by Elana), I tried to stay up for E&D's return home, but fell asleep.

Saturday morning I got up for shul, and was there for exactly the Shacharit Amidah and four aliyot. Then I decided it was time to go back home and finish getting ready for lunch. Lunch was a HUGE party! Lisa and I invited tons of people, who in turn, brought guests, to eat and hang out. But it turned out really well. There was plenty of food (but luckily, no leftovers), and lots of people to say good-bye to. And then as people trickled out, all that were left were all of my best-ies! (i've never called them that before, but I like it) :) E&D, A&M, Y, and a handful of other Brandeisians. It was a lovely afternoon! I really could not have asked for a better last Shabbat.

And now its Sunday night. My ride comes in a little over an hour. I've said my good-byes, stopped crying, and made plans for keeping in touch. I even have an online conversation date for tomorrow in the Zurich airport. You too can have one, if you want! :)

In Israel we don't say שלום (Shalom, good-bye), we say להתראות (L'hitraot, See you later). So...להתראת לישראל! See you later Israel! I'll be back, I promise!

Anticipating a lovely last Shabbat in J'lem

Although sad to know that this will be my last Shabbat in Jersualem for a while, I am actualy quite excited for it. Everyone that I love in this country will be a part of it - and that is really quite special. 

(more details and stories, and perhaps pcitures, if time, before or after Shabbat allows, will come soon!)

Shabbat Shalom!

I got Carried away

As I walked home last night, after seeing the Sex and the City movie and parting ways with Michelle, I found myself listening to the sound of my flip-flops hit the pavement and noting the cellphone in my hand. I felt like I should be holding a cigarette and wearing expensive high-heals instead.

I walked with a little extra swing in my step, down the empty dark road leading to my apartment. And Carrie Bradshaw's voice was doing that contemplative voice-over thing in my head. Yes, it was that good a movie that I was still living it as I walked home.

I was hoping her voice would write me a blog post about the movie - but alas, nothing.

Great movie!  I highly recommend it! Go see it!

How do you measure, measure a year?

The musical Rent answers that question with "in daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife."

Here's how I measure it. In bus tickets:




















It started out innocently enough. I put my bus tickets into my wallet, and very quickly a small collection grew. I took them out when I got home, but they never made it into the trash. Eventually, I deliberately took them out of my wallet and put them someplace safe. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them (still not), but thought maybe they'd be material for an art project or something. At the very least, they make for a cool picture!

Here's the break-down (in case you were keeping track):
220 rides on eged buses using a cartisi'a (buy 10 rides at once, get a discounted price)
13 rides on dan buses that print out those long thin white tickets
2 rides on an eged bus that were pre-bought at the counter in the central bus station
3 days worth of rides using a hofshi-yomi (a day pass) in Tel Aviv - I counted these as 2 rides each.
8 rides on dan buses that tear off their tickets from a stack of them, most commonly from the Tel Aviv bus station or riding around Ramat Gan with Yoav.
1 ride in Eilat - but with three tickets for it!
77 rides on eged buses, both inner-city and intra-city that were printed off on those one-time (or there-and-back) tickets.

total: 324

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life? How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of love.
(and bus rides)

Dreaming about TP

For me, my dreams have always allowed me to play out my fears and anxieties. Before an important encounter that I recently had, I dreamt about it. It went reasonably well in my state of unconscious being, so I allowed that to calm my nerves when I was fully awake. And for the record, I was right - that meeting went extremely well, and I was happy to see that my dream was right!

I have a long to-do list to accomplish before I leave Israel in four days. On that list is to pack, to finish my final exams, to clean my room, etc. Not on that list, however, is buying toilet paper.

You see, we have just a few rolls left from the very large package of toilet paper, and between those and tissues, I am determined not to have to waste money on buying another package of toilet paper! I even told my houseguests for Shabbat (E&D) to bring a roll, just in case. [for real, I'm sure that I won't run out - I just like to have enough around, you know, to look at.]

Apparently, this precarious state is making me nervous, because I had a dream last night that involved me hording tp from Meg's house! (which yes, is irrational, because Meg lives in Boston - not exactly a quick pop over to borrow a roll)

So Meg - thanks for still being my friend, even though I apparently dream about stealing from you! And I'll work hard not to  let this one dream come true!

Waiting is hard!

With four days left in Israel before the summer, I have found myself in a waiting game. I am waiting for decisions to be made, answers to be given, phone calls to be returned, and results to be delivered. Some of this is in the realm of "personal life" and some of it is in the realm of "professional life" and a job search.

I look at the clock and immediately do math processing. "Ok, that email won't come today, because its already midnight in the States" or "Ok, that phone call isn't coming today, because working hours are over here in Israel", I say to myself. "Maybe it'll happen tomorrow", is my consolation. I look at my phone and email with anticipation, only to have it unfulfilled. I distract myself with friends, TV, books, the idea of packing etc. But I also find myself checking my computer obsessively for information.

Oy... It's hard being patient!