Recap on my first week of winter break!!!

So as of last Thursday, yearcourse has been on winter break :p Now, most of my friends have either gone home, gone to Europe or have family visiting them. Me? I decided to be a nomad for two weeks visiting friends that I haven't had the chance to see yet. What I didn't think through was that no one else in Israel is on break. My friends in school still have school and my friends in the army are still there! In Israel, they only have break for Hannukah because they don't celebrate Christmas (obviously) and New Years isn't a big deal here (it's called sylvester).
My break started off really good because it was my camp friend's birthday! She was hosting a party at an American bar in Tel Aviv called Mike's Place. I had the best night because I got to see so many Israelis that I know from camp that I didn't get the chance to see before!!! I was on cloud nine all night :) I even got to hang out with my counselor from 2009 and meet his girlfriend!!!

The next day I had a really nice Shabbat dinner with my grandparents and my second family, The Amranis (really old friends of my mom's). It's always nice to feel like I have family here and big Shabbat dinners are a really great way to get rid of homesickness :) The following days were spent at my grandparents. I was there from Saturday to Tuesday and it was soooo relaxing. I just got a few days to myself and I got some time to do work that I wouldn't have time to do otherwise :)

When I got back to Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon, literally Beit Ar-El was a ghost town. I live in a 15 girl apartment and currently only one other girl is here with me! I hung out with a few people who were still here and I went with a friend to a local community center to watch a game of wheelchair basketball! That was super fun!

The next day me and a few girls woke up bright and early to get to Haifa!!! After spending about three hours traveling, we finally got to the Bahai Gardens to find out that we came on the only day that no tours are offered and all the shrines were already closed.... COOL. So we walked around the gardens and took a million pictures because everything was so pretty. Also let me add that Haifa is just like San Francisco... the streets are so steep I literally was going to pass out when we went from one garden to the next....

And to end my travels in Haifa I met up with a friend from camp that I haven't seen since August!!! Missed this kid :) He took me to a place called "Sof Haolam" which means in Hebrew end of the world. When he camp to California this summer I took him to a lookout point near my house and lets just say that this place is way prettier than Strawberry Hill :p

Now I'm going to go do my homework..... boooooooo

My first week of classes!!!

This week was so exciting!!!!!
This was my first real week of Jerusalem so my classes started. Its actually crazy how much I love my almost all of my classes! This blogpost is completely dedicated to all of my classes and what they're about!
Ulpan: I have ulpan four days a week now (instead of two). In Jerusalem we have seven levels and I am in the highest level!! This is cool and a bit scary... Although my ability to speak Hebrew has really improved since I've been here, I am sad to say that my reading and writing is just not quite there yet...... My teacher gave me a bunch of different excercises to work on during break so I'm hoping that will help! I also love my class (almost everyone in that class has Israeli parents haha). Also, a YJ staff member is taking ulpan with us which is really cool! Shoutout to Camille!!!! :)
Power of Persuasion: This class is AMAZING. A representative for a pro-Israel advocacy organization called The David Project teaches how to correctly advocate for Israel on the topic of the crisis with the Palestinians. Our teacher always plays devil's sdvocate with us and really gets us to think about this issue way more than before. I have already learned so much and we have only had two classes! Can't wait to see how the rest of the semester goes! I'm gonna be a pro at defending Israel :)
Jewish Art: This is a class that has been very interesting.We have been learning about art throughout the ages. So far we haven't touched on Jewish Art, but we have learned about the Greeks, Egyptians, Islam and Christianity and others as well! I really like my teacher, he is SO funny. I find myself jotting down funny "Avi quotes" in my notebook during lectures....
Jewish and Holocaust Film: This class is going to be really tough. We are going to see movies about the Holocaust and just Jewish movies in general. We are also going to be learning how to write detailed reviews of these movies which should be interesting. This class has a lot of work, but that's okay with me. I already have two movies to watch over the break.... :p
History of Jerusalem: This is a siyur class! What this means is that every class is a trip somewhere!!! we only have this class once a week. Our first trip was to a place called Gush Etzion. This is across the west bank, so our bus had bulletproof windows (lol). Our first stop was a road that is supposedly the road that Abraham and his people used. VERY COOL

A mikveh from the time period:

beautiful views:

We had a lesson outside about the story of Abraham and where he went (not my thing, but whatever) and learned alot about the history Judaism and how that relates to where we were. Kinda cool to think that I could be walking on the same land that Abraham did....

Beautiful scenery in the West Bank

Our second stop was at the Tayelet (lookout point) In Jerusalem. At this point you can see all of Jerusalem from the Old city to the New City. Literally SUCH a breathtaking view.

Here, we sat and talked about the story when Abraham was about to sacrifice his only son to God and then and angel stopped him right before he was about to do it saying that he passed God's test and now God knew he was loyal. As a final wrap up we discussed the story and then went home.

Hadracha: This is my favorite class!!!! The assistant head of my section, Laz is very experienced in leadership for young people and he is teaching a class on how to teach leadership to others!! This class is perfect for me because I want to be a regional director at BBYO at some point in my life! Our sessions are all about programming and psychology and relationships. This really is the perfect class for me :)

Safe to say my classes are great :) I'm so excited for this semester!!!!

And now that I have had only a week of classes it is time for winter break!!!!!

Shabbat Byachad in Jerusalem!

I'm not going to lie, it STILL has not hit me that I do not live in Arad anymore. It's super weird for me to actually adjust to the fact that I am living in Jerusalem especially when winter break is right around the corner... (Yay for being a nomad for two weeks!)
Anyway..... ever since we have arrived to Jerusalem we have been in the process of settling in. That means lots of unpacking (and realizing what I have lost through the change over) and lots of shopping and maps. We arrived to Jerusalem on Tuesday and that was basically all unpacking and getting a feel for our new home. For those of you who don't know, in Jerusalem, year course lives on a campus called Beit Ar-El. This is not like Arad where we are scattered throughout the city. I am pretty excited to live within yelling distance of my whole section :) Also, I live in an apartment with fourteen other girls and that means that my apartment is super big! Not to mention my room. I am rooming with three of my best friends and we have the biggest room in the apartment!!!!

Our first full day involved a lot of sitting and listening. Here in Jerusalem we are going to be taking Hebrew class everyday along with a few others. We also have the choice to learn full time or do part time learning and part time volunteering. I have chosen to do full time learning because I want to earn a year's worth of credits while on year course. So far I am signed up for Level 7 Ulpan (the highest level), Jewis Art, History of Jerusalem (every class is a trip somewhere in Jerusalem), Judaism through Anthropology, Leadership and the Power of Persuasion. All of these classes have a Jewish base and they all seem very interesting. Also, year course provides a very informal education environment and I think these classes will be very enjoyable because of it. Oh, and my favorite thing about my Hebrew class???? One of the year course staff members is going to be taking class with us! She's the parent liaison and literally everyone loves her! I am so excited that she's going to be taking class with us because we all love her sooo much.
After dealing with all of our classes we went on a scavenger hunt which is meant to show us the important places in Bacca, Jerusalem. We were sent to the mall, a shopping strip on Emek Refaim, the gym/clalit, our bomb shelter (yes I live in Israel so I need a bomb shelter just in case) and lastly the supermarket. Yay food!!!!
After a long day of orientation, my section went exploring at Ben Yehuda street and it was really fun to be out with my whole section again because we have been separated for so long!!!

The next day we woke up bright and early to get to the Jerusalem central bus station to get our bus passes for Jerusalem!!! For those of you who have never had the pleasure of the experience let me paint a picture for you... the rav-cav office (rav-cav is the name of the buss pass) is just as crowded as the DMV. Does that help you understand??? My friends and I explored the bus station while we waited (the station is full of shops and restaurants so it wasn't hard to keep busy). I bought new earphones that finally work!!!!! Not like they are my fourth pair on year course or anything..... ANYWAY this is what my bus pass looks like......

After that delightful experience my apartment and I went to the shuk! Although Machne Ben Yehuda is not as big as the shuk in Tel Aviv, it's still pretty awesome. We bought all of our fruits and veggies and even did some Hanukah shopping for our friends and family. And then we took the bus ride home using our bus passes and feeling very Israeli.
That night when we went out again I got to see two of my really good friends from camp, Eli and Josh, who did year course two years ago!! They thought it was funny to see year coursers hanging out at the same places they did just two years ago. It was really great to see them :)

On Friday we were free until 3:30 so my friends and I decided to take advantage of the free time and so we explored Bacca. We went on this amazing street called Emek Refaim which has so many cool shops and restaurants! Sushi and bagels are a thing in real cities (not Arad). I'm so excited to be able to treat myself to actually good restaurants!!!! We walked around and enjoyed the pre-Shabbat rush. Later we treated ourselves to DELICIOUS sushi!! YUMM. When we got back to our apartments, we dressed for shul and were on our way.

My friends and I attended a modern Orthodox shul called Shira Hadasha. The shul was HUGE and so beautiful!!!! It was so nice to attend services at such a huge place with such a big community. Also, kids from Nativ (the USY year course) were there so it was nice that we weren't the only Americans. Also since Jerusalem is filled with people who have made Aliyah, the service was led in Hebrew and English. I would really like to go back to that shul I really think that it was so special and just being at Shabbat services in the Holy City is a really cool thing. Also the people of the shul always offer their houses for Shabbat dinner so I am definitely going to do that with my friends during my time here. After we got back from services we all had Shabbat dinner together and discussed Jewish Heroes (because that was the theme of this Shabbat Byachad). That night was a closed night, so we weren't allowed to leave Beit Ar-El. So I hung out in my apartment with my friends and it was a really nice and calm night.

For Shabbat morning Kiddush, we walked over to a beautiful lookout which showed all of Jerusalem from the Old City (the real OC) to the business/New City of Jeursalem. WOW what a sight!!!

We held Kiddush there, we shared stories, we reflected on the week and we continued the topic of Jewish Heroes by discussing controversial Jewish heroes. The kiddush was very relaxing and very beautiful. I want to walk to that lookout point at least once a week and maybe journal or do my homework there. After we got back we ate lunch before going to the kotel! YAY!
We walked to the kotel from Beit Ar-El (only a 30 in walk tops which isn't bad). Once we got there we had about an hour of free time to visit the wall. (I have no pictures because of Shabbat :[ ). I went to the wall and I reflected on my week, thought of goals for this week and for the whole trimester. I also thought about my cousin Tslil and prayed for her like always. This time I also thought about the families in Connecticut and the kids who witnessed what happened. I thought about them and sent them all the love I could. Not a second has gone by without me thinking of those poor kids. Such a shame that the murderer didn't just kill himself and not 26 innocent children and adults.
For Havadallah, we went to a Rabbi from New Jersey's house and all 66 of us crammed into his tiny living room to hear him pray fro the end of Shabbat. he led such a beautiful Havdallah (my favorite service) and I'm so happy we did with him. I hope to be able to go to his house for Shabbat dinner soon he's a very interesting man.

I had a great Shabbat with my section and now that Shabbat is over, my time in Jerusalem really starts! Tomorrow is my first day of classes!!!! Weird that I'm kind of excited to be learning again......
Goodnight and Shavua Tov!

Changeover between Arad and Jerusalem

So between every switch, year coursers get a two day break so that year course staff can prepare the apartments for the new residents. For this changeover, section three left Arad (so sad) and then went straight to the Dead Sea for a bbq and relaxing time. FINALLY I went in!!!! This was literally the first time that I had been into the Dead Sea since at least like fifth grade so I was pretty excited! I forgot how weird it is to float. Sadly this is not the kind of ocean that you can be in for hours so I didn't spend much time there. BUT it is safe to say that the Dead Sea is literally the most gorgeous place....

AM I RIGHT OR NOT????

So that was a very chill afternoon with my whole section which was nice since we've been split up for the past three months!!!

Our next stop was the Bedouin tent!!! All of year course stayed at these touristy bedouin tents where we were served yummy tea while we froze in the middle of the negev. The night was great because I made a lot of new friends from section 1 &2 :) 

Friends from Section 2:

At seven AM we woke up to ride camels!!!  Aviva and I shared one! I absolutely love riding camels it is so fun hehe!

Lastly, section three went on a trip with the "religious year course" (Shalem) to the Judaean foothills where there are over a thousand caves that were used apparently in the days of the Maccabees (very relevant to Hannukah). The trip itself might have been much better if it wasn't freezing and raining. We were all just dying to get to our new home already!!!! 

Stay tuned for my first week of Jerusalem living!!!!!