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!
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