April is tomorrow!!

Oh what a week its been!

Last Shabbat I spent in Herzliya with Eva and it was incredibly fun.  She wanted to make sure that I point out that we don't only go to museums when we are together, but also we see movies (I guess so that everyone wouldn't think that she was only very cultural).  In fact, on Sunday we went to see 2 movies back to back.  My butt hurt by the end, but the moveis were enjoyable.  Definitely go see the one about Freud and Jung, I can't remember the English name and the Hebrew translation name was not worth remembering... The day before that we had a litte road trip... went to the Recanti Museum in Caesarea and then spent the day in Zichron Yaacov.  It was such a beautiful day out and it so enjoyable to be in the sun!!

Recanti Museum

The courtyard with a touch of the Alhambra

A cute sign I saw in Zichron

I had the opportunity this week to spend time with family and it was all very enjoyable.  On Monday I got a tour of Ramat Aviv with my mom's cousin and her husband and on Wednesday I drove to Jerusalem to see my aunt and cousins.  It was also extremely enjoyable to be driving again!  Thanks to Omer I had a car that I could use to get there easily.  I plugged in my music and cruised through the mountains as I ascended the holiest city in the world.  Its always breathtaking to reach Jerusalem.  The exhilaration never dies...

Driving in Israel is an interesting phenomenon as well.  Most drivers, I would say, are selfish and crazed.  They rarely give the right of way and believe that they are the only ones deserving of being on the road.  Honking is a constant.  My favorite is when the light changes from red to yellow (and will eventually change to green) the car behind you is already honking.  You need a lot of patience and self confidence to get behind the wheel of a car in this country.  Its because of this insane driving that bikers have to ride on sidewalks here as well.  This to me is nuts.  The streets in Tel Aviv are packed with pedestrians who have to watch themselves so closely when stepping foot onto the pavement and yet even on the sidewalks (their own safe territory) they have to be careful as not to be mauled by bikers.

On Thursday, my roommate Yael and I decided we were going to take a walking tour through Neve Tzedek, a beautiful and artsy neighborhood in Tel Aviv.  We brought our cameras and our goal was so to capture the beauty.  It was a gorgeous day that culminated (as any day should) with sitting at a cafe with a delicious cappuccino (or in Hebrew, Cafe HaFuch and "dal" in my case which means skinny).  Milk by the way, is another interesting phenomenon.  In the US I drink skim milk (I know, not really milk by most people's standards) and I like it because it gives a little sense of creaminess without too much of a milk flavor, which I am not a fan of.  Here, most places serve 3% milk.  To me, thats like drinking directly from the cow's udder.  Most places will have 1% milk which is considered "light".

There are many great pictures that came out from this day, I will include a bunch... but keep scrolling down so you can read about Friday's adventure.

Tel Aviv beauty

Got fabric?

Long Live Israel

Rounded mirrors make me a fatty

Good inspiration for a mailbox

An invitation to sit?

Love this picture!

Tel Aviv's newest attraction, "the station".  No, its not a Holocaust reference.  It used to be a train station

Unsure of why this was put here, but it looks cool!

We are very PC in this country

Lady walks dogs or dogs walk lady?

Seriously, what could be better than this.  The finish line with a mosque behind it.

 Friday was the Tel Aviv marathon.  Preparations were underway well before this week, but you could definitely feel the excitement in the air the night before.  The only illogical thing to me was that the clock changed here between Thursday and Friday.  The poor marathoners lost an additional hour of sleep even on the night that they were running a race at 6:30 a.m.  Crazy.  The last chunk of the marathon was int he neighborhood near my apartment so I decided I was going to race crash.  I went around 10 a.m. and joined in the race.  I have to admit I had a guilty conscience the WHOLE TIME.  People were cheering and taking pictures, they were passing out water and wanting high fives and I felt like a cheater.  :(  I didn't cross the finish line because I felt that it would be rude, so I ducked out once the finish line came into view.  That in itself was a bit awkward because there were lots of people around and I needed to find the perfect place to stop so nobody would notice and say, "KEEP GOING!  YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!!!"

Anyway, it was a great run and I was glad I did it.  Especially since I didn't run the Shamrock Shuffle this year and I had wanted to run it and beat last years time.  I did, however, wear my shuffle shirt to the TLV marathon.

Tomorrow I am heading on a three day trip with Helene to go up north. Some trekking and fun!!  And next week is Passover.  More details to follow next time!!  Hugs and kisses ya'll!

Thank God for Ipods

The heart may freeze or it can burn
The pain will ease if I can learn

There is no future
There is no past
Thank God this moment's not the last

There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret-- or life is yours to miss.
No other road
No other way
No day but today

There's only yes
Only tonight
We must let go
To know what is right
No other course
No other way
No day but today

I can't control
My destiny
I trust my soul
My only hope
is just to be

There's only now
There's only here
Give in to love
Or live in fear
No other path
No other way
No day but today

Its all about me

So this week has been a ME kind of week... I've had a few lazy days (which after last weeks intensive travel is a total necessity!) and a lot of time to think through "things".  I went for a long walk today on the beach and then by the Yarkon River park (which btw has been totally renovated and is beautiful).  Tel Aviv has become a magnificent city.  Its definitely not the same place it was when I was a child.  The architecture is also incredible.  There is always something to look at.  I feel like I walk through the city with the widest open eyes.  There is a bauhaus tour that leaves every Saturday at 11 a.m. from Rothschild Street and I really want to take it one of these days.  I kind of wish that before I came here I would've bought myself a Lonely Planet guide for Israel so it would've given me a little more of the behind-the-scenes info to check out.

Monday night I went to the wedding of my friend Jamie Billow.  It was definitely fun!  I got to see some people I havent seen in a long time.  Israeli weddings are quite interesting.  Not that I've been to so many to critique it, but I find it fascinating to see the similarities and many differences between a Jewish wedding here and at home.  I think the thing that stands out the most is how rude the audience is during the actual wedding ceremony.  Everyone was having their own personal side conversation and they were LOUD.  It was shocking.  I mean, even thinking back to this summer when I officiated Jill's wedding.  Had people been talking that would have been so distracting!!  Anyway, the bride and groom seemed so happy and so in love and that is the best part of any wedding!

The best news of the week is that yesterday on March 20th (almost 2 months after I opened up a bank account in Israel) I finally got a correct password to the account!!  So now, I can finally take out money.  How ridiculous is that?!  Two months... geez.  On Monday my mom told me that I can go to a teller and use the card without having a password.  That magical sentence could have been helpful much earlier, however when I went to go and do that I found that I waited 45 MINUTES until someone could help me.    The whole take out money experience lasted a whole minute and a half.  Apparently only one person works as a teller at the MAIN BRANCH of the bank in TEL AVIV.  That makes sense, right?  As my mother would say..."welcome to Israel, have a nice day."

One more side jab.  I finally got my insurance information this week too.  In case you were all wondering, I apparently changed my last name too.  The insurance info reads, "Leehe Mata Kon"  What part of the world do you think I come from with that name??  Suggestions are welcomed.  Maybe that place should be my next getaway destination.


In all seriousness though, this week has been kind of hard.  I am faced with many questions about my future.  I am unsure of what I want to do.  Its hard to feel connected to two places at once.  When I am here I feel so American, when I am home I feel so Israeli.  Its almost a comedy of errors... Why do we torment ourselves with our own decisions?  I know that I came here to see if this was a place I would want to live.  On one hand I can see that life.  I know that with time I can create a life for myself here and be happy.  On the other hand, I can see how hard it is to live here, the challenge of being able to support myself, live in the city, have a life, be financially independent from my parents.  Those are things that I have easily in Chicago.  And on the other hand, when I think about Chicago, I miss my city, my home, my family, its a place that I don't want to be apart from.  And how do you choose?

For now, I am content with continuing to figure it out.  One day at a time.

I'll end with some good words of wisdom I was given this week from my scholarly friend Phillip.  He said, "Leehe, Be good to yourself. Be kind to yourself.  Your soul needs it."

Here are some pics from this week.

This is one of Eva's sculptures that was in an exhibit in Tel Aviv, one of four that she had in the exhibit

The beautiful Tel Aviv beach

This is at the port.  There is a small airport called Sde Dov nearby and the plane was just about to land

HaYarkon River Park

This sign says, "No Swimming" but there isnt even enough water to swim in?  Maybe to wade in...

HaYarkon Park, Tel Aviv

This is part of a city wide effort to get dog owners to clean up after their dogs.  Its kind of repulsive that in the year  2012 there are still people who let their dogs shit all over the city.  The sidewalks are full of poop.  You almost have to dodge it sometimes.

You can rent little paddle boats in the "river"

My favorite store in Tel Aviv

The Tel Aviv Marathon is in a week.  They are already set up for the expo!  Chris, are you coming?

They renovated Kikar Rabin and added a little pond with a fountain and lilypads.  Its actually really pretty.

"Candy Makes Me Happy"

That quote was found on a little girl's shirt today.  She was about 10 years old, cute, and pudgy.  I agree with the sentiment.

So... I've been a bit MIA in the last two weeks and I apologize for that.

Lets see if I can summarize two weeks ago.  I was in Herzliya with Eva (a close family friend who is like my pseudo grandmother).  I found an apartment during that time- a sublet until the end of May with two other girls.  Its a nice apartment and fully furnished and some place to be in the time being until I get things sorted in my own head.  I had two interviews that week as well for the same place of work, was offered the job, but then turned it down.  I don't want to rush into taking any job just for the sake of working.  I think that I have some questions in my own mind at the moment and I'd like to answer them before taking a job... that might not make sense to everyone, but I am living for myself right now and I feel good about my decision.

Late last week before I moved into the apartment, my friend Omer had visitors arrive from Germany, Jenni and Bastion.  Jenni and Omer studied together at Parsons in NYC and her and her boyfriend Basti decided to come and visit Israel for 9 days.  First of all, that in itself is amazing to me.  Two intelligent people knowing no one but Omer in Israel and still wanting to come to vacation and learn more about the people and places.  Incredible.  I ended up spending most of the week with them and it was just incredible.

Last Friday we drove out to Omer's parents Moshav (near Ashkelon) and had a fantastic Shabbat dinner with his parents.  That was the same day that Israel killed the terrorists in Gaza.  On the drive home there were some rockets that fell in a field really close to the moshav and we saw the Kipat Barzel/ Iron shield missiles that Israel sends to try and stop the rockets.  It was weird.  We all noticed funny things in the sky and said, "hmmmm, those are some weird looking fireworks."  It wasn't until Omer's mom called to tell us what was going on that we pieced it all together.  I think for Jenni and Basti that was more of Israel than they ever wanted to see!?

On Saturday I moved into my sublet apartment.  It took me a day to get set up, but its a nice place with two really sweet roommates.  One is an American who made aliyah about 1.5 years ago and the other an Israeli.  I will have to take some pictures and then post them next time.  The nice thing about a sublet is that the room is already furnished.  Although I must admit that I miss my princess bed tremendously...

This week I took time and traveled through Israel with Jenni and Basti.  We had an awesome day in Jerusalem, 2 days up north, and a day at the Dead Sea.  It was a really great week.  I think two realizations really stand out about it.  One, I really love teaching about Israel.  I love talking about Israel.  I love making other people see what I see.  I love exploring both old things and new things alike.  I got to wear the tour guide hat for a whole week and it was incredible.  Two, I had some really good conversations about life and politics, about education and culture, and about the US, Germany, and Israel.

I think that when I was little it was normal to hear American Jews talk about Germany in a negative tone.  "Don't buy that car its German made", "Why would you want to go to Germany on your trip", "What a terrible language to hear/study, etc".  Its quite understandable given history that people would have negative feelings post war and even in the generation that followed, but I think that in some cases this "distrust" of Germans has even made it into my own generation.  It's as if people equate all Germans to Nazis.  Clearly, this is not one and the same.

I have always been fascinated by the Holocaust, my maternal grandparents were both Holocaust survivors.  I didn't really know either of them but I am 100% certain that everything they experienced changed their life tremendously and affected the way that they raised their children both consciously and unconsciously.  I am 100% certain that my mother was affected by the "survivor" psychosis that she was raised with and I am also 100% certain that my upbringing was probably somehow affected by the continued generational "survivor" psychosis.  Its natural to be affected by one's own history, but I have to say that this negative idea and commentary of Germany/Germans really irks me and I want to make a point to address it here in my blog.

I have traveled a lot in the last 10 years and have always been intrigued by how many Germans I meet in my travels.  Its impressive that the younger German generation is very eager to see the world and learn about other cultures. I would really recommend at some point to have a conversation with someone from Germany about what it is like growing up there given their country's history.  Or ask about how Holocaust education is taught there.  Or even ask what they know about Jews/Judaism.  Its quite fascinating to discuss and you'll learn a lot.

This week of conversations inspired some thoughts, so here are some bullet points:

-  Everyone should be able to have pride in who they are and where they come from
- We can't always carry the world's history on our shoulders
- Living in the past will not lead us anywhere.  Live in the present (hence the name of the blog!)
- We should be required to open our eyes always and see things from every perspective
- Laughter is the best medicine
- There is beauty in everything, sometimes you need to dig a little deeper to find it and sometimes not

I have a lot of pictures from these past two weeks.  I'll have to pick out the best ones to post today, although once I get more from Jenni and Basti I may post them later on too.  Enjoy!

This is a life guard stand.  Does it remind anyone else of the Jetsons?

Design Museum, Holon

Exhibit at Design Museum which has a screen looking like snow until you sit down in front of it and then it creates the image that it sees.  In this case, me and Eva.

This boat reads, "Party boat up to 150 people"

Matalon Street.  Could you think of a better place?

Ceiling of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

One of many "Stonehenges" at the beach

Rosh Hanikra in the cave.  I've NEVER seen it like this.  Usually its so calm and turquoise.  This was scary!
See the video below!

                                  

Laundry, Akko

cat party?

Golan Winery, prost!

One of the many stupid made for tourist t-shirts sold in Israel.

Seriously? Who buys this shit?

Israel serves delicious food.  This is some kind of wheat grain with roasted veggies and tehina"

                   

                   

                         Neve Tzedek is full of amazing art.  This is someone's balcony.

Tel Dan, Northern Israel

Tel Dan, Northern Israel

Upper Galilee/Golan Heights

The meaning of this sign was unclear to me.

A lovely window.