Glass Elevator

Classes are finally in full swing and my days are quickly filling up with class instead of adventures in the Old City. But I am learning tons and I'm very excited about my classes and new opportunities. 

My Israeli Foreign Policy class is so amazing! My professor is Dr. Meron Medzini who has worked as the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister for many prime ministers. I am learning foreign policy from him! Not only is he full of knowledge but he has an Israeli sense of humor which keeps the class very interesting. Israeli's are know for their dry and sarcastic humor. His comment in class today was, "The French said we could go there, and only about 4 Jews went." I've spent the last two days trying to soak up any knowledge of his I can. The more I learn about the Israeli-Palestine Conflict the more I see how complicated it really is. I know this class will probably be my favorite. 

I unfortunately, am required to continue with Hebrew… Lo Tov (No Good in Hebrew). 

My other two classes were uneventful but interesting. I am taking my first field trip next week for my archeology class! We are going to Herodin a castle built by King Herod. Sitting in class today I owe my grandmother Mem a huge thank you for teaching me the little I know about archeology. Thanks to her I could already identify which type of columns the Romans built in Jerusalem (Corinthian Style). My professor is an archeologist who works part time for my school and the other part excavating ancient ruins all over Israel. 

The greatest part of my week was my interview for my internship. I applied to be an intern at a public relations/marketing firm called Ruder Finn. They are based out of Jerusalem do marketing worldwide. You can learn more about the company here:

http://www.finnpartners.com/

When I arrived for my interview I was a bit intimidated by the huge office building with glass elevators. I came straight from class and still had my backpack on, which was not the most professional look. Also Israel is not a fan of backpacks because they seem to pose a constant security threat. So after I made it through security to get into the building I rode the glass elevator to the third floor and was ready! My interview went great and he hired me on the spot! He offered me a position as the intern helping at the the Israeli President's Conference. This Conference is hosted every year by the Israeli President. Leaders from around the world come for the 3 day conference in June. Ruder Finn is the International Media Manager, meaning they deal with all the press and media issues. I am so excited to be able to work at such an amazing event! I will spend the next couple of months working on the Ruder Finn team planning the event, then will work the entire event. Although I have very little experience in marketing or public relations I am very excited to learn from the best firm in Israel. I am still pinching myself to make sure this is real life! 

I feel like I have a real life in Israel now, not just a tourist. I still can not believe I got the internship and have been given this amazing opportunity. 

xoxo, 

Katy Ann 

One Month

A little over a month has passed since I first stepped off the plane in Tel Aviv. I literally can not believe I have only been here for a month. I feel like Israel is home and I know this city. The friends I have met feel like my family. It is hard to believe in one month I could feel so at home in a place so far away. 

I took my Ulpan final on Thursday. I have finally finished a month of intensive Hebrew! I AM SO HAPPY FOR IT TO BE OVER! I had never even seen the Hebrew alphabet a month ago and a few days ago I read aloud a paragraph in class. Although I am no where near a fluent speaker I have made so much progress. I can speak a little (written in Hebrew is קטן and pronounced "kisat") Hebrew, enough to survive. I am really astonished by how much I have learned. I can actually listen to conversations and understand parts of it. Sometimes I can even chime in! But I am so HAPPY for Ulpan to finally be over! I will continue to take Hebrew once I start my real classes, but the best way to get better is to speak, speak and speak! 

I managed to not have Sunday classes so I will have a 3 day weekend. I am taking Foreign Policy of Israel, Negotiating Middle East Peace and Roman-Byzantine Archaeology. The Archaeology class consists of field trips every week. I've heard from past students that classes here are really interesting but not very hard. But my Middle East Peace class has a 25 page term paper, luckily there is a lot to write on the subject! 

Friday night Marissa and I went to another families home for Shabbat dinner. It is becoming quite the tradition. The father was a Rabbi and was very unconventional. The apartment was decorated in bright colors with a disco ball and streamers hanging from the ceiling. The Rabbi said he decorated his home this way because it reflects his lifestyle and personality, he also added his wife did not object and so he could. It was a really fun and long dinner. We arrived before sunset about 5:30 and did not leave his house until after midnight. It was very different than the other homes we had been to because he was almost a hippie Orthodox man. When we did Kiddish (a blessing before the meal where you drink wine, it is all in Hebrew so I'm not actually sure what is going on) he went around and gave us all these weird almost fortune teller blessings. He was really fun and his stories kept us laughing all night. Of course another group of Rabbi's in training also attended dinner. It is like the Orthodox blind date. The Rabbi was entertaining and so dinner was an experience and a lot of fun. 

Saturday morning I went with Jacki to a Bat Mitvah. Jacki works at a camp and one of her campers was having her Bat Mitvah and invited her. It was at a reformed synagogue so it was very laid back compared to the Orthodox dinner. It was all in Hebrew but the songs were beautiful. Jacki clued me in on what was going throughout the service so I kept up pretty well. It was a joyous occasion though and everyone was very excited! I met a man whose wife was from Winston-Salem and she went to UNC, it is always nice to meet someone with connections to North Carolina. The service was followed by a brunch with bagels of course. 

Late Friday night and all day Saturday it hailed in Jerusalem! I never thought it would hail in the Middle East, the sandbox of the world! But as we were walking home from Shabbat Dinner hail started coming down. Israeli's are worse than Southerners with snow. Just like in North Carolina everyone rushes to get the essentials, here it is hummus and pita. Not even an inch of freezing rain/hail/snow fell in the city but everyone was so excited. Snow does not happen often here so when it does it is a big deal.

I have been astonished by the generosity of the Israeli people. I have been taken in to peoples homes. They have fed me and loved me for no reason what so ever, simply out of the kindness of their hearts. I hope to take that back with me to the US. We should all share a meal with strangers every once in awhile. 

xoxo 

Katy Ann 

ps. I posted more pictures on shutter fly 

Apple Pie!

Shabbat has become my favorite holiday and luckily it happens once a week. 

On Friday I went on a tour with my school to the caves and caverns outside of Jerusalem. We left at 8am on friday morning so I was not feeling like Miss America. We traveled outside the city to caverns that were man-made. They were originally quarries but had been used by many different peoples to hide or store things. The caves were beautiful and we sang Jewish camp songs (which I am quickly learning) in the caverns. I took a tumble leaving streaks of the chalky limestone all over my clothes. It also left a massive bruise which does not look to lovely. The weather was not great so we walked through quite a bit of mud leaving my shoes caked with mud. But it was a fun way to see the countryside. I loved driving through the valleys covered in almond and olive trees. The almond trees flower beautiful white flowers. it is surprising how lush Israel is considering it is in the heart of the Middle East. 

Friday evening Jacki, Marissa, Milia and I headed for the Kotel (Western Wall) dressed in our orthodox garb. The Kotel is absolutely amazing on Shabbat. Everyone rejoicing and celebrating a wonderful week. A group of about 200 soldiers made a huge mosh pit right in front of the Kotel singing and dancing. We all joined in on the women's side singing and dancing to celebrate. Such a moving experience to see and have such joy. Israeli people live for the moment and are so thankful because no one knows what tomorrow will bring. We danced, sang and rejoiced with each other. I am forever thankful for being in Israel and for the friends I have met here. We all just enjoyed the moment and celebrated the wonderful experience. After our time at the wall we found the father who had invited us to dinner at his home for Shabbat. 

The man who took us in for dinner owned a restaurant in New York and Jerusalem. We were so excited for the food! This was the first orthodox family I had encountered that had jobs and therefore had money. We arrived at his beautiful home to meet his five children and lovely wife. His wife had a baby 6 weeks ago, was wearing heels and was hosting 18 people for dinner! Absolutely amazing! Both of them were welcoming and more than kind to us. We sat down 6 girls and 6 boys as guests along with lots of their extended family. The 6 boys were studying to become Rabbis (Rabbis in training) and the other two girls were studying in seminary. It was a huge table decorated with over 20 different dishes. Once the first prayers were said and the Hallah was broken we started to eat. I was stuffed trying all of the amazing dishes. Then the girl studying at seminary broke it to us that this was just the first course! Then came Matzo Ball soup and then the main meal! It was a lively table, filled with stories, prayers and song. We laughed and shared stories. I loved getting to know the family. For dessert we ended the meal with individual apple pies with a scoop of ice cream on top (dairy free of course)! This women was 6 weeks post pregnancy with 5 children wearing heels hosting 18 people for dinner and served us individual pies for dessert! I am forever impressed and the hostess bar has been raised! It was a simply magnificent evening filled with so much joy and love. 

On Saturday we headed for the West Bank for a day trip to Bethlehem. I was a bit nervous because the West Bank is the source of quite a bit of conflict. We had to take an Arab bus and made it to Bethlehem very easily. No Israelis are allowed in the West Bank but Americans can go. Once we arrived we were bombarded with taxi drivers trying to get us to with them for the day. We finally made it to the Church of the Nativity. This is supposedly the place where Jesus was born. The church is Greek Orthodox and so very different from the Methodist Church I was raised in. We waited in line to touch the wood in which Jesus laid. I was very unimpressed with the whole ordeal because the church was so gaudy. I always imagined Jesus in a simple manger not surrounded by gold and crystal chandeliers. After we viewed the church we walked around Bethlehem. I was in a group with males and I was still harassed. In hindsight I probably should not have brought my lilly scarf to double as a Hijab. By the end of our walk I was frustrated and I power walked back to the taxi just to avoid all the harassment. We made it back to the bus with no international incidents.

Although getting to the West Bank is simple, security on the return end is not so easy. When we reached the border all the Arabs had to get off the bus to be searched and have their papers checked. While two soldiers boarded the bus and checked our passports. Both were carrying pistols and riffles. One man did not have the right passport or papers so he was escorted away and not allowed to board the bus again. It was a little bit scary because it was so different than anything that happens in America. Finally the bus passed security and we rode back into Jerusalem safe and sound.   

I can't wait to dance and sing at the Kotel this week! Mazel Tov! 

xoxo,

Katy Ann 

Catching the Spirit

If America is a melting pot, than Israel is 3 pots who are fighting over one burner. It is amazing how close each culture lives together. Two days ago my friend and I walked just 10 minutes outside our Student Village and it was like a different country. No more Hebrew on the signs but Arabic instead. No more Kippas but now Hijabs everywhere. Marissa and I continued to walk into the area and realized this was not a safe place for 2 American girls. We were harassed by a group of men but we were perfectly safe we only felt a little threatened. Once we found some Israeli security they recommend that we did not come back unless we had male escorts. This area was in way East Jerusalem where the Israeli bus line does not run anymore. But luckily the train had a stop nearby so climbed aboard and headed home. We arrived home safe and sound but decided this adventure needed our guy friends. It is amazing how different the area is and it is only a 10 minute walk. 

Yesterday was the Jewish holiday Tu Bshvat, which is pretty much Jewish Earth Day. Jacki and I went to a Fruit Seder at a Kabbalah Jewish center. Kabbalah is a sect of Judaism and is known as being the hippies of the Jewish community. Madonna practices Kabbalah which is where I had heard the term before. So we arrived and everyone was gathered around sitting on the floor on pillows and some at the table. We celebrated "The New Year of Trees" through a Seder meal. My first ever Seder meal so I was eager to learn. You celebrated 4 levels of the earth: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. We ate hard shell food for winter like pistachios and pomegranate. For Spring me ate dates and other dried fruit. For Summer we ate apples and pears. For Fall we had figs and carob. With each level we said a prayer and sang a song. The room was filled with the Israeli spirit. At the beginning of the evening I did not know a soul and by the end I felt like I was apart of the family. The songs had so much life and joy. These Israelis feel so thankful to be able to live in Jerusalem. Jacki and I danced and sang the night away in between eating fruit. It was such an amazing feeling to be apart of something that these people have been fighting over, for centuries. Not even just the fight for the land but to be free from all the horrible tragedies the Jewish people have endured. In Israel you feel the spirit and it is contagious. 

After our wonderful evening celebrating the earth with our new Kabbalah friends we took the train home. Mid-ride we heard a thud and something had hit the train. A group of young men had thrown rocks at the train as we were driving by. Since my Hebrew is not very good I only understood bits of what was happening. Security is on every train and they were immediately in action finding the group of boys and making sure it was safe to proceed. The windows on the train are made of bulletproof glass and so no damage occurred but again it put in perspective that I live in the middle of a major conflict. Luckily I felt totally safe because security is trained to handle situations much worse. But let it be told the stereotypes of "rock throwers" may not be just a stereotype. 

I did not realize the rift between Secular Israelis and Orthodox Jewish Israelis until this week. Secular Israelis work hard and serve in the army. They are some of the most pride filled and kind people you will ever meet. While the Orthodox men and women do not work and do not serve in the army. They are paid by the government to live in Israel in order to keep the Jewish population growing. You could imagine that the Israeli people are not the kindest to the Orthodox. But they are all Jewish and all connected therefore they work together in order to live in Israel. 

I learned Israeli folk songs this week at Ulpan and then used them at the Tu Bshvat. All the songs are beautiful. My favorite song I have learned is, "Kol haolam kilo gesher tzchar meod." The lyrics translate to:

The whole world is a narrow bridge

And the most important thing is not to 

fear at all

This song captures the essence of the Israeli spirit. Israel is an extraordinary place that amazes me more each and everyday. 

xoxo

Katy Ann 


ps. I will be staying up until 4am to watch my Heels play! Go Heels Go America! Go to Hell dOOK!

Shiksa Problems

Shiksa is a Yiddish word for non jewish girl. It has become my middle name in this country. Shiksa's are out of the Jewish circle. All the Jewish Americans on the program have mutual friends with each other. Either from Hillel or Jewish camp everyone knows each other. Except of course me, the Shiksa. I enjoy being a Shiksa because everyone loves a Shiksa. 

This week has been a blur of Hebrew, Israeli's and bus rides. The weather has been rainy so this week we could not explore as much as we wanted too. My friend Jacki has lots of Israeli friends who we met on Wednesday. Finally I met Israeli girls who wanted to be our friends. Israeli girls are known for being cold because of the environment that raised them. Since women serve right alongside men in the army the women feel like they have a lot to prove. And they prove it. One of the girls I met was an officer in the army and is in charge of an entire platoon of men. She is the only girl in her unit. 

On Thursday a group of 6 of us headed for Tel Aviv! Tel Aviv is known for its nightlife and beach. You take a bus about an hour ride to get to Tel Aviv. Security is tight as always but Israelis don't believe in lines.It was one big cluster trying to get through security. In hindsight we probably should not have tried to leave during rush hour. We finally made it to Tel Aviv with no major problems. We stayed with Jacki's friend. Her apartment was absolutely beautiful! We all piled in before heading out and enjoying Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is just like any other big city. There is a large Ethiopian and Darfurian population because of the Ethiopian Jewish population. Israel let a lot of Darfurian refugees come to Israel because of the genocide. As you can imagine Israel is sensitive to genocides so they allowed Darfurians to move to Israel. 

Also this week I ate the best hummus of my life. It was in a restaurant we found walking through the alleys and back streets. We were the only Americans and we ate our weight in hummus. It was a family owned restaurant and the mother was in the back making the hummus. Absolutely delicious. 

On a more global scale Iran and Israel have had some major issues the last couple of days. If Israel does attack Iran, UNC and Hebrew University will make me come home. I just really hope they can hold off until July because I don't want to leave! As usual no Israeli's are to concerned just another day for them. 

We came back to Jerusalem for Shabbat. I love that the city shuts down and I can finally relax and sleep before another week starts. I am so thankful that I am halfway through Ulpan! 

My family has officially booked their trip to come visit so I have started a list of all the places I am going to take them! Well Shabbat Shalom! 

xoxo, 

Katy Ann 

ps. I posted more pictures on shutter fly!