It must have been the Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake for breakfast
I knew it would be a great day from the start, after all what can go wrong on a day that starts off with chocolate cake! My breakfast yesterday, as you probably guessed from the previous sentence, included sheep cheese and chocolate cake. And defenitly don’t knock it till you try it- it’s quite delicious! So after my yummy breakfast I went to Ulpan, usually a dull experience but yesterday’s was the best class yet! I should have known it was going to be a great class when I saw that we were switching rooms- we moved from a usually cramped classroom (בכיתה)to a big open בכיתה and the change was very welcomed! Instead of sitting in rows we sat in a circle allowing everyone to see! Anyways the aura of that room was just all together a better learning environment. The whole class was just better all together! It must have been the mixture of sitting next to Max, a very learned man, and the chocolate cake breakfast because before break I had already read and understood a whole paragraph written in Hebrew! I was very impressed with myself too!
Anyways the rest of the day went considerably great too, I had another laundry party with my friend Sophie, I cleaned my room, and I went back into storage! So everything was pretty great yesterday.
AND SURPRISINGLY the trend carried onto today! I had another very good class of Ulpan, where I understood everything that was going on and answered almost all of my question right, and we had a sukkah building party in the courtyard! I love to decorate for sukkot so this was a really great party! There were people painting a making decorations (including an awesome poster made by Ilana, Sophie, and me), people actually building the sukkah, and others just randomly dancing and hanging out with friends. It was a great atmosphere and another memory that I will never forget thanks to Nativ 29.

Moral of the story- ALWAYS have chocolate cake for breakfast
*even better- today I studied with my staff (slash BFF if your reading this) Cori, and did really well! Ive already decided that if I get an A on the test tomorrow im going to make photo copies and post them randomly around Beit Nativ… so look out for them..

Bad- no package yet… but don’t worry family! You can replace that by sending me mail at:
Sarah Ziskend
8 agron street
P.O. Box 7456
Jerusalem, 94265 Israel

Another good- ive discovered how great the olives here are and now im eating a million a day… maybe that’s not so good…


(making our sign for the sukkah)

(Me and Sophie doing laundry)

(Ilana, Me, Jonny)

(ilana, sophie, and me)

(ilana, Shosh, Leeann, and me)

(Ilana, Me, and Ally)

Singing in the Streets.. יוֹם כִּפּוּר (not so funny... but hey neither is forgiveness)

My יוֹם כִּפּוּר (yom kippur) in Israel was amazing! My chag started off early Sunday morning when I woke up for tefilot at 8:30 and then we had different classes on different subjects all relating to יוֹם כִּפּוּר. I went to Shosh’s session about what we cant do on יוֹם כִּפּוּר (other than all the stuff we cant do on Shabbat we also cant shower and put makeup on, wear leather shoes, eat, or have marital relations….)and Noah’s on… something else about the Holiday (lets be honest- my attention can only be held for so long). Afterwards Lainie, Sophie, Ilana, and I went to go get Burgers Bar before the fast… it was an awful story that does not end in me eating a Delicious burger before my fast… instead we went to the sketchy falafel place across the street where we could taste the forborne illnesses…. Nothing can replace the taste of botulism. Anyways dinner was at 3:30 and the fast started at 4:50 (the last thing I ate were Reeses Pieces, so we knew the holiday was going to be awesome after that).
Kol Nidre (Hebrew: כל נדרי) was spent with Ally, Ilana, Leeann, Sophie, Britney, and Lainie. We all went to services and then came back to find everyone singing in the middle of the street singing in a circle! All 84 nativers were sitting literally in the middle of one of the busiest intersection in Israel singing ruach songs. Before long we had attracted a crowed of at least 100 people from all different backgrounds watching and singing along with us. There were black coats (well white on יוֹם כִּפּוּר… but still) and secular Jews, elderly and children, couples and familes all lining the streets to come and join us in our songs. It was a special and great way to start the Chag. The experience was amazing and just one of the many that I will never be able to experience in the states but only a place like Israel.
This morning I woke up to go to a Nature Museum service with Ally, Leeann, Ilana, and Alex…(the whole walk there we were able to walk right in the middle of the roads with literally no car in sight- it was the coolest thing ever! All we knew was that it was right of of Emik so we thought we would just be able to find it… Well we were wrong and ended up following the signs to a Nature Museum for about 20 minutes… turns out ‘nature museum’ in Israel really means natural history museum that is locked with no service going on… so we walked to Kedem (a conservative synagogue close by) and did services there. It wasn’t as moving as singing in the streets was but hey at least I got to ask for forgiveness… The rest of the Holiday was pretty uneventful…until break fast where I went out to Burgers Bar for real this time and ate a very satisfying hamburger with Lainie and Noah…

So all in all I would give this יוֹם כִּפּוּר two thumbs up!

Sorry to Judah who I forgot to mention in my last blog post:
Last shabbat Judah and I went on a very nice shabbat walk to my favorite place in the world! You guessed it Yemin Moshe! We talked about very classy issues and looked out at the amazing view this location offers. It was a memory I will never forget with a friend I will have forever, “Judah Judah best”!

It only took two bars of pop-rock chocolate

Higlight of my day:
"now that i came through your window can i be in your blog???"
-ilana


So on Friday morning I was convinced into going to do a Selichot (Hebrew: סליחות‎) tour... at four am…. All it took was Cori, one of my staff, to tell me she would give me two bars of pop-rock chocolate. (Honestly I thought Israeli chocolate couldn’t get any better, BUT THEN they added pop rocks to it! It’s like a carnival in your mouth!) So I woke up at four and did סליחות around Jerusalem… turns out it wasn’t much more than walking around to different synagogues between the hours of four till six thirty am and sitting in for one or two prayers. And negatively the womens section got progressively worse as the morning went on, it was kinda a let down. On the plus side we got to see many people stubbing home from the bars in the earlier hours (actually a very strange contrast- on one side of the road were all the partiers and on the other all the prayers… not many people can say they’ve seen that). But it all turned out to be worth it when Elkiana bought us all marzipan for breakfast!
After סליחות I came back and slept for another four hours, and then went to lunch where my friend Leeann and I had the best idea to surprise our staff Cori with a birthday present! So we collected money from everyone who was still on base and then went out and bought her some candle sticks. Wanting to make it a great presentation, we enlisted the help of Noah and Shosh. The whole plan was complete with code names! Cori was little bird, Noah- Medium Bird, Ilana was Kola Bear, Leeann was Lizard, and I was big bird. Our plan was ingenious! We were going to have the security guard yelling at us from outside the gate pretending to not let us in because we didn’t have our I.D.’s and then call cori to come and get us! Sounds so easy right! Well it was very difficult to convince cori to come down and get us out…. So that was the first flaw. Second flaw she was LIVID when she came out and she almost refused to take the package that the guard was handing her… bad because we had wrapped a million boxes and put them all inside one another(original I know). Once she finally took it and opened it she was very happy with the gift, although she did say that wasn’t funny-which it soooo was!
The rest of the day I just hung around with Lainie, Sophie, Ilana (the best blog follower ever, if only she would actually follow), Gabe, Micheal, Jesse (MY NUMBER ONE FAN!), and Leeann. It was a very relaxing שַׁבָּת to say the least! After שַׁבָּת a bunch of us all went out to Aldo, the best ice cream in the entire WORLD, for David’s birthday. It was a lot of fun, and we all ate a lot of delicious food which always makes everything fun!

Not much else has happened on this side of my world… So until next time I hope you all have an easy fast!

Ps i know i forgot to mention how AWESOME ilana is!!! YOUR THE BEST!! and i think your nose is falling off


yummy aldo ice cream!

Everyone for Davids Birthday

Judah, Me, and Leeann

You had me at “swinging chickens”

The day started off fairly normal, I had tefilot, breakfast, and then another day of Ulpan (with teacher Shelly, it was a little hard after missing yesterday… and I have a lot of homework….). I had been excited all week to go to Caparot, so when I got back from class that’s all I was talking about (except for the fantastic three hour nap that I took after lunch- I wasn’t really talking during that time…)!
For those of you who don’t know, and I had no idea what it was until this week, Caparot (כפרות‎, in heberw meaning atonements) is a traditional Jewish animal sacrifice that takes place on the eve of Yom Kippur. Classically, it is performed by grasping a live chicken by the shoulder blades and moving around one's head three times, symbolically transferring one's sins to the chicken. The chicken is then slaughtered and donated to the poor, preferably eaten at the pre- Yom Kippur feast.
Anyways what doesn’t sound fun about swinging a chicken over your head! I wasn’t really a fan of the whole ‘lets kill the chicken’ idea but hey I enjoy a nice chicken nugget here or there and I’m not dumb enough to think they grow off trees so I thought I would just deal. I also had the foolish idea to think that the slaughtering part wouldn’t be the first thing I saw when I walked in…. Well I guess Israel doesn’t have a P.E.T.A. because this was the most awful experience of my ENITIRE LIFE! Worse than the kotel experience on Rosh Hashana (just kidding… that was pretty bad). Let me try to explain the scene for you:
You walk in and there’s a fence inclosing the entire place so you don’t realize what you’ve got yourself into- all you hear are the violent screams of dying chickens and random chicken feet lining the street. You entire the gates and the first thing on you left is a slaughtering machine! Literally there is a guy chopping the heads off and then putting them in a machine that de-feathers and drains them of their blood. If you don’t want to barf and become a vegetarian for life then I will continue- blood was splattering everywhere, to the point where people were leaving with blood on them, and people were stepping in the blood and guts puddles (even me…). I instantly wanted to leave so I Jesse, Ally, and I all left and then went to the shekel and a half store….

So moral of the story: swinging a chicken might sound fun, but finding out where your shitzle comes from- not so much

Sarah's Sickly Adventures

After five days of not feeling well I decided enough was enough and forced my friend Jesse to take me to the doctors this morning. Sounds easy enough ehh… well it wasn’t. Aside from feeling like I might die at any moment (no one said I wasn’t over dramatic) the easy 15 minute walk there turned into a 45 minute hike. I bet your wondering how, well I will indulge you- As you all probably know by now I am not exactly known for my fantastic sense of direction. (I actually had to get a GPS just to get around East Cobb, and I’ve been living there for 10 years. Even worse if Jason wants to surprise by taking me somewhere all he has to do is drive left out of his neighborhood for ten minutes and I wont know where I am…) So it came as a shock to me when Noah, one of my staff members, told me that it was a fairly easy walk with only two right turns. Still I was hesitant so I dragged Jesse out of bed to take me there (plus I hate the doctors and I needed someone to fight them off if they even thought about using a needle on me).

We left at 7 am so we could get there early and he/we, if I thought I was feeling better, could make it to class by 9am. We walked out of beit nativ and we came to the intersection where we were supposed to turn. Easy enough- minus the fact that the street names were Raman and Ramad (very easy to get mixed up at 6:45am when Noah is telling you how to get there and you don’t feel well). We took what we thought was the right street and just started walking. As we kept going farther down we realized that we should have turned by now and that we were lost. Good thing we made a dead end at a school where people spoke English and could give us directions. After much hard work and many hills we made it to the doctors at 7:50. Nothing to fun happened there (as expected) except for running into Shosh, another staff member, who had taken another nativer to the clinic… obviously the unnecessary morning hike could have all been avoided if we had just known she was going. Very long story short the Dr told me I have a viral infection and early signs of a sinus infection so he gave me some meds and told me to come back on Friday if I didn’t feel better. Oh and the walk home took less than 15mins when I went back with Shosh….
The rest of the day I slept and lounged around my room, only leaving for meals and to help Jesse with his laundry (an apparently equal trade for taking me to the doctors). I also finally saw the movie American Beauty and now can ‘be a member of society’ as my friend Gabe tells me…

Oh and Jason- that makes post number four…. See I can keep a blog

I know... A lot in one day....

But really... this video is just like my Ulpan Class....

http://www.jakeandamir.com/search/Hebrew

ראש השנה and more!

Over the past couple of week’s Ive done a lot more in Israel! With my Jerusalem class i learned about the Islam (we were supposed to go up to the Temple Mount be we were unable to because it was Ramadan), the Ottoman Empire where we went to Jaffa Gate, viewed Four synagogues in the old city (all of which are built underground because when they were built the Muslims forced us to build them below the mosques so they could be above us, literally and figuratively), and went back to Yemin Moshe. I was able to learn about the history of my favorite place on earth- ill share an abridged version with you now: basically where the village is now there used to only be fields where all the criminals hung out and bad stuff went down so this guy named Moses Montefiore and decided to build it up as a solution to the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions inside the walls of the old. At first no one wanted to live there because it was a dangerous location and it was so far away from the city (why live in suburbs when you can live in NYC?). So Montefiore started marking down the prices lower and lower until finally people came out of pity. Ironically a couple of years later a plague broke out in the old city and many fled from its walls seeking safety in neighborhoods just like Yemin Moshe. It has now become a very upscale area where many writers and artist take residence. A windmill was built in Montefiore’s honor and now stands as my favorite place in the entire world… good story ehh? But trust me i haven't only be in class learning (i know shocker right?)... In the past week and a half Ive gone on a night run through ben yehuda with my friends Jesse and Becky, had the best ice cream in the WORLD (better than haagen Dazs- i know even more shocking ehh daddy!) at a place called Aldo (not the shoe store), had a laundry party with my friend Sophie as we did our laundry together at Beit Nativ, bought new Machzorim for the holidays (which i am absolutely in love with! just ask my friend Leeann... i bothered her all through out ראש השנה services which i will talk more about later), decide i wanted to get a new Siddur for services (an Art Scroll one because i really like those... i just have to do that), Went to an Art Fair on עמק רפאים‎ with some friends (i bought a really pretty belt there that i love to wear- Debbie you are going to be so jealous when i get home), and even so much more than that! ראש השנה (Rosh Hashanah for all my non Hebrew speaking friends out there....) in Israel was an amazing experience (well most of it... Ill get to the rest later...)! It started out with a really great Friday night. All of Nativ spent erev rosh hashanah together as we davened in the basement of Beit Nativ. The ruach and passion that filled the air was unmatchable to anything i have ever done before. I was in a room full of people who believed what they were singing and felt it deep in their לֵב (heart... see i love אולפן again with the Hebrew :) ). Not to sound lame but it was a very moving and deep experience. I loved being in a room and having everyone know the songs and the tunes and sing them with such conviction... its was very comforting... anyways after prayer we all went upstairs and had the best food EVER (well not as good as moms but way better than anything else Beit Nativ is ever going to serve us...). They had chicken, turkey, beef, rice with raisins and almonds, glazed sweet potatoes with walnuts, cooked carrots glazed with honey, and a million other yummy foods! We all ate until we thought we were going to explode- it was a nice change from our usual feelings.... after i just hung out with friends and enjoyed the night! The next day the קְהִלָה group went to a conservative shul called Maynot (actually it was a 45 min walk... but it was fine I talked with my friend Judah the whole way...) and after the service we were all hosted by different people. My roommate lainie and I were hosted by a French Israeli family (strange mix I know...) and had a lot of fun playing Hebrew clue (called רמז) with her children. After Maynot we came back for mariv services and then everyone just hung out…. It was a not so relaxing (sleepwise) day but a lot of fun…. Now comes the exciting part…. The second day my room mate and I deemed it a great idea to go to the kotel to do our own services. BAD IDEA…. Very very very long story short… that if your really interested in you can email me for… she and I got very lost within the Arab quarters (a very dangerous place for two Jewish American teens to be) and had a hard time getting out… I have never been so scared in my life… but really it was horrible…. anyways that was my ראש השנה....

Also the window to my room is broken… and since it leads to a community porch people think its funny to come in that way and scare Lainie (my roommate) and I when we are sleeping…. Its actually not funny at all…. I promise you would be scared too if this happened to you…

The list of people who have come in through the window so far:
Laura
Michael
Jesse (he comes through all the time… he doesn’t even use the door anymore…)

Not much has happened since then and ill be sure to update more often so the posts aren't so long... any ways i hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year!
-Sarah


Isnt this ironic...

Jesse coming through the window....


Lainie and Jesse.... in our window

The windmill that is dedicated to Moses Montefiore

More windmill, i honesty think its one of the most beautiful places in the world.... my wedding will be there so start saving up now...

Ally and I at the Kotel during the soilder thing (i wrote about it in the other message)

My friends Ilana and Leeann at the kotel

The First Week...

After we arrived in Israel we had a 30 minute bus ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Yossi Garr (the director of Nativ) pulled us over to a random rocky area and gave us an opening speech. He talked about how we started the trip not at the kotel or over looking the city because the next nine months are not about sight seeing or tourist attraction (although he did urge us to go and do all that fun stuff too) but instead about us and our journey and travels. After that we came to Bet Nativ and got our roommates, rooms, and phones (all of mine are great). The night was pretty much over because all we did was unpack our sheets and go to bed. The second day we had orientation and then everyone went out and had a fun time out on the town that night. The third day we did a three hour intense hike and went to the mall for lunch. Me and a bunch of my friends had pizza at the mall and it was surprisingly good, although not as good as Capozzies back home. By then it was Friday afternoon and we got ready for Shabbat. We did kabbalat Shabbat at Yemin Moshe which is my favorite spot in the entire world! It overlooks the old city and has an amazing view. I also went to the synagogue there for Saturday morning services. We had a relaxing Shabbat getting to know everyone. The next week we had class where I have been learning Hebrew and its been a lot of fun! I also started taking a Jerusalem course where we go around the city and learn about different things. So far we have learned about the second temple period, Israel as a whole, and Christianity in Israel (my favorite course day so far- it was very interesting). Other highlights of my week included the Israel army fair in the middle of Ben Yehudah street where me and my friends got to take a million pictures with very good looking Israel solders.

Shabbat Shalom!