Week of 10-18-09 Whales and Sports

The last week was full of exciting events!
Sunday I went to the school I am going to be volunteering at first semester with my friends Gabe Ciuraru and Jesse Lender and gave them our names and numbers so that they can contact us to let us know when they want us to work…. Aka they still haven’t called and it’s been a week. So if they don’t call by the end of this week I will call them myself.
Nothing happened too much on Monday so ill skip ahead to Tuesday! We had Eriv Nativ again (the weekly mandatory program where we meet from 7:30-10:00 and talk about various topics, usually we have a guest speaker or something). This week we broke down into five small groups and did a בית מדרש‎ (a study hall where you learn about torah and all that jazz). I had some crazy guy named Ethan and we talked about Sea Monsters in the Torah. It was kinda a introduction to what is going to be going on every Sunday. And hey they have free food so I might go, we will see (don’t hold your breath rabbi). Afterwards Gabe Ciuraru, Becky Constinten, and I went to Mcdonalds and got ice cream.
On Wednesday we had our first JET (Jewish Educators in Training) class with Mark Lazar (more about him on the bottom)! This class is open only to Nativ students and is based on teaching us how to teach Judaism to younger children in a classroom setting (or more simply how to become Hebrew school teachers). Since I might go into education I thought I would be a fun class to take. We played some teamwork games and then ranked a bunch of Jewish ideals from most important to least. It was a pretty fun class and I would like to do it for all of nativ. Plus Mark is a really crazy like 70 year old hippie with grey curly hair to his waist and always says really inappropriate things, which if you mix all together makes for a very interesting seminar.
After the JET class the Nativ Women’s Flag Football Team (or the league for girls who want to get a cool t-shirt and get a good work out at the same time) had its first practice. We all went down to the park by the doctors (the same one that Jesse lender and I got lost at going to) and started off running laps with Coach Parritz (yeah the boys make us call them coach…) until we all thought we were going to die and then Coach Mann gathered us around for stretching and an inspirational talk…. It was very funny to hear our nativ boys be all serious and coach like, especially Coach Mann who would yell at us in his southern accent (which is funny until he’s yelling at you to do five pushups because you were dancing… then-not so much). Next we did timed running and had to throw and catch a football… Which sounds easy enough if you have any idea on how to throw such an object, but if you’re a girl who likes air conditioning and not getting hurt than it’s a little harder (aka Coach Cook had to teach me how to hold a football and catch it with out getting hurt…). The night ended with suicides and I felt like we were all in the movie Miracle (thanks to Jason I have watched a sports movie… the things you do for love) because Coach Parritz loved blowing that freaking whistle to make us run faster. All in all it was a lot of fun and I cant wait for the season to start (and by that I mean I cant wait until tonight because we have another practice and our first game on Monday!). I’m pretty sure the NFL is going to be sending scouts all the way out to Israel to watch us play. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up just yet- lets see how Monday works out…. Plus if we win I’ve convinced Coach Cook to let us give him a facial (which of course would make for a good blog post so stay tuned)
Thursday went by like every other Thursday in Jerusalme does… and ill save my parents the heart attack and just skip it.
This Shabbat I went with my friend Ilana Rosenzweig to her grandparent’s house near tel aviv. It was a very fun and relaxing Shabbat- we spent most of it sporcling and talking. I like the change of scenery and of course the delicious food! We even go to go to the beach so I came back with a nice tan!

That was last week in short! Moral of the Story: Whales DO like football!

Mark Lazar has been involved in formal and informal Jewish Education since 1973 and has been associated with the Jewish Agency in Israel, the Joint Distribution Committee, the University of Judaism, and numerous schools and institutions. He has led seminars and workshops in the United States, Israel, England, Australia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland and the former Yugoslavia. He is concluding a two year stint in San Francisco with the Bureau of Jewish Education and will be returning to Jerusalem and his community development work for the Joint in Eastern Europe.

Kinneret Camping Trip..... This doesnt give it enough credit....

WARNING: Very short blog post that leaves out too much.... but i just couldnt write it all because i cant even articulate it.... This isnt a great post.... but read anyways?


After a long week in Jerusalem my friends and I were ready to go off on another crazy weekend. This time we had heard of a group that was going camping in the Kinneret (כִּנֶּרֶת) (see fun Kinneret facts below…)! Our other friend Miri invited us (ally, liana, Leeann, Lainie, and me) to go along with her and the other group so we decided that this is what our nativ experience was all about so we might as well do it. We pack all our stuff into backpacks and brought enough food and clothes to last us two days and one night. We then made our way to the bus station where we all got lunches (Ally, Miri, Leeann, and I got really good bagels (cheap too!) from this random place in the central bus staion… If you ever go there for lunch get the bagels, very good….). Anyways we after getting lunch we went to the bus… as we get there we see a crowd of people trying to get on but in the end we all make our way onto the bus (it ended up costing way more that I thought it would for the bus ride, but hey what can you do). Funny thing about Israel busses is that they think they can fit about 30 more people than they actually can. This leads to kids laying in the hallways and sitting in the exits of busses… aka any nativer that takes a bus. So that was alright for the first half hour but then people started to get car sick and it was just not a fun situation. Josh Oral (a fellow camper from Kibbutz) gave me his seat half way through because I was feeling sick, it was a very appreciated move to say the least…. Anyhow after about a three hour bus ride we get to where we think we are supposed to get off…. Turns out we got out at the wrong stop but to make a VERY VERY VERY long and frustrating story short we ended up setting up camp at a random beach/water park place that would let us stay there for 50 ₪ a night. The Shabbat was very relaxing and we were all able to get to know each other a lot better. We lite candles overlooking the kinneret and did kab shab with our feet in the water, it was a great way to spend the weekend. On Saturday we spent the day swimming, sleeping, relaxing, and talking which made for another great day.
Another very long story short my friends and I had to leave the camp site before Shabbat was over, and so we didn’t have a way back home. We ended up waiting at a random bus stop where we all thought a bus was going to come and pick us up. About an hour later we realize that the bus isn’t going to pick us up and we have to find another way to get home to Jerusalem… So we call taxis to take us to Tiberius and from there we all took buses back to Jerusalem….
Very VERY VERY long and frustrating story short- spent more money than I wanted, was able to spend a weekend in the Kinneret with my friends, I have some really funny stories to tell now, and next time I should always make sure we know what we are doing…..

Moral of the Story: Peace Love and the Fairies will fix everything


The Sea of Galilee, also Lake of Gennesaret, Lake Kinneret or Sea of Tiberias (Hebrew: ים כנרת‎, Arabic: بحيرة طبريا‎), is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, being approximately 53 km (33 miles) in circumference, about 21 km (13 miles) long, and 13 km (8 miles) wide. The lake has a total area of 166 km², and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m At 209 meters below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world (after the Dead Sea, a saltwater lake).

Bu

Bus rides!

Tel Aviv, "should the door close"

After many weekends in Jerusalem watching so many others go out and travel the country my group of friends and I decided we should go off and explore Israel. Our first city of choice- Tel Aviv! After our long adventure in the desert we took a well deserved beach vaca and took a bus to Tel Aviv. All was well and fine on the bus ride, Ally sat with Jesse, Micheal sat with… a random man, Ilana sat will Lainie, Gabe sat with Adam, and I sat with Leeann (making a total of nine of us). It took about 45 minutes to get there and once we got off the bus Jesse told us he had directions to the hostel. We were all relived to find out that at least one of us knew what we were doing but as he pulled out his “directions” we all got a little worried. His directions were as follows:
1) get on bus
2) get off bus
So needless to say after a great laugh the nine of us were still a little lost on what to do, we didn’t want to take another bus because that we would have to wait to long, walking was out of the picture because it was a thirty minute walk with all of our bags, and we would have to take three taxis to fit us all. So in little time at all taxi men were swarming us asking us where we needed to go. Finally we got one of them to allow five in his car and four in another for 10 sheckles each. So we split up as follows: Leeann, Micheal, Jesse, and Adam in one (I’m not sure why we let all the boys go with just one girl but hey she knew the most Hebrew) and Lainie, Ally, Ilana, Gabe, and myself in the other. once we all squeezed in the taxi the cab driver started to hit on Lainie non stop- a very funny sight to see when your squished in the back seat laughing non stop because none of us fit. After a very amusing taxi ride we finally got to the hostel, and very long story short checked in. Next we went up to our rooms and changed. (Don’t worry dad, it was girls in one and boys in another.) All of us had a great day on the beach (we ended up getting there at about 11) and we just enjoyed the sun and legal drinking age (in a very mature and responsible way) until the sun went down. Then we went back showered and got ready for a nice night out in Tel Aviv. The nine of us ended up eating at a gluten free restaurant (because Adam is gluten free, vegan, who is allergic to eggs, some nuts, and corn). It was a really cute place that none of us would go to on a regular night but ended up being really tasty!
We were all exhausted after a long day in the sun, and three days in the freaking desert, so we went back at ten and talked the night away (after I skyped with Jason of course) so we could start the next day off early.
The next day Adam, Jesse, and Ally went to Herzliya and the rest of us stayed on the beach and tanned all day. We didn’t get up except for to get breakfast, lunch, and to go cool off in the water. It was a great day spent listening to music and enjoying each others company! We stayed to watch the sunset and so Leeann could see her long time friend and then at about 7 we started to head back.

Moral of the story: Whales really do love the ocean

Whales and Desert Just Don't Mix

Lets be honest now, what sounds fun about three days two nights hiking down in the Negev… if your name is Sarah Naomi Ziskend (or Sarin for those who know…) then your answer would be absolutely nothing. Just to clarify, I’m the type of girl who enjoys mascara, couches, food, and air conditioning… not scorpions (yes we saw one), flies (saw too many to count), dirt, and sweat. So there is little need to say how NOT pumped I was for the upcoming desert survival trip. I was actually in such denial that by the time we were supposed to get off the bus I forgot what we were going to do. The first day wasn’t so bad at all (which completely shocked me), we hiked about 4 miles (6km… but im trying to do the conversion in my head so it might be wrong) and it gave me a great chance to talk to Cori (koren), Ilana, Lainie, and Jesse. In the beginning we were complaining the whole way about anything that we could, but then we made it fun by singing and dancing (oh the power of distraction is GREAT). We all laughed a lot hearing Elkana singing Brittney Spears with all of us in the middle of the Negev! We hiked for about two hours and then stopped for lunch in a really beautiful shady area. Everyone passed around cucumbers, bread, tuna, tomatoes, bamba, and various other passable foods. It was a lot of fun having an improve picnic in the middle of the desert! I loved to watch everyone share whatever food they had, it was truly a sight to see! Afterwards we hiked a little more and then stopped again to play games… well let me restate that: Those who were awake enough to play games did… other just watched and slept, it was a well deserved nap though- don’t get me wrong. Soon after we got to the camp sight and all started helping out in different ways. I chopped vegetables for our salad with Stashia, Brittney, Ethan, and Ally… because honestly if theres food then I’m there. Dinner was so good (I ate with my bff Gabe, Jonny, and Michael)! We had chicken, mashed potatoes, soup, veggies, Israeli salad, and Caesar salad. It was all around a great dining experience (and greatly appreciated after a long day of hiking). I don’t know if its right that the food in the desert is wayyyyyy better than base food (no offense beit nativ workers… sometimes its good, but lets be honest here- its not desert survival food). And then we had a bon fire and all went to bed… that was a really abridged version of the night but I can’t fit it all… The next morning started bright and early, and by that I mean that it was still dark when we woke up at 5:00 am. We all stumbled out of bed and waited in line for Becky to braid our hair, the only manageable hairstyle you can wear when hiking 13km. After a great breakfast of cookie crips (Israel style of course) and davening overlooking the desert we started off once again. Except this time it was much much much harder- were talking like vertical distance up mountains hard. There must have been a million times when I turned to Noah (No-bear) and said “wow there is NO WAY I can do that” but I pushed through and made it up all the mountains… and were not talking little kid mounds, I mean huge mountains that require much motivation (a thing I have little of in the desert). We stopped for a mid morning snack under a random tree and we weren’t alone. A scorpion joined us for lunch and we were all amazed. I have never actually seen a real live human killing scorpion up close, and now I never want to see it again. After our scare we trudged on and hiked up more mountains. Other than a fantastic two hour nap, the day was very long and very hard. We all appreciated seeing the camp site when we finally got there. Dinner that night included grilled turkey, hot dogs, pita, hummus, soup, salad, and Israeli salad. It was once again greatly appreciated and devoured within seconds. The next day started even earlier at 4:30 and once again Becky braided everyone’s hair, we davened, ate breakfast, and started our way on our last day of the trip. The beginning 4km were fairly easy since it was still fairly cold out, but once we got to a huge incline it started to get harder and harder to do. We all helped each other and made it up the hard parts of the mountain. The only negative from the hike today (other than being really hard) was getting lost from the group with Becky, Becca, and Lainie. We had to stop numerous times to pee (an actually fun experience in the desert once you get over the initial fear) and by the time we were all done we couldn’t see the group- so we followed the blue and white path until (about five or ten minutes later) we caught up to the whole group waiting for us… sorry about that guys… anyways after that we went up a huge mountain, one that everyone had trouble with. I was so grateful to get to the top that Lainie and I collapsed (after getting out my chocolate sandwich of course) and just over looked the view. Looking down from the top was gorgeous and (almost) worth the hike up. I felt so accomplished by the end! The trip wouldn’t have been complete without an AMAZING jeep ride at the end! It was like a personal rollercoaster! I rode with Lainie, Eric, Ethan, Stashia, and Judah. The guy passed back a ton of wafers for us to eat (they were greatly appreciated) and then we were off on a really fun adventure by jeep! It was so fast and bumpy-ahhhhh I loved every minute of it! I cannot even describe to you in words how much fun it was! I was smiling the whole way and wish I was back on it right now actually… Anyways that was very abridged version of desert survival but I’m exhausted and not in the normal funny typing mood… maybe ill go back and edit this after Tel Aviv (my friends and I are leaving to go to tel aviv in the morning…)… PS. As I side note from the desert adventure I learned that I love Jonny, David, Miri, Becky, Asaf, and many others (*cough* Jesse Turk*cough*).
ilana and me at the top

lainie ilana gabe and me

at the top! day three

Lainie, Ilana, Me, Cori, Leeann, Ally

nap time day two

SCORPIONNN

a mountian we did

camp site for day one

Ilana and me

Judah and his women

for the parents

Roomies in the desert

The Jerusalem Post Take on our Nativ Singing Circle!

"SOME SIXTY members of Nativ, a youth affiliate of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in the United States, who are here on a nine-month study and leadership program, organized a Kol Nidre night happening in Jerusalem, by way of a kosher Woodstock at the conclusion of Kol Nidre services. Taking advantage of the absence of traffic, the youngsters sat in an enormous circle in the Agron-Keren Hayesod intersection and lustily sang Hebrew songs. People heading home from nearby Orthodox, Conservative and Reform congregations were attracted by the sound, and enthusiastically surrounded the singers who occasionally got up to dance in voluntarily gender-segregated circles. Smiles registered on the faces of the spontaneous audience, many of the people who stood around tapped their feet and clapped in time to the melodies, and some even joined in.
Especially delighted were Holocaust survivors Michael and Lea Klein for whom any sign of Jewish continuity both in the ideological and the physical sense is a cause for joy. Michael Klein, who became a highly respected physicist in America before moving here, owes his survival to Oscar Schindler. The Kleins were still enthusing about the contagious spirit of the Nativ youth the following day."