Ani Ohevet Blogger

Here is my very first composition for Hebrew. We were assigned a list of things we like and don't like--in response to learning the verb ohev, to like. Some people wrote stories and had complex sentence construction. I did not. I took it very literally, and wrote a list. Due to my limited vocabulary, it's not all exactly true. But it is in Hebrew, and it's mostly grammatically correct. Sorry it's out of focus. Despite my two years working in television, I apparently have yet to figure out yet how to focus a camera that has an auto-focus.

Here's a translation: "I like movies and television. I also like coke and water, but I don't like coffee or tea. I like the sea and the sun. I don't like rain, but I do like snow. I like theater and museums. I like bread, but I don't like cake. I like cities as well as books as well as restaurants."

Apparently I'm very cultured. And thanks to Paul for the far superior picture.

Too Tired For Clever Title: Bulldozer Attack

As you may have already heard, there was another attack in Jerusalem today. They're calling it a copycat incident to a similar one just a couple weeks ago. An Arab Israeli drove a bulldozer into a number 13 bus. The number I've heard most often is that 16 people were injured--though that may change by tomorrow morning.

I found out about it when the assistant director of the Yeshiva interrupted our afternoon class to let us know it had just happened, and as many of our families would just be waking up back home, we may want to call/text/e-mail and let them know we're ok. The attack occurred just about a block from where I'm studying. By the time I was heading home many hours later, I had almost forgotten what had happened until I walked across the intersection and realized there were about six news trucks and a reporter shooting a stand up. Other than that, I would never have noticed.

There's been construction going on by that corner, but it's not yet clear to me that that's where the bulldozer came from. Also worth noting is that it does not seem to have anything to do with Obama, which the U.S. news sources seem to be implying. Yes, he was (is?) staying nearby tonight, but I--and other people I've talked to here--didn't even realize that until we looked at American news. Again, we'll see more tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure that's just a weird coincidence.

While the assistant director was informing us about what happened, she reiterated certain precautions that we should take to protect ourselves. They're not ridiculous, but they're unrealistic. If I want to live here and adapt the culture for the next year, I can't be afraid every time I go to crowded places or go to a restaurant without an armed guard at the door (although the armed guards are pretty common anyway). The fact is, I was only a block away and I didn't even know it had happened until someone came into tell me. Yeah, it absolutely upsets me that things like this are happening; but am I frightened for my life? Not really.

Other Things

1) I'm going to the Kotel (the Western Wall) to pray morning services tomorrow. It'll be the first time I'm there this trip, and it should be pretty amazing. I'll try to post some pictures of that if there's time.

2) I'm not exactly proficient in Hebrew yet, but I do feel you all deserve a brief explanation about the word sababa, since I'm pretty sure I use it incorrectly in the blog title. I'm almost positive the it is in fact not an adjective, but just an exclamation. As in, "So we're meeting for dinner tomorrow." "Sababa!" Still used in a similar way to awesome, but I'm pretty sure "Sababa Journey" is not correct. But it's still awesome. Sababa!

3) I haven't quite adjusted to my schedule, and school keeps me pretty exhausted, so if there's a typo or you object to something I write, feel free to let me know, but don't expect apologies. It's hard being me.

4) I love comments.

Shabbat Shalom

Instead of Saturday and Sunday, the Israeli weekend is actually Friday and Saturday. It's because Shabbat lasts from Friday afternoon or night to Saturday. I going to try not to make too many generalizations about what exactly that means culturally, but it does mean that, yes, I have classes from Sunday through Thursday. It means that a lot of people go out on Thursday nights instead of Friday or Saturday night. It means the shuk--the big open-air food market in the middle of the city--is ridiculously busy on Fridays with people buying all the food they need for themselves and their guests over the next day.

I had an excellent Shabbat, going to the shuk on Friday afternoon, and then spending all of Saturday hanging out and eating with some friends from college; we ate lunch on Jose's patio with the most beautiful view. And the thing that struck me most was on Friday night, while I was walking back from dinner at the Yeshiva, I couldn't quite figure out why the streets where so empty. Until I got back to the apartment complex where I'm staying. All the apartments look into a central courtyard, and as I walked through the courtyard, I could hear singing, laughing, talking coming from most of the apartments as I passed. Everyone I know in the city called on Friday morning to make sure I had a place to go for dinner and lunch during Shabbat, because religious or not, Shabbat--and the spirit of community, rest, and relaxation that it represents--is a cultural institution. Cheesy, I know, but awesome.

Other noteworthy things: 1) I finished my first day of classes today, which went extremely well. But I'm not going to talk about that right now. I'll have lots of classes over the next year, and I'm sure I'll talk about them plenty. 2) I'm very careful to stay hydrated and protect myself from the sun, but I'm also starting to get a little color, which means I'm no longer translucent. Yippee!

Picture 1: One of the amazing views from Jose's place.
Picture 2: People coming in and out of the shuk on Friday.

Pictures by the Jaffa Gate...A Few Days Late

So That's Coming Along

Just as a side note to anything Israel related, I've been watching the new web musical Dr. Horrible at drhorrible.com. I very highly recommend it if you like any of the following: Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, or any of their related projects (Buffy, Firefly, Serenity, How I Met Your Mother). It's awesome.

Put It In the Soul of Everyone

So I mentioned in my e-mail that yesterday I went out for walk and got lost and then magically found. Here's the story of exactly what happened:

(Pause to relish the fact the the coffee shop I'm sitting in right now is playing "Holding Out For a Hero." I'm pretty sure the album currently being play is called Best Songs From Soundtracks of Amazing Eighties Movies.)

So I decided I would walk from where I'm staying to Ben Yehuda Street, which is a pretty famous shopping street in Jerusalem that tourists like to visit. There wasn't a particular reason to aim for there, except that I figured I'd recognize it when I got there and it seemed like a good distance to see a lot of the city, get a decent walk in, and still be able to walk back. Maybe an hour each way. Ok, so I'm off, and pretty soon I get stopped and asked for directions, miraculously in English. I actually had a map and was able to help the girl find where she needed to go. I then proceeded to get lost again and again and again.

The first time I got lost, I found myself on top of Mount Zion, looking down onto the Old City walls. The second time I got lost, I found myself next to what I believe was the Jaffa Gate. (There are a few gates, all of which have names, that serve as the entrances to the Old City. I believe if you enter through the Jaffa Gate, you could walk straight through the Armenian Quarter to the Kotel (the Western Wall).) I'm posting a couple of pictures of what I could see from there soon. The third time I got lost, I got really, really lost and decided to give up and head back in the direction that I thought might lead back to Baka, where I'm staying. At that point, I found myself on Ben Yehuda Street. I've since looked at a map and still don't really know how that happened.

It was a pretty amazing walk for my first day and, in the end, with numerous stops for water and admiration, I think it took about 3-4 hours. After that walk, I'm probably just going to take it easy until I start classes on Sunday, at 7:30 am. That's going to be an interesting transition after the 5pm-1am shifts I was working when I left New York just three weeks ago.

Aaaaand they're playing Karma Chameleon. Sweet.

God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You

Welcome to my blog. It'll be sweet. Tomorrow. When I feel like writing something.