Now I know how to buy SIM cards

Yesterday I went to the Central Bus Station, which is also a mall, to get a SIM card for the cell phone my family is going to be using when they visit (27 days!) and I conducted the entire conversation in Hebrew. I was very excited about this, because for the previous SIM card I bought, I just randomly picked one and had no idea what the rates were, as I didn’t know any of the Hebrew vocabulary about cell phones. Now, I can ask in Hebrew about rates for calls in the network, out of the network, at night, during Shabbat and holidays, and price of text messages. It’s pretty cool.

As I was walking back from the Central Bus Station I realized I could just walk through this huge park on my way home. (It turns out the huge park is actually the grounds of the Knesset. Amazing.) I got sidetracked, and ended up sitting in the grass for two hours doing my ulpan homework and basking in the sun. After two hours, I realized I had an ugly red rash on every part of me that was touching the grass. Apparently I’ve developed an allergy to grass. Good to know. But I am not going to let it deter me from spending as much time as I can outside in Jerusalem. Especially with my new Hebrew knowledge.

Reason 84758392 why I love living in Jerusalem

Part of my homework from ulpan today was to write a letter to put in the Kotel. It was a gorgeous day outside, and I had the afternoon free, so I just walked down to the Kotel, and wrote my letter while sitting on a bench maybe 35 feet from the actual Kotel. You can’t beat that.

I also explored the Arab Shuk in the Old City for the first time. It definitely did not feel like Mahane Yehuda, the shuk off of Yafo Street in Central Jerusalem that mostly sells food. This shuk was almost all knick-knacks for tourists, and I got asked multiple times if I spoke English and if I would just “take a look at my shop, just a look.” One man asked me where I was from, and when I responded that I live in Jerusalem, he immediately switched to Hebrew and asked me if I really lived here. I responded in Hebrew that yes I really live in Jerusalem. He seemed very surprised to see someone there who wasn’t (obviously) a tourist.

Also, my new favorite Hebrew word is: רקונסטרוקשוניסט. We were talking about what we did last Shabbat, and in the middle of a whole slew of Hebrew I just inserted “Reconstructionist.” And then I also inserted “Egalitarian.” I also recently learned the verb לפסבק. See if you can guess what it is.

Live in Israel! Make Jewish Babies!

So, a little background: Jews in Israel almost unanimously think that Jews from the Diaspora should move to Israel, marry a Jew, and have Jewish children. And they are not shy about sharing their opinions (on anything!) Also, Judaism doesn't have missionaries, and it's not permitted to proselytize. So, instead, some Jews try to make other Jews more halachically observant, because they believe that if all Jews observe the all miztvot, than the Moshiach will come.

There is a woman in my ulpan who is Orthodox, a Baal Teshuva who grew up Reform. She is in her twenties, has two young kids, and has been living in Jerusalem for the past five years. I like her a lot actually. She is very interested in how observant I am (or, alternately, how not observant I am), and has invited me over for Shabbat, as well as suggesting other Judaism-focused activities for me. Recently, during our hafsakah (הפסקה) we were talking about cleaning for Passover. The conversation morphed into what food has chametz in it, and she mentioned of that in Jerusalem it's illegal to sell chametz during Passover. I responded that that must be hard for non-Jews, and she responded that non-Jews shouldn't be in Jerusalem.

I guess I made a face, because her very next question was:
"So, how important is marrying Jewish to you?"
I hesitated, and made a little mumbling sound.
"But, you do want to raise your kids Jewish, right?"
Finally, I just blurted out "I'm gay. So I don't know how much the whole marriage thing will be in my future."
Not even skipping a beat, she responds that gay marriage is legal in California, so I could just get married there and then come and live in Israel*. And besides, my kids would still be halachically Jewish.

I had no response.



(*Gay marriage actually isn't legal in California. Marriage in Israel is complicated, so sometimes people get married outside of Israel and then get the marriage recognized here.)

All About Me

I'm originally from near Boston, MA but this blog primarily chronicles my adventures when I'm not there. I started it the summer before my senior year of high school, and I'm now on a gap year before college.

I graduated high school a semester early in January 2009, and then embarked on a solo train trip across the USA. In August 2010 I moved to Israel, where I first participated in a MASA-sponsored program in Ramla, then I moved to Ashkelon, and I now live in Jerusalem and study Hebrew in ulpan. In fall 2010 I'm off to Hampshire College in Amherst, MA.

This blog is partly written for me, and partly written for my family and friends. If you're someone else, I hope you enjoy it too!

IKEA Mania

Oh, Egged. Only you:

It is our concern that you arrive at IKEA second store first! Egged will operates bus routes to and from Me’ayan Soreq (IKEA). Two existing bus routes, No.84 from Tel Aviv and No.12 from Rishon le-Tsiyon suburbs, along with two new bus routes (No. 22, No.13) will travel to/from IKEA in Rishon le-Tsiyon starting upcoming Sunday, 7 March 2010.

Really? Is the second IKEA in Israel really this big a deal? The last time I remember them offering special bus service it was to Hebron for Parshat Chayyei Sarah.