My friends do cool stuff with me (or I hate volcanoes and love Yom HaAztmuat)

The big news in my life is that the gigantic cloud of ash, which closed down European airspace for a week, also prevented my family from visiting me. They were going to come over their school vacation, and school and job schedules means they can't reschedule. I know that I had been really looking forward to sharing my life with my family ever since I got here. We're all pretty bummed. Thankfully, I have some pretty awesome friends who have been putting up with my complaining, and also trying to cheer me up and keep me occupied with other things.

We found out the day before Yom HaZikaron that they weren't going to be able to make it. I was actually on Skype while sitting in the laundry room at Hebrew University, doing massive amounts of laundry. It was one of those days where everything is too overwhelming to handle, and I had to call Devora and have her explain to me how to use the machines. While doing laundry, I ran into my friend Jayne, who said that she was going to the Yom HaZikaron ceremony at the Kotel and that I should come too. Being that I was very much in the mood for mourning, I agreed. As soon as my laundry was done, I hopped on a bus to drop it off at home. But I was running late, and at 7:45pm, I was just leaving my house. The ceremony started when the siren went off at 8pm, and I was still on King George Street. I made it to the ceremony a little late, and as a result ended up standing in a crowd of haredi men. This was great because I had lots of personal space, but not so great because I was in a crowd of haredi men. After the ceremony I met up with Jayne, and we also ran into Alanna, Rebecca and Noam, which was lovely. Not wanting to go back to an empty house, I spent the night on Devora's floor in her dorm room, which brought back many memories of missing the last bus back to Ramla.

The next morning Devora asked what my plans were for Yom HaAztmaut. Yom HaAztmaut is unique because it is the only secular happy holiday in Israel. Originally, I was waking up super early to meet my family's 5:20am flight to Ben Gurion, and then we were going to barbeque on the Tel Aviv beach all day. Since that was no longer an option, I told Devora that I was going to "sit in my room and cry all day." She told me that wasn't an option. Instead, I had a lovely breakfast with Jayne, and then went back to my house and took a nap (I had to prepare for the festivities!)

Erev Yom HaAztmaut was EPIC. First I went to a house party at Ahuva's with lots of falafel, the vegetarian response to barbecuing. We all migrated towards Ben Yehuda Street, where the party was in full swing. Lots of students from the March of the Living were there, and they were celebrating with copious amounts of silly string, shaving cream, and light up hammers. There were multiple bands playing on stages set up all around downtown, and it was clear that Jerusalem was ready to celebrate! It was a little overwhelming, so Marc and myself headed out to find some quiet. We met back up with Ahuva, Alexis and Dev just to see the first fireworks over Gan Aztmaut (Independence Park). Marc and I joined Alanna and Rebecca on their roof for the second round of fireworks around midnight.

And then the amazing thing happened. We discovered that there was a huge party happening in the shuk. The shuk where I buy fruits and vegetables, the shuk where little old ladies push their shopping carts into me, the shuk where shopkeepers yell out their daily produce prices. For one night, the shuk turned into a party. I almost didn't get to experience it, because it was 21+. Luckily, I have a college ID card that doesn't have my birthday on it, and because it was in English, the bouncer let me through.

I'm really not sure how to describe the party. It was exactly like a regular club, and yet so completely different. There was a band, speakers, and a bar set up. But yet in the next alley over, you could clearly see old vegetable boxes and such. In one alley a couple of guys were doing army drills (probably in an attempt to impress the people they were with.) The dominant language was Hebrew, and the shuk party was obviously where the Israelis went to celebrate Yom HaAztmaut. I had a blast.

After the shuk party, Marc, Alanna and myself headed over to Ben Yehuda Street for ice cream. Around 4am we decided we should probably head back to our respective houses and get to sleep, although Marc and I took a detour to sit by a fountain near my house and people watch.

I woke up in the middle of the afternoon, not feeling so great, so I ended up not going to any barbecues. Around 8pm, my doorbell rings. Not in the mood to deal with people who want donations to their yeshivas, I ignored it. And then it rang again. And again. Finally, I got up to answer it, and was greeted by Devora and Jayne holding a pint of ice cream! Chag HaAztmaut Sameach, and Happy 62nd Birthday, Israel!