On Sunday night, 3 other ulpanists and I drove to a checkpoint near Nablus, then took a bullet-proof bus up to Mount Gerizim to watch the Samaritan's annual Passover sacrifice. The Samaritan people number around 750. They are split between two towns, around 400 in Holon (near Tel Aviv, in Israel proper) and about 350 Kiryat … Continue reading Samaritan Sacrifices
I'm finding it incredibly easy to live in Israel. Compared to other countries I've lived in, Israel is just accessible. 1) There excellent infrastructure, from well-constructed buildings, to an operational government, to (most importantly) good roads. Those of you who know me probably know of my intense love for public transport, born out of an almost … Continue reading Friendly Vs. Hospitable (or, Why It’s Easy to Live Here)
I have been wholly tossed into a new life. Like a kid on a wave, I can just go along with it! After 6 months of unstructured travel extravaganzas, I now have a precise schedule. I even have feeding times. I go to class, work, exercise, and then study. Sometimes I work, then go to … Continue reading My New Routine
I'm on new soil. Planes amaze me - I spend half a day sleeping and watching movies, and when I disembark I'm in another world. I flew out of Chicago, where I visited family for a few days. So in one flight I moved from Polar Vortex Part II (temperatures in the single and negative … Continue reading At Ma’agan Michael
I love Seattle. Everywhere you go, you're by the water. And you go out of town and you're in the mountains. Or by a lake. Or a waterfall. Or all three. You can actually do anything. People are kind and outdoorsy. You can do anything! Ski, snowboard, ice climb, hike, run, swim, rock climb, cycle, … Continue reading Seattle
It's just magic. I left Oregon today! This upcoming week I'm going to visit friends in Seattle, Indiana, and Chicago. Next Saturday I'll fly from Chicago to Tel Aviv. Wheeeeee!
I had a nightmare a few nights ago about Kurdistan. It was a bad one. When I was in Kurdistan, I felt harassed, pushed aside, scapegoated, threatened, and the subject of outright malice. The men were creeps; they often tried to touch me, to corner me, to make gross comments about my body, and at … Continue reading Nightmares
The other day, my cousin mentioned that her 4-year-old son seemed to have sprouted up overnight. "Mickey told me that he felt uncomfortable, and sure enough he was all scrunched up in his car seat! I swear, I had just adjusted its height last week." While travelling, I feel like I only grow in spurts. … Continue reading Growing Out Of
*This post was written the day after Thanksgiving 2013* I have had the most thanks-giving transition. Day 1 The day after I flew back to the states, it was the first night of Channukah. The next night, it was the rare unicorn-of-a-holiday, THANKSGIVUKKAH. Channukah, which follows the Jewish calendar, fell on Thanksgiving, which follows the … Continue reading Welcome Back – TO THANKSGIVUKKAH
I love my backpack. I loved it to death, and now I have to retire it. The seams are coming apart. The strap has popped and it's spilling out polyurethane foam. The internal dividers fell apart somewhere around Nicaragua. It's time. Together, over the past three years, we have been to: Scotland England Northern Ireland … Continue reading The Simplicity of a Backpack
In Mutual Weirdness 