Well, finally, after a several month hiatus from blogging, while I was back home in the States, I have returned to Israel and to my blog. Its hard to believe, but I've already been in Israel a month. Part of me feels like I just got here, and part of me feels like I've been here for such a long time already. The last few weeks have been spent settling in, and taking care of lots of beaurocratic stuff for my citizenship. So let me start at the beginning. On October 10 I finally arrived back in Israel. My flight was [View Full Entry]

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Well. I am officially back home in the US. But before I talk about that, let me sum up my last week in Israel. Last weekend, after my cousin Lisa left me, I went to my cousins for Shabbat, and then Saturday night, I went back to my friends's house where I had been staying for a few weeks. I spent Sunday with my friend Abigail, walking around town, and just hanging out, and said goodbye to all my friends in the house, pack up my stuff and went to my cousins again, for Pesach. So, Monday night was the seder. [View Full Entry]

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Well, the beginning of March was Purim. Purim is a big party. It is similar to Halloween, in that everyone dresses up in crazy costumes, and there are parties, but that is where the similarities end. Purim is actually a religious holiday. Traditionally, you go to synagogue to hear the reading of the “Megillah”, the scroll telling the story of Purim, the defeat of our enemy Haman, and the victory of the Jews. Other than this, Purim is essentially a big party. You are supposed to celebrate life, and it is actually a “mitzvah” (good deed) to get drunk on [View Full Entry]

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Part 2... Day 3- Today we drove to Zfat, in the Galilee. Zfat is one of the holiest cities in Judaism, after Jerusalem and Hebron. It is a beautiful little town on the top of a mountain, and is home to the Jewish mystics of Kabbalah. It also happens to be my most favorite place in all of Israel. You can just feel these special, spiritual, mystical powers flowing all around you. As a very religious city, where Kabbalah was developed in the 16th century, there are dozens of small synagogues, mostly after specific rabbis. We went to a few [View Full Entry]

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Well, its finally come to the end. My 6 month internship program is officially over. I can’t believe it, I really can’t. As usual, 6 months has gone so fast. For the last week of our program, we had a 4 day trip to the north. It was full of emotions, especially me, only days after my cousin passed away, and just the overwhelming situation of the program ending, and friends leaving. But let me talk about the amazing trip we had before I get all mushy. We left Sunday morning and started driving north up the coast. Our first stop [View Full Entry]

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So, my internship is over. Goodbye to Branco Weiss (the name of the organization). It was a bumpy ride, but not without its positive moments and people. So, I wanted to tell you guys about some of the special teachers and students I met while working in these schools in Israel. Yasu is a thirty-something man. He came to Israel from Ethiopia, part of the lost tribes of Israel. In the 1980s, the Israeli government found this “lost tribe” of Israel, in Ethiopia. At the time, Ethiopia was a very dangerous place for Jews, as there was a war going on. [View Full Entry]

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Hey Folks... so I know I have been MIA lately, and well, theres lots of reasons for that. But, I have a few entries to add now, so it should catch you up on most things. I meant to write this weeks ago, but February passed with a blink of an eye. In the beginning of February was the holiday of Tu Be’shevat. This is the holiday of trees, and in general, the beginning of spring. Kind of like the American Labor Day, with a religious combination. Traditionally, you go and plant a tree, and eat lots of the fruits and [View Full Entry]

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So, I have been sick. It has been most unfortunate, especially at the end of my program. Thankfully, I am FINALLY starting to get better (thank you antibiotics!). So, with all this free time of lying in bed, although most of it, I was too lethargic to be able to do anything, I've had lots of time to think about lots of random junk, and I thought, hey, its time for some anecdotes and political commentary maybe. I'm not sure how many of you were aware, but a couple weeks ago, there was a suicide bombing in Eilat, in Israel. Eilat, [View Full Entry]

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Hello All! Its just another day here in Israel. It rained. Actually, it poured. While the sun was shining. And last night, I think it hailed. Ok, this is totally NOT typical in Israel. Rain is very rare, although this is certainly the season. But sun storms and hail? Just give me snow already! Luckily, the entire last week that my mom was here, we had perfect weather. It was relatively warm, it was sunny, and most importantly, it didn't rain. Because, like when it snows in DC, in Israel when it rains, people freak out. By the way... did you [View Full Entry]

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Happy New Year!!! This is my official new years greeting to all my readers, even though its already a week past. Here in Israel, the holiday is mysteriously called Sylvester... but I'll get to that in a few minutes. So, I last left off on my return from my trip to Eilat and the Negev and Chanukah. That week, I returned to work, my teaching English to the troubled kids. While the situation has gotten better since the beginning, it is still often a completely disorganized mess. At this point, it is beyond ridiculous, but I have mostly given up on [View Full Entry]

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