The mundane bits of life
I know it's been a while since we've updated. Bad us! But honestly, life is school, friends, and homework, and if we don't have field trips, I don't know what to say! So maybe I'll tell you all the mundane details of life and you can decide for yourself if it's boring or not.
To me HUC seems like college - everyone lives near or around us, the school is a tiny little gossip fishbowl, and there's a great sense of community. Everyone helps each other, is supportive, buys each other's homemade necklaces, that type of thing. A good example - today a bunch of us went to go buy shofars (in preparation for the upcoming High Holidays), and two hours later, I heard some utterly *awful* shofar sounds coming from the apartment three buildings down. Aww, classmates learning! I thought. And I was right - three people waved to me through the window with their shofars.
Ulpan ends tomorrow, a fact for which I am utterly, completely grateful. I love the Hebrew language, but grammar for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks, was getting old. We have our academic orientation on Thursday, and I'm really looking forward to finding out our classes, teachers, etc. (Yes, I'm a geek, this is already well-known). Friday we're going up to Holon to stay with my dad - he's already asked us what food we want! - and then we get back Sunday, and intend to relax. Real academic school starts the week after. Jonathan's ulpan ends when mine does, and his next session begins Sept. 3rd, so it seems to be working out perfectly.
The school requires us to lead services, read Torah, and give a sermon (drasha) at least once. So I've signed up to read Torah in November, the portion of Isaac's near-sacrifice (on which Helayne is giving the drasha). My own sermon is Dec. 4th, I have no idea what portion. And I'm leading services on October 16th, along with Melanie, a cantorial student, and Matt, an education student who seems to be on par with me in terms of my Classical Reform background. I didn't know that Temple Israel was so classically Reform until I got here and started talking to other students... who knew that so many other Reform temples chant the intro paragraph before the Shabbat kiddush, or that so many of my classmates grew up wearing tallitot and even tefillin?
Hmm, what else.. There are some things that happen only in Israel, impromptu shofar choirs notwithstanding. Passing the makolet (small neighborhood grocery) on the way to school early in the morning, I saw the shop owner step outside with his coffee, say "Baruch Atah Adonai..." for the blessing, and then go back inside to begin his day. That just doesn't happen in the States!
The next night, after a Shabbat service/potluck dinner/song session at a friend's house (he has a HUGE balcony), Jonathan and I were heading home. We were stopped at a stoplight, about to cross the street, when I noticed that the woman standing in front of us was wearing an absolutely gorgeous skirt. Not wanting to covet it alone, I whispered to Jonathan - and then he turned to her to compliment her on her taste. Well, it turns out she's American, she's a banker and her husband's a surgeon, they're from Chicago, and they're here for a week playing tourist. We stood on the street corner for 40 minutes talking to them, and the next night, they called us and we went out for dinner! (Burger Bar, by the way - garlic mayonnaise that is to die for, you don't even miss not having cheese).
Other interesting things about Israel - I hadn't really understood til I got here that everything here is spontaneous. No one makes set plans until the day before or even the day itself, and nobody gets upset about it. It helps me understand a lot about my Israeli family, actually - we have completely different mindsets in some ways.
Then there are the bits that are just as interesting, but maybe not so favorable. Like beggars with unbelievable chutzpah, who won't leave you alone after you say no. And mosquitos from hell. And the fact that nobody spays their cats, so there are strays *everywhere*. Jonathan and I have been studiously avoiding adopting some kittens... but to tell the truth I'm not quite sure how much longer I'll last. They live in the building next door and they're adorable. I think we would have already taken one in except that they're so scared of humans, they won't let us pet them.
And oh my goodness - I could write more, but this is already long. I should go study for tomorrow's quiz. Kudos if you got this far... g'night!
To me HUC seems like college - everyone lives near or around us, the school is a tiny little gossip fishbowl, and there's a great sense of community. Everyone helps each other, is supportive, buys each other's homemade necklaces, that type of thing. A good example - today a bunch of us went to go buy shofars (in preparation for the upcoming High Holidays), and two hours later, I heard some utterly *awful* shofar sounds coming from the apartment three buildings down. Aww, classmates learning! I thought. And I was right - three people waved to me through the window with their shofars.
Ulpan ends tomorrow, a fact for which I am utterly, completely grateful. I love the Hebrew language, but grammar for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks, was getting old. We have our academic orientation on Thursday, and I'm really looking forward to finding out our classes, teachers, etc. (Yes, I'm a geek, this is already well-known). Friday we're going up to Holon to stay with my dad - he's already asked us what food we want! - and then we get back Sunday, and intend to relax. Real academic school starts the week after. Jonathan's ulpan ends when mine does, and his next session begins Sept. 3rd, so it seems to be working out perfectly.
The school requires us to lead services, read Torah, and give a sermon (drasha) at least once. So I've signed up to read Torah in November, the portion of Isaac's near-sacrifice (on which Helayne is giving the drasha). My own sermon is Dec. 4th, I have no idea what portion. And I'm leading services on October 16th, along with Melanie, a cantorial student, and Matt, an education student who seems to be on par with me in terms of my Classical Reform background. I didn't know that Temple Israel was so classically Reform until I got here and started talking to other students... who knew that so many other Reform temples chant the intro paragraph before the Shabbat kiddush, or that so many of my classmates grew up wearing tallitot and even tefillin?
Hmm, what else.. There are some things that happen only in Israel, impromptu shofar choirs notwithstanding. Passing the makolet (small neighborhood grocery) on the way to school early in the morning, I saw the shop owner step outside with his coffee, say "Baruch Atah Adonai..." for the blessing, and then go back inside to begin his day. That just doesn't happen in the States!
The next night, after a Shabbat service/potluck dinner/song session at a friend's house (he has a HUGE balcony), Jonathan and I were heading home. We were stopped at a stoplight, about to cross the street, when I noticed that the woman standing in front of us was wearing an absolutely gorgeous skirt. Not wanting to covet it alone, I whispered to Jonathan - and then he turned to her to compliment her on her taste. Well, it turns out she's American, she's a banker and her husband's a surgeon, they're from Chicago, and they're here for a week playing tourist. We stood on the street corner for 40 minutes talking to them, and the next night, they called us and we went out for dinner! (Burger Bar, by the way - garlic mayonnaise that is to die for, you don't even miss not having cheese).
Other interesting things about Israel - I hadn't really understood til I got here that everything here is spontaneous. No one makes set plans until the day before or even the day itself, and nobody gets upset about it. It helps me understand a lot about my Israeli family, actually - we have completely different mindsets in some ways.
Then there are the bits that are just as interesting, but maybe not so favorable. Like beggars with unbelievable chutzpah, who won't leave you alone after you say no. And mosquitos from hell. And the fact that nobody spays their cats, so there are strays *everywhere*. Jonathan and I have been studiously avoiding adopting some kittens... but to tell the truth I'm not quite sure how much longer I'll last. They live in the building next door and they're adorable. I think we would have already taken one in except that they're so scared of humans, they won't let us pet them.
And oh my goodness - I could write more, but this is already long. I should go study for tomorrow's quiz. Kudos if you got this far... g'night!
posted by Michal at 11:32 AM
2 Comments:
Hi guys - love your updates as usual! Enjoy your weekend away, we'll be vacationing in Minneapolis (ooo, aah) for the beginning of Vikings season, but I am looking forward to shopping for some new clothes for my new teaching job at the community college! A woman in Target yesterday thought I looked about the same age as her 18 year old daughter, so I really need to work on maturing my wardrobe apparently. Maybe some makeup or something too... Someday I may be flattered by someone thinking I'm 18 I guess....
I want pictures of you in your new threads!
Hugs-J
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