Chillin' in Israel
Today was a great day to be in Israel. First of all, the weather is AMAZING...it's in the 60s, bright and sunny and not a cloud in the sky. We're staying with family friends of Alyson, the Ronens, who live in Kfar Saba (outside Tel Aviv). We started the day with a very somber reminder that we are in Israel: we attended the memorial ceremony of an Israeli soldier named Gidi Eyal who died when his helicopter crashed during a training mission exactly twenty years ago. It was a sad and poignant ceremony in the military cemetary where he is buried, but it was beautiful to see that around 60 people were there to show their support and condolences, even 20 years later. We greeted Gidi's mother, who seemed remarkably resilient when she told us, "This is part of living in Israel." It truly must be--when we turned to leave, we saw another memorial ceremony taking place just a few meters away.
Our day continued on a happier note with a decadent lunch of hummus and salads in Zichron Yaakov. If you've never been there, you are definitely missing out, as the town is so cute and relaxed, and the views overlooking the Mediterranean are simply fantastic. While Alyson went back to the house, I went with the guys to fly kites on the beach. It was something out of a book: a stunning sunset, horses galloping on the beach, a low-flying plane buzzing over the water, and just enough wind to keep the kites aloft. We just finished Shabbat dinner, and we wanted to post to the blog before going to bed. In the next few days, we'll be traipsing around the country to visit more friends: the Rofes in Herzliya, the Yarmuts in Yokneam (outside Haifa), and the Arrans in Haruv (in the northern Negev, not far from Beer Sheva).
Now let's go back in time a few days to explain why we're here in Israel. We arrived last week in order to participate in the Jewish Service Corps Midyear Seminar, which gathered the 12 volunteers from our nine countries for four days of discussions, introspection, and generating ideas. Of course, there was also a large amount of commiseration, as we shared stories of culture shock, local food, misunderstandings, and adjusting to our host cities. We really enjoyed seeing our colleagues from around the world and pigging out on delicious kosher food. We found the seminar extremely helpful and motivating. Now we're tacking on two weeks of vacation at the end, running from city to city to see friends. It's strange to say this, but with our new-found motivation and excitement, we're actually looking forward to going back to St. Petersburg!
In this picture, you see a little get-together we had at "Colony," a fancy bar in Jerusalem. The three people to my left are all friends from DC that I wanted to hang out with. From right to left: Lizzie, Jay Rosen, Tali Golan, David Bernay, me, Alyson, and Mollie Wertlieb (the JSC volunteer in Kiev). We can't tell you how "at home" we feel in Israel--we have tons of friends here, we know our way around, and we can find kosher food on every corner. It's been a great respite from our work in St. Petersburg, and we know that we'll return refreshed and ready to jump back in at the end.
Our day continued on a happier note with a decadent lunch of hummus and salads in Zichron Yaakov. If you've never been there, you are definitely missing out, as the town is so cute and relaxed, and the views overlooking the Mediterranean are simply fantastic. While Alyson went back to the house, I went with the guys to fly kites on the beach. It was something out of a book: a stunning sunset, horses galloping on the beach, a low-flying plane buzzing over the water, and just enough wind to keep the kites aloft. We just finished Shabbat dinner, and we wanted to post to the blog before going to bed. In the next few days, we'll be traipsing around the country to visit more friends: the Rofes in Herzliya, the Yarmuts in Yokneam (outside Haifa), and the Arrans in Haruv (in the northern Negev, not far from Beer Sheva).
Now let's go back in time a few days to explain why we're here in Israel. We arrived last week in order to participate in the Jewish Service Corps Midyear Seminar, which gathered the 12 volunteers from our nine countries for four days of discussions, introspection, and generating ideas. Of course, there was also a large amount of commiseration, as we shared stories of culture shock, local food, misunderstandings, and adjusting to our host cities. We really enjoyed seeing our colleagues from around the world and pigging out on delicious kosher food. We found the seminar extremely helpful and motivating. Now we're tacking on two weeks of vacation at the end, running from city to city to see friends. It's strange to say this, but with our new-found motivation and excitement, we're actually looking forward to going back to St. Petersburg!
In the picture, from right to left: Michal in Sri Lanka, Faye in Turkey, Ariella in Romania, me, in front of me is Aviva in Warsaw, then Mollie in Kiev, then Alyson, then Chloe in Turkey, Erica in Minsk, Eli in Ethiopia, and finally Erin in India. On the far left is our Country Director, Jonathan Porath, who is our mentor and supervisor based in Jerusalem.
In this picture, you see a little get-together we had at "Colony," a fancy bar in Jerusalem. The three people to my left are all friends from DC that I wanted to hang out with. From right to left: Lizzie, Jay Rosen, Tali Golan, David Bernay, me, Alyson, and Mollie Wertlieb (the JSC volunteer in Kiev). We can't tell you how "at home" we feel in Israel--we have tons of friends here, we know our way around, and we can find kosher food on every corner. It's been a great respite from our work in St. Petersburg, and we know that we'll return refreshed and ready to jump back in at the end.
posted by Matt Fieldman at 8:34 PM
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