Thursday, August 31, 2006

10 For Dinner, Again

Well, it started out as a almost-quiet Shabbat dinner. Jean is on a plane right now, coming back and we're very excited about her return! We told her via email we'd have her over for dinner and that it would be a nice quiet dinner. I don't think it'll be so quiet after all!

So, from three of us, we quickly grew to six once we heard that our friend Steve had a fellow rabbinical student who was arriving on Friday. A new friend of a friend shouldn't have to stress on her first night here so Steve, new friend, and Steve's roommate all have to be invited. So then we were at six for a few days.

Then, tonight at a quarter after nine, the Assistant Director of the yeshiva calls and asks us to host two newly arrived cantoral students. How can we say no? So, we're up to eight and then Jen makes the instantaneous decision that we have to invite the two other yeshiva students who were here all summer for dinner so now we're up to a possible ten!

Once we made it to eight, we had to jump to ten because if you're cooking for eight, you might as well cook for ten, right?! We'll wait to hear on our last two invites so the possibility is that we'll only have eight but who knows, we might meet others on the way to or from synagogue tomorrow night.

One of the most difficult things about planning a big Shabbat dinner is the timing of having everything ready when it's time to go walk to synagogue and for everything to remain warm (and tasty) on the warming platter until we all return later! Jen's getting really good at it - I, of course, just follow directions.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

We All Scream for Apricot Ice Cream

I immediately saw the image of an orange ice cream bar with vanilla cream on the inside. I thought it was orange-flavored on the outside but, reading the Hebrew on the ad, I realized the orange sugary coating was apricot-flavored. It tasted pretty good - I can get used to it.

Hassidic Penguins

Here's a photo of Hassidic Penguins at the Biblical Zoo approaching their own version of the Western Wall, getting ready to daven Mincha.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Looks Like California




I'm amazed at how much the Israeli countryside looks like California. The pictures above look as though they could've been taken along Interstate 5 but they're Highway 1 between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Magen David Adom

Today, while in Tel Aviv, I happened upon the Tel Aviv chapter of Magen David Adom (Israel's national Red Cross Society, literally the Red Star/Shield of David) so here's a photo of the two Magen David Adom flags flying one either side of the flag of Israel. It was a beautiful sight, especially since the MDA was just accepted in June into the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Flatulence in the Fifth Row

Yesterday morning at services, I had to move to a new seat because my concentration was seriously disrupted by the man in front of me. I’ve never had this happen before but this guy in front of me was extremely flatulent and the bowing during the service didn’t help his condition; it only impacted the guy behind him – me. So, I moved to the last row in the synagogue, where I would be less disturbed by offending odors.

No IHOP or Denny's?

You don’t see many breakfast places in Jerusalem. The primary cause could be that bacon and sausages don’t go over real well anywhere in the Middle East. But, a secondary cause could be the cultural preference for a vegetable-type (i.e. Israeli Salad) breakfast. I would love some pancakes, though!

I'm All Better

Thanks to those who wrote, expressing their concern for my well-being. I was A-OK by Friday morning and able to attend the second day of Rosh Chodesh service and hear the shofar (ram's horn) blown. Several suggested that perhaps I had heat exhaustion and that may indeed have been possible as I did not drink enough water on my lengthy walk in the hot, hot sun.

They Like Me! They Really Like Me!

The mosquitoes, that is. I'm averaging about two new mosquito bites a day now. It doesn't matter whether I'm out exploring the town, spending some time at a park, or spending the day as a hermit at home, I get two new bites by morning.

Which means that I don't just have two annoying places on my body that itch, I have about eight that have accumulated over several days. And these suckers are really itchy! I try not to scratch, but when I do, I start with the itchiest and make my way down to the least itchy. Unfortunately, by number four bite on my mosquito-bite pecking order, the first one starts to itch again. Ugh!

Bitten, but not as frequently as myself, Matt went to a pharmacy down the street last week and found some anti-itch cream. I apply it regularly and liberally, but it doesn't solve my itch problem, it just takes a bit of the edge off.

I've also tried the age-old solution of putting scalding hot water on the bites. That actually does work but I just haven't been on top of it since I have so many bites. I should do it today, because these things are starting to drive me crazy!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Lo Tov (Not Good)

I do not feel well at all. I woke up at 4 .a.m this morning with a really bad tummy ache. I took some Imodium that I purchased as Costco before I left (thanks so very much to my cantor’s father – a pharmacist – for that suggestion!) I tried to get back to sleep but was awakened again by my stomach. I rested on the couch as best as possible but the hours slipped by. I felt so bad, so weak, and so tired.

I was unfortunately forced to miss this morning’s services at the synagogue for the new month, Elul. Fortunately this month, it’s a two-day observance so I will be able to go tomorrow for an exact replica of today’s service. Since Elul has begun, the shofar (ram’s horn) is sounded every morning in anticipation of the upcoming new year (Rosh Hashanah) and Yom Kippur. I look forward to hearing the shofar frequently – it’s a sound that I enjoy for its ritual and historical aspects.

I was able to climb back in bed by about seven and I told Jen to wake me five minutes before we had to go to Hebrew. I was able to fall asleep and Jen woke me five minutes before we had to leave and it took me longer than five minutes to get ready but we weren’t too late. I felt awful during class and could hardly pay attention or read the Hebrew letters on the page. I was miserable.

Now, in the early afternoon, I haven’t yet eaten because my stomach doesn’t feel quite up to it and I’m still a tad queasy. I think I have some sort of food poisoning – our Hebrew teacher said that it’s very important to be very careful during the summer as the warm temperatures are perfect environments for all that is bad.

The only food I didn’t prepare myself was the sandwich provided by the yeshiva yesterday or a luncheon learning session. Hmmm… are they trying to reduce the number of students in the fall?

I Can't Wait for Sunday!

Thanks to fellow blogger and Jerusalemite Chayyei Sarah, I discovered someone to help us set up a wireless Internet connection. I am inept at such things and my brilliant brother-in-law usually performs such miracles for me but Israel is a bit of a schlep for him to help us now.

As soon as I saw Sarah's post, I called but Daniel was away on vacation until late August. So yesterday, I called back and arranged for Daniel to come help us not be stuck to a single cord emanating from the back of the modem. He's coming to set up our wireless network on Sunday and I'm so excited! Domestic bliss will once again reign as we not longer need to thumb wrestle or play rock-scissors-paper to win a few minutes of Internet access

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Bypassing the Fuse Breaker

After tutoring, I stopped by the neighborhood fruit stand, where the fruits and veggies are the best around. I picked out some delicious looking plums, apples, and pears outside the store and then noticed as I was headed inside, that the power was out at the store. I thought I could not pay for my fruit but then I noticed that the owner was fiddling with the fuse box and trying to flip switches of the circuit breaker to get the power back on. He flipped the master breaker several times and the power would intermittently turn on and then off. He then proceeded to hold the switch in place to keep the power on long enough for the scale and cash register to work. That’s customer service!

Friday, August 18, 2006

Get Your Hot Dogs Here!

We bought hot dogs and hot dog buns at the grocery store the other day. Unfortunately, our apartment lacks a microwave and it has been quite some time since either Jen or I experienced hot dogs cooked without a microwave.

We both remembered our mothers cooking hot dogs (pre-microwave) by boiling so we decided that was our solution. We didn't know how long to boil the hotdogs. Unfortunately, lunchtime here is 2 a.m. in California so we couldn't call home to ask.

So, we boiled water, plopped the hot dogs and decided that 10 minutes was a good length of time. We were right and they were delicious!

You Might Be a Redneck If...

Your neck is actually red. The bright Jerusalem sun has made its impact on Jen's fair skin. I've never seen her neck so very red! Her v-neck shirts that she regularly wears has created a big red shield-shape on her neck and chest. It's the reddest redneck I've ever seen! Jeff Foxworthy would be proud!

As for me, I have a severe tan line around my neck - the tops of my shirts must all be at around the same place because there's a distinct line between dark and very light. Our primary mode of transportation is by foot and it's pretty sunny outside in Jerusalem so we're just always soaking up the sun. I love how dark I'm getting but I just wish the cause was through sitting by a pool.

What's on TV?

My mother-in-law asked me, "What do you watch on TV? Is it all in Hebrew? Are there any subtitles?" And I thought, what a great blog post!

So what's on TV here in Israel? Lots of stuff! We have an expanded cable package so there are somewhere around 200 stations. There are some Israeli game shows, soap operas, and other shows that are all in Hebrew but most of the channels have TV from other countries.

I just flipped through a few channels and right now, at 8:30 in the morning, there is the American cartoon Recess but it has been dubbed into Hebrew with no subtitles. Last week we watched a couple Seinfeld reruns that were in English with Hebrew subtitles.

I found one great channel that runs different movies all day long. Some are in English, some in Russian, some in Hebrew, but all have Hebrew subtitles.

We also have channels for the History Channel, MGM (old movies), Hallmark (family shows), E!, VH-1 and MTV. I've also found a few channels that host shows from National Geographic and Comedy Central.

There are also many, many channels that are solely in Russian and others that have shows and movies from Bollywood.

If you are really interested, you can even watch what's going on in the Knesset.

For the most part, when we have time we watch TV, we watch FOX News, CNN, or BBC World which are all in English.

The Source

I have finally finished it! It has taken me two months, but I have finally finished the 1,078-page (with small font) The Source by James Michener.

I didn't only read The Source during the two months; I also read Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, The Final Solution by Michael Chabon, The Known World by Edward Jones, and had some fun with The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Michener was such an amazing writer. He captures both history and the problems that beset the times while still creating characters that you care about. As he jumps from one time period to the next, you often don't want to lose touch with the characters you are forced to leave behind.

I loved all the sections from the people in the cave who began the domestication of agriculture to the fighting over Sfat during Israel's fight for independence, except one section. The section on the Crusaders is what made the book take me two months to read.

I just had a hard time getting through that section. I don't think it was merely the bloodshed and battles. Perhaps it was because the huge amounts of bloodshed and death just seemed so pointless.

I think the book was a great beginner's look at the history of the area. I can't wait to ransack the bookshelves at the Israeli Museum to see what other good history books I can find.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Intensive Hebrew

Today we met with Anna and went to our Hebrew teacher's house to spend two intensive hours learning Hebrew. It was really intense and I think I broke my brain!

We went through our textbook from where we left off last Thursday and covered about ten pages - about double what we usually covered in our 3.5 hour daily sessions before. Having just three people in the class helps - we each have to answer questions more often and we're on the spot more often. It's good for us and we're learning more this way.

Plus, we have more homework tonight than we used to have because we're going so quickly through the material.

After Hebrew (which ends at noon), we met some other friends and had a quick lunch. Lunch today was my first bagel in Israel! We ate our bagels in the cab on the way to a new (to us) movie theater where we saw Pirates II! It was fantastic! We had popcorn and there was stadium seating. Plus, there was no loud siren announcing the intermission! I just love reading the subtitles in English-language movies, especially when I can understand some of the words! It's almost a continuation of Hebrew class.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

I Smell Smoke

A few nights ago, I smelt a strong smell of smoke outside our apartment. I didn't see any smoke or flames but the smell was strong. After a while, I saw a fire truck in the valley below, lights flashing. It was the first fire truck I'd seen responding to an emergency and only the second time I'd seen a fire truck. My Hebrew teacher said that Jerusalem has very few fire stations because fires are very infrequent since all building are constructed of stone. Anyway, the smell finally went away and I was able to sleep soundly. Yesterday, when we walked to the museum, I saw a large area that had been burned so my mystery was solved.

But It's Just an Orange Shirt

I enjoy the color orange - it looks good with khaki shorts (my offical day-to-day uniform). Unfortunately, it's also the color that those who protest Israel's disengagement from Gaza wear. Since I don't have a strong opinion yet on the issue, my very nice orange shirt remains in the closet, unworn.

One sees orange clothes, orange pants, orange hats, orange shoes, and orange streamers tied to backpacks everywhere. Department stores have special sections devoted to clothing only in orange. I even saw a special section of orange bikinis the other day. Orange is the new black.

Meanwhile, I have one less shirt to wear out of the limited clothing I brought with me.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Soup Kitchen

Yesterday I (as Jen decided to forego class) had the interesting experience of spending some time at a soup kitchen in Jerusalem with all of the other Hebrew students.

The soup kitchen, located near the central bus station, is really impressive - it's part of a chain throughout Israel and is more of a restaurant than a soup kitchen. Anyone can come in for the hot meal, no questions asked. The patron sits at a nice table and a tray of food is brought to him or her by a volunteer and then taken away after eating by the volunteer. It's a neat system and the food looked and smelled great; it made me really hungry.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough work for us to do because our group was too large. I started pealing potatoes and then realized I was the slowest of the bunch so handed over my well sought-after peeler to someone better at peeling than I. I then tried to start serving food but there were far more servers than patrons.

I then wiped down trays but there was competition for that job as well. Ultimately, I didn't feel like I accomplished much but the experience of visiting the innovative center was worthwhile and interesting.

At least I didn't end up cutting my finger, as a fellow student unfortunately did. With my potato peeling skills, it could've been much worse!

Sunday, August 06, 2006

I Was There

Here's a great set of photos from Tisha B'Av at the Kotel a few days ago. I was there.

First Haircut

I had my hair cut the day we flew out of the country. That was seven weeks ago. My hair was getting really, really long so I finally had to have it cut. I decided to make it simple and ask the stylist to just use clippers - number four on the top, number two. I used the Hebrew words for two and four and pointed to the appropriate parts of my head. The barber said yes in Hebrew and I believed that he understood what I wanted. Unfortunately, seconds later he was using the clipper with a number two blade across my entire head. So, now I have very short hair. I probably won't need to have it cut again for seven weeks!

Common Israeli Household Goods

Here are some photos of some typical Israeli goods that we have around the house.

1) The package of spaghetti literally reads "pasta" and the second line reads "spaghetti" in Hebrew.
2) This mayo is pretty easy to identify without a vast knowledge of Hebrew.
3) Spices are labeled in Hebrew and English.
4) Besides the photo of spaghetti on the jar, this sauce says spaghetti in Hebrew right on the label.
5) Pantene is popular here but you do need to be able to read the Hebrew letters that differentiate between shampoo and conditioner, lest you condition before you shampoo! Rinse and repeat!
6) I think this is peanut butter.
7) This packaging clearly identifies the beitzot (eggs) inside.
8) This packaged meat has a brand name of "oof tov," which means "good chicken."
9) This cereal literally reads "branflakes" in Hebrew.









Thursday, August 03, 2006

Please Do Call List

Our new apartment gets quite a few calls from what sound like telemarketers. I try to do my best to talk to them in Hebrew. But, as soon as I tell them that I only speak a little Hebrew, they try to hang up on me.

But, I need the practice! Please remain on the line so we can talk and I can learn how to engage a native speaker in conversation. I think I can do it! It might take a while but if you just speak slowly and define big words, I’m sure I will be interested in whatever you’re offering! I wonder if Israel has a “Please Do Call” list of telemarketers?

A Long-Winded Post

I am so, so thirsty! Today is Tisha B’Av, a major day of mourning in the Jewish calendar. The time at which the fast was supposed to begin was nightfall last night – around 7:30 p.m. – but I was headed to the yeshiva to walk with others to the Western Wall so I really stopped eating just before 7. Now, as I write this, I have just over an hour left before I can eat and drink again and I am very thirsty. The fast ends at 8:04 p.m. and inside our refrigerator is a very cold bottle of Coca Cola, some fresh plums, grapes, and cold hummus, along with some fresh pita that I bought this afternoon, that I will devour at precisely 8:04 p.m.

Last night was an amazing experience. It was overwhelmingly incredibly to experience Tisha B’Av at night in the Old City at the Western Wall. We walked to the Old City with about twenty fellow students and there were hundreds and hundreds of others walking in the same direction – to be at the Western Wall of the Second Temple, destroyed in the year 70, to begin a day of mourning for that very Temple’s destruction.

We arrived at the Wall at nightfall and headed down to the egalitarian section where men and women can pray together. I had not been to that area before, having taken the typical route to the men’s only and women’s only sections. The egalitarian area is amazing – you’re several stories below the typical men/women area and you’re standing within ancient Roman ruins that were built next to the temple. We sat on an ancient Roman road that ran adjacent to the Temple. (It is tradition to sit during Tisha B’Av and I repeated this activity during morning services at the synagogue today; however, the synagogue has carpet and the Roman road does not.) In front of us, hundreds of feet high, was the wall itself – standing there for two thousand years. It’s difficult to appreciate the antiquity of this place, even when surrounded by it. Adjacent to the wall are the remains of what look to be small staircases going up a few feet but they are walls that divided ancient shopkeeper stalls along the road. After all, the triennial trips to Jerusalem for the three festivals brought in considerable commerce to the city and these salesman knew the principle of location, location, location. Behind us are walls that remain from Roman-era structures; the foundations of several columns are quite visible. I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures on Tisha B’Av so I’ll have to go back soon and get some photos.

The evening service started, led by a rabbi. Later into the typical evening service, as is tradition for the day, the Book of Lamentations was read. Everything was said or chanted in Hebrew so I was glad I’d brought my English-Hebrew Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The sound of the chant on this mournful day is a sad one and its words (have you read the book? It’s incredibly depressing) and sound brought tears to many.

We were at the Wall from about 8 to nearly 10 p.m. and then we headed back home to the western part of the city. Leaving the Western Wall, it felt like we were leaving a concert or baseball game – thousands and thousands of people were streaming from the Wall and the Old City and into the streets of the not-so-Old City and toward home late at night. Already I was getting thirsty from the walk to the Wall and from the length of the evening.

Finally, at about 11 p.m., I arrived home. I woke up at 6:30 this morning to go to morning services at the synagogue next door to the yeshiva – there were only a handful of others who made the early (7 a.m.) service. The morning service included another mournful reading of the Book of Lamentations.

After leaving the synagogue and on the way to the grocery store across the street, suddenly sirens broke the calm morning air. Two tiny sleek gold motorcycles drove to block cars at two points in the intersection. Two men were on each of the motorcycles, dressed all in leather. A police car, siren wailing, blocked another portion of the intersection. Two men jumped off the back of each of the motorcycles with a huge machine gun in their hands and stood in front of the cars, effectively blocking their path. In about a minute, several SUVs with sirens blaring and lights flashing flew through the intersection and turned left, heading north on King George. I wish I’d had my camera, especially to take photos of the bad-ass dudes with huge machine guns, but maybe they would’ve shot me so I’m glad I didn’t have my camera. Anyway, that was the most impressive motorcade I’ve seen. It certainly tops anything I’ve seen in Washington D.C. and I did get locked in the Library of Congress gift shop when they First Lady went to the library and that was a nice motorcade but here in Israel, they do it right.

On the way back, I had to stop by the store to pick up some cleaning supplies and some food for tonight and thus I had to carry it all back to the apartment. At some point in my walk, the bags decided to rip themselves apart. After struggling with readjusting my items to avoid the growing holes in the bags, I happened upon a recycle bin and sitting next to it was a intact cardboard box. I placed my groceries in the box and carried my supplies home. I was getting more and more tired and more and more thirsty. Oh, water! Oh, Coca Cola! Oh, lemon mint drink! Oh, anything to quench my thirst in the sun which is beginning to warm up with city.

I arrived home with a mushy head form lack of sleep and calories and tried to work but could not. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the ability to share an Internet connection so Jen and I have to switch – it’s frustrating but we’ll solve it soon. I’m actually writing this offline and will post it once I’m done and can swap the cable from Jen’s computer to mine.

We spent some time cleaning the kitchen in anticipation of making it kosher. I tried to nap but could not. I tried to read but could not. I wanted to drink but could not.

Soon, noon rolled around and it was time to go to the yeshiva. Regularly scheduled classes were cancelled for today (thank goodness!) but there was a talk before the afternoon service and after the afternoon service. I headed to the first talk, which started at 12:30 this afternoon. I was walking so very slowly. Listening to the rabbi lecture, I could hardly pay attention – I was so glad he didn’t make us partner up and discuss the text he was lecturing on. At 1:30 it was time for Mincha, the afternoon service. On Tisha B’Av, one does not put on their tallit and tefillin in the morning but instead, it is done in the afternoon. The afternoon service also includes a reading from the Torah, which is a typical morning activity. After Mincha, I could not last another lecture so I went home. The sun was blazing hot and I was thirsty, hungry, sweaty, and tired. Did I mention that another aspect of the Tisha B’Av fast involves not showering in the morning? Well, it does, so I was not enjoying the additional application of sweat to my body. In addition, one does not wear leather shoes so Jen and I bought Crocs yesterday – they’re basically plastic sweat factories for your feet! Fun fun!

I arrived home at about 3ish and continued doing laundry. As is typical in Israel, we do not have a dryer at our new apartment so today I got to experience a clothes line for the first time ever. I was thrilled that I didn’t loose any clothes today to the strong winds we have here on top of the building on the top of the ridge. The gusts can get pretty strong outside and, when all the windows are open, inside the apartment.

I have nothing to do except think about food and water so you just have to put up with my incredibly long post. By the way, I get to eat in exactly 50 minutes now.

So, yesterday we walked a lot! We left campus after Hebrew to do some shopping for our apartment. We walked north to the department store to try to find a flat sheet for out bed. Apparently, set of sheets only include a fitted sheet, a duvet cover, and pillow cases. Flat sheets between oneself and the comforter don’t exist. The department store didn’t have any. Then, we finally went to the Shuk, the outdoor market, for the first time.

The Shuk reminded me of what Farmer’s Market at Third Street and Fairfax in Los Angeles used to be, before it was turned into the trendy “The Grove.” Anyway, if you haven’t been to a Middle Eastern marketplace – there are hundreds and hundreds of booths selling mostly fresh food but the occasional housewares or Judaica booth pops up. There are lots of fish, meat, produce, spice, and baked goods vendors at the Shuk. The experience is sensory overload – sort of like a U.S. mall on the day after Thanksgiving. We bought some housewares (salt and pepper shaker, flatware container, and some plastic containers) at the Shuk. Then, we walked some more and some more, continually on the lookout for some Crocs.

Now, Crocs are extremely popular here in Jerusalem. They’re plastic shoes that look incredibly ugly and they only come in hideous colors. Everyone is wearing them. They’re worn with socks and, more popularly, without socks. Apparently, they’re formal wear as well as informal wear because we see them with every type of outfit possible.

Up until yesterday, we felt that everywhere we looked, there were Crocs for sale but yesterday, they must’ve sold out everywhere from people trying to buy non-leather shoes for Tisha B’Av. Every store we passed that had a huge display rack out front in previous weeks had no Crocs to be seen. We kept walking down Ben Yehuda street, the large pedestrian mall here in town. Finally, near the end of the street we found a store that had Crocs.

We went in and started looking for a pair for each of us. Crocs are sized small, medium, large, XL, XXL, and XXXL. I started with large and they felt snug but good while XL felt too big. I settled on large but the only colors available were powder blue, florescent pink, and florescent green. I figured, with a name like Crocs, it has to be green! Jen bought a pair in powder blue.

I wore my Crocs all last night to the Wall and this morning to synagogue and this afternoon to the yeshiva for Mincha and when I wear them, they’re comfortable to walk in but they might be too tight as my toes are sort of squished. You can’t return anything in Israel so since I’m not a huge Croc fan, I might just stick with this almost too small pair and just wear them only when I have to – the next and last time will be Yom Kippur next month.

We had planned to go out to a nice dinner before the fast started but we didn’t realize that all the restaurants close at about 4 p.m. on the afternoon before Tisha B’Av. Thus, we were really unprepared to start the fast so for dinner I only ate a bowl of instant soup, a peach, a bottle of Coca Cola, and a part of a small bag of Bamba – Israel’s favorite snack food. Bamba are peanut butter puffs. They’re like puffy Cheetos but they’re peanut butter flavored. They’re an acquired taste but they’re very popular. Anyway, I didn’t eat nearly enough. Some fellow students cheated and went to a non-kosher Ethiopian restaurant for dinner and stayed there, eating and eating just until it was time to walk (or waddle) to the Wall. Our plans fell apart because our kitchen wasn’t ready for us after having just moved. We really shouldn’t have moved two days before a significant Jewish holiday when we knew we’d need to make our new kitchen kosher.

Someone recently said that fast days don’t allow Jews to loose weight because we end up eating several far too large of meals right before the fast and then after the fast, we eat several days worth of food as well.

Jen just said that my lips are dry and cracking. At least they’re not bleeding. Well, in thirty-one minutes my problem will be solved when I drink two liters of water in one gulp. Oh, I am so thirsty. I wish I had eaten a huge steak along with a plethora of fruits and vegetables and gallons of water from 6:30 to 7:30 last night. Several students chose not to walk to the Wall in order to conserve calories. That’s a good idea.

OK, I’m done writing for now. Jen promises that she’s going to blog right after she eats and takes a shower. You don’t want a stinky blogger, do you?!

(I didn’t stop writing – I added the paragraph about the motorcade and now I have 20 minutes until I get to drink two liters of Coca Cola. And, I promise it wasn’t a hunger and thirst-induced hallucination! There were other witnesses!)

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Shower Time

Ahhhh! We moved into our new apartment yesterday and spent last night here - it was wonderful, it's so nice and quiet here. But, I was most happy today about our shower! Our shower head actually is attached to the wall of the shower above our heads. Yes, we did not need to hold the shower head in one hand while we shower! It was a wonderful experience that I was very happy to have after living at our last apartment for five weeks. I look forward to repeating the experience again and again.

Kosher What?

I found the most fascinating snack at the store yesterday - kosher, yes, kosher bacon-flavored chips. Of course, since I'm eating my way through Jerusalem and trying every snack food in the country, I had to buy them and eat them. They had a very smoky and salty flavor but others who tried them (and I'm not naming names) said they really didn't taste like bacon at all.

For those who care, the bacon chips are Pareve and thus can be eaten with either meat or milk - just imagine smothering the chips with a nacho cheese sauce; ugh! Here's the evidence...