Well, I've made it to Israel!!! The flight was fine (I ended up in the middle, but I had bought one of those cool neck pillows so I was ok). They had told us that one person from the class who was already in Israel would be waiting for us at the airport, but when we got there (there were 15 of us) almost the entire summer ulpan (also about 15) were there waiting for us with flowers, signs, and balloons. It's incredible to see the community begin to build. Obviously, it's not the best time to be here, but things are better than you would expect, and one of the ways we will make the experience the best possible is to stick together as a class and be there for eachother, and I can already see that that is something that will not be a problem.
Some personal news: Right now I'm living at Beit Shmuel, a hostile right next to HUC, but I've found a roommate (his name is Mike Satz, and he's from St. Louis and he seems very cool... anyone know him?) and we've looked at a few apartments, one of which used to be owned by Chaim Potok, and we're looking at a few more today.
So, overall, things are going great. I haven't gotten my computer hooked up to the internet yet, so no new pictures, but I'll get them when I can. Talk to you all soon,
Joel
WE FOUND AN APARTMENT!!! We got an incredible deal on an apartment right next to the President's house in Talbeyah (about a 15 minute walk from campus). It has two bedrooms and two full bathrooms (fairly rare in Jerusalem) as well as a walk-in closet, 3 showers, a ceiling fan, and a chandelere (all rare). We got a great price and we're really excited. We're moving in tonight, and once we get internet, I'll have my computer hooked up to put on pictures :-)
We also started our orientation today, and the class is great. There are 42 of us in Jerusalem, and something like 25 who stayed in the states. We're hoping to keep up communication between the groups and keep everyone involved.
Tomorrow night, I'm going to see David Broza at the Jerusalem Theater (a 2 minute walk from my apartment) with a group of 15 students. It should be a lot of fun. That's it from me... things are going great, and my apartment is big enough for all of you to come visit :-)
Joel
It's been a while, and I actually have to hurry because I'm late for a fantasy football draft, but here we go. We got moved into our apartment and had about 20 people from the class over the next night for coffee. We figured it was as clean as it would be for the next 10 months. Then, a bunch of us went to the David Broza Concert. (He wrote songs like Mitachat lashamayim and Y'hiyeh Tov). It was amazing. It was also amazing to see so many Jerusalemites celebrating. The overall feeling here really is positive. People are scared, and people are frustrated, but people are living.
My first Shabbat in Israel in 4 years was just as I remember. The whole city slows down. You can cross the street without feeling like you're trapped in a game of Frogger. It's an amazing feeling to be able to say Shabbat Shalom to a random person in the street and not only have them know what you mean, but wish you the same right back.
I also lead services for the class Friday night which was quite the honor. It felt great being so comfortable in front of the people who will be my classmates for the next 5 years and colleagues for the rest of my life after only knowing them for 4 days.
Anyway, besides eating Thai food on a sandwich, seeing Ittai for all you camp people, and living in Jerusalem, that's about it!
Joel
Today was the third day of our ulpan (Hebrew class) which we have for a month before we start regular classes. It's 8:30-1 everyday, just doing Hebrew. I love it, and I can already feel my Hebrew improving.
Last night I woke up at 3 in the morning to watch the Broncos game. It wasn't worth it, and I shouldn't make this a monday night habit, but I know that I will. Speaking of night habits... Tonight is the first installment of Tuesday Night Drinking Club in Jerusalem. Adding to the Denver and St. Louis branch has always been a dream of mine :-)
We have officially signed up for internet but won't get it for a week or so, so I'm still bound to the library, but one of my friends e-mailed me a picture, so I added a new one.
Hope things are well with all of you,
Joel
Last night was an Italian festival at the Italian Synagogue, so a bunch of us went before TNDC. It was really cool seeing another celebration in Jerusalem with so many happy people. One of the events was a spaghetti eating contest and I got dragged into in ;-)
They put this huge bowl of spaghetti in front of me, and I was up against 6 other people to finish my bowl first. The bowl was disgustingly large (Imagine the salad bowl at Olive Garden...) So, the whole crowd was cheering for me (I guess they were excited to have Americans here) So the cheer of Yo-El, Yo-El, Yo-El, brought me back to memories of the Buffet and the Buffalo sweat ;-). Anyway, one person finished before me, and I was ready to quit, but they said there was a second prize. The cheering got louder, and I put the whole bowl to my mouth and finished it off. I ended up winning dinner for 2 at the David Citadel Hotel (formerly the Hilton) and a bottle of wine (all worth like $80) so it was quite exciting.
Anyway, I gess that's it for now. What can I say except things are going well. We have a great class, and I'm loving every day more than the next. Can't wait to hear from you all,
Joel