What can I say? So far this trip has been fabulous. Right now I'm sitting in Cafe Aroma on Emek Refaim, taking advantage of the wireless. It's raining outside, but considering it's the first ugly day since I've been here, I'm obviously not complaining. It has been
gorgeous here. We're talking I was wearing a tank top yesterday gorgeous. And even this rain isn't bad--when it rains here I always tell myself how much the country needs it, slash that praying for rain here takes a prominent place in prayers across the world, so it's nice to see that the prayers are working...
Been in Yerushalyim (Jerusalem) since I got here, staying with Samara at Merkaz Hamagshimim. Still don't have a complete itinerary, and kind of like it that way. This playing-it-by-ear thing has been working for me so far, so why mess with a good thing? It'll all work out... So here's what I've been up to so far (and warning, this is kinda a long post, but hey, you don't have to read it if you don't want to!):
Wednesday 12/29
Plane ride wasn't that bad, just really long. Flight from NY was delayed, cutting it pretty close to my flight from London, but still made it, so no big deal. Landed in Israel at 9 pm, fully expecting my bags not to make it. Expecting it to the extent where when they were actually there, I was surprised. Took the longest
Sherut ride ever, and finally got to Samara's at about midnight. Didn't really sleep much on the plane, so passed out pretty much as soon as I got there.
Thursday 12/30
Left Samara's pretty early in the morning, ready to explore slash play in Yerushalyim. Walked down Emek, immediately ran into people I knew, got some coffee at Aroma, walked past old Beit Nativ (not the Shalem Center, or something like that)... Then I headed downtown via Yemin Moshe, including the obligatory stop at the windmill to admire the view. Did some shopping, bought some presents and a few great skirts, and then met up with Sharona (my roommate from last time I was here). Went to lunch, more walking around the Ben Yehudah-ish area, then to the Old City and the Kotel. The Kotel...
man.... So amazing--I've missed it.
We walked back downtown, Sharona caught her bus, and I met up with Adam Lev for dinner, the Bethany joined us when she was done with dinner, we headed over to Egon. Ran into people there, chilled in the Kikar (Kikar Tzion/Zion Square) for a bit, then Uri & I split a cab back towards Emek. Awesome day. Insane amount of walking (which seems to be the theme for this trip due to lack of Mom & Dad wanting me to take busses & lack of me wanting to pay for cabs), but awesome.
Friday 12/31/4
Pretty chill day. Samara & I met up with Talia for lunch at Timol Shilshom (sp?) downtown. Went to the shuk to buy stuff for Shabbas (Mmmm... Marzipan...), ran into a million people i knew, got ice cream... Shabbas starts so early, it's a bit crazy. Went to Talia 7 her sister Hannah (whose on Nativ now) to Yakar for shul, which was just as great as I remembered, then Samara met up with us, and we went to Zack's for Shabbas dinner. This great mini Nativ reunion--it was cute. After dinner, it was back to the Merkaz with Samara & Zack's cousin Gabe to chill for New Years. Rather uneventful, but New Years can be overrated. I was also thinking about Kenny a lot, so the idea of partying wasn't really that appealing to me.
Saturday 1/1/5
Went to Yemin Moshe for shul, with Talia & Hannah, mainly because we didn't have a place for lunch and they always have an insanely huge Kiddish. The place is way too Anglo for me, but for a one time thing it was okay. And I really wanted to be able to say Kaddish for Kenny, so it was good to be at shul. After the delicious Kiddish, we took a Shabbas walk over to The Tayelet, and admired the view for awhile. So beautiful....
Motzei Shabbas I met up with Bethany for dinner at Cafe Hillel. Then we met up with Potek in the Kikar. Awesome. That kid is great. Chilled on Ben Yehudah for a bit, saw a bunch of Michigan peeps, met some interesting characters ("Sketch Boy"!) then headed over to new Beit Nativ to watch the Rose Bowl with Aaron (Bethany's bro). Yes, I stayed up 'till past 4 to watch the Rose Bowl. Ridiculous. It was actually a good game, despite the upsetting conclusion to it...
So strange being at Beit Nativ, hanging out with current Nativ-ers. Yes it was a different Beit Nativ than I lived at, but still. Especially on Kenny's yarzeit. It just brought back so many memories. The pictures of all the groups are up on the wall. Looked at Kenny's picture for awhile. It doesn't feel like a year... In some ways it feels so much longer, but at the same time it still doesn't feel real, mainly because I don't want it to be real. So many tears...
Well, that's all for now, seeing as I've bored you enough slash need to find an outlet so I can charge my laptop. Hope everyone had a safe and healthy New Years!!
