Shabbat Shalom

We will be spending Friday night at a welcome dinner for summer students at the CY and tomorrow we will daven at the synagogue adjacent to the Yeshiva, a very American-style Conservative Synagogue. Jen and I have prepared a delicious pasta and lots of fruit for lunch tomorrow.

While you're here, don't miss the plethora of posts in the past few days below and on Hatikvah II!

Here's a beautiful pomegranate tree we found in the Old City...

Tzedakah on the Street

An integral part of being Jewish is the giving of tzedakah. What is tzedakah? It generally refers to the giving of money to people in need or organizations that help better society in some way. (Many people translate tzedakah as "charity" but it literally means "justice.")

I am a strong believer of tzedakah and I do my best to give. In the Shulchan Aruch, it says, "One must be very careful about the Mitzvah of Tzedakah because one can reach the spilling of blood if the poor person who requests dies because he did not give right away." So tzedakah is very, very important and one must be careful not to turn away form someone in real need.

However, I have been tested here. There are so very many people along the streets who ask for money. Some sit quietly, a few play an instrument, but most are in your face and will follow you until you give them something. (To be honest, I really don't like it when they follow me around.) I have been giving something to many of them, but I would literally go broke if I gave something to all.

What is my responsibility? Do I have to give to everyone? Should I give something more substantial to a few and not a pittance to many? I am so conflicted as to what to do.

For now, until I can solve my issues about this, I will continue to make sure I have some change in my pocket and continue to give.

What's With the Tiny Women's Section?

Yes, my experience at the Wall was fantastic. But what's with the tiny women's section? As Matt said in his previous post, there are separate areas for the men and women to visit the Wall. The separation consists of a relatively flimsy green fence.

After going through a security screening, there is an area where both men and women can mingle and then you must split to go to either into the men's section (on the left) or the women's section (on the right). However, the women's section is much, much smaller than the men's section.

There was nearly no room left to get near the Wall when Jean and I first arrived in the women's section. (Ten minutes later it got really busy and women had to nearly climb over chairs and push through others to even get close to the Wall.)

As I walked slowly up to the Wall, I noticed lots of plastic chairs also sitting about. The chairs were actually a very welcome relief because the sun was blazing and we'd been walking for quite a while already. A few of the chairs were near the Wall itself, which is where Jean and I sat before we did Mincha (which brought several stares from some of the other women at the Wall).

However, I also noticed a large number of chairs were also lined up along the separation fence. Some women stood on these chairs to peer over the fence into the men's section. Tempted as I was, I didn't look over the fence, but Matt later told me there was a Bar Mitzvah going on. How do the women in the young boy's family get to participate in the simcha?

Matt also told me of the interesting side rooms that he was able to enter. I didn't see any side rooms in the women's section, but I didn't explore the small tunnel on the right which might have led to interesting side rooms or might have been a dead end. I look forward to visiting the Wall again and next time, I'll explore a bit more.

The Wall

Today, we went to the Western Wall, known as the Kotel here and in Hebrew (we also went to the Old City because the Wall is within that area but I'll talk about the Old City some other time). It was an amazing experience to be there and we spent about a half hour there, amazed at being in Jerusalem and being at the Western Wall of the ancient Temple. Words cannot express my feelings from my experience today but I'll try anyway. :)

There are separate men and women sections at the Wall, with the men's section being somewhat larger than the women's section. In addition, in the men's section there's a whole labyrinth of rooms where various groups of people are engaged in daily prayers. I was surprised to see this area because when I think of the Wall and have seen photos, I've only seen the outside portion thereof.

Jen and Jean went to the women's section and another friend and I went to the men's side. We both davened the afternoon service right up next to the Wall. Did I mention it was incredible, awesome, and amazing? Well, it was.

Below are photos of the Wall and as a special treat (and something you rarely see) what it looks like when you're not facing the Wall. (Although it is traditional to not turn your back to the Wall so you walk backwards away from it for a specified distance and then you can turn around.)

The Old City, The Opposite of the Wall, and Me at the Wall

The Cats

You have to understand, I absolutely love cats. I wouldn't necessarily say I was a "cat person" because I love cats and dogs both equally. I'd say I like them to an extreme, but then you'd probably think I'm crazy.

Anyway, I currently have two cats of my own that my parents are so wonderfully taking care of for me while Matt and I are in Israel. One of my cats is white, fluffy, and very lazy. The other is gray, tailless, and likes to stick her legs up into the air at strange angles while she cleans herself. Both are very sweet and both have a lot of personality.

I had been warned about the cats here in Israel, but I had no idea. They are everywhere. I have actually never seen so many cats in my entire life. They come in all shapes and sizes, plus I've seen quite a few kittens. Apparently, they are an infestation here in Jerusalem, one that the city's citizens would like to eliminate.

The cats are the rats of the city. They scrounge in dumpsters and howl at night. Last night was particularly loud, the cats must have had a lengthy territorial war for the howling and screeching went on for hours.

I've heard that some people try to poison the cats to get rid of them. That just seems terrible. I think that someone should create an organization like the SPCA here in Jerusalem and capture the cats and spay them. If this was done, the cat population would significantly decrease in about a decade.

My mom warns me not to get involved. That I can't save them all. I'm listening. I understand. Yet, someone needs to help these poor, hungry cats.

Even the Simplest Things Can Be Hard to Find

It's amazing what you don't know until you get here. Matt and I had diligently tried to pack what we absolutely needed and not pack things that we could just buy here. For instance, I only brought one bottle of shampoo, one stick of deodorant, and one notepad, since we assumed we would just have to find an Israeli product of the same kind of thing.

We are quickly discovering that some of the things which we thought would be relatively easy to find are not quite so close at hand. For instance, today we went on a mission to find some notebooks and notepads. With our classes starting on Sunday, we're trying to get prepared and we were told that some note paper would be a good idea.

We went to the major shopping area, Me'a She'arim (several streets that are lined with a ton of little shops), but we saw nothing resembling note paper. We then went to the grocery store and found some glass plates we were searching for, but surprisingly, no paper. Then we went to a little store that looked like a stationery but actually just had the word "papier" written in French; it turned out to be a small French bookstore.

We decided that Hebrew University, the main university in Jerusalem, must have a bookstore with these kinds of supplies. So we went with our friend Jean on a very long, but beautiful, walk to the university. It was down a steep hill, then up another steep hill, and then we had to go to its northern entrance to get into the university. Before we could enter, a guard had to look at our passports and search our bags.

I was also trying to get a library card at the university, but I didn't bring with me any of the required paperwork, nor the money, nor did we arrive before the 2 p.m. cut off for new library cards. I'll have to go back soon.

Anyway, after roaming around the campus for a while, we finally stumbled across the university bookstore. Eureka! They had paper, binders, staplers, band-aids, computer printer, flashlight, pens, and lots more. We left the bookstore carrying four bags of supplies and one printer. With tired feet, sweating foreheads, and heavy bags, the three of us opted to take a taxi back home.

Though it had been a long walk, we felt so rewarded. Tomorrow we go in search of a hat for me and a couple of towels. Who knows where we might end up?

More Than 50 Miles Away

It would appear that Israeli troops have crossed the border into southern Gaza this morning to search for the kidnapped Israeli soldier. The IDF has also apparently strategically taken out several bridges and a power plant to effect their operation.

This activity is happening far to the southwest of us and had I not woken up in the middle of the night due to the feral cats fighting each other on our lovely street and thus checked my email to see two CNN news alerts, I would have had no idea that anything was going on because all is (mostly) quiet here in Rehavia.

This does make me wish we had a television here. Well, we get one in our new place on August first.

I'll pray for the success of the young men and women of the IDF in achieving their mission this morning.

Out And About

Today we did some shopping with our friend Jean. I found my first kosher Burger King (photo below). However, we did not stop to eat there because I didn't want to ruin my appetite for our fantastic Chinese kosher dinner, which is about three minutes away from our flat! The other two photos are typical Jerusalem street scenes.

First Impressions

At the very, very beginning, I was completely comfortable. This pretty much means I was completely comfortable at the airport. The Ben Gurion Airport is absolutely beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful I've ever been to, and was extremely easy to navigate. Then we went outside.

I don't think we've said this before, but this is both Matt and my very first trip to Israel. So everything is new.

What struck us first was the landscape. It is utterly beautiful, but not in a sense we have known before. There are hills everywhere, covered in dirt, white rock, and sometimes with small, green shrubs. All the buildings are pretty much the same color because they are all made from similar stone.

Our friend's husband, who drove us from her house to Jerusalem, used to be a tour guide so he pointed out historic sites as we passed them. It seems like on every hill there used to be an important city with a fascinating history. We took a quick pit-stop between Modi'in and Jerusalem to see the tomb of Samuel. How amazing! Just by taking a quick right turn, you go up a hill and see the tomb of a prophet!

We had a bit of culture shock when we first saw our apartment. It doesn't have fresh paint or matching furnishings from Pottery Barn. After about 15 minutes here, I realized that I am prissy. It was quite a realization for me, because that's not a term I would ever want to describe myself. But, especially having lived in L.A. for a few years, the American goal of bigger and better had become somewhat ingrained in me.

To survive here, I am going to need to peel away some of the snobbishness and get down to the part that is important. It doesn't matter how much you have or how sparkling new it is, for those aren't the things that make you (meaning me) a good person. It is how much I know, how I act, and how I treat others that really defines me.

It's amazing what a self-inspection this first day in Israel has brought me. I wonder what I will learn about myself on day two.

You'll Never Guess Who We Saw!

As Matt and I got off the plane at Ben Gurion Airport, we made a quick bathroom stop and then headed right through passport control. As we were about to grab our bags, we walked by a young woman holding a sign. At first glance, I thought the sign had our L.A. rabbi's name on it. I made Matt go back around for a second look, thinking that I must have read the name incorrectly.

Sneakily, Matt double-checked. Sure enough, I had read it correctly. We had known that he was taking a shul trip to Israel within the next week or so, but we had no idea we were arriving on the same day. Curious, we looked at the arrival schedule and found that a plane had just landed from L.A. So we waited.

About five minutes later, we saw him walking with his family through the passport checkpoint. We hugged and chatted for a second. Since we had a wonderful friend waiting to pick us up and the rabbi and his family still had to pick up their luggage, we parted ways because we had already made plans to see them next week.

But how cool to not be in Israel more than ten minutes and see someone you know from home! What a small world!

We're Here!

We've arrived safely in Jerusalem; lots to write but it's late. You'll notice we've changed the time stamp on the posts to reflect Israel time. Here's a photo of Jerusalem I took today on the way into the city and to our new home for the next year.

I Cannot Sleep

Oh my, it is just after 2 a.m. and I cannot sleep. We are getting up at 5 a.m. for a 5:45 taxi to Heathrow for our 8:50 a.m. flight to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. The flight to Israel is a short one - just four hours and forty-five minutes and we only move forward two time zones. It seems so unreal that in just under twelve hours from now, Jen and I will be in Israel. Wow!

Today we went to the British Museum (amazing!) and dined on salads at the original Hard Rock Cafe.

33 Times!

Yesterday we met a great guy named Patrick from the Netherlands, who's about our age and has, since the age of fifteen, been to Israel a whopping total of thirty-three times! I'd think that if you got to that high of a number, you'd lose count! He was obviously filled with information after what must be about twice yearly trips there. It just goes to show that when you're so much closer (such as in the Netherlands), it sure is easier to get there.

Shabbat in London

I am so glad that Matt called ahead. On Thursday, Matt called a Masorti synagogue here in London to find out what time services on Shabbat would start and if there was a kiddush luncheon. (Masorti is the equivalent to the U.S.'s Conservative Movement.)

The man who answered the phone, realizing that we were from the U.S., told us that many Americans who show up for the main services are quite shocked because the seating is still separated. This is relatively rare at Conservative shuls in the U.S. However, the man told us that this particular Shabbat they were going to conduct, in addition to the main services, a Minyan Chadash (an alternative minyan) which would be much more egalitarian. We decided to go to this one.

It was a lovely service, both small and intimate. Overall, I think we would have been fine at the main service if it weren't a week when the alternative service was offered because everyone was so very welcoming and friendly. (Matt's going to tell you more about the service, so I shouldn't spoil any of his stories.)

After services, the two groups met for some crisps (potato chips), crackers, and a couple of cookies. I think our friend David would have given this kiddush a one out of five rating. (David, you really should write that guide that rates kiddush luncheons.) The spread wasn't very good compared to our L.A. standards. However, every third week, they offer a kiddush luncheon over at someone's house. We were invited and decided to go.

What a lovely time! Six out of five stars for this one! We were walked over to the house, which was a beautiful home with a little English garden and had the added bonus of backing up to a park. We met a ton of wonderful people, several about our own age. The food was delicious and consisted of spinach quiche, salmon, salads, potatoes, fruits, couscous, and much more. We then all took our food out into the park and had set up blankets for us to eat on. It was just fascinating to actually spend quite a bit of time with real British people and to chat about Israel, London, and anything and everything else.

Then, after a very interesting and yummy kiddush luncheon, a few of us grabbed a bag of leftover challah pieces and took a long, lingering walk over to Regent's Park and fed the ducks and geese.

We ended up spending most of the day chatting with others and feeding ducks, so we didn't get back to our hotel until rather late. With a bit of sunburn and tired feet, it wasn't difficult to pass the remainder of Shabbat sleeping away.

What a truly lovely Shabbat.

Disseminating Change

So today we spent Shabbat morning services at the New London Synagogue at their "alternative minyan" called Minyan Chadash, which is egalitarian. We established two new records at the New London Synagogue this morning, all by ourselves!

First, Jen and I were the first couple ever to be called up to the Torah for an Aliyah (the blessing over the Torah) together. Here at New London, in their main service, men and women do not sit together and women are not called up to the Torah. However, at the alternative minyan, which has been going on since 2001, women read Torah and are given honors. So while women have been called up individually, they had never experienced a couple having an Aliyah together, so there was much chatter about that following the service.

Second, we were the first to recite Birkat Ha-Gomel - the prayer for thanksgiving - following a trip across the ocean. Here at New London, it is only customary to recite Gomel following serious illness or surviving some sort of terrible event. We weren't aware of the local custom but I thought I'd ask to recite it because it is customary in our community back home to do so following a trans-oceanic trip. They were A-OK with us doing it, it's just not something they'd done before. Many people came up to us after the service and wanted to know what we'd survived!

It's so exciting to be at the forefront of diffusing new ideas onto another continent!

Shabbat Shalom

Enjoy this relaxing photo from St. James's Park. (We recently were told that all swans in England belong to the Queen.)

Due to the high latitude, Shabbat begins late here in London (9:04 p.m.!) Tomorrow, we will be at the New London Synagogue. May you and yours have a restful and peaceful weekend!

The Big Line, Big Time!

A dream fulfilled! Today we went to the Greenwich Observatory and I was able to be precisely on top of the Prime Meridian (zero degrees longitude)...

Everyone else simply stood on the line for their photo. Not I! I have a unfortunate penchant for lying on top of significant lines and boundaries but I'll save that for another time. (Perhaps some sort of intervention is necessary?!?) As you can see from the photo, I was almost stepped upon but fortunately, Jen was quick with the camera. Surprising enough, I did not start a trend of tourists lying on the Prime Meridian.

A Long Journey

While Matt and I were sitting yesterday in the beautiful St. James's Park, near Buckingham Palace, we watched the various fowl enjoy the pond and started talking about how we were feeling. I then realized that my last update about this on the blog was that I felt like I was headed for a two week vacation in New York (rather than a year in Israel).

Well, my mind has finally come to terms with the fact that I'm not in New York. Although it still feels a bit strange to be in London, I do feel like I'm on a journey. I also realize that this is not a two-week journey.

I feel a bit more like I did when I first went off to college. Or like when I first moved to Los Angeles. It's an exciting feeling. There's a realization that you are breaking away from your usual routines, stepping outside of your comfortable norms. You are entering an unknown, with mysteries to explore. This is how I feel.

London is wonderful, but I feel like it is just a prelude to the real adventure. I'm a bit surprised at myself, but I keep looking toward next Monday with anticipation for that will be the real beginning of our year-long journey.

Golders Green

Last night, after visiting a number of usual tourist places such as the Churchill Museum, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey, Matt and I took the tube to a little suburb in northern London called Golders Green.

Golders Green is known to have a thriving Jewish community, especially a strong heredi (Othodox) community.

As we walked down Golders Green Street (an easy name to remember), we visited a number of Judaica shops. We found a few interesting books and a really cute netilat yadaim cup (a cup for hand washing, this one had a floral motif) that were really tempting, but we had to consider our already stuffed bags and pass them up.

We were in the neighborhood with a specific goal -- dinner. We were searching for a particular kosher Chinese food restaurant, but we were tempted by each kosher restaurant that we passed. We finally ended up eating at one that described itself as South American cuisine.

There were lots of interesting choices on the menu. We did order chicken empanadas for an appetizer, but went for basic chicken and steak for our main meals. And it was delicious! It's been several days since we've had any meat so it was particularly yummy :) They also had super good bread and a dip appetizer - makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

It was so nice to visit this kind of community. As we were eating dinner we could watch out the window. There were lots of people visiting the kosher butcher across the street, young boys with tzitzit racing by on foot-powered scooters along the sidewalks, and young couples out on dates.

It was just so comfortable. Matt said it was just a taste of what it's going to be like in Israel. We can't wait! We stopped at a kosher bakery on the way back to the tube station and picked up some challah; Shabbat in London should be interesting!

Across the Pond

We're here! Right after we arrived in London, we hit the town and spent several wonderful hours at the Tower of London...

Even the Taxi Driver Is Jewish

Wait, but we're not in Israel yet! On our way out of the Heathrow airport, we grabbed the first taxi that was in the "taxi rank" (the queue of taxis). In New York, we would have had to push and shove our way to get to a taxi; here in London, everyone was very nice and polite and we were able to take our time. In New York, we would not have been chatty with the driver because of he might not know much English; this taxi driver not only spoke English, he was a world traveler.

The conversation started with him wondering why we had so much heavy luggage if we were only staying in London for five days. When we somewhat cautiously told him we were just making an extra long layover in London on our way to Israel, he told us about his experiences traveling to Israel. Apparently, he has been to Eilat several times on vacation with his then girlfriend (who is now his wife).

He then regaled us with stories of his experiences, including difficult questions before being able to board an El Al flight, surprise at sitting next to a plain-clothed Israeli soldier with a machine gun at a cafe (a very unusual experience for someone who is British since even the police here don't carry guns), and later suspicion by airline officials when he was traveling to the U.S. because he had Israeli entry and exit stamps in his passport.

He gave us advice about keeping our wallets in our front pockets and told us where we could get some kosher food. As we were exiting the taxi, our taxi driver very seriously asked us about a disturbing email he and his wife had recently received. Apparently, the email was from a Jewish friend living in the U.S. who has had several experiences with anti-Semitism and described a rise in the KKK in their area. He had found the email very disturbing and was concerned for the state of Jewry in the U.S.

We weren't quite sure what to say. Our first reaction was to say that we had not personally experienced much anti-Semitism and to calm his fears, but then we stopped ourselves. There are reasons why we're cautious about telling people we are Jewish. You never know how people will react. There have even been fire bombings of synagogues in California as recently as 1999. We fumbled for an answer, but we had none.

Exhausted, we wished our taxi driver the best and headed into our hotel.

Surprisingly Easy

Yay! We are now safely in London and our whole trip here was surprisingly easy. Matt and I had been so worried that our four, packed-to-the-gills suitcases plus our four, relatively heavy carry-ons would be a pain in the tush to deal with at airports and in taxis. My family also thought so, for when we had the pile of luggage ready to go on Monday night, my family were seriously concerned that we might not be able to stuff it all into a car to even get it to the airport.

In reality, the luggage was heavy and a bit unwieldy but we had the best travel experience in our lives getting here. It all started with friendly jetBlue people in our home town airport and absolutely no line at security.

Then when we got to New York, we grabbed a quick breakfast near our arrival gate (the yummiest croissant I've ever eaten). Stopping to grab breakfast caused us to be a few minutes late to pick up our luggage at the carousel, so a luggage attendant had already placed our huge bags, along with a few others that had not been claimed, onto a large rolling trolley.

When we told him that four of the bags were ours and that we were headed over to British Airways, he checked our boarding pass and then offered to take us over to the British Airways check-in, which was in another terminal building. We are so thankful he offered to help! It would have taken us a while (I say over an hour, but Matt says 15 extra minutes) to figure out where to go and to find an airport shuttle to take us. He had all our bags on one trolley and led us outside, across a few streets, around a bus station, across another couple streets, into a building, and up an elevator. We then tranferred our bags to two smaller trolleys that were just sitting there waiting for us.

After sitting at a convenient table for an hour, we were able to check in our bags and head upstairs to wait for our next flight. We had about 7 hours to kill and we were exhausted. Matt happened to find and grab the only couch in the entire terminal, which we hogged for the rest of our stay. We took turns laying down and sleeping, trying our best not to snore too loudly :)

Thanks to the couch, when it was finally time to get on our British Airways flight, we were somewhat rested. By the way, we just love British Airways. We would definitely fly them again. The staff was very nice, we had lots of leg room, and our kosher meal was just scrumptious. Plus, just like jetBlue, we each had individual televisions that were fitted into the back of the seat in front of us. So, I read some of Michener's Source, watched an episode of Frasier, and watched a very cute British movie during our trans-Atlantic flight. Since I had such a good trip, they almost had to drag me off the plane once we had landed.

Passport check and customs were both easy-breezy. And by the time we had both taken a quick restroom stop, our bags arrived and we placed them on two trolleys. Overall, our airport experience at Heathrow was a 4 out of 5 experience (I got asked to answer a survey about our airport experience), with a drop in one point only because the first bathroom I stopped at was completely out of toilet paper.

D'Nile Is Not Just in Egypt

Sorry, couldn't help myself. Matt always laughs at even the corniest geography jokes :)

I have the most serious case of denial that I have ever experienced. Even though I'm sitting in the airport, near the gate, my mind just can't quite fathom why I'm here. As I sit here, my mind is trying to ignore the inconceivable notion that Matt and I are headed to Israel for a year by re-conjuring some past event to focus on. So, to stay in this cloudy state of unreality, my mind has decided that I'm going on a two week vacation in New York.

Day dreaming about NY, my mind starts wandering and I think about going to the MET, eating at a kosher deli, and visiting Matt's cousin who is going to school in NY. And what wonderful Broadway play are we going to see?

Then it hits me. I'm not going to New York. But my mind just can't quite grasp that we are going to London. And Israel, well, that is just completely out of the question.

When is this going to seem real?

The Smoothest Airport Experience Ever

The airport now has free wifi! So, of course we had to get online and post! This was the smoothest airport experience ever! Flying jetBlue at night is fantastic - no one was at the counter, no one was in line for security, and no one is in the terminal. Plus, we're sitting in the exit row! Everything is going so fantastic!

Unfortunately, we will have to re-check our bags onto British Airways when we arrive at JFK tomorrow morning. Here's a summary of our travel - we leave here at 11:30 p.m. Pacific Time, arrive at JFK at 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time. We get to spend the day at JFK, experiencing the airport all day, until our 5:55 p.m. flight. Then, we arrive in London on Wednesday morning at 5:55 a.m.

Where's The Hole Punch?!?

We're totally packed; I guess that's appropriate since we leave for the airport in one hour. Today we kept needing things that had already been packed away for the year while we're away. For instance, we needed the three hole punch, printer paper, and Jen forgot to bring her Macy's card when we went shopping at Macy's. Fortunately, I had not yet transitioned my wallet down to the bare necessities. Well, we're off; the next post will be from the East Coast or beyond!

What's Left to Do?

You might think that since it's only Monday morning (we leave late tonight) and we have our four suitcases pretty much packed that we'd have time to sit back, relax, watch a little TV or take in a movie. No such luck. We still have tons to do!

First, we have laundry to do. We are trying to get every piece of clothing and bed sheets washed before we go because we don't want to come back to nasty dirty clothes that have been sitting around for a year.

We're also spending this morning packing up everything that we are not taking. This includes books, shoes, clothes, bags, hats, hole punch, printers, desk tops, food, bathroom stuff, etc. It's amazing how much stuff there is left to box up!

Then we have last minute errands that are going to consume our day if we don't hurry through them. We have library books to take back, checks to deposit, slippers and a few bathroom necessities to purchase, Matt haircut, one last box of books to mail, copies of passports to make, and dinner to pick up.

And last, but not least, we still have to make our will. It's been on our To Do list for ages but we never got around to it. We are hoping to spend at least a couple of hours on it today. That probably won't be enough time, but at least we'll get something written down.

Wacka....I think I'd better get off the computer and out to errands. So much left to do!

Pack, Pack, Unpack, Pack

I had no idea packing two suitcases each could take so long! We started on Sunday, thinking it was going to be perhaps a two hour process. It has turned into a two day process.

We started by clearing off the bed and then piling up everything we hoped to take with us on it. I wish we had taken a picture of it. What a mess! Let's just say it was a heaping pile that nearly toppled over at several points during the day yesterday.

Then we did a quick initial pack. We had been worried about going over the 70 pound per suitcase limit, but we needn't have worried because the suitcases, even stuffed to the point of potential explosion, still weighed less than 60 pounds.

At this point, Matt decided that our initial packing was good enough. He then tried to stuff the leftover stuff (enough to fill an entire suitcase on its own) into any little corner or air pocket left in the suitcases. That's when the suitcases exploded.

O.K., they didn't explode literally, but we felt like they did. We felt like we were taking way too much stuff. Even trying to open a suitcase was annoying, let alone trying to find something in particular to pull out. We usually pride ourselves on packing light because, from our experience, the lighter you pack the less stress you have while traveling. So, four suitcases that were filled completely to the gills with every air pocket stuffed with random stuff was not the way we wanted to go.

So we unpacked everything. We needed a new game plan.

We decided to re-start our packing adventure by dedicating one suitcase to our trip to London. We will have almost a week in London and it would be a complete pain to get into all the suitcases. So we included a week's worth of clothes for each of us, our London tour books, and extra sets of comfy shoes, and a few books we might want to read. This pretty much filled the suitcase. Once we had our London suitcase packed, we worked on repacking the other three.

The pile on the bed was still too big. We were going to have to weed out some stuff. It turned out, when we recounted our shirts, that we had both tried to pack way too many. So we each cut ours down to about 20 tops (we were shooting for 14 but there we both justified a few extra that we just had to take with us). Then, we each got one suitcase to stuff with our clothes. We made a rule that we could only take it with us if it would fit in these two suitcases.

This left the last suitcase still completely unpacked. We decided to fill it with all the miscellaneous stuff, including pens, stapler, hair gel, paper, Boyd Bears (to make the house warm and personable when we get there), toothbrushes, etc. Surprisingly, we did actually need an entire suitcase for all this extra stuff.

Whew! It's Monday morning now and, besides a few small things that we are going to buy today, we have all four suitcases packed. And though I can't say we exactly packed light, at least we have the usable London suitcase and three others that aren't completely annoying.

Hot Soldier Chicks

O.K., I admit it. I'm cheating. I'm trying to get my teenage brother-in-law to read our blog. I thought this title might get his attention. :)

In Israel, nearly all young men and women over the age of 18 are required to enter the military (IDF - Israel Defense Forces) and serve for up to three years, depending on their position. Many people have told us that it is very common to see these young men and women (carrying machine guns) just about anywhere you may go - on the street, on buses, even in cafes.

My mom has also heard about the mandatory military service. She keeps worrying that when Matt and I visit Israel, we will be conscripted into the military. I have to repeatedly tell her that since we will be just visitors and not Israeli citizens, Matt and I will not have to serve in the military.

However, while there, Matt and I (and my brother-in-law too when he comes to visit us) will enjoy the security these seemingly omnipresent soldiers afford us. And, if my brother-in-law happens to see a "hot soldier chick," he will hopefully remember the machine gun she's carrying and refrain from hitting on her.

What's the Weather for the Weekend Going to Be?

Wow, we're now at the point where the 10-day Weather.com forecast for Jerusalem covers our arrival. It looks like the next ten days are going to be great in Jerusalem, with highs in the mid-80s and lows in the low-60s. Wonderful! It sure beats the next ten days here - the Wednesday forecast is 102! We'll be in London by Wednesday although it appears that it'll be raining at least two of the days we'll be there in the capital. :(

P.S. This blog's title comes from Carol and Charlie's fun segment on their great Israelisms Podcast where Charlie reads the weekend weather forecast for the country, which is written in a rhyming poem. Anyway, I love their podcast and I've been an avid listener since show number three.

A Goldmine of Information

When Matt and I were at shul this past Shabbat morning (our last Shabbat in the U.S.), we stumbled across a certain person who was filled with information. One of the rabbi's sons had just arrived back in town after spending a year at the CY. Desperate for information, we approached him at the kiddush luncheon (the meal right after services).

We were kind of hoping to be able to chat with him over lunch, which would have allowed conversation to sway from one topic to another. We were hoping for a fountain of information.

However, we had underestimated this young man's popularity. It seemed like everyone at the shul wanted to come up and talk to him. Each had their own questions. Each wanted to give him their good wishes. So, Matt and I had to stand in line while we waited for our turn for his attention.

Obviously, a full lunch conversation was out of the question. As the line of people to talk to him grew behind us, we realized that we would, if we were lucky, get to ask him maybe only two questions.

It was nearly our turn....what two questions should we ask? We had just solved our banking question. We have already shipped our books. The pressure was getting to us. We have thousands of little questions, but no two questions stood out to us.

Then it was our turn. We blurted out our first question, "Was there anything that you really wish you had brought or not brought with you to Israel?" Admittedly, not such a great question, but we thought it might spark an interesting topic. Unfortunately for me, he was a guy, so he wasn't worried about which shoes to bring or if two purses would be enough. For him, the two suitcases of stuff sufficed.

We made our second question a bit broad. "What was it like at CY?" He described CY with a huge grin, saying it was a super fantastic experience. He just glowed when he started talking about it. Specifically, he said there are small-ish classes and the teachers are spectacular.

How we wish we had been able to talk to him during the whole lunch! Oh well, we at least had an opportunity to meet someone who had just arrived from the place we are headed. Plus, his expression of joy when talking about his experiences considerably eased our stress. Whatever the unknown details, the experience will be awesome.

Just curious, if you had been able to ask this young man two questions, what would they have been? Post your suggestions by clicking on "Comments" below.

Not Being Homeless in Jerusalem...Priceless

A couple of days ago, Matt and I were visiting my dad in the hospital and we started to discuss what was left on our To Do list. My dad asked us, "What is at the very top of the list?" Matt and I looked at each other and were obviously both mentally searching our list. What was at the top? Well, it wasn't making a binder of information for my parents or purchasing hair gel and black shoes. Nor was it making the last drop off of library books and picking up all our dry cleaning. At the same time, we both realized it was most definitely the fact that we had no place to live from the day we arrive in Israel to August 1.

This might sound strange, but up until that moment, we weren't stressed about this fact. However, with only six days until we were leaving, it donned on us that we had better get on this immediately...the hair gel could wait.

We had back-up plans. Our co-worker who lives in Israel, Lisa, was nice enough to offer us a place to stay for a few days once we arrived. Jean, who seems very nice and who is also going to CY this summer and found us through our blog, also offered to let us crash at her place until we found somewhere. And, of course, we considered staying at a hotel, which would have no kitchen and would be very expensive.

With back-up plans to ease the stress a bit, Matt and I scoured the Flathunting listserv all week. I emailed about a dozen people about apartments in Rehavia. Surprisingly, I only heard back from a few. The two I heard back from immediately were both $4,500 for the five weeks, which was just way out of our price range.

The only other one that emailed us back has a wonderful two-bedroom place, close to the CY, and with a somewhat more reasonable price. We took it.

Now we can worry about the shoes and library books :)

Home From the Hospital

This has been a difficult week. Not only have Matt and I been mental packing, shopping for last minute things, searching for interim housing, getting the dogs ready, etc., my dad has been in the hospital.

Last Saturday night he wasn't feeling well and we had to call 911 to have an ambulance take him to the hospital. He had open-heart surgery five years ago, so we knew that a high fever was not a good sign.

I was extremely worried about what to do. Matt and I had to seriously consider at what point to we postpone/cancel our trip? Luckily, after a couple days my dad started doing much, much better. Though he was definitely on the mend, the question remained "how long he was going to have to stay in the hospital?" Both "one week" and "two more weeks" and at one point even "twelve weeks" were thrown about as possibilities. Would I have to say goodbye to my dad for a year while he was still in the hospital? That would have been extremely difficult.

Yesterday, however, there was a wonderful turn of events and he was able to come home. The doctors found a way for the drugs he needs to take to be taken at home. So, I am so very grateful that my dad is doing so much better and that when I say goodbye, which will be extremely difficult to do anyway, it can be done at home and not at the hospital.

Interstate 5

Disclaimer: I'm a geographer so I can't help thinking this way.

Over our last decade together, Jen and I have lived in five different cities in California (including one city twice). We have never lived outside the state. In each of those places, we have always been within a short drive of Interstate 5, the highway that is the backbone of California, running through the state from the Oregon border to Mexico. Being close to I-5 has always been a comfort for me because my family lives in two pockets - one in the north and one in the south. I-5 has always been the connection between familiar places for me.

Next Monday we'll be leaving the comfort of Interstate 5 for land that is terra incognita for us. I look forward to the journey but will definitely miss the comfort of my favorite Interstate highway.

Last Shabbat

With three and a half days remaining before we leave, our days our punctuated with many nostalgic "lasts" - the last time we'll see a friend for a year, the last time we'll be downtown for a year, the last time I'll drive on this road for a year, the last time I'll eat delicious and vegetarian split-pea and barley soup at California Pizza Kitchen for a year, etc. Tonight, however, begins our last Shabbat for a year in the United States.

We will be honored on the bima (dais) with a special prayer for those traveling to Israel and, following services, we'll have to say goodbye to the wonderful friends we've made in the few short months we've been members of our shul (synagogue). We're especially sad to say goodbye to the rabbi and hazzan (cantor), both of whom we truly respect and love. The good news is, both of them are planning trips to Israel for the upcoming year and they plan to stop by when they're in Jerusalem :)

Mental Packing

Two suitcases just aren't enough. I've pulled the suitcases out from the back room. I haven't actually started packing yet; instead, I am spending time just staring at them from every angle. How many shoes will fit? How many outfits? How many books? What about my pens, scissors, hole punch, stapler, and other office supplies? How much can I really bring?

My mind has subconsciously started dividing everything I own (or might purchase) into whether or not it will fit in the suitcases. This is great when I am home because I can really think about whether or not I'm going to be able to bring my stereo, calculator, crystal Shabbat candlesticks, my big boots, fancy shoes, colored pens, etc. However, at the mall it just gets crazy. I think, "What a cool/cute _____ it totally matches _____ ! Buy it now! It's even on sale!" But then my mind immediately thinks, "You can't take that! It would never fit in the suitcase, you crazy lady!"

Yes, my mind actually says these things to me. Not very kind, eh? However, it has kept me from many a cool/cute purchase.

I suppose it's nearly time to start practice packing. That is, to start actually placing things in the suitcases to see what will fit and how heavy it will be. I wonder how much will fit and what I will have to leave behind?

Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer

While we've been busy with errands, I don't feel like we've gotten much done. I really feel like I'm in some sort of nebulous waiting zone. This transitional feeling is a strange one. I don't think my mind knows how to grasp the huge change about to come up. I feel somewhat like I did last fall, during the week-long break between my Katrina-related assignments for the American Red Cross. For instance, between spending three weeks at the call center in Bakersfield and serving as interim CEO in Santa Cruz for the month of November, I had a week off but during that week, I was both transitioning from a major life experience and transitioning to the next one. However, every day feels like much longer than a day so we must be productive. I keep thinking it's a different day than it is. Overall, that's sort of how I feel but stranger.

On Their Way

Today, I mailed three large boxes of books (12" x 16" x 4") using the postal service's M-rate (only books can be shipped and the box of books get thrown into a sack for oceanic transport.) The total was only $48! That's not too bad! We might send more books before the week is out as I keep ordering things on Amazon. However, the books usually take 8 weeks to arrive.

We're up to about 30 pounds of books for carry-on and to pack in our luggage. It's really difficult to weed through these books to limit the number we bring for immediate access.

Today I dropped Jake (our border collie) off at my mom and brother's house, so I'm sad to see him go but know he's going to have a good time. I just hope he remembers us when we get back. :(

I've fully transferred my entire life onto the laptop I'm going to be using. I've wanted to make the switch from desktop to laptop for a while so now it's finally happened. I don't mind the smaller keyboard but I absolutely have to use an external mouse to accomplish anything.

We might have a place to live from June 26-August 1; the landlord is going to be calling me to discuss "further details" soon, hopefully.

Our to-do list has shrunk to about 19 items. We're not doing too badly.

If you'd like us to address a particular issue or answer any questions, please don't hesitate to post it as a "comment" below!

To Do...

Our to do list is actually shrinking as we accomplish a lot. Things left to do can be summarized into several major categories 1) complete canine transition, 2) legal and financial matters, 3) packing and shipping things that are going or staying here, 4) finding a place to live, and 5) saying goodbye.

1) As mentioned before in a previous post, "Our animals consist of two cats and two dogs (one Border Collie, Jake and one Shetland Sheepdog, Tim). The two cats and Tim will remain living with Jen's parents and Jake will be going over to my Mom's and brother's house, where my 15 year-old brother (who is a high school football player and on the track team) will run Jake until they are both exhausted."

On Tuesday, Jake moves in with my Mom and brother. It's going to be sad to see Jake go and Jen has decided that it's better if she doesn't go with me when I take the dog, bones, food, leash, etc.

2) We established our safe deposit box and have made a variety of arrangements for our finances but there's still some organizational things yet to do.

3) Packing! Ugh! We'll muddle through it. I really want to ship a lot on Monday because the sooner we mail things, the sooner we'll see it on the other end.

4) Well, we're still homeless from June 26 through August 1. Jen's put out a notice on the email listserv for apartment hunting in Jerusalem. We'll see if we get any bites as the work day (Sunday) begins in Israel very soon (as I'm writing this it's just 8 a.m. on Sunday there, the first day of the work week).

5) We have some people to see here locally before we go and I expect that we'll spend all day a week from Monday on the phone, saying our goodbyes to relatives.

Nine Days to Go, But Who's Counting?

We're now at the point where I can answer the question of, "When are you leaving?" with the answer "A week from Monday" and it makes sense in that it's close enough where a short explanation is enough.

Our last few days (today, Shabbat, excluded, of course) have been spent entirely in preparation of our trip. The decision of which books to carry on, which books to pack in our suitcases, which books to ship, and which books to leave here has been a lot more complicated than expected. Books weigh a lot and if we take too many, we'll be over our 70 pound limit for suitcases before we know it. While there's a special mailing rate for shipping books, it will take about six weeks for them to arrive. Plus, we need to take a certain number of books in our carry-on luggage because we just have to read between Sacramento and JFK, while at JFK (we're there for 10 hours), and between JFK and London.

Fortunately, we have a great friend who is willing to allow us to ship books to her house. Even though we'll arrive long before the books do, it's important that we have this opportunity because we don't have our six weeks out address yet. We don't want to be a burden; however, so we want to limit the number of books we ship to her.

Bottom line, we want and perhaps need far more books than we should take or ship. We're determined to make decisions once and for all on Sunday morning! We both read a lot so this is a tough process.

The Visa Dance

I just read Matt's post about our visa arriving and it seems so bland. But perhaps he was embarrassed to say that when the visa arrived on our doorstep we both did "the visa dance" around the house for about an hour?

The whole process of getting the visa has been full of suspense, so I shouldn't have been surprised when the end was also suspenseful. We arrived home yesterday after doing a ton of errands to find a small, letter-size Fed Ex envelope on our doorstep. Could it be our visas? We hoped it was but wouldn't say anything to the other in fear that our hopes were to be dashed. So we raced to the front door to see who could grab the envelope faster. Matt beat me. Immediately, we knew it was from the consulate.

Matt handed the envelope to me (what a nice husband!) and let me open it. There were only three things inside: a receipt for the cash we had given for the processing fee (the consulate only took cash or money orders) and both Matt and my passports. No sheet of paper saying "congratulations"; no sheet of paper saying "better luck next time".

So...we both grabbed our passports and fanned them as quickly as possible. And, as Matt said in the earlier post, on page 12 we found them. They look very similar to a photocopy of the first page of our passport, but they used the new photos we had given them, it's nearly all in Hebrew, and it says very distinctly, "State of Israel" on it. The visa is glued onto the passport, taking up just about the entire page.

We've been so stressed about not having a visa, that I don't think it's really hit us yet that we have it. I was so sure that we wouldn't know until late next week. However, this is the best news we could have been given. For now, we are officially going to Israel and we get to keep our London trip! Woot!

We're Legal

We received our student visas today via FedEx! The envelope contained only our passports and a receipt for the $25 we spent on the visas. I suppose the consulate has retained all of our original documentation that we provided to them. That's OK, at least we have our student visas, which occupy page 12 of each of our passports.

Now we can order our cellular phones with an Israeli phone number and a U.S.-based 800 number, we can find a place to live from June 26 through August 1, and take care of the other 42 things on our to-do list before we leave!

Needless to say, we're so thrilled that the final keystone is in place for us to go into overdrive and get read to go in 12 days! Yay!

Books and More

It was my birthday last Saturday and fortunately, I received several gift certificates from Amazon.com. So, today I ordered a bunch of books that I want to take with on our trip. I think books are going to end up being the heaviest component of our luggage. The pile of "Books to Bring" grows larger every minute. The post office does have a special rate for books but they take 4-6 weeks to arrive so we'll have to be very picky about which books to take on the plane.

Today we also received an email from a fellow soon-to-be CY student who found our blog and wrote, providing a plethora of fantastic information and contacts that will help us in the next two weeks (EEK!) of preparation four our departure.

We think that Jen is going to buy a laptop here before we go instead of risking shipping her desktop. We both need a computer to do our work online and we do already have one laptop (Jen's) so Jen gets a new one and I get the hand-me-down. :)

Still no visa, but then again, FedEx could not have brought it today because the consulate was closed on Friday for Shavuot. I'll watch for the truck tomorrow morning...

A Reason to Go

With all the stress of planning and waiting to go to Israel, it's easy to lose sight of the reasons we want to go in the first place. This slideshow is just a quick reminder.