When I started writing this, I was sitting on my cousins'
outdoor porch in Ranana in the sun. There was just a blizzard in Connecticut,
but it was a beautiful day in Israel- like spring at home despite the fact that
it is the middle of January. The world is so strange. It felt good to start to write
after so long- especially when feeling glamorous with a cappuccino and mini
rugelach cookies- which made me feel like Israel is a really weird mix of
Europe with a Middle Eastern flair.
 |
| Tel Aviv beach view |
I have been to Israel before, but this time was so much
different. I am older and came by myself with different intentions and a
stronger world perspective after living in New York, Italy, and Australia. Even
so, this is not the end of my travels. I just don't know where I am going next.
I want to focus on New York for a while, but my later invitations for travel
include Mexico, India, Israel again, and England. Only time will tell because my life is surreal right now.
---
I haven't written anything on my blog in a while because I
really wasn't doing much at home for the first 2-3 weeks of Winter Break.
I felt like relaxing and checking out from society for a
while (which meant leaving the house only to chauffer my brother or go to
grocery store with my mother while looking stylish in Ugg boots and my
oversized writer jacket). I was doing a lot of tv watching, sleeping, and being
lazy. However, I did skate a little- and it was nice to get some good old
exercise and see people from my childhood at the rink from old friends to
coaches. I really loved running into my old coach Grace. I didn't get the
chance to have a lesson with her because of timing, but I will make sure to see
her next time I am home. I also studied for the GRE and took it. I already know
my scores and they were ok, but to do as well as I would like, I think I have
to take them again (unfortunately). On the other hand, I think that if I did
take them again it would be in at least a year because I am not planning on
attending grad school immediately after graduation. As of right now, I am
thinking that in about 3 years I will pursue an MBA with an emphasis in
marketing.
For now, I just want to have a job when I graduate and my
own apartment in the city. In my head, I am also getting a small dog, but I
know I won't really be able to take care of it, so I am also thinking about the
possibility of time sharing a dog- if only. Another idea weighing on my mind is
joining a worthy charity organization to volunteer for- I know there are many- especially
in New York- but the question is whether they need my help and I will find
volunteering meaningful. It is the constant nagging question that I ask myself
as Pippin- "But is it fulfilling, Pippin?"
The answer could easily be no. We will see. Sababa... I might be being post-
ironic writing that, too.
---
For the last two weeks or so, I have been in Israel. I did
a 10-day Taglit Birthright trip, which is basically the Israeli government and
rich people sending young adult Jews like myself to Israel for free. It sounds
a little to good to be true and it is because I got to travel Israel, see
amazing sites, and meet amazing people. Because I traveled with a group through
my school, I will get to hang out with 34 new American friends and also made 7
new Israeli friends who are currently soldiers in the army. The Israelis joined
us for 5 days and it was really hard to see them leave. However, the 3 soldiers
I got closest to actually surprised us with visits even after their part of the
trip ended, which goes to show not only how amazing they are, but also how we
all truly bonded. I feel so fortunate to have met such amazing people that I
can call my friends, but also having had the opportunity to travel so much and
have such amazing experiences that I know most people never get in their lives.
I know that timing is everything and that has a lot to do with it. I don't have
any kids or a significant other or a house right now, and with our those
responsibilities, I am truly free. I also came to realize that I am also free
from military obligations, which is not something I have ever considered tone
lucky for before.
 |
| My Birthright group at Sataf Forest |
Besides feeling fortunate, I feel much more
"connected," which was a major buzz word on my Taglit trip. I feel
more connected to Israel with more friends here than I started with, more
connected to my school with more friends than I had, and more connected to
Judaism- not at all in the religious sense because I am an atheist through and
through- but in the cultural/ identity sense because I met people outside my
small original friend circle who were born Jewish, but not religious- and that
was really refreshing. Jews in America live by their religion and most Jews in
Israel live by their culture. Also, I think the Jews of my generation are also
more skeptical of God than my mother’s or grandfather's generation. Overall, I
got so much more out of Taglit than I could have ever imagined and my
experience was both personal for my growth and communal because I shared the
Taglit experience with so many beautiful souls who I am please to be acquainted
with. I really feel lucky.
 |
| Some beautiful humans: Gabbie, Betty, Elyse, Keren, Sophie Lee, Shani, and myself. Photo by Keren. |
On Taglit being propaganda- yes and no. I will leave it at
that for now, because I think the experience is unique for each person and the
trip experience varies with who is in what group and trip leaders. Israel is
really amazing and people should know, but being taken on a curated trip of
meeting certain people and seeing certain sites will obviously create that
certain, intended impression. I took it as a free trip that would allow me to
see my family, but I got so much more- from a healthier perspective on my own
Judaism to new friends. As to whether I would recommend birthright to another
Jew, I would say proceed with caution, but take the trip. When anything is
free, you are what is being sold and this trip was trying to sell Israel me.
However, I have been to Israel before an already had a strong understanding of
what life is like here. I would like to think I was not subject to brainwash
and that the messages I took away were with grains of salt- as I would
recommend to others. During my trip, I had said I didn't want to "drink the koolaid," I would
recommend this to future Taglit participants. I know so many people who blindly
insisted I go on Taglit because they had an amazing time, but because the
experience is so personal and even though I had a life changing experience, I
think it would be naive to suggest otherwise would feel similarly. I have no
way of dictating how other people will feel or what they will do, but I can
fully say that they will love Israel or anywhere else they visit because
traveling is exciting. I also would like to mention as a side note that
everyone dictates their own happiness and experience, so deciding before that
one will have a great time is a good predictor of a good time.
---
Ok. Enough of my didactic comments on life and now this is
what I did on Taglit:
Taglit-Birthright Israel: Hillel Trip
Bus 1053
NYU
Monday, January 7
Flight
from JFK. The flight wasn’t so bad, but long.
Lufthansa airplane food is not my favorite.
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport
Drive north and check into the hotel.
Welcome to Israel: Orientation and ice breakers.
Overnight: Tiberias
Tuesday,
January 8
Jeep
Ride: Drive off road through the Golan and learn firsthand about its historical
and military importance. This was wicked cool- the
jeep was literall sliding all over the place and it was like an Israeli version
of a scene out of Buckwild when the
kids go “Muddin’”. It was raining and
snowing, which is really strange for Israel, so we couldn’t go on a hike, which
was unfortunate, but not the end of the world.
Winery: Taste the fruits of
the land as you learn about the process of making. Yeah,
we got free alcohol. It happened.
Olive oil factory visit The
owner of this place led our tour and he was an eccentric Zionist who decided to
blast his opinions onto the FOBBY American Taglit participants.
Hillel Conversation: Special
and Normal We had to have ‘conversations’ while on
Birthright because the organization providing our trip, Hillel, required it.
They were all very different and let each participant find their own answers,
but not always in a way I liked. This conversation seriously bothered me
because of how the ‘open-ended’ questions were phrased. I felt like the
questions elicited certain answers and I found the entire activity frustrating.
Thankfully, I was able to bond over my frustration with my lovely roommates,
which made me both feel less crazy, but also feel like I had something in
common with some of the kids I just met.
Overnight: Tiberias
Wednesday, January 9
Tzfat:
Inhale the pure Galilean mountain air in the city of Jewish mysticism, where
the great Kabbalists lived and studied. It was
snowing in Tzfat and that shut down most of the city and the schools for the day,
even though nothing was sticking. On the other hand, it was insanely cold.
Tzfat is the founding place of Kabbalah, meaning Madonna is a frequent visitor
of the small city. It has narrow roads, an impossibly small (but ancient)
synagogue), and an amazing candle factory- like entire giant sculptures that
are actually candles. I had been before, but like a lot of places I visited
with the Taglit group, the experience was so different because of the people I
was with. On the way back from Tzfat, we saw full double rainbows over the
Kinneret (only freshwater source in Israel at Tiberias).
Natural
hot springs Yeah. I got to go in a natural hot spring with a
whole bunch of friends and there were creepy Israeli guys staring at us the
whole time and the water tasted vaguely of cigarettes and garbage. You should
be entirely jealous. But actually, the natural hot spring was pretty awesome on
principle of being a hot spring.
Overnight: Tiberias
Thursday, January 10
Mifgash:
Meet your Israeli "hevre" (friends) who will travel with you for the
next five days, providing a firsthand look into Israel. Our first introductions to each other were akward, but that didn’t last
long. One of the soldiers sat next to me on the bus for the whole day (and we
drove a lot!) and I immediately knew I made a new friend. It might have had a
little bit to do with the fact we talked nonstop for hours that first day and I
taught him the greatest prides of our country (videos of Honey Boo Boo and
teaching him to say ‘MURICA! with
fervor), but I had one of those rare instant connections where I thought to
myself, “Wow. This kid is cool. I really want to be friends with him.” I still
think he is pretty cool and maybe he will come visit in May, but that is
another story.
Green activity: Visit the
Hava & Adam Eco-Educational Farm in the city of Modi'in. I am not totally sure why we were brought here… except for
the brainwashing part of being shown Israel as a country of both renewal (being
sustainable and growing tons of food on site with no waste) and progress
(having young people (READ: naïve
ex-Taglit participants) move to a small community from all over the world
to compost their own shit (Oh? You think I was using that to sound cool. No.
They literally showed us the bathrooms and said that both our natural liquid
and solid waste would be reused in various ways to help maintain the eco-farm).
My new soldier friend was not amused by these hippies or their antics. I found
the idea of the eco-farm community interesting and important (some one has to
do that shit- pun totally intended to terrify you once more), but no- I would
never make Aliya (move to Israel) to literally be that dirty- ever.
Camel ride at Hanokdim.
I was on a camel for about 45 seconds. It was
slightly terrifying because the camel ‘behind’ me decided it hated life and
also wanted to try to eat my leg for the entire 45 seconds. Yeah- that
happened. No humans were harmed in the riding of the camels (I have to write
this for legal reasons). Anyways, I have ridden camels before and it is
exciting. They kind of are grumpy and spit a lot. Plus, they stand up in a
z-formation. They basically give no fucks that you are on their back while you
sing My Humps by Fergie to yourself
quietly.
Dinner: Bedouin Hafla. Find
a spot under the tent and eat a traditional Bedouin feast. We ate. It was delicious. Bedouins know how to cook.
Hillel Conversation: Spirituality – Wrestling with God - out
in the Dessert I didn’t hate this conversation as much as the last one,
but I definitely felt uncomfortable at times because I did not want to insult
anyone but also wanted to share my atheistic views. I tried to be quiet, which
is hard for me- but I remained respectful of other people’s perspectives
throughout the entire trip.
Overnight:
Kfar Hanokdim
Friday, January 11
Ascend
Masada via The Roman Ramp.
Explore the famous desert stronghold overlooking the Dead Sea, complete with
the palaces of King Herod and the site of the last battle against the Romans
during the First Uprising (67-73 C.E). We woke up
early to see the sun rise, but the sun was behind clouds and we couldn’t see
anything- but the people I was with were really amazing, so being sleep
deprived really didn’t make a difference.
Dead
Sea Float: Enjoy a swim in the lowest place on earth, where you can even
read a book while you float in the sea. Da dead sea.
Jerusalem!
Kabbalat Shabbat. Welcome Shabbat with different
service options: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Alternative. I went to the reformed service because I wanted to
shortest, least weird (what is alternative?) service possible, but also to be
able to go with friends. Normally, I would not choose to go to synagogue
because I feel like it is weird for me to pray considering I don’t believe in
God. However, when I choose to attend, I sit quietly (even though I really do
know all of the prayers- I swear!) until the service ends. This time was no
different. At least the service was only about 1 hour long- services I attended
in childhood were usually much, much longer.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Shabbat, January 12
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ceremony Some people
decided that they wanted to have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah (Jewish coming-of-age
ceremony) in Jerusalem. It was nice to hear some peoples’ speeches because it
was clear how much being in Israel meant to them, but overall, I felt a little
weird about it. Usually, one has a Bar/Bat Mitzvah at age 13 and one can have
the ceremony at any age. However, I had never been to a non-13-year-old’s
ceremony, so I guess my mind was opened a bit.
Havdallah:
Separating from Shabbat. Another ceremony with food.
Ben
Yehuda Street – Free time in
the center of Jerusalem. I and my friend Joan eat gluten-free, so we went off on our
own and found an amazing falafel place for dinner that gave us falafel sin
pita. We met some really cool guys there (now infamously referred to as
‘Falafel guy’ and ‘Falafel guy’s friend’- creative, I know) who we later went
to a local hookah bar with where neither of us drank because we had to leave
(or smoke because I and Joan are disgusted by tobacco- no offense entire online
community).
Overnight: Jerusalem
Sunday,
January 13
Old
City: Touch the stones and walk through 3,000 years of Jewish history, as we
visit the Jewish Quarter and the Kotel (Western Wall). The
Old City is really beautiful and everything is so old. It is a really special
place, but I didn’t “feel” anything being there. On the other hand, it was nice
to have my Israeli soldier friends to discuss everything from religion in the
Old City to the Kotel as a potential false idol. Without them, my third
experience in the Old City would not have been the same.
Mount
Herzl: Visit Israel’s national cemetery where the leaders of the State of
Israel are buried, alongside fallen soldiers from Israel's wars. To hear people- never mind new friends- talk about their
loved ones who died and how they died at war is really hard emotionally. Nearly
every Israeli soldier traveling with us told a story and each was heart
wrenching. I literally could not stop crying at one part, but I was surrounded
by 40-something other people weeping. For me, Mount Herzl was the most
meaningful place that we visited. Besides feeling intense empathy for those
with dead friends, I had a major realization. The Israeli soldiers who I had
been joking and laughing with earlier that day were really different from me
despite all of out similarities. To an extent, I really didn’t fully understand
my new friends’ lives. As much as I had in common with each of them from our
interests, general age, and Jewish background, there was a major part of their
life I could and would never would fully understand- the army. Israel has a
draft, meaning that every citizen must perform its duty to its country. Girls
must serve 2 years and boys must serve 3 years after high school, though religious
people and people with special circumstances can perform alterative volunteer
service. However, I have never done any army service or had a friend die at
war- thankfully. I don’t know what it is like to have a friend die at war- to
have them stolen from me fighting for something I might not even necessarily
support. Even though everyone stopped crying eventually, it doesn’t change the
fact that their friends are dead and that even my new Israeli soldier friends
could die at war. Not everyone is in combat, but that does not guarantee their
safety if their bases are bombed. More so, I realized that none of my Israeli
family ever talked about their role as soldiers in the army. Each had served
because they had to, so I made an effort to ask what they did and where their
bases were. On the other side of the coin, I still feel a bit worried for my
little cousins because I know they are going to have to be soldiers one day and
also face the imminent possibility of dying at war or having their friends,
neighbors, and classmates die. I would never wish such pain on anyone and felt
foolish for having never considered the possibility before.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Monday,
January 14
Sataf – enjoy a walk
through the Sataf Forest. I loved our walk through
the forest. We were supposed to go on several other hikes in the Golan
(northern Mountains), but the weather was bad so we couldn’t go. I felt like I
needed to get some fresh air after sitting so much on the bus, so it was really
nice to walk amongst the trees.
Yad Vashem: The Jewish
People’s memorial to victims murdered during the Shoah (Holocaust). Visit the
memorial for the righteous gentiles who saved Jews during the Shoah. Going to Yad Vashem was more informational than sad (but
still sad).
Hillel
Conversation: My Connection to Jewish Memory
Stroll through Machane Yehuda Market, the largest open air food
market in Jerusalem. The food was amazing. I got
Pasta Basta (homemade pasta) with Keren, a soldier, and some others. It was
delicious.
Mifgash
Conclusion – Say goodbye to our Israeli friends. It
was really hard to say good bye to the soldiers. I wished they stayed the whole
time with us.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Tuesday,
January 15
Drive
to Tel Aviv.
Independence Hall: Where it
all began! Visit the small hall that hosted the historic declaration of the
establishment of the State of Israel. History!
Rabin Square:
Stand for a moment in time at the spot where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was
assassinated on Nov. 4, 1995 only moments after having sung Shir L’Shalom (A
song for peace). History!
Shook
HaCarmel- market in Tel Aviv. My soldier friend Katzy paid us a surprise visit J
Jaffa:
Walk through the old alleyways of
Jaffa and see its ancient port
Return to
Jerusalem. Pretty!
Overnight: Jerusalem
 |
| Me and Katzy |
Wednesday,
January 16
Stalactite
Cave - Visit the underground wonders in the Judean Hills. The cave looked like Superman’s lair. I still feel like it
is not real.
Machon Ayalon: A museum
depicting the underground bullet factory, led by the Kibbutzniks, during the
Israel’s fight for Independence. The bullet factory
was pretty cool, but not my favorite thing we saw.
Conclusion
conversation Two soldiers- Yosi and Keren-
surprised us to say goodbye!
Overnight: Jerusalem
 |
| Stalactite cave (aka Superman's Lair because this is straight up from a movie and not a real place- but it is). |
Thursday,
January 17
1 AM departure from hotel to go to airport
and fly back home. I stayed up to say good-bye to everyone. I extended my trip
a few days to visit family and friends, as did a few other people on my trip.
---
Now watch this video to understand how Israelis perceive
Taglit… Yeah…:
---
Now, after my Taglit trip, I visited friends and family.
This is what I did:
Thurs,
Jan. 17- Stayed over with my aunt Tobi, uncle Amir, and cousins
Shira, Amitai, and Eden. Unfortunately, my step grandmother died this day, so
the funeral and shiva were held while Shira and I watched Amitai and Eden.
(stayed in Modi’in)
Fri,
Jan. 18- Hung out with my childhood friend Shani and went to the
Modi’in mall to get a hot chocolate and baked good. It was really nice seeing
her. I hung out with Shira when she got back from school. Tobi, Shira, and I
has Shabbat dinner because everyone else was sleeping. I went out in Tel Aviv
with my friend Katzy and his friends. It was really fun. (stayed in Tel Aviv)
Sat,
Jan. 19- In the
morning, Katzy drove me to my cousins’ (Revital, Avishai, Lian, Nadine, and
Amy) apartment in Ranana. We went out to lunch at Tel Aviv Port and met up with
my other cousin Ariel. It was nice to see him. We got froyo and walked around a
bit. Then, we watched a street performer for a bit. Everyone stopped by the
apartment and then Avishai, Amy, and myelf headed over to Kfar Saba to visit my
great uncle Naftali and great aunt Yehudit. It was really nice to see them as
well. I returned to Ranana for dinner and went to sleep immediately because I
was exhausted. (stayed in Ranana)
Sun,
Jan. 20- I slept in and it was glorious. I wrote a little bit,
ate some food, and went to the Ranana mall. Later, I went to Cohav Yair to my
aunt Sara’s house for Sonya’s shiva. Her house is beautiful and I had never
been there before. Sara is an amazing cook and also had tons of beautiful art.
I am sad Sonya died, but was happy that I got to see so much of my family
together: Tobi, Amir, Shira, Amitai, Eden, Sara, Arilek, Maya, Jessie, Josh,
Lillian, Mooney, and myself. I also hadn’t seen Josh in a while, so it was good
to see him as well. After the shiva, I returned to Modi’in with Tobi, Amir,
Shira, Amitai, and Eden. (stayed in Modi’in)
Mon,
Jan. 21- I ate breakfast with Shira. Then, I caught the train to
Kfar Saba to spend the middle of the day with Naftali and Yehudit. We spent
some time looking at photos and eating lunch. I caught the train back to
Modi’in and then Amir took me to Hashmonaim to see Orit. Orit, Jacob, and the
girls took me out to eat at a cute little restaurant that was also partially a
theater. I slept about 3 hours because I had a very early flight the next day.
(stayed in Hashmonaim)
Tues,
Jan. 22- Jacob is amazing and woke up at the crack of dawn with
me. He drove me to the airport and since he works at the airport, made sure I
got to skip all of the lines throughout the airport (even though he did not
have to do any of this). He is really amazing. I got back home safe.
 |
| Amitai and I (he is stylin') |
 |
| Nadine and Amy |
 |
| Shira and Eden (and a giant salad) |
 |
| Me, Naftali, and Yehudit |
 |
| Maya, Shira, Eden, Amir, Sara, Tobi, Mooney, Lillian, Amitai, and Me! |
---
Literally after landing back in America at Newark airport,
I rode the train home to Windsor to pack my life up after being awake more than
24 hours. I moved into Gramercy literally the next day. I was really stressed
about it because everything is so mashed together in time, but everything
worked out fine. My parents let me sleep in a little, then I packed, we drove,
dropped off my stuff, and got a fancy lunch. My wonderful mom made reservations
at Mesa Grill since it was restaurant week, and I really loved my food. I know
the whole celebrity chef thing is overrated, but I have been wanting to try the
place and it was relatively close, so I am happy with my decision overall.
After lunch, I came back to my room and organized all of my things/ actually
moved in. It took forever and I am so happy I am done for now. I also met my
roommate, Samantha- who seems really awesome- and one of my suitemates. After
unpacking, I got dinner at Whole Foods with Jon. I was really nice seeing him
after so long. We had so much to catch up on and he is just a fun person to be
around. Good karma was all around.
 |
| My beautiful parents took me out to lunch at Mesa Grill |
I am looking forward to hanging out with him more
throughout the rest of the semester and beyond. I am also excited to see the
rest of my friends. Thursday and Friday, I attended a business seminar through
Wasserman (my school’s job center) and then I start classes on Monday. On
Thursday night, I hung out with Michelle and we made dinner. It was super cute.
Friday after my seminar, I hung out with Rachel, then made dinner for Gabbie
because she just returned from Kansas, then went back to Rachel’s briefly, and
finally went up to Michelle’s room (she lives in the same building as me).
Since Michelle turned 21 on Monday, we went out dancing at this funny bar
called Home Sweet Home to celebrate her birthday. The place was so hipster-
tons of taxidermied animals and music from the 1920s. It was really fun.
 |
| Michelle, Brittany, Me, and Rachel |
I went home for my last weekend before classes start. I am
taking back a bit of laundry and hoarding some of my parents’ food like a
squirrel preparing to hibernate for winter. Otherwise, my parents wanted to see
me after I was out of the country for basically a year and my dogs need to be
petted by somebody. I also went out to dinner (and was falling asleep) at Costa del Sol with my parents and neighbors Tesia and Kenneth Williams (they are actually pretty awesome) because it was also Restaurant Week in Hartford. While home, I also wrote a piece on Birthright for NYU
Local that I hope will be published. The again, what
is life?
 |
| My baby brother went back to school before I came back from Israel, but I will see him at my graduation or some time before then... |
I am starting my internship at MTV this upcoming week in
the Digital Marketing department- woohoo! So excited and proud to be working
for such an amazing and influential company. Also thinking about finding a job
for after I graduate… I just really like the idea of being able to pay things
myself and being independent. It is the short-term goal I am looking forward to
right know.
In other news in my life, I am hoping to be able to take a
coding class on Fridays that is free through school called Codeacademy. I also
signed up to volunteer next weekend for an event called Decoded Fashion: The
Fashion Hackathon, but I have no idea what I would be doing. Lol my life. I am
also hoping to be able to get in on some fashion week writing through WSN, but
we will see. Freelancing for NYU Local and WSN is ideal right now. Another
thing I signed on for is volunteering for the Shorty Awards (like Grammy’s for
Social Media) because I know someone working on them. It is in April, but I am
really excited about that, too.
---
I
really feel like the world is my oyster and even though I
want to live in New York- my comfort zone, Mecca, base of friendship, and train
ride away from my parents' house- I feel confident enough to move to almost
any city for a little bit. I have been so happy lately because I have
had such amazing opportunities and feel nothing but fortunate. It feels too
good to last, so I am focusing on the
wonderment of now.
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