Shana Tova!

Today we are smack in the middle of the Jewish New Year celebration, Rosh Hashanah (meaning, literally, Head of the Year). It's hard to believe how quickly time has flown by these last two months and I can't help but wax nostalgic about where this amazing journey has taken me so far. With three months left to explore Jerusalem and the land of Israel, I can only imagine what adventures lay ahead.

This Wednesday marks the end of my Hebrew-intensive language program. Ulpan was, at times, a chore, but the program has truly been the reason for the improvement in my language skills. Ulpan was one of those things that we all loved to hate; getting up at 7 am every morning and speaking in Hebrew for five or six hours was more than a bit tedious, but it also allowed for some truly remarkable linguistic advances to be made. Then, with Hebrew words and sounds echoing in our minds, we would go out into the city and explore - using the skills we had been practicing only hours earlier in the classroom. As far as my own abilities go, I've yet to fully make that leap from understanding Hebrew to speaking it with confidence and ease. We are told that there is a timeline to becoming fluent in a language: first - you understand, next - you speak, and finally (if ever) - you acquire functional writing skills. I'm trying to speak in Hebrew as much as possible, though the rampant English-use makes it difficult sometimes; my personal goal is to be completely comfortable conversing in Hebrew by the time I leave. The picture above is of my Ulpan class (my teachers are also in the photo). Our class was ethnically and religiously diverse; the bond we created was very special and, I believe, completely unique. I am truly saddened that I may be seeing some of my classmates for the last time this week - they have all played such a large role in my experience in Jerusalem so far.

Last Shabbat, I made a trip with some friends to the Arab Quarter; our goal - find the best hummus and pita in Jerusalem! We ended up at a restaurant called Abu Shukri's where the food was out of this world, to say the least. While we waited for a table, my group decided to take a walk along Via Dolorosa (a road in the Old City) where we saw five of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. Standing in the very places where Jesus was condemned to die and where Simon helped Jesus carry his cross, was yet another reminder of the awesome religiosity of Jerusalem.

This photo is of the Second Station of the Cross (where the cross was laid upon Jesus).

Last week, I visited Tel Aviv for the first time! It was a beautiful end-of-summer/beginning-of-fall day and sitting on the shores of the Mediterranean was a wonderful treat. With that said, I have to admit that I was not wholly impressed by Tel Aviv. It is the most 'American' place I've yet visited and, like any big city, it was slightly dingy and very grimy. I was intrigued by the secular nature of Tel Aviv, however, and it could not be more different from Jerusalem, where holy sites and ancient markings define not only the city, but the people who live in it. Spending a day in Tel Aviv reaffirmed my conviction that I made the right choice when I decided to study in Jerusalem; somehow, life here in Jerusalem feels so much more 'authentic'. With that being said, spending a day at the beach was a wonderful respite from the religiosity of Jerusalem and the resulting tensions that often arise.

That's all for now - the next two weeks are looking jam-packed already! The end of Ulpan (and my final!), Shabbat with an Orthodox Jewish family, a trip to Tel Aviv to share Yom Kippur with a Wellesley alum, and then a week long vacation to Istanbul, Turkey! I'll be sure to post pictures and stories as often as I can : )

Rosh Hashanah Sameach! Happy Jewish New Year!

B'Shalom,
Meagan