The NON Birthright experience

Craig and I both went on Birthright trips to Israel (separately, about four years apart), and Craig also went on March of the Living in 1998. All three Israel experiences were whirlwind tours. I'm sure you know what I mean: we travel between places on luxury buses and every minute of the trip is planned (every minute of the too-short trip, that is). It's like a buffet of a tour- we see samples of a number of cities in Israel. Well, our Israel experience now is the exact opposite. We are getting a taste of what it would be like to live in Israel as residents, not tourists (not that we have any intention of moving overseas, Mom-- don't worry). We live in an apartment, not a hotel, where we cook and prepare food and make our beds (:) ) and clean and such. We learned where the stores are, where to buy what, and how much items should cost. We have a new appreciation for the size of the cities (and the whole country, really) because we are responsible for our own travel. We are really NOT tourists during this visit to Israel. Rather we are students, and more like residents. On that note, we are trying to squeeze in some tours while we're here. For example, as Craig wrote, we visited Tel Aviv for a night to see friends and get a taste of another city. It was a great trip! We enjoyed the GORGEOUS beach, dined (and drank) well, and shopped at the crafts market that comes through twice a week. Tel Aviv has a very different (more European?) vibe. It was fun for a night, but it made us appreciate that the city in which we're living for three weeks is Jerusalem. We returned to Jerusalem for Shabbat. We visited the Old City on Friday evening with Pardes friends and were part of Shabbat evening services at the Kotel/Western Wall. What a treat! Funny, though, that I ran into a White Plains High School student there ("Ms. Cepler?!" is NOT what I expected to hear while singing the Kabbalat Shabbat psalms). We enjoyed a most delicious and fun Shabbat dinner Friday night at the home of our Talmud teacher. She is AMAZING and we had so much fun talking, learning, talking, laughing, and talking through the meal and after! Somehow we didn't return home from dinner until nearly 3am. Pardes hosted a lovely community Shabbat lunch, and we spent Shabbat afternoon with friends.

Shabbat in Jerusalem is how I remember Christmas in Avon, CT. Open stores are few and far between, there are significantly fewer cars on the road, and it just feels like a holiday. Unlike Christmas in Avon, I am a part of what makes the day special here :)

In other tourist news, yesterday we visited the Old City and took a tour of the tunnel between the Western Wall and the rest of the city (it used to be a road in Herod's time, but the City has been built up such that the road is now a tunnel). It was wonderful walking to, from, and around the Old City. All else is well! We are enjoying our courses and our new friends and we feel great! love, seren