A post about my apartment will come soon with pictures. For now I'll tell you a bit about it. My apartment is across the street from the Prima Kings Hotel, it is in a prime location and very close to the main street. To get to the apartment you walk down a path from the street and then enter the building and go up to the first floor. The apartment is what I would consider very Israeli, and has been deemed amazing by others who have seen it - yay! You enter the apartment to a square hall that all the rooms are off of: my room is to the left, then the kitchen, then the chetzi washroom (just a toilet) and the full washroom, then the living room, and 2 more bedrooms. My room is pretty much all bed - it's big - and lots of storage.
My friend, Jessie, came to meet me the day I got here and served as my brain for the day. She made a list of the things I need and helped me purge the room of all the things that were taking up space. We went shopping and made my bed - the key thing that needed to be done before the end of the day. By the time Shabbat came in the next day I had fully unpacked and put my bags away. Success!
As part of the efforts to stay awake - I say "the" instead of "my" because my classmates are awesome and made it their mission to keep me awake too - I had dinner with my roommate Jay and Manda at the The Gimbel's apartment, it was delicious - thanks Jeremy and Sarah!
After dinner, we walked over to a jam session at Emma and Rachel's "Palace" of an apartment on Ayin Chet. All day I wasn't sure if I would make it this long, but I'm so happy I did. There were about 12 of us sitting around in the living room singing whatever our wonderful guitarists could play for us. It was amazing just experiencing the energy in this room - it was a great way to start this year in Israel and I am really excited for the many future gatherings to come.
Here's a link to a video Jeremy and Sarah made of the song sesh: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100447613615553&oid=131987360202697&comments
For now, I still feel like I'm rocking on a boat, but I am sleeping through the night.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Hey, I Know You!
So as most of you may know, when traveling to and in Israel, it is inevitable that you will see people you haven't seen in ages and didn't even know would be there. The world begins to feel like a tiny place, you're walking down a street with only 4 other people around you and sure enough you know the person walking towards you - what are the chances?!
As I expect this will happen many a time this year, I have decided to document it in posts titled "Hey, I Know You!" When a blog appears with this title it might contain a story, but it might also simply have a name. This post is the context for all of the sort that follow.
HEY, I KNOW YOU!
I'm sitting at Pearson waiting to board my flight and I take out my aspirin that I have to take when flying to prevent clotting because of other medication that I am on. As I open my pill bottle, a little boy wanders over to me and asks me what I'm doing. He is followed by his older brother and younger sister. I explain what I am doing in as simple terms as possible and, satisfied with my answer, they return to their seats across from me. I then notice their father - he looks very familiar - "are you Jason?" I ask, "Yes" he responds. This is Rabbi Jason Leib and his familly and they are flying to Israel with me. I met Jason at Engagement Institute in the summer of 2008 while working for Hillel. Jason was in the first year of a shlichut to Cornell University. That shlichut was now done and Jason and his family were returning home.
To make this "Hey, I know you!" moment even better, I made a comment about the infant he was holding possibly being the infant I knew I was sitting near on the plan and sure enough she was. I spent the entire flight with 2 seats to myself sitting across from the Leib family. The children were wonderful, they let me sleep but were great conversationalists when I was awake.
As I expect this will happen many a time this year, I have decided to document it in posts titled "Hey, I Know You!" When a blog appears with this title it might contain a story, but it might also simply have a name. This post is the context for all of the sort that follow.
HEY, I KNOW YOU!
I'm sitting at Pearson waiting to board my flight and I take out my aspirin that I have to take when flying to prevent clotting because of other medication that I am on. As I open my pill bottle, a little boy wanders over to me and asks me what I'm doing. He is followed by his older brother and younger sister. I explain what I am doing in as simple terms as possible and, satisfied with my answer, they return to their seats across from me. I then notice their father - he looks very familiar - "are you Jason?" I ask, "Yes" he responds. This is Rabbi Jason Leib and his familly and they are flying to Israel with me. I met Jason at Engagement Institute in the summer of 2008 while working for Hillel. Jason was in the first year of a shlichut to Cornell University. That shlichut was now done and Jason and his family were returning home.
To make this "Hey, I know you!" moment even better, I made a comment about the infant he was holding possibly being the infant I knew I was sitting near on the plan and sure enough she was. I spent the entire flight with 2 seats to myself sitting across from the Leib family. The children were wonderful, they let me sleep but were great conversationalists when I was awake.
Two Bags Is Not Enough
My life does not fit in two bags.
One of my peers, Rebecca Ratner, started her blog with a post discussing how she has spent most of her life fitting herself into two bags, you can read it here.
I can not.
I am beginning a 3 year, 2 Masters degrees, program at Hebrew Union College the seminary for Reform Judaism. When all is said and done I will have a Masters of Jewish Education and a Masters of Nonprofit Management. I will also have lived in 3 different cities and gained a whole lot of life experience.
This journey begins in Israel with a year at the Jerusalem campus. I will then spend summers in Los Angeles and school years in New York. I'm so excited, it's hard to contain my emotions lately.
As I prepared for this journey, I was relentless but stubborn in my packing - there were just some things I refused to leave behind. I brought everything I need with me to Israel, but it is far from everything I possess. This process of packing has made it clear that I probably can not fit my life into 2 bags nor 4 bags...to be entirely moved out I'll probably need 5 bags and a whole lot of boxes. Is that bad?
When I originally thought about writing this post, I thought I'd play more with the metaphors of fitting your life in bags, but on second thought I'm going to stick to the story side of this. I packed my 2 bags a week in advance because of the crazy amount of things I had to do in the week before I departed. I could not pack my carry ons with this much time to spare. I am very thankful to the expert packing knowledge of my friend Margot for helping me figure out how to get everything I needed into the bag. Unfortunately it was 14 pounds and I needed to shuffle some things around at the airport. However, all is well and I got all of my luggage on the plane without unexpected overage fees or problems. :)
One of my peers, Rebecca Ratner, started her blog with a post discussing how she has spent most of her life fitting herself into two bags, you can read it here.
I can not.
I am beginning a 3 year, 2 Masters degrees, program at Hebrew Union College the seminary for Reform Judaism. When all is said and done I will have a Masters of Jewish Education and a Masters of Nonprofit Management. I will also have lived in 3 different cities and gained a whole lot of life experience.
This journey begins in Israel with a year at the Jerusalem campus. I will then spend summers in Los Angeles and school years in New York. I'm so excited, it's hard to contain my emotions lately.
As I prepared for this journey, I was relentless but stubborn in my packing - there were just some things I refused to leave behind. I brought everything I need with me to Israel, but it is far from everything I possess. This process of packing has made it clear that I probably can not fit my life into 2 bags nor 4 bags...to be entirely moved out I'll probably need 5 bags and a whole lot of boxes. Is that bad?
When I originally thought about writing this post, I thought I'd play more with the metaphors of fitting your life in bags, but on second thought I'm going to stick to the story side of this. I packed my 2 bags a week in advance because of the crazy amount of things I had to do in the week before I departed. I could not pack my carry ons with this much time to spare. I am very thankful to the expert packing knowledge of my friend Margot for helping me figure out how to get everything I needed into the bag. Unfortunately it was 14 pounds and I needed to shuffle some things around at the airport. However, all is well and I got all of my luggage on the plane without unexpected overage fees or problems. :)
What's In A Name?
Welcome to Ha Kitah (The Classroom). As I thought about what to name this blog I racked my brain for cute plays on Hebrew words, like one of my classmate's wonderfully titled "My Two Shekels" blog. I had difficulty finding something appropriate until finally I stumbled on "Ha Kitah" which is Hebrew for "the classroom." As this blog will follow me in my journey to becoming a Jewish Educator it is fitting that it be my classroom; a place where I hope we will learn together or just a place where you can listen to me ramble. As I thought more about this title the more appropriate it became. My passion is informal education - teaching outside the classroom/structured environment - I don't actually plan to have a classroom at this point in my journey, but this blog IS my informal classroom. If I use this space appropriately it is a great medium for informal education.
In this space I will share my thoughts, pose questions, tell stories, and respond to other peoples posts that have inspired me.
Thanks for coming, grab a desk, and don't be afraid to ask questions.
In this space I will share my thoughts, pose questions, tell stories, and respond to other peoples posts that have inspired me.
Thanks for coming, grab a desk, and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Temporary Welcome
I am far too tired to start this blog right now, but I don't like to occupy space on the interweb with nothing...so this blog will start soon. Check back, I'll try not to disappoint!
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