Tayelet, Parrots and Couscous

Behind my apartment building a promenade (טיילת pronounced thai-yeh-let) is being constructed from the old railway. It will eventually run the length of Jerusalem and include a walkway and a bike path. Can you believe it Oregonians?! The sections which are already complete include lovely landscaping and occasional benches. Although the section in my area is not yet complete, it is still a lovely walk, and is literally a stone's throw from my balcony. Just on the other side of this promenade and a block further is the road on which my school is located. Yes my school is a five minute walk away. Tomorrow morning I will make my first real walk to school and begin the summer session with approximately fifty other students. These students are just here for the three week session, whereas the students studying with me starting in September will be here for the entire year.

This week I visited my school and met many of the staff involved in my program, including those who interviewed me many months ago. Everyone was just as warm and welcoming in person. I was able to inquire about summer reading requirements, course offerings and calendar logistics for the coming year. I also learned that there is an inter-session break in January when Pardes takes students on an educational tour of Poland. Students in the Educators Program pay a reduced amount so I will definitely take advantage of this opportunity.

I cannot wait to begin classes tomorrow! I will be there Sunday-Thursday (the Israeli work week) from 8:30am to 5:00pm, with a break for lunch, long enough to walk the short distance home and make lunch. Tomorrow we have introductions, the teachers will explain their courses and we will chose our courses, then have afternoon class.

In addition to settling in and unpacking in my apartment I have spent the week walking around my neighborhood, reading on my new Kindle (thanks Maram, Justine, Debbie and Shlomo!) in parks and reorganizing my kitchen cabinets :) Did I mention it is a kosher kitchen? There are milk and meat dishes and silverware. It is a new experience but not as strange as I had thought it would be.

Cousin Rina, who continues to amaze me with her Israeli driving, speaking (arguing) and hospitality, helped me to open an Israeli bank account, explore the new and exciting Israeli grocery stores, and visit the fabulous liquor store with a great wine selection in my area. Israelis are also developing more of a taste for beer, beyond the standard Heineken, Stella and local Goldstar beers.

Here I am posing with the wall of beer. Its no Bier Stein but pretty impressive, huh? And you will not believe this, you can taste the liquor, wine and beer in the store!!! Below is the cooler full of OPEN bottles. Rina and I saw this and said, "Uh, what is this?" and so we ask, and of course, its for tasting.

So I bought my first wine bottles and enjoyed a few glasses on my lovely balcony (מרפסת pronounced meer-peh-set). While taking in the evening on the balcony I noticed a beautiful lime green bird in the tree directly in front of the balcony. All of sudden I saw twenty or so of them nesting in the tree and heard their song. They looked like parrots and I thought, "how can this be?" so I googled Israeli parrot and discovered the Drara parrot.

Apparently they are not native to Israel and they eat many crops here and therefore are not really welcomed, but each and every night I have been in my apartment I enjoy their visit to my tree about 7:30-8:00pm as the sun sets. The light of sunset in Jerusalem is an incredible sight that cannot be captured by a camera and must be experienced in person- so come visit and see for yourself!

Thursday evening Rina picked me up and we went back to Efrat, where the Abrams live. Friday morning we went to her boyfriend Shimon's house to make couscous with his Moroccan grandmother- from scratch! Yes, we made couscous! You take semolina flour and about a cup of water and use both hands, as grandma Esther reminded Rina many times, and move it around this giant metal bowl. Then it is strained through two different sized sifts many times, then steamed, then the process is repeated a few times, and in the end you add some oil. They let me try some right after it was finished with some cinnamon and sugar, as they like to have it as a treat, and my goodness was it a treat! So light, fluffy and just comforting, like someone's grandma had made it :) She makes it each and every Friday for Shabbat and delivers it to her children who live in her area. She and her husband Shimon were visiting Efrat for Shabbat. They both have incredible stories of their journey to Israel from Morocco. They are fortunate to have a large and tight-knit family. Of course this entire experience was in Hebrew.

That evening we returned for the Shabbat meal with the entire family- Shimon's parents, his three siblings, aunt and her three daughters, another cousin, and the grandparents. The meal began with about twelve different homemade salads- a few eggplant ones, a spicy carrot, a cabbage, an avocado, a plain lettuce with lemon and oil, a potato, hummus, a tomato and mushroom, and many more I can't recall. Then the fish course- one with garlic, cilantro, lemon and chickpeas and the other with tons of spices. So flavorful! Then the meat course- chicken livers, chicken in a soup with paprika, chickpeas and cabbage, two other chicken dishes and potatoes.

During the meal I enjoyed talking with the youngest cousin Ori, who just finished third grade (כיתה ג pronounced kee-tah gih-mel). She would say a word in English and then I would say it in Hebrew. I joked with her mom that she was like a human flash card! She also taught me a few hand clapping games and a special handshake she does with her "best friend in the world." Oh how I miss being around kids!

One of her sisters, who is fourteen, wanted to practice her English with me and dreams of going to America some day- so sweet. Their family was so kind and warm. Although I could not understand most of the conversations, I could pick up on words here and there, body language and of course, tone of voice. Shimon's mother, the lady of the house, Chana, would talk to me as if I understood her every word, and would speak slowly so I could at least follow some of the table's conversation. Rina kindly summarizes some stories and jokes in English from time to time.

Then we had a birthday cake that Rina had made for Shimon who just turned 22. He is about to complete his army service in a week and begin working at the fire department he has volunteered in for years. I felt so honored to be welcomed into their home for Shabbat and will never forget the day helping, or watching rather, them prepare for the meal and then sharing it with them all. Thank you to the Shmuel family! After that we returned to Rina's for a gathering of Shimon and her friends in honor of his birthday. Another experience of many Hebrew conversations at once :) Fun but a bit tiring after a while. A few people were also English speakers and a few were Israelis who enjoy practicing their Hebrew so I did engage in some conversation. Everyone was 19-22 and thought I was the same age! They were shocked to hear I was so old, "wow, you're 28?!" Quite endearing.

Many more incredible stories to share, but I promised succinct blog posts, and I think I am approaching a long one :) One other thing to note, on Shabbat (Saturday) I walked to my new landlord's house, who also lives in Efrat, and had lunch with her, her husband (an acupuncturist) and their cousin who recently moved to Israel. Their cousin is the same age as me and is best friends with someone I went to Brandeis with... it is such a small world.


I look forward to sharing all about my classes next week!!!

Sending you all my love and lots of sunshine from beautiful Jerusalem!
 
Kisses (נשיקות pronounced neh-shee-kot)