לילה לבנ ("White Night") & שבת shabbat dinner

Updates! Just had a lovely breakfast of nectarines, plums, and olive bread dipped in olive oil. Yumsies.

When I wake up, I like to open my balcony door and let in the sun and noises from outside. When I'm up early enough, I like hearing the neighborhood wake up...
from the light rail bells to the occasional zipping motorcycle,
        the clattering of metal shades being drawn up to the clinking of breakfast dishes,
                old man voices and ahjumma conversations, and eventually,
                        the best: raucous school children excitedly catching up with each other at the start of a school day...

Here's my balcony:

It's modest, but serves its purpose. If I were living here long term, I'd doll it up with some bright flowers, as many others seem to do. On my walk yesterday around town with Myles, we found some really fabulous back gardens with outdoor walkways and many flowering plants. On my walk to the National Library for another tutoring session, I found some friendly gentlemen:

Okay. Thursday:
One of my roommates took me on an impromptu tour of the Old City as we were running errands. We wandered in the Damascus Gate, through the Muslim Quarter, and out the Dung Gate past the Jewish Quarter. Here's a map for your reference (image credit: wikitravel):

He took me to a lookout where we could see the Western/Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, and al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount/Harem esh-Sharif. I learned that he does not believe in God, although he values his religious roots. 

Then we went to the Mehane Yehuda market to fill our fridge. When Myles and I went back the following day (Friday) in search of the Iraqi Market (which we couldn't find), it was especially busy, as families were stocking up for shabbat. 

Aren't these tomatoes so beautiful?! SO RED!

Ooey-gooey rugelach at the famous Marzipan Bakery in the market.

After all of that, I took a bus to Tel Aviv for Layla Lavan* ("White Night"), an all-night arts festival with concerts galore. The bus system is super convenient. You may have read about the arrests and violence surrounding protests last week. Several artists pulled out of "White Night" and there was an alternative "Black Night" festival.

I met up with "Yalies in Israel," which is mostly undergrads minus us at the Div School :). We had a picnic on the beach, which was lovely. There was a sunset behind the clouds. Then... exploration. A highlight was Rabin Square, where there was a "Wi:Party" with Atisuto DJs. It cost 30nis (divide nis by ~4 to get $) to rent headphones. We danced and danced. It made me want to go out dancing more often (and have more Heath House dance parties!!).

*The link is amazing... a shame I only found it now, as I'm writing this post! 

Then those of us living in Jerusalem took a sherut van back at 1am... so tired. Granny me!

Friday.

Felt pretty dehydrated in the morning, but felt better enough to explore in the afternoon. Took the light rail to Jaffa Center, which is a busy city center... reminded me of some streets in Seoul, with all the stores and cafes. I sat with some passion fruit juice and sketched on Ben Yehuda St. 

Met up with Myles and went to Babette's Feast (now called Duba, but if you ask for Babette's, anyone would be able to lead you there) for what my Let's Go Israel claims to be "the best hot chocolate in the world." MM... IT WAS DELICIOUS. Right in-between American and Spanish hot chocolate in thickness, but much richer than anything we have in the States. Look at how happy we are!

I need to go back for their waffles and watch the movie, too.

We walked around Myles's neighborhood in Nayot, and discovered how close it was to the Israel Museum and Hebrew U tennis courts! I hope we can play! Even in this heat, that would be awesome. Then his roommate made us a shabbat dinner of salad, pasta with homemade spicy tomato sauce, rice, chicken/veggie stir-fry, and of course challah and wine (well, grape juice since she doesn't drink red wine). She turned the stove off at exactly 7:10, sundown. Her special gentleman friend who was visiting from around Haifa said the prayers for us after he returned from temple and we ate.

Ivrit min ha-hathala (Hebrew from the beginning)

Wow... woke up from a 7-hour nap. Lost the afternoon, but this was the first time I've slept well so it was glorious.

I'm making a chickpea, carrot, sweet potato, and onion stew for a late dinner, with fresh ginger and all kinds of spices. Too bad I forgot to get garlic at Mehane Yehuda today. Oh, but it was fun! I met some folks from Buenos Aires and chatted with them in Spanish for a while. I love people's reactions when they see a Korean-American girl talking to them in Spanish and studying Hebrew in Jerusalem. I also bought a lot of fruit... check out how many cherries I'm able to get here for ~$2!

I had my first Modern Hebrew lesson this morning, where I learned Hebrew cursive (as opposed to the square script you find in the Hebrew Bible) and a few phrases. It turns out that I'll be using the same textbook as my brother's in high school, which is all in Hebrew from the beginning, forcing me to figure it out as I go along. She assigned 52 pages for tonight. Hm. Will have to get crackin' soon.

Before I go, check out this delightful find in the National Library:

It's a collection of miniature books! There was an almanac from 1843, a set of Shakespeare plays, Milton's works (<3), Byron's works, etc. etc.

I also learned that one of my roommates is actually a chemist, not a med student, and he has a little lab in the back of his room! He studies polarization in sodium chlorate crystals. I'll confess that I thought of Breaking Bad when I saw all the equipment in his room :P. He gave me a whole demonstration, with gloves and all. Right now, he's watching Game of Thrones.

Okay, dinner time and Hebrew!

here we go...

Good morning from Jerusalem!

Ever since I fell deep into the well that is blogging in high school (Xanga, anyone? haha), I've been wary of how narcissistic and time-consuming it can get. Until now (besides the blog Seth and I kept in Korea, which he usually updated), I've avoided it.

But! I woke up with the birds singing at dawn, made coffee and toast, opened the balcony door, read Matthew 1, and turned on iTunes... and, well, you know how music can often color your whole worldview? I was overcome by joy and gratitude. Rather than just email a few people with updates and post the occasional Facebook status blurb, I figured I'd keep a blog with the hope that I can share some of my joy and gratitude with you.

I had the fortune of visiting Israel/Palestine this past March with a school travel seminar, which was truly remarkable (here are some of my reflections on it in case you're curious). However, I didn't really get to know the cities and its people at my own pace. I was also not as mindful as I could have been.

So. My heartfelt desire is to be more mindful this time.

And you know what's already struck me since arriving yesterday afternoon? How generous people can be. A classmate met me at the airport and helped me navigate the buses from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all while insisting on carrying my bag for me. The people I'm subletting from met me at a light rail station and gave me a thorough introduction to my new neighborhood, circling points of interest on a map and encouraging me to call them if I need anything. My roommates are both med students and so kind. I've shared some smiles with folks on the street (especially people with children). This is good since I've learned to be guarded and cautious from other travel experiences (I've grown increasingly aware of a kind of vulnerability that comes from being an Asian female... a whole other blog post and/or conversation).

I met up with this classmate later to shop at the Mehane Yehuda Market (more photos later!) and make dinner at his hostel (which was giant and full of interesting people from all around). The produce here is so beautiful and cheap! We grabbed tomatoes on the vine, cucumbers, carrots, and beets for a salad; giant pita larger than my laptop; an assortment of olives; hummus; and a delicious sharp-nutty cheese with that crystalline bite to it. YUM.

We had a beer and shared stories. Funny how we were in the same Biblical Hebrew class all year and only got to know each other on this day.

::pulling off headphones::
I hear toddlers chattering in the way that they do. Delightful :)