Hey all!
It sure has been a while, what, about 2 months or so? Sadly, my semester comes to an end really soon, and at this time two weeks from now I'll be back in Thornhill!! These past two months have been pretty crazy, so I'll do an overview in this post so I can remember it all and then I will post individual blog posts with more detail! I'll go chronologically. After Israel Apartheid Week (reminder: week around March 9th or something, like that!), I participated in Cave Day - the university took a group of students on a hike in the hills around Jerusalem, near Beit Shemesh, including some adventures through caves! Pictures to follow in the specific blog post! Shortly after that was the Jewish holiday Purim, which is a preeeeetty big deal here! A friend and I went to the local family synagogue in the area of the dorms. It was a very interesting experience-I hadn't been to a synagogue for Purim in years! It was very nice to see all the kids in different Purim costumes! Purim in Israel basically means party, and streets that night and the next day were PACKED! There were special events at Mamilla Mall (the new, outdoor mall in Jerusalem right near the Old City). Overall, a very different Purim from what I'm used to at home. Somewhere around here was the bombing near the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, about a 10-15 minute ride from where I live in the Kfar HaStudentim. The next weekend, a friend and I decided to head to the Jerusalem food festival in the Old City; food, wines, and live music in an ancient setting-what's not to love! The following week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. Unfortunately there were no camels, but really, all I have to do is drive 20 minutes out of my dorm and I can see them in their "natural" habitat in Israel - parked outside of gas stations (pictures in a later post)! I then got the chance to take an intercity bus to Tel Aviv and spent the day at the Diezengoff Mall and the beach! Great day-not hot by Tel Aviv standards, but perfect for those of us more acclimated to a cold Canadian winter than the sweltering humidity that usually plagues Tel Aviv, haha! Following this adventure, Deborah, Kimmie and I decided to try Jerusalem's answer to "American" style Chinese food. I can't say that I'm overly pleased with "Beijing" (the name of the restaurant) but what can I say-this country's specialty is falafel, shawarma and humus. For Passover break, Kimmie, Deb and I traveled through Italy and Paris, but much more on this later! When we got back from Europe, Deb and I had a visit from a high school friend who's spending part of the summer in Israel. Of course, only a few days after our return from Paris, it was the royal wedding, which, I must admit, I watched online, but in my defense, I didn't have to wake up at an ungodly time to do so, because Jerusalem is 2 hours ahead of London! The Monday following, there was Yom HaShoah, Israel's national Holocaust Remembrance Day in honour of all those who perished in the Holocaust. I guess I can devote a bit of time to that here, now, since I don't have pictures of the day (there's not much to take pictures of).
As in the second, more modern Memorial Day in Israel (about a week after Yom HaShoah), the siren was sounded throughout Israel at 10am in memory of those who died in the Holocaust. The full name for Yom HaShoah in Israel is Yom HaShoah Ve'HaGvura (loosely translated to Holocaust Remembrance Day for those who fell and the brave as well). This really symbolizes Israel's feelings about the Holocaust. Especially in the early years of the State of Israel, Holocaust survivors were seen as weak people who marched "like sheep to the slaughter" to use the phrase, to the concentration camps and didn't fight back, whereas true chalutzim, young Jewish pioneers, worked hard to create something from nothing before the establishment of the State. As such, it was decided in Israel to not just merely commemorate and remember those who died in the gas chambers, camps, and other workings of the Nazi machine, but to make special mention of those who decided to fight back, embodying to possible true spirit of the Israeli. This is further captured in the new Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance museum, which opens up at the end with a breathtaking view of the Jerusalem forest, once again emphasizing the "look what we have because we fought for it" mentality.
Following Yom HaShoah is Yom HaZikaron, Israel's national remembrance day for those who fell in the army and those killed by terror attacks in Israel over the years. A very moving day in the country, because it is safe to say that every Israeli has some personal connection to someone who died in either the army or a terrorist attack. I spent the evening of at a MASA ceremony on Ammunition Hill and the morning of in Har Herzl, the national military cemetery in Jerusalem. More on this later! Immediately (and I mean immediately) after Yom HaZikaron, the country does a COMPLETE 180 and shifts into the ultimate street party mode. If Yom HaZikaron goes until 8pm, then at 8:01pm people take to the streets with silly string and inflatable hammers to spray and smack people while celebrating the independence of Israel. The following day, Israelis take to the parks and hold barbecues of epic proportions in celebration. Again, more on this crazy day later!
This past Thursday, I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Ein Gedi, a natural spring about 500 meters from the Dead Sea - yes, in the middle of the desert there is a spring complete with waterfalls. I kid you not, I have the pictures to prove it! Another amazing experience that I sincerely recommend to anyone traveling to Israel.
That's all for now, I will start individual posts (hopefully) later tonight, with pictures!
Dale :)
