Saying Goodbye Part 2: Kelly in Israel

It's hard for me to put into words what it was like knowing that the end of my journey in Israel was concluding. My anxiety was high and tears seemed to come pretty easily in the company of my wonderful roommate, Becky. Becky cries frequently whether from happiness or sadness. She's an emotional woman. So in her presence, I too, was able to be emotional in front of her with ease. To that, I definitely say "thank you, Becky!" To make us feel better, we would watch reruns of "Millionaire Matchmaker" and "Wipe Out," then the world was happy again...

But I did have a lot to be excited about. Not only was my father in town, but one of my best friends from the States was coming for a visit! Kelly arrived on May 12. It was her first trip to Israel, so I needed to make it one big whirlwind of adventure. That first night she arrived, I took her to dinner with Sivan at my absolute favorite restaurant in Tel Aviv, Orna and Ella. It was the last time that I got to have their wonderful sweet potato pancakes and flourless chocolate cake. After dinner, I took her to 223, a bar on Dizengoff for one drink with Sivan, Jake (my friend from Cleveland Heights), Russell (a friend from South Euclid, but I had met in Israel 5 years prior), and Toby (Russell's good friend). This was a goodbye drink with the boys, but a welcome drink with the girls. After the yummy white sangria, we let Kelly get some sleep.

The first full day of Kelly's "tour" was a non-stop day of walking around Tel Aviv. We covered Dizengoff Square, Shuk Carmel where Kelly had her first Israeli falafel, Neva Tzedek, the old remodeled train station area, and continued walking all the way over to Jaffo, then we finally took a taxi and laid on the beach for a quick nap, then back to Sivan's to shower and get ready for Shabbat dinner. Dad took us to Aunt Miriam's house for a loud, Tunisian-style, delicious, lots of family Shabbat dinner, where the meat is never-ending and you're so full, but you must keep trying more. It was great!

On Saturday, Sivan and Efrat took Kelly and I on a road trip up north to Rosh Ha'Nikra at 7am. What was fantastic about this day was that it was raining and storming all morning. When most people go to Rosh Ha'Nikra, you'll have beautiful weather with the sea being calm. Not us! Waves were crashing everywhere and it was gorgeous! As we drove away from this beautiful place, the rain stopped and we went to Goren park. We had intended to hike, but the trails were too muddy for our liking, so instead we walked around and took pictures of Israel's nature. I still find it amazing that when most foreigners think of Israel, they can only imagine the desert and not Israel's lush green landscape of the north. We had one more stop on our road trip and that was Achziv, which is a national park that is also a beach. Gorgeous! On the way back to the apartment, we stopped in Herzilya and I got to say goodbye to Sivan's parents, who were truly amazing and treated me like family. 

Once we returned to Tel Aviv, did we have time for a nap? Of course not! Tel Aviv never stops and neither did we. Showered and ready to party... or at least, trying to convince ourselves to party... Yuval picked up Kelly and I, and took us to Galina, a club at the namal or port. I am very glad we went there that night because a lot of people from my apartment building on Tsidon were there, and I got to say goodbye to some of them, including Cody, Sharon, and my sweet, Becky, who cried instantly when she saw me. The three of us did not last long at the club from our exhaustion, but at least Kelly got to experience the nightlife.

Sunday, Dad drove Kelly and I to Jerusalem. We started with Mount Herzl, Israel's national cemetery. Kelly and I mentioned something about wanting a picture with soldiers, so Dad embarrassingly asked a large group of soldiers to stop eating lunch and take a picture with us. And yes, they did. haha. My dad is hilarious. Mount Herzl has a walking path over to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Everytime I walk through the museum, I learn something new. This particular time, I found a letter written from someone who lived in Cleveland Heights on Kildare Road asking a politician to back a bill allowing Jewish children into the US. That was pretty neat to find a Cleveland connection. After a few hours of Yad Vashem, we went to the Old City of Jerusalem, walking through the market place, and saw the Western Wall. Most of the places that Kelly and I had gone to in Tel Aviv, I had run into someone that I knew. This day in Jerusalem was no different, and I ran into my buddy, Brandon at the Wall. That's the thing about Israel... it's so small, that no matter where you go, you will know someone, and that is what really makes it feel like home.

The next day, Dad took Kelly and I to Masada. Masada has a new museum that shows many of the artifacts that they have collected over the years. They even have a braid from one of the Jewish women who had committed suicide on the mountain. The museum was a treat. Along with the museum, you get the tour through headphones that you can listen to when you are on top of Masada. That was interesting to a point. We were on top for hours and I couldn't take much more of it. So the three of us left and went to the tourist favorite... the Dead Sea. This was my favorite part of the day, just being in the water, covered in mud and floating around.

On Tuesday was my last and final day to pack and say goodbye to everyone. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, the "everyone" part just didn't happen. (Sorry, Aaron and Bari!!! I tried!! We'll just have to hug again in California one day! Same is true for the MBA Exchange students that I met through Tel Aviv University. I didn't get to have a proper goodbye with them either. Although I did get to say goodbye to my Tsidon friends completely unexpectedly! I got to say goodbye to Sharon, Leah, Tamara, Avidan, Simon, etc. when I walked in on their cultural experience meeting. Such a lucky moment for me to get to see them all one last time!) The morning was spent with my father in the cemetery visiting my grandparents' grave. This was particularly meaningful for me. I kept trying to get there the entire time. There was just no way for me to get there without an uncle, aunt, or cousin leading the way. And finally, on my last day, I got to see them. The last time I was in Israel, my grandmother was alive. I had known that it would be the last time that I would see her alive, and exactly one month later, she had passed away. So this was my first time seeing her in her resting place, next to my grandfather.

The rest of Tuesday morning and early afternoon was spent doing a few errands, exchanging money for Kelly and I, getting lunch, getting snacks for our trip, packing, and in between everything, an uncle would come over, and then another... By 5pm, we were in Tel Aviv, where Kelly got to see an old friend of hers, and I got to hangout one last time before leaving with my two closest Israeli friends-- Yuval and Sivan. Saying goodbye to the two of them was hard, to say the least. But Sivan just said "I'll see you soon. You're going to move here anyway." Moving to Israel is another discussion for a different day, although I will say that the thought is definitely there.

When we returned to the apartment, there were quite a few of my aunts and uncles waiting for me to say goodbye. This is how I think of Israel-- a lot of family, everyone speaking loudly over one another, food being passed around, and a lot of love filling a room. There were a lot of tears that night by me. But it was worth it. It was a fantastic six months.


Kelly, Sivan, and I at Orna and Ella's




Kelly's first Israeli falafel




Rosh Ha'Nikra




Goren Park




Efrat, Kelly, Sivan, and I at Goren Park




Achziv




Achziv with Kelly, Efrat, and Sivan




Achziv




Becky and I at Galina




Kelly at Galina




Jerusalem with soldiers




Kelly and I at Mt. Herzl




With Dad, Brandon, and Kelly at the Western Wall




Dad feeding the birds on Masada




Dad at Masada




Masada





Kelly and I in the Dead Sea




Dad at the Dead Sea




My Saba and Safta's grave




Dad with Uncle Moshe




Sivan and I




Yuval and I




Family a few hours before we left Israel: Uncle Ilan, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Miriam,
Uncle Reco, Dad, Aunt Mazel, Uncle Zazu, and Uncle Moti

         

Israeli Independence and Part 1 of Saying Goodbye

The last week of April brought me a lot of anxiety about leaving Israel, but mostly what it brought me was a stomach virus. I was very ill at a time that I had a lot to do, so I didn't take this sickness lying down. I even went on Oranim's scheduled trip to Jerusalem on April 28 even though my voice was missing, the pain in my stomach was making me not stand up straight, and I was very tired... I continued on armed with the B.R.A.T. diet-- bananas, rice, applesauce, and tea. I essentially ate this for a week straight. I remember distinctly watching the Royal Wedding with applesauce in hand and whimpering to my mom over the phone about having no energy. The Jerusalem trip I went on, I moved slowly or maybe it was my mind that was moving slowly? I went to Ein Kerem with the group, walked around, and watched them eat ice cream. Then we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum. There is no museum in the world that can compare to this one-- not only in sheer magnitude, but the quality of the museum itself. I have been to Yad Vashem many times and already had been once on this particular Israel trip and would be returning with Kelly once she arrived in Israel, so this time, I skipped going inside, except to hear a Holocaust survivor. His story was interesting and moving, although at times it was difficult to decipher what he was saying with such a heavy accent and with very few pauses when he spoke. I would imagine that it is very difficult for him or for any survivor to talk about his time during the Holocaust, even if he does speak about it every single day. It seemed to me like he wanted to tell his story, but tell it in one breath. 

After his story, my second cousins, Beverly and Chezi came to pick me up to go to lunch. I continued with my B.R.A.T. diet at a lovely restaurant that was in the middle of a nursery. I couldn't stop thinking of my grandmother (Safta June) while I was there. She would have loved it there, to be amongst the flowers. The food that Bev and Chezi ate looked good. I was very pleased because I had tea with louisa leaves. Louisa leaves are supposed to relieve stomach pain and bloat. I did feel better for a few hours after! Natural medicines do work wonders!! Bev and I spent another couple of hours together. My time with them made it worth the trip to Jerusalem even though I could have used an entire day in bed. 

Now that my time is winding down, I tried to see as much family as I could. That weekend I got to see more cousins. I never know what number cousins they are unless they are my 1st cousins and sometimes my 2nd. It gets a little complicated after that.... so I'll just say, my cousins! My uncle, Ilan, and Efrat took me to see Louise and Collin. It was so great to see them again after so many years. I also got to see my globetrotter cousin, Brett, who is originally from South Africa, had been living in London for many years, and most currently has been in Arizona. That was a surprise and I was so so so glad to see him and get a chance to hang out with him, along with all of the Zinn family that live in Israel.   

Volunteering: Part of every program that comes to Israel involves volunteering. Jews use the term "tikkun olam" which essentially means to repair the world or make the world a better place. On our program we volunteered as a group at the Helen Keller Community Center. We pulled and cleared weeds that were higher than our hips. (Try doing that while on the no energy, B.R.A.T. diet! It was very draining but I do enjoy being in the garden...)

Now onto some very important holidays. This is the time of year that I was very much looking forward to being in Israel for. Yom Ha'Shoah is Holocaust Remembrance Day. A siren goes off all over Israel for one minute at 10am, and no matter where you are, what you are doing, you stand up in silence. I have never been in Israel during Yom Ha'Shoah and I finally witnessed the siren and people pulling over and getting out of their cars for it to stand for one minute of silence and memorial. There's nothing else like it in the world. Then when the one minute is up, life continues on. This is a very special time in Israel, where the public television (most of the channels) all show Holocaust movies, documentaries, and specials. This is also true on Yom Ha'Zikaron, which came a week later, except that the movies are about soldiers and Israel. Yom Ha'Zikaron is a memorial day for all of the soldiers and victims of terror who were killed. The ceremonies to mark the beginning of this special day begins at sunset with a one-minute siren, commemorating the fallen and showing respect. On the eve of Yom Ha'Zikaron, Oranim took us to Haifa to watch a very intimate, outdoors ceremony with the men and women of the Navy. This was a beautiful setting where the sun set and the ceremony took place with everyone wearing their white uniforms. We, in Oranim, were wearing white polo shirts. I wore white the next morning too when I went with Sivan to a ceremony for Yom Ha'Zikaron that the students of the high school in Herzliya put on every year. A two-minute siren is at 11am.

When Yom Ha'Zikaron is over, Israel moves right into celebration mode for its wonderful independence, Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel Indepence Day. Scheduling Yom Hazikaron right before Yom Ha'atzmaut is intended to remind people of the price paid for independence and of what was achieved with the soldier's sacrifice. There are fireworks, just like in the US, but there is just so much more. Everyone is celebrating and the streets are lined with the flag. Every community has concerts going on, fun for the whole family on the evening that Yom Ha'atzmaut starts, along with huge parties in Tel Aviv. My dad came home to Israel on the evening that Yom Ha'atzmaut was starting. We went to Nessiona and saw one of my favorite Israeli singers, Dudo Aharon, or at least we got to hear his very last song, which is his single, and we saw a lot of fireworks. Afterwards, I went to a pool party that is on the roof of a hotel called the Marina, where I met with a lot of my friends: Bari, Aaron, Aviva, Dan, Niki, Dave, Daan, Mattia, Valentina, Heimen, and many many more. Everywhere I looked, there were people that I knew. During the day of Yom Ha'atzmaut, you can smell bbq from every direction! Families get together and grill out everywhere you go in Israel on this day! My family was no exception. Dad and I ate bbq with my uncles Reco, David, and Zazu. We all sat around the picnic table for hours while uncle David played guitar and everyone sang songs. It was a really fun day! 

A few days before my dad came to Israel, I worked my last days with the Buddy System at Tel Aviv University. We promoted this Nation 2 Nation party, which would feature Latin America, by having a keg on campus and serving it while wearing a sambrero and shaking maracas. This worked well in theory, but in practice, it did not. The keg did not get cold and it was a hot day. Students were not pleased with their warm and foamy beer. But still, the students who helped me were awesome and we still had fun with the sambreros and maracas. My last week of the internship was just a typical week before the party... I stayed in the office and handed out a lot of wristbands, and I also went shopping for the supplies needed... in this case, the maracas, sambreros, and flags. I had less supplies to get before the big day because Gon used his charming skills on the people of Doritos and had them sponsor us! We had a LOT of chips and salsa. The party itself was at Galina, a very popular club in the port, on its opening night. A lot of clubs that are in "downtown" Tel Aviv close for the summer and open their summer clubs in the port. I booked a guy to teach salsa/merengue dancing to the students who came early, but it was such a strange setup at the club... we had to remain in the outside area, but with a new law, the club is not allowed to play music outside. So the group practiced their merengue moves in near-silence. Then the inside of the club finally opened up. It was gorgeous and it ended up getting filled over capacity. The music was fantastic! Actually, one of the very best renditions of a song I heard the entire time I was in Israel happened that night of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion." A lot of my friends from TAU and from my building came, along with my cousin, Brett. It was so full that Brett and I ended up not being able to find each other by the end. It was nice to have a fun party night with everyone. I am going to be honest here, I was disappointed in how the Buddy System said goodbye to me.... or their lack of goodbye. I've done internships before in my life and I've never had them end so oddly. After I had been working for about a month, my original boss resigned, and the boss of the office, who also sat in the same office as I was, along with a few other girls, didn't hire anyone to replace the original boss (well, she did, but then that only lasted for a week... Long story!). And my original boss was the only one who ever really told me that she appreciated what I was doing for them, besides the exchange students that these events were for. So my last day came and went, nothing out of the ordinary happened except that I handed my key in. A sincere thank you would have gone a long way. For those of you who have never been to Israel might say that this was a cultural thing, but it is not. I do have to say that the coordinators for all of the exchange programs were really sweet, helpful, and thankful throughout the semester, and every single one of them wrote me an email saying goodbye before I left. It is these kinds of acts, that literally take less than two minutes of someone's time, but it makes all of the difference.  

 

 

 

Onto a goodbye that was hard for many of us to face--- saying goodbye to our Oranim group. We had our closing ceremony in the Tsidon building, where Dan and Dave led the "paper plate" ceremony. The paper plates were funny things about each participant, but heartfelt. I knew about this ahead of time because Orly asked me to write Masha's and Maria's, which I was more than happy to do. Masha and Maria are amazing women from Russia, who lived down the hall from me. They are really special people and I am really going to miss them!!! What was mine about? My 90s music trivia knowledge? No. The fact that I take way too many pictures? Nope. Me being the oldest lady in the group? Yep. haha. But I knew it would be. Whichever one of the guys wrote it did a really nice job. It was funny and really sweet, and I ended up with the "Young at Heart" Award. Orly, our city coordinator, made cds for all of us with Israeli music and gave us certificates for the program. Orly was really great throughout the entire trip and really cared for each one of us. Her job has to be a really difficult one. She's on-call basically 24/7 with our never ending questions. She was really involved in all of our lives. So after the closing ceremony, I was glad she and I got some time to be alone while walking to the beach. All of us met at Frishman Beach with a lot of drinks, hookah, music, and some late night skinny dipping (well, only 2 of the guys did that). It was a really wonderful time to not really say goodbye, but to say "hope we hang out again really soon."