I Can See All of Jerusalem

Shalom from Eretz Yisrael!


Well, I have been in the Holy Land for roughly a week now, and I can already tell that this semester will provide many, many fond stories and memories.  Just getting here was a trip in and of itself.  My El Al flight left out of Newark Airport at 1:00 PM on Sunday, January 16th, but my father and I arrived in Newark the night before the big flight as a precaution to any possible delays.  When we got to the Newark Airport Hilton (our haven for the night), we immediately dropped our bags off and set off on a journey to the Big Apple in order to spend some time with our cousins Rita and Abe.  In order to get to New York, we had to first take a hotel shuttle back to the airport, where we then took a train to Penn Station, and from there cabbed to Times Square.  Once out of the cab, we set off by foot en route to Qi, a lively Thai eatery.

     Upon finishing our meal, we left the restaurant, and the four of us began a self-directed walking tour of Times Square.  Our objective was to end our walk over dessert and coffee at the revered Algonquin Hotel, a place where esteemed authors and public figures such as Gertrude Stein and Edna Ferber met daily for lunch, exchanging gossip and ideas.  Unfortunately, we learned that the hotel was being renovated and would not reopen until March, so we settled for a nearby deli (not a bad consolation spot).  After conversing for a bit over warm food and drink, we parted ways (it was around 10:30 PM after all) and my father and I retraced our steps back to Newark (not without first getting lost in that maze that New Yorkers refer to as Penn Station).

     Early the next morning, we got up, broke our fast at the hotel restaurant, and shuttled off to the airport.  Soon after my father and I said our goodbyes, I encountered many warm greetings from the people I would occupy my time with for the next five months.  Soon enough, it was time to board the flight.  I have flown to and from Israel four times in the past, and I have flown to Chile as well (an eight hour flight), but this one was surely the easiest time I've spent up in the air.  I even caught some shut-eye, a rarity for me on those those extensive hauls.

     After retrieving our luggage in Tel Aviv, we drove straight to the Kfar Ha-Studentim (the student village), which neighbors The Hebrew University of Jerusalem where we will spend our mornings in Ulpan (intensive Hebrew language study).  There are twelve dorms in the student village, each with eight floors, four apartments per floor, and five rooms per apartment.  The apartments are very livable, and the highlight of our apartment in particular is the view.  We are on the sixth floor, and my room overlooks all of Jerusalem.  So I will be doing my homework looking out at the Dome of the Rock.  No big deal.

     During the week, I wake up just after sunrise and start my day.  Between the Kfar and the Hebrew U campus, there is an Aroma (the Israeli version of Starbucks), and stops there on the way to class have become a mainstay of my morning routine.  The campus itself is gorgeous.  All of the colleges that the university houses are attached, forming one giant building.  The campus is surrounded by flora, and the green landscape juxtaposed with the beige Jerusalem stone building is quite picturesque.

     The highlight of the trip so far, besides meeting and getting to know all of my classmates, has definitely been my trip to the shuk (the Israeli market).  Because our campus is located on the outskirts of the city, trips downtown require acquaintance with public transit.  However, this is really a positive as I will feel more like an Israeli by utilizing the bus system and light rail.  Fun stuff.  Anyway, the shuk is a large, open-air market where one can buy fresh Israeli produce, groceries, wine, and necessary personal accessories and amenities such as hookahs.  Personally, I enjoy the cacophony of sounds and the bedlam of people doing their last-minute Shabbat shopping.


There is so much more to say, but unfortunately time is of the essence and so I must end this first week's blog.      

Shavua Tov (Have a great week!)

Zac