Buongiorno Israel Part I

 Before...

I am currently on my flight to Israel! This morning was not something I was exactly looking forward to. It involved waking up at 4 a.m and catching the first train out to Milan. Luckily, some of the other girls heading to Paris were also heading out to Malenpesa, the airport in Milan so they also caught the train. I realized a major way of relieving my anxiety about missing this train would be taking  a taxi, well worth it but of course I sat around for a half hour. I was most worried about getting to the airport on time for my flight, which was at 10:40. Luckily, we made it to the 7:40 shuttle, even though our train only got in at 7:35. The ride was beautiful though because beyond the industrial buildings on the outskirts of Milan we could see the Alps which at this point were completely snow covered and gorgeous. It convinced us to attempt to make a trip out to Innsbruck in our last weekend here.  I was able to get through all of the security despite the fact that the El Al desk was the farthest walk possible from everything because of their extra interviews. This was my first realization that somehow when I attempted to speak Hebrew Italian came out, in the end I made a good decision to switch to English but hopefully I will improve. It is very exciting to simply be around something familiar. Hearing Hebrew spoken after being in Italy for so long is very nice.  I am very excited to meet my cousins at the airport and then eventually meet up with a bunch of people from JRF as well as an old friend from OSRUI. Now, I will attempt to watch Salt which is proving problematic because although it is in English partly, it  is partly in Russian and the subtitles are in Hebrew, moving way too fast for me.

Later…

I am currently sitting in the Rome airport. My adventure out of Israel began with a 6 a.m flight, but I will start from the beginning of my adventures in Israel. I arrived at the airport, and it took a bit of time to get through border control. What did not help was a large group of Russians that the customs people decided to give a really hard time, but I ended up switching lines and finally got through. I then met up with my cousin Gil. The last time he saw anyone from my family in Israel, my mom was my age visiting, so he and the rest of the family were very excited. I went back with him to his home which is in Beit Aryeh, which is about a half hour outside of Tel Aviv. Everyone was very nice, but I quickly learned how pathetic my Hebrew is currently (possibly at the expense of the Italian) I met my cousin Noam who was 6 who kept running away when I looked at him, and I was sad I couldn't speak in Hebrew to lighten things up. We had a very yummy Shabbat dinner, then relaxed and watched T.V. I tried to work on my Hebrew by looking at the subtitles, but I am not sure how much I accomplished. The next day I woke up and hung around. A highlight was definetely watching Mary Poppins in Hebrew. Although nothing could top Julie Andrews' voice, I do think they did an excellent job of dubbing and it was hilarious. After that the entire family came over. Although it was an overwhelming amount of Hebrew I enjoyed meeting everyone. It was really nice to meet Leah who was my Grandma's first cousin, but they basically grew up as sisters. We found some old pictures from when she had visited the United States a few years when I was born. I also learned that the family referred to my Grandma as "Erika in America" whenever they talked about her which I thought was really funny. Of course, Leah had the grandmother instinct to make me eat as much as possible which resulted in me being unable to move for awhile after lunch.  Later that night, it was time for me to move on to Amy's  apartment.

My cousin Gil drove me to Yafo, and I think he was a little surprised that was where she lived. I also noticed that the family seemed a bit worried about me going there which was confusing. I later learned from Amy that the area that she lives in does not have the best reputation because there are a lot of different cultural communities where she lives including recent immigrants from Ethiopia, Jews and Arabs. Many Israelis do not like to go to the area because they are worried but Amy assured me that she always feels safe. After arriving I dropped off my stuff and Amy and I walked around Old Yafo. It was a bit bizarre for me to be seeing an old friend from a completely different setting but also really nice and refreshing. She recommended that I try a famous "toast" off of a street  stand which was basically a flattened bagel grilled cheese sandwich=success.  She then showed me around near the sea and some of the older areas which is really cool. I did not realize how old Yafo really was, but it was interesting because when compared to places like Italy there are also more new, modern things mixed in with the Old.

The next morning Amy took off from her volunteering and we went to a Moshav about an hour away where Reut, an israeli who was a counselor with us at JRF lives. It was really cool being in this area because I got to go somehwere where most tourists don't go and got an insight to people who live outside of the major cities. We walked around these gorgeous gardens (in a desert what!?) and the town. Reut explained that there were three synagogues: an Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Yemenite  in her town. We also went to lunch for what she kept assuring me would be the best hummus I ever ate, she was totally right! First of all, I was unaware that you can go to places and simply order hummus as a meal, but it totally worked. Reut recommended that we order a smoked egg, which was kind of like the eggs that are in Cholent, almost hardboiled but also with flavor. We had that, then ordered two things of hummus, one with beans and one with just chickpeas…so delicious!! We also got pita of course, and I ended up eating so much. I have to admit that I will never be the same when it comes to hummus, Sabra does not even come close, I have no idea what I am going to do, but this is an issue to be resolved once I return to Chicago because there is very little hummus in Italy.

  I then accompanied Amy to a community center for Ethiopians where she tutors English. Although a bit rowdy, it was very interesting to get a small glimpse into this community. The girls kept trying to talk to me, asking if I was their new math tutor, I was essentially mute, and then they told Amy that I looked like I knew a lot, whatever that means. Once thing, that I guess is a broad generalization, but I bet is true for most of these girls is they are obsessed with Chris Brown. In the one hour tutoring sessions, he came up multiple times.  After the tutoring we stopped at a small grocery store and picked up some fruits in veggies for dinner. All I can say is, why are pomegranates so expensive everywhere else, they are soooo good!!!I also tried persimion (spelling? this may be a combo of the English and Hebrew word in my head) anyways it is this fruit that looks like a tomato except more orangey in color (the look of it totally freaked me out at first)  and is really sweet. I have seen them everywhere in Italy and now I know they are delicious so will take advantage.

The next morning Amy went off to her seminars and I met up with Rona. I hadn't seen Rona since we were counselors together at OSRUI the summer of 2008 so it had been a really long time. She was very excited to show me Tel Aviv, and I loved being able to see it with an Israel for basically the first time.  We first went to a café and got an Israeli breakfast for two which included eggs, orange juice , bread, eggplant and all  of these different cheese and other spreads and of course, we cannot forge the Israeli salad. This was sooo good. After lunch we walked around the main shopping streets and just caught. I found a beautiful necklace which a woman custom made for me while I waited.  I then got to see the huge shopping mall, which was very overwhelming but fun. I ended up seeing a lot of the stores I see in Italy but it was still fun. Rona also took me to this area which kind of reminded me of Soho in New York. It had a lot of really cute boutiques and a bit of a Bohemian vibe. At the end of this neighborhood was the "Bimah" which is a big theater where they perform drama, dance and music. The entire area was really pretty and for us former Tiferet folks a must see.  We then headed back to the car and parted our ways. It was so great to see her and I hope it will happen again soon!

Buongiornio Mantova e Olive!!

This past weekend was our last weekend trip with Claudio (very sad :( ) On Saturday we left in the morning for Mantova also known as Mantua, a city very close to Verona. I had never heard about the city before coming here, but it was a huge center for art for hundreds of years. We visited two Palaces, Palazzo Te (some explanation I don't remember but does not stand for tea) and Palazzo Ducale (the Duke's palace) We had a wonderful tour guide who was quadralingual. She kept apologizing for her English yet was able to say things such as "spinster" and "juxtaposition" so I really think she was doing okay. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but we were not allowed to take pictures anyways. My favorite thing about Palazzo Te was the room of the giants (http://literaria.net/RP/L7/GiulioRomanoGiants.jpg) This picture does not do it justice because it is all about the experience when you walk in the room. The giants are literally giant, and the room is circular so you almost feel as you are spinning while standing still. Before going on to the Palazzo Ducale we stopped for lunch. I had one of the most amazing interesting things I have eaten in Italy. For the first course I ordered steamed pears with asiago cheese and truffle sauce. I know this sounds like a really strange combination but it was delicious!
  
With very full stomachs we moved on to the Palazzo Ducale which has over 600 rooms. I found it really interesting that Austrians had taken over and put on their own decorations over the Italian ones. One of the rooms looked exactly like the ball room from the Sound of Music. The palace was a bit overwhelming but really cool. We got to see a lot of the paintings that we have learned about in art history class, many by Andrea Mantegna who is from Mantova. You may recognize this painting of his                             (http://eu.art.com/products/p15164620-sa-i3571900/posters.htm?ui=2125615E3D234AC2A84ECAB7081E01FB)

This painting is known to be one of the first using perspective and is therefore considered on of the first paintings of the renaissance.  After exploring the castle with our tour guide we made a quick stop in a theater that Mozart played in as a 13-year-old. After piling into the van we stopped at an outlet mall that was largely disappointing. Then we were back to Verona!

The next day we went just outside of Verona to an Olive Fair. I had no idea what to expect, but as most of you may know, I LOVE olives, so I was excited. The fair was in the country, next to an olive oil factory and there were tons of people there. If anyone was curious to know, I had a dream when I was a small child that I drowned in a sea of olives (because my mother told me if I ate too many olives I would get sick) while that dream may have seemed very strange, I realized in this visit that it was possible to drown in a sea of olives because I encountered more than I ever have in my life.

 After hanging around a bit, getting free food and wine, we headed back home for a relaxing Sunday. Now I am getting very excited for my adventures also known as fall break. I will be reuniting with some of my fellow JRFers, seeing some other old friends and meeting family that I have never met before. I will be going to both Israel and Spain. I will also attempt to speak the other two languages that have learned previously and will most likely struggle a great deal. I am still very excited and can't wait to see everyone.

Ciao! (cherish this, I may be unable to speak any Italian upon returning)

Buongiornio Modena

Today Karissa and I ventured out to the land of the famous Ferrari and Balsamic Vinegar....result= Piazza Grande (not so grande) and being called French multiple times despite speaking english and saying we were from Chicago.

I would say overall sucessful day.

Buongiornio Cremona

It seems that I have been posting a lot in a short amount of time, but now that I have the luxury of internet in my apartment once more I can update as soon as I write. This past Friday I didn't have any class so I set out for Cremona with Rose. Ever since I found out that I was a mere hour and forty minutes away from the home of Stradivarius, Amati and other masters of violin making I knew that I had to go. The town was cute and small, there was a lot less going on than in Verona, but I got to see a lot of cool things. After wandering around a bit looking for the main square (this can be very difficult without a map) we finally found the tourist office. We grabbed a sandwich and immedietely went to one of the government buildings that had a collection of Stradivarius' and Amatis. We actually had to call someone to come let us in, so I assume they don't get a lot of visitors this time of year. The exhibit was cool but not much to see. Of course, anyone who plays would agree that it seemed like such a same just looking at the instruments suspended in glass boxes and not being played. Luckily, I read that they are taken out periodically and played and concerts are even performed. After the exhibit we followed some signs that led to where some current Violin makers workshops were. I didn't walk in and try any violins, but we were able to peak through the windows and see them at work. It is cool to know that the tradition in this town has continued for hundreds of years. (even if the makers were mostly Chinese and Russian) I also love that violins are still made by hand, in largely the same manner as before. This is what makes them so expensive, but it also makes each violin unique and precious.

The real exhibit was the actual Stradivarius Museum which is located in the Civic Museum. I got very excited and whipped past all of the paintings that were on the way (I am sorry but there are only so many Crucification paintings I can handle in a lifetime, especially when the Stradivarius stuff was so close!) 

The museum had a bunch of really cool instruments made by other makers. One of my favorites was the "Viola d'amore" I believe it had 8 strings. I wonder what it sounds like. Others were beautifully decorated. Probably the coolest thing to see though was all of these tools, stencils and pieces of wood preserved from Stradivarius' workshop. Although many have tried to mimic what Stradivarius did, no violin will ever be like his again. It was cool to see the actual things that he personally worked with. I also discovered that my violin was actually modeled at least physically off of a Stradivarius. I didn't know if I should find this exciting or disappointing, but it was odd feeling like I was looking at my own Violin in a display case.

After a stop for some souvenirs and chocolate we headed back to Verona. The rest of the weekend ended up being a lazy one, as the Olive Fair we were supposed to go to was canceled. Tomorrow we don't have class so I'll be making my way to Venice to see the Jewish Ghetto which my parents were raving about.

last minute add on..almost forget why I love Cremona so much: I was walking by a used bookstore and what is in the window but an Italian version of the Tea Rose!! is that fate or what?

Buongiorno Mom and Dad!

I just finished an excellent 6 day adventure with mom and dad. The trip included many wanderings (mostly not on purpose) tripping (there are a lot of steps in Italy!), scarpe e sciarpe, an extreme overusage of the word "allora"  and of course visits to some of  "Verona's most suggestive locations" (recommendation from poorly translated Verona guidebook), oh and let's not forget that Hannah partied it up and burnt down half the house while Mom and Dad we gone (Facebook always tells the truth) 

 

Mom and dad arrived in Rome on Wednesday where I hear they stumbled around ancient roman ruins after not sleeping for 36 hours. I met up with them Thursday in the late morning. We quickly (well attempted to be quick but failed) to see the synagogue in Rome which was absolutely gorgeous. I will probably try to make my way back there so that I can have more time. We were only able to stay about a half hour but it was good to make it there. After that we had a quick lunch (where I impressed mom and dad with my spectacular Italian ordering skills recently acquired) and then met up with our tour guide near the Vatican. We signed up for a Jewish tour of the Vatican and I was curious to see what that meant. I quickly found out that the Vatican museums are ridiculously large. Our tour guide took us to different parts and explained some general history but also some Jewish origins that were found. She took us at first to an area that was roped off and showed us stones with Jewish references that were found under the Vatican. We then made our way through some of the art that had been collected by the popes, there was sooo much. Mom and I loved the story about how popes could stroll around Rome and if they saw a statue they liked they could just take it (see our imitation in the picture below) As a result, there were tons of statues, so much that the people in the Vatican had to aimlessly stack them on top of each other, even if they didn't go together. We also saw the Sistine Chapel (did you know there are Jews  there? Look for the little yellow or green hats)  and the famous Cathedral just outside the Vatican.  After the tour we picked up some gelato (my parent's first in Italy) and went back to the hotel to relax. We then went out to dinner and I finally got to try something I have read about and sounded delicious…fried artichokes. I know this sounds weird, but they were so good! It is also co to know that this dish was invented by Jews because sometimes they had to eat things, such as artichokes that they found in the forest when food was scarce. 

The next morning we took a train to Florence. The first thing that I noticed was that Pashmina scarves were only 5 euros each ( I have been waiting for this all semester). It was definitely a sign of good shopping to come. Our hotel was located in a beautiful Piazza, Piazza Santa Maria Novella. The weather was absolutely perfect and we really enjoyed walking around. The first place we found was the synagogue, which is by far my favorite Italian synagogue I have seen. 

Our plan was to maybe see one of the art museums that day, but there was a national strike on all museums in Italy (figures). It ended up being fine though because we made reservations for both the Ufizi and the Academia the following day.  After a great dinner (served by a waiter who lived in Wisconsin for awhile) we went to bed, (so early for me but I was totally fine with it)  The next day we  hit the museums. I was very excited for the Ufizi and absolutely loved seeing the Birth of Venus and the Painting I had been copying in class. Mom and Dad got a bit annoyed with me for going too slow but I got better as the visit went on. After that we had lunch and then went shopping.  San Lorenzo market was a lot of fun, but we sadly couldn’t find the stand that Suzy (author of Italy shopping book, mom and I pretend like we know her and always say "Suzy Says)"  suggested. After successfully getting only a few things (I totally had this many scarves and purses when I came here) we had our appointment at the Accademia. We were mostly going here to see David but a great bonus was a musical instrument museum. We saw instruments from the D'Medici court including Amatis (shout out to Pappa's viola in Highland Park) and Strativariusis. It was really hard not to break into the glass and just try to play them (such a shame they are stuck in there) One of my favorite things was this stringed instrument that plucked strings but had piano keys so that "ladies wouldn't ruin their fingers"  We of course saw the David after this. I was really surprised by how big it was and how amazing it was. After that we did a bit more shopping and rested before coming across a local restaurant called "La Spada" for dinner. The tiramisu we had there was the best I have ever had in my life, and the waitress even told us she gave us a little extra because we were all sharing. 

 

The next morning we woke up and headed to Venice. All I'm going to say is that is was rainy and stressful, we were not happy. Fortunately, our hotel room was gorgeous and happened to be an apartment which we did not expect at all. I remembered my way around San Marco's square from when I visited earlier in the month, so we had a good time wondering around. The whole point of us going to Venice for one day since my parents were returning was that so I could see the Jewish Ghetto there with them, unfortunately it was too late and rainy by the time we got there, but I may go on my on sometime soon.

The next morning we headed to Verona, although it was raining I was excited to go back to something familiar. As we were taking the train we saw a ton of traffic that we later learned was due to the highway flooding. We were lucky it didn't affect any of our travel, but unfortunately a lot of people around the area are even displaced from their homes, so it was definitely serious.  In Verona I showed mom and Dad around and we also ate a bunch of delicious pizza. On Tuesday I took them to Castelvecchio, a 13th Century Castle and Museum and the Ancient Roman theater and Archeological museum. Even though it was raining, it was still very enjoyable. 

Most importantly, I purchased my first pair of shoes here, a really cute pair of gray leather boots that were impossible to commit to without mom's approval. A final highlight of the stay in Verona was meeting up with Claudio my program director and his wife Rita on Tuesday night. Claudio drove us to the top of a hill to view Verona at night which was beautiful. Wednesday morning, I woke up early, was very thankful that mom and Dad were there because like everything else in my apartment (aka washing machine and internet) my shower, and for that matter all the hot water in my apartment was broken. I was able to shower at the hotel after lugging a lovely red duffle of "goodies" to be sent home before I get home (a bit heavy but with a modification of packing fine) I was then off to class and Mom and Dad were off to Venice. Overall a great visit. I can't believe I will actually be home in a little over a month, so it wasn't as hard for them to leave as I thought it would be.

 As for now, working on planning the last details of my fall break. Thanks to Mindy I have all of my flights figured out and will be going to Israel for the first 6 days and then Sevilla for the other 4. Who else would I be visiting but my dear friends from JRF.  I can't wait!

Buongiorno Diary

Every week for photography we get an assignment. Usually it involves us going out an taking pictures with some sort of theme, or using a technique we've learned in class.  This week our assignment was to make a photo diary using pictures we already had or ones we took. Here is what I came up with. Comments are welcome!

 

Buongiorno Praga

This weekend (not this past one but the one before)  I got to visit Prague, somewhere I have wanted to go since I can't remember. Our flight left in the afternoon from Verona, so we left the apartment around noon. We then took a shuttle to the train station. On our first leg of the journey we flew a local airline "Air Dolomiti" although it was only an hour long it was really nice. First of all, everything was teal, including the flight attendants' suits. We also got a snack, a mousse type thing that was really yummy. The only issue was, the flight left 45 minutes late, making our 1 hour layover a bit tricky. We did not get to see much of the Frankfurt airport. It was all  kind of a blur considering we were running, but we miraculously made it. Upon arriving to Prague we took out money (really confusing, about 20 Czech Krowns per U.S. dollar) We then met up with Karissa's friends who are studying there. We found our hostel and then went out to dinner. I quickly learned that Czech food is not just heavy on the meat, but really heavy in general. I tried some  delicious beef goulash and potato and bread dumplings. (my stomach was not happy the next morning) We then returned to the hostel. 

The next morning we began our full day with breakfast at a local bakery. This is where I discovered that 
everyone in Prague speaks english, literally everyone. I also discovered that I can really tell the difference between an Italian cappucinno and a non-italian one, but I lived. Anne and I walked around a bit, saw then Lennon Wall, and then I had my Jewish tour. My tour guide Roman was great, and there were a lot of characters in the group. This one guy looked like Eugene Levy, but yet wasn't Jewish miraculously! I discovered this because his wife was one of those people ( I think they were German) who was having a difficulty understanding the Holocaust. When our guide was talking about Terezin, a concentration camp near Prague, the woman kept interrupting him claiming that the Jews in the camp should have been able to defend themselves. I guess it was good to have this experience, but it was a bit annoying. I met some other really nice people on the tour. There was a nice Jewish couple from the U.K. and an older woman from the U.K. who was studying theology and asked me a bunch of questions about  my practice. The Jewish Quarter was really cool. It is called Josefov after Joseph II ( Enlighted rule of Austro-Hungarian empire, son of Maria Theresa, if you want a better history lesson just ask me) It was really refreshing after being in the land of Churches known as Italy to see Hebrew everywhere and hear of familiar stories.   Some of my favorite things that I saw were the Jewish cemetery ( really cool, also there is a gravestone that if you rub the lion's stomach, it is supposed to help you get pregnant..don't worried I steered clear of it see below)  as well as a clock tower in Hebrew whose clock runs counterclockwise! I also learned at the Old-New Synagogue, you can go for services but they have bouncers at the door making sure you are actually Jewish and actually want to daven. I saw them in action on my way to the Reconstructionist services I attended.  By the way, if you were worried that I forgot anything from the tour I took notes (come on it's me!) After the tour I met up with Anne and we took pics by these massive baby statues (with no faces) see the above blog post for a pic, really a bit creepy but worked for my photo diary because of metaphors.   We then returned for the hostel for a bit and I got ready for services.

I decided to take a risk and not go to the touristy Spanish Synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat, but a local Reconstructionist community I found online. This experience was absolutely incredible. The community is small, and are located in the basement of an office building. I arrived and was immediately warmly greeted by the Rabbi who was actually Israeli and had perfect English. Everyone who was at services introduced themselves and said Shabbat Shalom. The rabbi asked if I would light the candles. I was really nervous, but excited to feel a part of everything. Also, at the beginning of the service he introduced me as a special guest "A Reconstructionist representative from the United States" ( I am not sure how the RRC or JRF would feel about this but I went with it)  The services were great. The community used their own siddur but it had a lot of the modifications in the prayers that I am used to at JRF. I knew 95% of the tunes, even a little Debbie Friedman was thrown in there! I especially loved her Misheberach (prayer for healing)  because it was written with a mixture of Hebrew and English and here it was sung in a mixture of Hebrew and Czech…so cool.  There was also a discussion after the service about the Torah portion which was nice to participate in. I decided I had to come back for Saturday morning.

Later that night, Anne and I met up with Karissa and her friends to go out to dinner and the bars. We went with a big group from the Prague program and were all really nice. The first bar we went was completely underground and like a maze. The second one that we took way out of town was more like a disco and was themed with lots of metal gears and stuff (very post-Soviet Union in my opinion). Anne  and I had a bit of adventure getting back, it took as an hour when it should have taken 15 minutes, but luckily Prague felt very safe and people were out and about.

The next day I woke up and went to services. The group was small ,but very nice.  I then met up  with Anne and went to see the Prague Castle. I did not expect the castle to be such a big complex but it was really cool. I spent a very long time in the art gallery, but also went to an exhibit about the history of the castle. I had no idea that the castle was over 2,000 years old. Exhausted, I decided to return to the hostel but on the way back got this circular doughy thing (see below) that is traditional in Prague (soo good) I then napped for a couple hours and met up with the group to go back out. This time they told us we were going to a Charles University Student Party. The party was just off the Old Town square, in a church, yes a church. The DJ booth even had a glowing cross. Yes this was a typical disco atmosphere with the drinks, techno music and dancing, and we were in a church. This ended up being a ton of fun despite the location being odd, we danced for two hours and then returned back to the hostel. 

The next day was pretty relaxed. I saw a cool Mucha and Dali exhibit, visited Wencalas Square, tried a bit more street food and then went home. Overall, weekend trip= success!