The Israel Museum

2008 is Israel's 60th birthday, and in celebration six different museums are each hosting an exhibition throughout the year, each representing a decade of Israel's artistic existence. I have a brochure with all the different hosting museums and exhibitions, but it's in Hebrew, as is the website information, so i would butcher it if I tried to translate. I think I'm going to try to catch a few more of them, since I absolutely loved my time exploring the Israel Museum's contibution of the most recent decade, entitled "Real Time: Art in Israel 1998-2008."

The art reflected the decade with recurring themes of conflict, whether between groups of people or nature vs. modern artificiality, apocalyptic symbols were often imbedded within the pieces, and obviously many biblical allusions. I was struck by many of the pieces, very few left me ambivalent, and I was pleased to find that I recognized many of the artists; Sigalit Landau (recently had work exhibited at MOMA), Adi Nes (famous for using soldiers as his models, and for his homosexuals themes), Ohad Meromi (his The Boy from South Tel Aviv was part of the show) , Masha Zosman (I saw her exhibition in Tel Aviv 2 years ago). I'm going to note a few of my favorites, but the pictures are small, and I really recommend you check out other websites if you're interested.

One of the first pieces in the exhibit is Shahr Marcus' video Freeze. The artist brought two professional chess players to the Shrine of the Book (it houeses the Dead Sea Scrolls) at the Israel Museum. The scrolls were written by an aesthetic groups of Jews during the Roman occupation who fortold of a war between good and evil, light and dark, and is well played out on the checkered board of chess. The large pieces that the professionals had to play with were made of clear and muddy ice, which melted as the game progressed. Adding to the tension, the artist was in the large hourglass (filled with table-tennis balls) and was alternately on his head or feet for each person's turn.

Adi Nes' famous Untitled piece is obviously a play on the Last Supper. Rather than Jesus and his followers, averge (ok, maybe slightly more attractive than average) Israeli soldiers eat in an army cafeteria, and they all seem to be enjoying themselves except for the one in the center who stares off into space. It made me think if this was those soldiers' last meal, and they unlike Jesus, had no sense of their impending deaths. It is also interesting to me that in Israel, which is so very secular, religious iconography is translated into the military, perhaps the nearest modern equivalent? And then I think about sacrifice, which is what I suppose the original Last Supper and Jesus' decision is about, and the sacrifice that soliders make, or are, in Israel. And then I'm reminded of the poem, The Silver Platter by Natan Alterman, which incorporates for me all of these ideas.

Barry Frydlender's The Flood was done in 2003, and so it does not reference Hurrican Katrina, although as an American it's my first connotation. In fact, it took me several minutes of looking at this piece to realize that "the flood" was really just a very rainy day and no one was in real danger. In fact it was only after I was prompted that I saw that this seemingly single photograph is actually several seamlessly pieced together (if it's large enough you can see several people twice). And anywhere else in the world (although perhaps Mt. Ararat) a rainy day would be just that, but in Israel it can be reminiscent of the flood. Do we really know the rain will stop? And in this poor Tel Aviv neighborhood with dilapidated housing, will they survive in their modern, ugly cement arks?

There were many others. Doron Solomons' Shopping Day recorded 6 minutes of a man in an Israeli supermarket, and I think I enjoyed it more than most because I found the experience so exotic here myself. Jan Tichy's piece Dimona translated the "secret" nuclear plant in Israel into a simple model on paper that each visitor can take home and construct himself, making us the artist as well as challenging many ideas held in post Cold-War times about nuclear power and its invincability, or at least its distance from our own lives. Gilm Marcus Shai's Untitled landscape on black background with simple white curving lines almost completely disguises the two camels within the piece, and which reminds me of pictures I've taken in the Negev desert when real camels blend into the sandy mountains.

I also went to see another temporary exhibit, Orphaned Art:Looted Art from the Holocaust in the Israel Museum. Sadly there's no good website to direct you to beyond this one. The exhibition is made up of art that was hoarded by the Nazi regime during their reign, which was not claimed after World War II because the former owners had been killed or were uknown. The exhibition is very small, just one room, but it's interesting on several levels. First, it tells about Hitler's dream of creating a Fuhrer Museum in his hometown of Linz on the Austrian-German border filled with the greatest art of Europe, plundered during the war from other museums. It then goes on to detail how the plundering was carried out, with many top Gestapo men involved. Although it is not discussed in the exhibition, it is interesting to note that th Nazis divied up what they stole to either be used int heir museums and private collections, or those that were not considered good were to be sold or bartered during war time, highlighting the cultural aspects of the Nazi regime; the love of Flemmish and German classic art and their disgust for modern styles such as impressionism and expressionism, which culminated in the Nazi's Degenrate Art Exhibition. From the paintings on view that were stolen from Jewish homes, such as several from the Rothschild family, one could also learn about the ways in which Jews were presented in paintings at the time (totally assimilated) and what their collecting tastes were as well.

In the same area was a small gallery of art done in the Triptychon program at the Israel Museum. This program provides art education for 10th-12th graders who go to schools without art programs. I was very impressed by the work, which ranged from pencil self-portraits to collections of photography and life-sized clay statues. I also strolled through the sculpture gardens, which I had not realized before was designed by Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi! You may remember (oh loyal reader) that I visited his former studio and current museum in Queens with my wonderful museum education class. If you want to read it look for the entry titled "Fall 2007 Coursework" or search "Noguchi" on my blog (for some reason I can't make the link work).

Having been to the Shrine of the Book many times before, I stopped in for a small temporary exhibit aptly enough about peace. Swords into Plowshares: Visions of Peace in the Isaiah Scroll. The name of the exhibition is bigger than the it is. It gives a historical understanding of the phrase of beating swords into plowshares, with an actual sword and agricultural tools from Isaiah's time on display. In short, both military and agricultural tools were made of the same materials, and so in deciding which to make, a person was choosing between life and death, militarism and peace. a large piece of the actual Isaiah scroll found in the Qumran caves in 1947 was on display as well, one of the best perserved scrolls in the collection. It was written in 120 CE, about 600 years after Isaiah's time and over 2,100 years ago. This was the first time it was on display in 40 years, and it will probably be another 40 before it is out again. In their examination of the scroll, they found it was written by 5 different scribes, with mistakes corrected by one another. On display as well was a scimitar, a sword from Isaiah's time, which ad been purposely bent to be unusable in ancient times in honor of the death of the warrior who carried it. A similar sword was presented to Egyptian President Sadat on his first trip to Israel in 1977 by the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, in recognition of their choice to jointly pursue peace.

Beit Ticho

I actually went to Beit Ticho yesterday, a break in my frustrating morning. Beit Ticho is an old Arab house, a villa really, which under the British mandate became the home of Dr. Abraham Ticho and his wife, Anna. Together theye ran an eye clinic which served all of Jerusalem, and helped save thousands from a disease rampant at the time which cause blindness. During the 1930 Arab riots against Jewish immigration, Dr. Ticho was stabbed in the back at his front door, and their was a public outcry all the way up to the Grand Mufti. He and Anna continued to live int he house, and run the clinic until they died in the 1960s, and gave over the home and their extensive art collection (Anna herself drew and Dr. Ticho was apparantly famous the world over for his menorah collection) to the Israeli government to be made into a museum.

On a more personal level, I have been going to Beit Ticho since I was 17. On EIE (high school program) we held our last dinner in their restaurant. On later trips I would bring friends to try their fabulous desserts (hot chocolate cake) or their marak batata, sweet potato soup. The house itself is lovely, but it is their extensive gardens, which in the summer time you can sit in, that is the real reason to go. If it's a nice day you are sure to find at least a few people sitting at easels with watercolors spread along the grass.

Though I have been to Beit Ticho often, I had never gone to the museum portion before. I read in a magazine about a photography exhibition called "Homes of Others" which sounded very intreesting. Unfortunately, it had closed, and instead I walked through the small galleries of "Signs of Life: Animating Ticho House." There was a great deal of video art, which I generally don't care for, but it was interesting as artists sought to bring life to objects normally taken for granted. One of the first pieces was a spilled cup, which continued to gush water all over a table without actually falling to the floor, but it felt to me like the kind of thing one saw in a science museum. Probably the only piece that really has stuck with me was by Sasha Serber, it was a burnt Pinocchio, and I found it very creepy (look here to see it). There were also little sketches and watercolors by Anna, and a selection from Dr. Ticho's menorah collection, which looked like a cheap Judaica store.

So all in all, not a thrilling museum, but I will go back for the food, and if a new exhibit arises that's exciting.

(Note: I got a charger for my camera, but I did not take these pictures, they are from the web)

Israeli Attitude

This morning I had a head-on-crash with how frustrating Israel can be.

As I forgot my camera power cable, I have the daunting task of having to find a replacement in Israel, Jerusalem specifically. Hanna was really kind and found a place which sells just what I want on Yaffo Street downtown. I don't realize until I get there that it is in the Merkaz Clal, perhaps the ugliest excuse for a mall in all the world. Even though it's a closed building, the inside looks as though it was the sidewalk of an industrial area, with stray cats and suspicious puddles all over. I can't remember why, but Josh and I used to have to come to this building for something having to do with rent and I remember we cringed as we walked through. So, I was looking for a store called Sollan on the second floor, but because part of the building is underground and nothing is marked it wasnt clear which of the 6 half floors might be the 2nd floor. I went to a store to ask and the clerk said he didn't know what floor he was on. This continued with every store; some people said it was 2 floors up, some said 1 down, etc. After walking the entire building finding many "Salons" (there are no vowels in Hebrew, so I couldn't tell) I decided to get official. I tried to find the information desk, which was absolutely impossible because even as I followed signs I made a circle.

Finally a young boy fliering the building took pity on me and directed me to the information booth, whichw as hidden on a floor which required the elevator to get to. For some reason no one would get on a down elevator to go up, they preferred to stand and wait. No, to be correct, they preferred to crowd onto an elevator, argue about what direction it was going in, and then shove people off as they themselves tried to exit. I tried to reason with my boy-guide; certainly the elevators which go down must also go up, they couldn't just continue on their path. But he was adamant. Once at the information booth the woman told me the store never existed, and if it had she had never heard of it, and if she had she had forgotten about it, and slammed her little info booth window in my face.

Very discouraged I followed one man's advice to try Prisma, a camera store opposite Kikar Zion. I walked in and was so thankful to see American-style service in the store (i.e. the clerks generally seemed to want to help the customers). I was hopeful at first, the mane knew exaclty what I needed and thought he had it. It turns out he didn't have it, but he could get it in the hour. Then he couldn't get it in the hour, but he would call me. When I returned much later, he suggested I take the store's number. Needless to say, I'm still waiting, and with fervent prayers.

Just as I left I received a phone call from my internet man. He told me if I wanted the lower price that I needed to take the tv cable as well. I explained, as I had before, that I don't have a tv, that I don't need the cable, and tht they should keep it since I didn't want to have to wait around for them to deliver something I didn't need. He assumed there was a communication problem, and put someone with better English on the phone. The conversation was repeated a few times, and at the end of each argument the man would say "Ehhhh, so we come tomorrow." Finally I gave in and I said I would only be there at 10 am and they could come no earlier or later. We will see what happens.

Just as I turned off the phone and I was at my most frustrated, I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder, Naomi! She was like an angel. She was heading to the university area as well, so we rode together on the bus. After she did a bit of studying, we met up again to enjoy an ice cream at the falafel stand. We thenheaded over to her new place, just next to the Mahene Yehuda shuk and we did some perusing and buying. There's a new bread guy with incredible, soft bread, and so we split a loaf of whole wheat sour dough which I think is groundbreaking for Israel. Then I had ti visit my cheese shop. I asked for something hard and I got a boring cheddar, I asked the guy what he had that was interesting and out came a hot pink wine cured cheese. Then a cilantro, bright green cheese. Next an aged gouda. Mmmmmmmm, I took a bit of each to make myself little sandwiches with my new bread.

I met up with Ela, another friend from WUJS, on Emek Refaim for dinner. She is this beautiful, sweet, Swiss woman who knows how to get exaclty what she wants. We tried a new meat restaurant on Emek, and I remember why I got mostly vegetarian in Israel. There's just something about the beef that I don't like. It was so nice to catch up with Ela, she's also very passionate about peace in Israel and is looking for a way to contribute, and I hope that I can help her make some connections while I'm here. We took a little walk around the neighborhood to The Colony, a very nice bar outside of Emek, where we watched Spain beat Germany in soccer while she sipped a mojito and I worked on a Mediteranean Arak (I love Arak, but it's illegal in the US for some reason). I'm hoping the drink will do the trick and I can go without the sleeping pill tonight.

I Love Heather (Shabbat Continued)

So Dennis, my flatmate's boyfriend does exist. I know this because I had to ask him to be quiet when he came in at 4 am last night and began to cook fish. FISH. 4 AM. If the pots and pans didn't wake me the smell would have, or the radiating heat from the kitchen in the airless apartment. As lovely a person as Nataliya is, I am more excited for her to move out and hopefully take him with her.

Having gotten no sleep, I was not as put together as I wanted to be when I met Heather at 8:30 at her hotel. Heather is a very good friend from T-baum, where I worked for a year, and we had talked so much about this trip that I was just so thrilled to see her. It was just really special to be a part of her first time to Israel, and to discuss her adventures and experiences. I am only sad that as a working trip she wasn't able to be a full-on tourist, but on the plus side that just means that she has to come back, and she already has plans to! It was also a wonderful trip because she was able to meet with incredible people who work in religious conflict resolution all around the country.

We walked around Jerusalem on Shabbat, meaning it was deserted and I was so frustrated that I couldn't find an open cafe. Finally we found a very unkosher spot off of Ben Yehuda to share an ice-cafe and cappucino. I also gave her a mini-tour of the King David Hotel and the YMCA, two of my favorite buildings, before we headed back to her room to pack. Even though we were only able to hang out for a few hours, it really made an impact on me and I'm still a bit overcome by it all.

After I saw Heather and Joyce off to the airport, I walked down to Emek Refaim to Hanna's house for Shabbat lunch. This lunch lasted the rest of the day and well into the night with various family members joining throughout. It began with challah and Arab salads, then on to a half dozen main courses, when we went outside fruit was brought out, then beers, later popcorn, eventually wine, and we ended with cake. Tamar, Hanna's niece, was the entertainment, and it was all pretty hilarious. First we went outside to take her for a swim in a small tub, then her aunts and uncles took turns feeding her watermelon juice, after which she needed another bath in the tub, then she was fed a mix of sweet potato and mashed chicken which she hated, and that called for another outfit change.... it went on and on.

We capped off the evening by watching the news. Since I didn't understand most of it I took what words I did understand and made happier news stories than what I suspect was actually being shown. The President of Iran has decided to make peace with everyone! Hurrah!

Shabbat Shalom

I woke up late on Friday, which is never a good thing. On Fridays in Jerusalem everything closes early in the afternoon and won't reopen until Saurday night. Since I hadn't really prepared or bought any food before hand, this meant I had to find food fast. Plus I left my camera cable at home so it's dead (hence no pictures to spice up my blog) and I wanted to try to buy a new cable before Shabbat. And I needed to get to my friend Hanna's house in Emek Refaim before the buses stopped running, and I couldn't remember when that was.

Worst of all, I had been woken up at 5:30 am by Dennis, Nataliya's boyfriend. I have never seen him, but I know he exists because (1) the toilet seat is often left up and (2) he makes a lot of noise when he gets up around 5 in the morning. He could be an elaborate figment of Nataliya's imagination, but either way I don't care for him. So before heading out to do a dozen errands in no time, I meant to talk with Nataliya about quiet hours and the dangers of wide open toilets. But as soon as I saw her she told me she and Dennis were planning to move out this Sunday! This is bad, because I like her, and she owns everything in the apartment including pots and pans and soap, but its good because I'll have the place to myself and not be woken up before I want to.

Anyway, I was off to Emek Refaim, where I decided I would try to buy my electronics and groceries before going to Hanna's. On the way down we drove through Meah Shearim, the most infamouse Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem. When you drive through it's like being in a 15th century Polish shtetl (Jewish village), and there are signs on the outside which remind people to dress and behave modestly within the community. As we drove through it was really bustling, everyone preparing for Shabbat. I reall y enjoyed the drive, it was not unlike a Disney ride complete with treacherous swerving to avoid children running across the rode. I thought of another difference between NY and Jerusalem; when you see a teenage girl with a baby in NY you assume she's the mother, in Jerusalem you assume she's one of the baby's 10 older siblings.

Emek Refaim has changed so much in 2 years. The Aroma (my favorite in the world) has moved down the street! Lots of new restaurants have moved in, old ones have moved out. My favorite places, Pitooim (best restaurant in the world, and home to some of my best and earliest Israel memories) KEO jeweler shop (home to some of my favorite jewelery) are still thankfully there. Though there wasn't an electronics store, I did buy a few salads from my favorite little market fromt he same man I've been buying from for years. I got to fill a bunch of my cravings; potato salad (I don't know why, but in Israel it's better), ali geffen, and tabouli.

I met Hanna when I was 16 and spending the semester in Jerusalem. I was assigned to her as a host-sister, and I could not have been luckier. We lost touch after I returned home, but when I returned to Jerusalem and was living on Emek Refaim 4 years ago we bumped into each other and rekindled our friendship. She had the most beautiful family, who are so incredibly kind and who always have me over for Shabbat dinner and lunch the next day. Tonight, while I was sitting with them, I was thinking about how many memories I have of them and how I've really watched them change. I met Shay, her youngest older brother, when he was a hot soldier DJing in his free time, was around when he began dating Michal, and am now seeing them just a few months after their marriage. Effy, her oldest brother, who used to tell me all about his rock climbing across the country, is now newly religious, married, and has a baby girl. Hanna's little nieces, who used to talk Hebrew with me because we were on the same kindergarten level, are now in their teens! Hanna and I have always had a lot on common, and in discussing our plans for the future I felt it more than ever.

Getting Settled

The days are going by in a blur, and I can't tell if it's because things really are going so fast or because I am so jet-lagged. I've taken Tylenol PM for the past two nights, but I'm just not sure it's making a dent. The first night, I slept until 2 in the afternoon, and last night I didn't sleep at all. There must be a happy medium.

So first things first, as soon as I did wake up the other afternoon I went to the dorm office to settle my account. It turns out only the morning people can handle such responsibility, so I had the nice guy there arrange my internet instead. I then headed out to the nearest shopping center, and then the next closest, to buy two big pillows and 20-some hangars. Once my room was arranged, I felt comfortable to go out and headed straight for the Merkaz Ha'ir, the City Center. This is the most touristy area of modern Jerusalem, home to Ben Yehuda an open-air pedestrian street with various shops from cheap Judaica to specialty stores like Steve's Packs, Kikar Zion, where no-goodnicks tend to hang out on the stairs of the bank, and lots of good restaurants. I spent hours exploring every new store, hunting for old ones, and in general being baffled by the huge amount of building and upscale shops that are going in all over the place. Boutique hotels, shmancy jewelery, bistro restaurants.

I then headed over to the Mahane Yehuda Shuk which is exaclt what you think of when you imagine a Middle Eastern produce market. I used to live just around the corner from this place and I was a little sad to no longer be living in my dream apartment. I went to visit it and the arrows that used to lead all my visitors to the hidden treasure are all but rubbed off. While walkign around the shuk and visiting my favorite spice man, the dairy store, and the upscale boutiques that are slowly hedging in I got to thinking. I realized that while Israel and New York have a lot of commonalities (rude people, very neighborhoody, outsiders generally fear for their lives) in New York I am never touched. It is just an absolute taboo and I would be shocked if a stranger were to knock into me. Even when ignoring each other in NY, we generally don't ignore each other's personal space (unless it's on a subway, in which case all bets are off). Yet, in Jerusalem I can be walking in a straight line far from everyone around me and somehow three people will manage to bump into me. I'm still deciding which I like more.

Speaking of bumping into people...
Last night Naomi and I got together again for a late dinner after watching the hannuka shel ha'gesher ha'hadash (the dedication of the new bridge at the entrance of Jerusalem) from afar. I have to say this is the first time I've heard "hannuka" refer to anything beside the Jewish Holiday with the same name and it kind of thrills me. It makes me feel like history is continuing on, though the new bridge, which actually be in working order until 2010 is less a miracle.
Anyway, we went back to the City Center to go to one of my all time favorite restaurants, Tmol Shilshom. As we wlaked there I felt like I was going to meet someone I knew, and I told Naomi this. Just then we entered a narrow alley and walked past a man who I didn't even glance at. Suddenly we heard "Kinneret?" and I turned to see a shaggy-headed Lutz! LUTZ!!!!!!!!!

Lutz is a friend from about 5 years ago when I spent the summer at Ben Gurion University in Ber Sheva. I was supposedly there for ulpan (intensive Hebrew language study) but I acutally spent all my time in the pool with German boys. Sigh, those were good days. We had kept in touch briefly after that summer, but I had missed him when I went to visit Germany that next year and we didn't keep in touch after that. It turns out he is in Israel for the year doing work for his PhD on anti-Zionist Israeli-Jewish groups of the 1960s. There's a show stopper.

So today I arranged to do more errands, namely paying for my room which is no little task. It involved me walking from my dorm to the university (a near cross-Sahara like expedition in the late morning), finding the appropriate office (took about 14 requests for directions having understood none of them) and eventually locating a bank which would not issue me money so I could not pay. I then sat at home waiting for internet, which after an hour was set up with the help of the actual internet guy, his boss on the phone, and my flatmate. And TADAH! I have internet!

Once free, I headed towards the City Center in hopes of participating in the Jerusalem Gay Parade. These were dashed due to a really obnoxious driver who talked in very fast Hebrew who I eventually understood to mean that the bus lines were all different today because of Ultra-Orthodox protests against the parade. I was just about to sit down in defeat when a woman asked if I was Kinneret. Though I didn't recognize her at all, it was Noga, an old friend of my sister's who had once stayed at my house when I was 15. It turns out she was heading to the parade as well, and so we went together, catching up with each other as we walked. We were just in time and we joined the group and walked from Independence Park to the Liberty Bell Park. Last year the parade had been so viciously protested that it hadn't been able to make it halfway down the route and the paraders had to be completely surrounded by police. This year the Ultra-Orthodox kept their protests to their own streets, burning tires which we all mused would only poison their own neighborhoods. I had been to the Love Parade in Tel Aviv, which was pretty much a Gay Parade in th sense of small clothes and glow sticks on the beach. This parade was less fun, but more purposeful, and it as fun to walk next to Noga and meet the many dozens of Jerusalemites she knows.

Tonight I grabbed some cakes from Neuman bakery on Emek Refaim and headed to a dinner party at Lutz's in Rechavia. It was a simple Israeli dinner; fresh pita, hummus with olive oil, fresh Israeli salad, and lots of red Galil wine. The conversation though was strictly European salon. There was a Danish woman, a German woman, a Polish woman, and Lutz, all of whom are studying for their PhD in Israel and non of whom are Jewish. I find Europeans who are fascinated by Judaism fascinating, and apparantly they are intrigued by my own fascination as well as my identity. The conversation centered around Jewish socialism vs. the Polish communism one woman's family had endured, a young Australian man's growing up only speaking the Yiddish language, and other topics along a similar vein, always with new films or books to read tacked on. I loved it.

Here we go again...

Every time before a big trip I get anxious, for at least a few days before and usually a few days into the trip as well. This is no different, and the feelings are compounded by jet lag and my incredibly uncomfortable and pillowless bed. I am not making a dent in the hard, foam mattress, but it is making a dent in me; any curved body parts are squaring out and whole limbs are threatening desertion.

The flight was pretty average as far as El Al goes. There were no exciting security questions, I slept pretty well, the food was below par, etc. At first I was seated just in front of two JAPs (black sweat pants, check; straightened hair, check; too much makeup for an international flight, check), but I managed to switch with a woman so she could be next to her husband and I could sit on the aisle with a mother and cute kid. The most notable incident was at the very end of the flight when the little boy began to cry because he wanted to go to the bathroom but no one was allowed out of their chairs. They ended up using a bottle, the whole time the mother congratulating her son so profusely that I doubt he’ll ever use a real toilet again.

Before my arrival I had been most anxious about the living situation. It had taken a long time for the professor I will be working with to arrange it and the directions were vague. I ended up dragging around one heavy bag (I left the other with the shomer, guard) all around the area before I remembered that madrigot means stairs and I should have taken the first turning on my left. With the help of a nice passerby I found the dorm office. The guy there, Danny, was incredibly kind and not only filled out all of my Hebrew paperwork, but walked me to my apartment and carried my heaviest bag as well. My shutafa, flatmate, had no idea I was coming and answered the door in a bathrobe having just prepared fish. Her name is Natalie and she is so sweet that by the time I was out of the shower she had cleaned the kitchen, managed to make the fish smell disappear, and made me a cup of tea “for my strength.”

The dorms are located on Har HaSofim, which is just a few blocks from the WUJS apartment I had shared with four women just over two years ago. The entrance of my dorm complex is actually right across the street from my favorite falafel stand from that time! What makes this falafel so good is (1) they make it with labne, a creamy cheese which I have never seen used with falafel anywhere else and when I have begged American falafel makers to try it they refuse, and (2) this stand is at the bottom of a hill and another falafel place is at the top of the hill, each place offers virtually the same menu with the same prices and is run by the same family, however each person has his favorite and will only ever go to one of the stores, and mine is the one at the bottom of the hill. So for my first meal in Israel I had it up just as I like; hetzi lafah im labne with salad, fried cauliflower and amber sauce.

Just as I got my food Naomi (a friend from WUJS who moved to Jerusalem) arrived as we had arranged. We sat on the chairs outside the stand and enjoyed the people-watching; there was a young family in a parked car across the street and the father positioned the baby so that she looked like she was driving and had her do other tricks for our amusement. Then young men passed us, two were walking and the third rode on a donkey the way friends in the US might walk if one of them had a bicycle, with the young man’s legs touching the ground on either side of the stocky animal. We walked around the area so I could regain my bearings, and orient myself to the new dorms that have been put up, and were passed by a man leading his horse around the streets. I wanted to stay out longer to see what other animals might pass us by.

Now, it is 4 in the morning, and I am waiting for the Tylenol PM to take effect. I can hear the mezzuin call from the loudspeakers of the nearest mosque.

High Culture, Low Cost

Even on these hot, humid days when trash is rotting in the streets and people have brought out their lawn chairs onto the corners, there is something to be said for New York... FREE cultural activities! In the midst of this heat wave I have tried my darndest to enjoy the fun stuff offered in this city.

Museum Mile Festival June 3, 2008
You all know how I love museums, so I couldn't not go to the biggest event of the year on Museum Mile. On this night 8 of the museums on the Mile were open free to visitors; El Museo Del Barrio, the Museum of the City of New York, The Jewish Museum, the Cooper Hewitt, the National Academy, the Guggenheim, the Neue Gallerie, and the Met (the Goethe Institute was advertised as participating, but for reasons "beyond their control" were not). On top of that, there was tons of free music and entertainment going on up and down the street. One of the most exciting parts was the chalking, somehow chalk was everywhere and everyone was drawing their own art. There was one graffiti artist, De La Vega, who was chalking up a storm and had quite a following, you can see his work from the festival if you click his name.

I went to the MCNY on my own to check out their new exhibits, and I was especially impressed by Timescapes which tells the history of New York (I am inspired to learn more about it myself now), and learned that NY is the first commuter city. Outside the MCNY there was an older couple from the Cotton Club swinging away, the woman was in a flapper dress and everything. I then went over to The Jewish Museum, but it was already overcrowded so I didn't really enjoy the exhibits, but the klezmer outside was nice. Ciara joined me and we were able to squeeze into the Cooper Hewitt, which was sadly as pretentious as ever and seemingly untouched by the spirit of the evening. The guards (who were posted every few feet) actually discouraged looking at the art. I had really wanted to see the Neue Gallerie and National Academy, but the lines were around the block so we decided to just enjoy the evening by walking around.

Shakespeare in the Park June 6, 2008
On Friday I visited T-baum and had lunch with Heather and Laura. It was so nice to see the new interns, and catchup with everyone. It's hard not spending my whole day with those lovely ladies. Over lunch, Laura told me she had plans to see Shakespeare in the Park that evening, and I told her how I have always wanted to go. I was really happily surprised when she called later to tell me she had a ticket for me! I joined her and two friends for an authentic Cuban dinner, and then we went to the theater. The staging was really wonderful, and there wasn't a bad seat there. Once there I was thrilled to see the cast of Hamlet included Sam Waterston (Law & Order), Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), and Andre Braugher (Glory). Hamlet is not my favorite play, at all, but it was fun and really enjoyable (though Laura's friends didn't think so). Waterston forgot his lines once, and Ambrose had a very 80s-inspired mental breakdown, but I think that really only added to it. On the way back home I ended up walking right behind Waterston, mmmhmmm.

Atlantic Avenue Artwalk June 8, 2008
The day before the Artwalk it was really steaming, so I was a bit nervous about spending the day in Brooklyn walking around. However, the chance to hang out with Sarah was too tempting, and so I braved not only the weather but the weekend subway breakdowns as well. Most of the walk was made up of boutique stores with incredible textiles or Asian antiques. We did happen across a few very cool studios and galleries. One of our favorites was Artlog, which has a site of art events and a network for artists. It was just a lot of fun, and really nice to catch up with Sarah, who I hadn't really been able to talk with since my graduation (post-to-come). Oh, and we had a celebrity sighting; Paul Giamatti from Sideways.

Yohosh: the rest of the trip

Sorry, can't get it together to do a post for each day. Instead, I shall lump together... So after museums and brunches and cocktails on the roof of the Met...

LES Nosh 'n Walk
We met at Delancey & Essex for my signature Lower East Side (LES) Nosh 'n Walk Tour. This consists of me spouting historical knowledge gleaned from my Lonely Planet book and Shira while stuffing our faces with as diverse a grouping of food as we can muster. I changed it up a little this time and we started off at Yonah Shimmel's Knishes, stopping for a quick glance at Katz's windows (Josh is vegetarian, and it would kill noshing for the rest of the day) and briefly grazing at Russ & Daughters, where Lizzie and Josh picked up some halva for their dad, and they noted that the store alone had more Jewish to it than the Golders Green neighborhood of London. At Yonna's we shared a potato knish and two Dr. Browns (black cherry and cream soda) all of which they had never had before. We took in some sights, including two synagogues and all of Orchard St. (I for one would love to stop into the corset shop on Orchard which was featured in the NY Times, but another day). We did the mandatory pickle taste test between Gus's and The Pickle Guys, but as neither of them liked pickles it was a bit of a waste. We then grabbed some donuts at The Doughnut Plant, (ooooh fresh mango) my new favorite tourist sight, and an absolute must for entertaining visitors. From there we headed into Chinatown and I had to work those little side streets in order to sidestep a protest parade for the Falun Gong in order to reach the Vegetarian Dim Sum House which wasn't that much more expensive than the hole-in-the-wall dim sum places around Canal and allowed for us to sit for a bit. From there we walked through the street fairs of Little Italy and joined up with Sam Krentzman for some Rice to Riches. Sam then took us to the artzier area where I got new earrings (hurrah!) and we browsed through hipster clothing.

Sam's Party
That night we regrouped at Sam's Brooklyn apartment. Sadly, Russell had left for the weekend. Sam and his bandmate played some songs, including two oldies but goodies from WUJS days. I didn't go up to the roof, I wisely wore a dress so that I would have a good excuse not to risk life and limb on the crazy ladder next to the stairwell. Rachel Bressler came too, which really made Josh's night. I left relatively early so that....

SOHO
The next day I hung out with Lizzie in SOHO. We had fun trying on ridiculously expensive shoes and stepping in and out of designer boutiques as soon as we saw the prices. Once we found Forever 21 Lizzie was in heaven and I parked myself in the dressing room while she did her thing. We did my mandatory SOHO events; Aroma for lunch and Sabon for a hand wash.

Days Off
I took 2 days off the the Brits. Tuesday I worked my last day at the Museum, finishing up the 3rd of 3 school-museum partnerships (look for the next blog posting on same, if I ever get to it). The other intern, Noah, took me to lunch at this spot I had hear of and never believed really existed; the Burger Joint. It's a campy, roadhouse style burger place in the middle of a shmancy hotel. It's hidden behind a curtain and everything. It was good for lunch in midtown, and if you enjoy a waitstaff that seems barely capable of putting up with your nonsense about not wanting pickles but asking for mayo. On Wednesday I had an interview that went really well, only there was confusion over the timing, so I had to rush to meet Josh downtown to get on the bus to...

DC
First, I highly recommend DC2NY Bus Service. They are conveniently located, well organized, clean, entertaining, and overall worth the money. I was super stressed that I was going to miss the bus, and I ended up making it with the help of a speedy and very nice taxi driver with one minute to spare. So Josh and I headed to our Nation's Capitol and Evan's new home. We met wish Asher as soon as we got there, and he was wearing an Israeli t-shirt! He took us to a nice restaurant called Matchbox where I proceeded to order something so spicy that I honestly couldn't eat it. We all enjoyed our beers and hung out for a bit longer before calling it a night.

The next morning (I stayed with Asher, Josh stayed with Evan) Asher and I headed to the National Geographic Museum to enjoy some photography exhibits. We really walked all across DC as we headed towards the river so Asher could show me where he rowed and we could enjoy lunch on the waterfront. We shared some fried green tomatoes, the best I've ever had, at Agraria, a straight form the fields to your table kind of place, which was so incredibly nice. From there we walked to Georgetown (we laughed at the Abercrombie types forced to wear bright polos in store fronts), where we eventually met up with Evan and Josh to do more sightseeing of the university are and Exorcist steps. We had dinner at one of Evan's favorite restaurants, and were joined by an American colleague of Josh's and her friend. That night we hung out at Evan's and met some of his friends.

Our last day was spent on the Mall seeing as many National Monuments as we could before we completely dehydrated. We hit the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean and Vietnam Memorials. All the while, Josh and Evan took turns playing "I am more ADD than you" with meeeping noises. We then walked across DC one or two more times. We headed back to our bus (which we almost missed because I forgot to convert Evan's "5 minutes" to the actual 30 Earth minutes it would require us to reach our bus. Once again, saved by a taxi. We got back to NY just in time to run through Times Square before Josh went back to Bresslers and me to my very missed bed.

The End
The rest is a bit of a blur. I know Josh and I spent an afternoon and evening together in the Columbia/ Morningside Heights area. I showed him all over campus and treated him to a real delicacy, Roti Roll, which is conveniently located next to Suite, our local drag queen karaoke bar. We took our Roti back to the grass between Columbia and SIPA campuses and had a little picnic. Their last night we met up with their cousin Dan and his friend Dave and I arranged for us to have dinner at The Hummus Place. Honest to goodness, this is always a big hit, whether with the British, Chattanoogans, or Israelis. For dessert we walked up to Cafe Lalo, which I believe only recently reopened from when they were shut down for health code violations (I did not share this with my guests). That night Josh and Lizzie stayed at my place which was quite nice. The next morning Bressler arranged for us to have brunch at Alice's Tea Cup (not always my cup of tea, but it was nice) and then back to my place where Josh fixed up my new computer and they both headed out the door. Once they left my life felt much more stable, and boring.