I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! To be in Israel during the Chagim (holidays) is an amazing experience. It is like Christmas in Israel for Jews! The stores are packed, people are happy, and it is vacation time (again). For Rosh Hashanna I am going to my cousins in Netanya and for Yom Kippur and Sukkot I will be in Jerusalem, which I am looking forward to immensely. I have 3 weeks off of Ulpan but during this time I will be studying with friends for at least a couple of hours a day.
These past few weeks have coasted by but I have three "first" Israeli experiences that are news worthy.
1. Last Wednesday my throat hurt so went to the doctor. I stepped into 1970 doctors office where I was greeted by two secretaries on their cell phones and a room full of very diverse people (but this is what Israel is all about). Everything is okay - just some Strep throat. The best part about the experience is that I did not pay for any of their services- got to love a social system.
2. Last Saturday night I went Israeli Folk Dancing with my boyfriend and his adopted Israeli mother. The scene was 300 Israelis dancing in sync in a gym. I was able to learn a couple of dances but I stayed in the back of the room and followed the 75 year old guy in front of me - at least I used my Hebrew!
3. My friends and I crashed our first Religious wedding (see picture). The wedding had 900 guests, an open bar and dessert buffet - it was amazing. The bride was maybe 20 years old and a lot of the boys came straight from their army duty so they carried their M16 guns on them while doing the Horrah.
I will send a prayer for all of you during this time but if you have any specific wishes that you want me to bring to the Kotel please share them with me and I will bring them to the place where our ancestors traveled long journeys and prayed to for thousands of years. I can't wait to hear the Shofar at the Kotel during Nila services and eat in many Sukkot.
Shana Tova
Esther
Random scenery picture from Hike in Galillee
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