Tag: Adar

By Adar

This past trip I, somewhat unfortunately, got fairly intimate with the healthcare systems of both Turkey and Bulgaria, directly and through the misfortune of one of my friends.

We all got minor bites by some sort of bug or spider during the first few days in Turkey. I had three on my right hand, and it wasn’t a big deal until on my overnight bus to Bulgaria, my hand became a little irritated and swollen. When we got to Sofia, we stopped at a Pharmacy, and I showed the pharmacist my hand. One of the awesome things about pharmacies in Europe is that the pharmacist has the ability to give prescription medicines, unlike in the US where you have to go through a doctor first. She gave me some anti-allergy cream, which I started applying right away. It didn’t help. My hand continued to swell and became quite hot and itchy. We went through the sites in Sofia, enjoying our time in the beautiful capital of Bulgaria, and in the late afternoon I stopped at a pharmacy again, because my hand had only been getting worse. This pharmacy gave me an anti-allergy pill, which I hoped would kick in soon because my hand at this point was about twice its normal size.

It didn’t. ...continue reading "Becoming a Medic in Turkey"

By Adar

Standing at the top of Galata Tower in the middle of Istanbul, you think you should see everything, though of course, you really only see a fraction of the city. But at sunset you can hear the calls to prayer, loud and overlapping, over a hundred voices chorusing out into the city from the mosques that dot it chanting in different variations from imams. It’s incredible, and such a perfect moment. The gold tops of minarets glisten in the waning sun and for several minutes it looks as if the whole city is made of gold. Turkey was the first Muslim country I’ve spent time in, and the first mosque I’d gone into was the day before, the Suleymane mosque, which was incredible. Unlike churches or synagogues, mosques do not have pews or seats. There is no physical separation between people, they can just stand in the next available space close to the altar. The floors are carpeted and the chandeliers are low, creating a warm light that reflects off of the domes. We went into the mosque in the mid-morning, and sat down on our feet, listening. After just a few minutes, the call to prayer started outside, and over the next fifteen minutes the mosque filled up with men who scrambled to come in, take their shoes off, and find a space behind those already there. Arabic is a beautiful language, and I very much enjoyed watching the mid-day prayer, where everyone knew when to stand up and sit down, when to bow and when to turn. ...continue reading "One Temple to Another"

By Adar

Istanbul is a messy, sticky place that never ends. With a listed population of 14 million and a reality far beyond that, it’s difficult to fathom just how expansive it is. Even so, I\ve found that there is something distinctly Istanbul-y about every street | have been on. For starters, it is very upfront and personal. There is no chance of walking down the street without bumping into someone passing. And the tourist-reliant businesses do not count on your patronage based on calm encounters. They will very readily walk up to you and try to win your wallet. They’ll even come up to you and offer you something at someone’s store that is two blocks away. As in Israeli touristy areas, there are many places that sell the exact same wares, all in the same area. The Grand Bazaar, for instance, has 4,000 store fronts and about 4 kinds of stores: jewellry. scarves amd rugs, ceramics and housewares, and American brand sneakers. They are all very beautiful and exciting, but there are really only so many you can see before calling it a day. The same can be said for the spice and tea bazaar, which houses dozens of stands with dozens of spices, all potentially owned by the same people. And restaurants have a very bizarre setup where an entire street will use the same kitchen facilities, and you’ll get your food carried in from a block away. The Sultanhamet neighborhood is really one of the most incredible centers I’ve seen. Moque after mosque, built with the grandeur of monarchies, stud the neighborhood. Streets and massive walls are finely decorated, brick and red stone are hallmarks of this area. We stayed for the majority of our time in Istanbul at a hostel right in the heart of Sultanahmet, behind the Aya Sofia, on a street filled with restaurant-cafes with terraces and outdoor seating. It was a very cool place to be, just to absorb the amazing influence of the ottomans. ...continue reading "Spring Break: Istanbul Edition"

By Adar

Passover is a holiday that is celebrated differently in every Jewish family. It can be a fun, lighthearted night of celebration focusing on songs and entertaining kids; it can be a night of remembrance and thought-provoking conversation. It can be a big production with tons of family or a small seder just for the immediate one. It can take one hour or seven. But every Passover seder follows the same structure or order to the night, with specific rituals and symbols on the table; and every passover has the same words at the very end. And Next Year In Jerusalem.

The story of Passover talks about a piece of Jewish history when the nation was enslaved in Egypt, and later escaped to freedom. It’s often used as a metaphor or anecdote to relate to modern-day issues that deal with freedom of all sorts, and so many people can connect with the story on different levels. I think that that is the reason it is such a persevering holiday that is celebrated not only by religious families but by completely secular families as well (such as my own).  ...continue reading "This Year in Jerusalem"

By Adar

Through a couple of my classes, namely Contemporary Israel and Arab-Israeli-Relations, I've been learning quite a bit about early zionism and the build-up of the Israeli state. I find it fascinating, and so relevant to the state today, that I wanted to give a little summary of what "Zionism" is. The basic definition is a sense of nationalism of the Jewish people, much like French Nationalism or Australian Nationalism. One of the differences between Jewish Nationalism and French Nationalism is that, for example, the area known as France is filled with French people, who have a language, culture, history, and set of traditions. For centuries, Jewish People (with their own language, culture, history, and traditions) did not have an area to fill, and over the past century many things have led to a return of many Jews to the same place, in essence to rebuild the location to put the nation. This little history is not going to cover nearly everything that is important, it's just a summary of what I connect to the most.  ...continue reading "A Brief History of Modern Zionism"

By Adar

As strange as it may seem, basic cleaning customs are not always intuitive. I'm used to my swiffer, thanks very much. But in our apartment we have a cleaning rotation, and last night was my first time cleaning the floor. This involves several processes and quite a few tools. First is sweeping with a normal broom. Then, you fill up a bucket with soapy water and attach a large piece of felt-ish cloth to the end of a squeegie-ish thing that also looks like a quasi-broom. Then you pour the water on the floor and start mopping it up. Where does it go? Downstairs, you open the front door and sweep the water outside. Upstairs, each unit has a drain somewhere that you guide the dirty water to. When I cleaned my room this way, I had not yet learned the mop-cloth-attachment deal so I was just sweeping water into the drain in my bathroom. It took about sixteen hours to completely drain. And some of these drains are hidden in closets down the hall, which I find a little weird. But these drains are all over the place, and you can even buy little replacement covers that are decorated and pretty.  ...continue reading "How To Clean An Israeli House"

By Adar

I was on one of the last mid-friday buses in Tel Aviv before they stop running for Shabbat, coming from the beach, so it was extremely crowded. I was lucky to get a seat, and quite comfortable, but not everyone on the bus was quite so at ease. A teenager, not more than sixteen or seventeen, and an older man, probably about seventy, who were sitting a few seats away from each other, started arguing. Who knows what about. Maybe the teenager was hitting the window and the older man told him to stop. I don't know. But it escalated so rapidly that within about a minute, they were flying insults toward one another that had absolutely nothing to do with anything. It was very colorful language, most of which I unfortunately understood, and I think everyone around was shocked by how ridiculous it had become so quickly. The teenager's friends told him to let it go, and others told the older man to give it a rest as well. But they didn't. Soon, many more people were involved, telling the two to cut it out, and the hot-blooded teenager was actually being forcibly held back by his friends because he was ready to start punching the older man. Over what? They were complete strangers, it was absolutely ridiculous. The entire bus was buzzing, and I was surprised that the driver didn't kick the two off the bus -- he would have within the first two minutes in the US. After quite a stir, with shouts coming from all over, the driver says into the microphone, "Hevre, it's erev shabbat" (Friends, it's the sabbath this evening). The bus calmed down, the two sat back down. A handful of non-religious guys (I don't think anyone on the bus was particularly religious) started singing the Kaddish (Shabbat prayer). Soon some other guys were jokingly singing Passover songs and the whole ordeal died down.  ...continue reading "“Folks, It’s Erev Shabbat”"

By Adar

Today I went to a restaurant with an Israeli, who afterwards posed an uncomfortable question for me. She asked, "Do you know how to tell whether he was Arab or Jewish?". Arabs are people who speak Arabic as their native language, so there can technically be Arabs of all backgrounds. But the question of can you be Jewish and Arab is one not based on technicality, but based on self-identity and group-identity. As far as I've been able to discern, and will discuss with some very broad generalizations, most Jews that come from Arab-speaking countries, such as Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, etc. do not consider themselves Arab. They have not been able to find a place within their local Arab communities, and therefore consider themselves separate. This may or may not be the case with Jews descended from European backgrounds, who for centuries were fairly well assimilated into their communities (until they were thrown out of many). Whether or not someone can be both Arab and Jewish is a question I'm very interested in, because I believe it is near the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. If the answer is no, then it's potentially easy to tell "whom is against whom". But if the answer is yes, it thoroughly blurs the lines.  ...continue reading "One of Us"

By Adar

Like gophers peeking out of their holes, The Locals have started to sense the end of winter. With the official beginning of the new semester this week (I know, those at GW are just now finishing midterms), there've been several changes with the behavior of my Israeli counterparts. First off, there are a lot more of them. During finals month, apparently everyone was either holed up in their rooms or at their parents' houses. Now, the quad is filled, and the halls are crowded. It actually feels like the 17,000 people who supposedly attend Haifa University actually do. And second, all sorts of festivities have started. Every Wednesday starting this week, there is a well-known band that comes to perform on our quad at noon, and the area is packed not only with students and faculty, but with local vendors and artists who are selling clothes, jewelry, music, and paintings. It's quite the atmosphere.  ...continue reading "Springtime"