The Three F's in Life

What day is it?  What year is it?  Where am I?   

      I often find myself asking these questions.  Today is the 11^th of February.  The good news is that I finally have mastered writing ’13 instead of ’12 in the date, so I have that one covered.  More importantly, I am in Jerusalem, Israel.  But I’m not just in Jerusalem; I’m in Tel Aviv, the West Bank, Nahariya, Netanya.  Ok, not all at once of course, though I wish I could.     

     I’ve been here less than a month, and I’ve gotten in the habit of revolving my week around Shabbat.  Once Sunday comes, I start thinking about my plans for the next Shabbat.  Shabbat is awesome in Israel.  It’s a time when people refrain from working (great excuse, right?) and are just supposed to enjoy life with the three F’s: family, friends, and food.  

Family

  Two weekends ago, I went to Kfar Vradim for Shabbat to visit my cousins, aunt, and uncle, not to mention their gorgeous dog Angie. Kfar Vradim is a beautiful town in the north of Israel, actually only about 9 miles away from the border of Israel and Jordan.  It’s a medium-sized town, but you definitely get that community feel when you spend time there.  It seems that my family always bump into friends in the mercaz (center).  My aunt took me to the mercaz which reminded me of the center of Wayne (where I’m from).  There were a lot of cute stores and boutiques.  We also visited my cousin working at a cafe.

  

     It was really great to finally see my family’s house, and it was a special weekend because we were all coming from all over Israel to be together to pray, relax, and just enjoy each other’s company.   I probably ate my weight in delicious Israeli food, but am not surprised I didn’t gain any weight considering everything was healthy.  

    Kfar Vradim really is a beautiful place, and here’s my view on our walk with Angie.

  

     The following weekend my boyfriend and I visited my cousin Natanella (the famous barista) near Netanya.  We had a lovely Shabbat dinner Friday Night, and I actually went to my first orthodox service.  It was interesting to say the least.  There were mostly men, and only one other woman (very small service), so it felt uncomfortable to be separated.  Definitely an experience.  

    The next morning we went to Natanella’s grandma Jenny’s apartment, who is adorable.  She cooked us amazing food as well, and then we went for a nice walk.  Apparently I’m her adopted grandchild now.    Afterwards, we went into Tel Aviv and went to the beach.  It was beautiful and 72 degrees, so naturally I fell in love with the place.  All in all, a great weekend.

Tel Aviv sunset

Friends

     There’s a lot of really cool people in the Rothberg International Program, from all over the place.  It’s a unique experience.  We have been doing a lot of exploring in Jerusalem, and let’s just say we definitely know how to stand out.  

    

     Here’s my friends and I wearing cat ears in honor of my friend’s 21^st birthday.   After forgetting I was wearing them, I kept wondering why people were staring at me, and we got a few reminders that it’s not Purim yet (thanks guys!). This weekend I am going to Tel Aviv with a few friends to celebrate another friend’s birthday, so more to come.  

Food

     I’ve actually gone through some changes in my dietary preferences since I’ve been here.  I’ve never been a tea drinker, but since I’ve been here, I find myself having a cup of day (they have some amazing teas in the shuk in downtown Jerusalem).  I also love dried fruit.  I had my first date, on a date actually, and have been addicted ever since.  Olives is also a food I loathed back home, but I really enjoy them here.  

     As a recent vegetarian, I was a little worried about coming to a new country and having enough  available foods.  But I quickly learned that Israel is one of the best places to be vegetarian.  I find myself healthier than I’ve ever been, and eating so well.  My boyfriend introduced me to Shak Shuka, similar to an omelet with cooked tomatoes and other vegetables.  He served it with mashed avocado with salt, pepper and lemon.  I’ve also been eating a lot of Israeli salad, falafel (of course), pita, hummus, and labane.  Labane is a creamy cow or goat cheese that people dip pita in with a little olive oil and herbs.  Delicious! 

I never get tired of Israeli salad.

     So these are the three most important F’s I’ve encountered (falafel might make it as a fourth).  Shoutout to all of my PSU friends getting ready for THON this weekend.  Going to be amazing.

FTK (for the kids) and much love from Israel.