Rememberance

This trip is fantastic- we are doing amazing things everyday. Today was different than the rest. It was not an "extreme" day in the outdoorsy aspect, but in the emotional aspect it was very extreme. Let me start by introducing my friends. In our group we have 40 people coming from 3 countries and 30 states. We come from wide and far to explore our Jewish heritage. This is also the least religious Jewish group I have ever met. It makes them quite interesting.

So today we went to Yom Hashoah, the holocaust remembrance museum. It was very powerful for many of us, as we were armed with a knowledgeable guide and powerful testimonies, pictures, and explanations. 1.5 million children, 6 million Jews total, and countless more minorities were murdered in the holocaust. It was very emotional as we weaved through the museum starting with WWI and ending with the reconstruction of the lives of those who lived.

We also we fortunate enough to hear a holocaust survivor story. He was young during the holocaust, and luck let him live. Really, he told the story of life the holocaust - finding family, a home, love, safety. We tend to think that as soon as someone is liberated they are okay. This is not the case. Many more people suffered because after being released from the concentration camp they had no where to go, nothing to build on, nothing at all.

After a quick lunch we went to Mt. Herzal, the military cemetery attached to the holocaust museum. It showed the fighting and courage and vision of the people to create a Jewish state. Do I believe that Israel always makes the right choices? No, of course not. Do I always agree with them? No I sure don't. But after the museum I realize how important it is to have a place that accepts Jews, no matter what. After the holocaust only Great Britain and another country in South America who strived to give people hope.

Today was very heavy, but important. Why do we remember? Why are we still fighting? This is what we should always ask ourselves here in Israel.

Israel Days 1-3

July 20, 2011

It has been an eventful 3 (three already?!) days here on my birthright trip. I will do  quick overview of the last few days then go into detail about my favorite parts.

So I showed up to the airport on July 16, a few minutes late – it takes a LONG time to get across NY to JFK! Then I met a few people from my trip and checked in. After through security and a few beers I was making new friends. There are 40 people on my trip, and it is not easy to keep track of their names. We ended up in the waiting area and the loading for the plane was 2 hours late. They made us go back through security again, then finally onto the plane. By this time I was exhausted because I was still on Swiss time and my body was telling me that it was 3:30am. After a lot of sleeping, movie watching, more sleeping, we finally touched down in Israel about 2pm the next day. Somehow, the airlines (Delta! Yuck!) managed not to lose my bags and we all got our stamps to welcome us into Israel. We dropped our things on the bus, exchanged our money, and did a little intro session with an Amazing Israel representative. He told us a little bit about the birthright gift, and it is pretty incredible. Birthright sends 30,000 Jews every year to Israel. It has an alumni base of over 500,000. They are looking to increase funding for next year. Each participant costs around 5K. Where do they get the money, you ask? 1/3 of it is funded by the Israeli government, and every year it is the first piece of funding that is passed by parliament. Another 1/3 comes from generous individual donors around the U.S. and Israel. The final 1/3 comes from local Jewish communities. If you grew up in L.A., they ask the local Jewish community there to donate. It is a pretty big thing. After learning more about birthright, the dos and don’ts of the trip, safety, etc. we were introduced to our personal safety and medic. He is with us at all times with a HUGE first aid kit, and a rifle, just in case. We also have a large air-conditioned bus and bus driver that is always on the bus (to make sure no one wanders in or around it). The rest of the first day was driving up north the Galiee area and the city of Tiberias, checking in, picking rooms, dinner, and then the m&m get to know you game. By this time I knew about 40% of people’s names. It is not easy in such a big group! Finally it was bedtime and my room slept quite soundly.

Morning came early on June 20^th with multiple wake-up calls at 5:45, 5:55, and finally my alarm at 6am. We had breakfast at 6:30 (when I accidentally ate a bowl of cream cheese that looked and tasted a lot like Greek yogurt) then hopped on our bus and headed out. We were off for our big hike, and we needed to get there before the heat wave. The hike was great – we went from the top of a canyon, down, and across the river. Then we passed some of the most beautiful rock formations, waterfalls with rainbows, pools, streams, plants, fish and more. There were several times when you needed both hands to hold onto the metal bars that were handholds in order to make it around a cliff corner. It was definitely an adventure. At one point we put all of our stuff in waterproof bags (that’s me!) or just brought our stuff into the water. We had to jump in by a waterfall and swim through the deep pools to get to the other side. We had even brought our own lifeguard! We felt refreshed after that swim and finished the hike, returning to the cliff side that we had started at. We ended up further down the river but we had gone up as much as we went down. I forgot how much I love hiking!

Next on our itinerary was a trip to see the Syrian border. We learned more about the war in 1978(?), also known as Yom Kippur war because Syria and Egypt attacked Israal on the Jewish holiday, the highest holiday, of Yom Kippur. After that history, they pointed out the border and discussed the fortifications. I still think the DMZ is more fortified, but they claimed differently. Apparently now that I have an Israeli stamp in my passport I can’t go into Syria. Oh, shucks.

Our final stop of the day was the Golan Winery just south of the lookout point to Syria. We got an over view of the winery, a few wine tastings, and one of the most interesting guides ever. His ear hair was longer that my pinky toe and he smelled his wine in the best way. He tut-tut-tutted us whenever he suggested something we shouldn’t do. He was hilarious and I want to take him back with me! We finished the tour and I bought some wine to bring home, and then headed back to our hotel to rest. Next up is dinner and a cultural program.

So you may be wondering – does amazing Israel have an ulterior motive? They have already told us that they want Jews to feel connected to Israel, but they want to make us informed and more knowledgeable about here. They did tell us, however, that this is NOT a vacation. This is an adventure, a journey, a learning experience. We are not spending 10 days on a beach getting drunk. We have jammed-packed adventure filled days, and we need to take advantage of it. After all, it is a free gift. I agree, I am taking advantage of every moment. It is fantastic! And no, I am not fanatically Jewish yet – no one on my trip is. But I make no promises in a few days (just kidding!).

NY Life

After a short stop at home, I have arrived at my next destination – New York. I got here the evening before last on the most comfortable transatlantic flight ever. I was upgraded for FREE. We had buckets of leg room, leg and foot rests, and those big, ear-covering, noise-cancelling headphones to use. It felt like business class, and was quick and enjoyable. I guess that’s what happens when you only fly to NY and not LA.

So I arrived in NY, not refreshed, but not cramped, hot and grumpy either. I grabbed a cab (typical NY) to my hostel in Brooklyn. The hostel was small and quiet, which is exactly what I wanted. I nearly fell into bed I was so tired. I woke up the next morning on my own at 6am, fresh and ready for the day. I called Paul to chat (it was, after all, noon in Switzerland). He was STILL asleep! That made me feel at least I hadn’t conformed to NY time too badly, if I was in Switzerland that Sunday, I probably would have been sleeping too. After a quick chat, we said goodbye and I started working. I wanted to get as much work done as possible before I fly out again.

Despite all my work, I did make it out into NY City yesterday. I have only been to NY once before, back when I was in college. We saw all the touristy things like the bridges, the statue of liberty, empire state building, central park, and the met. This time I got off the subway about 10 blocks from my destination so I could just walk around, see the real city. I have come to the conclusion that NY is NOT a place I want to live. It is VERY dirty, and smells quite bad. People leave there trash everywhere and the smells just come up off the street to attack you, like rotten eggs and dirty socks. Another part of NY I could do without is all the noise. Saturday night it sounded like there was a party outside of my dorm room. People were yelling, horns were beeping, music was playing. I understand it was 12:30 on Saturday and most people were just starting their party, but I needed to sleep! Maybe I am spoiled in Switzerland. It is very quiet after ten pm, and the streets are clean and smell free. I don’t know if this is a product of the people who live there, or of the government that hushes people who are loud and cleans up after the messy ones.

Despite not wanting to live here, NYC is sure interesting to visit. There is some very interesting graffiti in Brooklyn, the kind that belongs in an art museum. The people who are here dress the weirdest I have ever seen. They wear things I would not be caught dead in outside of my house. Actually, I wouldn’t be caught dead OWNING these pieces of clothing. I know I am not exactly fashion savvy, and my idea of going crazy is… well… jeans and a slightly more interesting t-shirt. I have seen people here wearing jeans cut off around the bikini line, ridiculously high shoes, tons of flower patterned dresses of all shapes and sizes, shorts and skirts that are 2 inches too short. Does this mean Switzerland is very conservative, while NY is very risky? Or a little bit of both? I will have to discuss this with my parents when they come to meet me after the trip.

Speaking of the trip, I leave today! I have been so excited for this ever since I was notified that I was given a place. It seemed like it took forever to get to this place, but it also took a moment. Isn’t that funny how time moves like that sometimes? Well all my bags are packed, with the exception of the clothes I need to wear today. The clothes I am wearing on the plane are the same ones from when I travelled here on Saturday and wore around NY yesterday. They definitely  need a good washing, so I got my clothes together and headed down to the local Laundromat. Despite the fact that a yelp commenter claimed they were open 24 hours, I have just walked six blocks to find them very decidedly closed. Until 7am. Oh did I mention I woke up at 5:30? I am starting to like waking early. So here I am, sitting at a bagel shop in Brooklyn. I am eating a delicious everything bagel with plain cream cheese. I forgot how much I love bagels and cream cheese. I know they really aren’t so good for me so I guess I should be grateful that I can’t buy them in Switzerland.

But again, I get sidetracked. So I leave today but my clothes are all dirty. I plan to head to the Laundromat and quickly do my small load. Head back to the hostel, get some more work done, then at noon I have to check out. I don’t need to be at the airport until 3:30, so I am not sure what I should do for those three hours. I certainly don’t want to walk around NYC in this heat with massive backpack on my back. Either way, this evening I will be on my way to Israel. On a Delta flight (ew). But still, going to Israel will be fantastic. I promise to update my blog whenever I have internet. Now I’ve got 15 more minutes before the Laundromat opens so I will finish my yummy bagel and head out. Life is pretty good J

Traveling

Surprise! I am sitting in another airport. Am I the only one who feels like we spend 25% of our lives traveling? People commute to and from work, to and from stores, to and from activities, and in my case, to and from countries and continents. It is my second trip to America in 2 months, and I will be returning again in August to see my grandparents and watch my cousin Dave finally marry Cassie. And as joyful as it is to see family, I sometimes feel like a permanent fixture on the buses, trains, and planes in Switzerland.  


I wonder how much extra time I would get to do things if I just stayed at home. I do work from home in the summers, and it is nice waking up in my pjs and not having to commute anywhere. But then I get bitten by the travel bug and I am back on a plane.


I actually quite enjoy travelling. Well I don't like the security checkpoint, passport control or waiting for the flights, connecting to buses and trains. But I do like when I am on an international flight, with in-flight (in the seat in front of me), and I can just relax. I am small enough that I have plenty of space in the seats, and I can sleep on the tray-tables. When I have a good book I can read for 8 hours straight and not feel guilty. I should have taken an international flight after Harry Potter 7 came out :)


I also really like getting to a new destination (especially when they speak English and have sushi!). There are so many interesting places out there, and I have only seen a very small fraction of them. I think someone should invent a teleporter so we can just instantly arrive wherever we need to go. Think of how much time would be saved!


So tonight I will be in NY, and I am going to try my hardest to stay on the Swiss schedule. This means sleeping earlier and waking up earlier, but I don't want to be even more jet-lagged when I fly back to Israel on Monday. This is another problem with travel - my body is always very confused. When I flew home for the wedding, I kept waking up between 4-5 a.m., ready to go. The problem was no one else had started their day. I will continue to update on the effects of back to back international flights. It is going to be interesting. 


Oh I almost forgot - I am flying economy premier (whatever that means). I got upgraded just because I have a frequent flyer card. I am hoping for business class on my way back. Cross your fingers! 


My next update will be in NY. America, here I come!

It's been a while since I've posted, and I don't want to be one of those people. You know those people - the ones who start a blog, write a few entries, then disappear. Writing in my blog has been on my "to-do" list for the last two weeks. I'm not really sure if it should be something on a to-do list, but it sure reminds me that its there.


These last two weeks it has been wonderful to be home. I have a lot of work to do and I have been stuck behind my computer, but it is nice to get things done. But this is not what my post is about.


Paul and I watched a thunderstorm this weekend. It was one of those incredible storms that starts in Geneva and moves across the lake until it is suddenly upon us with hail and big buckets of water. The sky was banging pots and pans and the clouds were lit up in flashes of forked plasma. But that is not what my post is about either. As I was standing there with Paul, watching the raging storm move closer to us, at first on the porch and then with our noses pressed against the glass as the storm moved closer, I had that strange thought that I get every now and then.


How the heck did I get here?


 I don't mean that in a bad way at all. I mean that in a holy cow I live in a different country, with a different language, and I am an ocean and a continent away from my family and friends. I mean really, how does anyone get where they are in life? What it really comes down to is just a series of choices. We make choices, every day, nearly every moment, about what we want to do. I often forget that little fact. Here are some of the choices I made today: 


What time should I wake up in the morning? (this morning I chose to get up at 8:15) What should I eat for breakfast? (a banana and some cereal) What should I work on first? (week 4 postings for GW) When should I eat lunch? What should I eat? Should I go for a run? Should I spend 10 minutes on Facebook or StumbleUpon? Should I work on LA8 or SS8? Should I watch Harry Potter 7 Part 1, before going to the theatre to watch Part 2? Should I buy candy for the movie? Should we walk home or take the train? (life can be difficult when you are indecisive!)


Do you see what I am getting at here? All of these little choices really add up, but it seems sometimes we ignore them. We have good intentions, but we make lots of little bad choice. Sometimes I am very unproductive because I choose to watch T.V. or use a number of social networking sites instead of doing my work. Sometimes I choose to sleep an extra two hours instead of running, or I stay up too late and I am tired the next day. Why do we make the wrong choice when we know it is wrong? Because RIGHT NOW it feels right. In an hour I will think - why did I just eat that Mars Ice Cream Bar? But right now it tastes absolutely delicious. 


So often people only focus on the big life choices. Don't get me wrong, those also can drastically change your life. Take for example the day I decided to move to Switzerland. I knew I had to travel and get out into the world before I was tied down and owned stuff. So I made the decision, found a job, and ended up here. That set off another chain of choices that eventually led to me meeting Paul, getting married, and in the end, sitting in this chair, typing about choices. I think a lot of people are afraid of making choices. They are afraid of what might be out there in the unknown. They are making the choice to stay in their current life. A current life that they are often unhappy or unsatisfied with. They chose that life over and over again. Every day they choose to live the way they do.


I have a lot of friends that say "I wish I could move to a new place!" Well it was a choice, and it took a lot of effort, but I believe if any of my friends really REALLY wanted it enough they would find a way. One of my friends, Kathleen, has made the choice to move to Denver. I can tell she really wants it. She understands it isn't going to be easy, but most of life isn't easy. I also understand that it is easier said than done. People have student loans, debts, jobs, significant others, blah blah blah. There is always an excuse. (Life is also full of excuses). In the end it all comes down to choice. I'm not saying it is practical for someone with 30K in student debt to pick up and run out of the country. I'm saying that you can search for a job that is based overseas, or travels, or anything. Move somewhere that makes you happy. Find a yoga class. Change your life. There are a million future choices out there. You can't make a choice that you don't know about. So get out there. Find those opportunities, and make those choices. In a few years you might be in Switzerland on your balcony overlooking lake Geneva watching a thunderstorm as it passes overhead. 


Wow I just reread this post and I'm thinking it could be a graduation speech... almost. Time for some sleep :)