The Old City, Yad Vashem, and Jewel

I walked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre today that is in the Old City. I weaves through some alleys and eventually made it back to the Kotel. I heard so many different languages today - Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Greek, English, Hebrew, Arabic, and French. So many people come to Jerusalem since it means so much to each of them. It is really quite amazing.

After the Old Coty, I decided to venture out to a museum. I wanted air conditioning and I wanted something inexpensive. So I found the light rail, which was actually being built the last time I was here, and went to Yad Vashem. I went there before with my Birthright trip, but I got to look around for as long as I wanted this time. There is only so much Holocaust thinking time one can handle. I ate at the cafe there and toon advantage of the free wireless. I considered going to another museum, but I only had two hours and that included travel time. I didn't want to try to figure out the bus system yet, so I went back to the hostel, got my bags, and caught a taxi to my first program.

There are young women from all over on this program - New York, California, Toronto, Ukraine, Minnesota, South Africa, and Israel. Not everyone is Orthodox but some are. I think the mixture may make for interesting discussions. Some women are just out of college, some are still in college, and some are over 30. Tomorrow we will have orientation and get a better sense of what our schedule will be like. We will also go to the Kotel, have a class, and do some sightseeing/orienting to the area and to Jerusalem.

Day 1

I don't think I actually got excited, nor did it actually hit me that I am spending the next year in Israel, until the flight from New York to Tel Aviv took off. I saw the Statue of Liberty as we took off and it was great. I won't see the USA until July 2013. That's a big thing to think about.

Today, being jet lagged, I walked around the Old City and went to the Kotel (Western or Wailing Wall). I walked in circles in the Jewish Quarter attempting to stay awake and hydrated throughout the day. I had forgotten about the number of stray cats and babies. There are children everywhere, hanging out with other kids, unattended by adults, and with their parents.

While many people speak English, it is better to know Hebrew and I unfortunately do not. I'll be working on that.

There will be a lot of spiritual discussions during these first three weeks; we are already having them in this hostel. I don't buy into much of the ideology that will be discussed. I'm incredibly cynical and critical so we will see how this goes.

Previous experiences and initial thoughts

I'm a writer. Always have been, and for every international trip I have taken, I have maintained a journal. The last time I was in Israel (the only time), I was a Birthright participant. I found my journal from the last trip and read through it. I'm amazed at how much that trip has influenced my relationship with Judaism. I slowly introduced certain Shabbat practices into my life - staying off Facebook is the biggest, going to Shabbat dinner if I can, and going to services if I want. And also the idea that I can personalize Judaism to fit me and my life in the way that I see fit. My relationship doesn't impact someone else's relationship or the way they view Judaism, and we can both strongly identify as Jewish.

I don't expect in this next year to find how I see myself in Judaism or how I want to practice Judaism. That isn't necessarily the goal. I expect to learn a lot about the state of Israel and the politics going on there and gain knowledge about Jewish texts, social justice with Jewish values, and learn about what I want in the future. I'm hoping that my volunteer experience with Yahel will help me to determine different options for future jobs and learn about migration and racism in Israel. I'm hoping this Jewish study program I'm starting next week will help me gain textual and cultural knowledge, and I'm interested to hear the experiences of the other women on the program.

I'm a feminist, and that perspective has influenced my view of Judaism greatly. I've learned a lot in the last six months, taking a Jewish class and going to Shabbos lunches in the Orthodox community in St. Louis. Still, my feminist background and perspective on life are not going away, just evolving.

I will be in Israel in less than 4 days and I'm looking forward to it. At the same time, I was/am sad to say good bye to St. Louis and see you later to people who have become important to me in this last year. On to the next adventure!

Leaving St. Louis and Looking forward

For the past year, I've been living in St. Louis, completing a year of service with AmeriCorps. It has been a challenging year, and I am in a completely different place professionally, personally, and mentally than where I was in July 2011. I'm in the process of packing up my belongings to prepare for the move back to Atlanta (for all of one week). Then it is off to Israel for the next 11 months. During the course of my travels, I'll be blogging, reflecting, observing, and exploring.

Here's the tentative plan:

For the first 3 weeks (July 31-Aug 23), I'll be in Jerusalem participating in a Jewish study program for young women under 30.

My friend Helen is coming August 26 and we will travel in Israel for 4 days before heading to Greece on Aug 30. On Sept 5, we'll head to Budapest, and I will be back in Israel on Sept 8.

Then, I'm hoping to go hiking/camping with a group in southern Israel for 5 days.

After that, I have a week that includes Rosh Hashanah and then about 4 days free before my program, the Yahel Social Change Program in Gedera, which begins on Sept 23.