its different

one would assume that upon moving to another country (or even another city for that matter) there is a period of acclamation that must take place. It has been interesting to say the least, which of the conveniences we take for granted are NOT readily available here in Israel. And its not so much that certain things aren't available per se, its the way in which things occur and to what extent that is different.

lets start with ziploc bags for example. they are impossible to find, and when you do, they cost an arm and a leg for a few bag. fortunately i'm into "reusing" bags. general toiletries and personal items cost quite a bit more, as do personal electronics. "orange juice" is often reduced to a tang-like substance (i call it fake orange juice) so Ive learned to ask for 100% orange juice, "meets tapoozim mehakooze." When i did this at a beachside bar in Tel Aviv, the server responded something like as opposed to 70% orange and 30% grape?

There are also a few other common items of business which should not be overlooked. In my apartment (which is very nice compared to the dorm, don't get me wrong) "taking a shower" means a) I MIGHT have hot water, and b) there MIGHT be water pressure (not contingent upon whether or not there is hot water). While on campus, I can access the internet from my laptop, but NOT any mail sites or password sites (such as hotmail, gmail, myspace, or blogger). I must use a public machine for those sites (most of which one must wait in a line to use). Printing is generally possible from one such machine, but many of the printers have been too backed up or out of service.

I am keeping my head up during all of these little "hurdles" (it definitely could be worse), and am acclamating quite nicely despite the fact that "its different" here :)

birthday in jerusalem

this weekend i took the bus to Jerusalem for my birthday. its only an hour and a half bus ride from where i live, and i am so blessed to live so close to the Holy City. I came here with 3 of my new good friends (we have all become such good friends so quickly) perfect company to walk around Jerusalem and the Old City. We also visited the Wailing Wall to pray... which I had never done before. Last summer when I came on my tour of Israel, I passed by the wall on my way to the temple grounds but did not stop to pray. It was a very spiritual experience. Jerusalem as a whole is a very spiritual/religious place, which much historical and cultural significance throughout. Just being here is a unique priceless experience, and I project that i will return here regularly, since I live so close.

Here in Jerusalem, the area we are staying is just inside the Jaffa gate, closest to the Christian Quarter. the Old City is divided into "quarters" where merchants sell their goods, anything you can think of, they have it. some very good local food at the schwarma stands, and fresh squeezed juice. I'm not missing my juicer in storage in AZ. We went back to the wailing wall this morning, and are taking a short break before venturing over to the Muslim Quarter. The hotel (hostel) we are staying in has a rooftop view of the city, and authentic decor dating back to the Ottoman period. I feel like i am doing research for my classes just being here, as the city is full of rich historical and cultural significance.

hijacked

Yesterday I got my suitcase delivered to me from the airline, it has been one week. Fortunately all of the "important" personal items were still there. Unfortunately, my video camera (including all cables, adapter, etc) had been hijacked. I am not sure whether this happened in Berlin or Milan, but either way the theft is likely what caused the bag to be delayed.

I am thankful nothing else was stolen, and that I got the rest of the suitcase's contents back (yay my army pants and favorite jeans)! And I have renter's insurance which covers my belongings anywhere in the world. The biggest loss (besides the time delay) was my "last week in San Diego" video which was inside the camera. This included footage of my friends' band Jangada, as well as spectacular views of San Diego from my deck and awesome house in Middletown.

my brain hurts

yesterday was the first day of classes, and my schedule was 8:45am to 6pm. by about 4pm my brain really started to hurt. this may be due in part to starting off the day with an intensive Hebrew class (taught all in Hebrew) followed by an Arabic class. fortunately, that one should be EASY! I definitely have a full schedule, and am looking forward to an exciting academic year.

on the homefront... while we live strategically behind the best schwarma place in town, we also deal with the "neighborhood dog". he barks uncontrollably throughout the night, which makes it difficult to get a good night's sleep. On the positive, we get free "leftover food" from the schwarma place, and although the gym is about 2 miles away, I get my share of cardio from WALKING everywhere. i will also begin training capoeira soon.

Last night i was invited to Jerusalem with a few friends, but Im glad I didnt go, because they got lost in the West Bank on the way back! i may end up going to Jerusalem this weekend, for my birthday :)

Akko & Haifa

Yesterday 4 of us jumped in a car and headed to Jerusalem. We drove through the West Bank on some back road, which was really exciting. When we arrived to Jerusalem there was a lot of traffic and no parking because of Ramadan, so we just stopped in some Arab restaurant and ate (because it was Shabat). We also drove through the Old City, and then decided to leave and head up north to Akko and Haifa.

We spent the night in Akko, which is a wonderful old city on the Mediterranean Sea. In the morning we checked out the Muslim mosque, walked around the Shuk (local market) and along the waterfront. There were also guys selling fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, which was so good! After we left Akko, we stopped in Haifa, cruised around, and went to the Bah'ai temple. It was such a beautiful day on the Mediterranean. We drove back down along the coast and stopped in Tel Aviv at the beach for dinner and sunset.

This new group of friends I have made is so great. We have concluded that we are living Real World Israel, or Survivor Israel - Grad School. We've actually voted someone off already. Anyway we all needed this mini tour of Israel (Jerusalem > Akko > Haifa > Tel Aviv), get it out of our system before classes start on Monday. I think I might actually get my suitcase back tomorrow too, as the airline found it in Milan a few days ago!

a new home

yesterday I moved out of the dorm-hostel and into a fully-furnished apartment house with another grad student. this living arrangement is more appropriate, and actually cheaper than the overpriced cockroach-infested dorms. one cool thing about the new pad is that it is really old and so there is all kinds of retro furniture and decor. so we're totally stylin! the whole arrangement worked out really well, thus it was meant to be. there are several small markets within "walking" distance as well.

Last night I had an arabic/hebrew tutor session with the hookah guy (mohammed) from downstairs in my old dorm, and hung out with my new (american-israeli) roommate and another fellow grad student from Canada. I am acclamating quite nicely here. Classes start Sunday. Today we are going to Jerusalem, in a car with another couple of students from our program. It is the last weekend of Ramadan so it should be pretty crazy over there!

Survivor Israel

Here are your keys, here are your friends. Yesterday was our orientation to BGU and the international students MA program in middle east studies. Classes officially start Sunday, but we had a very informative day getting to know the campus, the important offices, faculty and staff, and our fellow students in the program.

most of us were discouraged about the dorm situation the first day we arrived. even though we are older students, we were assigned the crappiest "dorms" on campus (they are actually OFF campus, but nearby). the good news is we discovered we are all in this together (and are all fairly close to each other in the ghettofabulous neighborhood) and that it really is not as bad as it seems. these dorms are more like 4 bedroom 1 bath apartments, so the private locking bedrooms are very nice. a few of the guys had cockroaches but i think they are on the first floor. the dorms haven't been lived in for about 3 months so that sort of thing is to be expected.

as the day progressed, we all started to get to know each other. we are a diverse though similar group of people around the same age range (late 20s early 30s), all English-speaking but from different countries. most of us hail from the US originally, but a few from Canada (YESSS my people), one from Argentina and a few from Israel. we ended up spending the whole day together (beginning 9:30am) and some of us even went out to a local "club" afterward which ironically played cheesy American music. i think this is the closest I will be to Real World or Survivor, it is very similar, but with grad school in the mix. and if you know me, you know I've always wanted to be on Survivor. the "prize" will be a Master's degree, and hopefully a Fulbright Grant!

Insert Lisa into foreign country... without suitcase of supplies... among an unknown group of people, and give her one day to figure it out. unlike Survivor, we HAVE internet access on campus, electricity, and food (which is amazing). And we have each other... in an academic setting, in the Holiest land on Earth.

the last 24 hours

written on the night of 17 October

The main reason i stopped in Berlin was to visit a friend. we spent time together the first night (after I took the wrong train and arrived 3 hours late), but then he had to work the rest of the time I was there. Thus I made the most of my time in Berlin, which was a much needed time of R&R and cultural "adjustment" in perhaps one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.

The scene: Hackescher Market in Berlin. Outside in the chilly winter air, a didgeridoo player (aboriginal instrument) entertains the passers by. Inside an Asian restaurant I sit, sipping an Italian Coffee, listening to Brazilian Jazz, while studying Arabic, myself a lone American with everyone around me speaking German. As I continue to think globally, my environment always seems to encompass that. The area of town I was staying in is like "little Arabia" all the arabic stores, signs, and immigrants. Good preparation for Israel.

I intended to sleep in the Berlin airport as my friend was not available, and retrieve my luggage to avoid another day of the £9/day charge for storage. However I arrived to the airport at 11pm and it was closing, I'd have to come back in the morning. upon check in at 5:30am, the carry-on weight limit was 5kg, and my bag was 12kg, so I had to quickly take a bunch of stuff out. I had envisioned being reuinited with this bag upon my arrival in Tel Aviv, which is customary for a paying customer of an expensive international airline. My advice: DO NOT FLY ALITALIA, the Italian airline, Italy sucks, even though Italy DID win the World Cup (I only rooted for them by default). Not only did they make me rearrange my bags, they lost one of them (the main one with all my favorite clothes, shoes, journals, video camera, jewelry and expensive personal products). They said it happens all the time and they would deliver it to me as soon as they found it.

After being frazzled by the loss of my suitcase, I attempted to board a train from Tel Aviv to Beer Sheva. However I got on the wrong train and got re-routed several times (each person telling me something different). I unloaded my maps into the lost suitcase when I rearranged as well and do not have Israeli geography memorized yet. I finally made it to the University at 9pm instead of 5:30pm as would have been reasonable with my plane arriving at 2pm.

When I did arrive to the University I had to take a cab which cost nearly as much as the train ticket, to my apartment which is about 2 miles further than advertised, and on the 6th floor of an old building with no elevators... and crazy arabic/hookah-smoking guys a few floors down. I did meet a very nice girl on the train who said she is looking for a roommate if I was able to switch dorms. I may just have to take her up on this, because after all I need to be across from the gym. This room is very private however. I hope my luggage turns up soon, as my USA to Israel power converter is in there, and I need it in order to operate my laptop. I have about 1 1/2 hours battery life until it shows up.

back to berlin

i made it safely to Berlin last night... i think Ive gotten over the time difference (its 1:13pm 16 October here, 9 hours later than US) and jet lag, which will make it easier to get into the groove when i arrive in Israel tomorrow (they are only 1 hour later). it is freezing cold in Berlin right now! but a familiar feeling cruising around on the German trains, minus the crazy world cup fans. it is so hard to find anyone who speaks English here, which i knew, quite challenging for the American Girl that i am... admittedly so - but proud of it!!!

I really miss san diego. I broke down on the train last night. but the good news is I will be back in about 3 months for my semester break! my dad reminded me of this the other day (I kept saying 4 months but its not that long). another good thing is that i sold all my furniture before i left san diego, totally liberating... and a few extra $$$. btw i also sold my laptop, thanks to all who responded to my posts ;)

en route

I am on my way to Israel, where I will be attending graduate school for my second master's degree. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, between moving (relocating from San Diego to Phoenix), packing/organizing, juggling my going-away-parties and trying to see everyone before I leave. Also in the area of education/vocation, quitting my part-time teaching jobs in San Diego and leveraging my position at SDSU to propel me forward into this new educational venture. In the process I applied for the Fulbright Grant (for study abroad) and 3 Ph.D. programs of my choice to begin Fall 2007.

My travel itinerary will take me from Phoenix to Philadelphia, and from there to Munich, Germany. From Munich I will ride a train to Berlin, where I have a 12 hour layover and intend to visit a friend there. I leave Berlin the following morning and head to Tel Aviv, Israel via Milan, Italy. I only have 2 hours in the Milan airport but all of the other spots should be exciting!

new blog

This new blog, THINK GLOBAL, will document the global travels and research endeaveors of Lisa Birman, beginning in October 2006. This blog will replace the previous blogs hosted on myspace and lisabirman.com.