by Daniel De Wijze, Year Course/FZY Participant

It’s not often that something amazing starts with a Google search, but that’s what happened to me last April. I typed ‘Jewish gap year in Israel’ into the search bar and before long I was on the phone to the FZY office. After some thought, I came to the decision that I wanted to spend the next 9 months in Israel. My friends were confused when they learned about my choice. Why was I going to Israel if I wasn’t religious and going to Yeshiva? Why was I putting off University for a year? Why was I going to be wasting my time?

The reality is that I really feel that I have grown greatly as a person whilst on Year Course. I have learned all about the history, culture and politics of the State of Israel, and why it is so important to us as the Jewish people. My ability to speak Hebrew improved drastically, which is something that never would’ve happened in England. In addition, I feel that I have become more independent, resourceful and confident. I also have a newfound appreciation for dishwashers after having to do the washing up for 9 months!

When my family visited Israel for Pesach, I felt proud to be able to show them around Israel, explaining Hebrew signs and ordering for them at restaurants – no longer a stranger in a strange land, Israel has become my home.

On the very first day of Year Course, I remember sitting in my room in Beit Ar-El with my roommate, Leo Brosh. It was a hot August day outside and we were lying on our beds, waiting for the Americans to arrive. There was an unspoken note of mystery about the Americans – what would they be like? Were they loud, were they friendly, did they really speak with such a ridiculous accent? The answer to all of those questions was of course yes, but that takes nothing away from how much I love the Americans and the fun we have had living together.

Something that I love about Year Course, and that I think enriches it beyond measure, is the mix of American, English and Israeli (and yes, European) cultures. I find it fascinating how people from different places have entirely different views of the world. Sometimes it can be strange and difficult, like when an Israeli shouts at you in rapid Hebrew for swiping your Rav Kav too slowly on the bus, or when your New Yorker roommates shout at you for eating your pizza with a knife and fork…

But most of the time it has been brilliant. Joining in the giant Purim carnival in Holon, when everyone, kids and adults alike, dressed up. Eating my first ever s’mores. Wandering around the Shuk, and paying a visit to the Etrog man. Actually understanding that the Superbowl is a sporting event and not, as would be logical, a giant bowl. And of course, going for schwarma.

Israel is an extraordinary country. From the outside, it doesn’t really look like it can work at all, with Jews, Muslims, Christians, Bedouin, Druze… not to mention the varying levels of religious observance that everyone has, and of course the many surrounding Arab states who seek our destruction. But somehow on the whole, people find a way to live together, often through acts of deep kindness and compassion.

The moment I realised how special Israel was to me was during a hiking trip with my friends in the CarmelNational Park. We had been following a trail for many hours, and because we had been a little lax with our preparation, we had run out of food and water. Finally we exited the forest and found ourselves in a small town. We stopped and asked a couple on the street where we could buy water. In response, they invited us into their parents’ home, where we were given drinks and told to rest. After chatting with our new hosts for a while, we were suddenly presented with a delicious meal – and they kept apologising for not being able to give us more!

Israel really is a country where people help each other, and I feel that by volunteering this year, first at YeminOrdeYouthVillage and then in Bat Yam, I really have been part of that ethos. Volunteering isn’t always easy – sometimes I felt unappreciated or frustrated when the kids I worked with didn’t want to learn, or acted up. Or when I was really tired and couldn’t really be bothered to go to the farm that day. But the truth is, I know that when you volunteer you are appreciated and valued, and you are truly helping to make the world a less shitty place.

I would like  to thank all the people who made my Year Course special and unique. Firstly, all my teachers in Beit Ar-El – David Kay, Susan Yammer, my Ulpan teacher Sephy, and of course, the fabulous Avi Rose. Saba and Safta, who were so kind to me in Yemin Orde. My madrichim, Josh, Bar and Tali. Joel, who does so much for us behind the scenes that we never see. Not forgetting Kate, Adam Jenshil, the security guards at Beit Ar-El, the host families I have stayed with and anyone else I have forgotten.

Thank you all.

To end, I return once again to the first day of Year Course, when everyone had finally arrived. I remember being overwhelmed by all the new faces as I walked around, all my introductions blurring together so that I couldn’t remember anyone at all. For me, the transition from the mass of strangers I met on that day to the group of amazing friends I can see before me now… that has been without doubt, the best part of the journey.

 

1. Always have a reusable bag handy.
2. Classes are great, but you’ll learn more about Israeli history and collective memory if you ask your taxi driver where he’s from.
3. Never let your guard down at the beach – stray, high-speed matkot balls are EVERYWHERE!
4. Circle the first day of  Sukkot on your calendars – it’s the opening of Krembo season.
5. Take in a soccer game, but don’t dare to call it anything but ‘football.’ (You can also learn some very colorful language watching the game that you probably won’t hear anywhere else…)
6. Enjoy an impromptu outing by pooling all of your loose change with friends and having a picnic.
7. Learn the difference between “white spreadable cheese” and “cottage cheese.”  There’s nothing worse than thinking you bought a container of cottage cheese only to realize you purchased its weird white cheese cousin.
8. Never pass up a Shabbat invitation – you never know who you’ll meet.
9. Have a powerful experience on KUMA in Poland.
10. Shoko b’Sakit

By Erin Philips, WUJS Participant

 

When I first decided to join WUJS, I was a little concerned about how I was going to fill my time in Israel. I was leaving a full-time job, family, boyfriend and friends back in the United States, and even though I knew I would have an internship, a weekly program tour, and a weekly arts track activity, I was worried there was still going to be a lot of blank space in my schedule. Although some of this free time was part of the incentive for coming – I was looking forward to working on my writing portfolio – I’m someone who likes to be busy.

 

Needless to say, I shouldn’t have worried. While there was plenty of time to hang out during the first few weeks of orientation and while I was settling in to my new life in Tel Aviv, I soon found myself with more things I wanted to do than there were hours in the day. This past month (my third in Israel!) has been a whirlwind of activity. To give you an idea of the wealth of things to see, do, and experience, here is a summary of what I’ve been up to lately:

 

* Arts & Culture – I saw the Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company’s newest show “Dust,” an amazing contemporary dance performance incorporating light, sound, animation, and props at the Suzanne Dellal Center. I joined a group of fellow sketchers at a Drink & Draw class with a live nude model at a DIY arts and craft studio in Jaffa. I went on a Jane’s Walk tour of art galleries and street art in the industrial warehouse district of south Tel Aviv, and went to a Tel Aviv Arts Council screening of the classic Israeli comedy Givat Halfon Eina Ona. On an arts track visit to the Eretz Israel Museum, I saw a textile show and an exhibition of astonishing nature photography put together by London’s Museum of Natural History and the BBC Worldwide.

 

* Parties – I danced until 3 a.m. on my first visit to a Tel Aviv nightclub (I’m not a huge partier which is why it took me so long to experience a little bit of “the city that never sleeps”), and went to something called a “Universal Unicorn Rave” in a hostel where everyone had dreadlocks. I was definitely out of my element.

 

* Holidays (in Israel there is at least one a week) – I observed Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) by going to a ceremony for fallen olim (immigrants) who had joined the Israeli army. On Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) I went to a BBQ for internationals and met English-speakers from all over the world living in Israel.

 

* Travel – Two other WUJIES and I went on a three-day trip to Eilat (a resort town at the tip of the Red Sea) and Jordan (a spectacular, awe-inspiring country). In Jordan we had a private tour guide and stayed in his family’s Bedouin style camp in Wadi Rum, a protected area in the middle of the desert. We went on a jeep tour that included rock climbing, sandboarding and a lot of tea-drinking, had a sunset camel ride, ate a traditional feast cooked under the sand, and slept in tents. The next day we spent four hours exploring the ancient city of Petra, which is as amazing as everyone says it is. I bored my family with endless photos of rock and sand vistas, but the Jordanian desert is stunning.

 

* Agriculture – I went to a commercial beekeeping farm in Caesarea and learned about beekeeping, Colony Collapse Disorder, and the honey-making process. Over our 10-day program break, my WUJS best friend and I WWOOFed, i.e. we volunteered on an organic family farm in the Negev desert for a week, which was an exhausting, rewarding, and eye-opening experience.

 

So far I’m having an inspiring, challenging, incredible time living abroad. Sleep will have to wait!

by Maria Olshanskaya, WUJS Participant

 Even if you’ve been to Israel a dozen times, the seemingly kitschy exhibit at Mini Israel might reveal to you the hidden gems you’ve been missing on prior visits.  Mini-Israel is a tourist attraction situated about half-way between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on the outskirts of Latrun, a Trappist Monastery famous for its delicious wines and the nearby “Yad Lashirion” memorial and museum for Israel’s tank units.  As one might imagine, the park contains a number of 2-5 foot models of many of Israel’s iconic sites amongst which you can walk to get a feel for the whole country in a short time.  The exhibits are visually stunning and many have audio elements as well.  There are mini cars and buses driving on mini roads, mini people walking and chatting at mini-cafes and mini-houses.  There are even mini-worshippers praying in mini-synagogues, mini-churches and mini-mosques (try saying that ten times fast!)  in their own languages according to their own different traditions, cultures, and religions.

I’ve been living in Tel Aviv for a few months now and have a good sense of what is what around town.  But I surprised to find that in mini-Tel Aviv I found several amazing buildings and places I’ve never visited before. Some of them are really hidden in the labyrinths of streets and to find them you need to know where to look. But there were others that I had passed million times and just never noticed.

These four locations stuck out to me for their beauty, unique representation of “Tel Avivi” style, and the fact that I didn’t even know that they existed!

1. The “Shell” Synagogue

The synagogue’s real name is Hechal Yehuda, but one look at the building will explain why it got such a nickname.  Situated on Ben Saruk street, 13, hidden in-between tall modern buildings and parking lot, this amazing building has a funky architecture that definitely diverges from traditional synagogue designs. I think this is a perfect representation of a city that has houses hundreds of synagogues and sponsors pluralist Kabbalat Shabbat services, despite its secular reputation.

2. “The Crazy House”

Once again, the name speaks for itself.  This gaudy building on HaYarkon street 181, just next to Marina Hotel, looks like it’s out of a Tim Burton movie. Tel Aviv, like many big cities, is full of people trying to stand through clothing, hair styles, tattoos, or even how their dog is groomed.  No structure in town is more unconventional, loud, and noticeable than this though.

 3. Pagoda house

Situated in the center of the city, the Pagoda House has a funky mix of Japanese, German, and Middle Eastern styles that truly illustrates the international, multi-cultural mix that Tel Aviv strives for.  The former residents of this building include the chief editor of “Ha’aretz,” Israel’s oldest newspaper and the Polish ambassador.  Fun fact: this was the first house in Tel Aviv to have a passenger elevator.

4. Bialik square

This little square is lined with multicolored buildings built in the old Tel Aviv style with beautiful balconies and an elegant fountain – tucked quietly away just three blocks from the shuk! The beautiful orange, white, and blue colored buildings include the first city hall, the Bialik Museum, and the Rubin Museum.  This was the center of Hebrew culture in the first years of pre-state Israel.  The Bialik Museum used to be the house of Israel’s first Poet Laureate Chaim Nahman Bialik, and the Rubin Museum was the house of Reuven Rubin, one of Israel’s most famous painters.  The place is the physical embodiment of the Hebrew culture reborn in Tel Aviv, built from Hebrew poetry, music, and art.

It is always great to be reminded that where you live is full of secret beauty.  My trip to mini-Israel certainly retaught me that lesson.  Living in a city with as much to offer as Tel Aviv is an opportunity that I relish every day.