"You're the pita to my hummus:" last days in Israel

Brrr! I arrived back in London early yesterday morning to cold and snow and a fairly chaotic airport. But now, back in my cozy little room, where I have not started packing for the US (are you surprised), I can put up the photos from my last few days in Israel:

Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean coast.


The Tel Aviv beach at night. Absolutely gorgeous.


One of my multiple late night interludes with falafel. The guy who runs this place told me I look like Kate Hudson but that my ears are too small. I would be flattered if I hadn't also been told I look like several other blonde celebrities throughout the trip. Then we got into an argument because he asked who my favorite male celebrity is and I answered Jake Gyllenhaal. The falafel man was appalled (perhaps due to Gyllenhaal's resemblance to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who, for the record, I DO NOT find attractive), and told me his favorite male celebrity is Paul Walker. I felt vindicated.


A Tel Aviv man who claims to be the Messiah.


About to dig into Shakshuka, a traditional Israeli breakfast made of tomato sauce, eggs, salad and bread.


Just for you, Dad! You should have seen the looks people gave me for being so excited about seeing a tractor. We use them for farming, Tel Aviv uses them to haul dumpsters.


Innovative decor in Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside of Jaffa (Yafo in Hebrew), which is the oldest and original portion of Tel Aviv.


Yafo in the distance


Street art in Tel Aviv. We saw gorgeous murals like this all over the city.


My favorite street performer in Tel Aviv.


The bottom of the gardens of the Shrine of the Bab, or the Baha'i International headquarters in Haifa. The Baha'i believe in the spiritual unification of humankind, which makes Haifa a very appropriate place for this shrine. After seeing the tensions in Jerusalem and near the West Bank, it was really encouraging to see how Christians, Arabs and Jews have been living together relatively peacefully in Haifa for hundreds of years. We even saw a community center where all three faiths hold regular programming.


Lower Haifa and the Mediterranean, as seen from the top of the Baha'i gardens.


Look what I found in Haifa! Rotary truly is everywhere.


SO. MUCH. BAKLAVA. We got this in a Druze village outside Haifa. The Druze are sort of an offshoot of Islam, and they live in semi-closed communities throughout the Middle East. They make excellent baklava--I know because I ate an unhealthy portion of this spread for breakfast :)


The best hummus in Israel. Jonathan polled his cousins for their favorite hummus place and they recommended this spot in Haifa. It's so hole-in-the-wall that they didn't have menus. There was also no sign on the building but in my mind the place is called Heaven-Nirvana-Whoa-Don't-Talk-To-Me-Right-Now-I'm-Having-A-Moment. I think it has a nice ring to it.


***

It was an absolutely amazing trip, and I can't thank Libby and her family enough for being so hospitable. And even though the weather was incredible, I'm really looking forward to coming home to frigid cold Iowa and seeing everyone! A lot of people are stranded here right now and the airports sound like refugee camps, so I'm a bit worried about my flight getting out tomorrow. Fingers crossed for no more snow and no more delays!

Hope everyone is staying warm and getting excited for Christmas!

Love,
Jess

Is this real life? Tel Aviv and Haifa

I'm still alive! Apologies for the delay, our lovely apartment in Tel Aviv didn't have Internet. Plus I was kind of busy strolling around the Mediterranean coast in my t-shirt and sandals.

Second apology: for those of you buried in snow, that was just cruel.

But indeed, Tel Aviv is gorgeous and the weather was absolutely perfect. I'm spending my final day in Israel in Haifa with Libby and her parents. It's a city in the north on the coast, and it's built on a mountain. The condo where we're staying is on the top of the mountain and I'm currently looking out the window over the city lights and the Mediterranean.

I can't even describe it in words, but pictures will be coming soon.

For now, just wanted to say that I'm still here, still learning so much (including more Hebrew) and just feeling so fortunate that I get to see things like this.

Last night, we went out around 12:30 and had drinks on the beach in Tel Aviv. Libby and I went to dip our feet in the water, and as we shrieked while the waves unexpectedly soaked our jeans, I looked up at the lights of Jaffa and had one of those moments where you can't even believe you got lucky enough to end up where you are.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I'm sad to be leaving Israel tomorrow (hoping my flight gets to snowy London on time), but I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone in the UK before heading home on Wednesday!

Love,
Jess

"I have kube in my underpants:" Jerusalem Day Two

I'm not going to explain that title, I just didn't want to call this plain old "Jerusalem Day Two." Someone did say that today, but there was no kube in the underpants.

Today was another amazing day in Jerusalem. This time, just photos:

p.s. photo credits to Libby for a couple of these, the ones that are artsy and good :)

Dome in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre


Calvary (Golgotha): In the middle is an altar of the spot where Jesus was crucified, and on either side the rock of Calvary can be seen through glass


Lighting candles at the shrine on Calvary


People wait in line to pray at the foot of the shrine to the crucifixion. It was incredible to see so many different people from around the world so moved by this spot


Lunch (and dinner, since as you can see this was quite the feast)


Kube (pronounced like koo-buh)


The local shuk (market)


Dried fruit and nuts in the shuk


Spices spices spices


***

On a completely unrelated note, remember that semi-angsty post I wrote awhile back about technology? This gives me hope.

Hope everyone had a happy hump day!

Love,
Jess

I am not a frier!

No, I don't mean something that makes crispy, delicious fatty food.

Frier is the hebrew word for "sucker," and today I became one.

But don't worry, this story has a happy ending.

I'm going to try to keep this post light on words and heavy on pictures, and let the beauty of Jerusalem speak for itself.

But a few highlights from today:

1) Libby had to work this afternoon, so I explored the Old City area solo. After being suckered into paying 40 shekels (about $10) for falafel and a Diet Coke at lunch, I was resolved never to be a frier again. I triumphed twice, first when a man in the market tried to sell me a framed photo he claimed his grandfather took in 1890 (there was a neon sign in it), and then when I successfully bargained down a bracelet I was eyeing to less than half the asking price. After I nearly walked away, the jeweler looked at his friend and said, "She may be pretty, but she's not easy." This confirms my thought that my decidedly non-local (not necessarily pretty) appearance puts me at even greater risk of becoming a frier.

I should note that the guy who tried to sell me the photo also said that Condoleezza Rice is among his customers. This may or may not be true. He also said he had the deepest well in Jerusalem. I saw it, and it did look pretty deep.

2) There are cats EVERYWHERE. Libby said the British brought them in to get rid of the mice. Now they have a cat problem. I want to pet them all, but Libby assures me Israeli cats are not as cuddly. This was reinforced by an epic cat battle I saw while on a guided walking tour. The cats are just as scrappy as the people who live here.

(n.b. There are also guns everywhere, since Israeli soldiers have very strict rules about where and when they can leave their rifles unattended. Therefore, they carry M-16s pretty much anywhere they go. Some of you may think this is scary, but actually it wasn't long before I didn't even notice anymore)

3) While waiting for the guided walking tour to start, I was approached by a mute tour guide who told me he offered a better tour. I was skeptical until we managed to have a 45 minute conversation in impromptu sign language. Unfortunately this tour included the West Bank, so I politely declined.

4) People continue to be unbelievably hospitable and unbelievably frank. For example, I was asked if I am married four times, and asked whether I am a Christian several times too. When it got chilly two people offered me a jacket, and while I was waiting for Libby a really nice Palestinian man sat and chatted with me and gave me free snacks from his food cart. Another Israeli offered me a seat near a small fire he'd made and also gave me food. I am well fed :)

And now, I will let the photos do most of the talking:

Libby and I at Jaffa Gate, an entrance into the Old City


Mosaic in the Jewish quarter (the Old City is divided into the Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian quarters)


One of many markets, this one in the Armenian quarter


Blackhawk fans so far from home!


Sunny square in the Arab quarter where I ate lunch


Courtyard in the Jewish quarter


Walking through a Roman aqueduct beneath the city. When the Roman emperor Hadrian conquered Jerusalem he wanted to build a flat city on top of the old one, so the Temple Mount in the center of the Old City actually sits several stories above the ground.


Dome of the Rock, a shrine to where the Muslim prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven


Dome of the Rock with the Mount of Olives in the background. Depending on your definition (and like many things here it's disputed), the area in the distance could be considered part of the West Bank


A corner of the Western Wall (the egde of the Temple Mount) and al-Asqa Mosque, the third most important mosque in Islam after Mecca and Medina


Men praying at the inner portion of the Western Wall. This is the closest you can get to the Holy of Holies, the most sacred place in Judaism. People bring prayers written on little notes and place them in the wall. When the wall gets too full, they take all the notes out and bury them. We had to view this through one-way glass, because women are not allowed in that particular area near the wall.


Via Dolorosa, the street where Jesus carried the cross on the way to his crucifixion


Station #9. On the crucifixion walk there are 14 stations, each where something pivotal happened on Jesus' walk to Calvary. Station 9 is where he fell for the third time.


Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on Calvary where Jesus was crucified


The Rotunda, where Jesus' tomb was held and he was resurrected.


Jerusalem is an incredible place, and I can't believe how much I've already seen and learned in just one day. Libby is an unbeatable tour guide and I have met some wonderful people! I am so, so lucky.

I hope everyone's well!

Love,
Jess

Hello from Israel!

I'm here! After a fairly smooth flight (as smooth as EasyJet gets), I arrived in Tel Aviv to the welcoming arms of Libby and her fantastic parents.

I have only been here a few hours, but so far:

1) I ate life-changing falafel, smothered in tahini and pickled vegetables. It was heaven, and was, according to Libby, just the first of many earth-shattering culinary experiences I'm to have this week.

2) Israel is beautiful. I've only seen it at night, but it's a fascinating mish-mash of cultures and people. That's true of most cities, but it seems even more pronounced here.

3) All of the street signs are written in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

4) Here in Jerusalem all of the buildings have to be built with Jerusalem stone. It's a lot like limestone, and it cools the homes and gives the whole city a serene, white blanket-y look at night.

5) I have already learned a few words in Hebrew, and have attempted (rather sheepishly) to use them. My favorite, and the most commonly used, is "beseder." It's pronounced more like bessedo, and it just means "okay." But it's used in a reassuring tone, and the pronunciation is really comforting, like someone putting an arm around your shoulder.

6) The Israelis are very aggressive. Not in a scary way. The way Libby describes it is that all Israelis treat each other like family, good or bad. That means they will shower you with warmth and hospitality (definitely my experience so far), but they also don't feel the need for polite pretense. They also don't really use lines. If you want something (whether it's falafel or getting off a plane), you just have to push forward and get it for yourself. I'm putting my game face on for the week ahead!

Libby is shaping up to be the tour guide to beat all tour guides, and tomorrow we have a jam-packed day planned, starting with Indiana Jones-esque exploration of the Old City, including the Wailing Wall.

It's going to be an amazing week!

Hope your week's off to a good start, too!

Love,
Jess

I predict a riot! Or a flash mob...

I'm cured! It's a Christmas miracle! Or maybe my one-woman anti-scurvy campaign paid off.

Either way, I was feeling good enough today to head to Camden Market with some great girls, where I experienced the first of several bouts of nostalgia--it's Christmas!

side note: "It's Christmas!" is an excuse that Liz and I have adopted as a way to make ourselves feel better about everything from procrastination to extra glasses of wine to gluttonous crepe consumption. I was always subconsciously using this, but it feels good to acknowledge it aloud!

Anyway, we cruised around the stalls for some delicious dinner, and after nearly being swayed by dim sum, curry and churros (not all together), I chose this delicious seafood paella:



Made me nostalgic for the table-sized paella that Margaret, Libby, Genevieve and I consumed when we visited Madrid.

After our delicious meal, I scooted off to meet up with several other former dancers to see the English National Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.

I ate fancy ice cream. In a gorgeous theater. And talked ballet (Did you see that developpe? Look at those cabrioles!) with more great girls. Perfection.

Check out this amazing theater:



This made me nostalgic for Katerina, because she's a beautiful dancer, and for the time we all went to the symphony, because I remember feeling the same (premature?) sense of maturity and class.

The flash mob thing comes in now. Remember yesterday when I made that flash mob reference about how many tissues I bought? If you don't, that means you didn't read my blog yesterday, but don't worry because a) I'll never know b) you can just scroll down and c) it was written in delirium so you're really not missing much at all.

Anyway, some of you inquired as to what a flash mob is. A flash mob, according to the Wizard of Oz (I mean Wikipedia) is "a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual act for a brief time, then disperse."

This is possibly my favorite flash mob of all time.

So now that everyone's on the same page, I'm happy to report that after we left the ballet tonight we saw the remnants of a flash mob!

On our way to the Tube we passed by Leicester Square and overheard these raucous santas, I'm assuming left over from this Santa flash mob that happened in Trafalgar Square earlier today.

Aren't they cute?



Well, these were, but the ones we encountered right outside the ballet were drunk as skunks and fairly crude. Let's just say they made requests that I will not stoop to repeat on this semi-family-friendly blog.

Thankfully, the ones in Leicester Square (though also drunk as skunks) were totally harmless. You'd think they would be singing Christmas carols, but surprisingly they chose Singin' in the Rain as their rallying cry.

No, not the classy Gene Kelly version, but the camp version.

If any of you clicked that link, I apologize for subjecting you to singing almost as tone-deaf as my own.

That song made me miss Girls State, particularly Ellen's fearless song-leading (n.b. she has a wonderful singing voice). Nostalgia trifecta complete!

***

On top of heading to Oslo in January, some friends and I decided to take further advantage of Ryanair's super cheap January specials and head to Dublin, too! It's going to be a crazy month!

Tomorrow I have hours of mundane stuff before I fly to Israel to visit Libby on Monday (!!!!!!!!!), but the light at the end of the tunnel is that I'm going to see Somewhere (more trailers!) at Screen on the Green tomorrow night.

Screen on the Green is a local gem of an independent cinema where you get to sit on couches instead of in weird movie theater seats. I'm pumped.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Love,
Jess

Blurgh, or should I say lurg?

Today I stayed in all day, aside from a trip to Sainsbury's to buy enough tissues to make the clerk think I was planning some avant-garde flash mob.

Still sick, but the benefit of this illness is advancing my fluency in British by adding another local term: lurgy.

Apparently this is the colloquial moniker for the super-cold plaguing myself and several others on my course.

I am in love with this word, namely because it's so phonetically accurate. Indeed, I feel very lurgy.

Noun and adjective? Such versatility!

***

Other exciting things that happened today:

1. I consumed my fifth carton of orange juice in only 2.5 days. For one feverish deranged second, I panicked because I couldn't remember if scurvy is caused by an overdose of vitamin C or a deficiency. I'm an idiot; obviously it's the latter. Thank you, Wikipedia.

2. I'm going to Norway for only 6 GBP! That's about $9. I'm going in January, which is going to be about as cold as Iowa, but I don't care about the temperature because I've been wanting to see the Vigeland sculptures in Frogner Park since the first time I saw a picture several years ago. Thank you, Ryanair!

***

Need a good cry? Not really in the mood to cry but still want to read an incredibly well-told story?

The Washington Post published this story yesterday and it's tragically beautiful. Also a really creative way to merge social media and journalism. If your subject isn't around to tell you her story in her own words, why not turn to networking sites (with permission, of course).

Makes me think about what kind of story each of us is leaving behind.

***

For a happier ending, another video!

Check out this cool series of commercials from MSNBC's rebranding campaign. It's no secret they've always pushed the progressive agenda, but I respect the fact that at least they're being up front about it.

Hope your Friday was lurgy-free!

Love,

Jess

Protests, Pastries and Penguins

Okay, this post actually doesn't have much to do with penguins, but I prefer alliteration in threes and I LOVE penguins.

As for the protests though, yes, they are happening here but I am not involved in them nor am I covering them. I really appreciate all of the e-mails I've been receiving asking if I'm okay, but rest assured that even though students from City are participating, the actual demonstrations are taking place far from my university.

Several of my colleagues have been covering the protests, and aside from a few lost phones, everyone has stayed safe. For excellent coverage, I recommend following my colleague Sarah on Twitter. She does a great job of incorporating multimedia.

London is an interesting place to be right now. To be fair, it always is, but with the student protests and Wikileaks, there's a lot of global news coming out of this city at the moment.

The Frontline Club, the journalism hub where I spent the midterm elections and have attended several interesting debates, issued a statement this week revealing that they have acted as a safe haven for Julian Assange for the last several months.

Though my personal impression of Assange was hardly favorable, the idea of Wikileaks as a form of journalism is now unavoidable, and it will be fascinating to see how it evolves in the face of Assange's arrest and such international backlash.

***

In other news (the kind related to my life and far less consequential than the aforementioned), tonight was another fantastic night. I learned how to make authentic french crepes, and though my first attempt was fairly pathetic, after the second crepe I was flipping with panache. So much fun!

Unfortunately, I only have photographic evidence of the crepe failure, because the rest were so good I got caught up in the moment and ate them.

Crepe fail:


Additionally, Clem (my french crepe guru/friend) has picked up on the fact that I often say "jeepers." She asked Liz what this meant, and Liz sent her a web link to a definition. Apparently she really liked it and is incorporating it into her vocabulary, along with other Americanisms she asked us for like "get it girl" and "good call."

In exchange, I am trying to pick up french slang. So far I'm working on "ca dechire," which Clem says is the french "jeepers" equivalent.

***

Finally, since I blogged/whined earlier today about being sick, things have started looking up, namely because I love sentimental videos. Some of you (you know who you are) have accused me of being incapable of real-life sentiment, but if that's the case then I make up for synthetically-inspired emotion ten-fold.

The one that's really getting me at the moment is Google's recently released Year in Google Searches.

It makes me nostalgic for this one, which legitimately made me well up in the middle of a New York City bar during the Super Bowl.

Which is almost as embarrassing as when I got weepy after watching this British Christmas commercial at Allister's aunt's house.

Finally, I love movie trailers, and am especially excited about this one. It's been out for awhile in the US, but I'm going to have to wait until January to see it here in the UK. Another movie that glamorizes the life of an overworked journalist? I'm in.

Plus I'm a sucker for a montage and Harrison Ford.

***

p.s. I said there wouldn't be penguins but I changed my mind! Last feel-good video of this post goes to Ralph, the bald penguin at Marwell Wildlife Center here in the UK. Apparently he was the alpha penguin until he lost all his hair. The lady penguins were giving him the cold shoulder until Ralph Lauren (yes the Polo guy) designed him a neoprene suit and then voila! he was back on top! My goal is to see him in person this spring. Swoon.

Happy Friday!

Love,
Jess

List!

Life updates in list form (because there aren't many, they're fairly mundane, but I'm trying to keep my promise to blog!)

1. I am sick. This time it's a little more serious than my man-flu circa October 2010 but I'm not dying or anything. Just really disruptive in the library with my honking and hacking. Yes, I'm incredibly attractive and mucus-y right now. Oh, were you eating? I'm sorry!

2. In my endless quest to obtain a British debit card, I went in for my bajillionth round of arguments with Barclays yesterday. Sensing that I was on the brink of utter despair, the teller chose to make a highly unoriginal joke about my last name, something about how funny it was that I have been thus far unABEL to get a debit card. I tried to chuckle through the tears.

3. Some friends and I went to see the band Interpol, which was a fantastic concert!

That was kind of a short list, but aside from that I've mainly just been catching up on work and chugging orange juice.

AMENDMENT: Upon review, I realize that list was 66.6% complaints. Not acceptable. London is chilly but beautiful right now, and I'm in the middle of a very work-hard, play-hard week, so I really shouldn't have any complaints at all! Plus, everything is uber-Christmasy here right now.

Tonight I'm getting together with some girls to watch Gossip Girl and the best Christmas movie ever made, Elf. Margaret, you are going to be sorely missed but I'm sure we'll have a repeat viewing when I'm home (soon!). On top of that, my french friend Clementine is making crepes.

That post may have been 66.6% complaints, but life is 110% great!

(Math was never my forte.)

Love,
Jess

Christmas Party!

My course had a Christmas party tonight, and I am blogging at 12:30 a.m. This is how committed I am to this pre-New Years resolution!

Tonight was actually one of the best nights ever. No exaggeration. My colleagues are amazing. I can only hope that you had a night that was just as wonderful.

So much love from London. I am so lucky.

Love,
Jess

Sigh of relief--now Christmas!

You know how some people have blogs and every post starts with an apology for the inexcusable time lapse between posts?

This has become one of those blogs.

But not for long! Because my pre-New Years resolution is to never ever let such a lag happen again!

(In case you were wondering, I plan to resolve to do something else (life?) better on actual New Years. Some of us just need more than one resolution.)

Because I am such a slacker, I hardly know where to begin with what happened over the past week. Mostly I was engulfed in schoolwork, since our term ended Friday.

However, OUR TERM ENDED FRIDAY!!!!!

So I managed to do some fun things in between. Here is a sample in photos!

Visiting the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park--full of delicious German food, ice skating, creepy Santa statues and an animatronic moose that speaks German and sings George Michael tunes.

(thanks for the photo, Niall!)

Presenting to the Barking Rotary club--a lovely group (as all Rotarians are!)


Cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery while Christmas shopping on Portobello Road. Many of you have astutely pointed out that I mainly blog about food. Are you surprised?


Oooh! Another food picture! This was my first kebab. A momentous occasion. Clearly I hated it :)


That is just a little tiny morsel of the chaos that was my life for the past ten days or so, but I promise I will be a more devoted blogger from here on out! (To be fair, I warned you about my commitment issues from the outset).

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and is gearing up for a wonderful holiday season!

Love,
Jess