9/16 to 9/17 | Relaxing

In Jerusalem, it is impossible to say, "I'm bored!"  This city is packed with things to do and see, from modern Jerusalem in the west to the Old City in the east.  Just glancing at a map, one could immediately pick out any number of museums to visit, not to mention all the cultural and religious sites that span across the city.  Although we have not had many days off, they are what I live for because it is during those hours that I am free to do what I want, when I want without any sort of time commitment.  It was with this freedom in mind that Rachel and I headed towards Ben Yehuda Street.

Riding the bus in Israel is an experience.  As I mentioned in the previous post, they are very complicated to navigate; however, once you know what bus you need, it is a lot of fun to just take it all in.  As we rode through the city, we passed many historic landmarks.  In a span of five minutes, it is possible to see the Jerusalem Great Synagogue (which I still want to go inside of) and the headquarters of the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency for Israel.  There is so much Jewish history everywhere that is it a bit overwhelming.  Two thousand years of wishing, and it has all come to fruition right here!

This picture of the Jerusalem Great Synagogue building is blurry because it was taken from a moving bus.  It gives a feel, however, for the size of the complex.

The headquarters of the Jewish National Fund, an organization dedicated to planting trees throughout the Land of Israel.

The headquarters of the Jewish Agency for Israel, an organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews who chose to make aliyah to Israel.  It's amazing how much is packed into such a small space.

We got off the bus at the intersection of Ben Yehuda Street and King George Street.  The area here is pretty much at the heart of the city, so it's a good place to start exploring.  We were lucky enough to stumble upon a small arts and crafts fair, so we spent a little time there before heading down Ben Yehuda.  Ben Yehuda is unlike any street in the United States.  It is only open to pedestrians, and on each side are stores carrying any and everything you could want.  There's naturally a lot of Judaica shops, but also stalls for falafel and schwarma, a haberdashery, a book store, and more yarmulke stores than you could count.  In the middle of the road are street performers, musicians, and religious men who want to put people in tefillin.  While we were there, someone continuously blasted a shofar over the sounds of klezmer music coming from somewhere else.  We were there on a beautiful day, albeit hot, and I could not have been happier!

An arts and crafts fair outside of Ben Yehuda Street.

The view looking down from the top of Ben Yehuda Street.

Once we were done on Ben Yehuda Street, we decided to head to the shuk.  There is nowhere else in the city to find cheap food, so the shuk is increasingly becoming a #1 destination for all of us college students.  The shuk was especially busy while we were there, though, because it was right before shabbat.  All around us, people were running around trying to find what they needed for their dinners.  We stopped for lunch at the pasta place we had been to before.  After lunch, which was delicious, we began wandering through the packed paths.  I bought a few things, but the best thing I bought was a challah at one of the bakeries.  This challah was hands down the most delicious challah I have ever eaten.  It had a honey glaze with raisins and was so soft and tasty (Alison can attest).  I will be back many, many, many times for that bread.  After the shuk, we took the light rail back to Mount Scopus.  By this time, it was almost shabbat so all the stores were closing.  Rachel ran in to Mister Zol to grab some last-minute items, and then we headed back to the Student Village.

The shuk was extremely crowded with people buying items for shabbat.

The best challah I have ever eaten is among the shiny ones in the back.

I had no plans for the night, so I decided to find a recipe using onions--betzelim--I had bought at the shuk.  I found a recipe for sauteed onions, so I made that and then threw them in some rice.  Not bad for a person who has basically never cooked before.  Even greater was that my roommates told me it smelled good; that's never been said about anything I've ever made!  It was also a test run for whatever we end up making tonight.  Other than that, this weekend I am taking it very easy.  No stress except for a few pages of homework I have yet to do, but that will not be so bad.

Tomorrow begins our last week of ulpan, which will culminate in an exam to see if I am ready to move on to another level.  The only other plans I have for this week is a trip to Ein Karem on Thursday.  Ein Kerem is a village on the outskirts of Jerusalem that is supposed to be beautiful, full of churches and natural springs.  I have been to the Hadassah Hospital there with Birthright, but we never got to see anything else so I am very excited.  The United Nations drama also begins this week so we will see how that ends up.  Right now, I am looking forward to the beginning of Rosh Hashanah next week and hopefully seeing family soon.  That's all for now!