Last weeks in Haifa

After coming back from Turkey Tuesday night I had to be in Jerusalem early Wednesday (June 9) morning for my second half of staff training for Ramah Seminar. The training was as fun as staff training can be, on Thursday we went on a small hike near Sfat (I think). The hike was more a time in which to teach us (the staff) what exactly to do throughout a hike, spread out, one staff member in front, middle and back, how to cross a street with a big group of people, and other such common sense things. It was also a time for the tour guides to give us a taste of what they will be telling the campers throughout different hikes – but it was a good chance to bond and get to know the other staff members. Thursday night we had a tour of the Kotel tunnels which is always a fun experience. Friday we had a few meetings and for kabbalat Shabbat we davened (prayed) on top of a roof overlooking the Kotel. The weekend was nice, we held a lot of somewhat pointless/common sense meetings but I guess that was to be expected. Saturday night Ofer picked me up from our base in Jerusalem and the two of us wandered around Jerusalem, went to a café and then went back to his house. The next morning I had another (pointless) meeting back at my base in Jerusalem and after my meeting I went back to Haifa.
Once back in Haifa I had to finish a paper for one of my classes- on the Six Day War and say goodbye to a lot of my friends. The week past quickly and the next Shabbat I was invited, by a Ramah staff member, to his house in Jerusalem. I came to Jerusalem Friday morning, spent the morning/afternoon with Judy and then went to his house. He said that there is a congregation that holds a special service once a month and this week was one of those special services. After finishing dinner I went with him and a few friends to this shul. The services were definitely “special” I felt like I was back in the 1960’s, there were people swaying with their hands lifted in the air and their eyes closed “feeling” the music and the spirit. It was funny to watch and the tunes for Kabbalat Shabbat were really good- definitely a fun experience. After services we walked back to his apartment, near the Damascus Gate and had dinner. My friend made Aliya 5 or 6 years ago from England and at dinner there were two Sabras while the rest of the people (5 others) also made Aliya. One was from Holland, another from France, one American and I forget where the others were from. It was very interesting to hear everyone’s experiences and how they ended up where they are. The dinner was mostly in English but a lot of Hebrew was spoken too- which was good since I need to practice my Hebrew as much as I can. The next day my friend and I walked through the Old City, but we walked on the roof tops as much as we could. The city looked beautiful from above and I felt at some points that I was on top of the world!! Back in Haifa I realized that I only had two days left in Haifa- since the International school kicked us out on Tuesday the 23rd. My friend and I went, for the last time, to Hadar, the shuk in Haifa and then the next day we went to the big mall in Haifa- I had never been before and thought that I should go at least once. It is called the Grand Canyon גרן קנוןand actually it is situated in a valley between two mountain ranges. The night of the 23rd there was a party for all the students living in the dorms- since that was the last day of classes for the regular university, I went for a little while, as a break in packing. That night my friend and I -since we had no other place to sleep wanted to spend our last night on the beach in Haifa. Although the night was really really buggy and I didn’t get much sleep because of the mosquitoes the next day was wonderful. Recently it has been really warm all over Israel and by 7:30 in the morning on the beach the sun was already hot. We changed into swim suites and went swimming- the water felt like bath water it was so warm and since it was so early the ocean was really calm. It was nice being on the beach when no one else was there- we had the entire beach to ourselves!! We only stayed until noon since I had to go to Tel Aviv to Motti and Ayala’s house and she had to go to her internship yet neither of us wanted to be outside anymore since it was so hot. (not that our rooms have air conditioning but at least we could be on a bus or in the bus station where there is air conditioning)
Right now I am at Motti and Ayala’s house and I leave tomorrow morning for Jerusalem to spend my last free weekend with Judy before I begin my next adventure with Ramah Seminar. I can’t believe how quickly this semester has gone by and that already I have been here in Israel for 5 months- it definitely does not feel that long.

I think what I liked most about the city of Haifa, was the lack of division among the citizens. What I mean by this is that whether I was shopping in the Arab shuk or the Jewish Shuk I heard both Hebrew and Arabic, and saw both Jews and Arabs, interacting on business levels as well as friends. I once saw a street vendor in the Arab shuk with a Star of David around his neck, selling his vegetables next to another man, who was obviously Arab. On the beach in Haifa, there were the separate groups, Arab families and Jewish families, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves on the beach. This type of interaction, or maybe just tolerance, was not seen in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, there always seemed to be a line drawn between Arab and Jew, and this division in Jerusalem only made me appreciate Haifa even more.