We are in the midst of a tropical storm that is dumping all sorts of rain (with wind, lightning, and a touch of thunder), but it remains near 30C. Apparently, this is not normal. And, it's wreaking havoc with the holidays. Sukkot (the Feast of Booths) started tonight. To celebrate Sukkot, everyone constructs a sukkah (a walled structure with a leafy roof, here palm fronds seem popular) in which to take their meals for the next week. The family I stay with has not constructed a sukkah (they just aren't that observant). But, at our house, one of other families (in an upstairs apartment in the house) has constructed their sukkah above my room (which suggests above my ceiling is a patio that I hadn't noticed). Anyway, I imagine a bit of chaos broke out when the skies opened up around 730 tonight!
Thursday night I went to the movies at my neighbourhood cinema which reminds me of the old Hollywood on Broadway. The really cool thing about this theatre is the little cafe attached to it so you can get food (popcorn) and drink (including beer) to take into the show with you. Or you can just sit in the cafe and eat.
I'm still getting to know the city and walking lots. On Friday morning I
went to the Mahane Yehunda (market) on my own to get some fruit and
veggies. I definitely need to learn my Hebrew numbers! When it's busy at
the market having to ask for the price in "angleet" slows your progress
through the queues!
Friday night I went to Shabbat dinner at Sivan's (the eldest of the three kids here) in-laws. They live nearby and are lovely people. I sat next to Michael's grandmother who grew up in South Africa; she was quite pleased to have a native English speaker on whom to exercise her vocabulary. The food was great, the conversation interesting and the setting, outside on the patio was close to perfect. The evening finished with a trivia quiz (half in Hebrew, half in English)!
Today I visited the Mamilla Mall, a large and fancy mall with blaring, upbeat music just outside the Old City near Jaffa Gate. Mamilla has all that you might miss from home -- the Gap, TopShop, Columbia, North Face, etc. There's nothing new about being in a fancy mall, but there is something odd in being surrounded by new and flashy consumer goods when you are right next to the Old City...it sort of brings to mind the fact that we managed to live without all this stuff for so long, but now seem so very dependent on it all.
Tomorrow is like another Saturday, the shops will be closed all over the west side of the city. I plan to visit the Old City and the east side.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Yom Kippur
Today is Tuesday and it's Yom Kippur Eve -- the day that even secular Jews go to synagogue. I started the morning at the Coffee Mill which is about 200 m from my front door. While there I saw a woman with a Qualitative Methods Handbook that I wasn't familiar with, so I asked her about it. About two minutes later she and her friend were quizzing me about what I was doing in Jerusalem, had I made aliyah, where did I live, and where was I working out Five minutes later I knew all the pools, yoga and pilates studios to check out in the neighbourhood. Ten minutes later I had an invitation to dinner at Bonnie's and to attend a Reform synagogue service with Naomi.
It turns out Bonnie and Naomi are both Orthodox Jews from New York. Naomi has made aliyah and spends about 3/4 of the year in Israel; Bonnie would like to make aliyah, but instead is based in Manhattan and visits Israel 4-6 times a year.
I took Bonnie up on her invitation, she lives just 4 doors down the street from me, also in a Templar home that has been converted into apartments. We were three -- Bonnie, her son, and me -- and I think there was probably enough food for at least 6. And, I was implored to "eat, eat"! Bonnie wanted to assure me that in inviting me to a service, Naomi wasn't trying to convert me. (After the episode at Christ Church on Sunday, I was, admittedly wondering. I have since been assured by other Jews that proselytizing to non-Jews is highly unusual.) We were just finishing up when the siren went at 16:52 starting the fast (which runs from sundown until the next night when you can see three stars).
After Bonnie's I went to find Naomi at the Reform Synagogue near the King David Hotel. This meant I was walking (no buses on holidays). This is a lovely walk from my house anyway, but it was more spectacular on account of the limited traffic. Bonnie had mentioned that Jews are not to wear leather on Yom Kippur so that explained the obviously observant and nattily dressed men in running shoes! I found the synagogue, but not Naomi. The service was very busy with no seats to spare. After listening to a few songs I left. The walk back home was lovely as the streets had begun to fill with people. Over the next few hours people (mostly wearing white) streamed into the streets to enjoy a festive, but restrained, community visit. Emek Refaim is particularly popular and a great place to see this.
Even those who don't practice Judaism seem to have agreed to not drive their cars. The result is this incredible car free experience where you might think Yom Kippur is Hebrew for ride your bike or skateboard recklessly down the hills hollering at the top of your lungs. Given what its seems a cyclist normally has to put up with in this city it would seem about the right level of celebration. And, Yom Kippur gives Israel an opportunity to do what few (or perhaps no) other country can do -- it can baseline air pollution levels. I think I'll go for a run tomorrow morning to take advantage.
It turns out Bonnie and Naomi are both Orthodox Jews from New York. Naomi has made aliyah and spends about 3/4 of the year in Israel; Bonnie would like to make aliyah, but instead is based in Manhattan and visits Israel 4-6 times a year.
I took Bonnie up on her invitation, she lives just 4 doors down the street from me, also in a Templar home that has been converted into apartments. We were three -- Bonnie, her son, and me -- and I think there was probably enough food for at least 6. And, I was implored to "eat, eat"! Bonnie wanted to assure me that in inviting me to a service, Naomi wasn't trying to convert me. (After the episode at Christ Church on Sunday, I was, admittedly wondering. I have since been assured by other Jews that proselytizing to non-Jews is highly unusual.) We were just finishing up when the siren went at 16:52 starting the fast (which runs from sundown until the next night when you can see three stars).
After Bonnie's I went to find Naomi at the Reform Synagogue near the King David Hotel. This meant I was walking (no buses on holidays). This is a lovely walk from my house anyway, but it was more spectacular on account of the limited traffic. Bonnie had mentioned that Jews are not to wear leather on Yom Kippur so that explained the obviously observant and nattily dressed men in running shoes! I found the synagogue, but not Naomi. The service was very busy with no seats to spare. After listening to a few songs I left. The walk back home was lovely as the streets had begun to fill with people. Over the next few hours people (mostly wearing white) streamed into the streets to enjoy a festive, but restrained, community visit. Emek Refaim is particularly popular and a great place to see this.
Even those who don't practice Judaism seem to have agreed to not drive their cars. The result is this incredible car free experience where you might think Yom Kippur is Hebrew for ride your bike or skateboard recklessly down the hills hollering at the top of your lungs. Given what its seems a cyclist normally has to put up with in this city it would seem about the right level of celebration. And, Yom Kippur gives Israel an opportunity to do what few (or perhaps no) other country can do -- it can baseline air pollution levels. I think I'll go for a run tomorrow morning to take advantage.
Out and about the city
First things first, a picture of the house I live in. There are 5 units in the house, we're in the back, on the ground floor. This is great because there is substantial traffic on Emek Refaim an arterial neighbourhood road that leads into the centre of town.
The house across the street
And the closest corner store in my neighbourhood
After Shabbat it was back to the university on Sunday morning for two days before the campus and all of Israel goes on vacation. Today, Tuesday is the eve of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) which begins at sunset (16:52 here, marked by the siren) and the 25 hour fast begins. More on that in my next post.
So on Sunday I went to the Old City (for the first time since I've been here). I was with SFU Rob (my new postdoc friend) who really wanted to see if we could get to Al Aqsa, and if we couldn't get it, at least find out when we could visit. We weren't getting in on Sunday, although I had a long skirt on I didn't have any head covering; SFU Rob had shorts on! But, we weren't even getting to the door of Al Aqsa. Entering through Damascus Gate it's a straight shot to the middle of the Old City (at the edge of the Muslim Quarter, before you find yourself in the Jewish Quarter) where you turn left and head east. Only, our entry was blocked by a gate, a couple of large Israeli policemen, and a few IDF for good measure. C-L-O-S-E-D. Questions about when it might be open were not answered. Aborting our mission we continued on toward the entrance to the Western Wall, but before we reached the Jewish Quarter we passed more police. Later I read in Haaretz that
Just before leaving the Old City, I saw...
Monday, Amit took me on a tour of the botanical garden on campus. The gardens are pretty fantastic and definitely bring out my inner botanist. We chewed carob pods that we picked off the tree, Ceratonia siliqua. Fresh carob is actually a whole lot tastier than I ever imagined it would be. And, fun fact for the geeks in the crowd, the carob seed is an old Mediterranean unit to measure weight that we now know as the "carat".
Also fun on Monday was my first trip to Mahane Yehuda the shuk (market) where there is no shortage of action. Mostly the market sells fruit and veg and a few butchers and fishmongers. It is one busy place and it is necessary to assert yourself in line if you ever want to be served - there is no queuing up in some sort of order. The market is known for its variety of goods and also for its low prices. Prices drop, precipitously as closing time approaches...there is occasionally a relationship between price and quality, so buyer beware!
After the market I decided to walk home. No time like the present to get lost in Jerusalem. The streets are windy and hilly so the consequences of a wrong turn can, truly, be punishing. Gratefully, when I asked for directions folks were obliging (and honest) and mostly answered in English. Occasionally people answer in Hebrew (on the west side) or Arabic (on the east side) and helpfully gesture as they describe in detail the path to follow.
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| Emek Refaim 6, Jerusalem |
The house across the street
And the closest corner store in my neighbourhood
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| Emek Refaim at Lloyd George |
After Shabbat it was back to the university on Sunday morning for two days before the campus and all of Israel goes on vacation. Today, Tuesday is the eve of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) which begins at sunset (16:52 here, marked by the siren) and the 25 hour fast begins. More on that in my next post.
So on Sunday I went to the Old City (for the first time since I've been here). I was with SFU Rob (my new postdoc friend) who really wanted to see if we could get to Al Aqsa, and if we couldn't get it, at least find out when we could visit. We weren't getting in on Sunday, although I had a long skirt on I didn't have any head covering; SFU Rob had shorts on! But, we weren't even getting to the door of Al Aqsa. Entering through Damascus Gate it's a straight shot to the middle of the Old City (at the edge of the Muslim Quarter, before you find yourself in the Jewish Quarter) where you turn left and head east. Only, our entry was blocked by a gate, a couple of large Israeli policemen, and a few IDF for good measure. C-L-O-S-E-D. Questions about when it might be open were not answered. Aborting our mission we continued on toward the entrance to the Western Wall, but before we reached the Jewish Quarter we passed more police. Later I read in Haaretz that
A woman from East Jerusalem attempted to stab an Israeli police officer on Sunday, in what police believe was a response to an anti-Islam film that has angered the Muslim world.After that action we found thought we'd found sanctuary in the Christ Church courtyard (near Jaffa Gate), which on my last visit had seemed rather peaceful and a good place to decide where to next. But on Sunday, our sanctuary was interrupted by a proselytizing chretien francais who assured us "Le Seigneur" dwells in him. And, he helpfully provided us with details of the next services at the church, in French and English.
Just before leaving the Old City, I saw...
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| Rental bikes in the Old City |
Monday, Amit took me on a tour of the botanical garden on campus. The gardens are pretty fantastic and definitely bring out my inner botanist. We chewed carob pods that we picked off the tree, Ceratonia siliqua. Fresh carob is actually a whole lot tastier than I ever imagined it would be. And, fun fact for the geeks in the crowd, the carob seed is an old Mediterranean unit to measure weight that we now know as the "carat".
Also fun on Monday was my first trip to Mahane Yehuda the shuk (market) where there is no shortage of action. Mostly the market sells fruit and veg and a few butchers and fishmongers. It is one busy place and it is necessary to assert yourself in line if you ever want to be served - there is no queuing up in some sort of order. The market is known for its variety of goods and also for its low prices. Prices drop, precipitously as closing time approaches...there is occasionally a relationship between price and quality, so buyer beware!
After the market I decided to walk home. No time like the present to get lost in Jerusalem. The streets are windy and hilly so the consequences of a wrong turn can, truly, be punishing. Gratefully, when I asked for directions folks were obliging (and honest) and mostly answered in English. Occasionally people answer in Hebrew (on the west side) or Arabic (on the east side) and helpfully gesture as they describe in detail the path to follow.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Finding a home
As I sat down to write this blog entry, Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe" came on the Israeli Radio station that's playing in my new home; I'm enjoying listening to the 20 year old girl in the house sing along to the chorus.
Apologies for the lack of news -- I've been busy!
Wednesday I checked out two places to live and made a decision to stay in the city and not in the campus residences that are reportedly small and too isolated.
Thursday I got a SIM card -- having a mobile phone is key to building a social life! Then I headed up to the Mt Scopus campus (think SFU Burnaby) on the 4A bus. This is a terrible bus route. It goes through the city centre (downtown) like every other bus (it seems) and then it takes a wide sweep to the west winding through several neighbourhoods and finally coming at the university from the north. (This would be something like riding the BLine to UBC from Granville and Broadway east along Broadway to Cambie then south to 16th, west on 16th until Macdonald where the bus would head south to 41st before heading west again to campus - Ridiculous.) Fortunately, I've learned a new route that requires switching buses downtown.
Also on Thursday, I did a ton of administrative stuff, including registering as a "postdoc" (maybe; they might just register me as a student, it seems they don't get many postdocs) and getting a bank account. Absolutely indispensible to getting all this done was (and will be, I'm sure) my new colleague, Amit, a PhD student in Geography. Since both of my supervisors are out of town, Amit is stuck with the heavy lifting of helping me get into the "system". Hilariously, the forms for post-doc "registration in the system" are all in Hebrew: Amit filled out all the forms. I am illiterate and helpless.
There are just two days of work this week before Yom Kippur (Tuesday and Wednesday) and then Sukkot (which shuts down the university from Thursday, reopening on October 9). Despite this large chunk of holidays, I'm told it's good that I arrived when I did as it will take a while to get me into the system and avoiding the crunch of the beginning of term means I stand a good chance of getting paid by November 1! (Based on my experience, North America is a bit odd in paying folks bimonthly (in its twice a month sense), it seems far more standard to pay monthly.)
And, finally, to cap off a giant day, I moved into my new home on Thursday. I am living at Emek Refaim 6 in the German Colony (just in case you want a google street view while you impatiently wait for me to post photos) in a giant old stone house built by German Templars in the 1870s. The German Colony is a lovely walkable neighbourhood that Israelis say should actually be called the American Colony. It's a popular place for those who make aliyah (take up Israeli citizenship) and it's common to hear English spoken. Yay!! It makes me feel less helpless!
I found this about the house I'm living in (http://www.tiuli.com/track_info.asp?lng=eng&track_id=132)
The Miller house – 6 Emek Refaim StreetIf an agricultural German colony could have existed here, then certainly the place of a miller was very important as well. The house of the miller, Mathaus Frank Ebenezer, was the first house to be built in the Colony. The inscription on the lintel says in German “Ebenezer”, which refers to the battles of the Israelites with the Philistine people. Being devoted to their religion, the Templars used to etch religious verses on the front of their houses that harbingered the redemption by the Lord.Just like today, most Jerusalemites didn't swim; the first private pool in Jerusalem was built in the garden of the house. It was here where the children of the neighborhood came to have fun and learnt to swim. Frank made a living from a steam flourmill of which remnants can be still seen on the western side of the house.Many of the Templar families used to employ Arab servants who lived in the cellar next to the water cistern.
I live in the back of the house -- 4 bedrooms, a living area and large kitchen, and great patio for sitting, reading, eating -- with the Amir family. (I need to ask about the meaning of Amir in Hebrew, they are Israeli.) There are 4 of them -- Hedda (Mom), Sivan (daughter, doing law articles in Jerusalem, living in Haifa with husband on the weekends), Yonathan (son, off to the Tech Institute in Haifa to start his Bachelor's next month), and Yarden (daughter, currently doing her service at a Palestinian-Israeli radio station, but on vacation as of tonight when she flies to Barcelona to do a Flamenco dancing intensive). Oh, and Tina (the dog) who barks at nearly everyone on first sighting of the day. The house is busy: someone is always coming and going. My room is quite lovely with two windows and a vaulted ceiling. The bed is cozy and I have a desk to work at.
Friday is an important day in the life of a Jerusalemite -- you need to get all your errands done before 3 pm when the shops close and buses stop running for Shabbat until after sundown (about 8pm) on Saturday. The Jewish day starts at sundown, thus the sabbath does too. My Friday started with coffee at the Coffee Mill on Emek Refaim where I experienced what I'm sure I'll come to view as standard Israeli interactions. I waited for what seemed like forever to be acknowledged by the wait staff. Then after I had a menu I waited for another eternity to have my order taken. Then my coffee and muffin came quickly. I asked the waitress if I could get a water and she pointed to the self-service cooler. Before I knew it the guy sitting next to me, who had overheard my request, came back from the cooler with two cups of water - one for him and one for me.
Now fortified, I walked to the mall where the big grocery store is. Having just moved in, I needed staples -- rice, lentils, nuts and seeds, bread, etc. Before the groceries, I window shopped for shoes and stopped in the Office Depot to get a notebook for work. After sifting through the many stacks and asking for help, it became obvious other than children's notebooks for learning cursive, none of the notebooks are designed for writing English (or any other left to right language): I'd have to take a Hebrew notebook and use it upside-down.
Then, into the basement for groceries...and the beginning of the real fun. It turns out most products in Israel have very limited English (or other language) labelling. This means you really need to either look at the pictures on the label (a skill I have need to work on) or ask for help. I mostly made my own choices, except in the dairy section where it proved impossible to tell the difference between yogurt and sour cream and I asked a fellow shopper for help. Clearly, I do need to look more closely at the label pictures because I bought what I thought was a jar of plain tahini - completely overlooking the large sprig of dill on the label...making it not breakfast tahini as I had hoped. No spreading that on your pita with tea. Ick. True to form I bought enough groceries to turn myself into a pack mule; fortunately the bus stop was nearby.
Before dinner I met up with a friend of a friend of a friend, Yaniv, a local who grew up here. We met at a cafe-cinema nearby that I've decided may become my favourite hangout. The cafe has a great vibe, sells used books (sadly doesn't buy them), and shows arthouse movies. Best part -- it's open on Shabbat!! Yaniv gave me several suggestions for things to see and do in Jerusalem and a bit more cultural insight.
Today I walked the Milton Path through the German Colony. The city has converted the old Ottoman railway track into a recreational path. It has space for walkers and bikers and attracts them in droves. This may be the place to be on Shabbat morning - old ladies with walkers, men with strollers, couples of all ages, and children galore. I think it would make a great rollerblading route...
Bike report
The more folks I ask about biking in Jerusalem, the more confusing it gets. I have run out of fingers and toes to count the number of cyclists I have seen on the road (or sidewalk) with or without helmets making their way through Jerusalem (especially in the neighbourhoods of Baka, Katamon, and the German Colony), including families with children. Biking to Mt Scopus however, is considered a death wish. There might be the distinction. You can commute short distances in neighbourhoods that are expecting to see bikes. Outside of those, forget about it. Today on the Milton Path I saw what might be described as a peloton of mountain bikers, some decked out in partial armour. I have no idea where they were going or coming from.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Starting a journey
This blog called "Is there biking in Jerusalem" because among other things, I want to know: Can you commute by bike in Jerusalem?
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| Dome of the Rock from rooftop in the Old City (May 2012) |
Getting Here
I arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport at about noon local time, having flown from Vancouver to Toronto with a short layover and then Toronto to Tel Aviv. That's about 20 hours after I left Vancouver. Not bad for covering some 10000 kms.The day started early, just after 5 am when I got up to shower, eat, and briefly reflect on whether I had packed the right stuff before shrugging and deciding that I wouldn't be able to figure that out until I arrived in Israel.
Mom and Dad drove me to the airport. Check in was easy, until the baggage drop off when one of my suitcases weighed in at two kilos overweight!! Repacking was required. I was blaming my Blundstone boots -- a last minute addition on Sunday night -- when it became clear it was actually the books I'd packed that were putting me overweight. Big surprise!
Arriving in Israel is punctuated by rushing imposed by security requirements. First, it's the last minute rush to the loo. With about an hour to go before landing the crew announces that at 30 minutes out of Ben Gurion International (Tel Aviv) all passengers must be in their seats. Israeli air space permits no passenger movement. (This seems to apply somewhat to flight crew as they get rather scarce toward the end of the flight...or maybe they are simply exhausted from the 11 hour flight and are grateful to sit down knowing they need not respond to those little bright lights of demand.) Second, it's the rush to get in line at passport control. Today I had an extra passport control as I was stopped randomly en route from deplaning to passport control. The kind, but serious, officer quizzed me about my purpose for being in Israel and where I would stay. At passport control I chose a slow line, but having a visa for my stay seemed to smooth the process. (Maybe all that waiting for the passport was worthwhile?)
At last, with fingers crossed, I proceeded to the baggage carousel. All that time in line meant that the baggage was already out so I would know immediately if my luggage were there. I have had a long standing theory that if an airline sees on your itinerary that you will be at the destination longer than a week or two, they will displace your luggage to another flight if they need to create extra space. Maybe now that you have to pay (on Air Canada, at least) for a second bag, they wouldn't dare delay delivery. Or, the fact that the flight was not full (it being Rosh Hashanah), maybe there was no need for luggage juggling. Whatever, happily, I have my baggage.
Finally, I had to find the Nesher shuttle to Jerusalem - the most affordable way to get to the city (about $15). The shuttle is a 10-passenger minivan that once filled up drives to Jerusalem and stops at the hotels requested by passengers. This means if you get there first and have heavy luggage (me!) you will likely be near to the last to be dropped off (okay, third from last today). I'm staying in Bakah, south west of the Old City, near the German Colony.
Settling In
It turns out that a friend of a friend, who is a recent SFU PhD and also a postdoc at HUJI, is staying in the same neighbourhood so we met up for dinner. He's been here for a week so I am getting all the tips I can for errand running including getting a SIM card for my phone. Tomorrow I'll be viewing potential apartments and rooms, hopefully finding a home, and hopefully getting my phone working.Bike Report
So, it seems there are some bike paths. From the Shuttle I saw pathways on Mt. Scopus (by the University) today. While out for dinner tonight, I saw bike pathways in the German Colony. And, I saw three people rollerblading (!!!) in the German Colony and several runners. The Vancouverite in me smiled.
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