Goodbye BA, Hello Patagonia!

Well if the first couple days of my time here in Argentina were slow-going, the past couple of days have been turbo-jet speed! 

Shabbat in Buenos Aires was nice.  I met a nice young Israeli guy in my hostel on Friday and invited him to come with me.  That turned out to be good for me because it gave me someone to hang out with and talk too.  I was the only non-Israeli born person there and the people were traveling in pretty closed packs.  I don’t want to say that they were specifically unfriendly, but they were not specifically friendly.  Anyway, it was relaxing and nice and good to have some real food!  Shabbat day brought a visit to one of the other Chabad houses in BA that caters to the wealthy local community.  When I got to the backpacker Chabad in the morning, the Rabbi was waiting outside for someone to wake up inside and unlock the door!  Because no one was waking up, we (the two of us and another local older man who came) walked the 35 minutes to the other location to join a minyan and here the Torah reading for Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh.  Despite out arriving shortly after 12pm, they had just started!  I was happy for the opportunity to see another part of the city that I hadn’t yet seen and to experience the local community. 

Sunday morning I jumped on a boat to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay for the day.  I met a lovely young American couple at the port station.  It was basically my first time speaking English since I got here!   The ride was just over an hour long.  After going through customs on the other side, I went on a brief yet wonderful and informative walking tour through the small town with a charming local guide named Fabian.  He explained to use a lot about the city and Uruguay in general.  In truth I’m sorry that I didn’t plan to spend more time in Uruguay because it was just lovely!  But I was happy to have the taste that I did.  Colonia is a UNESCO site since 1995 so since then everything has been preserved as is.  There is one traffic light in the whole city.  It is a quanit and sweet little place.  Traffic accidents that happen there are only with motorbikes and the many dogs that run around the place.  The dogs don’t have any problems with the people, but they run after and bark at all the motorbikes and cars!  The crime rate is Colonia is almost non-existent and only slightly higher in the rest or Uruguay.  The human population of Uruguay is outnumbered 4:1 by cows and 50% of the population lives in Montevideo, the capital.  Education is free in the country (even for non-Uruguayans) and surprisingly the public education is better than the private education.  Every student gets a laptop free from the government.  Colonia is a mix of Spanish and Portuguese influence.  Many streets are made of cobblestone.  Half of them are Spanish style, rounded in the middle so that rain trickles off to the side.  The Spanish style houses also have flat roofs made of brick or stone or wood.  The Portuguese streets go down in the middle so that when it rains people can walk on the sides and the rain goes down the middle, and the Spanish style houses have slanted tiled roofs.  It’s a beautiful mix to be seen around the town.  There is also a lighthouse that is no longer in use (despite its being a port city, all the boats now have GPS and there is no need for a lighthouse) but it provides a really lovely panoramic view of the city, and on a good day you can even see the tall building of Buenos Aires!  This little trip was one of the highlights so far!

That evening I returned to Buenos Aires and popped back to the hostel before catching a bus to my next destination.  Buenos Aires was a nice large city.  It was OK to be there but I was happy to move on.  There were A LOT of Israelis.  The city has one of the best public transportation systems I have ever seen and also incredibly inexpensive.  Getting around as well as to and from is quite simple. 

I then took a 18 hour bus ride down the eastern coast to a beautiful port city called Puerto Madryn.  The ride was actually fantastic.  The seats are first class and you have the option of “Cama” and “Semicama” which are the difference of lying all the way down or most of the way down.  I got the semicama, and its hard to understand how the Cama would be much better because it was like sleeping on a bed.  And sleep I did – for about 12 hours!  I think I was worn out and tired (and a little sunburned) from walking around Colonia all day so it was easy to rest.  They also play music and show movies.  I saw the same Disney Channel movie called “Cloud 9” about snowboarding, twice, and by the end I think I understood most of it… I think. 

Puerto Madryn is my first taste of Patagonia which has absolutely beautiful landscapes.  Over the course of my time here I have had the pleasure of seeing some of those.  I’m staying in a fantastic Hosteling International Hostel called El Gualicho.  It is clean, spacious and top quality with friendly and very helpful staff.  There has also been a great mix of people staying here so I’ve met some cool people from around the world.  My first night here brought my first group drinking experience of this trip.  There is a cool outdoor common area where a bunch of us had some beers, got to know each other, played a fun drinking game (5’s… “I would like to propose a lovely game of fives…”) and shared some laughs.  These are some of the fun memories I have from the first time I did a trip like this.  Anyway, on Tuesday I took a day trip out to Peninsula Valdes with 2 other females and another incredible local guide.  One girl only spoke Spanish and I only spoke English and he did a fantastic job of explaining everything in both languages.  The dual explanations also really helped with my comprehension of Spanish! Peninsula Valdes is another UNESCO site with amazing wildlife and views.  Over the course of the day we saw penguins, sea lions and Elephant seals and these Llama-like Guanaco running all over the place.  At one point we even saw an Armadillo running around!  The beaches we visited were beautiful and the weather was cool and lovely with some sun, and at some points we even experienced what Daniel our guide called a miracle for this season – Rain.  During the right season Whales can also be seen but we weren’t fortunate enough to catch a glimpse.  I also became really friendly with the other girl who speaks 5 languages (I’m able to communicate with her and shes been helping me as a translator as well!) and we’ve been hanging out ever since and will be traveling to our next destination together as well.  Yesterday morning we went to the bus station to book our bus to Bariloche for tonight.  We then went to the beach where we rented a double Kayak and spent a wonderful hour paddling through the water followed by a dry-off in the heat of the sun on the beach.  I then rented a bike and took a nice long bike ride (about an hour and a half) 17kilometers south of Puerto Madryn to Puerto Loma to see some more Sea Lions coming up to shore at low-tide.  The bike ride was really nice with gorgeous views, but after the first 4 kilometers about, the rest of the ride is on a dirt and often stone filled road since they are re-doing the roads.  A lot of it was slightly uphill as well which added to the challenge.  It was a bit difficult but a cool experience!  The view at the end was also gorgeous and seeing some more sea lions was cool.  The ride back was quite a bit easier (another 17 kilometers back, but more downhill so it only took a bit over an hour) but its been a long time since I’ve been on a bike and to put it nicely, my backside is quite sore.  I got back into town about an hour before sunset so the views over the water were just incredible.  I saw loads of people who drover out to a lookout point just stopping to watch the sun go down.  Needless to say I was pretty physically exhausted and last nights quite dinner and chill out with my new friend were a great way to end the day.  

Unlike almost anywhere else in Argentina, you can actually drink the water here (although I wish I found that out before buying my usual 6 litre water bottle upon arrival).  They don’t have a local water source so they have it brought in from a relatively nearby lake and so it is fresh, clean and cool.  But because water is relatively scarce here, there is no locally grown produce which means the fruits and veggies here are slim pickins’ and also pretty expensive.  Beef, like in most of Argentina is the food of choice here because it is plentiful and cheap.  Puerto Madryn exposrts Aluminum all over the world and Peninsula Valdes actually exports sea salt. Puerto Madryn has been great.  Today I’m taking it easy, walking around the town and experiencing more of the local.  

I’m having a wonderful time and looking forward to the next experiences.  I’m meeting great people which is always nice and excited to be exploring a new place in the world. 

Until the next time, ciao! 

A first taste of Buenos Aires

So now the journy really began!

I flew out of JFK airport Tuesday night.  It was such a weird feeling.... I've been planning this trip (at least mentally) for a quite a while now.  There was almost a giddy aspect to it - like, wow, I'm at the airport now because I'm flying out to start this 3 month trip.  I think I giggled when I left the car.  The flight itself wasn't amazing.  Firstly the entertainment system wasn't working.  They let us know before we got on the plane so that we could buy magazines it we wanted to.  The truth is that I've been suffering from what I think are allergies for almost a week now and that didn't help with getting over jetlag from coming from Israel.... so I slept.  I'm surprisingly not a great plane-sleeper even though I seem to easily fall asleep basically everywhere else.  But because I wasn't tempted to watch a TV that didn't provide a service, I at least tried to sleep the whole flight.  We were also delayed by over an hour because of the super heavy winds plaguing New York which even shut down altogether one of the takeoff runways.  The captain warned us it would be a bumpy takeoff - and it was.  I don't get scared from flying usually but we were shaking around the cabin so heavily that it was pretty unsettling.  But thank Gd I arrived safely and in one piece so that's that.

ARCHENTINA... I don't actually know if that is how they pronounce it here, but I pretend that it's like that.  Arriving, when you look out the window you see a tremendous amount of green. The airport seems to have been built on this green field with added concrete, because it is just surrounded by a lot of green.  It's also beautiful weather here right now.  Actually a bit hot for my liking (its been about 85 + but not too humid so at least its pleasant in the shade.  Getting through customs and baggage claim wasn't a problem.  Most of us from the flight seemed to wait quite a while for our bags.  I actually had the thought of what would happen if my bag didn't come?  Thank Gd I didn't have to worry about that because I did in fact get my bag.

Getting out of the airport - I consulted Lonely Planet and my friends Lauren and Lavi who traveled here a year ago as to how to get into town.  The book mentions that there are more expensive buses and shuttles that go from the airport into town, but for "penny pinchers" there is a local bus that costs only a few pesos but takes a bit longer.  L and L took the local bus so after I asked one of the bus companies how much it would be to take the private bus and received a very expensive answer, I opted for the local bus as well.  I wasn't really sure where to go so I started walking around and asked one woman who spoke English and she was very helpful.  I also knew that I needed coins and not bills for the bus so I asked her if she could make some change for me, and right off the bat she just offered me the change that she had.  I of course gave her the bill equivalent but that was my first exposure to local hospitality and friendliness.  When I got to the bus and went to hand the driver the money, he kind of just waved me on through and I didn't pay.  In retrospect it could have been that I was meant to pay behind him through a machine, but I didn't understand that at the time if that was the intention... woops.  I knew the bus was supposed to take between an hour and a half to two hours to get into town, but where was "in town"?  And where exactly did I want to go?  No clue.... At the hour and 15 minute mark I kind of found where we were on the map, also with a chuckle because in my real life would I ever do that?  Just kind of assume I'll figure it out and not really know what I was doing?  Maybe, but I'm not so sure... Anyway, even though I thought we were on the correct road, the bus suddenly turned and I wasn't sure where we were anymore and thought maybe we had passed my stop.  I "asked" someone on the bus who really didn't speak English (many people here don't) and she kind of indicated that we did in fact pass it.  So I got off the bus at the next stop.  I then stopped someone else on the street who did speak English (what luck!) and he ended up being the sweetest man!  Originally from Uruguay, he just wanted to be hospitable.  He let me know that I was quite far from where I wanted to go and walked well out of his way to get me to the subway, pointed me in the right direction and insisted on buying me the train ticket.  So basically I got all the way from the airport to my hostel for free....

I chose a hostel that I found in Lonely Planet and was right outside the subway stop.  It was nice enough and seemed to be well located so I booked myself in.  The architecture of all the buildings in the area, including this one, is old and beautiful and very charming.  It's not modern inside but well kept (much like our apartment in Jerusalem!).  And speaking of Jerusalem, Israel is very well represented here.  Especially at this hostel.  I get to the door on the third floor and the code to the building is written out in Hebrew.  On the front desk is a travel book in Hebrew.  And the guy behind the front desk, who is originally from Meitar (Hi Reubens!) is Israeli.  When I told him I was now living in Israel the rest of our conversation turned to Hebrew.  Oh yeh, and about half the people staying here in this hostel are Israeli.  So far that's not my favorite part about this, but I'm happy to have access to that contingency should I choose to be a part of it.  It did give me some "protectsia" - Tal, from the front desk called another Israeli guy to come to the hostel to switch dollars for me into Argentinian pesos.  The official exchange rate is about 8 Pesos to the US dollar, but the black market rate that he gave me was 12.6 Pesos to the dollar.

I haven't done much since I got here as my first day was spent getting my bearings, walking around the area, buying Shampoo and conditioner and a huge Jug of water since you can't drink the tap water here, and finding the local main Chabad House, which is about a 5 minute walk away.  There are fresh fruits and vegetables in many street shops so that's good.  The Chabad house also has a kosher restaurant (Argentina is known for its kosher meat aparently) for buying real food.  I also signed up for both Shabbat meals there.  Today I walked around for many hours and I think I got sunburned - its still settling in.  Stupidly I didn't practice sun safety so tomorrow morning will bring a purchase of sunscreen.  Florida Street is a very long pedestrian street geared towards tourists and locals alike.  Lots of clothing stores, both upscale and not, and electronics and the like.  I went to the outdoor Cementerio de Recoleta which is a cemetery of important people in Aregentina's past - basically a nice large outdoor area with some statues and greenery.  I also visited the Museo de Bellas Artes which hosts a nice collection of famous fine art.  And a lot more walking around and just taking in the city.

Some things I've noted: People are really friendly, but don't really speak English.  Even when you tell them that you speak English and not Spanish, they often keep speaking in Spanish as if you understand... and weirdly enough you start to understand some of it!  Buenos Aires, Argentian's capital, is much like any big populated city.  The streets are also in a grid which makes it really easy to get around with a map.  At each corner where there is the stop and go signal that goes along with the traffic light, they only have it on one side of the street - not on both.  So even if it is OK to cross the street, you may have to look at the other side of the street to see if it is OK.  I guess it saves the city electricity?  Everyone here - and I mean everyone and their grandmother - has tattoos!  Young people, old people, middle-aged people.  They are everywhere.  On legs, arms, backs, chests and back of necks.  I can only imagine what I'm not seeing from body parts not exposed.  I obviously think it's a cool part of the culture.  

So my impression is that Buenos Aires is nice, and has the feel of a city.  I'm looking forward to shabbat at Chabad and then moving on to taste something different.  I haven't specifically found anyone to travel around with - just a few pleasant converstaions here and there.  But I'm hoping and assuming that will change soon.  In the meantime I'm trying to feel better, be well rested and enjoy my new reality :)

And the journey begins!

I’ve officially been in North America for a week.  4 movies, 3 Friends episodes, 2.5 hours of sleep and a 2 hour layover in Heathrow Airport brought me from Israel to New Jersey for the first time in almost 2 years.   I want to say it’s been nice being home but in all honesty this doesn’t feel like home.  When I made Aliyah almost 3 years ago (March 27^th will be my Aliyanaversary) I went through a bit of a mourning process.  I disconnected myself from my former life and started over new.  Part of that process was saying goodbye to here.  And for that reason, it’s been great being here – seeing family and friends – but it’s just not home. 

My apartment in Jerusalem is home.  My friends and family in Israel are home.  Hebrew is home.  This feels like a familiar, comfortable visit.  And it’s a lovely visit.  But not home.  I love the fact that this is how I’m feeling because it just reinforces how settled I feel in Israel and that is a great feeling!  It means I’ve done something right.  I’ve created a life for myself - of course with the help of my support system which is amazing – and it is that new life to which I feel more connected.  I say that with a grain of salt because many of those components of that new life are in transition now – no more school, I quit my job and I’m not sure where exactly I’ll be living a month after I get back – but I feel like I have the tools to find my way when the time comes.

So what’s next?  Tomorrow night I start my next big adventure and fly out to Buenos Aires, Argentina! It’s taken some time to get here but I’m finally feeling excited!  All the pressures and stresses of the last couple of weeks have hit me hard and it’s been difficult to feel the excitement through the other less than positive feelings.  But there’s no time like the present to start getting emotionally ready (I have a 24 hour countdown until takeoff so now would be the time….).  Since I’ve been in the States, I’ve done just a little bit of shopping, limiting my purchases just to things I need for the trip (with the exception of one skirt which I found on sale for $5 so I wasn’t going to pass that up) and I’m pretty much all ready. 

There are a number of key differences in preparing for this trip in contrast to my previous trips.  Let’s start with the bag.  On my previous trips I had this great, compact traveling backpack but it held a total of only 40 liters.  A traveler with less to carry is a happy traveler, but 40 liters is really pushing the envelope.  That really doesn’t leave very much room for anything other than bare essentials, and I ended up carrying just a bit more in an overflow bag.  I would have been better off with a bag that was just a drop bigger and allowed me to keep everything all is one place.  This time I’ve borrowed an 80 liter bag from a friend (double the space!) and that really sets a different tone.  I’m able to bring more changes of clothing!  I have products that make me feel more human, and more like a woman (mousse for my hair, nailpolish, eyeliner…. Nothing too crazy but some touches of normalcy).  I remember traveling through New Zealand in 2008 and seeing these girls with huge packs and a whole slew of dresses and one-use articles of clothing.  I thought “what the hell do you need that stuff for?!” but I’m getting more in touch with that side of my traveling self.  And the space in my bag allows for that – within reason. 

My amazing friends at my (former) job chipped in to buy me a gift certificate to a travel store in Jerusalem, and with that I purchased Shoresh sandals!  Those, and my new Israeli passports make it official - I am Israeli! People will look at me when I wear those shoes and know that I have some connection to Israel (I wonder if that will be a good thing….).  Other amazing friends bought me other travel-helpful items like a Swiss army knife, a traveling back-scratcher (those of you who know me know how important that one is!), a carabiner and a packable plastic bag water bottle that I can already imagine will make certain instances that much more comfortable and easy.  I think my former experience will be a good tool that will help me on this new journey.  I can learn from past mistakes and successes and let that guide me.  I’m also older (and maybe wiser?  More mature? Jury is still out on those) this time around and I’m sure that will come into play somehow. 

This morning I finally made a tentative outline for my first month in Argentina and I feel great about it!  Of course it really is just a tentative plan but having that kind of intention will be comforting to me so that at the very least I have a point of reference when it comes to deciding what to do and where to go.  I was reminded this morning by a friend that in these circumstances, you kind of plan maybe 2-4 days in advance at each “Stop” and take it from there.  I forgot about that mindset, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind because it works well.  You want to be open to opportunities that will come your way but if you have certain time frames you need to keep in mind or “must-sees” on your list, you can keep focused while being flexible.  I emailed the Chabad House in Cordoba which is where I plan on spending Pesach, and I already heard back from them so that also gave me peace of mind as well.  Things are coming together and it is exciting! 

So I’ll arrive in Buenos Aires (BA) Wednesday morning please Gd and I’ll stay there through the weekend.  I’m hoping to have the occasional opportunity to keep this blog up to date and hopefully send some pictures, too!  I’ll do my best to keep the link posted on Facebook when there is something new, but if you are interested in being kept up to date, just click “follow” on the blog itself and you’ll receive an email with the content of the post each time I write something new.  I’m hoping to have fun and exciting experiences that will give me good fodder for writing material.  I won’t have constant data access and will be relying on wi-fi for the occasional connection, but feel free to be in touch by whatsapp or email and if possible I will be in touch in return.  I’m sure these next 3 months are going to fly by but it will be good for me to be kept in the know as well.

Next up, Argentina!  See ya then!

It's the end of an ERA!

Wow – I just went back and read my posting from almost a year and a half ago (http://therealworldquestionmark.blogspot.co.il/2013/11/re-entering-student-hood.html) just after I started my degree at Hebrew U, and I’m so happy I put my thoughts into writing.  It’s amazing to have the perspective of “after” to be able to compare it to the “before.”  As of about a month ago I finished my class lessons.  I’m still finishing up some papers that need to be done, but other than that – doneso! It’s been an incredible ride.  I absolutely loved my classes.  It’s not that I’m specifically passionate about academia, but I found myself being enlightened by the class material.  You know it’s a good sign when you talk about what you learn about in class even when you are not in class (at least it’s a good sign for me – maybe less so than for my friends!). 

Going back to school after a 5 year academic hiatus was at first definitely challenging.  Getting myself to focus, meet deadlines, read and write A LOT, manage my time and still try to maintain some semblance of a normal life in addition to working (somewhat) professionally was not easy.  But I’m no stranger to a big work load… having been in the Jewish schooling system my whole life – even in college – prepared me for having a large course-load.  But the focus here wasn’t on the difficulties.  There were a lot of positives that came from this degree.  Firstly, my Hebrew improved tremendously.  In addition to my regular schooling, despite my having worked in an Ulpan, it was required of me to take Ulpan classes through the University.  In order to graduate one needs to pass the proficiency test in both Hebrew and English.  The English I placed out of without even asking for it (just as the Israelis do with Hebrew), but the Hebrew required my taking a placement exam followed by 3 semesters of classes, finally getting to and passing Level Vav – the dreaded Ptor Test (exemption).  I feared this test the duration of my degree.  It sat over my head always begging me to improve and find Hebrew function in every aspect of my life.  I am very pleased to say that on my birthday this year (Feb 9) I got the great present of finding out that I passed the test with flying colors!  It was a proud moment for me and I’m happy to be on the other side of it.  The Ulpan classes weren’t the only helping factors in getting my Hebrew to where it is.  I continue to use Hebrew on a daily basis and my surroundings certainly foster that.  All my classes were in Hebrew and most of my friends at the University are also Hebrew speakers.  Which brings me to the next “plus” of school... FRIENDS!!! I actually made some!  I was really nervous initially and at first I gravitated to the 2-3 other English speakers (and to this day I still very much cherish their friendship!).  But I also actually became friends with my other Hebrew speaking classmates.  Great people.  Lots of laughs.  Assistance when I needed it.  And a general smiley welcome every day I came to school.  While during my first semester I described feeling super lost and alone in the beginning weeks, by the end, I felt a little bit like a superstar walking around campus.  I know that sounds egotistical but it’s not meant that way.  I love the fact that I could walk around campus and constantly bump into people I know – new friends, from this new Israel chapter of my life.  Even some of my classmates would tell me that it’s weird that I knew more people than they did.  It gave me the feeling that I’ve been doing something right since I got to Israel because I have this whole new foundation that I’ve somehow very luckily created for myself – of course with the help of others.

I’ve also been able to get involved again with one of my passions in an official outlet – this past year I’ve been playing volleyball with the brand spankin’ new Hebrew University Girls’s volleyball team!  I LOVE IT!!! We put together a new team with fantastic girls who are like my little sisters (I’m very much the oldest on the team and the only one in a second degree program) and it gives me the opportunity to play a sport that I love in the framework of an official league (we are in the 3^rd level national league called ליגה ארצית – translated as National League appropriately enough) with a coach and uniforms and practices and competitive games.  When I came to Israel I made it my business to find volleyball outlets for myself, but being on a team, with responsibility to be there is something different and a whole new level of fun!  When we first got the team together we took a group picture after our first game and it was published in the school paper.  One day, one of my classmates who I didn’t know well at all (I don’t even know her name – we only had one class together) actually turned to me in the middle of class and asked if I was on the school team… she recognized me from the picture in the paper! So having that as part of my school experience has been a lot of fun as well.

So what happens now?  I once again find myself in the position of finishing up a particular chapter of life.  I’ve also been working at the same place since within a month of my having moved here which makes it almost 3 years… unbelievable, hey?  A few months ago I decided I would once again go explore a new-to-me part of the world and go traveling in South America.  So I planned it that after I finished school, I would quit my job and head on over to the other side of the world.  So it’s up to that point that I’ve gotten now.  Last Thursday was my last day at work (another meaningful ending – it’s always hard to say goodbye!) and next Monday I fly to NJ/NY for a week before heading to South America.  I Fly into Buenos Aires, Argentina and 3 months later I fly out of Bogota, Colombia heading back to NY/NJ for another week and finally coming back to Israel at the end of June.  What happens in between is pretty up in the air but my intended route will take me to Brazil and Peru as well.  I’m excited and of course a little nervous for this next journey but I can imagine that it will be nothing short of awesome!

Last time I went traveling I had a Facebook page to which I sent updates… but Facebook pages are sooo the first decade of the 2000’s.  This time my intention is to actually keep this blog up to date and hopefully attach some fun pictures, too!  Feel free to follow the blog for new postings and I’ll do my best to post a link to Facebook with each new one as well.  In the meantime, I still have quite a bit to get done here in this last week in Israel (Purim is coming!) but I’ll be sure to keep things updated!

Most appropriate way to end this post with a friends clip: