Back in Montevideo...

Things learned in Argentina:

1) I really, really hate cigarette smoke. Especially in confined spaces... my body can't handle it. Lesson learned.

2) Walking looking down prevents you from seeing beautiful architecture; having your eyes up puts you at risk to step in dog shit. There's a lot of it.

3) "C" on a faucet does not stand for "cold."

4) A watch would be a really sound investment...

5) 65F warrants a sweater, winter jacket, scarf and boots... (no joke!)

Really, though, Buenos Aires is a great city, and I barely made a dent in it. It's HUGE. I met some wonderful people -- my third CouchSurfing host was an angel in so many ways, wish there was more time to get to know each other.. I suppose that's what the internet is for -- and had some wonderful experiences.

The city is buzzing with excitement for the Bicentennial (tomorrow), and there have been concerts and celebrations all week long. It was a good time to be in BA. Lots of craziness. Lots of fun.

And, surprise surprise, my bad travel luck continued: there were horrible storms last night that shut down the airport, canceling my flight. I already knew I could go back to my last host's apartment, but the cabs all said roads were closed... no one would take me. What did I do? Shared a cab with another traveler to his parents' building, where he had his car. HE drove me home. (No, the roads weren't flooded... thanks, cabbies.) And my flight this morning? Delays... of course.

A couple and their daughter who were on my original flight to Montevideo were in the security line ahead of me. They recognized me (or thought they did... I confirmed... not THAT many Chabadniks floating around!), and we had a nice conversation... a lot in Hebrew!

And now? Finally made it back to Uruguay after delays and a deceitful cab driver, where I will have a week with dear Tehila. Apparently the Israeli soccer team is here on Wednesday, and we (me, Tehila, and the rest of the shlichim) are all going!

Hasta luego, amigos.

Lo habla Español...

... and boy does that make travel in South America, erm, difficult. Had I not spent the past year so tunnel-focused on Hebrew, I would've made sure to be in better shape. Doing my best...

After having to spend the night in the Philadelphia airport on my way back to NY from Cincinnati, I had a feeling that my luck wasn't going to change too much on my way to South America. I left my sister's apartment on Sunday afternoon to head to the airport, waited 20 minutes for an A train: Lefferts Boulevard. Took it as far as I could and got out to wait for the right train. Lefferts. Another Lefferts. And finally Far Rockaway -- JFK. Crisis averted... until arrival in Sao Paolo. Connection missed. Great. No food. NOTHING in the airport without meat. Literally nothing. Seven hours to kill until the next possible connection. No computer, no way to reach my friend to let her know I'd be showing up really late. (Finally had to make a credit card call to the States and have my mom email her... who knows how much THAT will cost?) Finally arrive in Montevideo, my ATM card doesn't work, I'd called twice to give my travel dates. So... can't get money. Find a cab that will take US$ as payment. Have I mentioned that I haven't eaten since breakfast?! I was, luckily, the first drop-off from the shared cab (a Uruguayan sherut!)...

And it was all worth it to make it to the top of the stairs to Tehila running out from her doorway. There was a welcome sign (b'Ivrit, of course!) on the door, good food (Tehila's dad brought her mom's homemade blintzes all the way from Israel! Toda raba, Ima Abramson!), and better company. Before the night was out, a song had been written for me, my clothes were used for dressing up (not by one of the ladies, mind you), and I was told that my Hebrew was ¨metzuyenet¨(excellent). I'll take it!

Anyway, it was a brief stay in Montevideo. I continued to Buenos Aires the next morning, and here I've been ever since. I'm Couchsurfing (surprise, surprise), currently at my second host's apartment, and will have one more host before I leave. The first apartment was home to two Australian guys and one Swiss girl here studying Spanish. The second is home to a theatre and film producer and two cats. So, what have I done in two days?

- had a mate tea party

- witnessed a host having his hair cut in the kitchen by a friend

- ended up at a massive Shavuot dinner and tikkun, where of course I ended up knowing someone and being one degree of separation away from 4 others...

- continued on to another tikkun... until 430am...

- had an amazing lunch at an all-you-can-eat vegetarian restaurant, followed by a really yummy siesta in a park, in the sun

- walked 6 or 7 miles in a day, including to and through an old cemetery here (apparently I missed the memo that Eva Peron was buried there... I walked past a grave with piles of rotting flowers in front... probably the one. Ha!), to photograph

- had really tasty Argentinian ice cream (though not as good as Graeters)

- went to a Latin jazz concert until 5am

And now I'm here, writing, taking a break from the wandering. I'm not really in a museums-and-regular-tourist-sites mood right now. And, admittedly, I'm a bit beat from two extremely late nights in a row... so, it might be time to venture to the balcony and observe the street life below.

(Pictures to be added... eventually...)

Hasta luego!

שלום, mi amiga!

After a rather tumultuous trip back to NY (missed a connecting flight, the last of the night, had to spend the night in the airport---it was grand) and a brief two days here, I'm heading to Uruguay and Argentina tomorrow. Figured I'd throw in a trip to the southern hemisphere before heading to Israel for the year. I mean, why not? A dear friend is there for the year, and I promised to visit. So... visit I will!

I'll arrive in Buenos Aires just in time for Shavuot and the city's bicentennial. It should be a rather festive time, I'd imagine... not that Argentinians like to party or anything. ;-) A week there, a week in Montevideo, and back to NYC. And one month from today? I'll be in Jerusalem.

The thought gives me chills. I'm happy, sad, excited, a bit scared, eager, overwhelmed at moments, extremely calm at others. I always have some trepidation before entering long-term group situations, worries about how everyone will fit together... worries that always resolve themselves, of course. They are there, regardless. But it's also a point of real excitement---these are future colleagues and, inevitably, friends. (And of course I'm beyond excited to see my Israeli friends again!) There's little better in this world than getting to know new people...

Last night in New York...

... at least as an official resident. Driving to Ohio in the morning, car literally packed to the brim. I'll be back before heading to Israel, surely, but... this is it. The journey begins.

Gratitude

My life is being packed into boxes. In my past, this has been something that causes me great stress. This time? I'm oddly calm. What can I live without for a year? Just about everything I own, really. Most of my books, most of my sheet music (thank you International Music Score Library!), most of my clothes, my furniture... traveling last summer for weeks at a time with only the belongings that could fit in my hiking day-pack, material possessions became so unimportant. Sure, I have my moments. And then I remember, I did not need this "stuff" weighing me down then --- quite literally, hiking around --- and I don't need it now.

But there are parts of my life that I cannot so easily pack into boxes, to safely store away for a year. Friends. Family... my communities. I am beyond overwhelmed to have the opportunity to spend a year with my chevre in Israel. I am also sad to leave my friends here, people who have been amazing lights on my journey over many years, and in many ways. But the group that has been around through this past year, supporting me through so much? You, my friends, know who you are. And I will miss your presence dearly.

A friend taught me a Hebrew word a few months ago (אם אתה קורא את זה, תודה רבה. תמיד. אבל, אני חושבת אתה יודע. ונדבר, כמובן.), during a conversation about life being overwhelming -- often, but especially so for each of us, in our own ways, at that time. It has been the mantra that I've come back to in my moments of stress and fleeting sadness. תזרום, teezrom (well, it takes various other forms it takes depending on who is being addressed...), flow. The verb shares a root with זרם, zerem, stream. Yes, Hebrew is usually pretty logical like that. It's the Hebrew equivalent of "Go with the flow," and that's what I'm trying to do. Everything flows, it will keep flowing. These things pass; they aren't static. Just like I wrote back in August, "... the waves keep coming in..." and coming, and coming, and...

And really, what I feel most of all is gratitude... simple gratitude. To those who are lights in my life, and to those who allow me to be a light in their lives. Thank you. So much.

It's surreal...

Next year in Jerusalem... not even next year, really. This year. Two months from now!

So, it's not new news at this point, but I was accepted to cantorial school, and yes, I will be moving to Jerusalem in June. The thought of leaving didn't really faze me at all until today. I officially posted my room on Craigslist. I've started packing all of the stuff that will be sent back to Ohio at the end of the month, eight years of my life in boxes. I keep catching glimpses of Lower Manhattan from my bedroom window. I'm moving. In a few weeks. For the first time in my adult life, New York will not be my home. Until last year, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. New York was it.

But to call Jerusalem home? That will be pretty amazing. I already have an apartment: it's a 1BR, has a piano (!!!!!) and two balconies, is a two-three minute walk to school, around the corner from one dear friend, and is within a five-ten minute walk of three others. Friends from New York, friends from Livnot, and friends from my travels after Livnot last summer all live in Jerusalem. I'll have the built-in social network of my HUC Year-In-Israel cohort, but I also have a really solid group of friends there already. I shouldn't be wanting for company, that's for sure... at least not on those rare occasions that I will have time to do something other than study!

So, between now and the end of April? I pack. I get all of my books together. I figure out how the hell I am going to get everything to Israel -- including my violin and one of my guitars, both of which I want, and neither of which I am willing to check as baggage on a plane. Get all sorts of registration/administrative stuff out of the way. Arrange for my student visa. See friends. See them again... Try and stay on solid ground amidst the whirlwind...

My mom is coming up at the end of the month, both for her birthday and to drive me and my stuff to Cincinnati. I will spend a couple weeks in Ohio seeing family and friends. Back to NY for a couple days on my way to Uruguay to visit my dear, dear Tehila. New York for a week or two... then Israel, home for a year.

Come visit... הדירה שלי היא הדירה שלכם. "My apartment is your apartment." You're always welcome...

"It's been a while since I've seen you...

... so, how have you been?"

Changes are a'brewin' here. It's been an eventful fall, to say the least. Many times, I thought to write. Many times, I... didn't. I have spent the past few months learning Hebrew full-time to prepare for an important exam as part of my application for admission to cantorial school. I had been thinking about applying for awhile and made the decision at the end of October to apply for next year. Originally I thought I'd study for a few years first (so much Hebrew to learn!), but so many things fell into place over the summer and in the beginning of the fall --- personally, professionally, spiritually. The right time feels like now, not a few years from now. I took my Hebrew exam yesterday, and I feel quite confident about how I did, especially considering that I couldn't even read Hebrew when I returned from Israel this fall. Tomorrow is my audition and interview... and then I wait for a decision. It's all a bit surreal, really. If I am accepted, I'll be back in Israel in June or July, and will be there for a year. I should know, hopefully, by Pesach.

לשנה הבאה בירושלים?

It would be... amazing... beyond words...

More to come. But for now, I need to get things together for tomorrow. I leave you with a quote:

"Man's task in the world, according to Judaism, is to transform fate into destiny; a passive existence into an active existence; an existence of compulsion, perplexity and muteness into an existence replete with a powerful will, with resourcefulness, daring, and imagination."

The Rav, Kol Dodi Dofek

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