L'Chaim!

It occurred to me that my blog has talked a lot about my sightseeing adventures, but comparatively little about student life and all the cool people I've met! So here is a post dedicated to my life abroad (appropriately titled: L'Chaim!).

Below is a picture of the Jewish shuq, the (mostly) outdoor market near the center of downtown Jerusalem. The shuq has hitherto been my major vendor of groceries--fresh strawberries, amazing olives, and chicken--but more importantly, rugelach. Rugelach is Judaism's gift to the world (second only to monotheism)--a croissant-like pastry into which chocolate (or sometimes cinnamon or caramel) has been folded. Each time I buy rugelach, I intend to take a picture, but I don't have the self-restraint.



One downside to the shuq is that I am so obviously American that nobody will bother bartering with me. Another is that, like everything else, the shuq is closed on Shabbat. Last Friday, I made it to the shuq during the closing hours, and bought challah for the grossly-discounted price of one shekel (about 30 cents). I also saw the rabbis going up and down the alleys of the shuq blowing into rams horns, signaling that Shabbat is about to begin.

This weekend, myself and a few other non-Jews (who did not feel up to finding a legitimate Shabbat dinner) made our own Gentile Shabbat meal with purchases from the shuq. Here's the finished product--lemon pepper chicken in white wine, with sauteed vegetables, challah, and wine. This is also my dining room.



Here is my roommate, (Israeli) Alex, helping with the cooking. I'm posting this because I know he has read my blog!



This weekend, I met up with a family friend named Ambika. Ambika is my mom's customer at PostNet, and my sister Riley also interned with her. She is in Jerusalem for several weeks writing a book, and we decided to meet up to explore the Old City. Here is a picture of the two of us in an icon shop.



Below are a couple of pictures of some (though certainly not all!) of my new friends, starting with the ones who attended Gentile Shabbat dinner. The first picture is me and my friend Zach at a bar in Jerusalem. (Don't worry, parents, I only had two in four hours.) Zach and I hear a lot of "suite life" jokes after the Disney Channel series. The second picture is me with Andrea and Shiri at the Western Wall... our other friend, Dana, is not pictured because she took the photo.





This last picture is me near the Holy Sepulcher with Miruna and Mara, with whom I first explored the Old City (our friend Vicky is behind the camera).