Shabbat Etiquette

I have said for a long time, that one day I will write a book jsut about Friday night dinners...

Basically since we are all away from our families, we gather together on friday nights for group dinners, and eat with friends instead...but, who is invited? Who is bringing what? There is a whole etiquette that goes along with these meals...

Last week has seen the parting of four good friends (two couples) returning to America because they want to be closer to their family and also for job prospect reasons...it's always hard when friends leave since you put in so much effort to make friendships...

We had our last suppers (friday night dinners) to say goodbye...and just to give you an insight into the antics, I am going to copy an email sent by one of the hostesses beofre the dinner, an insiders look into what goes on at these meals..

"If I am not mistaken you are all coming! Yay! If this is incorrect, please let me know.

We are saying 6:30. good?

address: no.30 1st floor (meaning go in the front door and up 1 flight). Please keep the front door a tad open bc it locks automatically from the inside.

If human behavior is in fact predictable, the night should go something like this:

First course will be some oogling and oggling at ben and ziggy and Shelley's newest shoes as Gila assigns seats for everyone and proposes an icebreaker for those who don't know each other. (Please come prepared with What is your favorite "Shit people say" video.) Followed by mike challenging pex to a drinking context (ariel will win). Yosef will prompt special guest star marni urman to tell us new developments in the field of the female vagina and will share the latest hippest shaving patterns. Elad will vehemently argue any point anyone makes until and after Susi tells him to fuck off. Shira will laugh at EVERYTHING as she mixes girly drinks for the chicks at the table (What can you do with Kahlua, Amarulla, mint chocolate, bailey's and lemoncello?) The parents at the table are bound to get into a descriptive discussion about their boy's poops which Elad will no doubt compare to his own. Eliane has been food coma shluffin on the sofa since some time mid-challah course and susi has started on dishes by now as well. For desert we will discuss the correct pronunciation of the word, "drawer" (hint: er is silent), Gila will reveal the correct pronunciation for her name (hint: the i is silent), and who can imitate Adina's accent best (hint: me). Mike will remind the table that in Texas woman and Mexicans are also forced to sit in the back of the bus which will prompt Marni to recite her Vagina Monologue... naked (What?!) I am attempting to make everything with consideration to Yosef's and Dave's allergies, Elad's stomach issues, and Shira's phobia of chicken on the bone (I remember!). (Dave-are you allergic to walnuts and/or almonds? If so, please bring your own dinner. Joking (mostly), but are you?) We have benched (maybe) and everyone is leaving. Yosef-hurry up and finish your food. The moment 3 stars appear in the sky sat night Shelley will post something nostalgic and witty on facebook about fri night and Eli Gurock will comment on it. Marni and Shira-Facebook is a social network which allows people who live far away from each other to maintain contact and keep updated with each other's lives...Please sign up so I can see your pretty faces!

Damn! Did I just roast you all right before I leave? LOVE YOU ALL! Tal Bagels brunch tomorrow ? Just Kidding!

<3 Talia"

Gonna miss them....

Challenge

A friend who used to live in Israel, came back for a visit...
We sat down, and I asked him if he missed Israel?
He said that coming back has made him realise all the reasons why he left and that he made the right decision to go back to New York...all the little things like lack of customer service and that everything here is a challenge, a struggle and he jsut wants everythign to work the way it's supposed to. Not that his life is any picnic, he is doing a Masters and running a restaurant or two which comes with its own set of ordeals...

I thought about it for a while...am I an idiot for staying, the way he describes it, it makes me think twice...why am I still here, why struggle in another language, and try to break barriers that don't even exist in Australia...

I thought about it...and...I guess those are exactly the reasons why I stay and why I am proud whenever I do achieve something, because I could do all the exact same things in Australia, but isn't it cool that I am doing them in Israel instead...that is the challenge, that is the dream...

Shit Jewish Girls Say

First of all, my entry for last goes like this...

My Dog died...in Australia...after beign with my family for nearly 20 years. It's really freaking sad.

Entry for this week goes like this:

All those you tube movies which are going viral now, "shit girls say" etc etc, they're funny.

I thought of doing "shit Jewish girls say" but then I didn't.

The things I say all the time like "whatsup buttercup", "It's a pleasure treasure", "heaps", "I can't be bothered", "blah blah blah...nah nah nah nah nah" and "bubbles" are my trademarks, and they are not particularly Jewish...so like I said before, I thought about it but then I didn't do it.

Been thinking about trademarks and being original...there's a fine line between people copying you, being flattered and stalking...It's funny who annoys you and who doesn't...I would expand but I have decided not to.

I got a new years message from someone that I didn't expect to and it made me smile :)

Happy Xnuka

I had a fun week making Latkes for my girls, and buying things for my apartment.
Now I get to prepare for my Chanukat Bayit B'Chanukah (Housewarming on Chanukah).

There's lots of variations of Seasons Greetings going around so I thought I would add one into the mix that I stole from a friend (Thanks Jeremy if you're reading).

Looking forward to lots of celebrations in the year to come, so much fun!

Adaptation

Shalom,

I know it's early, but the truth is I have the time for a mid-week update so I thought why not, the point is to get me writing again.

So I freaked out when this week when I downloaded the moth and the theme of the podcast was "Into the Wild", How did they know that was what I wrote about last week? AS I was late in downloading it, they had already produced it, when I wrote the 'Into the Wild' entry...CRAZY!! Great creative minds think alike....

Meanwhile, in their episode they got people to jot down what their greatest survival skill is....and I think that mine is Adaptation...I wish it could be camouflage...but my red hair prevents that...

This is why...
This week, I woke up with my list of all the goals that I wanted to get done...just on Sunday. One of them was to spray paint these plastic butterflies that I had bought to hang on my wall, when I was in America. I had everything ready, and when I went to look for teh butterflies I couldn't find them. I turned my entire apartment upside down and car looking for them. I got more and more frustrated that I would not be able to achieve everything I set out to do that day, not to mention the loss of the butterflies, which I had envisioned to go perfectly on the wall in my room.

I did manage to find two rogue butterflies, which had clearly been separated from their flock...for some reason. For one or two days I got annoyed every time I saw them, becasue they reminded me of my loss...until this morning I decided that they would be a great start to my new butterfly collection. Now I could go hunting butterflies and collecting many different varietes, instead of just having a wall of all the same ones!! WOohOO!!

My loss has turned into an adventure!! This afternoon I might go around Yaffo to the markets, to look for some butteflies!!

Some Israeli Music:
Boom Pam
Giraffot
Efrat Gosh
The Apples
DAniela Spector
Roni Dalomi
Avraham Tal
Gazoz

Into the Wild

This week I watched the movie 'Into the Wild' and it really affected me. I picked up the film at the video shop and I didn't really read the back of it because it was in Hebrew and I couldn't be bothered, so I thought it was an adventure coming fo age film and took it. I didn't realise how sad it was going to be and how it permeated into my week.

Now that I live by myself and I have more 'alone' time, for teh first time in my life ever, I love that I come home and no one bothers me but at the same time, I am a social person, and I love having people around...The thing about making Aliyah by yourslef is, that you leave all these things that you took for granted like family behind, and so you have to build for yourself a replacement family, which is why I think that a lot of Anglos's stick together since we are all going through a common experience.

When I was moving apartments and I had a few weeks inbetween where I would be homeless, I stayed at a friend of mine who let me dump a whole lot of my stuff at her place, and it worked out that she was away on holiday while I was there the first week, then I went to Italy when she got back, and then when I got back she went away for work, so it wasn't too much of a hassle but the fact that I was able to do that was nice.

Next week that same friend needs to have a small procedure done under general anaesthetic and she asked me to drive her there and back. It wasn't even a question that I would hesitate to answer, of course I would take her. As Meredith and Christine would say we have become each others 'person'. I don't think that in Australia I would ever have done this for a friend, just because, it is not required, everyone has their family around them for support, so the level of friendship is just different. Not that this diminishes or makes another more important, rather that there is just a different dynmaic going on...and you also learn very quickly who you can count on, and who you can't because we just simply need people.

So watching the movie made me think about all this, and how lucky I am that I have found people here, made amazing friends in the absence of family. I often think that my life is so rich because people are like colours who make the picture more interesting, give depth and change your perspective on something that otherwise might ahve jsut passed you by, so I like collecting them, and I think I will continue to do that.

In other news this week I visited the
new building of the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art and I have to say that I was impressed!!

A Story Worthy Week...

The Moth is a Storytelling podcast that has grown to have a bit of a cult following in America...at the end of each show they wish their listeners to have 'a story worthy week'. Everytime I hear them say that, I think to myself, often inspired after listening to the latest episode, that yes, I want a story worthy week!

In an attempt to revive my writing I have decided to write down a story of the week, it an effort also to do a bit of reflection and cleansing as well on the week gone by...
Also now that I am in my own apartment in Tel Aviv, I feel that I now have a creative space, a 'room of my own', where I can just be.

BAck in August, my favourite event of the year, the wine festival, was held at the ISrael Museum. A veteran of 6 wine festivals, I know what shoes to wear, which buses and their timetable to there etc etc...I have the event down pat. I decided this year, in preparation, for an event which I take quite seriously, I would get my hair done for the occasion, since it needed a cut anyway. I should be specific and say for the Thursday night of the festival, because although I had to been to 3 of the 4 nights during the week, Thursday night is purely social and not much quaffing goes on.

I was prancing around the festival, clinking glasses with whoever I thought was cute...and I met a REALLY cute guy...we hit it off, chatted, he asked me out on one or two dates, but it lost momentum because he was in the army and a few other reasons...which are not relevant right now...the point is...I was happy that I got my hair done.

What does this have to do with this week?
On Wednesday night, I attended the wedding of an old Jerusalem friend (funny how I can say 'old', when really these friends are all new), and for the occasion I thought, I should get my hair done...so off I trek to the hairdresser and I get my hair done. It looked really nice with curls at the end. It looked so nice, I decided not to wash it the next day.

Last night (Thurs), I went to the 'Lone Soldiers' Thanksgiving dinner, because a good friend of mine, who I did my Masters with, her husband helped found the organisation. Wandering around the event,I bumped into that same guy and all I could think was...atleast my hair looks good!

This thought then progressed to, everytime I want to see him do I have to go to the hairdresser? I can't afford that....

What's wierd is that, I was with another friend of mine and then we went to drink a glass of wine in Neve Tzedek and she bumped into a guy that she hadn't seen in ages...and the first thing she said to me was "Does my hair look good?".

What is with that?

Also a shout out to Esther who has a really cool podcast.

There I did it....