Finals week at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York is a lot different than finals week at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel.
Here is a comparison:
Weather: cold+snowy vs. hot+sunny
Company: stressed out college students vs. Mama, MB, B, and Nativ friends
Stress level: moderate to high vs. low
Number of finals: 3 vs. 2
Content of finals: biology, human development, nutrition vs. art history of Israel, society and politics of Israel
Perceived/predicted difficulty of finals: very difficult vs. not very difficult
Consequences: affect my GPA that will get me into medical school that will allow me to pursue my career dream vs. no consequences besides personal pride
Weekend before finals week: Shabbat, study study study and dorm formal vs. weekend at Kibbutz Saad
I don't want to take final exams. They are annoying.
On the bright side, Shabbat this week was lovely lovely as always and I am now on Hillel board!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
My Past Life
"She'll say, look what I had to overcome from my last life/ I think I'll write a book.
How long till my soul gets it right?"
-Galileo, The Indigo Girls
In eighth grade, my father took me to see a medium. A medium, according to Wikipedia is a person who claims to be an intermediary between the physical world and the spiritual world. I do not know why he took me to a medium but I will never forget it as long as I live and also I wrote it down in my eighth grade diary just in case.
I went into a house on East Avenue and she took me into a room that was dark and there was a candle on a low table between our chairs. We faced each other and she seemed to look through me. I know, you say, that's what she's getting paid to do. But it felt that way.
Think of me then, perhaps not yet 14, my bones still fractionally cartilagenous and my ligaments still partly unattached, certainly not the imposing individual I am today. I would have been cynical but there was no one else in the room. There were no "normal" people for me to show that I was still normal too, so I allowed myself to be taken in by the frangrant candle and the flickering shadows it cast around the dimly lit room.
The medium spoke in a soothing voice. I was the one who asked her about my past life. She might have told me about other things, had I not been assertive at the beginning, but let's face it, even as an eighth grader I was still Jordana, and therefore assertive.
She might have hummed or closed her eyes or done some sort of ritual, but I don't remember anything too bizarre happening so let's just say she was quiet for a moment, and then she opened her eyes. She told me the following:
I was a French princess named Marielle ("diminutive of Maria," I just looked it up). I lived in a castle and I was lonely. I was betrothed to an older man whom I did not love. Instead, I loved a young and vibrant man who was, for some reason I cannot recall now (money, family, something like that) not an appropriate suitor. I rebelled. I refused to marry my betrothed and instead opted for a lifetime of solitude in the castle. I corresponded for my entire life with my beloved via carrier pigeon. I died quietly in my castle, with my pigeons around me.
Now, in this life, I must correct the mistakes I made before. I must strive until my soul gets it right. I can only imagine what kind of mistakes I made as Marielle living in a castle in France. The opportunities for mayhem are endless...
How long till my soul gets it right?"
-Galileo, The Indigo Girls
In eighth grade, my father took me to see a medium. A medium, according to Wikipedia is a person who claims to be an intermediary between the physical world and the spiritual world. I do not know why he took me to a medium but I will never forget it as long as I live and also I wrote it down in my eighth grade diary just in case.
I went into a house on East Avenue and she took me into a room that was dark and there was a candle on a low table between our chairs. We faced each other and she seemed to look through me. I know, you say, that's what she's getting paid to do. But it felt that way.
Think of me then, perhaps not yet 14, my bones still fractionally cartilagenous and my ligaments still partly unattached, certainly not the imposing individual I am today. I would have been cynical but there was no one else in the room. There were no "normal" people for me to show that I was still normal too, so I allowed myself to be taken in by the frangrant candle and the flickering shadows it cast around the dimly lit room.
The medium spoke in a soothing voice. I was the one who asked her about my past life. She might have told me about other things, had I not been assertive at the beginning, but let's face it, even as an eighth grader I was still Jordana, and therefore assertive.
She might have hummed or closed her eyes or done some sort of ritual, but I don't remember anything too bizarre happening so let's just say she was quiet for a moment, and then she opened her eyes. She told me the following:
I was a French princess named Marielle ("diminutive of Maria," I just looked it up). I lived in a castle and I was lonely. I was betrothed to an older man whom I did not love. Instead, I loved a young and vibrant man who was, for some reason I cannot recall now (money, family, something like that) not an appropriate suitor. I rebelled. I refused to marry my betrothed and instead opted for a lifetime of solitude in the castle. I corresponded for my entire life with my beloved via carrier pigeon. I died quietly in my castle, with my pigeons around me.
Now, in this life, I must correct the mistakes I made before. I must strive until my soul gets it right. I can only imagine what kind of mistakes I made as Marielle living in a castle in France. The opportunities for mayhem are endless...
But Now I am Six
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six
now and forever.
The poem is misleading, but it is a favorite of mine. Since my last post I have had another birthday, and now I am 20, and as clever as clever. So I think I'll be 20 now and forever.
The events leading up to my birthday were most joyous. First, I finished all of my Bio units!!! Jubilation!!! Then on Wednesday, the first night of Channukah, there was a Latka House and people performed etc and it was very nice. I lit candles in Rachel and Amanda's room with a whole slew of Jews and also Ryan, who is not Jewish, so he photographed the event.
On Thursday, it was a busy day. We celebrated our last Hebrew class, which was actually quite sad because we love Shalom, our professor, and it provides me and Adina with a structured lunch schedule. Then Adina and I had lunch, and it was wonderful, because it was us having lunch. Then I went to our last Human Development class with the whole gang, and it was funny and fun and I realized I would miss that too.
Later on Thursday, I went to dinner with a group of Meinig scholars at Vice Provost Laura Brown's house. It was really lovely and interesting. She is a self-proclaimed "humanist," and although she is currently working in administration, her passion is literature. I identified with her and she was really cool to talk to. She told us about her high school experience in a strict Miss Porters type all-girls boarding school, undergraduate at Stanford (where she met her husband the first week of freshman year in the dining hall-they grew up together through the anti-war movement-precious), and graduate school at Berkley, where she met my current English professor, Harry Shaw, whom I adore!
The dinner was truly a delight. It came to an end just in time for me to attend Hillel's Next Latka Chef, where chefs from several fraternities competed to make the best latkas. It was a very cool event, although I did not try the latkas. I was very hyper and excited because it was my last day of being 19 and I couldn't be bothered with latka competitions.
On Friday, I wrote my last paper for English about Forster's A Room with a View, really one of the best novels I've read. Then Adina picked me up and we went to lunch at Waffle Frolic and observed some most unusual characters in their natural locally-grown-eatery-in-Ithaca environment. The lunch was happy happy! What a treat to be out and about in the world!
Then, my last Nutrition class! Not going to lie, Professor Levitsky started to get a little weird by the end. Like, his ideas were always a bit unconventional, but he was too much on Friday. Anyway, it was good to chill with Juhi and talk about our lives etc, because she was my main motivation for coming to class.
Then, my last English class! It was quite sad, and awkward, in the best way. I really had become friends with some of the people in my class, and we really read amazing things, and the teacher was only the most insightful, interesting, bizarre teacher I've ever had. I will miss watching his eyebrows, his hands as they made milking motions as he searched for greater detail and depth, his accent that was always somewhat British but really impossible to place, his sweater vests, his almonds in sandwich bags, his last search in the hallways before class started to see if he could find any additional students to attend class, and of course, the way he graded my papers.
I dawdled a bit and changed for Shabbat. I led Kabalat Shabbat at Koach services, which was fun, and then Andrew led Maariv, which was also fun, but he didn't do the lovely tune for Vshamru, sadly. Matt told a great story in between (actually it was the parsha, it was just a really good story) and there were some bad/great jokes in there too. They also all sang to me and we talked about how it was my birthday several times. Then I went to JORDANA'S BIRTHDAY SHABBAT DINNER! Everyone was there, even Kim (Asian, not a Jew) and Alyssa came out for the festivities (woooo D6!!). The Jewish a capella group was performing and they sang happy birthday to me as well! I was a star, as I should be.
After all, I was French royalty in another life.
Then Josh M-- came to nag me about being in my blog and I explained that I was busy living so as to have material for my blog and I daresay I was not taken nearly as seriously as French royalty really should be. (epilogue: he nagged me AGAIN today! unbelievable)
I sang with the usual singers after Shabbat dinner and Ranan even joined us, and lived up to his name (which means Song of Joy!). Then he and I and Adam and Matt all walked back to North and I prepared for more birthday festivities by putting on a dress and somewhat-shiny, somewhat-heeled boots!
Andrew, Adina, Ilana, and I went to the AEPi Channukah party. I have been to better parties. We left and hiked around Cornell and tried to get in elsewhere (we saw Juhi and Nihaal on the way!!!!) and that proved futile because they weren't Jewish frats so--really--how are we supposed to know anyone inside? We returned via the suspension bridge (exciting) to AEPi and spotted Hilda and Felix on the way, always a pleasant surprise. Once at AEPi, we took over a room and played music from all the clubs that American teenagers on gap years frequent in Israel (think: Stereo Love, After Basdinim, Replay). We were about to die of broken hearts from our trip down memory lane when someone had the brilliant idea to play MIRACLE by MATISYAHU, only my new favorite song.
The dance party was a major success. We whipped our hair back and forth, we showed all our haters love, we asked, "oh na na, what's my name?"
The night ended with a visit to Mews 2 to see my favorite guarders of the sabbath: Ari, Jake, and Ari.
Saturday, I babysat as usual. L was having a rough day of sorts, which is therefore a rough day for me. It was rewarding as always, though, and her parents are wonderful people to be around. Then I went to Shabbat lunch at Aaron and Avi's house with many friends and a few new faces. It felt so nice to be experiencing Shabbat through warm hospitality that I experienced so often in Israel last year. We had hummus and pita and Israeli salad and meatballs and potatoes and latkas and even though there was too much parsley I ate mostly everything!
After lunch, I chilled with Adina and showered and prepared to welcome my radiant friend, Rachel (the first). She drove in the snow, she traversed the Cornell campus, she parked somewhat illegally, she brought me The Fountainhead which is already great, she embraced me and sang Happy Birthday at every chance. We dined with Jesse and walked to Collegetown to attempt attendance at Vodka and Latkas, but alas, we lacked the proper identification. We opted for an evening of people-watching and dairy-guzzling at Insomnia Cookies (we drank a pint of skim milk). At our return home, we tried to watch a movie but Rachel had fallen asleep by the time Netflix had finished loading it.
We brunched the next morning with Jesse, and with Ranan in spirit. We had run into Ranan the previous night while he was on an exciting adventure as part of his frisbee team (read: initiation to the team via hazing) so it was understandable that he was not able to make our early-to-bed, early-to-rise brunch. We collected him for our nature walk though, and the four of us made our way around Beebe Lake, the path newly dusted with snow. From there, Rachel took her leave of us and we dispersed.
I watched a movie in Rachel (the second)'s bed called Boys Don't Cry, with Hillary Swank, about a transgender individual in Nebraska. Ah! Heartbreaking! Then I was almost addicted to LOST but left before I could be completely sucked in by the merciless vacuum of souls that is LOST: Season II.
We lit candles at RPCC and I ate with D5 friends and then went to Ari's concert at Sage Chapel with Geoffrey Chaucer and Adina. Now I shall share the wisdom of E. M. Forster with you, Jordana Junkies:
"The chief parallel to compare one great thing with another--is the power over us of a temple of some alien creed. Standing outside, we deride or oppose it, or at the most feel sentimental. Inside, though the saints and gods are not ours, we become true believers, in case any true believer should be present."
This was the story of my experience at Sage Chapel. Ari is in the Glee Club and the Glee Club was performing and I am Ari's friend so I went to see the Glee Club perform. The songs were religious songs about Christmas and Jesus, and they were beautiful. There were times when we had to rise and most people were singing along so I just stood and listened. I did get the hang of "Glo-o-o-o-o-o-ria in excelsis deo!" which was catchy so I sang along, seeing no harm in the Latin I could somewhat translate. There were eight "readings" about baby Jesus, and the build-up to the virgin birth, and so on. I didn't expect it. I was expecting a Glee Club concert. I didn't feel moved by the readings but I couldn't help but feel moved by the songs. Ave Maria was incredible. There are many people who will disagree with me (but this is my blog and I say what I want): sometimes I feel as if music is proof of God's existence itself, because it can be too beautiful to come from men alone. That is how I felt during Ave Maria, and I became a true believer, though the saints and gods were not mine.
Afterward, we congratulated Ari and hot chocolated at CTB, where we ran into our favorites, most especially Keren! She used the words "inextricably linked" when discussing the connection between social and environmental justice. I do adore that girl.
On Monday, I studied, I Hillel-ed, I helped coordinate the lighting of an ice menorah on Ho Plaza, I saw many friends, I ate some sufganiyot, I watched a comedian juggle and knife while riding a unicycle. Then I went to Leslie's house in Collegetown where Joe and Leslie were hard at work making dinner. It was delicious! I even helped peel potatoes. I was proud of my contribution.
Today, I studied more. Adina met me at the library and then I ate dinner with Eli to talk about my Hillel board position. I hope I am able to reach my goals! There is a big task ahead. It was then time for a Dreidel Study Break, and we watched the Hebrew Hammer, and now I am writing my blog.
I leave you with this:
She comes with a volume of Talmud. Happy Channukah.
So I think I'll be six
now and forever.
The poem is misleading, but it is a favorite of mine. Since my last post I have had another birthday, and now I am 20, and as clever as clever. So I think I'll be 20 now and forever.
The events leading up to my birthday were most joyous. First, I finished all of my Bio units!!! Jubilation!!! Then on Wednesday, the first night of Channukah, there was a Latka House and people performed etc and it was very nice. I lit candles in Rachel and Amanda's room with a whole slew of Jews and also Ryan, who is not Jewish, so he photographed the event.
On Thursday, it was a busy day. We celebrated our last Hebrew class, which was actually quite sad because we love Shalom, our professor, and it provides me and Adina with a structured lunch schedule. Then Adina and I had lunch, and it was wonderful, because it was us having lunch. Then I went to our last Human Development class with the whole gang, and it was funny and fun and I realized I would miss that too.
Later on Thursday, I went to dinner with a group of Meinig scholars at Vice Provost Laura Brown's house. It was really lovely and interesting. She is a self-proclaimed "humanist," and although she is currently working in administration, her passion is literature. I identified with her and she was really cool to talk to. She told us about her high school experience in a strict Miss Porters type all-girls boarding school, undergraduate at Stanford (where she met her husband the first week of freshman year in the dining hall-they grew up together through the anti-war movement-precious), and graduate school at Berkley, where she met my current English professor, Harry Shaw, whom I adore!
The dinner was truly a delight. It came to an end just in time for me to attend Hillel's Next Latka Chef, where chefs from several fraternities competed to make the best latkas. It was a very cool event, although I did not try the latkas. I was very hyper and excited because it was my last day of being 19 and I couldn't be bothered with latka competitions.
On Friday, I wrote my last paper for English about Forster's A Room with a View, really one of the best novels I've read. Then Adina picked me up and we went to lunch at Waffle Frolic and observed some most unusual characters in their natural locally-grown-eatery-in-Ithaca environment. The lunch was happy happy! What a treat to be out and about in the world!
Then, my last Nutrition class! Not going to lie, Professor Levitsky started to get a little weird by the end. Like, his ideas were always a bit unconventional, but he was too much on Friday. Anyway, it was good to chill with Juhi and talk about our lives etc, because she was my main motivation for coming to class.
Then, my last English class! It was quite sad, and awkward, in the best way. I really had become friends with some of the people in my class, and we really read amazing things, and the teacher was only the most insightful, interesting, bizarre teacher I've ever had. I will miss watching his eyebrows, his hands as they made milking motions as he searched for greater detail and depth, his accent that was always somewhat British but really impossible to place, his sweater vests, his almonds in sandwich bags, his last search in the hallways before class started to see if he could find any additional students to attend class, and of course, the way he graded my papers.
I dawdled a bit and changed for Shabbat. I led Kabalat Shabbat at Koach services, which was fun, and then Andrew led Maariv, which was also fun, but he didn't do the lovely tune for Vshamru, sadly. Matt told a great story in between (actually it was the parsha, it was just a really good story) and there were some bad/great jokes in there too. They also all sang to me and we talked about how it was my birthday several times. Then I went to JORDANA'S BIRTHDAY SHABBAT DINNER! Everyone was there, even Kim (Asian, not a Jew) and Alyssa came out for the festivities (woooo D6!!). The Jewish a capella group was performing and they sang happy birthday to me as well! I was a star, as I should be.
After all, I was French royalty in another life.
Then Josh M-- came to nag me about being in my blog and I explained that I was busy living so as to have material for my blog and I daresay I was not taken nearly as seriously as French royalty really should be. (epilogue: he nagged me AGAIN today! unbelievable)
I sang with the usual singers after Shabbat dinner and Ranan even joined us, and lived up to his name (which means Song of Joy!). Then he and I and Adam and Matt all walked back to North and I prepared for more birthday festivities by putting on a dress and somewhat-shiny, somewhat-heeled boots!
Andrew, Adina, Ilana, and I went to the AEPi Channukah party. I have been to better parties. We left and hiked around Cornell and tried to get in elsewhere (we saw Juhi and Nihaal on the way!!!!) and that proved futile because they weren't Jewish frats so--really--how are we supposed to know anyone inside? We returned via the suspension bridge (exciting) to AEPi and spotted Hilda and Felix on the way, always a pleasant surprise. Once at AEPi, we took over a room and played music from all the clubs that American teenagers on gap years frequent in Israel (think: Stereo Love, After Basdinim, Replay). We were about to die of broken hearts from our trip down memory lane when someone had the brilliant idea to play MIRACLE by MATISYAHU, only my new favorite song.
The dance party was a major success. We whipped our hair back and forth, we showed all our haters love, we asked, "oh na na, what's my name?"
The night ended with a visit to Mews 2 to see my favorite guarders of the sabbath: Ari, Jake, and Ari.
Saturday, I babysat as usual. L was having a rough day of sorts, which is therefore a rough day for me. It was rewarding as always, though, and her parents are wonderful people to be around. Then I went to Shabbat lunch at Aaron and Avi's house with many friends and a few new faces. It felt so nice to be experiencing Shabbat through warm hospitality that I experienced so often in Israel last year. We had hummus and pita and Israeli salad and meatballs and potatoes and latkas and even though there was too much parsley I ate mostly everything!
After lunch, I chilled with Adina and showered and prepared to welcome my radiant friend, Rachel (the first). She drove in the snow, she traversed the Cornell campus, she parked somewhat illegally, she brought me The Fountainhead which is already great, she embraced me and sang Happy Birthday at every chance. We dined with Jesse and walked to Collegetown to attempt attendance at Vodka and Latkas, but alas, we lacked the proper identification. We opted for an evening of people-watching and dairy-guzzling at Insomnia Cookies (we drank a pint of skim milk). At our return home, we tried to watch a movie but Rachel had fallen asleep by the time Netflix had finished loading it.
We brunched the next morning with Jesse, and with Ranan in spirit. We had run into Ranan the previous night while he was on an exciting adventure as part of his frisbee team (read: initiation to the team via hazing) so it was understandable that he was not able to make our early-to-bed, early-to-rise brunch. We collected him for our nature walk though, and the four of us made our way around Beebe Lake, the path newly dusted with snow. From there, Rachel took her leave of us and we dispersed.
I watched a movie in Rachel (the second)'s bed called Boys Don't Cry, with Hillary Swank, about a transgender individual in Nebraska. Ah! Heartbreaking! Then I was almost addicted to LOST but left before I could be completely sucked in by the merciless vacuum of souls that is LOST: Season II.
We lit candles at RPCC and I ate with D5 friends and then went to Ari's concert at Sage Chapel with Geoffrey Chaucer and Adina. Now I shall share the wisdom of E. M. Forster with you, Jordana Junkies:
"The chief parallel to compare one great thing with another--is the power over us of a temple of some alien creed. Standing outside, we deride or oppose it, or at the most feel sentimental. Inside, though the saints and gods are not ours, we become true believers, in case any true believer should be present."
This was the story of my experience at Sage Chapel. Ari is in the Glee Club and the Glee Club was performing and I am Ari's friend so I went to see the Glee Club perform. The songs were religious songs about Christmas and Jesus, and they were beautiful. There were times when we had to rise and most people were singing along so I just stood and listened. I did get the hang of "Glo-o-o-o-o-o-ria in excelsis deo!" which was catchy so I sang along, seeing no harm in the Latin I could somewhat translate. There were eight "readings" about baby Jesus, and the build-up to the virgin birth, and so on. I didn't expect it. I was expecting a Glee Club concert. I didn't feel moved by the readings but I couldn't help but feel moved by the songs. Ave Maria was incredible. There are many people who will disagree with me (but this is my blog and I say what I want): sometimes I feel as if music is proof of God's existence itself, because it can be too beautiful to come from men alone. That is how I felt during Ave Maria, and I became a true believer, though the saints and gods were not mine.
Afterward, we congratulated Ari and hot chocolated at CTB, where we ran into our favorites, most especially Keren! She used the words "inextricably linked" when discussing the connection between social and environmental justice. I do adore that girl.
On Monday, I studied, I Hillel-ed, I helped coordinate the lighting of an ice menorah on Ho Plaza, I saw many friends, I ate some sufganiyot, I watched a comedian juggle and knife while riding a unicycle. Then I went to Leslie's house in Collegetown where Joe and Leslie were hard at work making dinner. It was delicious! I even helped peel potatoes. I was proud of my contribution.
Today, I studied more. Adina met me at the library and then I ate dinner with Eli to talk about my Hillel board position. I hope I am able to reach my goals! There is a big task ahead. It was then time for a Dreidel Study Break, and we watched the Hebrew Hammer, and now I am writing my blog.
I leave you with this:
She comes with a volume of Talmud. Happy Channukah.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
My Date with Ophir
I wrote this for the CIPAC (Cornell Israel Public Awareness Committee) Newsletter!
On Wednesday, November 17th, Ophir Pines-Paz braved the elements to come speak to us about environmental legislation in Israel. He is a former Labour Party Knesset Member and Minister of Internal Affairs, and one of his main focuses while in office was “green initiatives.” His lecture at the Law School discussed advancements Israel is making to help the environment (solar panels, reusing waste water, emission permits, electric car grid, sustainable buildings, etc), along with weak points in the Israeli system. He openly admitted that the army pollutes the soil, and that Israel is about 15 years behind America on environmental legislation.
Environmental legislation is great, but I thought his concluding marks were the most significant: Borders are nothing to the environment. Israel reducing pollution is all well and good, but if the countries around it are moving at a slower pace toward environmental justice, that affects everyone the same way. Not having peace is a barrier to protecting the environment, although Pines-Paz stressed the importance of working together on environmental legislation even before an agreement is reached. He said, “This is our war: we have to save our planet.”
The talk concluded and we had a very nice reception with very delicious and expensive cookies and veggie platters. But the best was yet to come! At 10:15am the next day, I set out for my day-long date with Ophir. It was unfortunately crashed by three other people, but we made do.
Adva Elkabetz, the Israeli Fellow at Hillel, drove me, Ophir, and two other students to Niagra Falls. The ride there was a prime opportunity for me to pick Ophey’s brain about the peace process and ask about controversies I saw during my time in Israel last year. The conversation was more candid than I would have expected, and there were definitely parts that classify as argument. We talked about the treatment of Arab Israelis, both by the state and by the people; specifically, that the state gives less money to strictly Arab cities in Israel because they have lower “Security Budgets” and that it is much harder for Arabs to join the army and the benefits that go along with the army, and the general prejudices in the minds and hearts of Jewish Israelis.
We also touched on the subject of the Security Barrier. It has twelve million other names that are politically correct depending on your political views, but what it comes down to is this: it is effective. The inconvenience of Palestinians at the gates is second to the lives of Israelis that are endangered by acts of terrorism coming from the West Bank. Its effectiveness is indisputable.
Because we are always trying to steer the focus surrounding Israel away from the conflict, it is rare that I feel comfortable enough to ask difficult questions about the peace process. Over the course of the day with Ophir, I feel I got some real answers. The first message is that it won’t be easy. The second message is that it is possible. The third message is that settlements are not going to be the deciding factor in achieving peace or not. Got that, New York Times?
A point that Ophir made in the lecture and expanded upon in Niagra Falls is that the Arab League (26 Arab Nations, does not include Iran) has made an offer. If Israel returns to the 1967 borders (virtually impossible, and what of Jerusalem?), and the problem of refugees is solved (by someone, somewhere) then there will be peace. So there is an offer on the table, and it is much more powerful to have the support of 26 Arab nations than just Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the United States.
The main issue with just going through the Palestinian Authority is Hamas. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank (or whatever you want to call it) is Fatah, while Gaza is ruled by Hamas, which is admittedly (by everyone) a terrorist group that wants to destroy the Jewish State. How can you have peace with a group that wants to destroy you? Well, you can, but only if you have the pressure of 26 more powerful Arab nations breathing down your neck.
Therein lies the solution to both Hamas and Iran, because Iran poses a threat to most of the nations in the League as well. And thinking about Iran makes me feel a little ill, so I will not expand on that point.
We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and held a small fan club meeting for Tzipi and Hillary. Then we walked to the Observation Tower and Ophir put a quarter into the giant binocular things, which was quite cute. Then we took a trolley around the State Park and saw more water and estimated the height and speed and took many pictures. It was delightful. And romantic.
The ride home was mellow. Adva and Ophir were speaking mostly in Hebrew and the folk music CD put me to sleep a few times. I was mulling over so much information in my head and trying to sort it out: can Jerusalem function eternally as an International City? Will the Palestinians accept a territory exchange in order to return to something comparable to the 1967 borders? Will Iran stop trying to destroy the world? Will Hamas submit to the will of the Arab League or be defended by Iran? Will American newspapers ever stop publishing totally skewed articles about Israel? Is Ophir going to give me his digits?
The night ended when we dropped him at his hotel. He gave me his card, which was almost like getting his number. And not only did he fill me with the confidence that I will one day fulfill my dream of marrying a powerful Israeli politician (okay, so he’s already married, but he has a son in college!), he also made me confident that there are some very, very smart people working on this issue, and ultimately we will have peace. His attitude was essentially: Jews have been in deep shit before, what makes you think this pile of it is going to get us down for good?
Friday, November 19, 2010
Sneak Preview
I don't have time for all this now, but here's what you can get excited for, especially if you're one of my new readers waiting for a shoutout:
-Rachel, Dylan, and Jason go through Jordana's past
-Mom visits
-Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is the funniest show I've ever seen
-Adina is a star
-I go home to see my kitties for the night
-I try to quit Banquets and my boss unquits me
-Dad visits
-We watch Trembling Before God at the CJL, like we did on NATIV!
-Salsa proves to be a huge success at ballroom dancing
-I write an autobiography in Hebrew about my lost twin brother, Nacho
-I dissect an EEL! actually a lamprey but who's counting
-OPHIR PINES PAZ.
-NIAGRA FALLS.
-GREATNESS.
now I'm going to staff Fall convention for Tzafon USY! Life is groovy!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
The Best of All Possible Worlds
1. Goldstone: he came to talk at the law school. I was ready for a fight (think pro-wrestler before going out to the ring, oiled up and spun up) and the person who introduced him mentioned the Goldstone Report about war crimes in Israel during Operation Cast Lead. Then Goldstone spoke. He mentioned every other country in the world except for Israel. He mentioned every other possible location of war crimes except for Israel. His topic was rather boring to me, which was fine. He was an incredibly smart speaker though, he had a great South Africa accent, subtle humor, he knew the name of the room in the law school we were in, and he seamlessly incorporated the quote on the wall behind him (The law must be stable and yet it can not stand still). Dayum, Goldstone.
2. Shabbat on North Campus: lots of freshmen turned out for Shabbat on North. I led services in RPCC for seven people, and I am happy to announce that they were my best friends. Thanks for having my back, best friends! I ate with Amanda, Rachel, and Gil, thankfully, in High Rise Five. The dinner was rather awk sauce but I got to spend it with the three aforementioned characters so it was pretty fun. Then we listened to Nothing But Treble, an all girls a cappella group, and they were pretty good. Then I got an inspiration to go running so I went running and Eli joined me on his way back to the Jewish Living Center and it was pretty funny because he was still in his Shabbat clothes and shoes and all that. We were a sight.
3. Babysitting: it was a great day to babysit L on Saturday! She was in a great mood for most of the time and when she got tired, instead of pooping out and being a meanie in her bed, we just calmly sat and did a puzzle. Working with bi-polar disorder is quite the ride!
4. Bus Tickets: miserable. I asked for an address and the stupid barista gave me a phone number. Thanks. Then an older man saw that I was having trouble and he pointed me on the right bus and told me when to get off. Then I purchased tickets at the bus station! Then I walked back to where my bus picked me up to bring me to Cornell. I wasted two hours, packed my bags, and I was off on my trip to...
5. BINGHAMTON!!!! so amazing. The drive itself was quite something; the bus drove through a series of poor and then poorer towns. The sun was just setting over the wintery, but still snowless, landscape. I arrived and Rachel picked me up and it was THE BEST THING EVER. We ate dinner with Nativers and it was joyous. We skyped with Adina and Debbie and it was so sad because I missed them but in a way almost like we were all hanging out again. Then we got ready to go out. This involved taking a bus to downtown, walking from downtown for many miles to the frat party, dancing by ourselves in the dance room with the dj, leaving the frat party, walking many miles to the next frat party where Michael had just been inducted as a brother, chilling at the frat party, running into my childhood friend Gabby, running into Bowtie, a brother I had met a week or so before at the Cornell chapter of AEPi, dancing like it was my birthday at Fusion, then cabbing it to the bars, questionably entering the bars and dancing there, then taking another cab home. Wow!
6. Nature Preserve: In the morning, we skyped with Elkana. I cried. Then we took Ilana to the bus station and said good bye to her. Then we walked for an hour or two in the nature preserve and it was pretty and calming and so nice to just be chilling with Rachel again. I've missed it.
7. I went home on the bus after it was delayed for over an hour. I slept for some of the way and listened to the Black Eyed Peas the rest of the way so I wouldn't be groggy when we arrived home at Cornell. Then it was time for Ballroom Dancing and we worked on the RHUMBA! Ooh la la. Then I tried to do work and failed.
8. Dinner Parties: TO BE CONTINUED!
2. Shabbat on North Campus: lots of freshmen turned out for Shabbat on North. I led services in RPCC for seven people, and I am happy to announce that they were my best friends. Thanks for having my back, best friends! I ate with Amanda, Rachel, and Gil, thankfully, in High Rise Five. The dinner was rather awk sauce but I got to spend it with the three aforementioned characters so it was pretty fun. Then we listened to Nothing But Treble, an all girls a cappella group, and they were pretty good. Then I got an inspiration to go running so I went running and Eli joined me on his way back to the Jewish Living Center and it was pretty funny because he was still in his Shabbat clothes and shoes and all that. We were a sight.
3. Babysitting: it was a great day to babysit L on Saturday! She was in a great mood for most of the time and when she got tired, instead of pooping out and being a meanie in her bed, we just calmly sat and did a puzzle. Working with bi-polar disorder is quite the ride!
4. Bus Tickets: miserable. I asked for an address and the stupid barista gave me a phone number. Thanks. Then an older man saw that I was having trouble and he pointed me on the right bus and told me when to get off. Then I purchased tickets at the bus station! Then I walked back to where my bus picked me up to bring me to Cornell. I wasted two hours, packed my bags, and I was off on my trip to...
5. BINGHAMTON!!!! so amazing. The drive itself was quite something; the bus drove through a series of poor and then poorer towns. The sun was just setting over the wintery, but still snowless, landscape. I arrived and Rachel picked me up and it was THE BEST THING EVER. We ate dinner with Nativers and it was joyous. We skyped with Adina and Debbie and it was so sad because I missed them but in a way almost like we were all hanging out again. Then we got ready to go out. This involved taking a bus to downtown, walking from downtown for many miles to the frat party, dancing by ourselves in the dance room with the dj, leaving the frat party, walking many miles to the next frat party where Michael had just been inducted as a brother, chilling at the frat party, running into my childhood friend Gabby, running into Bowtie, a brother I had met a week or so before at the Cornell chapter of AEPi, dancing like it was my birthday at Fusion, then cabbing it to the bars, questionably entering the bars and dancing there, then taking another cab home. Wow!
6. Nature Preserve: In the morning, we skyped with Elkana. I cried. Then we took Ilana to the bus station and said good bye to her. Then we walked for an hour or two in the nature preserve and it was pretty and calming and so nice to just be chilling with Rachel again. I've missed it.
7. I went home on the bus after it was delayed for over an hour. I slept for some of the way and listened to the Black Eyed Peas the rest of the way so I wouldn't be groggy when we arrived home at Cornell. Then it was time for Ballroom Dancing and we worked on the RHUMBA! Ooh la la. Then I tried to do work and failed.
8. Dinner Parties: TO BE CONTINUED!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
My heart is breaking for Haiti...
"We know there may be cholera in there, but sometimes it is all we have to drink," said Alienne Cilencrieux, 24. "If we have Clorox, we pour some in and drink it. It tastes bad. Or we dig in the ground until we find water and drink that."
Thursday, November 4, 2010
From the paper
IF there is a heaven, some sort of afterlife, I like to think of it as a place where we get reunited with all the good dogs that we’ve ever known.
-Dana Jennings, NYTimes, November 2, 2010
-Dana Jennings, NYTimes, November 2, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Blogworthy
Today, as I was walking home from the library, I saw a person riding a bike while trying to roll another bike next to it. The person was having a great deal of difficulty and it was posing problems for passersby. I decided it would be fun to ride on the bike.
"Hello! HELLO! Hey, person riding the bike!"
(person turns around)
"Do you want help? I can ride the other one."
"Okay."
"Where are you going?"
"Baker"
"Okay."
And so I mounted the person's bike. We actually switched because he said the one he was riding was easier to ride. I don't think Andrew reads my blogs but he knows especially well that I have issues with bikes. The "easier" bike was rather short and I was a bit wobbly and swervy. It all ended up all right though, and I found out a little bit about why the person had two bikes. He was bringing it to meet his girlfriend because she didn't want to walk to get it. Meir, take note!
Anyway, that is how I rode a bike today, and made a new friend. He was nice.
Analysis: I'm young, invincible, and in college. I don't make the usual bad decisions of my peer group (drugs, alcohol, rampant sexual activity, staying up too late, illegal downloading) so it's nice to get a thrill from being friendly to strangers in mostly safe situations. Just adds a little kick to my day.
Goal: make blogworthy things happen in my life on a daily basis
Secondary goal: if blogworthy things aren't happening, have the humor/wit/intellect to analyze mundane things in a way that would make them blogworthy (I think Seinfeld has already monopolized on this phenomenon...I will just continue what's been started)
Off I go!!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
And then I found 20 dollars
On Thursday, I worked at the hotel from the time my classes ended (4pm) to bedtime (11:30pm). Unbelievable. Then I worked at the hotel on Friday morning from waketime (8:30am) to classes (noon). I also forgot my not-work shoes so in between work and classes on Friday I had to schlep back to North campus to get them. And somewhere in there I ate lunch. It was a doozy.
Then I had Nutrition and Writing, which were both good as usual. My 70 year old Nutrition professor, who is in the best shape of anyone I've ever seen and looks about 45 years old, took off his clothes to reveal a track uniform and demonstrated aerobic and anaerobic exercise for us. It was great. In Writing, I went over my paper with my peer editor, Claire, who is the best school-friend I could wish for. I also saw her later that night as she was going out to a party and it was really nice to see her in a different context. We definitely would have been friends in high school!
Then I turned in my 14 page biology lab report on heart rate and blood pressure. It was such a relief to turn it in! Then I went to a Trustee Scholarship reception thingy to meet my benefactress (ummm Great Expectations, anyone? I've always wanted a benefactress just so I could say I have a benefactress) and she was really quite an amazing woman. Older, stunning, glamorous, classy, the whole bit. Very friendly, and I must say, she took an extra liking to me. It was a nice feeling.
Then I went with Eleanor, who also has a benefactor and was at the reception, to Shabbat services! I went to Table Minyan because I knew Adina would be there. It was great, I got chills, no big deal. Then I went to the Rabbi's house for Shabbat dinner because they were hosting the Chevruta program and I just chilled with my chevruta and we learned about Jewish things a little bit and also just life and it was nice. The rabbi and his wife are great. The kids are a bit hyper but soooo cute!
Then I went to the Center for Jewish Living to see other people, and just hung out and talked with people there. Then I walked back to North, stopped in to see Adina and co. again, and then played Scrabble with Ari and Jake! Too bad they both suck at Scrabble. I lost to them both but it was really because they were cheating. Ari used the word "er" twice, calling it a colloquialism. I hate Cornell. Too many smart asses.
Just kidding, I love Cornell, but I am definitely a sore loser. Never playing Scrabble with Ari again.
The next day, I went to services in the morning, led Psukei DZimra, sang and prayed and whatnot, helped a woman find a class in the building when I got bored (too bad I didn't know the whole group was waiting for me to come back because they didn't have a minyan when I wasn't there...), and then we all had lunch at the kosher dining hall and it was very relaxing and Shabbaty. Then I studied but it wasn't my best study session ever and I napped in the library for a little part of it. Oh well.
Then I met GIL and it was tremendous because I have been waiting to meet Rachel's boyfriend for ages and ages (okay, I've only known her for two months, but it feels like a long time!). Then I had dinner with Adina (classic), saw everyone I've ever known at the dining hall (think Wegmans before Christmas), got my costume together, watched Friends with Adina (because we got our costumes together too quickly and neither of us straighten our hair so we had too much time on our hands), took some pictures, and went to wait on line for the Halloween party at Sammy!
We got on line very early and we were the first ones. As it got time to open the party, we were pushed back by throngs of people! Trying to get into the party really just didn't bring out the best in people. Fortunately, we got in (thanks Conor!) and got the party started. The DJ was great, all my friends were there, the party camera had batteries AND a memory card, and things were going really well.
And then I found 20 dollars. On the floor, in the frat. And I picked it up and took it home with me and let the beer dry out of it. And then I watched another episode of Friends with Adina, and talked to Meir. What a great night.
I love college.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin came to Cornell last night as part of a ten-college book tour about his newest work, Hillel-If not now, when? I learned about this event a while ago but while I was at a meeting to discuss Israel advocacy on Monday evening, a Hillel staff member started talking about an invitation only dinner happening before the lecture Telushkin was scheduled to give. This seemed like an excellent opportunity to practice some of my opportunity taking skills, so I asked the staff member if I could come to the dinner, even though it was invitation only and for people who held board positions in the Cornell Jewish community. The staff member, Julia, said of course.
I walked to the dinner with Adva, the Israeli fellow, my best friend. We talked about the latest in anti-Israel sentiment on campus: Richard Goldstone is coming. Yes, the same Richard Goldstone who became a household name after writing a 500 page report on war crimes during Operation Cast Lead. Let's say this: not my best friend. Anyway, we talked about him and how to deal with other anti-Israel sentiment on campus, since it is all very intellectually based and liberal and not the wild fanatic stuff you see in some places like Berkley. People aren't dressing up like soldiers and holding you at water-gunpoint if you want to cross the bridge from North campus to Central. But what they are doing is slowly chipping away at the legitimacy of a Jewish state by continuously bringing in speakers to talk about Israel's racism, alleged Apartheid, and now war crimes. Beautiful.
Anyway, we got to this dinner early, and I was one of the first people there. I was underdressed. Soon more people arrived and Telushkin himself arrived with a bit of a posse and we all sat down. I didn't even notice at the time, but I sat down at a table for 8 next to Adva, who was sitting next to Telushkin, so we could continue our conversation. We all went around the room giving introductions and after everyone had said I'm the President of this or the Vice President or the Treasurer or the Whatever of that, I said "Hi, I'm Jordana Gilman, and I hope to one day hold those positions," which was met with polite laughter from the crowd of about 40 people. That is the story of how I accidentally ate dinner with Joseph Telushkin.
I actually ended up speaking to him a great deal over the course of the dinner. He was interested in getting to know all of us on some level, and we talked about Israel and other college campuses he had visited. He had just been in Rochester at U of R and had done the drive down to Cornell on one of the most beautiful fall days ever--so of course that gave us something to talk about because I am quite familiar with that experience. We talked about his background, his kids, the book he's working on now, other books we've read, and the structure and involvement of Hillel at Cornell. He gave a short speech about the questions the Talmud says we will be asked right after we die: Were you fair in business dealings? Did you set aside time to study Torah? Did you try to raise a family? Did you pray for the coming of the next world? It was a good talk. I participated and he actually stopped the talk to write down what I had said! It was before he had told us what the Talmud said and he was looking for ideas from the crowd. No one was raising a hand so I figured I'd say What is your proudest achievement? because I figured that was a pretty good sum-up-your-life question and although the Talmud doesn't think that, Rabbi Telushkin does.
His talk was all about the teachings of Hillel. He set up the talk like this: a soundbite of Hillel>explanation>global ramifications>relation to personal life.
Here are the soundbites that he mentioned. Not all of them are from Hillel:
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor.
A hero is someone who overcomes bad impulses.
A rich person is someone who is happy with what he has.
If I am not for me, who will be for me?
If I am only for me, what am I?
Your people shall be my people, your God shall be my God.
Oh little girl, fall into the river again that I might save us both.
A life is with people.
Because I lived, there was more light in my parent's home.
In justice shall you judge your fellow human.
Even good people don't like to read novels about good people.
If you don't study Jewish sources, all you have is a Jewish heart. To have a Jewish head, you must study.
If not now, when?
When you reread a classic, it isn't that there is more in the classic, there is more in you.
Still to come:
explanations of each of these quotations
all the words you can make from the letters in Joseph Telushkin
Stay tuned!
Next day:
Next day:
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
This was presented as an example of something extremely wise and insightful that has lost its importance as it has been incorporated into our culture as a cliche. How do we make a cliche relevant again? Live by it. This is a metaphor for Hillel's teachings, which have become so overused people don't know how to follow them anymore.
This was presented as an example of something extremely wise and insightful that has lost its importance as it has been incorporated into our culture as a cliche. How do we make a cliche relevant again? Live by it. This is a metaphor for Hillel's teachings, which have become so overused people don't know how to follow them anymore.
What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor.
The Golden Rule in the negative. It is not as demanding, more practical, and less subjective. Should we grieve over the death of every person like we grieve over the death of a loved one? No, that just doesn't make sense. My family matters to me more than my family matters to other people, and your family matters to you more than your family matters to me, and I like things that way. Also, what of the person who doesn't love himself? If you're your own worst critic/enemy/whatever, it would be great if we didn't "love" our neighbors in that same way.
The Golden Rule in the negative. It is not as demanding, more practical, and less subjective. Should we grieve over the death of every person like we grieve over the death of a loved one? No, that just doesn't make sense. My family matters to me more than my family matters to other people, and your family matters to you more than your family matters to me, and I like things that way. Also, what of the person who doesn't love himself? If you're your own worst critic/enemy/whatever, it would be great if we didn't "love" our neighbors in that same way.
A hero is someone who overcomes bad impulses.
Often, a hero is described in terms of a physical deed or an act of bravery. These don't come up so often. An opportunity to display heroic virtues comes up a lot if you view it as the ability to overcome bad impulses. I like the more traditional definition of a hero also, because there are people who show extreme bravery in risky or difficult situations, and it is important to me that those people are shown the respect they deserve. But you also deserve respect for overcoming bad influences!
Often, a hero is described in terms of a physical deed or an act of bravery. These don't come up so often. An opportunity to display heroic virtues comes up a lot if you view it as the ability to overcome bad impulses. I like the more traditional definition of a hero also, because there are people who show extreme bravery in risky or difficult situations, and it is important to me that those people are shown the respect they deserve. But you also deserve respect for overcoming bad influences!
A rich person is someone who is happy with what he has.
Not satisfied with what he has, is the caveat. When you're satisfied, you lose motivation and you don't grow. When you are happy, you enjoy what you have but are still motivated. Oh Hillel, you were a thinker! And Sheryl Crow agrees: It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
Not satisfied with what he has, is the caveat. When you're satisfied, you lose motivation and you don't grow. When you are happy, you enjoy what you have but are still motivated. Oh Hillel, you were a thinker! And Sheryl Crow agrees: It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
If I am not for me, who will be for me?
Stand up for yourself!
Stand up for yourself!
If I am only for me, what am I?
If you are only for yourself, you become a What and not even a Who.
If you are only for yourself, you become a What and not even a Who.
Your people shall be my people, your God shall be my God.
After Ruth's husband dies, she still wants to be a part of the Jewish people and remain family with her mother-in-law. She says this line in a way that sums up a vital value of Judaism, one that has kept us alive against all odds: we are a people, a community, a family. It's why supporting Israel goes beyond political and practical, it is religious. It's why we have Operation Solomon and we donate to Jewish organizations. That, and guilt, I think. Although so far I have only been on the receiving end of donations to Jewish organizations. One day soon I'll start paying my dues!
After Ruth's husband dies, she still wants to be a part of the Jewish people and remain family with her mother-in-law. She says this line in a way that sums up a vital value of Judaism, one that has kept us alive against all odds: we are a people, a community, a family. It's why supporting Israel goes beyond political and practical, it is religious. It's why we have Operation Solomon and we donate to Jewish organizations. That, and guilt, I think. Although so far I have only been on the receiving end of donations to Jewish organizations. One day soon I'll start paying my dues!
Oh little girl, fall into the river again that I might save us both.
Not Hillel. A man somewhere watched a girl drown and was paralyzed for whatever reason while she was drowning. The guilt, sadness, pain ate him alive until he was very old. He says this line to say that not only would he have saved the little girl while she was drowning, but that act would have saved his own life, in a spiritual sense. >>Doing good things for other people is good for you, too!
Not Hillel. A man somewhere watched a girl drown and was paralyzed for whatever reason while she was drowning. The guilt, sadness, pain ate him alive until he was very old. He says this line to say that not only would he have saved the little girl while she was drowning, but that act would have saved his own life, in a spiritual sense. >>Doing good things for other people is good for you, too!
A life is with people.
It's fun to keep Shabbat when everyone around you is keeping Shabbat and there is lots to talk about and board games to play and festive meals to enjoy. It is way less fun to be not only electronically disconnected from the world but socially connected as well if you are alone on Shabbat. This is only one example. I think that being with people makes everything more worthwhile and enjoyable. Just take Abbott's Frozen Custard, for example.
It's fun to keep Shabbat when everyone around you is keeping Shabbat and there is lots to talk about and board games to play and festive meals to enjoy. It is way less fun to be not only electronically disconnected from the world but socially connected as well if you are alone on Shabbat. This is only one example. I think that being with people makes everything more worthwhile and enjoyable. Just take Abbott's Frozen Custard, for example.
Because I lived, there was more light in my parent's home.
About the tradition to light an extra Shabbat candle for each child. >> Rituals can convey love. It is important to not only observe Jewish rituals but put meaning and love behind them.
About the tradition to light an extra Shabbat candle for each child. >> Rituals can convey love. It is important to not only observe Jewish rituals but put meaning and love behind them.
In justice shall you judge your fellow human.
Put yourself in another person's shoes before you judge. Telushkin challenged us to go 24 hours without judging. Rachel put an x and a line on my notebook and I signed it, and I made an x and a line for her and she signed it. I realized that night as I fell asleep that when I stopped in her room to say good night, we talked about our friend's boyfriend and how we would definitely not ever go for him and how we didn't get why she was so into him and how annoying he appeared from his facebook profile. Fail. Do I get points for feeling bad about it retrospectively?
Put yourself in another person's shoes before you judge. Telushkin challenged us to go 24 hours without judging. Rachel put an x and a line on my notebook and I signed it, and I made an x and a line for her and she signed it. I realized that night as I fell asleep that when I stopped in her room to say good night, we talked about our friend's boyfriend and how we would definitely not ever go for him and how we didn't get why she was so into him and how annoying he appeared from his facebook profile. Fail. Do I get points for feeling bad about it retrospectively?
Even good people don't like to read novels about good people.
If you talk to a friend about a mutual friend for twenty minutes, will the conversation go like this: "oh, you know THAT story about how nice she is? Let me tell you THIS story about how nice she is. You won't BELIEVE what a great person we know!" or this: "oh, you know THAT story about what a skank she is? Let me tell you what I heard!" Replace skank with any age appropriate mean thing. You get the idea. Obviously Telushkin didn't give the example using the word "skank."
If you talk to a friend about a mutual friend for twenty minutes, will the conversation go like this: "oh, you know THAT story about how nice she is? Let me tell you THIS story about how nice she is. You won't BELIEVE what a great person we know!" or this: "oh, you know THAT story about what a skank she is? Let me tell you what I heard!" Replace skank with any age appropriate mean thing. You get the idea. Obviously Telushkin didn't give the example using the word "skank."
If you don't study Jewish sources, all you have is a Jewish heart. To have a Jewish head, you must study.
If not now, when?
When you reread a classic, it isn't that there is more in the classic, there is more in you.
Ok, so I didn't feel like explaining the last three. But I think that they can speak to you even if you don't know exactly what Telushkin said. Basically, Jews need to be good people AND study Jewish sources. Hey, nobody said it was easy.
JOSEPH TELUSHKIN:
skin
kin
the
lush
lone
help
pelt
in
on
one
honk
shot
open to suggestions...
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Map, The Parisians, The Christmas Party, and The Sunday
The Map: within a few weeks of my time here at Cornell, I noticed that the world map in Olin Library (dated 2004) was labeled with the Gaza Strip but not Israel. I decided this was an omission I would not tolerate. I spoke to the maps librarian and he was polite about it. A few days later, my friend Ari, who knew what action I had taken, texted me to let me know that Israel was now on the map, side-by-side with Gaza Strip. I went in today to thank the maps librarian. He is a middle-aged, racially ambiguous man with an equally ambiguous accent. He told me that the three major map databases in use in America do not have information including Israel, and he said "it might even be on purpose." Like...HELLO! YAH! But he was very nice about it, like I said, and totally agreed that Israel should be on the map. So now Israel is on the map in the same font as everyone else's countries and it looks very nice sitting there along the Mediterranean with a little chunk cut out here and there for the future Palestinian state.
The Parisians: I hung out with my foreign friends again on Saturday! I ran into them at lunch after babysitting and a little thrift store shopping on The Commons. We dined and then we reconvened for studying in the Uris Library! They are so interesting and unimaginably wealthy! It is quite an experience to hang out with them. They took cigarette breaks while we studied! Felix called it "a French concentration technique." I called it (to myself) a well-deserved victory for America! Victories for America are few and far between these days, mostly because of the obesity epidemic and general economic dysfunction, so I will celebrate this small win by listening to country music and wearing pigtail braids.
The Christmas Party: Before the Christmas Party at AEPi (a Jewish frat, naturally), I ate dinner out with Adina's family. Her wonderful, interesting, beautiful family. It was a Clinton Fan Club Meeting. After the dinner, we prepared for the Christmas Party, which, for me, involved putting vaseline on my chapped lips and brushing my matted hair and putting on appropriate footwear (ie fake leather boots that are easily cleaned with lysol wipes-thanks Chelsea!-to protect from the layer of beer on the dance floor). The Christmas Party was foreshadowed by a number of telling signs: a scary, wobbling, masked wolf walking ahead of us (always ominous!), the forgetting of my camera card and the failure of an alternative card, and the cloud of smoke and steam that surrounded the party house on a coldish, rainy night. The wolf represented dark and scary things, the camera card represented God's feeling that we ought not to have photographic evidence of the evening, and the smoky halo represented a smoke machine that was inside the party but not allowed to be inside the party and later set off the smoke alarm. Go figure.
The party deteriorated quickly. There were more creepers than usual, the friends from my floor decided to leave early, and personal issues for my other friends surfaced as well. By the time the smoke alarm went off and we all had to evacuate, it was a mess. Our coats and belongings (keys, cameras, ID cards) were locked in a room we couldn't access so we had to wait it out.
The night ended with a Cliff Bar at Nasties and sweatpants.
The Sunday: woke up at the butt crack of dawn to go to my stupid work training session at the hotel. I learned nothing but did get paid for five hours. Score.
Napped for what was originally going to be 25 minutes but quickly escalated into a full three hour slumber, complete with REM cycles and dreams.
Dreamed about 2012 and was surprised by whom my subconscious decided to save. It will create a riot, so I won't share it here. I also watched the world end, which was relatively traumatic.
Started making my photobook (thanks Mom, groupon!) and missed Nativ, Wheels, high school.
Went to ballroom dancing and tangoed with Joe. Our promenades are unbeatable!
Dined with Jake and had a much needed life debriefing session.
Snugged with Adina and Rachel and read for pleasure! and in case she's reading this, Rachel gets a lot of credit for my post-shower visit.
I love my friends.
The Parisians: I hung out with my foreign friends again on Saturday! I ran into them at lunch after babysitting and a little thrift store shopping on The Commons. We dined and then we reconvened for studying in the Uris Library! They are so interesting and unimaginably wealthy! It is quite an experience to hang out with them. They took cigarette breaks while we studied! Felix called it "a French concentration technique." I called it (to myself) a well-deserved victory for America! Victories for America are few and far between these days, mostly because of the obesity epidemic and general economic dysfunction, so I will celebrate this small win by listening to country music and wearing pigtail braids.
The Christmas Party: Before the Christmas Party at AEPi (a Jewish frat, naturally), I ate dinner out with Adina's family. Her wonderful, interesting, beautiful family. It was a Clinton Fan Club Meeting. After the dinner, we prepared for the Christmas Party, which, for me, involved putting vaseline on my chapped lips and brushing my matted hair and putting on appropriate footwear (ie fake leather boots that are easily cleaned with lysol wipes-thanks Chelsea!-to protect from the layer of beer on the dance floor). The Christmas Party was foreshadowed by a number of telling signs: a scary, wobbling, masked wolf walking ahead of us (always ominous!), the forgetting of my camera card and the failure of an alternative card, and the cloud of smoke and steam that surrounded the party house on a coldish, rainy night. The wolf represented dark and scary things, the camera card represented God's feeling that we ought not to have photographic evidence of the evening, and the smoky halo represented a smoke machine that was inside the party but not allowed to be inside the party and later set off the smoke alarm. Go figure.
The party deteriorated quickly. There were more creepers than usual, the friends from my floor decided to leave early, and personal issues for my other friends surfaced as well. By the time the smoke alarm went off and we all had to evacuate, it was a mess. Our coats and belongings (keys, cameras, ID cards) were locked in a room we couldn't access so we had to wait it out.
The night ended with a Cliff Bar at Nasties and sweatpants.
The Sunday: woke up at the butt crack of dawn to go to my stupid work training session at the hotel. I learned nothing but did get paid for five hours. Score.
Napped for what was originally going to be 25 minutes but quickly escalated into a full three hour slumber, complete with REM cycles and dreams.
Dreamed about 2012 and was surprised by whom my subconscious decided to save. It will create a riot, so I won't share it here. I also watched the world end, which was relatively traumatic.
Started making my photobook (thanks Mom, groupon!) and missed Nativ, Wheels, high school.
Went to ballroom dancing and tangoed with Joe. Our promenades are unbeatable!
Dined with Jake and had a much needed life debriefing session.
Snugged with Adina and Rachel and read for pleasure! and in case she's reading this, Rachel gets a lot of credit for my post-shower visit.
I love my friends.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
WTF Joseph Dana
Writing letters...again.
This is the event tomorrow:
Anarchists Against the Wall
October 21, 2010 - 7:00PM to 10:00PM
Joseph Dana of Anarchists Against the Wall will be speaking on the Israeli solidarity movement with Palestinian popular resistance to the wall and to Israeli apartheid more generally.
| LOCATION: | Goldwin Smith, Lewis Aud. |
|---|---|
| SPEAKER: | Joseph Dana, Anarchists Against the Wall |
| TOPIC: | The Israeli Solidarity movement with Palestinian popular resistance to the wall |
| ADMISSION: | Open to Public. |
| ADMISSION INFO: | free and open to the public |
| CONTACT: | Carl Gelderloos 607 277 1309 cag236@cornell.edu This is the speaker's website: http://josephdana.com/ If you want to hear about how he is "creating impossible friendships," or want to laugh, I recommend watching the video interview. |
Carl,
We recently came across a poster for the UPJP event, Anarchists Against the Wall. The poster's message, "SMASH ISRAELI APARTHEID," offended us personally as Jews and supporters of Israel. The message implies that Israel is an Apartheid state and Israel's supporters condone the alleged Apartheid.
Israel is not an Apartheid state. Apartheid is a legally enforced system that institutionalizes segregation, discrimination, and oppression based on race, gender, sexuality, or religion. The Separation Barrier and laws in Israel do not discriminate based on race, gender, sexuality, or religion, as Palestinians live on both sides of the wall, and Palestinians in the West Bank have their own government, the Palestinian Authority. Along with the Palestinian government in the West Bank, Arabs in Israel have full citizenship and voting rights, and 14 out of the 120 members of the Israeli Parliament are Arab. The Israeli government is aware of the inconveniences the Barrier poses to residents of the West Bank and is working to find a more advantageous long term solution; however, the safety of the Israeli people is paramount.
The "Wall" itself is actually only about 5% cement wall, which comes out to approximately 10 miles, built to prevent sniper shootings that were frequent in those selected areas. The Security Barrier has been extremely effective in halting attacks on Israeli citizens. Between 2002 and 2003, when major portions of the Barrier was constructed, there were 30% fewer attacks by terrorists from the West Bank and 50% fewer Israelis were murdered. The effectiveness of the Barrier has continued in even greater magnitudes today.
The posters for this event blatantly incite hatred toward Israel by feeding Cornell students misleading information about the status of Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank.
This use of propaganda is unfair and uncomfortable for students like us who feel a strong connection to the State of Israel. For students who have not yet formed a connection or a strong opinion with either side, their opinions will easily be manipulated by the depiction of Israel as an Apartheid state.
It is our hope that you will find validity in our concerns and we can work together to find a solution to this problem, to educate Cornell students about the conflict while representing facts as clearly as possible and without bias.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Jordana Gilman and Rachel M--
Thankfully, Rachel is equally incensed about this issue and we are tearing down the anarchist with our own bare hands. I am ever so grateful to have a fellow Israel advocate like her on my own floor! While we did miss out on a half hour of planned sleep to write this letter, it was worth it and fun. We have been trained for this. It is OUR TIME.
WE ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD ONE JEWISH ORGANIZATION AT A TIME AND IT IS A WONDERFUL FEELING AND I AM GETTING PHOTOGRAPHED SO I HAVE TO LOOK INTENSE AND TYPE REALLY FAST AND LOOK EXCITED
To conclude: Allegations that Israel is an apartheid state will have to find a home elsewhere. Not on our campus. Not in our home. Not in our hearts. (We're laughing now, you can too). But actually.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
F/Rats, Bowties
I hosted a pre-frosh through Hillel over the weekend. We went to Shabbat services, dinner, listened to a Professor Sarna speak about Jewish demographics, went to L'chaims in the house (The Center for Jewish Living has a bar...?), went to Phi Sig with friends to meet Joe, danced. The party was shut down so we went upstairs and hung out in people's rooms and danced to techno with people we didn't know. The party started up again around 12:30. They played Nirvana. It was awesome.
I babysat again on Saturday morning. It was an experience that included High School Musical, dancing, diaper changing, and bathing. And more. The best part was at the end, after I had worked somewhere between two and three hours, and my employer rounded UP! It has never happened before. I was in shock.
When I returned, my pre-frosh was amusing herself with sudoku in my room. We went to study for two hours and then went to the Commons where we window shopped and had coffee/neither of us had coffee specifically but it's the idea that counts. We took a bus back in time for dinner with JONNY and Jesse and Ranan and Jessica, and Jonny, Jesse, and me just reminisced about Nativ the whole time. Then we changed and prepared to go out. We walked around campus for about two hours trying to find/get into a party. Finally we settled on Thumpty, a weird frat to which I had vowed to never return. It turned out to be awesome and there was a live band and I had an amazing time and dancing with Nativ was the best. After Thumpty, we went to Sammy after hours and chilled and danced in a Bar Mitzvah fashion. Except most people were drunk and we were at a frat house. I tried to do flying squirrel and was not caught and landed on my back with my legs and arms still in the air. It was mostly a failure, but the party was fun.
In the morning, my pre-frosh left at 10. It had been a wild ride. Then I went back to sleep for an hour, went to a work meeting for the hotel, and studied biology for six. hours.
I dissected a rat on Sunday. It was a male rat, I named him Whiskies. He had beautiful intestines. I did a good job. It was weird at first because he had little rat hands and little rat bones that I had to break, but it was worth it in the end.
On Monday after my classes, I worked my first shift at the Statler Hotel. I was born to banquet. I wore a vest and a bowtie. I had never been more polite in my life. I was working mostly with Hufflepuffs, and if you know anything about Hufflepuffs, you know that they are very nice and easy to work with but lack zing. I worked for about 7 hours. I was exhausted. I served coffee and refilled waters and cleared plates and set up and cleaned up. At the end of my shift, I changed back into my regular clothes in the locker room, returned my uniform, left my work pants/shoes/belt in a bag in the locker room, left the hotel and stuck out my hand at the first intersection. A Chinese man stopped his car. He thought I was telling him to slow down. Actually, I was hitch hiking. He was going to the gym close to my dorm. He was playing Chinese music. His name was Chow. First Cornell Hitch Hiking Experience = Major Success.
Today I picked up my bag of clothes from the hotel lost and found, went to my classes, and ate with Adina. Classic day. Now, off to the RA meeting. L'hit!
Today I picked up my bag of clothes from the hotel lost and found, went to my classes, and ate with Adina. Classic day. Now, off to the RA meeting. L'hit!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Animals
Animals I have seen on the Cornell campus since I arrived in August:
1. Squirrels
2. Dogs
3. A turtle
4. A large toad
5. A large (mutant?) slug
6. A heron (three times!)
7. A red-tailed hawk
8. Chipmunks
9. A bunny
10. Freshman boys
11. A monarch butterfly
12. A pair of blue jays!
13. Two skunks!
Plus, on the drive home two weeks ago--two bald eagles!
So sad that I don't get to see kittens : (
Friday, October 1, 2010
Mind blowing
I feel like I'm cheating on Kurt Vonnegut, my long time favorite author, when I announce this: Anton Chekhov is my new favorite author.
College is doing insane things to my mind. I absolutely love reading late 19th century Russian literature. How is this possible?
Today I went to a lunch for the second day of chag at an apartment on a gorge. Literally, on a gorge, as in, falling into the gorge. It was so beautiful. There were probably 25 people there, all Jewish, with some connection to Cornell and the people who live in the apartment. The food was delicious, the company genial...from freshmen to grad students. I really enjoyed it.
Today there was a turtle on the sidewalk.
Today I went to a play called Revolution because my friend Jesse was playing Jesus Christ in it. It was a play written by a student about revolutionaries and religion and bureaucracy. It was much too complicated for me. In 45 minutes, every single character turned out to be a double crosser, everyone had a name that was a metaphor for something else, and the entire play was about something entirely different than I originally thought.
I did go to see the play with some really cool people though, including several foreigners from Dubai/England, Paris, and the Dominican Republic. And Westchester. We discussed it afterward a bit, and I felt like this is why I went here: We went to see the play. It was an absurdly artsy play. We discussed it afterward and made sense of what we could and gave our opinions. We decided it was too much and discussed our weekend plans.
These are the kinds of people I have always wanted to meet! Cultured, diverse, interesting, intellectual...but not trying too hard. Like we went to the play, we talked about it, and instead of spending our evening wearing glasses with no prescription in them and arguing fervently about fascism, we just got on with our lives.
On a more routine note: I finished my hardest week of college yet! It included two "prelims" (big tests) in Human Development and Nutrition, a Hebrew test, a four page paper in Freshman Writing (I wrote about "The Doctor" by Chekhov!), and a unit test in Bio on photosynthesis and twigs.
I can now determine the age of any twig you place before me. I am bound for success.
Shabbat Shalom!
College is doing insane things to my mind. I absolutely love reading late 19th century Russian literature. How is this possible?
Today I went to a lunch for the second day of chag at an apartment on a gorge. Literally, on a gorge, as in, falling into the gorge. It was so beautiful. There were probably 25 people there, all Jewish, with some connection to Cornell and the people who live in the apartment. The food was delicious, the company genial...from freshmen to grad students. I really enjoyed it.
Today there was a turtle on the sidewalk.
Today I went to a play called Revolution because my friend Jesse was playing Jesus Christ in it. It was a play written by a student about revolutionaries and religion and bureaucracy. It was much too complicated for me. In 45 minutes, every single character turned out to be a double crosser, everyone had a name that was a metaphor for something else, and the entire play was about something entirely different than I originally thought.
I did go to see the play with some really cool people though, including several foreigners from Dubai/England, Paris, and the Dominican Republic. And Westchester. We discussed it afterward a bit, and I felt like this is why I went here: We went to see the play. It was an absurdly artsy play. We discussed it afterward and made sense of what we could and gave our opinions. We decided it was too much and discussed our weekend plans.
These are the kinds of people I have always wanted to meet! Cultured, diverse, interesting, intellectual...but not trying too hard. Like we went to the play, we talked about it, and instead of spending our evening wearing glasses with no prescription in them and arguing fervently about fascism, we just got on with our lives.
On a more routine note: I finished my hardest week of college yet! It included two "prelims" (big tests) in Human Development and Nutrition, a Hebrew test, a four page paper in Freshman Writing (I wrote about "The Doctor" by Chekhov!), and a unit test in Bio on photosynthesis and twigs.
I can now determine the age of any twig you place before me. I am bound for success.
Shabbat Shalom!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Stephen Walt
Stephen Walt is a professor at Harvard and the author of two New York Times bestsellers. He is a highly regarded foreign policy analyst and he came to speak at Cornell last Thursday!
He is also highly praised by White Supremacists everywhere and many things in his book are shamelessly anti-semitic. Joyyyyy.
See the Cornell Daily Sun article online about his speech.
This is my response:
Letter to the Editor regarding “Walt Criticizes Obama’s Foreign Policy”
Dear Editor,
I would like to provide an additional perspective in regards to last week’s article on the speech given by Professor Walt about Obama’s foreign policy, specifically concerning Israel and Palestine.
While Professor Walt stuck to his promise after the fire alarm that he would not say anything “inflammatory,” he did leave out some key details. As stated in Joseph Niczky’s article last Friday, Walt predicted that unless Obama put greater pressure on Israel to come to an agreement, there would be no peaceful two-state solution.
This implies that Israel is the only player who holds cards in the deal. It is true that Israel holds bargaining power in the form of territory and Jerusalem, but the Palestinians also have much to contribute to the compromise, like recognizing the State of Israel and giving up terrorism.
Let’s start with recognition. An important part of a feasible peace process is the understanding on both sides that the other has the right to exist. Mahmoud Abbas, the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, told the Palestinian newspaper ‘Al-Quds’ that, “For us, there is the state of Israel and we won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state” (The Jerusalem Post, September 7, 2010).
Whether this is a personal sentiment of Abbas or not, there is not enough Palestinian support for the recognition of a Jewish State. If Abbas were to recognize Israel in coming peace talks, it is very possible that he would not stay in power long enough to implement the plans for peace.
During the question and answer portion of the lecture, Professor Walt drew a parallel between the conflict in Ireland that George Mitchell worked to resolve and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, claiming that the key to success in Ireland was the inclusion of all parties. In the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Hamas is known as a terrorist organization and therefore the US will not hold talks that include Hamas. Walt sees bringing Hamas into the discussions as a possible route to peace.
Upon further inspection of what Hamas stands for, Walt may not be so quick to suggest we invite Hamas to our peace planning parties. The Hamas Charter states: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it. (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).”
They say it takes two to tango. The US can force Netanyahu to put on his dancing shoes but that doesn’t mean Abbas is going to bring his. And Hamas doesn’t even own dancing shoes.
On to terrorism. While TIME magazine would have you believe that there has been “relative peace” in the southern region since the Disengagement in 2005 (all Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip were forcibly removed from their homes by the Israel Defense Forces and relocated) and Operation Cast Lead in January 2009, rockets have continued to fall on Israel, some in highly populated areas. In many ways, outsiders view the terrorism as acts of individuals unrelated to the Palestinian leadership, when in fact acts of terrorism are organized by Hamas and glorified by the Palestinian Authority.
Professor Walt also mentioned territory quite a bit when discussing the conflict, specifically that the Palestinian Authority has “already given up 78% of mandatory land.” This references the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, General Assembly Resolution 181. The Partition Plan was proposed in 1947, before Israel declared independence from Britain and recommended a two state solution. The leaders of the Jewish State approved the plan but it was rejected by the Palestine Arab Higher Committee, so it was never implemented. When Walt says that the Palestinians do not have land to use as a bargaining tool in negotiations, he is correct. But to say that they have already given up 78% of what is rightfully theirs is ignoring history. The land allotted to the Palestinians during the British Mandate period before Israel’s independence never became a reality because Arab leaders refused to accept the Partition Plan.
To tackle the statements Walt made about Apartheid, I will say this: Israel is a democracy. Arab Israelis vote in Israeli elections. There are Arab parties (multiple!) in the Israeli Parliament, and at times there have been as many as 12 Arab seats in the Parliament of 120 seats. Apartheid in South Africa was a legal system of discrimination, segregation, and domination based on race. To suggest that Israel may face a similar rights violation is to fail to acknowledge the tragedy of Apartheid in the history of South Africa.
There is one thing Professor Walt said that I could have not agreed with more, and that is there is no “low-hanging fruit” in foreign policy. That could not be more true about the case of Israel and Palestine.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
College Life
I have friends! I have two real friends in bio, which is great, because we help each other and schedule study dates. I have two real friends in Hebrew, and one of them is my best friend Adina and we are a great team. She is also an Israel freshman and we have similar views about lots of things in life. I have three friends in Human Development, including two people I have known and loved for years. I have three friends in Nutrition as well! I have many friends in my dorm and I am very friendly with my hall. You'd be surprised how well you can cement a friendship while teeth brushing. I also have many, many friends at Hillel. A lot of those friends are other Israel Freshmen and we are quite close and go about together at night and such.
On Friday night, after services and Shabbat dinner, I went out with Adina and Julia to the America Party at Alden's frat. It was really great! I kept running into people I knew and liked! This included Max, a friend from the Meinig Scholars Program. It was a great joy to run into him in such an environment, because we first met in a rather stuffy meet-and-greet at a bowling alley. I know it seems like meet-and-greets can't be stuffy if they're in a bowling alley, but if you get a bunch of kids together at Cornell and tell them they are scholars, I assure you it can get stuffy.
On Saturday night, I watched ללכת על המים or Walk On Water as it is called in English. It is truly an amazing film. Israeli films are the best! They have the realest characters and conflicts and it's all shot on location and none of this Hollywood crap. No special effects. Just human experience and suffering and love and beauty! This is what the art of film is about!
Cried about TIME. You have let me down.
Studied all day, breaking for Ballroom Dancing with Joe D. We are waltz pros.
Watched two episodes of Glee to reward myself for gaining so much new knowledge regarding ATP Synthesis.
Applied for a job with a 9% acceptance rate (by that I mean, about 100 people apply and they only have about 9 spots) which is crazy and depressing. I really wanted to be an over enthusiastic early morning tour guide with too much school spirit and a plethora of random knowledge about the history and architecture of Cornell University. I really would have been a natural, I am sure of it.
I think it might be time for one last Glee episode. Is that too many? I can't think anymore. Damn you, peer reviewed articles on studies showing the effects of B6 on PMS. Why can't you just show the full text on line!!?? I really do hate you.
On Friday night, after services and Shabbat dinner, I went out with Adina and Julia to the America Party at Alden's frat. It was really great! I kept running into people I knew and liked! This included Max, a friend from the Meinig Scholars Program. It was a great joy to run into him in such an environment, because we first met in a rather stuffy meet-and-greet at a bowling alley. I know it seems like meet-and-greets can't be stuffy if they're in a bowling alley, but if you get a bunch of kids together at Cornell and tell them they are scholars, I assure you it can get stuffy.
On Saturday night, I watched ללכת על המים or Walk On Water as it is called in English. It is truly an amazing film. Israeli films are the best! They have the realest characters and conflicts and it's all shot on location and none of this Hollywood crap. No special effects. Just human experience and suffering and love and beauty! This is what the art of film is about!
Cried about TIME. You have let me down.
Studied all day, breaking for Ballroom Dancing with Joe D. We are waltz pros.
Watched two episodes of Glee to reward myself for gaining so much new knowledge regarding ATP Synthesis.
Applied for a job with a 9% acceptance rate (by that I mean, about 100 people apply and they only have about 9 spots) which is crazy and depressing. I really wanted to be an over enthusiastic early morning tour guide with too much school spirit and a plethora of random knowledge about the history and architecture of Cornell University. I really would have been a natural, I am sure of it.
I think it might be time for one last Glee episode. Is that too many? I can't think anymore. Damn you, peer reviewed articles on studies showing the effects of B6 on PMS. Why can't you just show the full text on line!!?? I really do hate you.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Classes, Shabbat, and a Rave
I. Classes
A. Bio
1. self taught
2. hard
3. awesome
4. I chill in the bio study center
B. Human Development
1. sit with Julia
2. videos of infants and children
3. what's not to love?
C. Nutrition
1. prof is hilar
2. learning a lot already (autonomic nervous system)
3. prof talked about fight or flight responses as they relate to orgasms today in class, we all had heart attacks. he's ooooold
D. Hebrew
1. prof is my best friend
2. good level for me so far
3. helped me meet one of my actual best friends, Adina, who went to Israel last year and is awesome
E. English
1. prof talks in a British/snoody/A Separate Peace boarding school accent
2. reading Russian literature so I feel smarter
3. not seeing where it's going quite yet
F. Ballroom
1. hasn't started yet
2. doing it with Joe D so how can it not be great!?
II. Shabbat
A. Beit Midrash
1. pre Shabbat learning in the Beit Midrash
2. one other girl there
3. lots of arguing
4. possibly social suicide, still unclear
B. Services
1. I lead Kabalat Shabbat
2. I rocked
3. the conservative minyan was good but I want to try others
C. Dinner
1. madhouse
2. not a lot of food
3. pareve desserts are bad in America
4. made friends!
D. L'Chaims
1. Jewish "frat house" thingy (Center for Jewish Living) hosts "L'Chaims" post dinner
2. lots of drinks and Jews
3. I didn't drink but I mingled
4. weird concept
III. Rave
A. Getting in
1. Arrived with Jesse, Ranan, and Jake
2. recognized new friend Conor
3. Conor, bless his lil heart, let us in
B. Entering the rain forest
1. climate was 100% humidity, about 95 degrees F
2. very crowded
C. Bartending
1. I liked the idea of having a purpose
2. I liked the idea of having a sturdy, high wooden table between me and potential rapists/unwanted dance partners
3. I asked drunk people to use their manners and reminded them to drink water
4. I handed out beers
D. Dancing
1. insanity
2. insanity
3. fun
4. sweaty
5. they played Stereo Love and it brought me back to the days of Yerucham and Crack Square
E. Leaving
1. said goodbye to our many friends (yay!!!!)
2. used my orientation skills to read the campus map and navigated us to the next house
3. entered the next house but the party was over
4. found a pole in the empty basement and tried to turn upside down on it but failed
5. walked back home to North campus and saw a beautiful doe on the way
NOW IT IS TIME TO SLEEP!!!!!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tomorrow
Tomorrow, I will begin classes. I am nervous and excited. I hope I like my teachers and my courses and I hope they like me and my outfits and my writing style. I hope I am smart enough to absorb all the information that is contained in the 400 dollars worth of textbooks I purchased today. There is a lot of information in there.
Tonight we had to go to a theatre troupe thing about diversity and talk about tolerance. It was worthwhile but some people said some pretty dumb things in the discussion. Also it brought up affirmative action which is always a confusing topic. The liberal-let's-all-hold-hands-and-talk-about-peace side of me says YES! and the competitive-wants-a-good-job-and-money-based-on-my-abilities side of me says OH HELLLLL NO!
To relax before bed, I went for a run around campus. I got further than I thought I would and I saw a lot of campus and some great songs came on my iPod. After I cooled off, I hung out with five kids who all spent the year in Israel last year and we are becoming great friends. They didn't do it tonight, but they smoke pot pretty regularly and I am worried that I won't be as close with them because I don't want to smoke. I really, really want to be friends with them though-they feel like my people, where I fit in. But I guess I don't really fit in if I feel pressure from them to smoke. Which I don't-I just want to be included in their outings, but they know I don't smoke, so I'm not included in those outings. We'll see what happens. Right now I'm just glad I have people to hang out with and they don't mind if I don't smoke.
Besides the Israel kids, I have been getting close with some more kids from my floor and also from my major/pre-med in my college. I love recognizing people when I'm walking all over campus.
Also, today, on my walk to the pre med meeting, I crossed a footbridge that passes over a gorge and a waterfall. The sun came out for those few moments when I was crossing the bridge and there was a beautiful rainbow in the mist. It's a sign!
WAHHHH VICTORY IS MINE!!!
At long last, I finally have a SCHEDULE!
I am a full-time enrolled student at Cornell University. Instead of only being signed up for three classes, two of which were at the same time, I am currently signed up for:
1. Self Taught Bio (weekly quizzes, you do the rest yourself, plus it's a year long course)
2. Nutrition, Health, and Society
3. Human Development Infancy and Childhood
4. Writing About Literature-Telling Stories
5. Elementary Modern Hebrew III (that's right, I placed into the THIRD semester of Hebrew!!! I am scared that it's going to kick my butt, but I've heard suuuuch amazing things about the professor that I have to do it)
6. Ballroom Dancing with my bff Joe D from USY!!!!!!!
I am going to be a doctor!!! WOOO!!!!!!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
O-Week cont.
6. EATING-everyoneeeee is scrambling around. We have to wait in line to get our cards swiped and then again at all the different counters. Lots of options though, and everything is marked "vegetarian," "vegan," "contains wheat," etc. It's nice, and it tastes really good. But it's so crowded and overwhelming. When I had dinner with Hannah last night, we waited in lines with each other even if we weren't getting the same food just so we wouldn't get separated. Because we wouldn't find each other for another week.
7. Weather-here it comes...it's raining and dark and windy in Ithaca. Surprise. I just thought we'd have a few more nights of summer!
8. Collegetown-explored more last night, went to a lot of different frat "annexes" (where the seniors live). I met up with this girl Cora, who is from Michigan and totally chill and not like a let's-get-dressed-up-and-impress-boys-with-our-heels kind of girl. I like her! It's literally a city of party houses. Hundreds and hundreds of drunk kids in the streets and going in and out of houses, the smell of pot every so often, lots of late night food places, and a few cops rolling around writing people up. Doesn't that sound like SO MUCH FUN!?
9. Professors-I've started meeting them! I went to meet with the Hebrew professor tonight and she was HYSTERICAL amazing loved her. So Israeli. They are the best. Then I tagged along with my friend Ranan so he could talk to a professor about Earth Science, and while he was there, I started a conversation with a professor. He literally blew my mind when he started talking about global warming and pollution and stuff. He said, "people read about pollution and oil spills as if it's someone's house getting broken into that they don't know, and they say, oh, that sucks for them. Well, it's MY FUCKING HOUSE!!! It's YOUR FUCKING HOUSE that's being broken into. People should really ask me before polluting my atmosphere. You can't just build a fucking smokestack and start polluting my atmosphere without asking." I was like, whoa, this is a lot to handle. Also, today, we went to a lecture on the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and the professor didn't talk about it at all. Instead he played a lot of bad homemade videos of other horticulture professors talking about plants. His best line was, "sometimes the best way to be a purple iris is to be yellow." It was a great bonding experience for me and the person sitting next to me.
This place is effing nuts.
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