Man Purse

Oren and I are doing well! We are super busy, especially me! I started school on Sunday. It is going to be an interesting and very intense year! I take 13 classes per week including 3 statistic classes, 2 Epidemiology Classes, Nutrition, Organization of Public Health Systems and more!!! The school week is Sunday- Thursday. Most days we are in class from 8:30-4:30pm with only a 15 min break between classes. So far the 7 classes that I attended are very interesting! Even more interesting are the students. Who would have thought that I would be a minority within my community in Israel? Our class consists of 24 students. 21 of the students are Medical Doctors. 22 of the students come from countries other than US and Israel. Only 2 of us are from the United States and both of us are Jewish. The countries represented in my class are Cameroon, India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Albania, Mongolia, Buldova, Uzbekistan and Georgia. Everyone is so interesting and I am excited to learn with them. Many of them have worked in AIDS research, which is one of my top interests. Many of the professors are well recognized Public Health Professionals around the world. I know that they will teach us a lot and expect a lot from us!!!

This Thursday, Oren and I are inviting my classmates over for dessert. Everyone knows we like to entertain! More than entertain, we want to get to know the students better. Josh (the other American) and I are the only people not living in the dorms, so it is harder to get to know them. I also want them to get to know Oren and many of them asked when they get to meet him! This is the perfect chance, in a fun setting! This Friday, we are going on a trip around Jerusalem. They are even allowing Oren to join us! For the first time Oren and I will get a guided tour of Jerusalem from many different view points other than Jewish.

(A short digression story- Last Thursday, I met the other students for the first time. Our student social Organizer, Hanni, took us around the city. I was nervous to meet everyone, but it was fine! Everyone is super nice! They were all very curious to know why I don’t stay in the dorms. So I explained to them because my husband is in Israel with me and you cannot live in the dorms if you are married. It turns out that 80% of them are married and many of them have kids who stayed in their home countries. I can’t imagine not seeing Oren for a year, especially if I had a child.

Anyway, many of them thought because I am American I am rich (or at least I got that impression). Everyone, except Josh and I, are on a special scholarship in which their entire program is paid for. We on the other hand don’t come from countries that can be considered for the scholarship and have to pay our own way. For me that means lots and lots of LOANS. I had to explain to them I am taking out loans to pay for my program. After that, one person commented on how pretty my wedding ring is. She was very sincere about it, but it made me realize that many of them may have misjudged me because of my rock! In many countries they do not wear wedding bands with diamonds. They are much simpler. Also, many people have preconceived notions about Americans from TV, Politics etc… I was telling my academic advisor about this and she said she thinks that Israeli’s actually have more of a preconceived notion of Americans being JAPS. After she explained, I understood what she meant. Many Americans who come to Israel are ones with a lot of money. Many of them donate to specific causes and expect programs to be run in a certain way. Don’t get me wrong, they are appreciative of the donations but many have a skewed view on Americans. Back to going around town!!! It was a lot of fun! Many of the students were amazed by Israel. Some even took pictures of hotel buildings. If I thought it was hard to adjust to Israeli life, I know it is harder for them! Going grocery shopping, taking buses, getting use to the food, and even trying to find your way around campus is challenging. Luckily, I had Oren and others to ask questions and help me get adjusted. I am trying to help the other students as much as possible!

Now to the Man Purse

Anyone who is a fan of Seinfeld knows about the man purse episode. In the US it is definitely not seen as a trendy accessory for men. In Israel many men wear one! EVEN OREN! Yes, that’s right Oren bought his own man purse and he is very proud of it! Next time we go on a cruise he will be able to play the game “what’s in your purse.” Anyway, it comes in very handy when you do not have a car and are always on the go. His does is not an average size man purse. It is a mid-size man purse! In my opinion it makes it seem more like a backpack. We learned that he can fit a variety of items in this handy dandy bag such as wine, text books, ipod, lipstick, ID cards, snacks, maps and money. It is great; I don’t need to carry a purse anymore because my husband does. It is even more fun to make fun of!

Bracha’s Visit

We had our first house guest last Thursday. Oren’s mom came to Jerusalem for the weekend. It was a lot of fun! On Thursday, we went to the Shuk (a huge outdoor market with lots of fresh foods) and went out for a yummy meat dinner. On Friday, we went shopping on Ben Yehuda Street for souvenirs for her friends and for Oren and me to send back presents for family and friends that had recent b-days. During the evening we cooked a Shabbat Meal together (our first real home cooked meal besides Veggie Soup). It was super yummy! During the evening we watched the movie Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood movie. Super cute and cheesy at the same time! (I told some of my new Indian friends about watching the movie and they are all in love with the main actress) and even became the Scrabble Queen! Actually, Oren and I are tied for wins. On Saturday, an old classmate of Bracha’s from the kibbutz invited us over for lunch. It turned out to be a lot of fun! They made ton of food and we sat around for hours talking. They explained to us a lot about the different types of Judaism in Israel. Boy is it interested and very political! If you are interested, give me a call. Saturday evening we went to the old city. We were all very surprised to find many shops and restaurants open. I think most of them were Arabic, but still took us by surprise. We went to the wall and looked at shops. Shopping didn’t last long because I could not take the store owners. They are way too pushy. Maybe being pushy works on some people, but it is a turnoff to me! That was our weekend!

It is getting late and I have class very early in the morning. I am not sure when I will write another blog! Oren will probably write most of them from here on out! It will depend on my school load. Another important piece of information is that we had our internet and cable TV installed today. Unfortunately, our vonage is not working yet. Something is wrong with the Modem and technical support should be working on the problem, but is too busy catching up on a months worth of loss TV time.