Choir Competition!! and other stuff...

Hi, everyone!

So the choir competition is finally behind me...and I have to say that I'm extremely proud of my group's performance. We didn't place, but I've been told by many that we were by far the most sophisticated, professional, and respectful group out of the 17 that competed. And it's always a gamble, because each choir is scored separately, there's no vote for who wins at the end. Everything went so smoothly - our entrance and exit, our soloists and harmonists didn't sound nervous or off-pitch at all, you could hear the background clearly, and we received huge applause. (Unless I'm mistaken, it wasn't only our school cheering for us at the end.) Needless to say, the girls all took our lack of placing very well, and everyone's so proud of each other. We're having a celebratory party at the end of the week. For anyone who wants to see the video of our performance, you can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3rEbp3Wu7Q.

(Though that video has bad visuals...hopefully a better one will be posted soon.)

As for the event as a whole - I found it far too "high school color war"-like for my taste. People were pushing each other to get good seats, they wouldn't give the speakers silence, lest they stop cheering for their school for one second, and the whole thing was a bit of a balagan (hebrew for incredible mess). But HaRova was so amazing that that's what I remember the most. I felt like we were so respectful, and yet supportive of each other. We cheered when it was appropriate, but let it go when it was time to move on. So that's my kvelling for the night.

Other things happening are...

I've arranged piano lessons that I'm beginning next week, as well as a couple of times a week where I'll go to a public piano in the Rova and just play by myself. I think it will really help me feel like I'm doing more to get what I want out of the year.

I'm also switching around a bunch of classes in order to focus less on Jewish Law and more on anything else that helps me connect spiritually. It's difficult in an environment when some really connect through details that don't do anything for me. But I've been told that my outlook into spirituality - more based on a connection with G-d and being a good person - is obviously acceptable, and encouraged, and therefore I should make my classes fit my philosophy. So that's what I'm doing now, and I already feel better about my weekly schedule.

In the next week, we have a lot going on, as usual. The new Southern Hemisphere group will be joining us, we'll be planting trees with other Midrashot for Tu B'Shvat (the "new year" of the tree), spending a Shabbat with the other four members of drama club at our drama teacher's house, and visiting Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem). I'm looking forward to it all, and just hope that I can get some time to rest in between. Speaking of which, I'm going to now take advantage of my usual free Monday night and watch a movie on my bed. Until next time!

Gabriella

Down South

Ready to hear about my trip to the southernmost city of Israel? Okay! First I'll catch you up on everything else. Classes have been okay, last week was hard because I was still adjusting and didn't feel so motivated. A lot of what goes on here is self-motivation, so lacking that means lacking enthusiasm. But this week already feels better!

We had a very enjoyable Midrasha Shabbat . I went to sleep early, rested a lot, and still woke up in time to pray before lunch. For lunch I made a HUGE fruit salad with two friends (we split the cost of buying the fruit from the shuk on Friday), and then it was so big that we shared it with three other friends. We took it to a nearby park with lemonade, iced tea, and books...we ate a little, talked a little, read a little, and just lay in the sun (it must have been in the 70s over Shabbat)! It was adorable.

On Saturday night I had an Israel Brandeis event at a pizza place. I had the best time, I'm not even sure I can describe how hyper I was. I met friendly, intelligent, religious people also spending the year in Israel and going to Brandeis next year, and then we swapped numbers so that we can get together again throughout the year. I've always been excited for college, but this event topped my previous excitement. Of course, I then had to come back and somehow fall asleep to be able to get up at 5am for our Tiyul the next day.

So Eilat...
The first day, we went to a place called Kenyon HaAdom - the Red Canyon. I signed up for the hard, hebrew hikes for all three days, so that in of itself was fun and challenging. When we got back from that hike, we signed into the hotel (!), washed up, and then went out for a party-boat ride with the HaRova Israeli Program. That could have been a blast, but I was so exhausted that I was a little mopey and just sat on the side cuddling with a few friends. Which isn't too bad for a random boat ride!

The second day was a six hour hike through Nachal Gishon - the Gishon Valley. I went with the Israeli group, which was amusing. They do hiking all the time, so they're used to the tough stuff, but this hike was even hard for them when we ended by hiking just about vertically for the last 25 minutes. That was my favorite part, though. Then we returned to the hotel, I had a quick choir rehearsal, ate dinner (hotel dinner versus Midrasha dinner was very refreshing), and then we sat on the beach and sang with our Rosh Midrasha (Head of School). It was beautiful - all of the stars were out and you could hear the water nearby...and EVEN smell the camels (not quite beautiful, but it certainly added to the experience).

The last day we went on a shorter hike in Nachal Timna and then went to a man-made lake for lunch and to make sand souvenirs (you know, those little sand bottles that you fill with different colors?). Then we took the 5 hour trip back home, and when we got back, I exercised! Normally, I would give myself a break, but an easy hike just wasn't enough. People did look at me funny as they passed me doing my workout video, though.

Next week is essentially choir, choir, and more choir. Then we have a Shabbat in honor of the competition at the Midrasha, and apparently there are some professional musicians lined up to speak to us. Sounds fun to me! But I can't wait for the competition to be over. A week and a half...I'll just keep counting down. Hopefully next post I can tell you that all went well and that we got first place and that now I can sleep soundly at night! Until then,

Gabriella

Home and Back Home

It's been a while since I wrote due to my trip back to the US. But I'm back now! Quickly, I'll just finish telling you about the museums we visited right before I left, and then I'll update you with recent news.

The last two days of Tiyulim (trips or tours) ranged from Har Hertzl (an honored soldiers' cemetery) to the Palmach Museum (about one of the underground organizations that helped fight for the establishment and growth of the state). Har Hertzl was unlike any cemetery I've ever seen. It was clearly a place of honor and celebration of life, not a place of mourning. Flowers and evergreen trees everywhere, beautiful monuments, pictures of the soldiers and their stories, and stones placed on many of the graves (as is the Jewish custom - a token that lasts much longer than flowers). It doesn't matter whether someone was a commander or not, if he dedicated himself fully and was honorable in a significant way, he'll be honored on Har Herzl (if his family wishes).

We moved on to the Herzl Museum to learn about the man who began much of the Zionist progress in the early 1900s. It was a very high-tech, interactive museum. Then we went to the Begin Center to learn about Menachem Begin who was the 6th Prime Minister of Israel, and who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his negotiations over land.

The next day we went to Latrun, which is a museum of tanks; it was interesting, but not as educational as the other museums. Lastly, we visited the Palmach Museum, also extremely high-tech and interactive, where we learned about the efforts of the Palmach to defend the settlements during the British Mandate and gaining land during the War of Independence, even when the British tried to dismantle it.

So that's your history lesson for the day! Next, I went home...

To summarize, I got to spend much needed time with my family, some hectic time trying to catch up with friends on vacation from college, and relaxing time in Florida. Then I returned!
So far, I'm still a little jet-lagged, but I'm working on it. Everyone welcomed me back so enthusiastically, I felt missed and appreciated in the best way! Over Shabbat I stayed with my friend at a different seminary in Beit Shemesh. It was nice and relaxing, since she and our mutual friend who joined us both understood that I needed good rest.

Today, I went to a choir leader meeting an hour away, only to find out that it was cancelled (you miss these details when you're 6,000 miles away). But I was with my co-director, Tova, so we enjoyed getting out of the Old City on this beautiful day and catching up for a bit anyway. And it has been gorgeous out - now that I lugged all of my winter clothes from America. The only thing that detracted from the amazing weather was the construction they've begun down the main entrance to the Old City. Now, everyone leaving and entering is herded like cattle up and down the narrow pathway left unscathed by jackhammers. I still love the Old City, though, it's just a pain to go in and out.

In other news, I've decided to arrange for piano and/or vocal lessons on Tuesday afternoons, because I am beginning to feel something missing from my week without them. (If anyone has any contacts in Jerusalem regarding music lessons, please let me know, the search is more difficult than I expected.) After having taken a step back from classes for a couple of weeks, I will also be switching those which I now realize have bored me all along. There are so many classes that I'm actually enthusiastic about - why not have my whole week excited me?

That's all for news from Ellie in the Holy Land! Choir performance coming up in three weeks, and a three day trip to Eilat next week...lots of excitement! 'Till next time!

Gabriella